E682 Pixel Capibility

[zvacman]

I was reading somewhere, (seems like that's all I do anymore) that the E682 is capable of controlling 680 smart pixels.  Is this correct or can it run more?  Please keep replies simple, I'm extremely computer challenged.  Thanks  P.S. The controller in question is to run my 700 pixel matrix.

Z

[mfrost55]

It can control either 1190 (7 universes) or 2040 (12 universes) depending on if you run in multicast or unicast mode.

[zvacman]

A universe consists of 512 channels correct?  So RGB is 3 channels per pixel equaling 170 pixels per universe?  7 universes 1190 pixels.  How do I spread them out over my outputs? I have 16 of them on each of my E682's.  Lastly, advantages/disadvantages of multicast/unicast?  I am still going to run about 75,000 led's on regular LOR controllers so I need everyone to play nice.

Thanks, Z

[Ron Boyd]

Just hang tight for a bit. There's a firmware update coming for the 682's that will make them, if memory serves, one universe per output. Let me see if I can find the post.

Full thread is here, if you care to read another forum: http://doityourselfchristmas.com/forums/showthread.php?42646-SanDevices-version-5-firmware-information-thread

SanDevices version 5 firmware information thread

Version 5 firmware is in the works and is actually a bit ahead of schedule. Questions, comments and suggestions are welcome.

Initial release will be for the E682 and upgraded E680s and E681s, in other words, this is for the 16-output controllers.

The primary goal of this release is to overcome some significant addressing limitations of the current firmware. With existing firmware, on all controllers except the E6804, you specify one length, one start address, and one color order for each group of 4 outputs, and addresses for those 4 outputs are always assigned sequentially.

This is not convenient for users who have many different string lengths.

With version 5, you will be able to set any start address and any length on each of the 16 outputs. In addition, color order, pixel grouping, and zigzag can be set per-string (as well as per-string nulls and reverse which you can already do). The zigzag function has been improved so that you can specify 2 values: the number of pixels until the first zig, and the number for all subsequent zigs. This allows the zigzag feature to be used on a matrix or megatree even if the string length is not an even multiple of the matrix height.

Version 5 will support RGBW pixels in 2 modes. In RGBW mode the sequencing software is expected to send 4 channels of data to each pixel. In derived white mode (idea from Joe Hinkle), the controller only receives the R, G, and B channels, then it derives the final value for the RGBW channels to be sent to the pixel. This allows use of RGBW pixels with standard RGB sequencing software.

I expect (not 100% guaranteed yet) to be able to handle 16 universes of pixel data with version 5, with the potential to do even more , but possibly requiring a minor hardware upgrade. In addition to increasing the total number of pixels that can be controlled from 2,040 up to about 2,700, it also allows users to configure the controller as "1 output = 1 universe". The concept of universes is confusing to many users, and a lot of folks think that outputs and universes are the same thing, and have trouble dealing with 16 outputs but only 12 universes.

Version 5 will support 512 or 510 channels per universe. I'm not sure exactly how that will be done, whether global (entire board), per output group, or per universe.

By the way, the output type will still be assigned per groups of 4 outputs. That's a hardware limitation right now. I am freeing up at least one CPU so that opens up the possibility of a 5th output group in a future design.

Multiple DMX modes: DMX Pixel mode allows use of features such as color order, grouping, reverse, zigzag, and also length is specified in pixels, and standard DMX mode where the length is specified in number of channels. Renard output 'length' will also be specified in channels also, and there will be support for multiple baud rates for Renard outputs.

Multiple timing options for 1804/2811 class pixels.

Output addressing settable as universe-channel number or just as a relative channel number.

A controller name field on the web page, and a short controller name field that will appear in the browser tab, to simplify controller identification in multi-controller setups.

Not coded yet but on the wish list:

Support for SACN Priority, and SACN HTP (highest takes precedence).
Undo command to undo multiple levels of configuration changes.
A name field for each individual output.
Auto addressing of outputs.

Edited March 5, 2016 by Ron Boyd

[jerry72]

I am running 800 pixels off my E682, 50 of each output running 5 universes. You will have no issues running you matrix.