A Universe is basically a way of describing a large set of pixels, think of it as “oh I have 22 Universes, instead of saying I have 11,220 channels”. According to the DMX standard for lighting there can be up to 512 channels in whats called a Universe. Its easy to just remember 1 smart pixel = 3 channels. So a typical pixel = (one IC + RGB LED) is also called 3 channels (referring to DMX light channels), basically its one channel per primary color per pixel. You can then program each pixel to be any color! Pretty cool huh?!? Basically a IC will control a bunch of LEDs each with red, green and blue light emitting diodes.
RGB is short form for Red Green Blue, these are the primary colors that all others can be created from. It really doesn’t matter if you use Bullet, Square, Strip, or Module. Pixels come in a variety of form factors, which in the end is just a personal preference depending on how you want to mount them to your house or props.
Each LED is actually 3 individual diodes each controlling one of the primary colors, there can be up to 3 sets of LEDs (each with RGB) for a total of 9 LEDs. But either will do the job (I live in Beaverton Oregon, it rains a lot here and i’m using IP67).īasically the make up is simple, there is an Integrated Circuit (IC) chip that is in each pixel, it receives data from the controller telling it what color to be and what intensity. Typically IP68 is a higher water proofing meaning it can last longer submerged in water. They come in 12 Volt and 5 Volt standard connections and depending if you want to be water and dust proof you need to make sure they’re listed as IP67 or IP68 rated. WS2811 are an example of a popular type of smart pixels technology, there are many others, but this is the most popular. Generally the desired house look will determine the type of lights to buy, type of controller to buy, etc. There are many Youtube examples to determine which kind of lights you want on your house, so if you need help I’ve provided a few examples on the bottom of this page. Its that simple, either each light can be anything anytime, or the whole strand has to be the same colors. Compared to Dumb pixels which are RGB LED lights where the whole strand has to be the same color at the same time. Basically they are string of RGB LED lights that can be changed to any color, anytime, in any order. The first and most important term to understand is Smart Pixels. Also I’ll cover a basic setup, this picture shows my basic house setup, this is the basics, and it only gets more complicated from there. So when you hear “ oh i’m using a Falcon controller running on E1.31 protocol and i’ve got 400 smart pixels running on 3 universes under my eaves” that something will make logical sense.
#Outdoor smart pixel strips how to
Want some cool Christmas lights? Tired of the normal lights your parents grew up on? When I began my journey into Christmas light shows (aka smart lights that twinkle to any pattern), I too knew absolutely nothing about the terms, the technology or what to look for.
0 kommentar(er)
