When it comes to lighting, there are many ways to elevate your vision. There are many ways to express an artistic vision through lighting. Touch, hearing, and seeing are 3 key components that help captivate the attention of an audience. Achieve 2 out of 3 and you are certain to captivate your audience.

Let us imagine a concert where the artist is singing a fast-paced song, imagine that song being performed while the stage is illuminated with static white lighting. lighting. Now imagine the same setting but with the stage illuminated with color-changing lights that are cued with the music. The experience is enhanced significantly for the audience because they are able to hear the music but also in a sense see the music. Gone are the days of static colors. The same can be said for architectural lighting, with buildings being brought to life with pixel-controlled lighting or art installations that create immersive experiences. This is where understanding the difference between DMX and SPI controllers becomes important.

What is DMX?

First, we need to understand what a DMX LED Light Strip is. Simply put, a DMX LED Light Strip is a light strip that is controlled by a Digital Multiplex (DMX). DMX is a unidirectional lighting protocol that allows you to run lighting sequences from a single source. Furthermore, a DMX512 (3-wire control mode) is standard for digital communication networks used to control lighting and effects.

How does it work?

A programmer creates an address for each light so that the controller can send 512 data packets each time, hence the name DMX512 Standard. Those data packets are then intercepted by chips that assign their own address following a written code. The amount of data packets intercepted by each chip depends on the number of designed channels.  For example, RGB intercepts 3 data packets for the three channels of RGB, and RGBW intercepts 4 data packets for four channels of RGBW.

Each packet consists of 11 bits, one of which is a start bit and two stop bits, and the other 8 bits are for the brightness of the channel that is divided into 256 levels from 0 to 100%.

The control system can achieve R, G, B,W each with 256 levels if grayscale, thus creating full colors.

What is SPI?

Now, let’s look at SPI LED Light Strips. An SPI controller allows you to control each individual LED on a light-strip, allowing you to create intricate patterns and designs. The possibilities are endless.

DMX VS SPI

When it comes to compatibility, DMXLED Light strips can easily connect with other DMX devices allowing you to create lighting effects sequences, synchronized effects, and much more all from a single command center. Alternatively, SPI LED Light Strips have the capability to easily adapt to different environments.  They can connect to different controllers and offer flexibility in terms of programming options. Both options are ideal for both small and large projects and large installations.

DMX- Controlled LED Light Strips VSSPI LED Light Strips