3 things to consider when choosing Pixel Tape:
Quality
Budget pixel tape is made using thin copper to keep costs down. Not only does this mean the tape is less robust mechanically, but a thinner tape of copper is also less conductive (and more resistive). This means voltage will drop off faster,
meaning more power injections and more wiring for your project. So what you save in material costs, you may well lose in additonal power supplies and labour.
ENTTEC strips are designed to surpass industry benchmarks, not merely conform. We make it our mission to use better substrates and thicker copper than other pixel strips on the market. Manufactured to the highest standards using our PCB designs, our strips are then quality checked and tested by our team of engineers to ensure optimal compatibility with our popular range of pixel controllers.
Customer Support
Whilst not a feature of the product itself, something you all know to be quite crucial is support. One of the major reasons that many manufacturers manage to stay cheap is by not offering any product support. So if you run into trouble, you’re
not going to get anyone to call up and ask why your tape is flickering, or why its not turning on at all!
Neither will you have someone to help you with specifying controllers or to walk you through how to configure yours. Saving a few bucks on product becomes a false economy when you’re forced to spend hours learning, trouble shooting and installing all by yourself. Likewise, you’re not going to see much warranty support either.
Trust and Reputation
In the lighting industry, standards like DMX512 ensure decoders are compatible with any DMX source. However, pixel lighting is less standardized. For pixel tapes, it's crucial that the controller supports the specific protocol of the tape.
Protocols, such as WS from World Semi, can vary even under the same name due to new chip versions. This can lead to issues like flickering or unresponsive LEDs. While this might be less critical for home installations, it's vital for large-scale setups in theaters or studios.
So this is where you turn to ENTTEC premium pixel tape! Not only are you buying a better product, but you’re also buying reputation and peace of mind. You’re getting exactly what it says on the datasheet, and you have someone to talk to if you’re stuck.
Working with non-ENTTEC Pixels
If you choose to use non-ENTTEC Pixel Strip, please ensure that our compatible protocols list contains the Pixel ICs protocol.