Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Turning a Christmas tree into a low resolution display using WS2812B launched in 2015; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1PA
   Painting a Christmas Tree's LED Lights▲54

   2016 · anfractuosity.com · its alternatives →

2. 2
   TreeOS – A 16-bit bootsector Christmas tree demo▲141

   Christmas tree demo on bare PC hardware (no OS), in 16-bit assembly - cfallin/treeos

   2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

3. 3
   Wokyintosh▲94

   Turn a spare Mac display into a retro system dashboard!

   Sep 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

4. 4AH
   A high-tech floating Christmas tree with more than 2000 RGB LED's▲94

   2015 · maximise.dk · its alternatives →

5. 5
   Reelbird▲94

   Open Source Loom + Screen Studio alternative for Mac

   10d ago · reelbird.app · its alternatives →

6. 6
   4K Ultra Short Throw▲70

   A 4K projector concept from Sony

   2014 · sony.co.jp · its alternatives →

7. 7SC
   Simple Computer Graphic Effect Implementations▲5

   2017 · partow.net · its alternatives →

8. 8
   Mini Christmas Trees with addressable LEDs and RP2040-based controller▲44

   Hello HN, these Mini Trees have a custom circuit board with WS2812 addressable LEDs on one side and a controller using an RP2040 microcontroller on the other, all inside a CNC'd Foamex PVC case. They stand around 23cm (9") tall. The firmware is written in MicroPython, which can be modified or replaced. Power is provided via USB-C, which is also used for programming. There is also a web-based animation sequencer to create lighting sequences in time to arbitrary audio, examples of which are on the linked page. This is similar to xLights (https://xlights.org/), but much less…

   2022 · pixo.lighting · its alternatives →

9. 9TA
   Tidbyt – A connected, programmable LED matrix display [KS]▲7

   2021 · kickstarter.com · its alternatives →

10. 10OV
    Octree Visualization▲7

    2020 · nickyvanurk.com · its alternatives →

11. 11SM
    Spino magic screen: retro gaming on a rotative display▲5

    2016 · spino.tech · its alternatives →

12. 12AN
    A neat solution to note taking on small screens▲6

    2014 · palmnote.github.io · its alternatives →

13. 13RD
    RTree demo▲7

    2015 · rtree2d.hepburnave.com · its alternatives →

14. 14BT
    Binary Tree Art▲5

    2017 · sacert.github.io · its alternatives →

15. 15FA
    Fluora - A Smart Light That Brings Immersive Digital Art into Your Home▲6

    2020 · kickstarter.com · its alternatives →

16. 16WS
    WebGL Santa NORAD Tracker▲5

    2017 · noradsanta.org · its alternatives →

17. 17AW
    A WebGL EWA Surface Splatting Renderer▲7

    2018 · willusher.io · its alternatives →

18. 18CB
    Create Beautiful Bluesky Screenshots▲6

    2024 · blueskyshots.com · its alternatives →

19. 19
    48x32, a 1536 LED display based game platform, introduction▲6

    2023 · jacquesmattheij.com · its alternatives →

20. 20RP
    Recursive PNG Generator▲12

    2017 · algoind.com · its alternatives →

21. 21WD
    [WebGL Demo] Indirect Lighting Using Reflective Shadow Maps▲6

    2017 · erkaman.github.io · its alternatives →

22. 22
    Flat Color Generator▲5

    2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

23. 23VG
    Video Generation from a Text▲8

    2021 · rollideo.com · its alternatives →

24. 24AI
    An interactive comparison of 256 popular monitors▲7

    2016 · productchart.com · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →