I’m working on a new installation based off a previous one that maps LED’s to a 3-dimensional structure. The previous project was a tetrahedron with 6 segments of individually mapped LEDs. The Pixel Pusher worked well with its 8 outputs. I’m working with a cube this time around which has 12 segments. This is a choreographed show to music and the lights animate around the structures in different ways so each needs to be controlled separately.
I’d like to upgrade to DMX control over ArtNET or sACN which sounds to be more modern. The PixLite 16 sounds like it’ll fit the bill but I wanted to see if there’s anything else out there potentially on a smaller budget. I’ve read about Falcon and a couple others I’m forgetting now. There’s DMXKing but they seem limited to 4 outputs.
It would be great to get something that can expand down the road if needed for bigger installs. And potentially add traditional straight DMX lighting into the mix. Another goal is to get more control of brightness levels out of the LED strips for subtle fades. Not sure if this is on the controller side, the LED strips or both.
You’ll probably find your dreamed controller while reading that online collaborative file.
The “controllers” tab will give you a lot of informations about what you’re looking for, including if it’s wired or wireless controller, supporting or not ArtNet and SACN, number of outputs, voltage allowed, etc…
Whoah! This is gold! Thanks for sharing. I’m sure I’ll find what I’m looking for and them some in this doc. And if I can find any way to contribute, I definitely will.
Hey Ben, I remember when you brought that TetraLume up to LA, glad to see you are getting back into it again!
The PixelPusher is probably the most antiquated of controllers but probably was the best choice when you first got started doing this. I am a little dissapointed that Advatek has raised the prices on the original PixLite16 so much, but that is almost exactly what you would need for Addressable LED and DMX output simultaneously. The new Advatek controllers are really nice, but yeah, very expensive too.
Also I haven’t tried it yet but there is a cheap-ish ArtNet controller I have seen on Amazon that can do 16 outputs (no DMX out) for around $230: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09XB4QTGT
Honestly I would say go for the AlphaPix Modular system, seems to be the cheapest / most versatile and expandable. You can start with just the main controller and one or two output cards and then expand later with the differential cards (for longer range)
Regardless let us know how it goes and if you will be back up in LA with it anytime soon!
also yeah thanks for sharing this. lots of info and opportunities to OCD clean up data
I already added the controllers I mentioned above (surprised they weren’t on there) and cleaned up the entry for TouchDesigner in the Software section (it was listed twice!)
I kinda want to try porting this spreadsheet over to AirTable or something a little more versatile and structured than Google Sheets… may be time to actually use my “WikiLEDia.net” domain…
Really appreciate all the recommendations and info. I actually went forward and ordered the PixLite 16 before I saw your response. It feels like the right move for what I’m trying to achieve with this install and looks like it can grow with whatever is next. I’ll for sure keep the other controllers in mind and give them a look. Love the mix and match approach of AlphaPix. Super convenient.
That was actually my partner Kyle who brought up the smaller Tetralume structure way back when. I couldn’t make it to that event. I heard there’s an LAVA anniversary event happening sometime soon. Is that right? Would be rad to come hang and bring up some lights.
It depends on your location, but in Germany there is this brilliant shop from Uli Radig, and he literally has everything one can dream of to control LED Pixels via DMX. Delivery within EU seems to be flawless, but I don’t know about how it is for countries outside EU:
It makes me mad that I discovered this shop so late, there are some unbelievably great gems there, such as an 8 universe ArtNet node, a 32 universe Pixel Controller etc. etc.
