The Pixblasters Video LED Controller

There are a few tools that pretty much every maker has in their tool box. We all have an Arduino or two on the shelf waiting for the next project. It’s also pretty likely that we might have a roll of NeoPixels or two stashed away for emergencies.

The WS212B-based LED strips have become an almost ubiquitous solution when flashing coloured lights are needed. Despite this, it can be hard to connect large numbers of them together into a single display, which is where the Pixblasters MS1 video controller board might come in handy.

Pixblasters Video LED Controller. (📷: Pixblasters)

Similar to other controller boards we’ve seen before, the board is FPGA-based. Interestingly, however, it’s been designed to look like an ordinary monitor to the host computer, which means you can connect it to a normal laptop, or single-board computer like the Raspberry Pi, and drive up to 16,384 LEDs at 60 fps without any programming or soldering.

The Pixblasters MS1 in action. (📷: Pixblasters)

That also means that the LED ‘display’ can be used to show anything that a normal computer monitor can without much effort. It’s not a unique capability by any means, but it’s interesting to see it being made available off the shelf.

Connecting up strings of LEDs to the Pixblasters board. (📷: Pixblasters)

While there is no pricing or availability information on the board quite yet, if you’re interested in keeping track of the project, it is coming soon to Crowd Supply.

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Scientist, Author, Hacker, Maker, and Journalist.

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