The ws2812 LEDs work differently than the lpd8806 LEDs that were used in designing the LED volume meter from the 296 project. Where the lpd8806 strip required a data and clock line, the ws2812 LEDs have an internal oscillator that serves as a clock. The set clock speed limits the LEDs to a specific maximum frequency at which they can change colors. Since this is many times faster than the human eye can detect, this won't affect the performance of the project. The programming library, however, is slightly more complex due to this variation.

To get accustomed to implementing the ws2812 strip in a design, the code for the lpd8806 volume meter was modified. This test was successful and provided insight to some of the details needed to work with the new strip.