RGB

RGB mixes red, green and blue across three channels, and every LED on the run shows the same color at the same moment. That makes it simple, cheap and reliable for color washes, accent lighting and scene changes — a whole cove turning amber, a bar front shifting through a palette over an evening.

It cannot produce a good white. Mixing three colors to make white gives a thin, slightly off result that no one would specify as a working light source, which is why RGB is usually a second layer beside a white strip rather than a replacement for one. If you need both from a single run, RGBW or RGB+CCT are the honest answers.

Color effects also need a controller that matches the voltage and the channel count, and the run needs three conductors carried the whole way. Decide that before the channel goes in.