I purchased this kit through Amazon from LEDWholesalers. It was better than I expected (in terms of quality of materials, brightness of LEDs, and ease of installation.) One thing of note, they sent me the waterproof version (which typically is a little more expensive) even though I ordered the standard version. The problem with the waterproof version is that the 3M double sided tape included does not adhere very well to the clear plastic covering. Because I did not need my lights to be waterproof, I cut off the plastic and installed the LED strips with the 3M tape adhered directly to the back side of the strip (instead of to the plastic covering.) I used drywall screws to secure the controller and power supply inside a cabinet, and had a beautiful finished project. One thing I was surprised with, is that the controller actually has a memory -meaning when you choose the color of light, or pattern that you want to display, if you cut the power to the unit (by unplugging the power supply, or in my case, by flipping the wall switch that I installed) -When power is restored to the unit, it resumes displaying the color or pattern that you had chosen prior to powering down. This is an awesome feature because once you have your display set up the way you want it, you don't have to reset it every time you kill the power.
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This looks more complicated than it is. You get a reel of lights which has a white four prong plug on one end and some exposed wires on the other end. You plug the four prongs into a "female" end on the white box you get. You connect the white box to the transformer that plugs into the wall. Plug it in to an outlet, push buttons on the remote and you are done. If you are connecting more lights, then order a data repeater, here or on the company's website, and use a connector ($2) or preferable solder. Otherwise, just some electrical tape over the exposed wires. I cannot comment on longevity yet, as these just arrived. I don't know how many strings can be connected, but for other lights I have seen 36 feet (about 2 of these). The remote that I received was the larger one (the pics show large and small). The lights are super bright and can be dimmed. You can go with a steady colour or flashing or changing colours. I plan to put them around my sliding door in my family room to provide light for TV viewing. The price is great for these. If I can think of another use, I will get more -maybe the garage.
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I ordered this item on the 7th (in the evening), received a note from Amazon on the 8th that it had shipped, and it arrived on the 9th!!! For free shipping, this is amazing granted, it was shipped directly from the seller and they are nearby (SF Bay Area), but still ... way to go!
The kit (and it IS a kit, nothing more) is way more than I expected. I am using it as a halo light for my wall-mounted TV, and it works really well. Let's do a pros and cons list:
PROS:
1. Length it is way longer than I need for my 40" TV and, quite, frankly, I don't know what to do with the balance. The strip can be cut every ~2 inches, but I do not want to risk that. No doubt I will find a way to accommodate the extra length.
2. Brightness these tiny LEDs are much brighter than I anticipated, and they can be dimmed.
3. Variety there are a number of options for controlling the lights. There are 20 presets, but some are barely different than their neighbor.
4. Remote This kit contains the 44-key remote, but see cons below. Besides the presets, there are two options for flash (3and 7-color), and two options for fade in/out (also 3and 7-color). There are "quick" and "slow" buttons which do what you think, an "auto" function which appears to be random selection, "flash", 6 buttons for dim/bright gradation of the R, G and B, two buttons for dim/bright in general, and 6 buttons labeled "DIY" for do-it-yourself (again, see cons), and a pause/start toggle.
5. Setup There are NO instructions, but the fundamental setup is pretty easy to figure out.
6. Power supply Good quality transformer, akin to those used for laptops.
7. Extensions Apparently one can buy extra lengths, and there are four bare wires at the end of the strip for this purpose. I don't know how many can be added.
8. Because it's a kit, parts can be bought separately. The Amazon website is not very friendly in terms of showing what is and is not available, and the supplier's website is not very helpful either. But still, it's good to know.
CONS
1. The lack of instructions is a problem when it comes to some of the functions. For example, I have NO idea how the DIY buttons can be programmed.
2. There are some comments here complaining about the remote producing the wrong colors. Two observations:
The connector between the controller and the remote appears to be plug-in-able (!) two ways. I don't dare try the wrong way, but if you look closely you will see that the connectors have arrows which guide you to plugging it in correctly. I suspect that the complainers here have done it incorrectly.
The remote appears to issue multiple IR commands, and the IR sensor is not very receptive. Sometimes I get a result that I was not expecting, and this may be the problem.
3. The range of the remote is limited, and controlling it from my couch is a hit-and-miss affair. If you are close to the sensor, you are OK. (The sensor is attached to its own cable, which gives you the flexibility to position it appropriately.)
4. Interference Other equipment in my setup reacts to some of the remote's commands. Now, admittedly, I have a vast array of "stuff", but this is an issue. The problematic items are my TV, my security system DVR, my HDMI switch, and my heater. The last two have the same type of remote, and I think that these remotes use a stock set of standard commands, so I guess this is not a surprise. (The remote is one of those cheap credit-card sized jobs that use a button battery, except that this 44-key remote is longer than the typical credit-card size. But the basic construction is the same.)
5. The light strip is somewhat flimsy, but if you are careful and gentle when installing, this should not be an issue. After all, once installed, you are not going to be messing with it!
6. There is no manual, a huge oversight, imho, because there is a lot of stuff that needs explanation.
One comment about the remote's distance and interference problems... I have solved this with a workaround. I taped one end of an optical audio cable (TOSLink) to the IR sensor, and placed the other end of the cable near the couch, out of the line of fire of all my other electronic equipment. This works a treat after, these cables are nothing more than a piece of fiber-optic cable, designed to transmit light pulses! And PLEASE do not pay an arm and a leg for one of these cables. Some time ago, I bought a bunch of them for $1.00 apiece. And, right now, Ben's Outlet (online store go Google it) has them for about $1.99. When you think about it, paying through the nose for a strip of cable makes no sense. Btw, the same goes for HDMI cables NEVER pay more than a couple of dollars for one, regardless of what you see on the web. Rick Broida at CNet recently wrote an article about this again, Google it you may be pleasantly surprised.
I have e-mailed the distributor (LEDWholesalers.com) with some questions and comments, and have not yet received a response. Hopefully they will, and if they have any good info, I will update this review.
All in all, though, I love this kit, and will certainly consider buying more related stuff! Just remember that it is a KIT, so don't expect everything to work right out of the box. Enjoy!
Honest reviews on LEDwholesalers 16.4ft RGB Color Changing Kit with LED Flexible
These light strips are fantastic! The kit will come with everything needed to get up and running; the power supply, light strip, controller, and remote. The LED strip ribbon can be cut after every three LEDs, you'll just have to solder the four leads on (or purchase the $2.00 lead) in order to connect a power supply/controller to them again. The strip contains an adhesive backing for mounting to virtually any dry surface. On one end you have the plug wired in for you to connect to the controller, on the other side there is already four leads attached for you if you would like to purchase a driver to hard wire into the strip.
These little LEDs are very bright! I can't imagine what the super bright LEDs available would be like! The remote control includes 16 brightness levels, a strobe effect albeit very slow, and smooth transition from color to color, and fade transition from color to color, and a flash mode. There are 15 colors to choose from from the RGB spectrum. The remote is small and light weight (about the size of a credit card but about 1/4" thick) and runs off of a common CR2025 battery. The range of the remote is about 15-20 feet.
The only problem that arose while testing the kit is with the remote. The color spectrum on it isn't the same as what the LED strip projects. For instance, when you press the Green button the LEDs light up Blue or press the Blue button and the LEDs project Green. The Red spectrum controls the Blues, the Blue spectrum controls the Reds, but at least the Green spectrum still controls the Greens :)
Overall I'm very excited and pleased with these lights. I'm using the first kit for shadow lighting for under my bar I'm building. I intend on purchasing more kits for walkway lighting in our Home Theater and also for accent lighting in our kitchen, office, and bathrooms.
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This kit was easy to install, reasonably bright, and extremely cool. However, the IR remote I received was the simpler 24-key one, not the 44-key one pictured and in the description.
