Sony’s LED wall line-up now includes the new Crystal LED CAPRI series with 1,500 cd/m2 maximum brightness, 2.50mm pixel pitch, high refresh rates and a wide colour gamut.
Sony’s line of LED walls now includes the new Crystal LED CAPRI series. Achieving a maximum brightness of 1,500 cd/m2, it has a 2.50mm pixel pitch, high refresh rates and a wide colour gamut with anti-reflection qualities.
The CAPRI line-up is available in two models - ZRD-VS25FB and ZRD-VS25FM, which are compatible with the Brompton controller and the Megapixel controller, respectively. [More details on controls are below.] Their installation, structure and maintenance are similar to Sony’s existing VERONA displays, and they are compatible with the company's wider virtual production system.
The new models are built to serve users that want to work in virtual production applications cost-effectively, including television, feature films, commercials and broadcast, without losing out on image quality. This factor makes them suitable for rental, corporate and staging purposes as well. The CAPRI series has options that preserve picture quality and flexibility, at a more affordable price.
CAPRI complements Sony's original Crystal LED VERONA series, using the same controllers and applying the same luminance as VERONA. This compatibility means that one of the CAPRI LED walls could be combined on set with a VERONA LED wall – for example, using the VERONA as the main wall and the CAPRI on the ceiling.
The CAPRI series is expected to be available toward the end of 2025.
Image Quality
"Sony CAPRI furthers our support for virtual production and Spatial Content creation to reach a larger range of users," said Sebastian Leske, Head of Business Development, Sony Europe Sony Europe. "We've broadened our lineup by making more cost-conscious choices available. This change is expected to expand the market into virtual production of all types, at high-quality, leading to the growth of Sony's distinctive virtual production system."
Virtual productions rely on high quality imagery. The CAPRI series combines high refresh rates of up to 7,680Hz to reduce scanline artifacts and promote smooth, fluid motion. With a high brightness of 1,500 cd/m2 and coverage of over 98% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut, the displays can produce more accurate, lifelike images, and their anti-reflection capabilities help to mitigate the impact of reflections from lighting equipment.
Installation and Flexibility on Set
The new Crystal LED CAPRI panels take advantage of recent developments in installation procedures for faster, more efficient setup. Using a 1:1 cabinet optimised for temporary installations, such as virtual production stages, the models can be assembled and dismantled quickly, just using locating pins for alignment and a tool-free lever locking mechanism.
The Crystal LED's modular nature allows the panels to be set up in varying sizes and configurations, including stacked, hung, curved or oval installation. The frame has been strengthened to support more weight than the earlier models, with edge protection plates and pin slides to limit damage and wear and tear on parts.
Standard Controls and Interfaces
Through alignment with Brompton's Tessera SX40 (ZRD-VS25FB) and Megapixel's HELIOS (ZRD-VS25FM), users can control the CAPRI Crystal LED models using tools and interfaces already commonly in use in the industry, alleviating the need for additional training.
To keep teams and crews focused on virtual production, the Crystal LED CAPRI has features that are designed to simplify maintenance. The LED module blocks can be changed from the back and have status indication lights that help identify which blocks need service.
Workflows – Switching, Remote Features, Colour
Within the virtual production market, Sony develops a connected system of hardware and software including cinema and pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras, a marker-free camera tracking system, LED walls, multi-camera live switching, remote production options, previsualization tools, mobile motion capture, and a virtual production tool set. Using these products together is intended to contribute to workflow efficiencies.
The Crystal LED CAPRI series forms part of this last item mentioned above – Sony's Virtual Production Tool Set, a group of resources to help improve pre-production and on-set workflows. CAPRI supports Color Calibrator to ensure the colours visualized ahead of the shoot match the colours that appear in dailies. Further to this tool, the Camera and Display Plugin combines technical information about the cameras and LED pitch to help predict and address aliasing during pre-visualization and on-set.
Version 3.0 of the Virtual Production Tool Set, planned for late 2025, will have an Off-axis colour shift compensation capability available in certain Crystal LED models from the CAPRI, VERONA and B-series. Using camera position information, this feature will correct colour shifts due to curved or angled installation, in real-time, significantly reducing colour correction and editing in post-production. pro.sony
