godman Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 (edited) Newbie here, First of all I wanted to say how helpful this forum has been, You guys are very helpful and have an enormous amount of knowledge which you graciously share with everyone I want to start playing with RGB but I'm a little overwhelmed at all the choices available in both categories and confused on what exactly I need to get started, I am familiar with what the Smart" and "Dumb" Pixels, strings etc do but I have a few other questions: What is better the 5v, 12v and why?I hear about 3 wire & 4 wire LED what is the difference?Pigtails, what are they?WS2811 vs WS 2801 vs TM1809, what does all this mean? I see allot of posts about controllers, everyone seems to have their favorites which is great but what are the best ones for beginners. I want something basically plug & play (if it exists) What are the easiest controllers to use?Does a controller simply plug into an LOR controller?How does LOR recognize the controller, do you assign the controller a unit number? Yes I have read the Aus Christmas manual which has allot of great info, any other info that can be passéd on would be great Thanks everyone Edited June 5, 2014 by godman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
75redman Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 I can't answer all your questions as this is my first year dealing with rgb. But if your looking for plug n play go with the LOR Pixels or bulbs. They come with the controller and lights and are connected in line with all your other controllers. Just set up your controller ID as you would for an AC controller. Pretty easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezimnow Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 What is better the 5v, 12v and why?...Check the forums as this was discussed heavily on here...Actually all the questions you have have beee discussed here so do a search and all of your questions will be answered .... Search via your topic... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zman Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Newbie here, First of all I wanted to say how helpful this forum has been, You guys are very helpful and have an enormous amount of knowledge which you graciously share with everyone I want to start playing with RGB but I'm a little overwhelmed at all the choices available in both categories and confused on what exactly I need to get started, I am familiar with what the Smart" and "Dumb" Pixels, strings etc do but I have a few other questions: What is better the 5v, 12v and why? Z - Depends. 5V is what pixels are driven at anyway, but you get shorter string lengths, some concerns over the pigtail length from power supply/controller. 12V is inefficient because voltage needs to be dissipated somehow, but you can get longer strings and less injection. Other will chime in I am sure. I hear about 3 wire & 4 wire LED what is the difference? Z - Nothing. Some Pixels have +V / -V / Data / Clock, some pixels do not have the Clock wire. Pigtails, what are they? Z - The (typically screwable with a barrel connector) length of wire from the power supply/controller to the first pixel on a string. WS2811 vs WS 2801 vs TM1809, what does all this mean? Z - These are chips that drive the pixels. Some are 5-8-12 bits. The bits can play into the granularity of fading, but in reality may not be fully visible to the naked eye. It means nothing, except that you need to select a protocol (WS2811 i.e) that is compatible with your controller. There is more detail here and some of it is almost religious. I see allot of posts about controllers, everyone seems to have their favorites which is great but what are the best ones for beginners. I want something basically plug & play (if it exists) Z - Plug and play is good for beginners, StellaScapes, Advatek, Seasonal Entertainment, and there are others that make plug and play versions of DIY controllers you can buy. Controllers are like cars. Fords or Chevy's. It just depends on your preferences. All are very comparable. What are the easiest controllers to use? Z - Well, my comment here is that RGB is definitely a more advanced use model, only because you have to understand more about power drop, networking, programming etc... They all are comparable to use IMHO. Does a controller simply plug into an LOR controller? Z - Unless it is an LOR CCx controller, no. It is connected to an NIC networking port on your computer. Pixels use E1.31 and require a network by itself that is set up inside LOR. How does LOR recognize the controller, do you assign the controller a unit number? Z- It is not a controller, rather the network is set up as an E1.31 network talking to a specific dongle. There are many videos on this, Google it. Yes I have read the Aus Christmas manual which has allot of great info, any other info that can be passéd on would be great Thanks everyone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezimnow Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 What is better the 5v, 12v and why.....http://auschristmaslighting.com/forums/index.php?topic=2595.0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 What is better the 5v, 12v and why.....http://auschristmaslighting.com/forums/index.php?topic=2595.0 The writer of that post assumes only 1 LED per pixel (per color). That is a bad choice for a 12v strip, because most of the power will be wasted as heat from the resistors. When using 12v, you will typically use 3 LEDs per pixel, as the CCR does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james campbell Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 I just started using dmx the last few months. I agree if you want plug in play(sort of) lor pixels are the way to go. I went the diy route. Huge learning curve. In the end though now that I have somewhat a grasp on e 1.31. Its pretty easy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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