red is a ~4 ft (diagonal) LED matrix made of 20 64x64 panels. I built it primarily as an art installation, but it is also fully playable. The project was inspired by large retro-style LED arcade displays at amusement arcades that often run modified versions of Pac-Man and Space Invaders.
The current build targets 320x256 pixels, but it can scale to other resolutions with enough Raspberry Pis and power. Each 320x128 half uses a 60 A AC/DC converter, with peak power draw at high-density or high-brightness output.
The network layer uses a standard NATS server to publish full-screen frame data. Subscribers can apply additional scaling as needed. Frames can also be pre-scaled (for aspect-ratio correction) and are compressed before delivery.
The system runs on two Raspberry Pi 4 units: one runs the emulation core/publisher, and the other runs the web server. Both units drive the display, with one unit handling each half of the screen. The unit can rotate between portrait and landscape modes, with portrait used mostly for older arcade games (e.g. Pac-Man).
Emulation is handled by a custom libretro frontend that manages input, video, audio, and runtime orchestration.
20x 64x64 LED matrix panels
2x Raspberry Pi 4
2x Matrix panel drive board for Raspberry Pi
2x 60A Switching power supply
1x Rail terminal blocks
1x Dell sound bar
~5ft 2020 Aluminum extrusions
3x Slotted aluminum rail
2x Aluminum extrusion connector brackets
1x Power supply mounting bracket
- An assortment of M3, M4 and M5 bolts and washers
- A number of 3D-printed components
