Matrice P5 leds 2727

[ESTRUGA Pedro]

Hello,
I would like to know if among you, someone uses panels in P5 to make matrices with the software S5. I specify panel P5 leds SMD 2727. To know what kind of card it uses and if there are tutorials. I would like to work with these panels for Christmas 2020.

See link for the matrix.

https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/33008313692.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.42cd30a6yEjAd9&algo_pvid=fd603f95-82ba-4704-90f0-f7b4a721f188&algo_expid=fd603f95-82ba-4704-90f0-f7b4a721f188-35&btsid=9a746238-d8cf-4f32-974a-12eb1f5ffa7d&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_3,searchweb201603_53
cordially
ESTRUGA Pedro

[caniac]

those of us that use it connect them with something called a colorlight card which is connected to a Pi running FPP in bridge mode.  I don't think S5 supports it any other way.

[k6ccc]

There are (as far as I know), three different ways to drive P5 and P10 matrix panels. The first two involve use of Falcon Player.  The first as caniac said is to run FPP on a Raspberry Pi and have that output to a ColorLight receiver card which in turn drives the matrix panels.  The second uses either a Raspberry Pi or a Beaglebone single board computer running Falcon Player and then an adapter that plugs into the Pi or BB which drives the matrix panels.  In either case, the Falcon Player is configured in Bridge mode.  This makes it appear as a simple E1.31 device as far as LOR is concerned.  Therefore, LOR can sequence it just fine.  For smaller matrices, either method works, but for larger numbers, the Pi to ColorLight is the preferred way to go.  My matrices are fairly small, bit I wanted to try out the ColorLight method when I first built them in 2018.  However I changed that to using a Beaglebone with the adapter for 2019.

The third method to use a P5 or P10 matrix is to use it as a video monitor.  This method uses a different ColorLight card called a Sender card which plugs into your computer and takes DVI video and converts that to a data stream which is sent to the ColorLight receiver card which drives the matrix.  In this situation, you are not sequencing the matrix in the traditional sense, but rather using a video file as your media file in LOR.  To make any changes to the video, you use a video editing program.  LOR just plays the video.  I have no experience using video, but there are lots of people here who have.

This is a summary.  There are a lot of details I have left out in part because I am typing this on my phone and don't want to type a novel on the phone...

 

[Obejohnknobe]

Hi Jim!!

Really like the information on this as I am trying to setup something similar like this.  I found a project on  Instructables DIY website that uses a Raspberry Pi 4W zero with a GPIO hat to go to the P5 Panels.  What my use for them is to have a running display such as showtimes with a little flair on the P5 panels .  The problem is I am not familiar with the Falcon Player or XLights and not sure I want to invest the time to do so.   My show is setup using the S4 (I have S5 installed) and comfortable with the software.  This makes sense to me to use the Raspberry pi 4 W zero with  LOR S4 as E1.31 using the ColorLight Receiver cards as a bridge.  Is that correct?

Never tried matrices but want to since I have a need for it now.  Can you enlighten me on where I can find some info on how to put words across the matrices or am I making it more difficult than needs to be.  Looked for Website  and YouTube info, came up empty.  Think I am putting in the wrong word search.

Thanks!!

John

[k6ccc]

Actually, setting up a matrix is not all that hard.  First question on hardware is how big are you planning for the matrix?  Yes, that does have some effect on how you drive it (hardware).

Yes, you will need to set up an FPP instance, but that is almost a no brainer.  Download the image file, write it to a uSD card, plug the uSD card into the BeagleBone of RasPi.  Then configure it for your arrangement (via a web browser).

You do NOT need to ever do anything with xLights.  You can set up the FPP instance to operate as just another E1.31 controller.  Then sequence it in LOR and treat it as just a large E1.31 controller.

Unless you are planning a quite large matrix, you do not need to use a ColorLight, and it only adds another layer of complexity.  So the arrangement would be S4 or S5 driving the matrix as an E1.31 controller.  FPP installed on a RasPi or BeagleBone with a hat or cape that interfaces to the matrix.  BTW, more than likely I am going to recommend a BeagleBone rather than a RasPi, but that is going to depend on your matrix size intention.

 

[Obejohnknobe]

Hi Jim,

Thank you for the quick response!!  I watched Cannispater Christmas YouTube video on this subject yesterday and it seems his setup of 128 X 64 matrix of four P5 64 X 32 panels should do the trick.  Anything bigger would be too much.  The directions he goes thru seems easy enough.  So is the Raspberry Pi good enough for it?  This is the 4 W (wireless) Zero which if I am not mistaken has 4 Gb of ram on board and have the GPIO hat that goes with it for the panels.  I have downloaded the newest version of Falcon Player (version 4?) and have not unzip the file on the Raspberry Pi yet due to some confusion if I needed to load S4 instead.  However as of today, you have convinced me that I do not need to as long as I have S4 running as an E1.31.  It appears the FP is needed (small file compared to S4) as the S4 software would have to be accessed on the Pi and may be too big of a file for it.

Last question, how do I setup the scrolling words (light show times) on LOR for this matrix?   Nothing like a novice asking questions on Matrices.  Practice makes perfect, took me almost 10 years to figure out how to do a show and another 4 years of displaying it to get it close to right.  This hobby is addicting and cannot wait till I retire to have enough time to do what I want to do with it.

Thank you for the info!

John 

[caniac]

for the time being a P4 is overkill, the 3B+ will more than handle either the colorlight card or PiHat.  Scrolling words can be done with a widget in xLights or I would think S5 has something similar (that's the easy part).  If you just testing then the Pi and PiHat are the cheaper/easier route to go.  I run a 4ft x 4ft and a 3ft x 6ft matrixes in my show and for my application the colorlight card gives me a richer color palette (based on my viewing distance).

[Obejohnknobe]

Thank you Caniac!

I had already purchased the Pi 4 last April and hopes of understanding the mini computer with Linux.  This project came along and seemed to make the most sense for the Pi use and have a pi hat with GPIO connections for the panels.  If you are saying the ColorLight will help with the color, then it is an option.  The matrix I will be running is 128 by 64 with four  P5 panels maybe a 2' X 1' size total and will be about 30' from the side of the road for easy viewing distance.  I do have S5 but run S4 for my display.  Tried S5 and have not transferred my show yet as this is also one of my learning projects for the year.

Everyone is saying the scrolling words are the easy part but no one has shown or provided a link where I can see how it is accomplished so I can try it.  Do you have a way or link you could provide so I can learn, please?

Thanks!!

John

[caniac]

2 minutes ago, Obejohnknobe said:

Thank you Caniac!

I had already purchased the Pi 4 last April and hopes of understanding the mini computer with Linux.  This project came along and seemed to make the most sense for the Pi use and have a pi hat with GPIO connections for the panels.  If you are saying the ColorLight will help with the color, then it is an option.  The matrix I will be running is 128 by 64 with four  P5 panels maybe a 2' X 1' size total and will be about 30' from the side of the road for easy viewing distance.  I do have S5 but run S4 for my display.  Tried S5 and have not transferred my show yet as this is also one of my learning projects for the year.

Everyone is saying the scrolling words are the easy part but no one has shown or provided a link where I can see how it is accomplished so I can try it.  Do you have a way or link you could provide so I can learn, please?

Thanks!!

John

my stuff is in xLights so it might only confuse you.  With FPP its just load and go, you don't need to learn Linux to work with it.  you should have to mess with the GPIO connections, just add the PiHat and connect your panels (remember the panels are 5V so don't use a 12V power supply or you will see blue smoke).  In FPP you just setup the static IP, then setup your output tab (how many panels you are using, how they are connected, etc.).  There is an FPP Facebook group with tons of help. 

[Obejohnknobe]

Thanks Caniac!!!!  I agree with the magic smoke release.  Most of my show runs on 5v but have 2 props that run 12v pixels and 1 with AC so that is one precaution I take.  Will look at the FP facebook group to see where that leads to.  Since I am an LOR software user, I come to the forum to seek guidance on something like this.  I do use the Xlights YouTube channels for ideas and like their lectures on different subjects especially when it comes to comparing what Xlights does versus LOR in their Australian accents.  And yes, I use the LOR  as well as other LOR software users YouTube channels to get an idea how to use the software in certain circumstances.  Just cannot seem to find anything on how to scroll words on a matrix yet.  I have this year to get use to the S5 to make the transfer.  Hope it works for me.

John

[BluMan]

Since this thread is getting attention.. what scan rate should the P5 panels be?  I've seen 1/8, 1/16, ect.  I think earlier it mattered which scan rate you used.  Is that still the case?  I'm also looking to buying P5 Panels.

 

[Obejohnknobe]

Hi BluMan,

Not sure but that is a good question.  The place where I am purchasing them at is 1/8 here is the website.  https://www.wiredwatts.com/pnp5o

I watch Canispater Christmas at this link

This is also where I got the P5 Panels from.

 

John

[k6ccc]

John, first of all, skip the ColorLight.  It adds a substantial deal of setup complexity, and for as small of a matrix as you are aiming for, it is not needed.  BTW, if you REALLY insist on going with the ColorLight, I have two that I will never use again.

Since you already have the Pi 4W, I really would recommend that you use that as you "learn Linux" computer, and get a BeagleBone Black with one of the scrollers or Pocket Beagle with a PocketScroller and use that for the matrix.  For both my 4W x 3H P10 matrix and my 3W x 2H P5 matrix, I am using a PocketBeagle and PocketScroller.  I really like that combination.

You seem to be confused on what gets loaded.  FPP gets loaded onto the RasPi or BeagleBone and it is configured in E1.31 bridge mode.  S4 or S5 does not get loaded on the RasPi or BeagleBone.

As for the text, in my opinion, make the matrix large enough that you don't need to scroll text on it.  Two reasons.  First is that if the text is static, people don't need to watch it.  They glance at it to get your Tune To information and then can go back to watching your display.  If it is scrolling, they need to watch the scrolling text for a while.  Second reason is that scrolling is not as smooth as I would like.  Even when using the text scroller plug in to FPP (taking LOR out of the mixture for the test), it's just not as clean as I would like it to be.  This is what I display most of the time.  If your browser is not showing the photo, there is a link to it  below the photo.  This is the Artist, Song title, and Tune to info.

http://www.newburghlights.org/photos/Matrix_panels_hanging_close-up.jpg

I have a couple other messages that swap with this periodically - one for people who are too stupid to figure out "Tune 101.5 FM" and one for MIIP - but this is what displays about 75% or so of the time.

Although I sequence essentially my entire show in SuperStar, the matrix panels are sequenced in Motion Effects in S5.  Doing text in Motion Effects was very easy to do - either scrolling or static.  In case you are wondering why I use Motion effects rather than SuperStar for the matrix panels, it is because I have a 12,000 channel license for SuperStar, and I did not really need the added expense of upgrading that to a 48,000 channel license.  So, I tried Motion Effects and it did the job just fine.  Next year I may end up needing to upgrade my SuperStar license to 24,000 channels which would allow me to sequence the P10 matrix, but not the P5 matrix.  If you want to do a remote session with me, I can show you how to do the text in S5 in a couple minutes.

2 hours ago, Obejohnknobe said:

Will look at the FP facebook group to see where that leads to.

I would spend more time on the Falcon website and forum rather than any facebook group (yes, my I hate facebook bias is showing).

 

1 hour ago, BluMan said:

Since this thread is getting attention.. what scan rate should the P5 panels be?  I've seen 1/8, 1/16, ect.  I think earlier it mattered which scan rate you used.  Is that still the case?  I'm also looking to buying P5 Panels.

Most of the indoor panels are either 1/8 or 1/16.  Doing this by memory since I can't look at mine (not currently hooked up or powered), but I think my P10 panels are 1/8 and the P5 panels are 1/16 scan.  The outdoor panels are often 1/4 scan and are WAY too bright for our purposes.

OK, that's enough for now...

 

[Obejohnknobe]

Thank you Jim,

This makes a lot more sense.  Had Phil Massey email me on the S4 pixel Editor explanation.  Boy, have I been living under a rock!  Been using S4 sequencer and never thought about using the pixel editor since most of my display is pixels.....  I think I have the flow correct now and will try to update you on the results in the next week or 2.  Researched the Beaglebone and scroller a while ago but ended up choosing the Pi and corresponding pi hat instead.  May have to scrap the pi and go with your recommendations  if it does not do what I want it to do.  Thank you for the Info on what makes sense to me on the panels making them more static then scrolling as we live on a semi busy residential street with a school about half a mile from us.  I have a pixel Tune To sign with the frequency so I will not have to dedicate the panel to it.  Just showtimes for the day and and at night when the song comes on (love your idea) of the song and whom it is played by.

Thank you!!

John

[k6ccc]

Good luck with S4 Pixel Editor.  I could make pretty effects in PE, but never could apply those effects to pixels.  The workflow just never did make sense to me.  Only time I got one to work was during a remote session with Matt, and the next day, I could not replicate it.  The workflow changed a bit in S5, and Motion Effects (what PE became) made sense.

For as small as your matrix is, the Pi should work fine.  However, if you do switch, coming up with other uses for a RasPi is easy :)  I now have four RasPis of various types in use.  Two are being used for ham radio related activities, one is for a GeoCache, and the forth is running a Dynamic DNS update script (massive overkill for the task, but it gets the job done).

 

[Obejohnknobe]

OK, I am a ground radio guy from the Air Force (retired but soon to be retired from civilian service) so what has me intrigued is using the pi for ham uses.  Can you expand on it??

Thanks for the encouragement!

John

[k6ccc]

22 minutes ago, Obejohnknobe said:

OK, I am a ground radio guy from the Air Force (retired but soon to be retired from civilian service) so what has me intrigued is using the pi for ham uses.  Can you expand on it??

Thanks for the encouragement!

In my case, both are being used related the Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network (AREDN) - which is a mesh based digital network using 802.11 WiFi equipment using a different flash.  One is being used to run a mesh based chat program, and a web page or two, and the other has one connection on the AREDN network and another accessible (with some router magic) from the internet.  I can VNC into that Pi and get direct access to the AREDN network.

 

[Obejohnknobe]

WOW, we are going to mesh networks and just started to work on getting them started. 

John

[Peponne31]

Good evening,

I set up my P5s on S5 with a BBB and an octoscroller. I put the BBB in E1.31 mode with an IP address. The programming of the matrix is done in S5 and it works fine.

[Obejohnknobe]

Thank you!!!  Going to try the Pi first and then will go to the BBB if the pi does not work.  Still learning S4 and looking forward to learning the S5.

John