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Flow DNAGOLD Member
Destroyer of ceiling light fixtures
433 posts
Location: Cape Town, South Africa


Posted:
I'm surprised there isn't already a topic for this, or at least that I couldn't find one.

Anyways.
I, like many spinners out there, have been keeping my eye out for a decent, affordable set of pixel poi for a while now.

I stumbled upon these from a company called "moving-in-air":
moving in air led pixel poi
moving in air pixel poi video

Has anyone tried these? Are they any good? Will they break on me the first time I spin them? They are apparently programmable, so you can make your own images, which is kindof the whole point of pixel poi.

I also know that ultra poi has an orbit/pixel poi set available:
ultra orbit and pixel poi
ultra orbit and pixel poi video

They look smaller than the moving in air pixel poi, and they are not programmable as far as I know. They just have a bunch of preset patterns, but they look neat.
Has anyone tried these? How are they?

Any other options out there for pixel poi? I'd like to know about as many options as I can find.

Thanks

Ask me about flow, and prepare to listen for the rest of your life, or tell me to stop talking eventually...


adeathlyauraGOLD Member
The Poi Spinning Undead
173 posts
Location: Austin, Texas, United States, USA


Posted:
These look amazing! I'm going to keep a close watch on this thread. I really want to get a pair of these if everyone gives good reviews. I'm practically salivating over the ultra hoops at ultra poi. I've been wanting to buy a really colourful LED hoop for awhile. I found psihoops.com a few months ago, but they are very expensive. They look damn good though!

Question everything.


Flow DNAGOLD Member
Destroyer of ceiling light fixtures
433 posts
Location: Cape Town, South Africa


Posted:
I got some led hoops at https://www.trickconcepts.com/
They're really bright, and fairly cheap and stuff, and seem pretty durable so far. Look for a coupon code before you buy though, cos i forgot to do that and then kicked myself a little. The ultra hoops do look very nice though.

Anyways. This is off topic.
I want people to talk about pixel poi. Cummon people.

Ask me about flow, and prepare to listen for the rest of your life, or tell me to stop talking eventually...


fishscale77member
7 posts

Posted:
Hey there.
I am working on building my own pixel poi and I know at least one other forum member has done the same. I do plan to sell them when I'm done but they are definitely still in development.

these being Non RGB is a big limitation, and kind of defeats the point IMO. the set I am working on uses bulbs that combine 255 levels of red green and blue to make a huge variety of colors.

Giving sequencing software to the user is in my opinion the hardest part, and is out of the scope of my project. programming the micro controllers and drivers is RELATIVELY easy. I am trying to fit everything into a glowstick sized package so there is no room for wireless or usb. I would be interested to see the sequencing solution for these lights if there really is some.

I will also say that I am not a fan of hyper lights or ultra poi. only one color at a time dosen't do much for me. the ultra orbit is a step in the right direction but it isn't fully RGB either.

All of my parts are on a breadboard right now for programming but when I do get around to throwing them into some poi I will be sure to post a video.


EDITED_BY: fishscale77 (1319697440)

Flow DNAGOLD Member
Destroyer of ceiling light fixtures
433 posts
Location: Cape Town, South Africa


Posted:
Nice one fish. It's good to know that there are more people out there trying to make pixel poi, especially that you have a plan to sell.

I didn't realise that these are non RGB... When I count them now I can only see 2 colours at a time, so you I guess that each stick only does 1 colour?... I guess that is a little bit sucky. I'm all sad now frown I'd much rather have millions of colours, but they still look kinda cool as long as they don't crumble on impact.

I just want to find someone who's tried them, unless maybe I'll have to just buy them and put a review up on this thread. Not so sure if it's worth it with just one colour though...
EDITED_BY: NinjaHelix (1319699864)
EDIT_REASON: Went an counted pixel poi colours

Ask me about flow, and prepare to listen for the rest of your life, or tell me to stop talking eventually...


zach_rhodesSILVER Member
stranger
3 posts
Location: USA


Posted:
I've been on the same mission as you, ninja, for a while now and the best option i've come across is here https://shiningpromo.ru/?page_id=35

these pixel poi are as close to "feeding the fish" quality as i've been able to find so far. Full RGB but the resolution may be lower than those used by FTF.
...they also cost almost five hundred dollars

I'm not sure how durable they are, but i know that they offer repairs for pretty cheap, you just have to pay for shipping + a small amount for the repair itself

Flow DNAGOLD Member
Destroyer of ceiling light fixtures
433 posts
Location: Cape Town, South Africa


Posted:
Yes! That's more like what I'm looking for. It doesn't have to be FTF quality. I just want multiple colours that I can program into my own patterns. Awesome. Thanks Zach smile Now we're getting somewhere.

So. Has anyone on HoP used these Shining Promo pixel poi? Are they worth $500? Am I likely to want to use those cheap repairs after I spin them for the first time?

Ask me about flow, and prepare to listen for the rest of your life, or tell me to stop talking eventually...


Flow DNAGOLD Member
Destroyer of ceiling light fixtures
433 posts
Location: Cape Town, South Africa


Posted:
They are apparently not as variable in colour as what fishscale is trying to make. The translation of the website says: "Available for use 7 colors: white, red, green, blue, purple, blue, yellow."
I'm assuming that the 2nd "blue" is actually cyan. It's all the primary and secondary colours of the rainbow, so I'll be happy with that smile
My internet is slow. Trying to load video...

Ask me about flow, and prepare to listen for the rest of your life, or tell me to stop talking eventually...


fishscale77member
7 posts

Posted:
What is the minimum resolution that you would be interested in. 8 lines? 12 lines?
I know it kind of depends on the length of the lit area of the poi so lets say 6 inches.

I'd say that the single color pixel poi definitely isn't worth the money but the actual rgb set might be if you are a professorial performer.
One of the goals of my project is to make them super affordable. so far each set of mine uses only ~16$ worth of electronics but relies on a 3d printed casing that is far too expensive to mass produce.
EDITED_BY: fishscale77 (1319735512)

JuggleSeanGOLD Member
Ooops
116 posts
Location: EARTH, USA


Posted:
Hey friends,

I am interested in pixel props also. Have you seen HoP new ninja poi? The price is right and have pretty pixelesque properties.

https://www.homeofpoi.com/shop/productDetails/Single-Ninja-LED-Poi

EDITED_BY: OhioSean (1319742848)

Groovy


fishscale77member
7 posts

Posted:
those i can dig smile
EDITED_BY: fishscale77 (1319778319)

Flow DNAGOLD Member
Destroyer of ceiling light fixtures
433 posts
Location: Cape Town, South Africa


Posted:
I have some ninja poi. They are very nice. Pretty much the best not-quite-pixel-poi out there, as far as I can tell. I'm hoping to 1 up them with actual pixel poi.

@fish - I think my absolute minimum resolution would b 8 lights, but if you're going with 6 inches, then a nice round number of 12 is a bit more like it. The shining promo pixel poi have a resolution of 24.

I reckon there's quite alot you can do with 8 lights. the 3 lights of ninja poi seem a bit limited to me (although they are cool). With 8 lights you can start making some more funky patterns, maybe with the possibility of recognisable curves and such.

Ask me about flow, and prepare to listen for the rest of your life, or tell me to stop talking eventually...


Flow DNAGOLD Member
Destroyer of ceiling light fixtures
433 posts
Location: Cape Town, South Africa


Posted:
Ok. I changed my mind. The minimum resolution of pixel poi is at least 12.

I did a couple tests where I drew sine-wave shaped rainbow patterns. 1 was 8 high, and 1 was 12 high. The 8 high one was very obviously blocky, but the 12 high one didn't look too bad.

If only i didn't have to upload images to another site just to link you to them. This forum definitely needs an upgrade.

Ask me about flow, and prepare to listen for the rest of your life, or tell me to stop talking eventually...


Flow DNAGOLD Member
Destroyer of ceiling light fixtures
433 posts
Location: Cape Town, South Africa


Posted:
8 high sine wave rainbow

Non-Https Image Link

https://www.freeimagehosting.net/abf4e

12 high sine wave rainbow

Non-Https Image Link

https://www.freeimagehosting.net/69a96

Either the image uploader site isn't working, or you will be able to see the difference between a sine wave rainbow that is 8 pixels high, and one that is 12 pixels high

There is quite a significant difference IMHO. Obviously the effect would get better with a higher resolution, but I reckon 12 would do.
EDITED_BY: NinjaHelix (1319792252)
EDIT_REASON: fixing images

Ask me about flow, and prepare to listen for the rest of your life, or tell me to stop talking eventually...


fishscale77member
7 posts

Posted:
neat images smile. I'd really like to get 10 in there. right now there are 5 and space is already extremely tight.

the 12 looks awesome. you begin to see some nice shading.
in the future I would also like to build or see other build two dimensional pixel poi with leds in a grid. I'm not sure how the animation would mix with persistence of vision effects, but I'm sure it wouldn't look bad smile

check out this video



now that is a relatively high res screen but you get the idea.
or why not even three dimensional pixel poi?




we live in a good time to be motion artists my friends grin!!
EDITED_BY: fishscale77 (1319810324)

Flow DNAGOLD Member
Destroyer of ceiling light fixtures
433 posts
Location: Cape Town, South Africa


Posted:
The shining promo website says that their pixel poi are 50cm long. I don't think that includes cord and handles. It feels like that's a bit long for me. My whole poi would usually be just over 50cm. Anyways. You could probably get away with making your poi longer than 6 inches. Maybe 12 inches? Longer flashy bits makes more better IMO.

Ask me about flow, and prepare to listen for the rest of your life, or tell me to stop talking eventually...


Flow DNAGOLD Member
Destroyer of ceiling light fixtures
433 posts
Location: Cape Town, South Africa


Posted:
Not sure how much 2D or 3D led setups would help for spinning, but I have thought about maybe attempting to display an animated image with the lights. As you keep spinning the image could change each time around, or gradually change. You could even make a little animated run-cycle if it's timed right smile

Ask me about flow, and prepare to listen for the rest of your life, or tell me to stop talking eventually...


Flow DNAGOLD Member
Destroyer of ceiling light fixtures
433 posts
Location: Cape Town, South Africa


Posted:
btw. I used 6 colours in the 8 high pattern there, and 12 colours in the 12 high, so maybe the 8 high would have better shading with 12 colours, but I still think the curves come out nicer with 12 high.

Ask me about flow, and prepare to listen for the rest of your life, or tell me to stop talking eventually...


JuggleSeanGOLD Member
Ooops
116 posts
Location: EARTH, USA


Posted:
In the future, I am envisioning taking optical holography to the next level with props. I'm not talking about cheap holographic tape either. I am talking about laser transmission and reflection holograms. Like spinning 3D elephants, or Princess Leia (Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope)

We are getting closer... https://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/2011/01/28/mit-creates-princess-leia-hologram-with-kinect-wired/

Sorry this off topic.

You may say that I am a dreamer, but I am not the only one...

Groovy


Flow DNAGOLD Member
Destroyer of ceiling light fixtures
433 posts
Location: Cape Town, South Africa


Posted:
That's pretty neat, but yes. We've gone OT. I'd still like to hear about more kinds of existing pixel poi that are currently available for purchase. Preferably some that people have actually tried out.

P.S. I like the John Lennon reference smile
EDITED_BY: NinjaHelix (1319818119)

Ask me about flow, and prepare to listen for the rest of your life, or tell me to stop talking eventually...


fishscale77member
7 posts

Posted:
@ohiosean I have had the same thought, but as I don't know anything about holography I don't dwell on it. hologram type poi may also be doable by putting parralax barriers onto a 2d led screen like the one I linked before. I'm not sure how powerful the stereoscopic effect would be, but it strikes me as somewhat feasible.

@ninjahelix
I should clarify that I am primarily a glowstringer so it is important to me that my lights conform as closely as possible to the form of a normal glowstick. that being said I definitely plan to make full sized versions as well later on.

I'd love more news about pixel poi on the market, but at this time is seems that there just aren't any so our only options are to dream out loud or wait silently smile
EDITED_BY: fishscale77 (1319827368)

Flow DNAGOLD Member
Destroyer of ceiling light fixtures
433 posts
Location: Cape Town, South Africa


Posted:
Fair enough. I will loudly dream, and quietly wait for more people to reply to this thread with good news about amazing shiny toys.

Ask me about flow, and prepare to listen for the rest of your life, or tell me to stop talking eventually...


*HyperLightBRONZE Member
old hand
1,174 posts
Location: Great Malvern [UK]


Posted:
I've always liked the idea of pixel poi, but we've been wary of it as a fully blown product because it's difficult to make such a long structure robust enough to stand up to the average spinner. Another issue is that, moves like wraps are often more difficult or even impossible with pixel poi.

Having said that though, they do look very pretty :-)

Cake or Death?


Flow DNAGOLD Member
Destroyer of ceiling light fixtures
433 posts
Location: Cape Town, South Africa


Posted:
Yeh HL. Robustness can definitely be an issue. I can lose the wraps for some extra prettiness smile

I wonder if there's a way to put the LEDs in a flexible housing, thereby essentially making it one long flashy cord ( I guess with batteries at the end ). It should help to absorb the impacts on the light circuits too.

I'm seriously thinking I need to hire myself an electrical engineering student who can work on some stuff for me. I just don't have the time myself. I have someone in mind who is also a skillful poi spinner.

Ask me about flow, and prepare to listen for the rest of your life, or tell me to stop talking eventually...


*HyperLightBRONZE Member
old hand
1,174 posts
Location: Great Malvern [UK]


Posted:
Look up polarity on these forums; he made some flexible poi although they were definitely more prototype than a commercial product. I think he talked about open-sourcing the design too.

Making them flexible enough to spin nicely without impairing the visual impact is quite a challenge.. ...which is probably why there's no products out there that can do this frown

Cake or Death?


Flow DNAGOLD Member
Destroyer of ceiling light fixtures
433 posts
Location: Cape Town, South Africa


Posted:
Interesting. Thanks HL. I'll have to look into that at some point.

Ask me about flow, and prepare to listen for the rest of your life, or tell me to stop talking eventually...


si_sheffSILVER Member
member
128 posts
Location: United Kingdom


Posted:
if you guys want a bit of a comparison and field test this is what i've got:

moving in air pixel poi... great to use as long as you're spinning confidently and not trying anything new.. these feel incredibly fragile! they have taken a couple of knocks that made the heart stop beating but come out the other side, but definately not built with durability in mind.. that said they are easy to programme, 8 image/text upload slots available, can cycle through all of them or show individually. they look great on long exposure, specially with a fog machine.. would be better if you could control the speed of the change between images but cant complain for the money.. only one colour per set sadly, though you can buy one of each colour. i went for two white ones as they seem to have the brightest image.. they aren't a patch on the ones from feeding the fish or illumine glow show, but best that are easily available to the uk (they turned up really quickly too..!)

hop ninja poi. also very nice, though my first pair turned up broken, the replacements work perfectly.. they are ultra bright, have about 70 settings so you're paying about a quid per setting which is damn good value for money.. the last menu with the random patterns are beautiful on long exposure as are the one colour strobing triangle patterns on the third menu.. the rest basically makes you feel like you have every type of flowlight on the market, but still with change in your wallet (still love my nebula flowtoys more, but these are just as bright and wider variety of colours and patterns available)

does anyone know of anywhere pixel staff are available or being developed? that russian website's link is just too dodgy to risk giving money to but a pixel staff would be possibly the greatest thing in the world to see at christmas time :-)

PokeSephirothSILVER Member
Spinning Fire in Seattle
6 posts
Location: Everett, Wa, USA


Posted:
There's Pixel Poi.ru that sell their poi for about $200... they're based in Russia (I think Moscow?) https://pixelpoi.ru/index.html

Anyway, these look pretty neat, possibly the closest thing to the pixel poi by feedingthefish... I've tried contacting them, to see if they could give me an estimate on shipping to the US (Washington state) but I've yet to receive a reply from them. It has been about 2 weeks since I e-mail them.

Here is their online store, it's all in Russian, and google translate doesn't do a very good job at translating...

https://www.firemag.ru/product_info.php?products_id=507

EDITED_BY: PokeSephiroth (1329326698)

Flow DNAGOLD Member
Destroyer of ceiling light fixtures
433 posts
Location: Cape Town, South Africa


Posted:
Those look pretty cool, but I reckon the Shining Promo ones are nicer. They can do many different colours, whereas it looks like the pixelpoi.ru ones only do one colour for each poi.

https://shiningpromo.ru/?page_id=35

Also in russian.

Is it really only the Russians that make pixel poi???

Ask me about flow, and prepare to listen for the rest of your life, or tell me to stop talking eventually...


PokeSephirothSILVER Member
Spinning Fire in Seattle
6 posts
Location: Everett, Wa, USA


Posted:
Wow, that's a great find! You know, I've also noticed that a lot of the pixel poi are coming from russia or the czech rep. Or somewhere in Europe, (or that region in our world) . . . Hmmm...

PokeSephirothSILVER Member
Spinning Fire in Seattle
6 posts
Location: Everett, Wa, USA


Posted:
It seems that the one on shiningpromo.ru sell their pixel poi at $495 a pair, shipping included. Hmmm... I might have to start saving up . .. =\

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