Using tilted aluminium profile for LEDs?

  • Has anyone tried to mount LED stripe within 45 degree aluminium profile?


    I was thinking a bit about how to mount the LEDs behind the TV. If just glued to the back of TV, half of the light is lost (by illuminating behind the TV), while the alu profile would direct the light out.


    What I am a bit worried is that the LEDs would form light spots on the wall, which can be then fixed with light dispersing plastic front.


    The profiles are around 6 euros / meter so the expense is not really relevant.


    Something like this:


    alu.jpg


    Also as much as I know about LEDs, they need some form of cooling and typically they are mounted into aluminium profiles that are also working as a heat sink.


    Is this a good idea or maybe a bad one?

  • Its a good Idea :)

    I like the idea of the angle very much, good thinking :)


    Cooling will be beneficial for sure, I just doubt, that its a critical thing with RGB-LEDs and Hyperion...

    As intensity and color channels always fluctuate, they certainly are not constantly drawing a lof of power and building up heat...




    Here is how I will install strips on the back of my TV.

    I will also put them on aluminium profiles.


    They will be mounted onto the VESA screws, because I also dont want to mess with glued tape.

    Maybe you can archieve something similar, if you build a stiff frame, that has some supporting construktion at its center ...





  • Here is maybe something you find interesting:

    ---> Basic USB grabber setup hyperion.ng 4k/1080p apa102 raspi3b




    The user Ambientheater77 ...

    ... has mounted his strips not facing directly to the wall, but rather pointed in a 45° - 90° angle.

    His frame is made of PVC tubing, so he can twist tube segments to adjust the angle.


    I dont want to encourage you to use PVC, stick with aluminium, but his LED setup finally follows a similar idea like yours ...

    See, if you like the outcome ...



    Video of his demo with timestamp (2m:48s):



    Foto:

  • yes, thank you for clarify my setup.


    That turnable PVC system is nothing more then using 5/8 tube frame and bends for basics and then slide over 3/4 of PVC tube, thats the turnable part.

    its handy when you have to play with the shadowlines the leds will produce on the wall. :)


    also this pvc tubing solves the issue with corners... not a bad one.

    and its very light frame, so the adhesive tape on the TV will stick and stay that way.

    also the adhesive tape from the ledstrip will stick on the PVC tube, even when you re-attach the ledstrip.



    i used powertape . its removable without traces/damage to the backplate of your TV.

    i used black 90 degrees metal corners and tyrips to make the frame adjustable.

    Einmal editiert, zuletzt von Ambientheater77 () aus folgendem Grund: Merged a post created by Lightning-guy77 into this post.

  • Lightning-guy77: thank you for clarification :)


    What angle do you recommend?


    I am still playing with idea to use aluminum profiles due to LEDs being protected from dust but in this case I would have to pull some serious thinking into having the adjustable angle.


    One more positive thing is that the profile is acting as a reflector although I am still not sure if I would rather use the white or anodized silver version. Maybe even using black one (for the looks) and adding some glued aluminum foil to it for maximum reflection.


    My TV is 2cm from the wall and I have found two profiles that would fit nicely. One is non-symetric on picture in first post, where you can have either 60 or 30 degrees angle, while the normal profiles have 45 degrees.

  • To me an angle of 30° seems pretty ideal ....


    The light emitting angle of a standard LED is 120° ... (yellow)

    The LEDs most luminous area is in the center of its beam (orange).






    +30° seems to put this beam right next to the TV.

    So there you have the highest gain of luminosity thrown at the wall.


    Also +30° gives you a wide coverage of ambient stray light on the wall.


    (You can see it on the right end of the outer light beam:
    The LEDs stray light is emitted in parallel to the wall.)




    Your 30°-profile seems to do just fine ....


    In theory, this should give you the maximum of coverage.

    Wider angles will just put the intensitiy center further away from the TV, but will give you not much additional gain with stray light ...


  • What angle do you recommend?


    I am still playing with idea to use aluminum profiles due to LEDs being protected from dust but in this case I would have to pull some serious thinking into having the adjustable angle.


    With me it was just a matter of turning the pvc tube into 10 degrees towards the tv, i have only 2 inch between the tv and the wall look at Timmy drawing.

    it depends also on the distance between the tv and the wall, and where you placed the leds.


    the 5050smd leds itself have a light angle of 120 degrees, most of them types.

    the aluminium frame is also a good way to go, but make sure you test the angle with a little leds behind the tv.

    its not exact science, just try it out. That's how i achieved the angle.


    most of the builders here use the adhesive from the ledstrip itself and stick it on the backpane of the tv, my experience is that because of the heat the tv will produce the adhesive is letting go after time, if you use the aluminium strips then make sure you stick it really good to the tv.


    i used powerbond for that from Tesa >> adhesive tape doublesided which is for indoor/outdoor of use.

    you can remove it without traces. :)


    also one thing; tv's on backpane are not perfect flat and have curbes, i used double layer tape or triple to even the curbes and bends out.

    metal brackets are sticked on the backpane of the tv with powerbond, then used tywraps to install the pvc frame on the brackets.

  • a more specific, certainly less confusing answer ...

    It wasnt confusing, but anyway thank you for it, it is actually great, what are you using to draw it? And you are right, think 20 times, cut the freaking aluminum profile at 45 angle with hand saw only once :D


    its not exact science, just try it out

    Well i will, the issue is that I dont have much space in between TV (2cm) and tests like this are annoying as hell :) But thank you for your answer.


    also one thing; tv's on backpane are not perfect flat and have curbes,

    I think that mine does (Samsung Q90T), I havent find any bumps.

    2 Mal editiert, zuletzt von stiray () aus folgendem Grund: Merged a post created by stiray into this post.

  • what are you using to draw it?


    I use Photoshop for 2D.


    I made a new drawing ... this time choosing the exact distance in mm from the TV to your wall.
    For the position of the LEDs I assumed a shift of 15 mm left from the outer edge of the TV.


    Scale: 1mm is represented by 10 pixels.
    So the image and all drawn angles are absolutely precise.
    If you open it in Photoshop, you also can take measurements ...




    As you can see, 30° wont make you happy ... :(
    You instead should choose a much more dramatic angle.

    For simplification choose 90° :thumbup:

    This way you can use simple and flat aluminium profiles and build a frame with 4 x 90°-brackets in its corners.



    Shadows are NOT in the "line of sight":

    As the outer light beam of the LEDs still disappears behind the TV, the LEDs wont cast any visible shadow


    Also, not displayed in the picture, there is additional stray light outside of the light beam of 120°.
    So there is a lot of "head room".




    Is this really the most ideal solution?


    For comparison I also "simulated" your aluminium profiles with a 60° angle ...
    I assumed a width/depth of the profile of 15mm ...

    As you can see, it is not ideal either. :(

    I guess an angle of 80° would be perfect.
    But building such a frame would be too complicated ... just think of the jointing of the corners.

    You could improve the result of the 60°-profile if you can get the frame a bit closer to the edge of the TV.
    But still ... this is a matter of millimeters and you will need very precise cutting.



    See for yourself ...

  • Timmy thank you, I have aluminum frames here and I also got myself a mitre saw (45 degrees turn and 45 degrees tilt - i was planning buying it for ages) so the precision 45 degree cuts at corners shouldn't be an issue.


    I am having Q90T TV and it is perfectly flat at back (at least 5 cm from edges) so I can put the alu frames to the edge without any issues.


    After half a day of soldering I am having the leds blinking (alu cutting comes tomorrow) looks like it works, but something is tearing my nerves, I dont know if it is settings or broken connection of something else but from 4m led strip, only half of leds turn on.



    I have no clue if this is the issue with the length / thickness of data cable (1.5m), hopefully not...

  • only half of leds turn on.

    Do the LEDs fade in color and brightness, so each LED gets dimmer than the one before?
    Then it is a drop of voltage (current)


    If the light of the LEDs stops at a single point, then its a problem with the internal connection of the strip (LED/PCB broken) or the driving data (software).


    Do you use 5V strips like SK6812?

  • No, the LEDs dont fade, they are equally bright, no flickering either, they just dont work beyond some point.


    Yes, I am using SK6812, https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32476317187.html


    Each 1m, hmm, I did some LED lightning in my kitchen, but this wasn't an issue. I will try to add some additional power to the end of the strip and see if it is any better... a bit annoying but ok. I will test the connections between working and not working led with ohm-meter and see what comes out.


    What about data cable, I have read that it shouldnt be too long or the level shifter should be used.

  • Each 1m, hmm

    Right, thats why I deleted that statement...


    Just relate to the FAQ to catch up with the most common recommendation for power injection and also strength of the copper wire.
    I cant recall from memory, I would need to look it up myself.


    As you said, do some measurements on the strip where the light is interrupted.
    So, when a hardware defect is excluded, it must be a problem with software configuration.

  • stiray

    Once you solved tthe problem, can you get back here and post the solution?
    That would be nice.




    Also:
    Do you mind and put up some photos of your set up?


    I'd be nosy what kind of visual impression your LEDs make when installed on your angled profiles.




    Maybe you can arrange the photo in a similar way for good comparison.

    1) You can see, that the intense part of the emitted light creates a narrow and thin frame around the TV.

    2) In this photo you also get a good impression of the huge amount of stray light illuminating the rest of the room.

    Your LED setup certainly spreads this area of intense light more widely.

    Thats what I would like to confirm.


    Thank you!



    (This photo ist taken from Kaebu and one of his support threads)

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