Christmas Light Pixels are unique in the fact that we can control them via a computer…but not directly.

While our computer will put out a DMX, Art-Net, or e1.31 (sACN) type signal, our pixels are not able to understand that information directly.  We can’t just plug them into the computer via USB!

Pixels need the information simplified for their use.

In between the computer the Christmas lights themselves, we need a pixel controller.

What is a Pixel Controller and How Does it Work?

At it’s simplest form, the pixel controller takes the data from the computer (usually running a sequencer program like xLights or Vixen, or a Rasberry Pi running FPP), and converts it into a format that pixels can use.

This “format” may be a variety of different protocols that may use either three or four wires to communicate the signal to the pixels.

The most important thing to understand when looking for a controller is that you need to match your controller to the type of pixels (the protocol) that you have bought or are planning to buy.

There’s nothing worse than buying a controller that’s not compatible with the pixels you bought!

As I mentioned before, it’s generally a safe bet to go with WS2811, WS2812, WS2813 or similar pixels.   Most controllers will work with these types of pixels, and they are the most popular type of pixels out there.

Other Things Pixel Controllers Can Do

Pixel controllers also can do a variety of other helpful things.

They can set a maximum intensity level for each string of pixels that are connected, and they can also do some fancy configuration to assign the exact data that you want to the exact lights that you want… especially if you didn’t wire everything the way that you intended when you first set up your software!

Often, the pixel controller that you buy will have multiple ports. This will allow you to drive multiple strings of pixels from that pixel controller.

Each string of pixels will have a maximum pixel count, usually 170, 340, 680, or 1020+ pixels.

Pay attention to this closely when you buy your controller – it will greatly govern the number of lights you can control overall!

Also, know that more is not always better – a bad pixel at the start of a 1000 pixel run hurts your show a lot more than a bad pixel at the start of a 340-pixel run!  But, on the other hand, using the full output capability of your controller saves you money – so it’s a tough balance to debate with yourself!

Each string of pixels that you hook to an output of your pixel controller can also be configured as to what “Universe” and “Channels” it uses from your computer’s sequencing software.

Each pixel needs to use its own channels, and channels work sequentially in universes.  A single port of a pixel controller can output multiple universes to control lots of pixels.

For each port, most pixel controllers will also provide some power to the pixels via a power supply that you connect to power them all.   

There are a lot of pros and cons to powering pixels from the controller versus from an external power distribution board, and we’ll get into that later article.

What Types of Pixel Controllers Are There?

There are two main types of pixel controllers that you will run into. The most common and older type that you’ll find is a standard pixel controller.

Standard Pixel Controllers

Just as I described above, these pixel controllers will take in the data from your computer via a network cable and convert it to pixel outputs, all within 1 “box”.

Controllers like these may have anywhere from 1 to 16 ports, and each port may be able to control anywhere from 170 to over a thousand pixels.

In the Christmas light world, these controllers usually come as a bare “board” that requires you to wire a power supply and the outputs yourself.

These connections happen via “terminal blocks”, or screw-down connectors that are attached via sockets to the controller board.  These allow you to supply your own, preferred type of connectors to plug in your pixels.

Some pixel controller brands offer “Ready to Run” controllers that are built inside of a waterproof case with a power supply and output plugs pre-attached.  This can be a time saver, but you need to make sure your pixels have the same connector as the controller before you buy!

Long-Range / Differential Pixel Controllers

The second type of pixel controller is a long-range style system. These are so much easier to work with, but I’ve got to give you a little background first so you understand why.

Long-Range, or “Differential” controllers, however, solve that problem for us.

They split the conventional pixel controller in half, with the processing done on a centralized board, and then receivers can be placed right next to your props for your pixel strings will plug into.

I also like to keep my differential controllers in a “safer”, more waterproof area, slightly further away from my pixels – under the carport or a porch works great and lessens the chance of any water getting in!

These receivers can often be hundreds of feet away from the central board. This is a win-win situation, and the great news is that these aren’t all that much more expensive than the regular older style of controllers.

Some examples of these types of controllers are the Falcon F48, and the Advatek Pixlite Long Range system.  In the professional world, we also use the ENTTEC Pixelator system, but that’s a little pricey and has a lot of power and features that we generally don’t need when we’re doing Christmas lighting!

What Pixel Controller Do I Need?

Figuring out what controller you need is where the rubber meets the road.

If you’re just planning to do a small display, and you can keep your pixel strings with around a maximum of 30 ft between any two pixels, you can probably get away with a smaller 4-port pixel controller.

This is what I started with, and these controllers can often drive up to three to four thousand pixels.

However, if you’re considering going with a bigger display, and/or want the benefits of the long-range differential style receivers, then you’re going to want to buy a long-range controller.

For example, with the Falcon controllers, one of the most popular brands in the Christmas lighting community, I can get (2) 4-Port controllers for $250 at the time of this writing.

For that same cost, I can get one F48 controller that drives up to 12 receiver boards, that each can drive (4) strings of  680 lights a piece. With the F48, I can add (2) receiver boards, and the total cost is just under $250, for about the same functionality…plus expandability!

We could dive into the weeds on this comparison, as you may have noticed that the two 4-port controllers can drive a few more pixels.

On the other hand, the Falcon F48 controller gives you that centralized processing, and easy setup with the receiver boards. Plus, you can expand your show as time goes on very inexpensively by just buying more receiver boards (up to 12).

So, for this reason, I recommend most people begin with a long-range or “differential” style pixel controller if you’re buying from scratch.

It’s how I’ve used pixels most in the professional world, and the little cost increase far outweighs the downside of the standard type controllers – the length limit on how far the WS2811 signal can go!

When it comes to creating great Christmas lighting, nothing beats the pixel.

When you go by someone’s house and see color changing and blinking “bulbs” that each change color, you’re seeing pixels.

Or you see a smooth, wave of color slide across a home – you’re seeing pixels!

Pixels are individually color-changeable lights which are all wired together.  They are different from regular Christmas lights because each light can change on its own.  This is unlike regular Christmas lights or even “dumb” LED lights that only change by the whole strand.

Having the ability to change each and every light is not only magical but also a great way to make a high-impact Christmas light display.

And because these lights give us total control, we can choose whether we want to be flashy and fast-paced, or slow and smooth – or any mix of the 2!

In this article, I’m going to share with you how pixels work and show you some examples of what they may look like so that you can begin the planning process of putting your first Christmas light display together!

How Christmas Light Pixels Work:

In simple terms, Christmas light pixels are controlled via a type of serial data from a pixel controller. This pixel controller is then controlled by some sort of DMX (RS-485), Art-Net or sACN (e1.31) console or computer.

Popular types of pixels run via protocols such as WS2811 (and WS2812, WS2813 and many other variants), APA102, and TM1804.

The “WS” varieties are the most popular, and a really great type of pixel to run so we’re going to focus on those here.

When given the signal from the pixel controller, the first RGB pixel takes three channels of information. One channel for red, one channel for green, and one channel for blue.

The microchip inside the pixel then passes the rest of the information along to the next pixel, who also thinks that it’s the first pixel in the line.

Because each pixel takes its three channels and strips them from the data stream, pixels are assigned their order based on how you plug them in.

This has some massive advantages and a slight disadvantage.

The Advantage

It means that when you’re setting up, you just plug in your lights in the order that you want to control them. Then, they just work, and self-address. On the side of the pixel itself, you don’t have any settings or numbers that you have to assign.

The Disadvantage

The disadvantage to this way of working (not that you have a choice with pixels), is that if you have a prop or section go bad and need to remove it, you must replace it with the same number of pixels before your show runs again – or else any pixels after the “bad prop” will get the wrong information!

Now that we’ve got the data sorted out,

Pixels Need Power Too…

While your pixel controller may or may not provide power, after a certain distance, you’re going to need to add in more power.

This is called Power injection.

Most commonly, you will see pixels that run off of 5v power or 12v power.  Without going into the weeds on the differences, just buy 12v LED’s, and your life will be easier 🙂

And while I could write a whole book on different methods and ways you can inject power, for now, it’s just important that to understand that you’re going to need to power these lights separate from the data, but you can insert power at any point in your pixel chain that you need to.

The simplest way to inject power is with a “Power Injection Tee” that many sellers of pixels offer.

These special adapter cables insert wherever you need to inject power.  They cut off the existing power while allowing the data to flow through the adapter and the new power is spliced in.  All without having to solder!

This also is a huge advantage over traditional, ”dumb”, RGB LED lights that can’t be re-injected with power for a long run!

What Types of Christmas Light Pixels are There?

Now that we understand the basics of how pixels work, what do they look like?

One of the cool things about pixel technology is that pixels themselves aren’t limited to one look or one type of light.

Below, I’ve listed a number of different types of pixels that you may run into and show you what they look like.  This by far isn’t a 100% complete list, but it does list the common types that you’ll see in most Christmas light displays.

As you think about the type of Christmas lights you might want to do on your home or business, the great thing is that you can mix any of these types together to make your show!

12mm Pixel “Bullet Nodes”

The most common type of pixel that you’re going to see is called the 12 mm “bullet” node.   

This is a simple, waterproof pixel that is on a wire and looks a good bit like traditional Christmas lights.

The advantages? These are very inexpensive, and quite simple to repair as well. I like these a lot and use them often.

There are also many “props” that are designed to mount this type of 12mm node (or the “square” type below), to make various shapes, colors, and outlines on your home.

The only real disadvantage I see is that they do leak a lot of light behind them, and installing them into your props can get a bit tough on your hands. 

Many places that sell pixels also offer “Pixel Pliers”, which do make this process a bit easier.  Or, you can throw a party and invite all of your friends to help if you’re mounting many pixels.  🙂

12mm Square Pixel Nodes

Square pixel nodes are pretty much the same as bullet nodes except they are placed on a little square that is a lot easier to install within various props.

Though these pixels cost a little bit more than the bullet nodes, they also don’t splash as much light back behind themselves. 

This can be an advantage when you want to highlight the pixel, but a disadvantage on some props that are purposefully white-colored to catch the light that splashes back!

So, if your budget allows for it, it’s a good idea to buy these if you want to save a little bit of frustration and get a little bit of a cleaner look.  At the time of this writing, it’s $2-$4 more for a 50 count string of square nodes, compared to the bullet nodes.

Personally, I’m on the fence. The cheapskate side of me keeps buying regular bullet nodes but I really do like the way that the square pixels appear and install, especially for house outlines!

Pixel Tape / Strips

Very popular in the entertainment industry as well as architecture, these are the first type of pixels that I was introduced to.

However, when it comes to using pixel tape or strips for your Christmas lights, it’s generally not a great idea.

Though waterproof strips exist, they often are not fully waterproof, or the waterproofing doesn’t last as you move around and work with the strips.

Also, doing repairs on pixels tape or strips is very difficult and time-consuming. Remember, we’re going to keep these things out in the rain, snow, wind, and other conditions, so it’s best to stick with other types of pixels that are much more repairable.

Pixel strips also are thinner, which requires you to inject power much more often.

Having worked with both the “cheap strips”, and the “expensive” architectural-grade strips, I can tell you that there is a major difference between what you get in a $20/5m strips vs a $200/5m strip.  The inexpensive stuff that many of these holiday pixel vendors sell is very fragile and difficult to work with.

For this reason, I usually recommend going with a different type of pixel for Christmas lighting, because it’s just much less frustrating!

Pixel Modules

Similar to the square pixel nodes, pixel modules are available in a variety of form factors, often with a flat back.

These models are often waterproof, and what sets them apart is the fact that you have multiple LEDs within each pixel. So, they’re larger and brighter for each “pixel”.

An example module shown here contains three LEDs. so each module is a pixel, and these three LEDs are all controlled together – not individually.   And sometimes, that makes a lot of sense for the prop you’re designing!

These particular pixels come from the retail/sign-making industry and are often shipped without any plugs on them – just bare wire.  Keep that in mind when ordering and planning your display!

Pixel Floods

Pixel floods allow you to get a mini flood light to shine on your house and control it like a regular pixel.  

The fairly obvious thing that sets these apart, is that they do use a pretty good deal of power, compared to other types of pixels.

But, the effect is really cool.  Because they are many, many times brighter than a regular “bullet” pixel, they also cost a good deal more too.  But, only a handful of these can create a nice wash of light across your home or yard, as each pixel puts out a ton of light!

Pixel Bulbs

If you’ve walked through a home improvement store lately, you’ve probably seen bulbs like these. Individual color changing large-style Christmas light bulbs.

When you move into the pixel world, you can get the exact same thing. Individually controllable, but instead of plugging in the regular power, these will plug into your pixel controller.

These give you that classic look, with the full functionality of pixels.

If you are going to buy this type of lights, please buy them from a pixel vendor and not the home improvement store!

Many people have tried using the “home improvement store” pixel bulbs with their pixel controllers, and while you can get them to work – they’ve proven to be significantly less reliable for only a little less cost.

These are usually a standard 12mm bullet-type pixel with a decorative lens on top.  Sometimes, you can buy these in icicles and other form factors as well.

Anything You Can Imagine!

The crazy thing about pixels is that they literally can be any shape or size. 

While these are the most common types you’re going to see, if you really look around you’ll find some really interesting shapes that you can make a part of your display!

Where Do I Buy Christmas Light Pixels?

Now that we’ve covered the types of bulbs that there are, and you’ve got an idea of what pixels you want to buy, where do you buy them?

You’re not going to find these at your local home improvement store. However, this doesn’t mean they’re overpriced, just slightly uncommon.

When you’re just getting started, my recommendation is to buy through a Christmas light vendor. For that, I’ve had great success with our DIY LED Express, and Wired Watts.   There are others as well, but don’t waste your day comparing them – there are many with similar quality products.  Find somewhere that works for you, and stick with it!

You can also buy pixels on Amazon, but you’ll pay too much, and products change so much on Amazon that you’ll have trouble getting matching pixels over time.  Trust me, I know this from experience!  Not good!  🙁

You can buy directly from China as well.  However, it’s much easier to buy from someone here in the states. 

Then, the vendor in the state takes care of making sure the quality is up to par and the products are consistent – an issue that many people have had when buying directly from China!

Consistency is key, and every detail of the pixel must be clearly communicated with the factory – from the type and size of wire, LED, plugs, quantity, etc.

Even with specifying all of this information, I’ve seen some occasions where folks still find something “new” has been added or changed since their previous order without notification.  And you don’t know until you open the box that was delivered to your doorstep!

That’s why, in my mind, it’s best to order from a US importer like the ones I mentioned above, especially when you are first starting.  It saves you a TON of details, at little extra cost!

Tip: If you’re buying a lot of pixels (multiple thousand), buy during a early-season “pre-sale” or email and ask the vendor for a custom quote – you’ll be glad you did!

Have you ever driven by one of those houses that does the Christmas lights to music and thought “I wish I could do that!” ?

You and me both!  

On the outside, it seems like making a music-coordinated, color changing light display would be difficult…maybe even near impossible, and certainly only for the geekiest folks in the world.

The truth is, not only is creating a great, dynamic Christmas light display possible, it’s not more complicated than you can handle, and it doesn’t have to be expensive.

In this article, I want to share with you how I learned to create my first display, and show you what tools you need and a basic idea of how it works together.

Sound good?  Let’s dive in!

What Do You Need?

Ordinary Christmas lights work by simply lighting up a strand of lights when power is applied. It’s likely you put some of these lights up on a tree or on the outside of your house or at least seen it in your neighborhood.

You may also have seen that house down the street or in the other neighborhood where these type of lights that turn on and off as a whole strand, are synchronized to music. Pretty cool!

But what you may also have seen is the next generation of Christmas lights – pixels!

These lights, which are not as expensive as they look, are able to be individually turned on and off and change color.

While the sequencer/computer for both types of Christmas lights may be the same computer, the way that they’re controlled between the computer and the actual lights themselves is quite different.

So, why am I going into all this?

After all, I said I was going to tell you what you need to get started making a great Christmas light display.

The reason why I’ve gone into all this is that it’s important to have a basic understanding of how pixel lights vary from traditional Christmas lights.  While they may look similar when they’re on a house and all on in a single color or white, they’re actually quite different.

I’m going to focus on pixel lights here because they give you the most bang for your buck. The fact is, the ability to individually control each light, and then run videos and effects across them is immensely powerful and impactful.

So, what do you need?

Pixels

The first thing you need are some lights…or pixels!

Now these pixels can taking many forms, but the most common is called a pixel node. (Example)

These pixel nodes are driven by a protocol like WS2811, or a similar type of data.  Understanding this is not super important, as long as you verify that your controller and your pixels both speak the same language!

What other types of pixels are there?  Well, there are lots, and you can learn more about all of the common types here!

Controller

What is important is understanding that these pixels need to be driven by what’s called a pixel controller.

A pixel controller takes the information that comes from a computer or professional lighting controller and turns it into a type of signal that the pixels can listen to.

Once the data leaves the pixel controller, power is then “injected” and fed to the pixels themselves with the data.  The great thing about pixels is that they are self addressing – no buttons or menu’s to press on the pixels themselves!

Here is one popular company that makes controllers.

Computer/Mini Computer

Last, in a simple system, you then need some sort of computer to control the lights.

Most people are going to be programming using a computer program called xLights, or another called Vixen.

These are the two most popular and also free sequencing programs for Christmas lights.

The computer will be connected via a very simple network (as simple as just a network cable!) to your pixel controller, which will then be connected to your pixels along with power.

When you give the pixels an animation or another command from the computer, they’ll do as you say.  Once you program your lights, you can run your show on the computer or via a mini-computer called a Raspberry Pi.

This is somewhat of a simplified explanation, and there are more things that you’ll find that you’ll need as you go along. But, these are the basics.

So, if you’re just getting started, take a breather – because I know that was a lot of information!

Then, come back for more information here on Learn Christmas Lighting, and I’ll teach you how to create a great Christmas lighting show for your home.

It’s just a few weeks before Christmas 2018, and I wanted to take this opportunity to really document and recap what I’ve installed for Christmas this year.

If you’re new to Learn Christmas Lighting, you can learn more about me here.  I’ve been working with pixels and stage lighting as my career for over 10 years, and over 2018, I decided to make my first, synced to music, Christmas light display.

So, I bought some pixels.  For this first year, I bought 300, 12mm 5v Pixels from DIYLEDEXPRESS, and at the last minute added an additional 200, 12v “Amazon pixels” for the tree inside.

Here’s what my display looked like for this “first” display:

Like any project I get into, my plans started basic and got considerably more complex as time went on.  🙂

I started off the year mid-summer, and figured I’d build a basic display and do some very basic scenes and transitions between them, but nothing fancy or synchronized to music.

Then, in September I really started planning. I decided that if I was going to do this, I might as well do it right and do my limited number of pixels but fully synchronized to music.

Hardware

And that was the day I bought an FM transmitter.

After scouring the web, I decided to buy the Whole House FM transmitter 3.0.

Now, this particular transmitter has mixed reviews online, but so does pretty much any transmitter that you can buy.  There’s a lot of user error that goes into setting these up!  I found mine on eBay refurbished for a reduced cost.

Next, I decided on my layout.

I figured it’d be a good idea for the first year to outline the columns of my porch because that would allow me to both do some cool video like animations and also keep it simple.

While in my career in stage lighting I have deployed lots of pixels, I had never put out an installation in the rain for an extended period of time, so I thought it would be wise to keep it simple.

To mount the pixels, I went with Boscoyo Studios pixel strips.

I found these to be pretty amazing, really easy to use.

Because I outlined the outside of my columns I built a simple mount with some PVC pipes that I’ve in zip-tied the strips too. It worked really well.

To power the pixels, I used some waterproof Meanwell power supplies, in waterproof ammo boxes from Harbor Freight.

My indoor pixels used a no-brand12-volt power supply, and I also located my pixel controller there.

I went with the Advatek Pixlite 4 ECO, driven by an old PC that has a 3rd generation Intel i3 processor.

Software

When it comes to Christmas lights sequencing software, there are two main (free) options: Vixen and xLights.

I tried out those pieces of software and ultimately decided for this year to go with Vixen.

I found Vixen to be simpler to use and easy to get started as someone who’d while I have lighting experience I’ve never done Christmas lighting before. These pieces of software have a very different approach to programming compared to what I’m used to.

Outcome

Overall, I’m very happy with the way this display turned out. Having placed the pixels in vertical stripes allowed me to do some really cool stuff, and then the extra lights on the Christmas tree and added some extra fun. Plus my son loved watching the Christmas tree from inside every night.

Next year, I’m already planning a much larger display. I consider this year’s display a “proof-of-concept” – everything went great and now I’m ready to scale up to a much larger display for 2019.

Until then, I’ll be writing here sharing my knowledge on pixels and how to do a really great job of making an easy to maintain, fun to deploy Christmas light display. I hope you’ll join me!

Hi, I’m David Henry, and I think I’m addicted to Christmas Lights.

Seriously, though – it’s a ton of fun to impress my neighbors and inspire others with a captivating lighting display…on my house!  And this year, I’ve decided to dive in and do the “real deal” – FM radio and color changing pixels lights driven from a computer.

As I began to dive into the “how-to” in the Christmas Light world, I quickly realized that there is a place for my unique voice.  Why is that?  Because for the last 15 or so years, I’ve found Stage Lighting to be a passion of mine, and for since 2009, it’s been my full-time career!

And with working professionally and teaching stage lighting comes the knowledge of pixels.  Which is exactly what these new-fangled color changing Christmas lights work with – a match made in heaven!

Back to making Christmas lights happen…

As I dove in to various online forums, guides and how to’s, I realized that the perspective of *most* folks teaching Christmas lighting was from a very “Engineering” type perspective.

There’s nothing wrong with an Engineering/Mathematical brain or teaching, but it’s just not how my brain works, and I think there’s other people out there like me.

So, if you find your joy from soldering on circuit boards and following schematics – you’re not my kind of person – and that’s okay!

But if you want to make great Christmas lighting for your home, business or just for yourself, and you’ve found other guides too “techy”, “involved”, or “complicated”, I am here to create something for you.

I’m planning to write periodically to document my Christmas light displays, and also plan and teach how-to’s to make it all work together.

Sound like fun?  I think it’s going to be, and I hope you’ll join me!

-David Henry