Addressable RGBW IC chip is an important factor when choosing an addressable RGBW led strip light, it affects whether you can use the preferred controller to adjust the brightness and color and mode of the RGBW LED lights.
There are a variety of addressable RGBWIC chips on the market such as the most commonly used SK6812, and other UCS2904, WS2814, TM1814, TM1824, DMX512 (UCS512), SM16704, etc.
How to choose a suitable RGBW LED IC for your project needs among these many IC chips? First of all, you need to know the difference between these ARGBW (Addressable RGBW) IC chips.
IC chip will affect the following factors:
- Whether the addressable RGBW led tape is compatible with the controller you choose
- Requirements in terms of lighting performance such as data transmission rate, refresh rate, grayscale level, and color accuracy and consistency, etc.
| IC Type | Package | LED Chip | Input Voltage | Data Transfer Rate | PWM Output Frequency | Port Voltage Withstand | Constant Current (/CH) | Grayscale |
| SK6812 RGBW | Integrated, SOP10 | SMD5050, SMD4040, SMD3535 | DC5V, DC12V, DC24V | 800KHz | 1200Hz | 26V | 12mA | 256 |
| TM1814 RGBW | SOP8 | SMD5050 | DC12V, DC24V | External control 800KHz, Internal control 500KHz | 1000Hz | 32V | 6.5-38mA | 256 |
| TM1824 RGBW | SOP8 | SMD5050, SMD4040 | DC12V, DC24V | 800KHz | 1000Hz | 32V | 18mA | 256 |
| UCS2904 RGBW | SOP8 | SMD5050 | DC12V, DC24V | 800KHz | 1800HZ | 26V | 17mA | 256 |
| WS2814 RGBW | SOP12, SSOP10 | SMD5050 | DC12V, DC24V | 800KHz | 2000Hz | 12V | 16mA | 256 |
| WS2814F RGBW | SOP8/ SOT23-8 | COB | DC24V | 800KHz | 2000Hz | 12V | 16mA | 256 |
| SM16704 RGBW | SOP8 | SMD5050 | DC12V, DC24V | 800KHz | 1200Hz | 26V | 17mA | 256 |
| DMX RGBW (UCS512H Series) | SOP10, SOP16 | SMD5050, SMD5050+SMD2835, SMD4040 | DC12V, DC24V, DC48V | 800KHz | 250-3200Hz | 28V | 120mA max | 65536 |
| DMX RGBW (UCS512C4) | SOP16/ SSOP16 | SMD5050 | DC24V | 800KHz | 3600Hz | 30V | 60mA max | 256 |
| DMX RGBW (UCS512D) | SOP16/ ESOP16 | SMD5050 | DC24V, DC36V | 800KHz | 4000Hz | \ | 200mA max | 65536 |
| DMX RGBW (UCS512B) | SOP16 | SMD5050 | DC24V | 800KHz | 3200Hz | \ | 17mA default, 60mA max | 256 |
SK6812 RGBW
SK6812 RGBW is the most commonly used addressable RGBW IC chip with a wide range of compatibility with many common LED controllers and the ability to integrate into DIY lighting projects based on platforms such as Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Adafruit NeoPixel Library, FastLED library and more. There are many online resources and communities available to help novices learn how to use the SK6812 RGBW LED to create personalized lighting projects.
SK6812 RGBWIC can be presented in two ways. SK6812 IC chip is embedded in a 5050 or 4040 or 3535 4-in-1 RGBW SMD LED, and the IC chip is built-in which usually achieves a state where each LED is individually addressable. SK6812 IC placed outside of SMD5050 RGBW LED usually only allows one single IC pixel to control multiple LEDs.
SK6812 RGBW Datasheet Download
| Voltage | IC Placement | Data | LED Density | PCB Width | PCB Color |
| 5V | Built in LED, Individually addressable | Single data line | 30LEDs/m, 60LEDs/m,72LEDs/m, 96LEDs/m, 120LEDs/m, 144LEDs/m | 5.5mm, 8mm, 10mm, 12mm | White, Black |
| 12V | Built in LED, Individually addressable | Single data line | 30LEDs/m, 54LEDs/m, 60LEDs/m, 120LEDs/m (not individually addressable) | 10mm, 12mm | White, Black |
| 12V | External IC (Outside of LED) | Dual data line | 60LEDs/m | 10mm | White, Black |
| 24V | External IC (Outside of LED) | Single data line | 60LEDs/m | 10mm | White, Black |
| 12-24V | Built in LED, Individually addressable | Single data line | 60LEDs/m | 12mm | White |
If you want to choose a suitable SK6812 RGBWIC type, you can start from the following two aspects:
Voltage: Low voltage system 5V SK6812 RGBW is susceptible to cable resistance and voltage drop, so it is suitable for DIY projects and small decorative lighting applications; High voltage system 12V and 24V SK6812 RGBW is more stable in long distance cable transmission, which is suitable for medium and large scale projects.
In addition, due to the circuit design of each voltage, if you wanna more pixels, please choose 5V and 12V. 24V driven IC chip usually controls multiple LED lights at a time, and a single pixel controls a longer LED segment.
Data transmission: Single data transmission has only one data line, and data transmission is immediately interrupted when a bad LED is encountered. Dual data transmission provides a data redundancy mechanism to ensure that if one channel has a problem, there is still another channel to transmit the correct data.
TM1814 RGBW
TM1814 RGBW is an 8pin IC chip external of LEDs and with a single line to transmit data signals. In particular, TM1814 RGBWIC has an internal control module. When the IC chip power supply is normal and detects no signal input from DIN, or the signal was normal and then suddenly lost about 500ms, the fixture enters the internal control mode. At the same time, the DO port will automatically send data to back-end chips to realize synchronous display. After the TM1814 chip enters the internal control mode, it sends data 1918 points.
TM1814 RGBW Datasheet Download
TM1824 RGBW Datasheet Download
| Type | Voltage | IC Placement | Data | LED Density | PCB Width | PCB Color |
| TM1814 | 12V | External | Signal data line | 60LEDs/m, 72LEDs/m, 84LEDs/m, 120LEDs/m (double row) | 8mm, 10mm, 12mm, 15mm | White |
| TM1814 | 24V | External | Signal data line | 60LEDs/m, 72LEDs/m, 84LEDs/m | 10mm, 12mm | White |
| TM1824 | 12V | External | Signal data line | 78LEDs/m | 10mm | White |
| TM1824 | 24V | External | Signal data line | 96LEDs/m, 100LEDs/m | 10mm, 12mm | White, Black |
TM1814 RGBW vs. TM1824 RGBW
TM1824 RGBWIC is more compatible with with most popular controllers on the market than the TM1814 RGBWIC. For example, SP630E and SP639E controllers do not support LEDs controlled by TM1814 RGBW IC for the time being, and it supports TM1824 RGBW IC.
TM1824 RGBW communication protocol to 0, OUT R/G/B/W port 18mA constant current output. TM1814 RGBW communication protocol to 1, 6.5-38mA 64-level constant current regulation.
TM1814 vs. SK6812
TM1814 is an IC that controls only 5050 RGBW LEDs, while the SK6812 can control multiple SMD types of RGB, RGBW, WWA, and single white LEDs. SK6812 has a voltage range as low as 5V, while the TM1814 RGBW only supports 12V or 24V. An external TM1814 RGBW IC controls three (12V) or six (24V) LEDs simultaneously, while the internal SK6812 IC chip is individually addressable.