What to start with (buying the hardware)?

[Philzy]

Hi, so I am brand new to this, I have been doing Christmas lights for years and years now but never done them to lights. I have never done them to music and now am going to step in to the big boy game and do it. So my question for everyone that is willing to help me is this.  What do I need to (should I) buy for my first year to start off.  I am thinking that I will get two of the  PC-CTB16PC-COMPLETEcontrolers that would give me 32 channels to start with, I only have multi colored lights that I will be using for the first few years.  I think it will be a few years before I get into the RGB stuff.  So I was also thinking of getting the generic starter pack with the Advanced software license does that seem right?  And then is the usb485 good enough or do I need the booster or High speed connector or should I save my money?  I am also going to get an FM transmitter.  With all that said am I better off going with the usb485 or going with the showtime central or the mini director?  I don't really want to spend a lot of money this year but also want to start it off right and be able to build off of it in the years to come and don't want to buy something this year that I am just going to end up not using in a few years.  Thank you in advanced to any one that will help lead me in the right starting box. Oh and if there are any other thoughts that you may have to help me pick my hardware I would love that too, once I know what I end up buying then I will step into the real fun of making the sequences.

Edited July 27, 2016 by Philzy

[gorichgo]

2015 was my first year.  I bought the Showtime Central Starter Package with Basic Plus license during the spring sale and it came with the sd card then came the summer sale and i added another 16 channel controller.  32 channels the first year worked out great for me.  I used it for both Halloween and Xmas.

This year i'm adding RGB pixels.

 

Edited July 27, 2016 by gorichgo

[LightsWithSoul]

The starter package is definitely the way to go. If there's one thing I can say it's that you'll start with a couple controllers and the multi lights, and about 5 days later you'll want 3 more controllers and RGB. I am starting out this year and my original plan had been to outline the house and white and green. Needless to say about 2 months after that concept I'm in to RGB strips and floods too. Anyways, yes the starter package is the way to go. Advanced software is a good choice as you will want and use those features. The usb45 is great. If you can connect to your computer that's definitely the way to go in my book. Dumb RGB is definitely not too complicated. I was able to learn the hardware and sequencing for the floods and strips in just a couple days of experimenting with no prior experience. In my opinion the RGB 8 pack of floods is definitely something that is worth it as an addition to your lights as it will really "fill up" the show and remove any dark spots. That is of course if you have the money. The summer sale may be coming up soon so it may be worth it to hold off on a purchase, but then again here we are in July so waiting too long could make this year hectic. 

Edited July 27, 2016 by LightsWithSoul
So uh, I may have somehow inadvertently posted this while typing a sentence. Don't worry, I can internet. :P

[EmmienLightFan]

If you have a spare old PC or can get one, use the USB485.

 

It means you can expand more in the future and include E1.31 and lots more LOR networks, as well as more RS485 DMX.

 

You can get a suitable PC refurbished from Ebay with Windows 7 or 10 on it for about $100. It doesn't take much to run even complex sequences.

[Philzy]

Thanks for the info, yes I missed the spring sale and have been now waiting for the summer sale. So for now you are all saying use my computer to run the show and I don't need the director. Yes I don't have alot of money so that is why I plan to start with no rgb this year. Oh and I am planning on getting the controller's that I have to hook the cords into to save a few $$. Oh and I already know once I get some stuff I will be wanting more and more.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

[Mr. P]

I have to say, it really isn't more expensive to go rgb especially if you catch the sales. I'm talking Pixcon type controllers and not CCPs.

Figure RGB controllers will cost as much as an AC controller and still give you 16 inputs. Pixels can be found for $15-$20 and you have a rainbow of colors whereas top quality led strings can go for the same price for single colors so many strings would be needed to get multiple colors.

The biggest difference is the learning curve, there is much more involved in programming RGB.

[oilmoney]

If you're running your show off a PC then get the high speed connector, you're just going to want it in a few years anyways.

[EmmienLightFan]

5 hours ago, oilmoney said:

If you're running your show off a PC then get the high speed connector, you're just going to want it in a few years anyways.

How many channels does it take to need the high speed adapter?

[zman]

1 hour ago, EmmienLightFan said:

How many channels does it take to need the high speed adapter?

Channels is not the question. You can use the highspeed adapter with 1 channel. It really becomes effective when you move into RGB in a big way. Only Gen3 controllers and the CC(x) controllers take advantage of the higher speeds.

Philzy. I always say, crawl-walk-run. So many of us are RGB gaga. I just had this conversation with 2 newbies at Christmas Expo. They kept hearing RGB this, and RGB that, and they feared they made a mistake selecting LOR as the baseline. The advantage with LOR is that it is expandable. You can build off it, stay plug and play, dangle DIY off it, etc... 

RGB is arguably cheaper and easier. I can take both sides of that argument, and I don't necessarily agree with that, but what is most important in that argument, is you have to understand what you are going into, and up against. 

The key thing is that this hobby is a slippery slope. Create a plan and stay focused on that plan. Grow as you want to grow. If you get pulled in different directions, it causes undue stress in the long run. Enjoy, keep us posted.

[oilmoney]

I feel that you don't need the booster, if you just start with a brand new CTB16PC which is 16 channels I'm just saying for the extra $2.00 you pay for the high speed RS-485 you may as well just go that route. Correct me if I'm wrong ( I probably am ) you need a GEN-3 controller to run at 500K, a new CTB16PC would be exactly that. For an extra $2.00 it's a no brainer as now you have it and you'll never have to worry about getting one if your display grows and multiplies ( it will ). As far as RGB goes as some have already stated the 8 pack of 10w floods is a great way to dip your toes into RGB as well as a great addition to your display, the 10w floods are my favorite part of my display, I'll be rocking 48 of them this year, 20 pointed at the house and 28 pointed at the street!

[EdNetman]

I would suggest picking up the USB485b as part of the starter package.

It only costs an extra $13 but gives you TWO outputs to work with. Much easier since not all controllers have to be inline.

http://www.lightorama.com/Documents/RS485_Adapters.pdf

~Ed

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Daryl]

If you decide to run off a computer, make it a dedicated computer in the evening for only the lights. Remember the audio for the lights comes thru the external jack. If you want to watch a video with sound the same time your light show is running, the sound from the video your watching will come through over your light show too. As was stated earlier, it doesn't take much to run a simple show. Granted I'm not running RGB, but I'm using an old Vista laptop to running my 192 channels using wireless light linkers from LOR.

Daryl

[k6ccc]

There are advantages and disadvantages to using a computer vs a show director.  Changes to your show are a lot easier if you are using a computer, but it requires having some place to put it.  With a director it's fairly easy to put it out in the yard somewhere.  The RS-485 protocol works over thousands of feet, so it does not need to be close which can make locating a show PC easier.  In my case, the show computer was in my family room in the very back of the house until a few months ago when it got moved into a dedicated data cabinet in the garage.  Except for the one 8 channel controller in the garage on one of the three networks, it is a couple hundred feet before the first controller.  If you are going to run interactive sequences (I do for my year round landscape lighting), as I understand it, you can't do that on a director.  I have always used an old slow show computer.  As said before, it does not take much of a PC to run even a complex show.  My show computer is an old HP desktop running on a Pentium 4 CPU at 3.00GHz.  It has 1GB of RAM and an 80GB spinning hard drive.  It is running Windows XP.  It has been my show computer since Halloween 2012 and runs 24 x 7 x 365 and was bought as a refurb back then.  Other than shutting it down twice a year to blow the dust out of it, it just runs.  It does do a scheduled re-boot every afternoon.

 

[Doug2708]

can someone point me to a video of what I can do the 16 channel starter package?

I'm hoping to buy one shortly, but want to make sure it's enough to make a descent residential display for a small house. 

By the way, I'm a complete newbie to animated shows.

Edited August 16, 2016 by Doug2708

[Mr. P]

If you want to see what 16 channels can do then go to youtube and search for "LOR 16 ch" and a couple dozen videos will pop up.

If you want to know how to program 16 channels then go here and watch the tutorials:

http://www1.lightorama.com/tutorials/

Edited August 16, 2016 by Mr. P

[Doug2708]

Thanks Mr. P, that was a big help.  Both the youtube content and the tutorials.