5V, 12V, pixels, EVO & duo - Oh My!

In this video I discuss some of the differences I have encountered for the following type of pixels:
5V WS2811 bullets (Rextin)
12V WS2811 bullets (Wally's shown, but similar to Your Pixel Store and Mattos Designs)
12V WS2811 EVO pixels (Mattos)
12V YPS DUO bullet pixels, which are AKA GS8208 (Your Pixel Store)
I discuss the differences, advantages, and disadvantages of each. This is not a recommendation for or against any of these pixels. As a quick synopsis:
5V bullet pixels take less power and voltage issues are immediately identifiable but require a significant amount of power balancing/injection. If you buy true Rextin brand pixels from Amazon (our experience in our personal show) - they may just be the most reliable pixels available.
12V bullet pixels require almost zero power balancing/injection. They really live up to "Mo Volts Mo Betta", allowing upwards of 45ft of extensions and 400+ pixels without any need of power balancing. However when they don't have enough voltage they can have frustrating issues of flickering and getting stuck on white, not always immediately noticeable
EVO pixels are a new comer and are 12v native - they have huge advantages in weight and space savings, along with a better reach in props on their 4" spaced pixels. They seem to be limited to 300 pixels and/or 20ft extensions before requiring power balancing, using spiker T adapters. They also have a continuous constant current draw unlike the other pixels - whether displaying lights/colors or not. While it wasn't mentioned in the video, the pricing of the EVO's is also better than all other options on the table today.
YPS DUO (GS8208) pixels are 12V native and "new" to the hobby - but have been used pretty regularly in commercial settings for over a decade. Their huge advantage over all others is having the backup data line - allowing a failure to happen without knocking out the rest of the string. In simple testing 200 pixels seem to be the max before issues presented in odd/different ways.
Each of these pixels have advantages and disadvantages when comparing to every other pixel discussed. What is important to you may not matter to someone else - so we can't definitively state which you should buy. What is best for your show is what you're comfortable with for your repair abilities/desires, power balancing/electrical comfort, power usages, weight/space savings, and more.

[@ThatHouseOnHollybrook]

Thank you. I was curious about the evo and duo and this was very informative. I am still a noob, but I am going to throw it out there that the flickering in the evo's is due to the smaller gauged wire.

[@CharleesProps]

Thank you! The wire gauge could impact this (as smaller wire does increase resistance, dropping voltage over the line) - it happens because the 12v power line is the same as the lights being "native" 12v. Adding a Spiker T levels/bumps the voltage at the middle/end of the line - in the same way 5V pixels need power injection/balancing.

[@ronm6585]

Thank you.

[@rc240zxt]

You mentioned power balancing and power injection. Would you have a simple video showing how to accomplish this effectively?

[@CharleesProps]

sounds like a good video to discuss. Those terms are used interchangeably (even by us) but they are actually 2 different ways of ensuring pixels have enough power. Stay Tuned!

[@thecrumeister365]

Just an FYI, I have an EFL Designs Globe NSR and a ShowStopper Snowflake (each with 750 pixels) and I have EVO pixels in them with no power injection and no issues. I am only running them at 30% brightness but that is plenty bright.

[@CharleesProps]

FYI, brightness has very minimal effect on current draw for EVO's. This is well known and something to calculate, as if they are at 100% brightness. This includes when they are off.

[@imdbtruth]

I like the GS8208... The backup data line, constant current, nice brightness, and the Gamma Correction seems to give it an advantage on dimming effects and color curves.

[@CharleesProps]

This year we helped set up a show with both the DUO and standard WS2811 bullets. At the same brightness I was surprised at how much more vivid the 2811's were. For that application the DUO's were still the dominant/necessary pixel for sure. Thanks for the insight!

[@imdbtruth]

@@CharleesProps Thank you as well for the reply. I enjoy your work and have learned plenty from your videos.

[@CharleesProps]

That's why we do it! To help others learn from our experiences!

[@michaelp.caputo8190]

If im understanding when power planning you cant just take 30% current. Do i need to plan power at 100% current? Referring to evos

[@CharleesProps]

That depends on the type of pixels. Standard WS2811 pixels you can assume that 30% brightness means they will draw, at full white, 30% of their normal draw. In our personal show we don't push much past that in the even of a pixel failure, which could "bypass" that brightness limit and pull a higher draw. Both EVO and DUO pixels are native 12v - so they're a little different than your typical 2811. The EVO pixels pull full draw whether on, off, or any brightness effect (in actuality they do pull a little less if brightness is lowered, but you should factor a constant draw with EVO's).