therockhr Posted April 20, 2022 Share Posted April 20, 2022 I am sure this has been asked plenty of times but is there some sort of TCP/IP controller for 3-4 zones of LED Light strips? I want to add LED lighting above, under and below my kitchen cabinets. Each zone would have about 16ft of LED lights. Any suggestions? Obviously Control4 compatibility (no cloud) is needed. Sorry if I got any of the terms wrong in describing the lighting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAV Posted April 20, 2022 Share Posted April 20, 2022 DMX, Shelly RBGW, Kasa or Similar that has a driver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therockhr Posted April 20, 2022 Author Share Posted April 20, 2022 Just now, RAV said: DMX, Shelly RBGW, Kasa or Similar that has a driver. Am i looking at 3 separate devices for each "zone" or is there something that change the zones independently but all in 1 device? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted April 20, 2022 Share Posted April 20, 2022 There are a bunch of drivers that work for controlling light strips. Philipps Hue is one, but they are short and don't make economic sense. But you can get a controller for generic strips that is a Hue device. You could get other controllers like Shelly, Govee, MagicHome/Flux, etc. All have drivers for C4 and generally use IP control and can also be controlled by apps and/or API. If you want to get more sophisticated you can get into DMX. 16ft is a good length since the strips typicallyh come in 5m lengths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted April 20, 2022 Share Posted April 20, 2022 Just now, therockhr said: Am i looking at 3 separate devices for each "zone" or is there something that change the zones independently but all in 1 device? Generally separate controllers for each zone, but they are cheap. Shelly are about $25 each. The MagicHome/Flux controllers are more like $10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therockhr Posted April 20, 2022 Author Share Posted April 20, 2022 4 hours ago, zaphod said: The MagicHome/Flux controllers are more like $10. You talking about these https://www.magiclightbulbs.com/strip-lights and https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LPSS4J3/ ? Are they any good? Who makes the Control4 driver? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted April 20, 2022 Share Posted April 20, 2022 Yes. Or even this set of controllers: https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Controller-Control-Compatible-Android/dp/B08D611NCQ . I think that uses this driver: https://drivercentral.io/platforms/control4-drivers/lighting/nexlux/@msgreenf has said that it works well: The Govee driver is from @alanchow 's Chowmain software https://chowmain.software/drivers/control4-govee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted April 20, 2022 Share Posted April 20, 2022 And just to explain this a bit more - there are a ton of "generic" light strips that you can buy on Amazon and other places - most of them are 12V. These will need a power supply and a controller but they should work with pretty much any controller as the controller is just controlling voltage levels for the different colors. You can get a very simple controller that will just be controlled via an IR remote control, or you can get a wifi controller. You can get RGB or RGBW - the W standing for white. When you get a controller make sure that it matches your strips for the RGB or RGBW. Or you can buy a kit with the strips, controller and power supply such as the ones that you linked to. Are the one on Amazon "cheap Chinese junk"? Possibly, but it is possible that all of these light strips are made in the same couple of factories in Shenzhen so the "name" brands may not be any different than any other strips. I have had a bunch of these cheaper strips for a decade, both inside and outside. The inside ones have lasted pretty well, but the outside ones have not as they are not as waterproof as I had hoped. And the silicone covering has turned yellow and bubbled. You can get the strips uncoated, which are kind of a bare metal and are cheaper, and outdoor ones that are coated in silicone. You can normally cut them to size with scissors and you can get about every six inches. You can get accessories to join strips together or to have L angles, or whatever. But when you join strips together they start to fade at the end of the strips so you can generally do no more than two strips with one power supply, and even that may be pushing it. There are also 24V strips that should suffer from fewer fading issues but they are harder to find. therockhr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therockhr Posted April 21, 2022 Author Share Posted April 21, 2022 2 hours ago, zaphod said: And just to explain this a bit more - there are a ton of "generic" light strips that you can buy on Amazon and other places - most of them are 12V. These will need a power supply and a controller but they should work with pretty much any controller as the controller is just controlling voltage levels for the different colors. You can get a very simple controller that will just be controlled via an IR remote control, or you can get a wifi controller. You can get RGB or RGBW - the W standing for white. When you get a controller make sure that it matches your strips for the RGB or RGBW. Or you can buy a kit with the strips, controller and power supply such as the ones that you linked to. Are the one on Amazon "cheap Chinese junk"? Possibly, but it is possible that all of these light strips are made in the same couple of factories in Shenzhen so the "name" brands may not be any different than any other strips. I have had a bunch of these cheaper strips for a decade, both inside and outside. The inside ones have lasted pretty well, but the outside ones have not as they are not as waterproof as I had hoped. And the silicone covering has turned yellow and bubbled. You can get the strips uncoated, which are kind of a bare metal and are cheaper, and outdoor ones that are coated in silicone. You can normally cut them to size with scissors and you can get about every six inches. You can get accessories to join strips together or to have L angles, or whatever. But when you join strips together they start to fade at the end of the strips so you can generally do no more than two strips with one power supply, and even that may be pushing it. There are also 24V strips that should suffer from fewer fading issues but they are harder to find. Thanks for all the info. I am finding lots of RGB wifi controllers but really want RGBW. White will probably be the most used since it is in the kitchen. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanchow Posted April 21, 2022 Share Posted April 21, 2022 We'll make an announcement about 7 drivers for OS 3.3 when that is launched so stay tuned. therockhr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therockhr Posted April 21, 2022 Author Share Posted April 21, 2022 9 minutes ago, alanchow said: We'll make an announcement about 7 drivers for OS 3.3 when that is launched so stay tuned. Good to know. I am probably going to hold out on whatever i get until OS 3.3 comes out and I know what will have the color wheel support and what not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therockhr Posted April 21, 2022 Author Share Posted April 21, 2022 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076JDQTM7/ref=sspa_dk_detail_2?pd_rd_i=B06XSVL9CG&pd_rd_w=0tmA8&pf_rd_p=57cbdc41-b731-4e3d-aca7-49078b13a07b&pd_rd_wg=oCFv2&pf_rd_r=Z0MA1X8WFXTZ2RCGR76G&pd_rd_r=f97d8a67-e50a-482b-b1c9-98933b60e446&s=hi&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyVFpKQ1lBUVdDVU5TJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjMwMzMyWTVDNDZYVkE1TEZBJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAzMTUyODUxWU9ZNU1LVlZZRUVBJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfZGV0YWlsX3RoZW1hdGljJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ&th=1 Wondering about this kit. It seems to have everything I need plus 1 extra controller I could use somewhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therockhr Posted April 22, 2022 Author Share Posted April 22, 2022 On 4/20/2022 at 9:01 PM, therockhr said: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076JDQTM7/ref=sspa_dk_detail_2?pd_rd_i=B06XSVL9CG&pd_rd_w=0tmA8&pf_rd_p=57cbdc41-b731-4e3d-aca7-49078b13a07b&pd_rd_wg=oCFv2&pf_rd_r=Z0MA1X8WFXTZ2RCGR76G&pd_rd_r=f97d8a67-e50a-482b-b1c9-98933b60e446&s=hi&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyVFpKQ1lBUVdDVU5TJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjMwMzMyWTVDNDZYVkE1TEZBJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAzMTUyODUxWU9ZNU1LVlZZRUVBJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfZGV0YWlsX3RoZW1hdGljJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ&th=1 Wondering about this kit. It seems to have everything I need plus 1 extra controller I could use somewhere else. Looks like this is a no go as they driver for the MIBox or whatever has been abandoned. @alanchowwhat controller would you recommend for RGBW LED strips that can be spliced? I would prefer the Control4 driver not to be cloud based as well. I was thinking this one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08L9GWJK1?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_HVYSRV0B2WMW8FX49WDA was looking good but I think it has to be used with the Tuya driver which looks to be cloud based. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanchow Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 23 hours ago, therockhr said: Looks like this is a no go as they driver for the MIBox or whatever has been abandoned. @alanchowwhat controller would you recommend for RGBW LED strips that can be spliced? I would prefer the Control4 driver not to be cloud based as well. I was thinking this one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08L9GWJK1?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_HVYSRV0B2WMW8FX49WDA was looking good but I think it has to be used with the Tuya driver which looks to be cloud based. If you want a controller that you can wire any LED strip to check out the Shelly RGB2 therockhr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LollerAgent Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 16 minutes ago, alanchow said: If you want a controller that you can wire any LED strip to check out the Shelly RGB2 The RGB2's problem is that it doesn't support CCT or two white channels (warm/cool) in an intuitive way. Otherwise, it's great. therockhr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THEORY Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 The Dresden controllers are great and work with a Phillips Hue bridge and are super compact. https://www.dresden-elektronik.com/product/fls-pp-lp-wireless-ballast.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therockhr Posted April 24, 2022 Author Share Posted April 24, 2022 19 hours ago, THEORY said: The Dresden controllers are great and work with a Phillips Hue bridge and are super compact. https://www.dresden-elektronik.com/product/fls-pp-lp-wireless-ballast.html Looks nice. If I had Hue I would defiantly look at this one. I am guessing even though it has Zigbee it cant work with Control4 directly though? I wish Lutron Caseta had a RGBW controller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted April 25, 2022 Share Posted April 25, 2022 3 hours ago, therockhr said: Looks nice. If I had Hue I would defiantly look at this one. I am guessing even though it has Zigbee it cant work with Control4 directly though? That is correct. You need a Hue hub. Hue comes in handy if you have places where you can't put in a smart switch. The Hue kits with Hub and some bulbs are a pretty deal if you want to give them a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therockhr Posted April 25, 2022 Author Share Posted April 25, 2022 12 hours ago, zaphod said: That is correct. You need a Hue hub. Hue comes in handy if you have places where you can't put in a smart switch. The Hue kits with Hub and some bulbs are a pretty deal if you want to give them a try. I already use Lutron Caseta so dont want another hub. I wish Lutron would expand out a little and add a few other things. Everything I have with them works great though. Dimmers are solid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleon Posted April 25, 2022 Share Posted April 25, 2022 2 hours ago, therockhr said: I already use Lutron Caseta so dont want another hub. I wish Lutron would expand out a little and add a few other things. Everything I have with them works great though. Dimmers are solid. Why not? You can usually get the hue hubs bundled with lights. The hub adds a lot of functionality. I have both Hue hubs and a Caseta hub. There's no conflict between the two. I would recommend the hue lightstrips - they work very well. I have some that I've had for 3 years now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted April 25, 2022 Share Posted April 25, 2022 2 hours ago, fleon said: Why not? You can usually get the hue hubs bundled with lights. The hub adds a lot of functionality. I have both Hue hubs and a Caseta hub. There's no conflict between the two. I would recommend the hue lightstrips - they work very well. I have some that I've had for 3 years now. The problem with the Hue light strips is that they are very expensive on a per foot basis. Most other lightstrips are 5m or 16ft. They sell much shorter strips and charge a lot for extensions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleon Posted April 26, 2022 Share Posted April 26, 2022 That's true. However, I've replaced a lot of cheap lightstrips. So far I haven't had to replace a Hue one yet. The hue extensions are completely ridiculous in cost, however, I do agree. The other benefit to the hue hub + lightstrip is zigbee. It's not wifi. The range and reliability are much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted April 26, 2022 Share Posted April 26, 2022 3 hours ago, fleon said: The other benefit to the hue hub + lightstrip is zigbee. It's not wifi. The range and reliability are much better. You can get that with the Dresden controller mentioned by Theory as well. It is expensive for a controller, but if you are doing longer runs it makes economic sense, although you may need amplifiers if you go beyond about 10m. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleon Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 Yeah that will be true for any ZigBee devices, true. I have not used the dresden products. How pricy are they? Is it worth it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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