WS2811 pixel light 256gray scale. what does it mean?

[bernard]

so much to learn, so much stuff out there, so confusing...Anyhow, I thought you may have a quick answer for me. I am looking at this RGB

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Promoion-DC5V-50nodes-WS2811-pixel-light-12mm-diameter-IP68-rated-256gray-scale/701799_1263329827.html

what does it mean 256 gray scale? isn't 2811 a 12 bit protocol with 4096 steps (not 256)? being said, the price is very good and it might be a good deal. Thanks in advance for the clarifications/advices

 

[David_AVD]

2811 pixels are 8-bit, hence the 256 possible levels per colour.

 

[fasteddy]

2811 is a 8 bit per colour chip. 256 steps per colour so 256 x 256 x 256 for a possible 16777216 colours. The 3001 and 3005 are 12 bit.
DMX and E1.31 communicate at 8 bit so the main advantage to using higher bit levels is the ability to adjust dimming curves and gain

 

[bernard]

Thanks for clarifying this for me! Out of curiosity, which protocol would be 12 bit then?
Also, has anyone used the RGB mentioned in my first post? Any good?
Thanks!

 

[David_AVD]

Usually the 12-bit pixels are used with controllers that convert the 8-bit data to 12-bit for gamma correction purposes. I'm not aware of any controllers that accept other than 8-bit data. All of the current software packages work in 8-bit anyway.