DiyLightAnimation
Hardware => Lynx Smart String => Topic started by: Mickpat on July 05, 2012,
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I am moving more of my lights to RGB this year, but don't like the white light they produce. I still prefer the soft warm lights that incandescent lights provide. This also makes it easier for me to mix and match lights.
I would like to be able to define white (255,255,255) to be more of a soft white. My suggestion is to add this feature to the ssc smart string utility where you could define 255,255,255 to automatically convert to a soft white. (remap the color values.) The conversion could be done on the hardware vs. on the software. Maybe there is a better way.
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This would definitely be convenient, but if done in the hardware, then Would the cool white no longer be achievable? There are some case where that cool white is desired ... For example trying to match other white led strings
Just something to consider
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This would definitely be convenient, but if done in the hardware, then Would the cool white no longer be achievable? There are some case where that cool white is desired ... For example trying to match other white led strings
Just something to consider
cool white could still be 254.254.254 with little notice.
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why not just find the warm white that works for you and define it in software just like you would with any other color?
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Can you really make it look like warm white just by altering the RGB defaults for white? If so, whats the mix you use?
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Cool white has too much blue. Just reduce the Blue a few steps and you'll see a difference.
But - don't expect it to match perfectly, just closer.
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I have to agree with Chris, making changes in the firmware for this is just asking for more confusion. If the software can define it and it is a matter of personal preference, then that's where it should be defined.
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I agree too. Keep it in software.
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Ditto on the sentiment of others to keep it in software.
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I agree too. Keep it in software.
+1
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I keep a list of colors/RGB values I've specifically matched, or just ones which looked 'cool' at the time. If you don't already have the Color Finder software, it's definitely worth it. Become proficient at tabbing through the colors and using the arrow keys so you can watch your lights and blend the color and you can come up with combos pretty quick.
Now the kicker is, in the software (at least LSP), these color combos don't look anything like what they are on the nodes...the warm whites look like dirty browns, snow white looks more like an almond, etc.
60, 31, 07 - Warm white - very close to mineature lights
60, 26, 04 - yellow-orange candle flame
83, 29, 00 - Lemon yellow
48, 04, 00 - Rich Halloween orange
135, 19, 00 - Pumpkin orange
255, 23, 00 - Bright Halloween orange
29, 00, 14 - Somewhat purple
05, 00, 02 - other purple
13, 00, 04 - 'ultra' violet
255, 208, 107 - Snow White
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why not just find the warm white that works for you and define it in software just like you would with any other color?
I use LSP transitions which use video to define the colors used in the sequence. Transitions dramatically decreases sequencing times and enabled more complex shows, but I have little control over the color applied. For example, if the transtion applys a white color effect, once applied I have no way to redefine the color. If I were manually adding effects to the grid, I agree it would be best in software.
Thinking more about the hardware option, you want to support the dim level too so it is not as easy as just looking for 255,255,255.
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I was thinking about the complications with dimming while I was cleaning my pool ... Not sure what triggered the thought, but looks like you agree it would be complicated
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I use LSP transitions which use video to define the colors used in the sequence. Transitions dramatically decreases sequencing times and enabled more complex shows, but I have little control over the color applied. For example, if the transtion applys a white color effect, once applied I have no way to redefine the color. If I were manually adding effects to the grid, I agree it would be best in software.
Thinking more about the hardware option, you want to support the dim level too so it is not as easy as just looking for 255,255,255.
I'm doing the same video/LSP transition. I think this is one 'feature' LSP needs...the ability go grab a section of grid and alter the color...add 5 points of blue, subtract 10 of green, etc. Conversely, with good video editing software, you can tweak the video as needed, then just reapply the LSP transition.
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60, 31, 07 - Warm white - very close to mineature lights
60, 26, 04 - yellow-orange candle flame
83, 29, 00 - Lemon yellow
48, 04, 00 - Rich Halloween orange
135, 19, 00 - Pumpkin orange
255, 23, 00 - Bright Halloween orange
29, 00, 14 - Somewhat purple
05, 00, 02 - other purple
13, 00, 04 - 'ultra' violet
255, 208, 107 - Snow White
Are you sure you're not one of those guys that comes up with names for paint swatches in department stores?
:P <yk..
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ya - I didn't think my names were 'that' creative... :) though I did 'tone down' a few for public viewing vs what I actually recorded them as in my personal notes. I figured the humor might not translate well.
Though this thread actually got me searching on the LSP forum to see if there were any solutions. I actually found my old post from ~1 year ago detailing essentially this very problem. No replies, so I went ahead and updated it with a bit more info, and some examples...
http://www.lightshowpro.com/lightshow-support/1845-questions-about-color-adjustments.html
To refine the issue a bit more:
When working with pixelnet nodes, or any RGB system which isn't fully video calibrated, the colors output by the nodes don't even come close to what is on the monitor. For example, the following RGB combos:
RGB 255, 208, 107 is a perfect snow white on my nodes, looks like this on the monitor;
(http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w269/coreyonline/255-208-107.jpg)
RGB 135, 19, 00 is a bright pumpkin / halloween orange, looks like this
(http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w269/coreyonline/135-19-00.jpg)
RGB 83, 29, 00...lemon yellow on the nodes
(http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w269/coreyonline/83-29-00.jpg)
I could go on, but you get the 'picture'. It would be nice if there were some way to define 'my pallet' or some way to convert / equalize what shows on the screen with what shows on the nodes.
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ya - I didn't think my names were 'that' creative... :) though I did 'tone down' a few for public viewing vs what I actually recorded them as in my personal notes. I figured the humor might not translate well.
Though this thread actually got me searching on the LSP forum to see if there were any solutions. I actually found my old post from ~1 year ago detailing essentially this very problem. No replies, so I went ahead and updated it with a bit more info, and some examples...
http://www.lightshowpro.com/lightshow-support/1845-questions-about-color-adjustments.html
To refine the issue a bit more:
When working with pixelnet nodes, or any RGB system which isn't fully video calibrated, the colors output by the nodes don't even come close to what is on the monitor. For example, the following RGB combos:
RGB 255, 208, 107 is a perfect snow white on my nodes, looks like this on the monitor;
(http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w269/coreyonline/255-208-107.jpg)
RGB 135, 19, 00 is a bright pumpkin / halloween orange, looks like this
(http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w269/coreyonline/135-19-00.jpg)
RGB 83, 29, 00...lemon yellow on the nodes
(http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w269/coreyonline/83-29-00.jpg)
I could go on, but you get the 'picture'. It would be nice if there were some way to define 'my pallet' or some way to convert / equalize what shows on the screen with what shows on the nodes.
I;ve imagined (but have no time to implement) a software solution with video cams that matches color swatches, and adjusts RGB pixels automatically to find matches. it seems like a simple enough thing to do -- does anyone know a reason why it might not work?
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I don't deal enough with video/RGB calibration to know what the best solution is. After a while I guess it just starts to be like 'The Matrix'...I look at that almond color and I see a brilliant snow white...look at that ugly brown and see a vivid lemon yellow. I can certainly get by with it. But a good solution to me would be something like 'my pallet' in LSP where I could assign node RGB values and coordinate that with monitor RGB values to net the same color...ie on my monitor I would see 255, 255, 255 ...snow white and when I click that color, it would send 255, 208, 107 to the nodes.
The fastest way I've developed to edit transitions, is to get the avi in a video editor, tweak the color setting, do a screen capture, look at the image in a photoshop program with the 'color selector' tool - so I can directly see the RGB values, tweak a bit more in the video editor, screen cap, check RGB's, etc. After a few iterations, you get the transition relatively close to the proper RGB values for the nodes and save it. The video on the screen looks like junk, but it plays out beautifully on the nodes. It works, but you'd think there would be a much more elegant solution!
As far as one 'fix' for the whole thing. Again, I'm no video/RGB expert, but in trying for a 'one step fix', I grabbed the image with my three sample colors, opened that in Paintshop and found that choosing Adjust > Brightness and Contrast > Curves, then tweaking the RGB curve actually pulled those colors somewhat close to the nodes output. I don't know if this would 'globally' fix all color mismatches, but got the three examples fairly close:
(http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w269/coreyonline/adjustcurves.jpg)