NovaStar H2 & H5 Setup Guide: Cards, Slots & Configuration

The NovaStar H2 and H5 are modular video wall splicers: instead of fixed I/O, you buy a frame and populate it with the input and output cards your project actually needs. This guide explains how the card system works, how to plan slots, and how a first-time configuration goes — the practical follow-up to our H Series introduction.

Frames at a glance

H2: 4 input card slots + 2 output card slots, up to 52 million pixels fully loaded
H5: 10 input card slots + 3 output card slots, up to 78 million pixels

Both frames support HDR, 4K inputs, and 10G fiber output. If you're deciding between them, the H2 vs H5 comparison puts the numbers side by side — the short version is input count: four slots handle most fixed installs, while control rooms with many sources need the H5's ten.

How output cards set your pixel capacity

Capacity depends on which output cards you install. Per-frame maximums for the H2 / H5:

H_16xRJ45+2xFiber sending card — 20.8M / 31.2M pixels: copper ports plus two fiber uplinks per card
H_20xRJ45 sending card — 26M / 39M pixels: maximum copper density
H_4xFiber sending card — 41.6M / 62.4M pixels: four 10G fiber outputs for long runs
H_4xFiber Enhanced sending card — 52M / 78M pixels: 8 physical 10G fiber ports — 4 primary outputs plus 4 dedicated redundant backups

That Enhanced card is the one to spec when the wall can never go dark: the four backup ports give you true output redundancy without sacrificing capacity. For the wiring pattern, see our redundancy (hot backup) guide.

Choosing input cards

Input cards are bought per source type — HDMI 2.0, DVI, SDI, and IP-video options including NDI. If you only need one HDMI 2.0 feed today, buy one card; add more later as requirements grow, and keep a spare on the shelf for instant field repair. Running sources over the network? Our NDI for LED walls guide covers the H Series NDI workflow end to end.

Step 1 — Plan the build

Count your sources (that's your input cards), then total your wall pixels and pick output cards from the table above with headroom. Every H frame product page on our site has a Customize configurator that validates card combinations against the frame's slots — build it there and the parts list is exact. Use the LED calculator to translate cabinet counts into pixels first.

Step 2 — Install cards and cable

Cards seat into the rear slots and screw down; the frame handles power and the backplane. Cable Ethernet outputs to cabinet chains (roughly 650,000 pixels per gigabit port at 60 Hz 8-bit) and fiber outputs to converters or fiber-input cabinets at the wall.

Step 3 — Configure from a browser

The H Series is configured through its built-in web interface: connect a computer to the frame's control port, browse to the frame's address (the default address and login are on the frame's quick-start card and in the user manual), and you get the full screen-management UI — no software install required. From there you lay out cabinet topology, assign outputs, and build layer arrangements. With up to 32 layers on the H2 and 48 on the H5, control-room walls with many simultaneous windows are exactly what these frames are for.

Step 4 — Layers, scenes, and switching

Build your window layouts (camera multiviews, dashboards, presentation + confidence feeds) and save them as scenes you can recall instantly. Because splicing and processing happen in the frame, source switching and layout recalls are seamless on the wall.

Troubleshooting quick hits

Can't reach the web interface — put your computer on the same subnet as the control port and disable Wi-Fi/VPN; a direct cable is the fastest isolation test.
A whole output card's chains are dark — verify the card is seated and the topology assigns those ports; a chain dark past one cabinet is the jumper cable.
4K source won't come up — confirm it's on an HDMI 2.0-capable input card and the source's EDID matches.
No NDI badge on a fiber card? Correct — the fiber sending cards are outputs; NDI arrives via the NDI input card (details here).

Downloads and where to buy

Spec sheets: H2 Specifications (PDF) · H5 Specifications (PDF)

The H2 and H5 are in stock at Olympian LED, and we build the card configuration with you before anything ships. Call 321-747-3220 — H Series builds are a specialty here.