AlphaPix and PixLite Controller Differences

ltay13

Full time elf
Community project designer
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Jan 2, 2012
Messages
121
Location
Eastern Melbourne
We (Advatek) would like to put a couple of things on record about the AlphaPix and PixLite controllers and also open a place for general discussion and for people to ask any questions of either us or Holiday Coro about them. We intend for this purely factual and mainly wish to dispel some rumours we have heard.

Firstly, it has come to our attention that some people have presumed Holiday Coro to be the manufacturer of the PixLite controllers as he has been selling them throughout 2014. This is however not the case. Advatek Lighting is the manufacturer of these controllers. Advatek Lighting has and will continue to sell to, provide direct support and warranty to anyone worldwide. We ship direct from LA, USA and Sydney, Australia.

Secondly, some people have assumed that the new AlphaPix controllers that are coming to the market from Holiday Coro are from the same range as the PixLite controllers. This is also not the case. Although they look uncannily similar and have an almost identical feature set, the AlphaPix controllers are made by an (unnamed) Chinese manufacturer, not by Advatek Lighting.

Holiday Coro will no longer be selling the genuine PixLite controllers.

Anybody with a PixLite controller will be able to contact Advatek support at any time for assistance regardless of whether it was originally purchased from us directly or from Holiday Coro. This has always been the case and will continue to be so. Also, any warranty claim can be made with us directly at any time.

Hopefully that makes the difference in manufacturer clear.

The following are some of the main differences between the controllers themselves from our perspective (seeing as specifications wise they are extremely similar):

-AlphaPix controllers have 12 month warranty though the reseller (Holiday Coro)
-PixLite controllers have 3 years direct manufacturer warranty from Advatek Lighting

-AlphaPix controllers have limited free support from Holiday Coro and $19.99 paid support for full assistance (getting the network side working, talking between controller and your PC, setting up sequencer etc is only available as paid support)
-PixLite controllers have free direct manufacturer support as far as getting the controller working, network setup, PC talking to it properly and at least one piece of software controlling lights as expected

-AlphaPix have an LCD on board so you can easily see/set it’s IP address etc
-PixLite controllers have a small application that automatically detects all controllers on the network without needing to know their IP addresses in the first place. It will now find any PixLite connected to any PC network without needing to change your network settings at all (new feature unique to PixLite controllers).

There are obviously some other differences between them but we hope this helps dispel the main misconceptions about the controllers and welcome any further questions and/or comments.
 

tuppetsdad

Funding & Tech Support
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Oct 5, 2010
Messages
549
Location
Melbourne
Pretty HoHoHoty effort by Holiday Coro. Good to see your comments Luke, although mine might have been a bit tougher. :cool:
 

multicast

Senior elf
Joined
Jul 13, 2013
Messages
715
This situation has really disappointed me.

The amount of time, effort and money that goes into developing a product like the PixLite is not to be discounted. Its huge. Ultimately, the behaviour of one of these partys does nothing to help anyone. Because what you end up doing is making it completely unprofitable to develop new products. And who looses out then. you guessed it, its YOU.


Yeah, it might cost you $10 or $20 more, but Luke and Co, have made DIY RGB accessible. Make sure you support them.
 

lizardking

IT IS STILL ALL BENS FAULT
Joined
Dec 26, 2014
Messages
416
Location
Gold Coast
i hope you can find another re seller in the US and go head to head with Hollidaysorrow and make them understand that developing a quality product takes more than ripping off someone elses product
good luck Luke may the light force be with you and your team
 

nzlongfellow

Dennis from NZ
Joined
Jan 2, 2014
Messages
538
Location
Lepperton, Taranaki
I'll be buying more Pixlites this year for the following
  1. Excellent support
  2. Great price
  3. Continuous updates/enhancements
  4. They build it, support it and upgrade it.
  5. Great bunch of guys.
  6. They designed it.
Did I say I like them... Thanks for the polite update Luke.
 

Gilrock

Full time elf
Joined
Jan 4, 2013
Messages
438
Location
Tucson, AZ
Yeah I bought a Pixlite16 a few weeks ago. I ordered direct from AUS cause I didn't know HolidayCoro sold them. Kinda glad now to know I supported the original manufacturer. Its just too bad I've been so busy writing xLights code I haven't opened the box yet...lol. At some point I gotta take a break from coding and build the 85x64 matrix I want this card to run so I'll be running it at 5,440 pixel capacity.
 

DrNeutron

Just starting in this crazy hobby
Joined
Oct 19, 2012
Messages
228
Location
Glace Bay
I am glad you posted this information.
I was under the impression the AlphaPix was an updated version of the PixLite when HC 1st showed the product.
 

mararunr

Here to learn! (and share)
Joined
Dec 31, 2013
Messages
238
Location
3505 NW Edgewood Ave, Bentonville Arkansas, USA
PixLite controllers also have remote temperature monitoring (can see the temperature of your board out in the yard while sitting in your warm cozy domicile). PixLite 16 also has 4 DMX out versus the 3 on AP. As someone who was brand new last year, the support and answer to questions for both my PixLite 16 and PixLite 4 have been amazing. This year, as my show grows bigger, I will be buying PixLite boards hands down, no questions asked. The peace of mind is priceless.
 

fasteddy

I have C.L.A.P
Global moderator
Joined
Apr 26, 2010
Messages
6,648
Location
Albion Park NSW
The fact that Holiday Coro/China decided to base their contrioller design very closely to the advatek controllers shows that the advatek controllers are a great design and great value.

When you do something good, people who cant come up with their own designs/ideas will try to emulate to try and cash in on a good design.

As a consumer Its your choice to support those that design great products and keep raising the bar or support those that just follow with similar products
 

bluzervic

65,768 Channels, 185 Universes
Joined
Dec 31, 2011
Messages
535
Location
Fremont, Calif.
This is too bad.

As far as Pixlite, There is no substitute. I had the option to buy these other Alpha controllers and turned them down.
An easy side by side comparison was easy to see and Pixlite won hands down.

Not sure how long these links will be active, but they show a comparison table of the boards
Someone may want to copy these tables for reference.


http://www.holidaycoro.com/product-p/722.htm


http://www.holidaycoro.com/product-p/721-ps.htm


-Blu
 
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