Discovering the World of RGB Lighting: Products, Setups, and Effects

1. Spotlight on RGB Drew Hickman

2. Spotlight On RGB Overview of many of the different RGB products available and how one can incorporate those products into a spectacular home holiday or seasonal display

3. What Is RGB RGB is an acronym for Red, Green, Blue. It is used to describe a wide selection of lighting products which can be used produce just about any visible color.

4. Topics Pixel definition Tool chain Dumb RGB and Smart/Intelligent RGB Lenses and types IP Rating Pixel chip families and why these are important Electrical power How smart pixels function

5. Topics Communication interfaces (Serial, Ethernet) and protocols Controllers Networking and IP addressing Bandwidth considerations Channels and universes Controller configuration Software Show playback options

6. What Is a Pixel Typically a pixel is a single RGB device which can be independently controlled in a given system

7. Tool Chain Dumb RGB devices Headend/playback device > serial cable > controller & power > dumb RGB devices Smart RGB devices Headend/playback device > serial cable > controller & power > smart RGB devices or Headend > data network > controller & power > smart RGB If any part of the chain is wrong it won’t work.

8. Dumb RGB RGB device or string lights which function as one pixel or 3 channels. All the lights work together and respond to the same 3 channels. Examples: dumb strings, dumb ribbons, etc. Challenge question: Wash and flood lights – dumb or smart?

9. Dumb RGB RGB device or string lights which function as one pixel or 3 channels. All the lights work together and respond to the same 3 channels. Ch 1, 2, 3 Ch 1, 2, 3 Ch 1, 2, 3 Ch 1, 2, 3 Ch 1, 2, 3

10. Smart RGB RGB light sources which can be independently controlled in a given system. May be arranged as a string, a collection of lighted blocks or modules, etc. Basically they are a collection of dumb RGB light sources, each with its own starting channel number.

11. Smart RGB Each light source responds to different channels. This is how it is possible to individually control each light on a smart RGB string. Channel 4, 5, 6 Channel 1, 2, 3 Channel 10, 11, 12 Channel 7, 8, 9 Channel 13, 14, 15

12. Dumb vs. Smart One easy way of spotting the difference between dumb and smart pixels is by looking for the chip in each module. Smart Dumb

13. Lenses and Types One has to consider the look or the type of lenses you want on your pixels. There are bullets, domes, C7’s C9’s, squares, rectangles, etc. Bullets Modules Modified bullet

14. Lenses and Types Domes Capsules Screw-in modules Pucks C7/C9 Globes & Tubes

15. IP Rating

16. Pixel Chip families Remember the small chips in the smart pixels? There are many different types of these chips. Here are some names and number of brightness levels they support: GE Color Effects – 4 Bit LPD6803 IC – 5 Bit (CCR’s) WS28xx IC – 8 bit (CCB’s and CCP’s are WS2801 @ 5V) WS2811/12 are the most popular and most wide-spread – 12V TM18xx IC – 8 bit TLS3001 IC – 12 bit CYT3005 IC – 12 bit INK1003 IC – 8 bit

17. Pixel Chip families The number of bits supported is important as it affects how smoothly the pixels will ramp and fade. The more bits the better (up to a certain point). 2^4 bits: 16 steps per color (16 x 16 x 16 = 4096 colors) 5 bits: 32 steps per color (32 x 32 x 32 = 32768 colors) 8 bits: 256 steps per color (256 x 256 x 256 = 16777216 colors) 12 bits: 4096 steps per color (4096 x 4096 x 4096 = 68719476736 colors) 24 bits: 65536 steps per color (65536 x 65536 x 65536 = a lot of colors)

18. Pixel Chip families The main reason it is important to know the pixel chip used by your pixels is so you can select which controller or controllers to use. You have to make sure the controller you use will support the pixel chip you have purchased. Some pixel types aren’t listed on a given controller because they can be controlled using the same protocol as other chips. For example WS28xx=TM18xx and CYT3005 = TLS3001.

19. Electrical Power It is vitally important to know how to calculate electrical loads, especially when using RGB devices. It is even more critical when assembling the components yourself from several different sources.

20. Electrical Power Its also important to use switching power supplies rather than regular, unregulated power supplies. AC voltage is what is provided by electrical utilities (usually high voltage >90VAC) DC voltage is what pixels require to operate (usually low voltage <60VDC) Tesla vs. Edison

21. Electrical Power The reason AC power transmission “won” over DC power transmission is because of voltage drop in DC applications. Yes, AC power transmission does suffer from voltage drop but not nearly as much as DC voltage. Pixels suffer from voltage drop, too, because they are low-voltage devices. AC Tesla vs. Edison DC

22. Electrical Power Voltage drop is why you have to inject power when using a high number of pixels per run and/or going long distances with a run. Another consideration – use higher voltage pixels (12VDC) rather than lower voltage pixels (5VDC) to help mitigate voltage drop. AC Tesla vs. Edison DC

23. Voltage Drop Voltage drop calculator: http://www.calculator.net/ voltage-drop-calculator.html AC Tesla vs. Edison DC

24. Power Injection Example of injecting power: Channel 4, 5, 6 Channel 1, 2, 3 Channel 10, 11, 12 Channel 7, 8, 9 Channel 13, 14, 15

25. Power Injection Or: Channel 4, 5, 6 Channel 1, 2, 3 Channel 10, 11, 12 Channel 7, 8, 9 Channel 13, 14, 15 Some manufacturers offer special power injection “T’s” to make this easy.

26. Electrical Power It’s important to plan out your display when it comes to using RGB pixels and the power they require. There are times when many smaller controllers (4 outputs) are better than one regular pixel controller (16 outputs) because of power distribution issues.

27. Electrical Power Watts = Volts x Amps (WVa = West Virginia) Calculate the mains power needed for low voltage devices by calculating wattage.

28. Electrical Power Example: 12VDC pixels and each is 0.04A How much power does 150 pixels need at 12VDC? Answer: At 120VAC? Answer:

29. Electrical Power Example: 12VDC pixels and each is 0.04A How much power does 150 pixels need at 12VDC? Answer: 6A At 120VAC? Answer:

30. Electrical Power Example: 12VDC pixels and each is 0.04A How much power does 150 pixels need at 12VDC? Answer: 6A At 120VAC? Answer: 0.6A

31. Electrical Power Example: 5VDC pixels and each is 0.035A How much power does 225 pixels need at 5VDC? Answer: At 120VAC? Answer:

32. Electrical Power Example: 5VDC pixels and each is 0.035A How much power does 225 pixels need at 5VDC? Answer: 7.875A At 120VAC? Answer:

33. Electrical Power Example: 5VDC pixels and each is 0.035A How much power does 225 pixels need at 5VDC? Answer: 7.875A At 120VAC? Answer: 0.328125A

34. Electrical Power • Wire size is very important! Not length but diameter or wire gauge (American Wire Gauge or AWG). • 3000 pixels which rated at 0.05A each need 150 amps of power. This works out to: • 750 watts at 5VDC! • or • 1800 watts at 12VDC!

35. Electrical Power AWG Amps 6 55 8 40 10 30 12 20 14 15 16 22 18 10

36. Tool Chain Smart RGB devices Headend/playback device > serial cable > controller & power > smart RGB devices USB-RS485 Wire size!

37. Electrical Power Divide and conquer! Use multiple power supplies and controllers. Look at what power supplies are available and how many pixels each controller can control. For example, there are 350W power supplies available. Keeping the load at no more than 300W provides a safety margin. If 5VDC pixels are rated at 0.05A then 300W can power 1200 pixels (60 amps). If using 12VDC pixels then 300W can power 500 pixels (25 amps).

38. Electrical Power Or: Channel 4, 5, 6 Channel 1, 2, 3 Channel 10, 11, 12 Channel 7, 8, 9 Channel 13, 14, 15 Some manufacturers offer special power injection “T’s” to make this easy.

39. Electrical Power A RGB tree is nice because all the pixels come back to one place and all the controllers can sit near the pixels. However, using RGB pixels for long runs needs to be planned and thought out. This is one of the big problems that cause RGB displays to fail prematurely. A good rule of thumb to use is to inject power every 100 pixels or 100 feet, whichever comes first.

40. Electrical Power Voltage drop summary Higher voltage pixels Power injection on long runs Large wire for power injection Multiple controllers Keep first pixel in any string close to controller

41. Prebuilt “Dumb” Products • Look for pre-built products from companies as they will have already sized and wired the power supplies, included them in the enclosure, and tell you how many strings or pixels you can run off of a given controller. • Dumb RGB controllers and product suppliers: • Advatek • HolidayCoro • LOR (available from Holiday Technologies) • Ray Wu/China • Others…

42. Prebuilt “Smart” Products Look for pre-built products from companies as they will have already sized and wired the power supplies, included them in the enclosure, and tell you how many strings or pixels you can run off of a given controller. HolidayCoro.com Light-O-Rama (available from Holiday Technologies) Advatek, Falcon, Joshua Systems, Minleon, Holiday Technologies, San Devices, and other companies…

43. Electrical Power Plan and calculate Calculate and plan Recalculate

44. How Smart Pixels Function Pixel strings work as bucket brigade devices. Data flows one direction; as it flows, each pixel takes the next available data and then repeats the data that is left over down the line. This continues until all the data has been exhausted or the end of the line has been reached.

45. How Smart Pixels Function Pixel strings can be repaired! Simply replace the bad pixel with another one, making sure the data flow is going in the right direction. This will restore the flow of data to the remaining pixels on a damaged string. Replacement pixel(s) has/have to use the same voltage and pixel chip type and wires have to be connected correctly.

46. Communication interfaces Serial Ethernet

47. Communication interfaces • Serial • Can go up to 1500 feet • Can have up to 32 devices attached • Slower data speeds (19.2Kb/s, 57.6Kb/s, 115.2Kb/s, or Gen3 speeds of 500Kb/s or 1000Kb/s) • Length inversely proportional to data speed • Can use daisy-chain • Ethernet • Can go up to 328 feet (100m) • 1 device at each end of a given cable • Higher data speeds (multi Mb/s or even Gb/s) • Can use star configuration • Wifi also in this category

48. Communication interfaces • Serial • DMX512 protocol - 250Kb/s • DMX is also called E1.11 • LOR protocol • Other custom protocols (i.e. Renard, PixelNet, etc.) • Devices can have duplicate addresses (Unit ID’s, DMX starting channel numbers, etc.) • DMX via Ethernet • Streaming ACN (sACN) also called E1.31 • ArtNET • Devices must have unique TCP/IP addresses but can service the same DMX universes

49. Communication interfaces The communication interface(s) you use will be driven by the pixels/light sources you choose and the hardware they require. It will also be driven by the software you choose to control your display.

50. Controllers Dumb RGB controllers are similar to AC light controllers – they take commands and turn outputs on and off. Smart RGB pixel controllers are basically protocol translators – they take commands and turn them into other commands that pixels understand.