This strip is way above the leagues of those similar priced "supposedly high CRI" strips. This COB strip is smooth from the get-go, I also put it into a smoothing plastic channel for extra effect but honestly I needn't have bothered. I can't measure the CRI but my phone camera used to have a green bias with other strips, while this gives a proper warm glow. Lovely and bright, be aware of the wattage per meter! Absolutely needs some heatsink behind it if running fill pelt