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Wow This Is Harder Than It Looks


cpj2008

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First off i would like to say all you people in this forum are my idols. The magic and finess you put into this hobby is wonderful. So here is my dilemma i started last year with a mr. appy from mr christmas 3 channel light controller with built in muzak. Then my wife shows me this video on you tube of a light o rama show and wow i was hooked so i promised my self i would do it this year. so now she bought me 8 controllers, 10ft pvc mega tree kit, 200 + boxes of 100ct incan lights red, blue, green, and white also the singing face kit and wireless fm transmitter, lor advanced software. but now i am over whelmed and dont know where to start. any suggestion would be greatly appreciated im enclosing a pic of my house last year with christmas lights mr appy and without lights this year and again any help would be greatly appreciated

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To anyone starting this type of hobby you need to have plenty of spare time. As with anything new, it will take some getting used to.

Your on the right track so far. Watch plenty of YouTube clips to get an idea what is possible. Also watch the video tutorials that are linked at the top off this page. You will also need to do a heap of reading threw these forums and other Christmas light forums. Chances are someone has already answered that question to might have. Scour the net for pre sequenced downloads. LOR also sells downloadable sequences. Learn from how other organise there Channels etc. You don't want to start to big for your first year, Maybe just a few controllers.

Draw a mud map of your house and where you think the lights would best look. Try to keep them in groups of 4 as most music has a 4/4 beat. Also keep in mind the placement of controllers too control those lights so that only minimal extension cords are needed. your almost ready to start sequencing.

Before you start sequencing you need to know how many lights you need to sequence for. So if things need building start there, maybe a tune to sign. Add lights. Add controllers. Now test.

Having got threw all of than you should now be ready to start your channel configuration for you sequencing. Its important to spend time here to get things right as its a bugger to change when you expand next year.

Remember its a hobby that's meant to be fun and enjoyed. If something gets to hard, come back and ask more questions.

Good luck

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Welcome to our sickness.  Misery likes company.  I like your wife already.

 

With 125 more channels this year, you definitely have quite a bit to work with.  My first year, I started with 144 channels, so it can be done if that's your intent.  My advice to you, however, would be the same as above - to start a little slower.  It's a lot easier to create fun when you're in control rather than when you're under pressure.  Don't feel that just because you have those controllers that you have to use every channel.  My experience tells me that what your wife would most like to see is something that she stands across the street from and says "Oh Wow!"  The number of controllers and channels used is way, way secondary to getting that response.

 

Yes, the first thing you need to do is conjure up your layout.  I agree that much inspiration comes from watching videos.  That's something the two of you should do together.  When you see something that you think would look good on your fence or your house, make note of it.  When you realize you've made more notes than what will actually fit your space, then you can stop watching videos and start looking seriously at all those ideas you like the most.  Your mission isn't necessarily to use every square foot you have to work with, but rather what you think you can make look good THIS YEAR.   

 

Where most of us tend to think horizontally related to our properties, you're going to have to work in a more vertical aspect.  There's no getting around that - you do in fact have a narrow lot.  You essentially have three layers to work with - the front fence, the space between the fence and the house, and the front of the building itself.  (I'm not sure I'd be trying to squeeze a mega tree in there, but that's your business.  But if you're looking for the biggest bang for the buck though, or in this instance - bang for the space, my advice would be to go with a spiral tree.  The difference in WOW factor is almost stupefying.)

 

As far as sequencing goes, while most music may well have a 4/4 beat, groups of four can get pretty boring pretty fast.  And the more groups of four you have, the more quickly it will all become boring, both for you doing the sequencing and for people doing the viewing.  The sequencing software has many tools to support your creativity, such as the "Stretch to fit" paste option, which allows you to easily fit almost any pattern or effect you want into a given beat, or into a specific period of time.

 

There's a lot of help here, and for those who join the forum with the desire to learn, we can keep you busy thinking about new things for a long time.  Have fun and good luck!

Edited by George Simmons
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LOL I showed my wife that your wife bought you 8 controllers and all mine did was say great all you get is 3 this year :lol:

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If make a list of everything and become friends with visualizer. Coming off my first year visualizer saved lots of up and down ladders for no reason

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Welcome aboard!  There are a couple members on here that have a house almost identical to yours.  Look in the My Christmas and My Halloween threads.  That will give you a lot help.

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As others have already stated, start with a plan. Use a picture of your house that you've printed out and start drawing things on it that you might like. Assign channels to them. Add in whatever fixtures/props you are including and assign all those channels. Put the house picture into the visualizer and import the hardware list into it from the sequencer where you assigned the channels. Select the music and get those files imported into the computer and start sequencing. Personally, when I'm listening to a prospective song to sequence, I'm listening to the patterns, words and groups of sounds that I might assign to things in the yard or on the house. Then I get to sequencing and making it happen in the visualizer. As stated, the visualizer is your friend! What you see on the screen is a good representation of what will happen outside except that outside, will be by far prettier and considerably more impressive. Trust us, your wife will be a happy camper. Sequencing takes time and other than buying sequences, there's no getting around it but in the end, its well worth the efforts.

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Welcome to the madness.  Like George mentioned, just because you have the channels doesn't mean you need to use all of them.  Leave one of the controllers as a spare.  Most of all, have fun!! :)

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First off i would like to say all you people in this forum are my idols. The magic and finess you put into this hobby is wonderful. So here is my dilemma i started last year with a mr. appy from mr christmas 3 channel light controller with built in muzak. Then my wife shows me this video on you tube of a light o rama show and wow i was hooked so i promised my self i would do it this year. so now she bought me 8 controllers, 10ft pvc mega tree kit, 200 + boxes of 100ct incan lights red, blue, green, and white also the singing face kit and wireless fm transmitter, lor advanced software. but now i am over whelmed and dont know where to start. any suggestion would be greatly appreciated im enclosing a pic of my house last year with christmas lights mr appy and without lights this year and again any help would be greatly appreciated

I just about fell off my chair when I read 8 controllers!

You have a lot of work a head of you!

My advice is to use only 2 controllers this year.

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I can see why you would be overwhelmed , doing Christmas and Halloween with that many channels to start out, all while learning the software making props picking music making extension cords, then making more extension cords, sequencing the songs by listening to them 100 times, ok breath. whew ya this is a hectic  hobby ,but your doing it right by starting early.

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I agree, max out with just 2 controllers the first year. 32 channels is more than enough to get you head bent around the software and concept of designing your display. Then next year add a few more, or if the light bulb pops on for you and you GET IT. Then add the balance of the 6 controllers. Although keep one out as a spare back up is a good idea too. Next year try to save up and watch for the pre-buy sales in Dec-Jan and get LEDs. You will find that the blue icans like to peel and chip after one season. LEDs dont fade or chip and can handle a little more rough handling. Also wont force you to add another breaker panel or outlets. I have a mid size display and do it all on two outlets. No way in heck could you do this on anything less that 6 circuits if it was ican.

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The advice you've been given in this thread is very good.

 

One thing I would add is to not think of how many channels you have, but rather think about how many objects you have. For example, my first year I had 5 sections of roof, 5 sections of icicle lights, 16 mini trees and 8 sections of bushes with two colors. (There was some other stuff not relevant to my point here.)

 

As an example to that, I had a commercial project this year with over 500 channels. However, due to the grouping of the actual layout, I only had 6-8 different objects with 3-4 colors. If you think of it simply by the number of channels, it can get overwhelming. If you focus on the items you have to program, it might be a little less daunting.

 

 

 

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I'd like to thank all that commented and answered my call for help. Also my wife enjoyed the comments and as for only using two controllers i dont think that my wife would like that she likes all the lights now too i would say she has the fever. so i am going to give it the good old college try and with my new light o rama family i think i can succeed. i was wondering how does everyone 

 

 label there controllers on the outside

 

 label there extension cords so you remember which goes where

 

just labeling in general to keep everything in order

 

again thanks for your time

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I use paint pens to label the inside of my control boxes as to what number controller it is.

Label the pig tails to plug into.

To help with wiring up of the other lights, I print out the channel configuration. This can be found by going to Sequence editor > tools > channel configuration >print. For those that have a lot of rgb lights only print the pages you need.

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Pick up a P-Touch labeler. I have one from Brother. You can get tapes that are designed to wrap around wires and tapes that lay flat. Label everything at both ends.

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Label everything at both ends.

This part of bobschm's quote may be the single most headache avoider in the history of animated lighting. My first year, I did not do this, although I learned very quickly.

 

Good luck and welcome to the addict......er....I mean.......Hobby. Yeah, that's it, welcome to the hobby

Edited by Ron Boyd
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I use a black sharpie to mark the boxes and a silver one to mark the pigtails.

The first year I did mark the extension (each end) with letter/numbers.

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First off i would like to say all you people in this forum are my idols. The magic and finess you put into this hobby is wonderful. So here is my dilemma i started last year with a mr. appy from Mr Christmas 3 channel light controller with built in muzak. Then my wife shows me this video on you tube of a light o rama show and wow i was hooked so i promised my self i would do it this year. so now she bought me 8 controllers, 10ft pvc mega tree kit, 200 + boxes of 100ct incan lights red, blue, green, and white also the singing face kit and wireless fm transmitter, lor advanced software. but now i am over whelmed and don't know where to start. any suggestion would be greatly appreciated I'm enclosing a pic of my house last year with Christmas lights mr appy and without lights this year and again any help would be greatly appreciated

Your wife bought that stuff? How cool is that. I started with 3 Animated Lighting controllers, & then the second year10 Light-O-Rama controllers. It was like starting over because I had to use a new software. (Regarding me) I found that the more channels I had the easier it was to sequence.  If you feel overwhelmed starting out with 8 controllers then start with 3 controllers. For me 48 channels was easy enough.

 

The sequencing is what you really got to get working on. I recommend using shared sequences that are 128 channels & higher & make them fit into your display & at the same time you will get a feel for sequencing.

Edited by lightzilla
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