One of Many Newbie Questions

[Guest guest]

So I'm finally taking the step this year and doing something about all my boring static lights. Still in the infancy stage with the details, but getting the point of deciding controllers (thinking 1 or 2 CTB-16Ds), and focusing mailing on trees and maybe arches. I have a lot of space to decorate, part of it being the front of my house, with typical landscaping (I'm in FL, so lots of palms..) and a lot of wide open grassy areas (all kinds of opportunities there..).

I'm thinking CTB-16D kits for two reasons..one being stuffing PC boards and building is a great escape for me, and second, leaning towards the D series rather than PC so I don't need to have a PC dedicated to driving whatever I come up with.

So a few basic questions that are on my mind thus far:

1. lights and music...as stupid as this question sounds, does one always plan a display to music? Any reason I can't just do a variety of sequences that are time based rather than music based? I live on a fairly busy country road, so not the likelihood that people will drive by and listen to music on a localized FM unit with the display.

2. Arches and trees...I see trees, and maybe arches being a definite part of this...are there any true "kits" for either, or does every roll their own?

So for now, I have the software demo, going to start playing with that, and try to hold off buying my kits until the summer sale. As much as I'd love to buy them now and get going, the planning time will pay for itself in the end.

Open to any and all comments/insight/advice that anyone wants to toss out there. Guaranteed I'll have more questions in the coming weeks.

[jimswinder]

DonFL wrote:

So a few basic questions that are on my mind thus far:

1. lights and music...as stupid as this question sounds, does one always plan a display to music? Any reason I can't just do a variety of sequences that are time based rather than music based?

**That's the beauty of this hobby, you can do anything you want...as long as you are happy with it, that is all that really matters. I would think it would be easier to sequence to music though**

2. Arches and trees...I see trees, and maybe arches being a definite part of this...are there any true "kits" for either, or does every roll their own?

**The only "kit" I know of is most use tomato cages for their mini trees, same thing with arches, everyone does their own, but their are several ways to do them. Google "christmas Arches" and you will find several ways to do them.**

As much as I'd love to buy them now and get going, the planning time will pay for itself in the end.

**If you aren't planning anything to large, you should be good to wait till the summer sale...me, I had to start building and buying back in January!!**

Open to any and all comments/insight/advice that anyone wants to toss out there. Guaranteed I'll have more questions in the coming weeks.

**Just have fun...and what I always say "build it and they will come"...so even though you might be on a busy street, expect the word to get out and the people to come and enjoy your display!!**

[Guest Don Gillespie]

Glad to have you aboard the sky is the limit there are many different things you can do your displays tells everyone who you are the music is your choice the sequences are yours to develop and make a really neat show for everyone to watch, once you start you can't stop, puruse this forum and read as much as you can there is everything from arches to mega trees lots of people from Florida that are close and if you are lucky I think there is a meet and greet in florida to discuss all of the neat things that can be done but don't quote me on this I am sure some one will reply and let you know when that is going to happen good luck

[ItsMeBobO]

Welcome Don ! You have come to the right place!

One thing you will find here is a lot of options. DIY vs ready made and on a budget vs never enough.

My impression is that for most animated light displays cars do stop and watch for a while. Would that cause a traffic problem on your road? You do not need to animate to music but if you do you will certainly get some gawkers who pull over.

The CCR can be used like a ready made arch kit. No wrapping and can be assembled in 20 minutes. But it is one sided so cant be seen as well from an angle.

[Geoff Harvey]

DonFL wrote:

1. lights and music...as stupid as this question sounds, does one always plan a display to music? Any reason I can't just do a variety of sequences that are time based rather than music based? I live on a fairly busy country road, so not the likelihood that people will drive by and listen to music on a localized FM unit with the display.

While I've always intended to create a synchronised display, up til now, this has not happened (always ran out of time) - my previous displays have only been animated with random music tracks played from speakers and FM. This display arrangement still allows great colour and movement effects. Last year I experimented with various effects to see what works and what is not so good. A visitor was sufficiently impressed to video it, edit and add a music track and post it on YouTube.

My goal for this year is still to create synchronised sequences, but I will still keep animated sections for the breaks in between song groups.

Hope this helps - Regards Geoff


NB A point to note with the live display playing random music (and also with the video and its added music track) was the number of people who thought that the music and lights were actually synchronised. This was surprising.

[Don]

DonFL wrote:

I'm thinking CTB-16D kits for two reasons..one being stuffing PC boards and building is a great escape for me, and second, leaning towards the D series rather than PC so I don't need to have a PC dedicated to driving whatever I come up with.

Glad to see you getting into the hobby! Sounds like you are on a great start. The only thing I'll mention is that if you ever plan to do music, you will either need a computer or an MP3 Director to run the controllers. Without this assistance, the controllers can not do music.

That said, I've seen a number of displays that were animated only, (no music) and looked absolutely fabulous.

[Cray Augsburg]

Welcome to the world of madness, Don. And I mean that in the most positive way. You are embarking on an endeavor that can lead to so many different points of interest. You'll find yourself going crazy at times trying to figure out how accomplish something. And at others, you'll be able to sit back and enjoy (and watch others enjoy) something you have created. This truly is a whole new world that is a world of its own.

Now, let's clear up one thing before we get too far. Unless you are truly static only, the CTB-16D also requires that you control the system with a personal computer. In any case, the PC is not TOTALLY dedicated to the LOR network -- you can still run other applications with LOR running in the background. The way to a music system without a PC is through the MP3 director option, which uses an SD memory card with your "show" programmed on it.

To your questions:

1. Time-based sequences without music are very easy to create using LOR. And nothing says you have to use music. But it has been my experience (limited though it may be), that when the music is not playing, people who drive by may stop and look for a few seconds, then drive on. If you think about it, blinking elements in a display don't mean as much without the music and can be a little confusing to the veiwer. SO . . .

if you go sans music, use slowly changing scenes -- use arches that leap slowly, trees that slowly fade from one color to another, etc.

And when you're ready to try music, you can go with radio transmission or exterior speakers, or both! It really isn't hard to do, and there are a lot of people on here who are willing to help.

2. Most people roll their own displays and display elements, but you'll find many ways to skin the same cat. Nothing says you can't buy pre-made artificial trees, or build your own using tomato cages and chicken wire. wowlights.com and other sites offer complete setups if you want to go that way.

You are right that planning is the most important thing of all. Know what you want to accomplish, and search out the best way to do it (for you.) Otherwise you may end up with a bunch of fizzled half successes. Again, use the resources available to you as often as you can. This forum, Planet Christmas, any site listed as Christmas (or Halloween) link anywhere. Ask questions, get answers, weed out the bad answers based on your experience. Also, watch links to videos of other displays, find things you like and then figure out ways to accomplish them.

Hope all this helps.

Cray

[toddmoon]

There are packages for arches and tree's if you prefer to purchase them.

http://www.wowlights.com/ProductDetail.asp?Category=20&Product=207 - Arches

http://www.wowlights.com/ProductDetail.asp?Category=20&Product=183 - Mega Tree

http://www.wowlights.com/ProductListSub.asp?Category=20 - Various Christmas packages

Many of the people on these forms build there own to rather than purchase already made systems to make their budgets go farther and have the fun of building it themselves.

I got in a time crunch last year on Christmas programming so just for kicks I imported my 4th of July programming directly to Christmas music and just went ahead and played it to fill in my programming time. No one seem to even notice that the sequencing was not to the Christmas music. I do have a lot of foot traffic that comes and watches the show so I broadcast on FM and I use a speaker for the foot traffic outside.

There are no rules to this crazy program. The most important thing is to have fun.

[George Simmons]

DonFL wrote:

1. lights and music...as stupid as this question sounds, does one always plan a display to music?

Welcome to our madness Don. Relax and enjoy. And don't worry for even a moment about over-estimating us - stupid questions and smart-alecky answers are right up our alley.

Meaning no offense to anyone who doesn't synchronize to music, I'd say that doing so adds more than can easily be described in words - something along the lines of the difference between "that's nice" and "WOW - that's awesome!"

If you're not going to synchronize to music, I agree with Cray in suggesting slow scene changes. Without music tying things together if the lights are flashing too quickly it will look like just that - lights flashing at random. Slower sweeps and fades will at least make it look creative rather than random.

[shfr26]

D&G Gillespie wrote:

and if you are lucky I think there is a meet and greet in florida to discuss all of the neat things that can be done but don't quote me on this I am sure some one will reply and let you know when that is going to happen good luck

The Mini was last month. You can get your questions answered here from all the "Pro's". And can you put your location in your profile please, if someone is close I am sure they will be glad to help. Just have fun.

[Guest guest]

Wow..thanks. I'm on a quick vacation here in the Great Smokys, and log back in this morning, and am overwhelmed by all the responses (smart alecky is more than fine..thanks......). Ironically, after seeing the displays in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge last year, I finally mentioned to my wife (and, more importantly, my 8 year old) that it was time to take the Christmas lights to a new level...she knows where that kind of deciasion usually goes, decided it was hopeless to try to talk common sense into me...my 8 year old just heard 'more lights and cooler', and she was ready.

Geoff..I think I now know what my display wants to be when it grows up..but then, could say that for another 20 or so I've seen on YouTube.

Don...re needing PC or MP3 director...had never thought of that. I have an old mobo lying around...maybe that's an excuse for another project...

[pdowns]

Geoff Harvey wrote:

DonFL wrote:

NB A point to note with the live display playing random music (and also with the video and its added music track) was the number of people who thought that the music and lights were actually synchronised. This was surprising.

I'm amazed how many people see my display and don't realize I did any sequencing at all. They assume the music is plugged in to some sort of controller that automatically responds to the music.

Are my sequences really that bad?

[George Simmons]

pdowns wrote:

I'm amazed how many people see my display and don't realize I did any sequencing at all. They assume the music is plugged in to some sort of controller that automatically responds to the music.

Are my sequences really that bad?

I think quite a few people have seen those plug and play monstrosities in a store and then just assume we use something like that, or else they look at a WMP visualization and believe that's the same technology as what we use in our yards. Most "civilians" have no earthly idea how much time we invest or all that's involved.

In answer to your question, if you and your sequences are like most of the rest of us, your sequences are probably neither as good nor as bad as you personally think they are.

[jimswinder]

George Simmons wrote:

your sequences are probably neither as good nor as bad as you personally think they are.

I personally think mine are the best...

and the worst...

[Brian Mitchell]

Check out this display. It is not synchronized to music

or this thread about it.

http://lightorama.mywowbb.com/forum82/21299.html

[Guest guest]

Again, everyone, thanks for the comments and advice. A lot to continue to think about..a few more things added to the "what about this.." list..

As is always the problem, a few days away on vacation buries me from a work (aka paying job..) standpoint, so not as much time to re-read and comment as I'd like.

But I could not let the day go by without saying thanks again.