robo Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 With one year of LOR under my belt. I'm looking to add color next year. RGB looks like the most economic and simplist way to accomplish this. But I still want my house to have that christmas look. But most videos I see on youtube look more like a strip club then a holiday display. I have never seen a RGB display in person so I'm looking for some input on the subjuect Thanks in advance Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazydave Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 A lot of it is determined by the sequencing and color choice. I turn my eves into a "rolling candy cane" red and white with smart pixels. Or rolling mistletoe with red and green Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robo Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 I'm to dumb for smart pixels right now. Looking more into the dumb stuff. I feel I'm pretty good at sequencing but I'm worried about the Color intensitiy, flickering, etc... Also do you think that RGB consume more power then incands? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spomalley Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 IMO, I think that nodes or 'pixels' have that traditional Christmas look. Its just that RGB strips used to (and in some cases still do) provide more bang for your buck. This means that they are more common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spomalley Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I'm to dumb for smart pixels right now. Looking more into the dumb stuff. I feel I'm pretty good at sequencing but I'm worried about the Color intensitiy, flickering, etc... Also do you think that RGB consume more power then incands?RGB's are LEDs and therefore consume much less energy than incandescent lights. You don't' have to buy smart 'pixels', you can get their equivalent 'dumb' nodes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilliamS Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Only thing I miss going to all pixels is the lack of shimmer on the pixels themselves. The LOR CCR can do it but out DIY can not.Incans will pull more power than LED's regardless of type. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robo Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 So the 12v power supplies don't consume alot of power even while running several at?Also I really like the look of the nodes over the strips during the day. Do they look the same at night say on flat surfaces like arches, mega trees and gutters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilliamS Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 My whole house ran this year on 2 12v 300w 30a power supplys. Every light! So no they do not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robo Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 kinda of topic. To size up the power supply, I just add the wattage of each node. .3w X RGB = .9w per node. I know cord length comes into play as well. But thats roughly how you size it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryM Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Only thing I miss going to all pixels is the lack of shimmer on the pixels themselves. The LOR CCR can do it but out DIY can not.Incans will pull more power than LED's regardless of type.Thats essentially a dmx issue. Twinkle and shimmer side by side on dmx are pretty much the same, including LOR controllers running dmx, and non-LOR controllers (all DMX). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilliamS Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Thats essentially a dmx issue. Twinkle and shimmer side by side on dmx are pretty much the same, including LOR controllers running dmx, and non-LOR controllers (all DMX).Correct. Its the speed of each update, vs the hardware like the LOR controllers handing the shimmer at a much higher rate.Most of the DIY strips will have overall power expectancy on the page they are located. There are different sizes of LEDs, wire, and other objects that make it too general to calculate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robo Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 thanks for your help. you have any videos of your show? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryM Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Correct. Its the speed of each update, vs the hardware like the LOR controllers handing the shimmer at a much higher rate.Speed of each update, meaning? Might just be me missing something simple there with what you said and how the LOR controller handles the shummer at a higher rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wbottomley Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Its the speed of each update, vs the hardware like the LOR controllers handing the shimmer at a much higher rate.I'm headed to my 8th season and never heard anything compared to that. Last I checked, speed didn't have anything to do with it. It's the hardware that takes care of the effect, not the software. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-Paul Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 kinda of topic. To size up the power supply, I just add the wattage of each node. .3w X RGB = .9w per node. I know cord length comes into play as well. But thats roughly how you size it?And that is only if everything is turned on. But we are the blinky, blinky people and so not everything is turned on all of the time 100%. So actual power consumption is less. Although the input power consumption is less if it is hardly loaded of a D.C. power supply. Input current use maxs when the output current maxs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-Paul Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 (edited) I'm headed to my 8th season and never heard anything compared to that. Last I checked, speed didn't have anything to do with it. It's the hardware that takes care of the effect, not the software.Will, with the LOR controllers I am sure that the controllers interpret the input command and the PIC causes the shimmer signal to go out to the latch and demux chips. While the E682 does not know how to interpret the shimmer command. I would think if this is true and you want to shimmer a smart strip you will have to do so in the sequence to make it to do something that looks like a shimmer. So, now speed would come to play I would think. Does this sound about right Will Edited January 3, 2013 by Max-Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffl Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I'm headed to my 8th season and never heard anything compared to that. Last I checked, speed didn't have anything to do with it. It's the hardware that takes care of the effect, not the software.If I understand this correctly; I think what they are getting at is the LOR controller handles the commands in a smart way. i.e it can be told to fade from 100% to 0 over 1 second and the controller will do it. DMX controllers are dumb and have to be told up to 44 times per second by the software what to do. i.e 44 different commands of intensity from 255 ..... 0. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve synek Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 This year I tried a few RGB dumb strips around the garage and the front door. As I was installing them before Thanksgiving, I remember saying to myself these just don't have the look of Christmas lights. But after watching these in action,they are so bright, have so many colors, are easy to program ( much easier than my separate strings of red green,blue and yellow)................I will add more. For myself, I will stick to the 30 LEDs per M as these far out shine my 5mm light strings. For me, I don't see any "Strip Club" in the lights. I haven't tried the individual pixels that I have, but will not hesitate for a second in my planning to convert to pixel strings on part of the display. Dumb strips on other parts, a lot of CCRs.and a few candy canes for variety.Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-Paul Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Like about anything, you can look at these LED strips as a season. You have to look for the right balance so that it is not to weak and can not be seen, or to strong and over bearing that is washes everything else out. To much strip lights and to bright and I can agree with the neon lights on a strip joint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffl Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 My personal take on it is I want a mix. I see some of these very heavy RGB shows and I question how long will it keep the attention of an 8 year old? But then I think back and we all probably had the same questions when LED's first came out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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