WLED Arduino WiFi LED Controller • Hacker News Board

Re: WLED Arduino WiFi LED Controller

#11

Post by detaro » Mon, Jan 17, 2022, 10:20 PM UTC

kbob wrote: post #10

How does WLED compare to PixelBlaze? https://www.bhencke.com/pixelblaze

WLED: Open-Source, software only you can flash on various boards. Doesn't have the scripting/live-coding part that Pixelblaze has (i.e. you need to write your own effects in c++ and compile them in). Doesn't support 2D/3D mappings natively. Has a few more APIs.

Pixelblaze is really nice and in many ways the more advanced option, but for most things I go for a <$5 board with WLED or FastLED over $35 (+shipping +tax) for a PixelBlaze.

Re: WLED Arduino WiFi LED Controller

#12

Post by Marioheld » Mon, Jan 17, 2022, 10:23 PM UTC

kbob wrote: post #10

How does WLED compare to PixelBlaze? https://www.bhencke.com/pixelblaze

WLED has many really cool advanced features like support for segmentation of one led strip into multiple ones, Synchronization with other instances, Alexa/Google Home support, Phillips Hue Emulation, HTTP API, Controlable over DMX with E1.31 or ArtNet.

There exists even a sound reactive fork. Which analyzes(volume and FFT based) the audio directly on the ESP32.

Re: WLED Arduino WiFi LED Controller

#13

Post by nacs » Mon, Jan 17, 2022, 11:44 PM UTC

sen wrote: post #7

I love WLED and have used it on over a dozen lighting projects with ESP32s and ESP8266s. It makes it so ridiculously easy, and has an incredible set of features with a great app to control it all and integrate with other services. - Kids bedside lamps. Using the timed preset changes in WLED it goes from bright white/blue for reading time, then at bedtime it plays a rainbow animation and fades to a bright orange with…

> a great app to control it all and integrate with other services.

It even has Alexa support that's as easy as checking a box! Love WLED and how easy it is to use even for a non-hardware guy like me.

Re: WLED Arduino WiFi LED Controller

#14

Post by brk » Tue, Jan 18, 2022, 12:34 AM UTC

kbob wrote: post #10

How does WLED compare to PixelBlaze? https://www.bhencke.com/pixelblaze

I've used both quite a bit for various things.

The biggest differentiator is that Pixelblaze is built around the user being able to define their own patterns, while WLED is more built around getting a turn-key setup as easily as possible. One of the downsides to the Pixelblaze, for me, has been in instances where I just want a simple thing like a specific color, or a simple fade or pattern. While you can do that on the Pixelblaze it can take more time to tweak the PB code vs. just moving a couple of sliders in the WLED interface.

Re: WLED Arduino WiFi LED Controller

#15

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Jan 18, 2022, 3:09 AM UTC

sen wrote: post #7

I love WLED and have used it on over a dozen lighting projects with ESP32s and ESP8266s. It makes it so ridiculously easy, and has an incredible set of features with a great app to control it all and integrate with other services. - Kids bedside lamps. Using the timed preset changes in WLED it goes from bright white/blue for reading time, then at bedtime it plays a rainbow animation and fades to a bright orange with…

[deleted]

Re: WLED Arduino WiFi LED Controller

#16

Post by aidanlister » Tue, Jan 18, 2022, 3:22 AM UTC

Does anyone know of a compatible ESP32 development board with a built-in microphone and frequency analyser e.g. an MSGEQ7 (for sound-reactive projects)?

Here's their list of compatible hardware: https://github.com/Aircoookie/WLED/wiki/Compatible-hardware

Re: WLED Arduino WiFi LED Controller

#17

Post by creativeembassy » Tue, Jan 18, 2022, 3:42 AM UTC

Huge fan of WLED here.

- I wanted a semi-permanent lighting fixture for Christmas, but something that would work for other holidays as well. I took a bunch of bullet-style leds and inserted them into holes I drilled on a piece of material that matched the gutters. Mounted them just underneath the gutter, you don't even see them unless you're looking for them. "Hanging" my xmas lights outdoors means I hit one IOT button that turns on the power supply, then I can navigate to the private IP attached to the strand. The interface is easy enough that the kids/missus change the lights whenever they feel like it.

- Two years in a row now for Halloween, I used WLED for my pumpkin carving. Carve out the inside, then drill evenly-spaced holes around the pumpkin and insert the same bullet-style LEDs into each hole facing the outside. Wifi-enabled pumpkin. The neighborhood kids call us "the house with the UFO pumpkin that gives out full-sized candybars".

Re: WLED Arduino WiFi LED Controller

#18

Post by bee_rider » Tue, Jan 18, 2022, 4:34 AM UTC

sen wrote: post #7

I love WLED and have used it on over a dozen lighting projects with ESP32s and ESP8266s. It makes it so ridiculously easy, and has an incredible set of features with a great app to control it all and integrate with other services. - Kids bedside lamps. Using the timed preset changes in WLED it goes from bright white/blue for reading time, then at bedtime it plays a rainbow animation and fades to a bright orange with…

That first one is pretty neat. Plus, when your kids are an appropriate age, they'll be able to modify their lamp if they want!

Re: WLED Arduino WiFi LED Controller

#19

Post by bukka » Tue, Jan 18, 2022, 4:35 AM UTC

creativeembassy wrote: post #17

Huge fan of WLED here. - I wanted a semi-permanent lighting fixture for Christmas, but something that would work for other holidays as well. I took a bunch of bullet-style leds and inserted them into holes I drilled on a piece of material that matched the gutters. Mounted them just underneath the gutter, you don't even see them unless you're looking for them. "Hanging" my xmas lights outdoors means I hit one IOT butt…

Could you clarify what bullet-style LEDs are and how do they look?

Re: WLED Arduino WiFi LED Controller

#20

Post by mkinsella » Tue, Jan 18, 2022, 6:38 AM UTC

sen wrote: post #7

I love WLED and have used it on over a dozen lighting projects with ESP32s and ESP8266s. It makes it so ridiculously easy, and has an incredible set of features with a great app to control it all and integrate with other services. - Kids bedside lamps. Using the timed preset changes in WLED it goes from bright white/blue for reading time, then at bedtime it plays a rainbow animation and fades to a bright orange with…

Can you link to what bedside lamp you're using? I'm happy to modify/retrofit an existing lamp but have yet to find something that would work well with LED strips.