[Ender]

Do you have any photos of the said "carpet" in action? A few videos I found online showing its actual working(outside of boosted promo videos) it does not look that useful:

as an example. Mostly aesthetics, I guess, nothing more. I will see whether my 2019 Edition One is compatible with that. No more software upgrades for it for sure.
Did you have any error codes after the unlock at all?

Additional light to see hazards like potholes is definitely not just aesthetic. There are supposedly hash marks as well that show what the full length of your car is in the lane. Not sure exactly how that can be super useful though. Maybe for following distance?

 

[Ender]

No light carpet for 2019 Edition One either. But it is "meh" anyway ...

Oh that's too bad. The difference between HD and Digital matrix is something like 100k vs 1million elements though. So I'm sure even the masking of vehicles with high beams works a lot better with digital matrix.

 

[mmmzon]

Oh that's too bad. The difference between HD and Digital matrix is something like 100k vs 1million elements though. So I'm sure even the masking of vehicles with high beams works a lot better with digital matrix

Yeah, makes me wonder whether it is even worth the money. I was hoping for digital matrix, but that does not seem to be the case.

Good detail here in case anybody cares: Lighting

 

[Goonz]

Aren't the non-digital just regular matrix headlights? If so, you should still be able to unlock the matrix feature at the very least.

 

[mmmzon]

Aren't the non-digital just regular matrix headlights

They are, but their reaction time and resolution are substantially more limited. I am still looking for a comparison side by side. There is a lot of confusion and people seem to use HD matrix and digital matrix terms interchangeably, while they are not.

 

[JNealCox]

For "smart" headlights from Audi, the word "Design" is critical. "HD" just means Audi packed in more LED's than they had with they originally introduced Matrix LED headlights.

1) Matrix LED headlights---just dumb LED lights that can do the classic dim/bright function (It seems like in Audi-speak, Matrix LED is redundant. Matrix pretty much means LED.)
2) Matrix Design Headlights--Smart headlights with functions like "selective" field blanking.
3)Digital Matrix Design Headlights--In addition to the Smart LED lights, the lighting system also contains a digital "projector" chip (like the ones in some projection TV's) that can project a wide range of patterns and moving images.

 

[Ender]

For "smart" headlights from Audi, the word "Design" is critical. "HD" just means Audi packed in more LED's than they had with they originally introduced Matrix LED headlights.

1) Matrix LED headlights---just dumb LED lights that can do the classic dim/bright function (It seems like in Audi-speak, Matrix LED is redundant. Matrix pretty much means LED.)
2) Matrix Design Headlights--Smart headlights with functions like "selective" field blanking.
3)Digital Matrix Design Headlights--In addition to the Smart LED lights, the lighting system also contains a digital "projector" chip (like the ones in some projection TV's) that can project a wide range of patterns and moving images.

From what I saw on another thread on their part numbers:
8IT Full LED headlights
8IU HD Matrix-design LED headlights - 100k elements
8IV Digital matrix-design LED headlights - 1M elements
8IY Matrix-design LED headlights - 50 elements
8IZ HD Matrix-design LED headlights with Audi laser light - 100k elements w/laser high beam

 

[mmmzon]

From what I saw on another thread on their part numbers:
8IT Full LED headlights
8IU HD Matrix-design LED headlights - 100k elements
8IV Digital matrix-design LED headlights - 1M elements
8IY Matrix-design LED headlights - 50 elements
8IZ HD Matrix-design LED headlights with Audi laser light - 100k elements w/laser high beam

So I guess I need to look at my build codes and see what was actually installed.

 

[mmmzon]

8IY is what I see in the build sheet, so 50 elements for me it is, I guess. This brings back the question - is it worth to spend the money unlocking this feature, given that the response time and also resolution will be likely substantially inferior compared to 100k/1M element designs. I am not able to find any confirmed examples of the feature with this headlight variant, which is part of the problem. It is hard to justify spending 1k on something when one does not know what the end result is, really. All videos seem to show the digital matrix design variant (8IV)

 

[JNealCox]

8IY is what I see in the build sheet, so 50 elements for me it is, I guess. This brings back the question - is it worth to spend the money unlocking this feature, given that the response time and also resolution will be likely substantially inferior compared to 100k/1M element designs. I am not able to find any confirmed examples of the feature with this headlight variant, which is part of the problem. It is hard to justify spending 1k on something when one does not know what the end result is, really. All videos seem to show the digital matrix design variant (8IV)

I would maybe question the 1M number. That may refer to the mirror elements in the projector chip and not the number of LEDs in the Matrix array. I may be mistaken, but my impression regarding the Digital Matrix Design package is that the projector chip is there in combination with the Matrix Design LEDs and that the main highway illumination function is still handled by the Matrix Design LED's, and not by the projector chip. The 81V option does NOT have the "HD" in its name, so it may actually be just the 50 element layout.

For example, in this article:

New functions: Digital Matrix LED Headlights

www.audi-mediacenter.com

the "lane light" would be provided by illumination from the Matrix LEDs, while the "orientation light" would be provided by the projector chip.

 

[mmmzon]

hm, based on the article you shared (thanks), it seems like the 1M is not LED count but rather pixel count, which I translate as the number if micro MEMS mirrors they are able to control. So yes, I agree with your reading on where the number comes from (likely). A fine example of marketing, again.
So it would be a logical conclusion that the 8IV and 8IY options are indeed different only in terms of projector presence, nothing more. The HD variant would have smaller LEDs and denser matrix.
Hm, @Goonz, would you mind confirming your build code for lights, please? I am curious now.

 

[Goonz]

Hm, @Goonz, would you mind confirming your build code for lights, please? I am curious now.

I'm not sure I have the build code (where do I find it?), I just checked the sticker sheet and it states "Digital Matrix-Design LED Headlights"

 

[mmmzon]

In my case, it is under the shelf in the trunk, where you'd typically find the spare tire. This is what it would look like ...

 

[Goonz]

Oh yes I have that, I'll report back tomorrow.

 

[Goonz]

8IV for me

 

[mmmzon]

Thank you! That explains the light carpet option available to you but we do share the same LED module it seems (50 elements). If you have a dash cam, would you mind sharing a recording of any evening drive with the matrix feature enabled?

 

[Goonz]

I will try to pull last nights footage off my dash cam. It isn't anything spectacular other than purely aesthetics. I'll try to get that footage for you at some point today.

 

[mmmzon]

I appreciate it, it will also make this thread really complete for other readers.

 

[Goonz]

Here you go, its not the best of video but you can make out the light carpet keeping up with my lane changes and shortening as I get close to cars. Also, please excuse my erratic driving, I was in a bit of a rush to get home.

 

[mmmzon]

Thank you, just for baseline, that is light carpet in action (pretty neat, I am sure it looks much better with less ambient light). Did you have your high beams on in here?