LED Pixel Protocol WS2805

Overview

This pixel protocol was developed by Worldsemi in China. 

WS2805 is a five-channel constant current pixel LED driver IC, designed for applications requiring control of RGB plus two additional channels for RGB+CCT. It is commonly used in LED strips, modules and some fixtures where additional white channels are required for improved white color temperature rendering and tuning. It is similar to other other pixels in the WS family but adds the ability to map color control across 5 channels. The control circuit is available in a SOP10 package.

Note: Advatek Lighting is in no way affiliated with World Semi.

Specifications

Advantages

• Five-channel output (RGBW1W2) enables advanced color mixing and accurate white turning across warm and cool white LEDs
• High PWM rate allows for filming these pixels with cameras up to 133fps
• Redundant data line reduces chance of entire strip failure

Disadvantages

• Data-only restricts refresh rates to be limited by the speed of the protocol, which can be slow
• Only 8 bits of data for each color makes dimming curves less smooth
• Limited to 5V, causing short cable lengths
• Digital current control is not supported, so the color mix cannot be digitally tuned on-site

PixLite® Support

Are you looking for WS2805 pixel drivers that work with Art-Net or sACN?

All PixLite® Mk3 products support as an available Pixel IC type, so get in touch with us to find out how the lighting specialists at Advatek can support you in your pixel lighting project.