Pixel Addressable LED Strip Comparison: DMX512 vs. SPI

When you walk in the modern city at night, you will see the exterior walls of many buildings are brightly lit and colorful. Some lights change, like running lights, running water, or chasing. Meteor showers, flash flashes, etc., create a wonderful scene of various lights, and the change of lights is breathtaking.

In fact, the light to achieve these functions is with the magic light belt and programming to achieve; the light belt is equipped with a variety of colors, such as red, blue, and green LED light beads, and then through the controller and programming to achieve a variety of change effects. The connection between the controller and the light belt transmission is generally DMX512 and SPI 2. How are they transmitted and controlled? Let’s find out more:

What are Pixel Addressable LED Strips?

Pixel Addressable LED Strips are multi-functional, intelligent LED light belts mainly used for lighting and decoration that can provide rich color effects and a variety of control methods.The pixel RGB led strips are RGB, RGBW, RGBWW, and other types of lamp beads equipped with IC chips. Each pixel has an IC chip. In the entire system, each pixel can be changed in terms of color, brightness, etc., thus forming rich running effects such as horse racing, running water, shooting star trailing, scanning, etc. For the LED singular light strip screen, it can also display more complex effects such as text, pictures, and videos.

The pixel addressable led strip has the following characteristics:

1. Colorful changes: The most significant feature of Pixel Addressable LED Strips is that it can show colorful changes of light and shadow. It usually contains a variety of red, green, blue and other LED lamp beads, by adjusting their brightness and color mixing ratio, you can achieve a rich and colorful light effect, creating a unique visual experience.

2. Dynamic effect: Pixel Addressable led strip has a variety of dynamic effects, such as gradient, jump, breathing light, etc. These effects can be controlled via remote control or a smartphone app to create a flowing, changing light and shadow on the strip, adding to the ambiance of the room.

3. Music synchronization: Some of the Pixel Addressable LED Strip have a music synchronization function, which can adjust the color and light effect according to the rhythm and frequency of the music, providing a more dynamic lighting effect for the concert venue, party or video and audio entertainment room.

4. Strong flexibility: the Pixel Addressable LED Strip can be cut or extended as needed to adapt to different application scenarios. At the same time, it also supports the adjustment of brightness and color temperature, so that users can adjust the lighting effect according to their needs.

5. High brightness and energy saving: The LED lamp beads used in the Pixel Addressable LED Strips have high brightness and can provide bright lighting effects. At the same time, due to its high energy efficiency, it can provide bright light while consuming less energy, helping to reduce energy costs.

6. Easy programming: The Pixel Addressable LED Strip is a programmable communication full-color LED lamp bead, with easy programming, high brightness of the lamp bead, long service life and other advantages. It can achieve the display of built-in IC lamp beads through serial signals, asynchronous control lines, etc., to display text, pictures, animation, water, horse racing, gradient and other arbitrary effects.

The Pixel Addressable LED Strip has two types of built-in IC and external IC. The built-in IC has higher integration and better control effect, while the external IC may have higher flexibility and scalability in some application scenarios.

Introduction to DMX512 and SPI Protocols

DMX512‌ is a digital signal transfer protocol that allows the control of light devices, including LED strips, by digital signals. The DMX512 protocol is proposed by the American Stage Lighting Association (USITT) to provide a standard communication protocol between the lighting controller and the lighting equipment. This protocol allows the user to send signals through the console to precisely control various parameters of the lighting device, such as brightness, color, movement mode, etc.Due to the parallelism of DMX in data transmission, it is well suited for long-distance communication.

SPI (Serial Peripheral lnterface, Serial Peripheral Device interface) communication protocol, is a synchronous serial interface technology proposed by Motorola, is a high-speed, full-duplex, synchronous communication bus, in the chip occupies only four pins for control and data transmission.It is a common yet non-standardized protocol used in various electronic devices. It transmits data serially, so any damage to any IC can affect the corresponding ones. These LED strips are ideal for short-distance but not suitable for long runs.

DMX supports up to 512 channels per universe, while SPI can support only a limited number of channels per data line (typically up to 1024 pixels). And DMX LED strips can control each RGB channel, while SPI LED strips may only have a single channel control for color and brightness. This means that DMX is better suited for controlling large-scale lighting projects, while SPI is better suited for smaller, more simple projects.

What Is DMX512 Addressable LED Strip?

DMX Led strip adopts asynchronous parallel, DMX Led strip asynchronous serial communication protocol transmits data without clock signal, using data packets with start bit and stop bit.

The DMX512 addressable Led bar can display multiple colors in a single light bar, so you can precisely adjust the brightness and color of each Led chip, so the DMX512 addressable ed strip is more suitable for dynamic lighting such as stage, building and event.

What Is SPI Addressable LED Strip?

The Spi Led strip uses a synchronous serial, communication protocol to transfer data between integrated circuits such as microcontrollers and peripherals. SPI Led strip Use the SPI protocol to control individual leds of addressable LED bars. After the LED strip directly receives the SPI signal, the color and brightness of the LED are adjusted accordingly.

DMX512 VS SPI Addressable LED Strip

1. Connection method: All DMX LED strips have 5 wires, two wires for power, two wires for data, and a special wire for address setting. SPI LED strips usually be 3 wires or 4 wires. The WS2811, WS2812, SK6812, TM1814 LED strips have 3 wires, and WS2813, WS2815, WS2818, GS8208 LED strips have 4 wires. The DMX LED strip wiring is more complex. You need to connect the DMX encoder to set up the address.

The above picture is from the Signliteled’s products, if you are interested in the above two addressable led strip products, please visit the Signlite’s website.

2.Application: Synchronous serial communication protocols of SPI led strips transmit data with a clock signal and are faster and more efficient.

The DMX512 addressable led bar is suitable for large projects. Commonly used in stage, theatre, architectural lighting, television, film production, nightclubs and entertainment venues. They are suitable for higher professional applications.

SPI addressable led bars are suitable for small installations, they offer greater flexibility and are easy to customize. These lights are widely used in signage, retail lighting, interactive art and wearable technology. Compared with led stript, SPI led strips are generally more affordable than DMX addressable led strips, making them a popular choice for DIY and hobbyist projects,SPI lamp belt price will be smaller, the cost advantage is obvious.

3. Signal transmission: DMX uses parallel signal transmission, strong anti-interference ability, suitable for long-distance transmission, but once a pixel point signal is interrupted, it will not affect the transmission of subsequent signals.

SPI uses series signal to transmit data, which is only suitable for short-distance transmission; Any IC damage will affect the continued transmission of the signal. These LED bars are ideal for short distances, but are not suitable for long distance transmission.

4. Control mode: DMX controls the change of light mode through the output signal of the controller, which can be built-in to the controller or manually edited. The SPI usually controls the working state and mode of the external device through the instructions of the microcontroller .

Different list：DMX512 Led strip VS SPI Led Strip

Item	DMX LED Strips	SPI LED Strips
Control Method	Asynchronous serial	Synchronous serial
Number of Channels	Up to 512 per universe	Limited (up to 1024)
Data Transmission Speed	Slow (250 Kbps)	>800kbps, up to 2 Mbps
Pixel Transmission Distance	Longer (up to 500m)	Shorter (limited by signal)
Wiring Complexity	Complex	Simple
Communication Standard	Unified	Not unified
Break Continue Function	Yes	Depend on IC type
Cost	Higher	Lower
Application	stage, concert, club (large scale high end lighting)	retail showcase, home, DIY (small lighting decoration)

How to Control DMX512 vs. SPI LED Strip

DMX512 light strip control process

1. Setup and control‌: First, you need to have a console or decoder that supports the DMX512 protocol. Through this device, users can edit and set different lighting scenes, including color changes, brightness adjustments, light movement patterns, and so on. These Settings can be done through the console’s interface, or they can be programmed to implement more complex control logic.

2. Connect device: Connect the console or decoder to the LED strip. This is usually done via a specialized connection wire, such as an RDM wire, which ensures that the signal is transmitted correctly to the LED strip.

3. Program and run‌: Program on the console or decoder to define how each LED strip should respond to the received signal. This includes setting the specific parameters of the light strip, such as color, brightness, flicker frequency, etc. After the programming is complete, these preset scenes can be launched from the console, or the lighting effects can be adjusted in real time according to music, performance, etc.

4. Monitoring and adjustment: During the performance or activity, the status of the LED light strip can be monitored in real time through the console and adjusted as needed. This includes checking that the light strips are working properly and if you need to fine-tune the preset scenario according to the actual situation.

I.DMX512 LED Strip Wiring Diagrama:

The attached picture shows that the led strip is directly connected to the DMX512 controller, which is used with the R9 remote control. The command is issued through the remote control, and the data line should be 2PIN-3PIN. The DMX512 controller is directly connected to the LED STRIP decoding chip: TM512, SM19522PHG, UCS512, SM17500P, H1512A, etc., so that the light can make 32 different change modes.

Dynamic mode list

No.	Name	No.	Name	No.	Name
P01	Red horse race white ground	P12	Blue White chase	P23	Purple float
P02	Green horse race white ground	P13	Green Cyan chase	P24	RGBW float
P03	Blue horse race white ground	P14	RGB chase	P25	Red Yellow float
P04	Yellow horse race blue ground	P15	7 color chase	P26	Green Cyan float
P05	Cyan horse race blue ground	P16	Blue meteor	P27	Blue Purple float
P06	Purplehorse race blue ground	P17	Purple meteor	P28	Blue White float
P07	7 color multi horse race	P18	White meteor	P29	6 color float
P08	7 color horse race close +open	P19	7 color meteor	P30	6 color smooth sectionally
P09	7 color multi horse race dose +open	P20	Red float	P31	7 color jump sectionally
P10	7 color scan close +open	P21	Green float	P32	7 color strobe sectionally
P11	7 color multi-scan close +open	P22	Blue float

The above is just a small DMX512 connection, if you need to connect more LED STRIP control can be connected to more controllers, which is enough for a small place control. Of course, if you feel that the 32 changes are not enough, for example, you want to control more large stage lights, you can connect the computer or DMX Master for more detailed control and changes, the specific connection refer to the following circuit II:

II.DMX512 LED Strip Wiring Diagram

SPI LED strip control process

To convert DMX signals to SPI signals, you need to use a DMX-SPI decoder. The DMX-SPI led decoder parses the signals from the DMX controller and converts them into a format suitable for SPI communication. In this way, each addressable LED is able to display a specific color and brightness based on the dmx512 data.

I. SPI LED Strip Wiring Diagram:

This connection is usually paired with a panel controller or remote control, which makes it easier to use. When the user controls, just press the remote control, you can output 512 signals, and output SPI signals through the decoder. Control up to 32 color variations, including racehorse, Chase, Flow, trail or gradient styles. ((See the figure above: Dynamic model list for specific changes)

II. SPI LED Strip Wiring Diagram:

Dmx-SPI signal decoder, you can understand it as SPI signal controller, because in addition to the DMX512 into SPI (TTL) digital signal, in addition to its own built-in programming 32 kinds of change mode, the front end does not need to input DMX signal can control each channel of the LED light to achieve 0-100% dimming or editing various change effects.It has 32 change modes and can also be used as a simple SPI controller.

When installing the addressing led strip light, the SPI controller is best installed next to the power supply. SPI controller is too far away from the power source, which will affect the stability of the control signal to a certain extent.,If the power of the addressable led strip is too high, we are recommended that the SPI controller and led strip to be powered separately. It makes the control signal more stable.

The SPI series controllers used by Signliteled have RF 2.4G, WiFi and DMX512 control options. Compatible with 49 chips, can control a variety of SPI on the market led strip. We produce all kinds of address led strip, including 5050, COB, etc., and support the economical controller, if necessary, please contact us, you will get more help.

DMX or SPI, Which is better?

With the above introduction, when you are faced with the choice between DMX and SPI led strips, you should have a certain understanding that it is fist important to consider factors such as installation and commissioning complexity, the level of control required, the scalability of the project, and the specific features and functions required. Ultimately, the choice will depend on the specific needs and requirements of your project, and both DMX LED strips and SPI LED strips offer a range of advantages and disadvantages that make them suitable for different types of applications.

DMX led strip are usually used for professional control, requiring a controller and decoder when controlling large lamps. In small projects, only a simple controller is needed to achieve the effect, which can accurately control the color and brightness of each pixel, SPI LED strips are easy to set up and use, and can be controlled directly by a microcontroller or LED driver. From the installation point of view, SPI is relatively simple, and the price of the led strip much lower than the price of DMX, for most small applications, it is recommended to choose SPI led strip, if it is a large project, it is recommended to choose DMX led strip.

Conclusion

Are serial transmission digital signal transmission brightness information.DMX has industry standards, and SPI is generally customized by manufacturers. This DMX luminaire should be better compatible. DMX is the address selection, dimming signal parallel input; SPI is generally serial forwarding. So there is no single point of system failure in the former, but address capacity is the problem.

In summary, the Pixel Addressable led Strip with its colorful, dynamic, energy saving, flexibility and other characteristics, in the lighting market has been widely concerned and loved. Whether used for home decoration or commercial lighting, address light strips can bring users a unique visual experience and lighting effects.