matrix panels

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boarder3

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Right now i use pixel strings to make a matrix its 24 x 39 its very big but i still dont like the outcome of it i want it to be more like a tv. Now i seen these https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12584
these seem to use Arduino which i know noting about and i would like to connect 9-12 of them together. any help would be great please explain it like im a child i know nothing about this im good with blinky been doing it for 7 years just clueless when it come to Arduino
 
I would also be interested in this. I do not know anything about arduino, but they seem like they would make for a cheaper matrix. I am new to blinky flashy, but it looks interesting.

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Looks like a great price ($40 for 1000 RGB LEDS??) but OMG! Only 7.5" square!
I am pretty sure like most great prices on RGB LEDs they are not waterproof or even water resistant.
I honestly do not think you need that type of density. I'm guessing that pixels every 1" is probably best.

I have seen a lot of arduino controlling video screens on youtube, but since I never graduated college, it was above me and I gave up.
 
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john2571 said:
Ray sells a lot of these types of products. I am using about 50 of them next year for 3 3x3 foot led displays. You will need to make a waterproof case and a frame for them to sit on.
The panels I am using-
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro...32-16pixels-320mm-160mm/701799_866772137.html
Other LED screen hardware-
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/gro...unit-board-control-card/701799_210028161.html
Thanks
Click to expand...

I see that you can buy the controllers with the displays. Can you use Vixen/Xlights to drive them, or are you going to just trigger them to update off the SD card?
 
john2571 said:
Ray sells a lot of these types of products. I am using about 50 of them next year for 3 3x3 foot led displays. You will need to make a waterproof case and a frame for them to sit on.
The panels I am using-
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro...32-16pixels-320mm-160mm/701799_866772137.html
Other LED screen hardware-
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/gro...unit-board-control-card/701799_210028161.html
Thanks
Click to expand...

Ray has a pretty crappy quality - His IP rated "waterproof" LED's just keep dieing :angry::angry::angry:
 
I'm using pixels now and I don't like it . I cant play a video in it and I got a nice amount of strings and there 3001 pixels. Granted its does ok images and text but hats it. I'm looking for the new ctrl level without of coarse getting killed on prie
 
I think that if your trying to achieve video quality you should look at projection..... Probably easier and cheaper in the long run.
At the end of the day were talking about a Christmas display.. Seems like were getting away from that and mimicking the billboard business.. II'm guilty of it as well..... Just my 2 cents.
 
I am playing video on my mega tree :)

edit: not movies , just for special effects .
 
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Every year, we are forced to up the ante, either by our fans, ourselves, our our perceived opinions of our fans. It is a sickness that we all have. (other wise we would still have static displays and/or be happy with what we did last year) We try to add something to the display to make it our own. I am the guiltiest of that (for my budget). I added a huge matrix last year and everyone loved it (parents always get nostalgic when they see scenes from the old Rudolph stop motion animations during Rudolph the Red Nosed Reigndeer, or Merry Christmas Charlie Brown during the Linus and Lucy sequence). It definitly had a sweet spot for viewing (which by luck was sitting in your car accross the street) but it was way brighter than any projector most of us would be willing to spend $$$ on and leave outside. (I had a very nice projector grow legs back in 2008) The two streetlights on either side of my house also make from some interesting projection issues.

Now, if you really want to build a screen, go for it!! It is your display! I think incorporated it well into last year's show and when new year's rolled around I pushed the envelope (for the programs I was using) to 15fps. It was very tedious, but looks great (you don't have to like the music, but watch the video in high def)

Now if you decide to use video I would suggest using video with sharp contrasts. Like the picture of a white box on a white screen isn't the best. The first video I used was from the Avicii Levels video, it is a hazy video and it did not show up well, but the rest looked great. I expecially like the Mortal Combat Game footage. I loved the matrix so much I brushed off the Easter Display from 2008 and incorporated it and used actual video game play from Pump it Up.

I dismantled the screen this year and instead created a pixelated 25' clock tower. Getting decent video this year was problematic. The 6' clock face (where there are no pixels) and the weird dimensions (150ish pixels high by 60ish, I really have no clue anymore) created "issues" that I really never cared to get resolved.

Whatever you decide to do, just make sure you want to do it! Good Luck!
 
I think the music (bleep), but the display looks awesome!

How did it hold up ? A lot pixels to repair ? Where did you buy the pixels ? I'm looking for options for next year
 
Lionking_Tx said:
I think the music (bleep), but the display looks awesome!

How did it hold up ? A lot pixels to repair ? Where did you buy the pixels ? I'm looking for options for next year
Click to expand...

I know, I know, either you love or hate the music.

That was a very simple array. I counted 7 bad pixels out of 3840. But they were easy to replace at ground level. And well, I am super lazy and do not bother with soldering them. This year I had a lot more, but I was not nice to them. I pulled them out of the coro that was a REALLY tight fit, then pushed them into different coro that was just as tight. I am really impressed I did not lose more. It just sucks to replace them 20ft in the air on a ladder in 30 degree weather in the middle of the night. Doing it safely during the day with a helper is just too mainstream and safe. I prefer to do it alone in the middle of the night that way if I fall and break something I freeze to death alone, in front of my house.

The Carol of the Bells Medley is probably what you are looking for in terms of music, maybe.
Merry Christmas!
 
i really liked your matrix but im sure you where in the area of 3 grand at least to achieve video quality. Thats to much thats when i saw these panels nice and close and only 39.00 i can get 30 of these wont be as big but video would be incredible since they are so close. 256 pixels in a 7 inch square thats is nice. i can get 25 of these and it will be 3ftx3ft and cost 936.00 i couldnt make a panel that would look this good.
 
But then for a grand... you could go buy a decent size tv..... figure a way to seal it from the elements.... Or... I could spend a grand for a new TV and sit inside my living room and watch it.. while the kids run candy canes out to the viewers...

Just my opinion...
 
WOW... and I thought I was doing big things this year :) I bought a ton of LED strip from Ray last year and have countless issues. Next year all of the LED strip will be gone.

This year I started adding LED tubes also from Ray (shown in the attached video). I built 5 - 1 meter-wide panels. They aren't super high resolution but I wasn't necessarily thinking video applications. So far they appear to be decent quality. I bought 132, and made sure I had a couple of spares. Out of the entire lot I think 3 have a weird pixel. They still don't hold a candle to the Stellascapes pixels on my mega-tree. I've run them 3 years and have 1 pixel that's stuck.

I move stuff around every year. I could potentially sell these and move to something a bit denser, but I like the self-contained tube approach. Having to build enclosures, waterproof and think about repairs keeps me awake at night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB52wQctXtM&noredirect=1
 
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