programmable LED matrix, looking to make images, video

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boduse
 
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programmable LED matrix, looking to make images, video

Post by boduse »

Hello,
Well I'm totally new here and completely inexperienced with your products, have little to no knowledge of arduino's nor programming your LED lights and am about to start on an extremely complicated large scale LED matrix project using flexible LED lights that are individually programmable.
I have a couple basic questions to lead me in the right direction of research, but first I'd like to explain what I'm doing, and the function of this object to see if it is possible using your technologies and LEDs.

Concept:

I'm looking to construct a 'blanket' built out of parallel LED light strips that are attached to a flexible substrate creating a matrix of LEDs approximately 6 ft x 9.5 feet. This blanket will be connected to an Arduino and a couple other computers in order to be able to stream images, and if possible lo res video, onto the 'blanket'. I need the object to be reasonably durable, be able to bend easily and often, and be able to connect to some sort of normal computer for uploading imagery. This object will be used by a touring musician.

Anywho, a large undertaking I realize. So my first questions are:

-Is this even possible with current technology from your company
-Which programmable LED lights should I be building this off of, I want a decent 'resolution' so I'll need something with at least one led per inch, I'd prefer 2 - 3.
-Is there already anyone doing this with your LEDs? if so are the programmed elements opensource?
-What parts am I looking at using beyond the arduino? do you have native software?
-What obvious flaws am I forgetting about in this idea that I need to really think over before i get myself into a huge
unsolveable mess.
-What sort of costs of materials am I looking at for this entire project? is it under 3 thousand? 5 thousand? 10 thousand?

Thanks so much for all of the information you can provide, I promise to keep this thread updated with pictures and all that jazz if this project turns into a reality.

-Daniel

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: programmable LED matrix, looking to make images, video

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

Whew! That's a big project.

You're probably looks at using NeoPixel or DotStar strips at 60 pixels/meter. Your blanket is about 2 x 3 meters, which gives you about 21600 pixels. (360 meters)
https://www.adafruit.com/product/1461
https://www.adafruit.com/product/2239

The only Arduino that has enough memory for that many pixels is the Arduino Due
http://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoBoardDue
https://www.adafruit.com/product/1076

Power will be a challenge. At max white brightness, each pixel draws 0.06A at 5V. For 21600 pixels, that's about 1300A, or 6500 watts. You'll want to get a qualified electrician involved in this.

The next problem will be data transfer. With NeoPixels, It will take about 650 milliseconds to push out the data to all those pixels. Plus you'll have to get the data from the PCs to the Due, which will also take some time. Then there's the overhead of processing that much data on the Due. Let's say that you can do one frame/second, maximum. That's not really good enough for video. DotStars are considerably faster, but you'll still run into the limits of the Due. You may be able to get low-framerate video out of Dotstars

We have a LED matrix library that will take care of mapping all of those pixels for you.

Dotstar pixels are a little more robust than NeoPixels, but require four wires vs. 3 wires for NeoPixels. DotStars are a little more expensive as well, but they may be the best choice for this project because of the update speed. Neopixels require that interrupts be turned off during the (650ms) update, which could affect the data communications with the rest of your system. Dotstars have no such restriction.

Dotstar strips are ~$24/meter in quantity. You're looking at 360 meters, or $8640.
Here's a sample 100W 5V power supply. You'd need 65 of these, at ~$20 each.
http://www.alliedelec.com/mean-well-usa ... oC-nXw_wcB

Dotstar information:
https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-dotstar-leds
NeoPixel information
https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-neopixel-uberguide

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boduse
 
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Re: programmable LED matrix, looking to make images, video

Post by boduse »

Thank you so much for the timely response. In terms of this project the two largest issues thus far seem to be the bulk ones of the power supplies and the amount of wiring necessary to link up all of those led strips. Are there any ways to reduce the wiring to make it look sleek and totally manageable?

Can I wire the LEDs in sequence and if so howong before it becomes a problem?

Also, are there power supplies that can handle more amperage ? I'd like this thing to be reasonably portable and 65 power sources seem like an issue. It seems this blanket will need a dedicated cabinet to run off of?
Are there any examples of large pixel matrices that I can look at to see the wiring?

Thanks again!

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boduse
 
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Re: programmable LED matrix, looking to make images, video

Post by boduse »

Also, how bright are the dotstars? Can they be turned down to 50%? 30%?

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Re: programmable LED matrix, looking to make images, video

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

Dotstars are pretty bright. You can run them at any brightness level. You'll need fewer power supplies that way.

You'll have to google for larger power supplies. We don't carry anything near that big. "Meanwell" is a good brand name.

You will have to wire the power to the strips in parallel. However, the data and clock lines need to be connected in serial. The data and clock lines are daisy-chained, so the length will not be a problem.

Again, google for pixel strip matrices - there are some resources out there.

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