e1.31 pixel controller for single universe

[chrisrbloom]

I'm a complete noob to the christmas lighting scene, but have been doing professional theater and concert lighting for years.

I'm looking for a piece of hardware or a board that I could use that would be an e1.31 streaming acn receiver for a single universe to drive a pixel string.

I already have a DMX controller / console that outputs e1.31 data for my shows.

I have successfully created several pixel strings driven by an ESP8266 board flashed with WLED, which can be configured to 'listen' to e1.31 on specific universe to drive pixels.  These communicate over e1.31 and I can control the pixels with some success.  The issue I'm having is the reliability of WiFi (or possibly the speed of the ESP8266 chips).  I'd rather see if I can make them communicate over a wired Cat5/6 connection.

I understand the limitations of a single universe being only 170 pixels, but I'm only interested in beat effects and washes for concerts at this time.  

Has anyone tried this, and what board(s) would be required to make this work?

Thanks.

[AAH]

It sounds like you are adding unnecessary complexity. There are options for DMX pixel controllers. As it sounds like you want to use your dmx desk to control them it seems that this would be an easier option.