Of course, it can happen by accident that we publish a picture of a product that has nothing to do with reality, but it can also be intentional. The problem is that RGB LED strips can emit light in many colors — practically any color of the rainbow. This puts manufacturers in a difficult position when they have to showcase an RGB strip with just one photo while it’s lit. To convey everything an RGB LED strip is capable of, they resort to various image manipulations. This manipulated image is provided to distributors and is also featured on the product’s box (if it has one). Photoshopped images like these are created:
In the above image manipulation, we see stunning combinations of RGB LED strip colors. Unfortunately, these are not real; they are mere manipulations. There are, of course, LED strips capable of illuminating in every color simultaneously, but these are not them.
Products sold with such photoshopped images not only belong to the group of cheaper and less reliable RGB LED strips, where even the seller doesn’t know what the product is capable of because they’ve never seen it in person or, if they have, haven’t tested it. What I don’t want to delve into right now is that, in many cases, not only can’t these RGB sets achieve the lighting suggested in the pictures, but buyers frequently report issues with improperly sized, overheating, melting RGB controllers, and exploding power supplies, as well as poorly soldered LED strip connections in their product reviews. However, this article is not about these problems; it’s about the misleading representation of lighting experiences and ultimately deception.
What’s wrong with these depictions of RGB LED strips?
Well, they’re not true. Buyers purchase these products because they believe they can achieve the lighting modes shown in the pictures. In reality, an RGB LED strip can only illuminate the entire length with a single color at a time. If you set up color changes or flashes, they will happen uniformly across the strip, and all LEDs will change simultaneously. If there is any deviation, it’s not an advantage but a fault in the strip, such as a diode, soldering, or resistor error in a section of the strip. If our definite intention is to buy an LED strip that can illuminate in multiple colors at the same time across its entire length or have different color changes happen in different ways on the strip, or maybe a single- or multi-colored light strip run back and forth on the strip, such an LED strip is not an RGB LED strip but a DRGB, or digital-RGB LED, or more colloquially, a running light RGB LED strip. The regular RGB will never illuminate in multiple colors at the same time.
More precisely, there is an exception, but it is more the cheapest version of RGB lighting (the lowest category available) and by no means something special.
Here’s a little explanation: a normal RGB LED strip has 5050, i.e., 5mmx5mm, LED chips, and each of these chips has a red, a green, and a blue diode. Thus, any rainbow color can be mixed within such a 5050 SMD-packaged LED. Usually, these strips have 30–60 LEDs per meter. But no matter what color we illuminate, all 30–60 LEDs will light up. The seller correctly illustrates in the image below that this is not such an LED strip. Here, there would be 60 LEDs per meter, but they are alternating 20 red, 20 green, 20 blue 2835 SMD, i.e., 2.8×3.5mm, LEDs. Each can only illuminate with one color. If we illuminate in red, green, or blue, only every 3rd LED will light up, and all LEDs will only light up when we set the lighting to white.
If we set up some flashing effect with a remote control on such an LED strip — for example, alternating between red, green, and blue — we can see that the light appears to be running. This is because when the red turns off, the green turns on next to it, then the green turns off, and the blue turns on next to it. It looks like the light of the LED is moving one by one with a 2-LED gap. So, in this sense, we could also consider it a running light.
Usually, the seller forgets to mention that the color sequence seen in the above image represents the white state. The buyer only looks at the remote control, sees colors like purple, yellow, etc., buys it, and then comes the surprise. Because when pressing the yellow button, both green and red will light up, and for purple, red and blue will light up, and so on. It’s true that together, they result in yellow or purple lighting, but in this case, these different-colored LEDs are so far apart that we can only see two separate colors. The buyer could know in advance that disappointment awaits if they are not warned or haven’t experienced it yet.
In the image montage below, a luckier scenario is depicted. In this case, the enticing but also false image provided by the manufacturer is supplemented by further details from the seller.
So, the additional image excerpts show the reality. If this is also verbally confirmed about what the product can exactly do, this can be considered a fair approach.
The worse case is when the seller doesn’t even look at, doesn’t try the product to know what they are selling, and never sees it. They get some pictures of the product and try to sell it based on that. If they have no idea what their product is actually capable of, nonsense is likely to arise. The image montage below would be accompanying additional illustrative frames for a single product. The original packaged photo of the product, which could be viewed last, is placed first in the montage.
The seller might have felt that the blister RGB photo wasn’t enticing enough. This is reality, but somehow, they had to spice it up. They could have unpacked it, assembled it, tested it, taken pictures, and even made a video, but they didn’t because it’s easier to steal images from the internet. They also have no idea what they are selling.
For the main image, they set up a super creative image – the second frame. This image falls into the category of absolute impossibility. The product offered in the blister pack (1.) is a 5-meter indoor RGB LED strip with 60 LEDs per meter. However, in the second image, a miracle happens. According to the side label of the roll, you can see a Digital RGB (5050 SMD) with 30 LEDs per meter, and the unwound piece from the roll already has 20 red, 20 green, 20 blue per meter. In the third frame, however, it starts to prove in detail that it’s just a low-quality 20 red, 20 green, 20 blue per meter. In the fourth image, it turns out that it’s still a high-end product because it’s not only DRGB but also IP65 waterproof. Moreover, this is not a photoshopped image but a real one, just from another product. I would ask: if it were true that this is a DRGB strip, how could it work with the RGB controller in the set? Because that’s just an infrared RGB controller. The fifth image would be almost correct, but they failed to hit what they are actually selling because the blister contains an indoor strip, and this is waterproof.
I might have gone a bit overboard with the complaints, but if real photos were included with accurate descriptions, the buyer would know exactly what they are purchasing and what to expect.
I also put together the above images by collecting pictures displayed for individual products in various online stores.
How do I know that fake LED strip images are being used — besides seeing it?
- In 14 years, I’ve seen quite a few LED strips, even illuminated. The problematic aspects of photoshopped lights are ones that cannot be replicated in reality, even with DRGB strips.
- An RGB strip equipped with 2835SMD LEDs is not a real RGB strip; it should actually be called an R-G-B strip since it can only illuminate with the three primary colors. Color mixing is more of a promise than a reality — this falls into the cheap and forgettable category. See images 2 and 3.
- When talking about an RGB LED strip, it can only illuminate with one color at a time, and even if it plays with light effects, all LEDs change simultaneously.
- But how can a buyer know based on the pictures?
- An RGB controller cannot operate a DRGB LED strip. If the buyer is not familiar with controller types, the connector of such sets is usually detachable.
- The RGB strip has a 4-pin connector, while the DRGB strip has a 3-pin, occasionally 4-wire Molex-type connector secured with claws to prevent slipping. This is to ensure that we cannot accidentally connect an RGB strip to a DRGB controller and vice versa. (Also, because it’s essential to know which end of the DRGB can be connected to the controller and which one is only for power, but that’s another topic.)
RGB Connector:
DRGB Connector:
- If the RGB LED strip is 5 volts — rarer — then it can be cut every 1 or 3 LEDs, marked on the strip. If it’s 12 volts, then it can be cut every 3 LEDs; if it’s 24 volts, it can be cut every 5–6 LEDs. Between the two cutting sections, there are 3 resistors next to the LEDs.
- If it’s a DRGB LED strip, i.e., digital, in the case of 12 volts, it can be cut every 3 LEDs, and between the cutting points, you will find a small multi-legged black cube, which is a control chip. This is how they ensure that every group of 3 LEDs can illuminate with different colors. The central controller gives separate instructions to these chips by address so that the given 3 LEDs can illuminate how they want. This way, an LED strip can have different sections with different colors at the same time, and it’s possible to make the light run through the strip. So, if you don’t see a control chip between the cutting strips, it’s just RGB.
- However, if it can be cut every 1 LED, usually indicating a 5-volt strip (but it can also be 12 volts), then there won’t be a chip next to the LED. If we are observant, we’ll find a black spot in the middle of these 5050SMD LEDs. This is where the addressable controller is embedded. Consequently, these DRGB LEDs are considerably more expensive.
- So, if we don’t see a multi-legged black rectangle (IC) on the strip, or in its absence, a small black cube in the middle of the LED, then the LED strip is not digital. The LEDs cannot receive individually tailored lighting instructions, so they can only illuminate the strip uniformly and simultaneously at all times. These are RGB LED strips. If we see either of these peculiar things, then it’s DRGB, suitable for displaying multiple colors simultaneously and for running light effects.
- For even more detailed image quality, we can notice that at the cutting marks, 4 contact pairs are always visible with some Volt markings (+), (R), (G), (B). In every case, these are only RGB LED strips.
- If there are 3 contact pairs visible at the cutting marks and the LED is RGB, then it can only be DRGB. We might encounter markings like some Volts (+), (DAT or Din = data in, or Do = data out), (GND).
- If there are 4 contact pairs visible at the cutting marks and we encounter some Volt markings (+), (Di/Do), (Bi/Bo), (GND), then it’s a rarer but still DRGB — a running light RGB LED strip.
What should be the correct approach for sellers of RGB LED strips?
To use more realistic pictures. For example, if we want to illustrate that it’s RGB, we depict the color variations in a way that doesn’t appear natural, showing rigid cuts to emphasize that it’s really a photo collage. Or we merge multiple colors into a sequence of images.
RGB LED strip:
Or animated analog RGB picture:
If we must use a photoshopped image with a rainbow LED strip representation, we should only use it for DRGB LED strips – because, even if not exactly the same, these LED strips – or more precisely, their controllers – provide the flexibility for users to find a multi-color composition or a running light effect that suits their preferences.
DRGB LED strip:
Or animated digital RGB picture: