Design it here. Watch it play in ELM.
- Pick a layout and size it
- Get your parts list and wiring
- Open it in ELM and play effects on it
What is ELM?
ELM is ENTTEC's pixel-mapping software for Windows. Open your design in it and every pixel arrives in the right place and patched to the right universe, so you can play effects on your exact layout before you buy anything.
ELM Free costs nothing and outputs up to 8 universes. Don't have ELM? Download it here
Start a new design
You can change it later without losing your settingsAbout Pixel Designer
Pixel Designer is a free online tool from ENTTEC for planning LED pixel installations: media facades, building outlines, canopies, stage backdrops, rings, arches and other shapes. Choose a layout, enter its size and the dot spacing, and say where the controllers will be. Pixel Designer works out the pixel strings, controllers and ports, power supplies and injection points, data and power cabling, and gives you a parts list with ENTTEC part numbers.
Layouts you can design
- Dot grid, horizontal rows: Low-res video or graphics across a building face. Strings run left to right.
- Dot grid, vertical columns: Strings hang from the parapet. Fewer fixings across the facade.
- Vertical runs, spaced apart: Separate runs of dots up a building, columns or poles, with a gap between runs.
- Building or sign outline: Dots trace the edge of a roofline, window or sign.
- Dots on parallel cables: Catenary cables over a plaza, street or atrium.
- Dot curtain backdrop: Dense vertical strings behind a stage or in a window.
- Single line: A bridge edge, handrail or cove line.
- Circle: One ring of dots around a round sign, column or ceiling rose.
- Concentric rings: Rings inside rings, for a target, a ceiling dome or a round feature wall.
- Polygon outline: Dots trace a triangle, hexagon or any regular shape up to 12 sides.
- Star outline: Dots trace a star with 4 to 12 points.
- Spokes or wheel: Spokes from a centre, for a sunburst, a wheel or a Ferris wheel. Add rings for a rim.
- Christmas tree (cone) (3D): Lines of dots from the top down to a round base, for a pixel Christmas tree or maypole. Drawn unrolled.
- Arches in a row: Round arches side by side, for a tunnel, archways or a colonnade. Width and height are for one arch.
- U-frames in a row: Up one side, across the top and down the other: portals, door frames or a tunnel of frames. Width and height are for one frame.
Products it covers
- Smart PXL pixel dots: PXL40 (40 mm dome), PXL60 (60 mm dome) and PXL100x25 (flat), RGB or RGBW, 24 V or 48 V, plus PXL60 DMX dots.
- Neon Flex, made to length, and addressable pixel tape.
- ENTTEC OCTO and PIXELATOR pixel controllers, PLink injectors for long cable runs, and DMX nodes.
How a pixel system is designed
These are the engineering rules Pixel Designer applies to every design, from ENTTEC's product manuals and datasheets.
Pixel data distance
Pixel data travels up to 3 m from the controller to the first dot, and up to 3 m between one string and the next, because every dot re-drives the signal. Further away, PLink carries the data over Cat5e or Cat6 cable up to 300 m from a PIXELATOR controller to a PLink Injector at the start of the run. Beyond that, DMX dots take their data from a lighting console through DMX nodes.
Frame rate sets the dots per port
Smart PXL data runs at 800 kbps. At 16-bit colour an RGBW dot takes 64 bits, so at 40 frames per second one controller port refreshes about 308 RGBW dots (about 411 RGB). A lower frame rate lets each port drive more dots; a higher one needs more ports.
Universes
A 512-channel DMX universe holds 64 RGBW or 85 RGB dots at 16-bit colour (128 or 170 at 8-bit). Each controller port carries its own block of universes, numbered so no two ports overlap.
Strings and dot spacing
Dots are made on strings at the spacing you choose. A long line is split into near-equal strings, joined lead to lead so the spacing stays even across every join. Each line starts on a whole string, so one output never ends part-way along a line.
Power and injection
Voltage drops along every string, so power is fed in at both ends of a line, and part-way along when a line is too long to feed from its ends. 48 V dots carry power further than 24 V dots. Supplies are sized with headroom, and a UL Class 2 option keeps every power circuit within Class 2 limits.
Wiring and outputs
Every output starts on the same side, and within an output the lines snake from one into the next, so data cables come from one side. Lines are spread over all the ports you are buying, so a fault on one output darkens as little of the installation as possible.
Questions
What does Pixel Designer give me?
A complete system for your layout: how the dots split into strings, which controller and port drives each one, the power supplies and where power is injected, the cables, a wiring diagram and connection schedule, string drawings (PDF) and a parts list with ENTTEC part numbers.
Is it free? Do I need an account?
It is free and needs no account. Each design gets a number (for example PXD-7K3M2) and a share link, so you can come back to it, send it to a colleague or email it to yourself.
How do I get a price?
Press Request a quote on your design. An ENTTEC sales engineer checks it and replies with a quote. If no layout fits your project, describe it in your own words or ask a salesperson to design it with you.
Does it work with ELM?
Yes. Open your design in ELM, ENTTEC's pixel-mapping software for Windows, and every pixel arrives in place and patched to the right universe, so you can play effects on your exact layout before you buy. ELM Free outputs up to 8 universes.
Which units and languages does it use?
Metric or imperial (feet and inches), in English, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Italian and Korean.
