Ambilight - "best" LED stripes

hi, i’d like to create some kind of ambilight to my TV.
Can someone tell me if this works with those: https://www.amazon.de/BTF-LIGHTING-Individuell-adressierbar-Traumfarbe-nicht-wasserdicht/dp/B01N0MA729/ref=psdc_3884370031_t3_B01CDTEJBG?th=1

and hyperion ng?

does it make sense to buy those where every LED is addressable?
guess rgb+extra white is better than “only” rgb?

edit: just noticed that they are only 5V, guess thats not enough ooomph resp. a lot of ampere will be required, maximizing heat. probably better go stick one of those: https://www.amazon.de/BTF-LIGHTING-2700K-3000K-Mehrfarbige-Lichter-Nicht-wasserdichtes/dp/B07G5CJ1LY/ref=psdc_3884370031_t4_B01N0MA729

I haven’t looked into that topic much but I think you need an open source framework to program such LED strips. It would be great if someone who has done this with Kodi would share their experiences.

I also would love to hear some recommendtions for buying strips from China via AliExpress. There are lots of cheap offers and it can be hard for the casual buyer to distinguish good from trash.

They do work, yes. I have SK6812s myself. They are good and bright, and the RGBW makes for better colour reproduction than straight RGB, especially when it comes to grey colours. SK6812 strips are pin-compatible with WS2812B and don’t require a separate white channel.

BTF strips are pretty good and one of the most common manufacturers. And they can be easily bought on AliExpress.

For an ambilight system, every LED needs to be addressable.

Regarding amperage, the length required for the back of a TV doesn’t have to deal with that much resistance and heat isn’t so much of a big deal (bright LEDs will always generate some degree of heat, regardless of voltage/amperage). Any LED strip though, regardless of voltage, needs a controller. That can be an Arduino attached to your box, or as in my case, a NodeMCU running WLED.

As such, that controller needs power. 5v LEDs make this much easier, as NodeMCUs, Arduinos and others often run on 5V. You want your LEDs on the same ground as your controller or you’re likely to have issues.

These won’t work : https://www.amazon.de/BTF-LIGHTING-2700K-3000K-Mehrfarbige-Lichter-Nicht-wasserdichtes/dp/B07G5CJ1LY/ref=psdc_3884370031_t4_B01N0MA729

They need to be controllable by the data sent from the device. Stick to the WS2812B or even better APA102. If you want a cheap and ready to go solution just buy one of these sets from Aliexpress - https://pl.aliexpress.com/item/32964959328.html

It comes with all needed things alongside with the power supply with required ampere power. It’s also compatible with Hyperion.ng as the “magic box” that comes with this set is just a clone of Arduino Uno R3 with Adalight compatible sketch. The only thing I did with mine is to upload a new Fastled sketch.
I did this because original one was working fine out of the box but it was slow with the amount of LEDs that I used.

You might be surprised that the data pin is connected to the power barrel but the device takes the power from the usb and data barrel is shorted with one of the pins used for data for the ease of setup. In my case it was connected to the pin 8 so you need to change the data pin in Fastled sketch to 8 if you decide to replace the Arduino sketch.

so i can not use the odroid n2 to also handle the LED managment? its required to have another box?

so for LEDs i would go with those: https://www.amazon.de/BTF-LIGHTING-ähnlich-Individuell-adressierbar-Nicht-wasserdichtes/dp/B07CCLVS8Y

i am just curious about that 5v power supply… should i check if there are some with 12v and then take 12v instead 5v?

I don’t believe the N2 has the baud rate required to control them. There was talk about SPI control, but I don’t know if that panned out.

You will likely get better results using some kind of controller, regardless. A NodeMCU literally costs about $5 and works quite well (with WLED installed) even though it’s on wifi.

This topic was automatically closed 91 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.