I'm planning to build myself a custom clock. I am looking for a combination of features I can't buy in the store, which is why I am building it. I desire a large blue LED display, the ability to sync time over the network, and automatically adjust for daylight savings time.
I've got some 2.3 inch tall seven segment blue LEDs which will make exactly the type of display I want. I'll be running an ESP8266 module to wirelessly connect to my network for time update, everything else will be taken care of by an Atmel 328p, including the multiplexing. Yes, I do have appropriate chips selected for handling the switching of the anodes and cathodes, as the voltages are a bit high for an AVR to handle
![Smiley :)](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/xsmiley.gif.pagespeed.ic.R8GFI-pF6f.png)
So, now you understand what I am trying to accomplish. This will be one or two units just for myself, it is not a product I'm trying to create, so absolute minimum cost is not really a factor.
My only real question is how do I handle multiplexing? Do I display the entire first digit, then the second, third, etc., or do I do each digit one single segment at a time? I understand that either is possible, but which is the more common method of multiplexing, and why?
Thanks
Ed