new here and new to this

[racmop]

what would be the best why to start the pro kit?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                the plan to outline the house with RBG ribbon and one talking face just to start placing order on Thursday and around the windows don't know where to start LOL 

Edited September 5, 2018 by racmop

[Orville]

I actually started with the CTB16PC residential controllers and an DC-MP3 Director unit to run my shows the first few years when I started in 2010.  RGB stuff takes a little more to learn and getting into at this time of year, if you have questions may take longer to get an answer since many are now working on finishing up sequences and getting their displays up for Halloween and/or Christmas.   Also the software that controls all this takes some time to learn and the newest software being completely changed takes even more time, even for me, I've had to learn some new ways of doing things.

This is NOT a Plug & Play system, it takes time, and lot of it, as well as learning how to do things, setting unit ID's on controllers, setting up the comm ports, software, buying the music you want to use, buying the lights you want to use {unless you already have some on hand}, building props/items for your display.  There is a lot of work involved in this.

I'm not trying to scare you away, just letting you know what you're in for once you take the plunge and start getting items.   If you've downloaded the Demo LOR software and been using it to learn before getting/buying controllers, you're already up on some of this, but once you get controllers and lights connected, then you get to see how it all works once you have a license to operate and control lights.

Best advice is read everything you can on what you want to use in your display, research the type lights you want to use, play around with the software, get to know it and ask questions if you get stuck or don't understand something.

Then you'll be more confident in what you want to buy and use in your display.

Best of luck on whatever you decide, but once you get into this hobby, you will really be in into for more than you'll ever guess! 

And if you have a wife, you might have to hide the cost of things, as this is NOT an inexpensive hobby!

Edited September 6, 2018 by Orville

[dibblejr]

I may be wrong and perhaps LOR is now selling something I do not know of, but I do not think there is a "pro kit" for pixels (RGB stuff).

If you are talking the CTB16's they do not control RGB pixels. The color LED lights you buy is the color they light.

Just trying to clarify so you don't waste your money on RGB stuff if you are buying the residential starter kit. Big difference.

I agree with Orville on his statement. Read his signature as well.

Happy lighting

JR

[trooperblazer]

Also my piece of advice.  It takes a lot of thinking and planning to set this stuff up.  Ive been working on my 2018 plans since before last Christmas.  Start small. and then add to it as desired.  If you get ahead of yourself you'll end up running out of time to set up your display and get the sequencing done the way you want it.

[racmop]

Thanks to all for the advise and thanks for your time we put a big show on with projectors' but  last year we did the house mapping to tell the truth I did not like it so its time to hang with the big guys we are going to go RGB so my question is for the outside of the house do you use ribbon or pixel  for the outline. and thank again for the advise  

[dibblejr]

Either or however if permanent mounting I thing the ribbons are probably better. Just my opinion. 

Others will chime I .

Keep this is mind.

The LOR pixie series are the most affordable and easy to use.

However you need to be fairly close from controller to prop. With that being said they are saying with the new poxie16 50’ is doable.

With my older ones it’s about 20’

The pixcon16 gives you more control ability but it’s is more complicated to learn.

I am not sure of the distance. Someone else will reply that knows the pixcon.

JR

[k6ccc]

34 minutes ago, racmop said:

so my question is for the outside of the house do you use ribbon or pixel  for the outline.

As JR said, either will work.  Like almost everything else in life, there are advantages and disadvantages of each.  My opinion is that using pixels looks more traditional Christmas and using ribbon makes it look like a carnival attraction.  On my eves and roofline I am using G.E. Color Effects bulbs which are a little smaller than a C9 bulb.  I have them mounted in two rows which allows making the eves appear to hop (it's a very cool effect).  This shows what I did - although the next year I mounted them differently so that I can install and remove them in just a few minutes.

I have quite a bit of both dumb and smart ribbons in addition to pixels.  One big advantage to individual pixels is that it is far easier to repair a pixel string than a ribbon WHEN (not if) a pixel fails.

For some things, a ribbon is the only way to do what you are trying to do.  For example, this is the steps up to my front porch:

You can hardly see it unless you really look, but there is dumb ribbon on the underside of the bullnose brick.  It points down to illuminate the step below.

I originally did that to help my Dad who is about 90% blind.  When we rebuilt the steps in brick instead of plain concrete, he could not see the steps in the dark.  The two gray boxes on either side of the steps are each one end of an IR light beam.  When someone triggers either of those light beams, or opens the front door, it triggers a sequence that ramps the lights up on the steps.  That is part of my year round landscape   Of course I use them as part of my Halloween and Christmas show as well.

 

[Orville]

12 hours ago, dibblejr said:

I may be wrong and perhaps LOR is now selling something I do not know of, but I do not think there is a "pro kit" for pixels (RGB stuff).

If you are talking the CTB16's they do not control RGB pixels. The color LED lights you buy is the color they light.

Just trying to clarify so you don't waste your money on RGB stuff if you are buying the residential starter kit. Big difference.

I agree with Orville on his statement. Read his signature as well.

Happy lighting

JR

I think this may the one he's referring to J.R. Pro Series LOR1602Wg3-MP3

As you stated, there is no Pro series RGB Controllers that I could find.  and RGB is definitely different than the PRO Series controllers, as there is the one I linked, 16 Channel, and there is also an 8 Channel version.

[Richard Hamilton]

Quote from above  "My opinion is that using pixels looks more traditional Christmas and using ribbon makes it look like a carnival attraction. "   Yes, I tend to agree with that statement.  I also like k6 "hopping effect" with bulbs.

Ribbons do tend to look carnival like, but I think it depends on how they are used.   In my case, I put ribbons up UNDER the soffit of my house so they are not visible to the street.   And since they are flat, I can leave them there all year long with no one seeing them and they are not exposed to the sun.  Come Christmas, I just turn on the controller.   The effect I get is that the ribbons reflect off the house with a smooth blend of color instead of looking at little dots of carnival light.  Sample video in link below.  Yes, it is a little crappy video and out of focus at first.  I took it with the iPhone.  Yet, it is just to give you an idea of what the eve's look like with ribbons up under the soffit.   That's Brian's nice CCR tree sequence version of Psy on the left.  Nice job he did.  

http://HamiltonWebusa.net/Christmas/Psy.mp4

 

[dibblejr]

10 minutes ago, Orville said:

I think this may the one he's referring to J.R. Pro Series LOR1602Wg3-MP3

As you stated, there is no Pro series RGB Controllers that I could find.  and RGB is definitely different than the PRO Series controllers, as there is the one I linked, 16 Channel, and there is also an 8 Channel version.

Yes, being a new member he doesn't have the terminology down. But he said "kit" and the pro controller isn't what I would call a kit, thus my response. The closest to kit would be the starter package which as we know is not RGB.

OP- if this is for your home ad you are referring to the one my friend Orville mentioned above you should consider the residetial controller and still have money left for something else.

Just my opinion.

JR

[Orville]

10 hours ago, dibblejr said:

Yes, being a new member he doesn't have the terminology down. But he said "kit" and the pro controller isn't what I would call a kit, thus my response. The closest to kit would be the starter package which as we know is not RGB.

OP- if this is for your home ad you are referring to the one my friend Orville mentioned above you should consider the residetial controller and still have money left for something else.

Just my opinion.

JR

Agree, you don't need a commercial version for home use.  Now if you're setting up a display in a city park or public place, then yes, you'd need the commercial version.   However, probably about 99% of us use the residential version, a bit cheaper, so as my friend J.R. says, you'll have a little money left over for other things.

If you're referring to a build it yourself kit, and you have the skills, that's the cheapest way to go, but the build it kits do not come in a Pro version.

[k6ccc]

11 hours ago, Richard Hamilton said:

Ribbons do tend to look carnival like, but I think it depends on how they are used.   In my case, I put ribbons up UNDER the soffit of my house so they are not visible to the street.   And since they are flat, I can leave them there all year long with no one seeing them and they are not exposed to the sun.

Same here.  My year round landscape lighting is almost all ribbons - most of it attached to brick.  For the most part, none is directly visible from the street.  A good part of it is in direct sun.