BBB REV. C or Industrial and why not Rasp PI 3?

[tecnageek]

I have been doing some digging and can't quite get the answer I need.
I have ordered 4 P5 panels that I want to use for my show using FPP. This will first panel build and not sure of the best direction to move towards.
I am facing two purchase options. BBB REV. C $40.00 or the Industrial $85.00. I would love to save them 40 plus dollars (cause money) will the REV C be perfectly antiquate, or do I have bust my wallet open for more?
And why not Rasp PI? I have a few laying around.
Thanks in advance.

[ukewarrior]

You can use either BBB or a Rpi to run P5 panels.
For a matrix that size, it seems like a religious discussion to me as you will find folks that are passionate about both boards.

I have been doing some digging and can't quite get the answer I need.
I have ordered 4 P5 panels that I want to use for my show using FPP. This will first panel build and not sure of the best direction to move towards.
I am facing two purchase options. BBB REV. C $40.00 or the Industrial $85.00. I would love to save them 40 plus dollars (cause money) will the REV C be perfectly antiquate, or do I have bust my wallet open for more?
And why not Rasp PI? I have a few laying around.
Thanks in advance.

[th182]

I know the BBB is recommended for panels but can't recall why exactly. I have a RPI3+ Driving 4 P5 panels using the Pi matrix adapter from Rons holiday lights. It's a double-sided sign with the Pi duplicating the channels from one side to the other.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ukewarrior]

did you post photos of this build elsewhere? I'd love to see the insides.

I know the BBB is recommended for panels but can't recall why exactly. I have a RPI3+ Driving 4 P5 panels using the Pi matrix adapter from Rons holiday lights. It's a double-sided sign with the Pi duplicating the channels from one side to the other.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[th182]

I stole the idea from this post on the Green site https://diychristmas.org/vb1/showthr...gn-build/page7

I took some build photos but apparently not the electronics part. I never did a build thread on it. If I get around to re-imaging the Pi to FPP v3 then I'll grab some photos and start a thread. PSU and Pi are mounted to a strip that slides in and out. I used PVC decking material so I don't have to worry about weather. I will be building a PVC post to mount it in the yard towards the street.

IMG_0880.jpg

IMG_0881(1).jpg

[tecnageek]

Excellent posts guys. Thank you for all the info.

[dkulp]

Panels on the RaspPi will experience significantly more "flicker" and strobing than panels on the BBB. This is due to the how the panels are driven and the OS. On the Pi, the panels are directly driven from a thread on the Linux OS. That thread is subject to interruptions and pauses and such as the OS needs to process other things (like network packets or SD card IO, etc....). Those slight pauses can cause interruptions in timing and cause flicker. Some people don't notice the flicker, others do. I know I'm very sensitive to it. I cannot have Pi based panels running in my office as the flicker in the corner of my field of vision drives me crazy.

Beagles, on the other hand, have two "Programmable Realtime Units" (PRU's) that are used to drive the panels. (basically, similar to a 200mhz Arduino embedded on the chip) They are not subject to the Linux OS interruptions and such. Thus, they are very consistent with timing and produce a very stable image. With 3.3 and shorter chains (which yours would be), FPP on the BBB also supports 12 bit color which really helps reproduce the images and videos. Basically, the entire image is significantly better on the BBB than the Pi. For basic "Tune To" usage, it likely doesn't matter much. However, if you are thinking about more complex effects like Shaders and Videos, the BBB is a better option.

[Ruppro]

Thanks Dan for the wealth of Info on the differences and it makes a lot of sense, for my simple Tune To sign, the Pi works well for me. But should I want to move to a larger or more complex effects, which BBB do you recommend?

Panels on the RaspPi will experience significantly more "flicker" and strobing than panels on the BBB. This is due to the how the panels are driven and the OS. On the Pi, the panels are directly driven from a thread on the Linux OS. That thread is subject to interruptions and pauses and such as the OS needs to process other things (like network packets or SD card IO, etc....). Those slight pauses can cause interruptions in timing and cause flicker. Some people don't notice the flicker, others do. I know I'm very sensitive to it. I cannot have Pi based panels running in my office as the flicker in the corner of my field of vision drives me crazy.

Beagles, on the other hand, have two "Programmable Realtime Units" (PRU's) that are used to drive the panels. (basically, similar to a 200mhz Arduino embedded on the chip) They are not subject to the Linux OS interruptions and such. Thus, they are very consistent with timing and produce a very stable image. With 3.3 and shorter chains (which yours would be), FPP on the BBB also supports 12 bit color which really helps reproduce the images and videos. Basically, the entire image is significantly better on the BBB than the Pi. For basic "Tune To" usage, it likely doesn't matter much. However, if you are thinking about more complex effects like Shaders and Videos, the BBB is a better option.

[mrGrumpy]

This little power house can support 72 P10’s
Here is a link to Dan’s store
https://kulplights.com/product/pocketscroller/

[tecnageek]

I have a Ras-pi B and a PI-Hat connected to a single p5 panel just to test working.
I m running Falcon Player - FPP Version: v3.2 when I go into testing and test channels nothing happens.

panels.JPG IMG_20191009_140742.jpg