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OpenRGB: Open-source RGB lighting control

openrgb.org

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Re: OpenRGB: Open-source RGB lighting control

#41

Post by _puk »

thehermit wrote: post #36
scoopertrooper wrote: post #6

Not to detract from this project, but what's the deal with RGB lighting? It just seems garish to me. I also imagine it must be quite distracting to have a bunch of lights flashing out of your PC.

Most appealing setups with RGB lighting only use a single color unlike how they are usually advertised. Browsing https://www.reddit.com/r/battlestations/ should give a good idea of what people are doing with RGB lighting in the wild.

You need to be logged in, or have the app to see that sub - is that a new thing?

https://old.reddit.com/r/battlestations/ works thankfully.

Re: OpenRGB: Open-source RGB lighting control

#42

Post by sounds »

Aardwolf wrote: post #37
sounds wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think by 2021 most people will understand this simple reality: Other than Apple, every other hardware company is _not_ a software company. Yes, they write software. It is universally garbage. If there is anything well-done about the software, it will be because the hardware company licensed (or more likely, just ripped off) someone else's software. Google (a software company) cannot make any of the hardware compani…

They don't need to be software companies, but instead use a simple open protocol for this so that anyone can write software for it.

I have spent my entire career working to produce this kind of outcome.

Here's why hardware companies refuse to participate:

1. CEO says, "You're eroding our business's moat. Let's just rip off linux, shove our garbage driver out the door, and refuse to provide the source code."

2. CFO says, "You're trying to set yourself up as the expert on the standard, creating a career for yourself in the standards body. Sorry, we're not paying for you to fly to conferences. Denied."

(This one is particularly ironic because a company with enough clout to define the standard for the whole industry, and employ the experts on it, would quickly become the industry leader with a modicum of effort.)

3. CTO says, "We use outsourced labor to implement our drivers. Shareholders demand it. As a result we don't own the license to the driver source code. Denied."

I see crowdfunded hardware as the next step in this evolution. It's the innovator's dilemma all over again.

Re: OpenRGB: Open-source RGB lighting control

#43

Post by AceJohnny2 »

sounds wrote: post #31
otter-in-a-suit wrote: post #14

The state of RGB is such a nightmare, and I am very glad OpenRGB exists. If I wanted to control all LEDs on my relatively new "Gaming" PC (Windows 10), I'd normally need software from Gigabyte for the GPU (which straight up doesn't work [0]), Ducky for the keyboard, a no-name Corsair knockoff software where the name escapes me for the mouse, actual Corsair software for the fans, and NZXT for the AIO. All of them are…

I think by 2021 most people will understand this simple reality: Other than Apple, every other hardware company is _not_ a software company. Yes, they write software. It is universally garbage. If there is anything well-done about the software, it will be because the hardware company licensed (or more likely, just ripped off) someone else's software. Google (a software company) cannot make any of the hardware compani…

> Other than Apple, every other hardware company is _not_ a software company.

And even Apple is a pretty mediocre software company, compared to the others of their class.

Re: OpenRGB: Open-source RGB lighting control

#44

Post by daveidol »

zozbot234 wrote: post #26
rblatz wrote: post #17

So I found this about a year ago because I hated that I had 4 different programs running constantly managing led lights. I read through some of the docs and saw how the devs bricked their devices multiple times sending incorrect lighting commands, while reverse engineering the communication protocols. I decided that it was not worth the risk to consolidate down to one program if it meant I might brick my system.

If a device can be bricked by sending a RGB-lighting command, you should return it to the OEM as not fit for purpose and demand a refund.

True, but probably not worth the hassle (especially with current GPU and other component shortages)

Re: OpenRGB: Open-source RGB lighting control

#45

Post by bombela »

larusso wrote: post #35
ziml77 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My EKWB AIO is the worst for that. It has standard addressable RGB to control the lighting, but the default when that's not plugged in is to do the rainbow cycling. The default for all disconnected lighting should be no lights!

Or at least some reasonable default. I understand that the device wants to do a show off. I have a gigabyte GPU which I can’t control from my Gigabyte BIOS. It can only control the fans. If I turn off the lights from the BIOS sometimes the GPU also reacts to that. And Sometimes one of the LEDs turns on red. The RAM is uncontrollable except when in windows. So at the moment I boot into windows and then soft reboot int…

You could desolder or, if daring enough, cut one of the trace on the pcb that power the LEDs. They would likely have a common power trace.

Re: OpenRGB: Open-source RGB lighting control

#46

Post by matheusmoreira »

otter-in-a-suit wrote: post #14

The state of RGB is such a nightmare, and I am very glad OpenRGB exists. If I wanted to control all LEDs on my relatively new "Gaming" PC (Windows 10), I'd normally need software from Gigabyte for the GPU (which straight up doesn't work [0]), Ducky for the keyboard, a no-name Corsair knockoff software where the name escapes me for the mouse, actual Corsair software for the fans, and NZXT for the AIO. All of them are…

Yeah, everything in this space is so horrible. I have a laptop with an RGB keyboard. Its default settings are bright blue LEDs for every key. The only way to turn it off is to boot Windows 10 and start an incredibly shitty manufacturer program that takes over one minute to display a window on the screen and even longer to become interactive.

It was so bad I reverse engineered it in order to make a Linux version. Couldn't figure out how to intercept the I2C/ACPI/EC stuff but it turned out the LEDs were implemented via USB. Wireshark gave me all the data I needed to write a free software replacement.

There's a feature on the keyboard that lights up keys when they're pressed. I thought it was implemented in hardware... I was wrong. They made a driver for this. It runs in kernel mode, intercepts keystrokes and sends commands to the keyboard telling it to blink the specific LEDs. It's such an insane design, I have no idea why they'd do such a thing.

Re: OpenRGB: Open-source RGB lighting control

#47

Post by philjohn »

otter-in-a-suit wrote: post #14

The state of RGB is such a nightmare, and I am very glad OpenRGB exists. If I wanted to control all LEDs on my relatively new "Gaming" PC (Windows 10), I'd normally need software from Gigabyte for the GPU (which straight up doesn't work [0]), Ducky for the keyboard, a no-name Corsair knockoff software where the name escapes me for the mouse, actual Corsair software for the fans, and NZXT for the AIO. All of them are…

Last time I tried with anything Gigabyte RGB related I had to disable secure boot as the drivers weren't properly signed ... no thank you.

That's why for my custom watercooled loop I run an Aquaero by Aquacomputer - as it has its own SoC once you've used Aquasuite to setup your fan curves you can remove the USB connection from the device and it will just keep on doing its thing.

Re: OpenRGB: Open-source RGB lighting control

#48

Post by josteink »

einpoklum wrote: post #25

The only control I need for RGB lighting is "off", thank you very much. And I'm not being facetious - I made the mistake of buying a board with a bunch of useless red LED lights on board (an ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming). I should have known better I guess... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeF8GcjtiCQ (facepalm)

Same with me.

This program allows me to turn the LEDs off, so if you like me have lots of shiny LEDs you wish never were there, this is probably exactly what you’re looking for ;)

Re: OpenRGB: Open-source RGB lighting control

#49

Post by dan_quixote »

AceJohnny2 wrote: post #43
sounds wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think by 2021 most people will understand this simple reality: Other than Apple, every other hardware company is _not_ a software company. Yes, they write software. It is universally garbage. If there is anything well-done about the software, it will be because the hardware company licensed (or more likely, just ripped off) someone else's software. Google (a software company) cannot make any of the hardware compani…

> Other than Apple, every other hardware company is _not_ a software company. And even Apple is a pretty mediocre software company, compared to the others of their class.

Care to share an example of someone better?

Re: OpenRGB: Open-source RGB lighting control

#50

Post by madeofpalk »

AceJohnny2 wrote: post #43
sounds wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think by 2021 most people will understand this simple reality: Other than Apple, every other hardware company is _not_ a software company. Yes, they write software. It is universally garbage. If there is anything well-done about the software, it will be because the hardware company licensed (or more likely, just ripped off) someone else's software. Google (a software company) cannot make any of the hardware compani…

> Other than Apple, every other hardware company is _not_ a software company. And even Apple is a pretty mediocre software company, compared to the others of their class.

Apple definitely is lacking in comparison to their (former) reputation, but it's saying something that they're leagues better than everyone else when it comes to creating an integrated hardware-software ecosystem.
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