I am using a Teensy 4.1 + SmartLED shield to drive multiple P5 64x32 panels. I am using my display outside in bright sunlight so I need maximum LED brightness. I have set: matrix.setBrightness(255); however I believe the LEDs can go much brighter. How can I enable this?
High refresh rates and high color depths will both cause a reduction in brightness. Depending on how many panels you’re driving, you may be able to adjust those parameters to get a good compromise.
I’ve seen this issue, luckily I don’t need that much brightness from my current application, but can see how bright the LEDs really are if I power up the panel without controller and see a random “glitch” - crazy bright!
If you set brightness to 255 and RefreshDepth to 3 (only on Teensy) you’ll see the real maximum brightness of your screen, similar to what you see with random glitches. But of course you can only display fully saturated colors that way. It’s not possible to have more colors without sacrificing brightness.
You might want to consider using 64x32 (8S) “outdoor” LED modules. These scan four lines at the same time, instead of just the two lines simultaneously scanned with “indoor” (16S) modules. You will get twice the brightness, and you will also need to supply twice the amount of current.