PixeLED 8

User manual · Art-Net SPI LED driver · 8 ports

8Output ports

40Universes

20480Parameters

Front

Rear

UM-P8-EN · Revision 1.7 · November 2026 · design follows the device web UI (charcoal + cyan), not the yellow pixeled.lv site.

Theme taken from the device

Captured from PixeLED 8 v0.9 at 10.116.248.80 — CFXS Phase UI v0.6.0

#050505 bg

#111 page

#222 card

#2d2d2d input

#00a0ff accent

#007fc8 button

#ffa000 help / dirty

#4ac94a added

#e84a4a removed

Typeface on the device is Arial / Helvetica. Active nav fill is #00a0ff. Orange help diamonds next to fields open the hover text copied into the tables below.

01 · Safety

Electrical

Supply 6–60 V DC only, correct polarity on the 2-pin input.
The front terminal is typically marked 5–60 V / 12 A — that is the connector, not a licence to overload LED cable.
Driver electronics take power from the DC input. LED strip current is a separate budget with injection as required.
Disconnect power before wiring. Do not hot-plug LED loads on a live high-current bus.

TM1814 and DMXTM1814 needs the Longranger / differential output, not Regular single-ended SPI. DMX512 uses the RS-485 pair (D / Dif).

02 · Introduction

PixeLED 8 converts Art-Net (and sACN) on Ethernet into eight independent pixel SPI lines or DMX512. Faceplates may also read PixNet8 mini — same driver family.

8 ports, up to 20 480 parameters (40 universes × 512).
~5 universes per port: about 853 RGB or 640 RGBW pixels per port.
Clone / group / reverse, theatrical dithering, source-loss hold or fade.
Settings JSON import / export (network identity kept unique).
Test Mode from firmware v1.0 — Highlight a port or drive colours from Outputs or the front button.

03 · Product variants

Variant	Use when
Regular	Short data to first pixel. WS281x / SK6812 class. Data + GND on top-row terminals.
Power	LED supply enters at the driver and leaves with the pixel cable.
Longranger	Long snake, TM1814, or noisy Regular. RS-485 pair to a receiver at the strip.
Longranger RJ45	Same electrically, CAT cable. Never plug that jack into a network switch.

04 · Installation

Front: 2-pin DC, status LED, LAN RJ45. Rear: eight outputs — follow silkscreen for your variant. Bond driver GND to LED 0 V. Keep Regular data runs short; inject LED power along the strip.

GroundingA floating LED PSU 0 V shows up as sparkle or colour jumps. Bond GND once, solidly.

05 · Getting started

Parameter	Factory
IP	`10.116.x.x` unique per unit
Mask	`255.0.0.0` (/8)
mDNS	`http://pixeled8.local`
Control	Art-Net (universe 0 allowed) and sACN

Put the laptop on 10.0.0.0/8 to open the web UI, or jump from another unit’s Network Devices page. PixeLED Finder can list units even when the NIC is still on another subnet. PixeLED Manager v0.1 is a similar discovery app with a list of local interfaces.

06 · PixeLED Finder

Desktop discovery tool v1.1 — download from the product page.

PixeLED Finder lists PixNet / PixeLED units on the wired LAN (Model, Label, IP, Mask, Gateway, DHCP). The list refreshes on its own. Double-click a row to open that unit in the browser.

Find versus open

Finding a unit and opening its web settings are two different things.

Finder talks Art-Net poll on the Ethernet broadcast. The laptop NIC does not have to be on the same IP network as the driver for devices to appear in the list.
Opening the web UI is ordinary HTTP. The same adapter must then be on the driver network (factory 10.x.x.x / 255.0.0.0 — for example 10.116.0.10).

Off-subnet discoveryIn the shot below the NIC is still 12.7.19.1 / 255.0.0.0 while the driver is 10.116.248.80 / 255.0.0.0. Finder lists the box. Double-click fails until the adapter is on 10.x /8. Disable VPN.

PixeLED Finder listing a driver while the NIC is on another IPv4 network

Finder listed the driver while the NIC was still on another IPv4 network. Match the adapter to 10.x /8 before opening the web UI.

Typical laptop setup

Plug the USB Ethernet / laptop NIC into the same switch as the driver.
Run Finder — units appear even if IPv4 is still on another subnet.
Set the NIC to a free 10.x address with mask 255.0.0.0, then double-click the row (or browse to the IP that Finder printed).
http://pixeled8.local only works once the NIC is already on that network.

07 · Web interface

Five pages in the left icon bar. Hover almost every field — orange diamonds mean extra help. Dirty cards get an orange left edge. Header: Save Changes / Discard.

Save Changes Discard Refresh disabled

Icon	Page	URL
Grid	System Status	`#/`
Signal path	Output Configuration	`#/outputs`
Gear	Settings	`#/settings`
List	Network Devices	discovery list
Box / arrow	Firmware Update / Changelog	`#/fwu`

System Status

PixeLED 8 v0.9 — live health. Use this when pixels look late, strobe, or drop out.

System Status. Charts are rolling; the number under each graph is the current value.

Panel	Meaning (from UI + hover)
Input Sync Rate	Incoming protocol sync. 0 Hz is normal in Internal 30 Hz mode.
Output Rate	Frames leaving the engine. Follows Engine Rate when sync is Internal.
Universes 1–8	Configured universes. Red edge / dash = no data. Hover: Active, `n/m Port Universes Active`, or Data Lost.
Network Rate	RX / TX Ethernet. A spike at page open is the UI itself.
Memory Usage	UI working memory on the device (idle is a few kB of ~65 kB).
Engine Rate	Pixelizer tick — set under Settings → Pixelizer Engine.
Out Seq Delay	First port start → last port finish, in µs. A jump means too many pixels or too high FPS.
Missed Frames	Hover: “Output rate higher than what a port can handle in the current configuration.”
Stream Encode Stalls	Buffer not finished before the next send. Check this if LEDs strobe in the wrong place.
Unexpected Events	Should stay 0.

Outputs

One row per physical port. Protocol Disabled turns a port off without forcing count = 0.

Outputs. Port index colour: grey idle, green all universes alive, orange partial, red data lost.

Column	Hover / behaviour
Label	Optional name, max 31 ASCII characters.
Protocol	Pixel IC, DMX, or Disabled. Differential ICs show a yellow Dif badge. Hover: for single-ended runs use `[D]`; for differential swap `[Dif]` and `[D]`. DMX: `[Dif]` → D+, `[D]` → D− (RS-485 badge).
Type / Color Order	RGB / RGBW and channel letters. Grey for Disabled / DMX.
Count	Pixels (or DMX slots). Budget shown in Used Pixel Channels (20 480 on this unit).
Max FPS	Read-only calculator. Warns if engine rate is too high or dithering will flicker.
Universe / Channel	Start address. Universe 0…63999 (0 allowed). Channel 1…512. Partial-pixel icon: RGBW at 511 can take the first colour here and the rest from the next universe.
Repeat	“Number of output pixels driven by each source pixel. Applied before grouping. Used channel count is reduced accordingly.” Empty / 0 = off.
Group	“Number of source pixels to group together. Data will be repeated for each group. Used channel count will be the same as group size.” Mirror icon: reverse every other group.
Direction	Normal / reverse physical order.
Scaling	Hover on the card: “Global Dimmer — Scale/set max output values for each port.” Manual 0–255 (shown as % \| 8-bit). DMX remote scale is reserved (grey).
Used Pixel Channels	Mapped channels vs device budget. Bar turns red when full.

Settings

Identity, sync, Pixelizer engine, IPv4, import / export. Orange left edge = unsaved.

Device, Data / Sync, Pixelizer Engine.

Network and Import / Export. This unit: 10.116.248.80 /8, MAC 74:C9:0F:00:30:5E.

Field	Hover / behaviour
Label	Name in the header and on Network Devices.
mDNS Name	“Used to access this device on the network by name instead of IP address.” Opens as `http://<name>.local`.
Enabled Protocols	Art-Net and/or sACN. At least one must stay on.
ArtNet Reply Mode	Device Only, First Port Universe, or All Port Universes. What an Art-Net Poll reply advertises — see below.
Source Loss Action	“Hold — keep last received frame. Fade — fade out on source loss, fade in on source return.”
Fade In / Out	Milliseconds. In: black → look when any universe on the port returns. Out: look → black when all are lost. 0 ms = cut.
Sync Mode	“30 Hz — Fixed rate. Packet — Sync to incoming protocol sync packets.”
Sync Timeout	“Switch to Auto mode if no network sync packets are received within a specified time period. Empty = No Timeout.” May be read-only.
Sync Filter IP	Optional source filter. Empty = off. Wildcards: `2...*`, `2.1.1.1`.
Temporal Dithering	“Averages sub-frames to extend effective bit depth for low pixel values.” Warning below 120 Hz engine rate.
Engine Rate	“Pixelizer tick rate. Higher — lower output latency. Lower — more CPU headroom.” 30 / 60 / 120 / 240 / 320 Hz.
Sub-Frames	“Number of sub-frames per dither cycle. Higher — finer gradients. Lower — less flicker.” Warns if a sub-frame exceeds 20 ms.
Curve	Linear, 2.5, or 3.1. Grey until dithering is enabled.
Address Assignment	Static (DHCP control may be read-only on this firmware).
Static IP / Mask	IPv4 + CIDR. Hover: /8 = 255.0.0.0, /16, /24. Dotted mask stays in sync.
Static Gateway	Optional. Assigned * fields are the live result.
MAC Address	Read-only hardware identity.
Import / Export	JSON show file. Network identity and label are not overwritten on import.

ArtNet Reply Mode

On Settings → Data / Sync. Consoles, visualisers and PixeLED Finder discover the driver by sending an Art-Net Poll. The driver answers with a poll reply that always carries the basic node info (name, IP and the other fields used to see the box). This setting adds the universes of each enabled port to that answer. Disabled ports are omitted. Reception stays on the universes set on the Outputs page. Press Save Changes after you pick a mode.

Example: port 1 starts at universe 10 and the pixel count spans 10, 11 and 12. Port 2 starts at universe 20 and spans 20 and 21.

Mode	What the poll reply lists
Device Only	Basic device info only. No universes. The node still appears in Finder and in a console’s device list, and the show is patched by hand.
First Port Universe	Device info plus the start universe of each enabled port — the Universe field on that output row. In the example: universe 10 for port 1 and universe 20 for port 2. One entry identifies each physical output.
All Port Universes	Device info plus every universe each enabled port uses, including a universe the port only partly fills. In the example: 10, 11, 12, 20 and 21. Use this when the console or visualiser should see the full map.

Choosing a modeAll Port Universes is the complete advertisement. First Port Universe is enough when the console only needs the start address of each port. Device Only keeps the node visible and leaves the universe list out of discovery.

Network Devices

Empty list is normal with a single box on the LAN. Refresh hover: “Refresh device list.” Click a row to open that unit in a new tab.

Firmware Update / Changelog

Select File / drop a .cfxfw, then Upload Firmware.

Green = added, orange = changed/fixed, red = removed.

v0.9 — 3 September 2026 (this unit)Source Loss Action, pixel repeat, Max FPS engine-rate warning, settings Import / Export, plus a set of lockup / universe / colour-order / Art-Net fixes.

08 · Mapping and dimming

Colour	Max / port	Max / device
RGB (3 ch)	853	6 824
RGBW (4 ch)	640	5 120
DMX512	1 universe / port	8 DMX lines

Drive the console at or below Max FPS. Universe 0 is valid.

Output row indicators

Colour	Meaning
Grey	Port idle — disabled, or never configured.
Green	Healthy data for the universes this port uses.
Orange	Partial — the port spans several universes and not all of them are arriving.
Red	No data for this port.

09 · Test Mode

Firmware v1.0 and later. Outputs page → Output Test. The web UI and the front-panel button stay in sync. While Test Mode is on, the output level cannot be changed with the Scaling sliders.

Output Test with Test Mode Off, menu highlighted

Test Mode Off. Open this menu to choose Highlight or Color.

Highlight: P1–P8. Selected port at about 25 %, others 0 %.

Color: C1…Cn plus sweep. Colours follow the port Color Order.

Color mode uses the port Color OrderC1, C2, C3… are the channels defined for that output — not a fixed RGB list. RGB shows three buttons; RGBW shows four. The last control (sweep) turns every LED on over 2.5 s, then off over 2.5 s (5 s total, independent of pixel count).

Front panel test button, right-hand centre hole closer to LAN

Right-hand centre hole (closer to LAN). Left hole is the status LED. Hold 3 s to enter.

Button	Result
Hold 3 s	Enter test select. Status blinks white/black; ETH blinks green/orange. Idle 5 s leaves select.
Short press (select)	Toggle Color (green ETH) and Highlight (orange ETH).
Hold 3 s again	Start the selected test.
Short press (running)	Next port or colour index (wraps).
Hold 3 s (running)	Exit Test Mode.
60 s idle	Test Mode turns Off.

10 · Advanced

Repeat, group, reverse

Repeat clones each source pixel N times on the strip (before group / mirror / direction). Group tiles a block of source pixels. Reverse flips physical order.

Dithering

Start at 8 sub-frames, curve to taste, engine rate just under Max FPS and preferably ≥ 120 Hz. Intended for theatre low-end fades, not daylight architecture.

11 · Output protocols

On this firmware the Outputs protocol list includes Disabled, DMX, and pixel ICs such as SK6812, SK6822, TM1804, TM1809, TM1814 (Dif / Longranger), TM1934, UCS1903, WS2811, WS2812, WS2812B, WS2813, XT1511_P8. Pick the IC named on the tape — a cousin often has the wrong colour order or reset time.

12 · Firmware update steps

Stay on a wired NIC. Open Firmware Update / Changelog.
Cloud download (if the browser has internet) or Select File a .cfxfw.
Status LED: blue during upload, rainbow in bootloader. Do not remove power.
When the UI returns, confirm version and changelog.

13 · Specifications

	PixeLED 8 mini
Control	Art-Net / sACN, 10/100 Ethernet RJ45
Outputs	8 × pixel SPI and/or DMX512 (variant dependent)
Capacity	20 480 parameters / 40 universes
Supply	6–60 V DC (electronics); LED current is separate
Size	~23 × 54 × 80 mm aluminium extrusion
Default IP	10.116.x.x / 255.0.0.0
UI	CFXS Phase UI (this capture: v0.6.0) · firmware v0.9

14 · Status LED and troubleshooting

LED	Meaning
Green	Art-Net data for at least one configured universe
Orange	Data was present, then stopped
Red	No valid data since boot
Rainbow	Bootloader
Blue	Firmware upload

Symptom	Action
No web UI	Laptop not on 10.x/8. Disable VPN. Try pixeled8.local. Finder can list the unit off-subnet — see PixeLED Finder.
LED red, dark tape	Wrong universe, Disabled port, count = 0, unicast to another IP.
TM1814 dark	Must be Longranger / Dif, not Regular.
Sparkle	Missing GND bond, or no DMX terminator.
Missed frames	Console FPS above Max FPS.
Import did not change IP	By design — identity is excluded.
White/black status blink	Test Mode (section 09). Hold 3 s to exit.

15 · Support and legal

Manufacturer	RGBW SIA · 40203502104
Web	pixeled.lv/hardware/pixeled-8
Document	UM-P8-EN · Rev 1.7 · November 2026

Document history

Each revision of this manual is listed here, newest first. The line states what that revision added.

Revision	Date	Updates
1.7	November 2026	Output row indicators: a coloured circle beside each colour name.
1.6	November 2026	PixeLED Finder is section 06. Sections after it are renumbered.
1.5	November 2026	Test Mode: the Scaling sliders do not change the output level while a test is running.
1.4	November 2026	Document revision history on Support and Legal, in the PDF and the HTML manual.
1.3	November 2026	Art-Net Reply Mode explained: Device Only, First Port Universe, All Port Universes.
1.2	September 2026	Test Mode page (Off, Highlight, Color, front button). PixeLED Finder page: a unit can be found off-subnet; the web UI opens once the computer is on the driver network.
1.1	September 2026	Manual restyled to the device web UI. HTML edition added, with screenshots and field hints.
1.0	September 2026	First issue.

Specifications change with firmware. Art-Net is a trademark of Artistic Licence. Protocol names identify compatible ICs. This HTML is a design preview of the printed manual — comment on colour, layout, and missing fields before a website upload.