LED Pixel Strip
Individually-addressable LED pixel strips (also known as pixel tape) have changed the landscape of lighting forever. Create amazing installations showcasing precise detail with ease, giving your audience an unforgettable and immersive experience.
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What are Addressable LED Pixel Strips?
Unlike traditional LED strips that display one color at a time, addressable LED pixel strips give you individual control over every single LED. This means you can create flowing rainbow effects and smooth color gradients, display video content across LED arrays, design complex patterns and animations, and build interactive installations that respond to music or motion.
With a constant voltage (CV) LED setup, every light in the chain has to do exactly the same thing at the same time. For instance – if one LED is red, then they all have to be red. Or if you want to dim your lights, they all have to dim simultaneously. While many great lighting effects can be created this way – such as the wall washes you might see on an old castle during a son et lumière event – sometimes you’re after more variety or movement in your design. This is where LED pixels come in.
How do they work? Each LED chip on the strip acts as an individual “pixel” containing RGB (3 colors) or RGBW (3 colors + pure white) diodes. Using a pixel controller, you can set each pixel to any of 16.7 million colors independently.
5V versus 12V explained.
The voltage of the strip that you choose largely depends upon what you’re trying to achieve with your installation. A 12V system is better for long runs of pixels because the additional overhead helps to counteract voltage drop. In fact, you’ll be able to extend your 12V system about twice as far as its 5V counterpart without losing output quality.
So, why might you choose a 5V system instead? Well, if power consumption is an important consideration. The power consumption of a 12V tape is typically higher than a 5V reel. Therefore, it’s best to calculate and understand the power availability of your system before making a purchase.
If you’re not sure which way to swing, don’t hesitate to talk with our experts who are always happy to help you decide which voltage would make the most sense for your unique installation.
RGB vs RGBW Pixel Strips: Making the Right Choice
When selecting between RGB and RGBW pixel strips, understanding their distinct advantages helps ensure you choose the perfect solution for your project.
RGB strips, which use three channels per pixel, excel at creating dynamic color effects, animations, and video walls. Their key advantage lies in channel efficiency – you can control 25% more pixels per universe compared to RGBW strips (170 pixels versus 128). While RGB strips produce white by mixing red, green, and blue at full intensity, this creates a cooler white tone that works well for effects-focused installations.
RGBW strips incorporate a fourth channel featuring a dedicated white LED in each pixel. This addition makes them ideal for architectural lighting, retail environments, and any application where true white light quality matters. The dedicated white channel delivers beautiful warm-to-cool white tones that RGB simply cannot match. The trade-off is that RGBW strips consume more control channels, reducing the total number of pixels you can control per universe.
Making your decision becomes straightforward when you consider your primary application. Choose RGB strips if your focus is on creating colorful effects, animations, or dynamic displays where white is used sparingly. On the other hand, RGBW strips are the better choice when you need quality white light for ambiance alongside colorful accents – think restaurants, galleries, or architectural features that transition from daytime white to evening colors.
Still weighing your options? Our technical team understands that every project has unique requirements. Contact us for personalised recommendations based on your specific installation needs, control system, and creative vision.
ENTTEC LED pixel strips: because quality matters.
Manufactured to the highest quality, our individually-addressable digital LED pixel strips come in a range of voltages and grouping types. Choose from 12V or 5V varieties of 30 or 60 RGB or RGBW LEDs per metre depending upon the requirements of your project.
We custom-design our own PCB layouts and use extra-wide 3oz copper tracks to ensure minimal voltage drop and maximum performance. All of our Pixel strips feature a 32-bit, True Color display, Scan frequency of 400Hz+/s and adhesive backing for easy installation.
With their lightweight, space-saving design, ENTTEC has an LED pixel strip for every project. Also, don’t forget that our friendly customer service team are here to help if you run into any trouble or have any questions.
Explore our 5V LED pixel strip
Explore our 12V LED pixel strip
Channel-saving strips engineered for long-range installations.
On our 12V 8PXB60-RGB-12V and 8PXB60-RGBW-12V series strips, every consecutive group of three SMD chips behave as one pixel.
This means that you can free up extra channels to triple your output capabilities. So, it’s perfect for controlling longer setups without sacrificing brightness or the ability to program high-resolution content.
Explore our 12V long-range LED pixel strip
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