“I love to work on lighting projects, and having done my fair share of NeoPixel/WS2812b-based installations, I can tell you from experience that sometimes it can be really tricky nailing down a fully comprehensive design that “just works” when it’s deployed.
One of the things that I see most often overlooked when integrating pixels of any chipset into staging, decor or other applications is the attention needed to properly route the required data and power wiring to where it’s needed.
Batteries and Bluetooth don’t cut it for large scale installations, and conversely, the wiring needed to support multiple pixel groups can quickly become cumbersome and expensive when you consider the high power requirements of lighting.
With this in mind, we can appreciate the PixPoE project from Glen Akins, a professionally designed hardware project aimed at simplifying the installation of pixel-based lighting projects!
Networked pixel controllers are a popular project, but I’m going to take a look at what really makes the PixPoE such an interesting design for me It’s integrated PoE power supply, something I’ve often been found wishing for!”