Getting ready for next year already!

[JimCanfield]

A brief into. My wife and I have always been in to decorating for Christmas. Every year for the past 8 years we buy a little more and a little more to put up outside. Right now we are at about 7500 lights. My display is 100% static, and I was planning on keeping it that way.......until I found Planet Christmas, where a WHOLE NEW WORLD opened to us. Now we want to animate our lights sooo bad we can taste it.

So I have spent the past few weeks learning what is what and how things work and all that good stuff. The one thing I am unsure of is: Why go with LOR? I see there are 3 different options out there and yet it seems the majority of people use LOR.

[basis21b]

Jim,

Your question should generate some interesting responses. Here is how I got to the point I am at.

It my case it was all about timing. In late 2005/early 2006 only two vendors had software to drive a show and I made a choice based on price. Light-O-Rama had the software (Spectrum came out later in the year). D-Light was selling the 'solder yourself' boards package at a discounted post-Christmas price and they were compatable with LOR I. LOR was not offering the solder it yourself kits at the time. I had done component soldering years ago so I was not uncomfortable with the idea.

I was not interested in running a signal cable out of my house to run the display and so I purchased the LOR Easy Light Linkers. At the same time, I needed extra channels so I purchased a CTB16D because I felt that the time saved to work on display elements was more valuable than the cost saving of doing my own soldering.

Later in the year I started to hear about LOR II and came to the conclusion that LOR would be changing the protocol. This would render my D-Light gear unusable so I was going to have to settle on a single vendor The major investment was in LOR gear so that is the direction I am headed when the time comes.

I can tell you that I have had very prompt response from both D-Light and Light-O-Rama whenever I had a question or issue.

Tom B (the other one)

[Dale W]

Why I went with LOR? It was mostly due to the price to break into the market. The start up package for AL was 3X what LOR was going to cost and that meant less channels to play with.

I monitored the LOR/AL threads on PC and saw many more people had LOR than AL. Although it seemed AL had more professional displays, the LOR was acceptable for my household use.

The main difference between the two companies (other than price) is in the software. AL software will currently analyze a song and insert lights on, fades, etc for you if you are sequencially challenged. Meaning, if you lack sequencing time, patience, or ability, you can use the software to come up with a sequence for you.

It is rumored that the pending LOR II software will do the same.

As far as service goes Dan with LOR would be hard to beat. I am sure the guys at AL are just as good, and if so, it is because LOR has set the standard.

Not only do you have the family members on the forums to help you, but Dan will return emails at all times of the night during the holiday season when you are having problems.

I almost felt guilty about it because I was imagining how much time was being taken away from his real family, but Dan comes through.

Whether you go with AL or LOR, you will have tons of fun with your display. That being said, LOR makes your Christmas display shine.

I just got an email from a guy down the street that has purchased his LOR system. I am pumped knowing that there is now somebody else in town that has the vision and I can not wait to see what he does with his display this year and as it grows.

[mcnamara9]

Jim,

Dale and Basis pretty much hit the nail on the head. The customer service is RIDICULOUSLY good and the price is right for getting into animated displays. Additionally, I've learned more than I could have ever dreamed of by using these LOR forums to ask questions and get new ideas. The "social network of users" is unbeatable and you'll be surprised on how fast you can get a response.

Best of luck and welcome to the world of animated christmas lights addicts... your membership card is in the mail.

Brian

[TomD]

Jim,

I was at exactly the same place in October of 2006 that you are right now. I would sit and read and read and read all of the info I could on Planet Christmas, and on the manufacturer's websites. I couldn't wait to syncronize my lights! But I knew that if I tried to do it last Christmas, I would be pushing it to get it done. I finally decided to go with LOR due to what seemed to be UNBELIEVABLE customer service from the posts that I saw. It also seemed as though there was a lot more information available for troubleshooting for LOR from the PC community. And when I downloaded the LOR demo software, I liked what I saw. I waited until the sale this past May and purchased a PC kit, and did my first real soldering project. I'm happy to say that I just finished about two weeks of my Halloween Light Show (very small, just for troubleshooting purposes) and had basically no issues with hardware or software. I like the hardware and the software, I think it is easy to work with and it is very well documented. I've seen some of the problems others have had and have come to the conclusion that most of the problems can be headed off just by reading and re-reading all of the instructions, helps and troubleshooting guides. I think LOR has done an outstanding job of providing that information for us. I'm ready to start getting set up for Christmas. I haven't been this excited about anything in a long time! (Don't tell my wife!) That's been my experience. I hope this helps.

[jpohio]

I would say that I am still a newbie, since this will be my first year for animation. I did what most of the rest of you did...read all I could about LOR, D-Light, & Animated Lighting. I liked what I saw/read about all three systems. They are all very nice and whatever brand you choose, I'm sure you will have a great display!
But for me, it's my opinion that D-Light & Animated Lighting, while excellent products, are a little more geared toward the commercial applications.
I chose to go with LOR based on what they had to offer and the cost and it was what appealed to me the most and I felt that their prodcuts were more for the residential user like myself (and so many others). I got the LOR ShowTime controllers for my first time out.

[JimCanfield]

Thank you all for your opinions. THe customer service seems to be a real selling point, which is important. I just want to be sure to purchase the controller that will still be around as I grow ( as I KNOW I will, I have the decorating bug) and will be user friendly.

[JimCanfield]

Bloomington, eh? That is not far at all from me! Those are very good reasons Jeff, thank you. THe common theme here really seems to be the customer service and the user friendliness.