Pixel Net Vs CCR Matrix

[trooperblazer]

Ok guys need a little input or advise.  

Im thinking of adding a matrix for 2021 christmas season.  

This would be mounted to my front fence.  Im trying to decide if I should go with a simple ccr ribbon in a horizontal matrix or if I should by bullet pixels to be mounted in a mesh net like the one available from holiday coro.

I do run a lot of videos and pictures on my ccr tree and I like the way it turns out.  Would bullet pixels give me the same result?

My fence is about 3.5 feet tall and each fence panel is 4 feet wide.  

[dibblejr]

You may want another option, reason below. 

All IMHO

1- CCR ribbons look good on large props at a distance based on the spacing of the R,G.B pixels being split

2- The HC Mesh is 2 o3 3" spacing, same problem as the ribbons

3- My suggestion - Holiday Sequences will soon have on their site a 3x5' matrix panel. That may be a better option. The spacing is 1.5" and looks better at close distances for viewers. You could always cut it if you don't like a little over hang. 50x24 1200 Nodes

I can send you pics of my beta version or you van see it on my Halloween or Christmas videos . I will link them in a minute.

JR

Its the small one in the front. 

My condensed show - My Halloween Setup - Light-O-Rama Forums

Edited February 24, 2021 by dibblejr

[k6ccc]

My personal opinion is to avoid strips as much as possible.  Biggest reason is that WHEN (not if) a pixel fails, pixels in a string are FAR easier to repair than a strip.

If you are mounting this on your front fence, how far away will it be from the viewers?  JR is spot on about large pixel spacing requiring a longer distance from the viewers in order to look good. If it's really close, I would be looking at a P10 or even P5 based matrix.  Yea, it's a whole bunch of new learning, but not all that hard to do, and you have quite a while to figure it out.

 

[overeazy]

On 2/24/2021 at 2:33 PM, trooperblazer said:

Ok guys need a little input or advise.  

Im thinking of adding a matrix for 2021 christmas season.  

This would be mounted to my front fence.  Im trying to decide if I should go with a simple ccr ribbon in a horizontal matrix or if I should by bullet pixels to be mounted in a mesh net like the one available from holiday coro.

I do run a lot of videos and pictures on my ccr tree and I like the way it turns out.  Would bullet pixels give me the same result?

My fence is about 3.5 feet tall and each fence panel is 4 feet wide.  

I am also going to add a matrix to go along with my CCR tree and have been kicking around the same thought, ribbons or pixels.  Yea if one pixel needs to be repaired not even close what will be easier to replace.  But I really do like the images I get on my ribbon tree and that doesn't look too big from where it is viewed from so assume a matrix that size would be no different.  And it would be easier to see from a distance.  I have seen some of the same sequences i purchased for my ribbon tree on peoples pixel tree and really think the ribbons look much better.  Now it could be just me or maybe it was just the quality of the video of the pixel tree.  A pixel matrix would be half the size and much easier to store and set up so there is that.  Luckily we still have time to kick it around.

[k6ccc]

As for pixel spacing.  The  RGB LEDs of a CCR (or other 30 pixel LED per meter ribbon) is just a hair under 1.33 inches.  However you can only control groups of three adjacent LEDs.  In other words, the first three RGB LEDs are the first controllable pixel; RGB LEDs 4, 5, & 6 are the second controllable pixel, etc.  That means that each controllable pixel is a short line about four inches long.  For some things that is fine, and for some it is not so great.  Note that there are ribbons that have a pixel chip controlling each RGB LED individually - but the LOR Cosmic Color Ribbon is not.

With individual pixels, you can space them at whatever spacing that you want.  On my pixel tree, they are spaced every 1.33 inches (does that number sound familiar?).  My strings are 100 pixels long, so that makes the tree about 11 feet of lit length - which is about what I wanted, and makes the spacing exactly the same as each RGB LED of a CCR.

BTW, I can tell you that plugging hundreds or thousands of pixels into whatever mounting strip is being use is a PAIN.  My tree is 2,600 pixels and it took A LONG time to push all those pixels in.  One advantage of a ribbon.

[dibblejr]

2 hours ago, overeazy said:

I am also going to add a matrix to go along with my CCR tree and have been kicking around the same thought, ribbons or pixels.  Yea if one pixel needs to be repaired not even close what will be easier to replace.  But I really do like the images I get on my ribbon tree and that doesn't look too big from where it is viewed from so assume a matrix that size would be no different.  And it would be easier to see from a distance.  I have seen some of the same sequences i purchased for my ribbon tree on peoples pixel tree and really think the ribbons look much better.  Now it could be just me or maybe it was just the quality of the video of the pixel tree.  A pixel matrix would be half the size and much easier to store and set up so there is that.  Luckily we still have time to kick it around.

 

On 2/24/2021 at 1:33 PM, trooperblazer said:

Ok guys need a little input or advise.  

Im thinking of adding a matrix for 2021 christmas season.  

This would be mounted to my front fence.  Im trying to decide if I should go with a simple ccr ribbon in a horizontal matrix or if I should by bullet pixels to be mounted in a mesh net like the one available from holiday coro.

I do run a lot of videos and pictures on my ccr tree and I like the way it turns out.  Would bullet pixels give me the same result?

My fence is about 3.5 feet tall and each fence panel is 4 feet wide.  

You can see everything you are kicking around here. My smallest matrix is not in this video. Here is a 16x50 ccr tree, 12' 360 Pixel tree, 4x8' matrix far right and 3X5 matrix left center. All at various distances from the street. The CCR tree is roughly 280' from the street.

These are all ran at 30% intensity and they are still plenty bright. But you can see the resolutions are good for the distances.

 

[overeazy]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/l36xk5ev9vyf5og/Drone Overview.MP4?dl=0  Here is a view of my show this year.  Don't have the sound duped on it yet but you can can see my CCR tree.  I want to put a matrix where the big fan is and am going to move the fan back more and the center.  Am also thinking of making the fan RGB.  With the size of the tree I have am thinking a CCR matrix would be  perfect size wise since the fan there is 24 feet long.  But looking at your 4 x 8 matrix, that might fit better and I can always place it 5 or 6 feet in the air.  I have to place some things up higher since there are some things that obstruct the view from the front

[Marty Belisle]

My assumption is you have already made the decision however here are my thoughts.  High number pixel panels will give you the best resolution for pictures aka TV. I have many HC 2” pixel nets in my display as well as a 12 ribbon tree and matrix YouTube “Marty’s Christmas in Cold Lake 2020”. Been decorating 31 years and using pixels since they became available. Ribbons provide a clearer close up view, lighter in weight but are very fragile, difficult to repair. Bullets or lay flat nodes are tough, easy to repair, can be rolled in the nets for storage but heavy in large numbers and less clear up close. My preference at this time are lay flat nodes with pixel nets. Last time I checked HC had a 1.5” version of a net now. Whatever you decide it will be awesome fit to your beautiful display. 

[Box on Rails]

I just completed a 50x32 pixel matrix with 1.5 inch spacing. I have a very small yard. The matrix will be 20 feet away from the street. That's a pretty close viewing distance. I did a test with one of my singing faces in the matrix and I'm not liking the look. So I just ordered a 1 inch spacing Pixel net. We'll see how that looks. Stay tuned. 

[dibblejr]

3 hours ago, Box on Rails said:

I just completed a 50x32 pixel matrix with 1.5 inch spacing. I have a very small yard. The matrix will be 20 feet away from the street. That's a pretty close viewing distance. I did a test with one of my singing faces in the matrix and I'm not liking the look. So I just ordered a 1 inch spacing Pixel net. We'll see how that looks. Stay tuned. 

The closer the viewer the closer the pixels need to be.

Keep in mind that unless running P5/10 panels videos of these tight pixels will be nothing more than a blur.

All of my pixel props are set at 30% intensity. The small matrix and smaller props become a blur while recording.

My 27” x 42” matrix loses all view ability at 50’. 1200 nodes at just over 1/2” spacing.

My 8 x 4 matrix is clear at 300’

My 3 x 5 matrix is clear at 150’

All of the above have 1200 nodes spaced accordingly.

JR

[Box on Rails]

21 hours ago, dibblejr said:

The closer the viewer the closer the pixels need to be.

Keep in mind that unless running P5/10 panels videos of these tight pixels will be nothing more than a blur.

JR. The maximum viewing range of the Matrix on my house would only be about 40 feet. What spacing would be best for the 20 to 40 foot range. It sounds like the P5/10 would be best but I already blew my budget this year so I am trying to make this 50x32 matrix work for 2021. What do you think?

[dibblejr]

44 minutes ago, Box on Rails said:

JR. The maximum viewing range of the Matrix on my house would only be about 40 feet. What spacing would be best for the 20 to 40 foot range. It sounds like the P5/10 would be best but I already blew my budget this year so I am trying to make this 50x32 matrix work for 2021. What do you think?

Here is my golf cart matrix. The nodes are a tad over 1/2” centers. 24x50 1200 nodes

The second video is when I pace it off. 
Im not a P5/10 matrix fan. 

 

Edited June 29, 2021 by dibblejr

[Box on Rails]

Jr. Those videos were very informative.  I got the 1 inch spacing net coming. I'll use that this year and see how it goes. Thanks again. 

[k6ccc]

JR is not a fan of P5 / P10 matrix panels, but I am very happy with mine.  No way that you can get the resolution of even a P10 matrix with individual pixels.  And would you really want to hand stuff the 12,288 pixels that are in my P5 matrix if you were trying to do it with individual pixels?

If you ultimately want to look into P10 or P5 matrix panels, feel free to ask.

 

[Box on Rails]

19 hours ago, k6ccc said:

JR is not a fan of P5 / P10 matrix panels, but I am very happy with mine.  No way that you can get the resolution of even a P10 matrix with individual pixels.  And would you really want to hand stuff the 12,288 pixels that are in my P5 matrix if you were trying to do it with individual pixels?

If you ultimately want to look into P10 or P5 matrix panels, feel free to ask.

 

 I think using pixel nodes for the Matrix is going to work for me this year But 2022 is getting close. Jim. where is the best place to purchase the Panels and can S5 sequence a 12,000 plus pixel matrix?

[k6ccc]

1 hour ago, Box on Rails said:

 I think using pixel nodes for the Matrix is going to work for me this year But 2022 is getting close. Jim. where is the best place to purchase the Panels and can S5 sequence a 12,000 plus pixel matrix?

I bought my P10 panels from Ray Wu and the P5 panels from https://cfolights.com/  ALWAYS buy spares because just like pixels, there are color variations between batches.  And yes, I am sequencing my 12,288 P5 matrix and my 6,144 pixel P10 matrix in S5.

 

[Dennis Laff]

I'm also not a big fan of using pixels for a matrix after spending  hours building one   years ago was disappointed with the image that was displayed.so i replaced it with p5 panels big  improvement in visual images .if you remember Jim (k6cc) I sold you all the pixels from my matrix   Dennis L

[k6ccc]

6 minutes ago, Dennis Laff said:

If you remember Jim (k6ccc) I sold you all the pixels from my matrix   Dennis L

I do remember.  Some are in service and some still in a box in the garage.  Most will eventually get used, but not on a matrix.  My pixel tree is 2,600 individual pixels (26 strings of 100), but that is the only matrix I will ever build that is not P10 or P5 based.  So much easier to build and looks far better.

 

 

[dibblejr]

53 minutes ago, Dennis Laff said:

I'm also not a big fan of using pixels for a matrix after spending  hours building one   years ago was disappointed with the image that was displayed.so i replaced it with p5 panels big  improvement in visual images .if you remember Jim (k6cc) I sold you all the pixels from my matrix   Dennis L

It’s been a while.

JR

[Dennis Laff]

Hi JR  been busy with other hobbies but will try to attend your next zoom meeting Dennis