Help with getting started

[goduke21]

I am just getting started with getting my whole light o rama christmas display. I purchased 4 ctb16 kits and a mini mp3 director. I am waiting for the summer sale to purchase the software. My question is which software do I need. Also I am good with computers but I am not a musical engineer. How hard is 64 channels going to be to sync up with the software. I line my house with lights so 32 channels are going to the house. I am doing 3 arches and 6 mini trees. Any help would be great to just get started in the right direction


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[shfr26]

Welcome aboard,

I would download the demo version and start playing with it. it will not control your lights, but it will let you do everthing else. Best quess on time for sequencing is 8-15 hours per minute per song. Not sure on whick liscence you will need, advanced will cover however many channels you have or plan on getting.

[Don]

I would recommend going ahead and downloading the software so that you can get used to it. It will run in Demo Mode (with a limited number of programmable channels).

This will allow you to get practice with the LOR Sequencing Software, and get a feel for it before you really start work on the sequencing.

[shfr26]

Beat ya by one minute Don. What license will he need for that many channels? Advanced?

[Don]

shfr26 wrote:

What license will he need for that many channels? Advanced?

The minimum for 64 channels (4, 16 channel controllers) would be the Basic Plus license.

I would, however, strongly recommend purchasing the Advanced version of the software. More features, plain and simple. See all the options at:
http://store.lightorama.com/software1.html

[shfr26]

goduke21 wrote:

I am waiting for the summer sale to purchase the software.

I'm not sure that the software ever goes on sale, but I might be wrong.

[goduke21]

I appreciate your input. So basically it will take a very long time.

[wallleyes]

Welcome aboard I think the learning curve varies greatly for sequencing.This is my first year with 192 channels and i think the longest it has taken me to do a song is about 15 hours.Copy & paste is very helpfull for sure.

[goduke21]

I have 32 Strands of lights on the front of my house. Do you think it will turn out ok if I use 1 channel per 2 strands of lights. So it would be 1 controller for each color on the front of my house.

[Bob Wingert]

I would look @ some of the free sequences that people have shared, find one thats 64ch and pick it apart to fit into your display. Once you get familiar with that and how the ins and outs work, then get a little creative and do your own. At least thats how I did it. By downloading others, you will learn sooooo much! Everyone has there own idea on how fades look. For some fantastic ideas see: www.holdman.com/christmas/sequences



Good luck!

[Cray Augsburg]

Personally, I would go for the Advanced version of the software (as suggested by Don) - with a static display like that and 64 channels first time out, its obvious you want to go big. The Advanced version allows you pretty much unlimited expansion.

As far as sequencing goes, you really don't have to a "music engineer". If you can keep a beat (for using the Tapper wizard to enter timings), you'll have no problem getting started. And if you can't keep a beat, there are enough options that you'll still be able to produce some good stuff. Then it's all a matter of what you want to see. I recommend you start with a short piece, maybe 1 to 2 minutes in length. Add the lights to the sequence a few at a time. And take some time to try the various tools (fade, twinkle, etc.).

In general, your first sequence or so will take a bit longer to finish. As you learn the ropes, it'll go easier and easier. Overall, the amount of time you spend on a sequence is pretty much up to you. Your style might be to use big chucks of time for each scene/effect. You'll zip through the sequencing. Or you might break each bit of music down into its sub-beats and build fades and ramps of varying intensity limits, etc. This obviously takes longer. In any event, if you find yourself becoming frustrated, stop. Take a break. Reattack the problem. Get on here and ask around for others' solutions. It will all work out.

The bottom line is, enjoy what you are doing. And keep in mind the enjoyment of anyone who will be watching your display.

Best wishes, and welcome (if you can take that from someone whose second alias would be GoCats).

Cray

[sjmiller]

Welcome aboard goduke21,

I think is safe to assume to say that you will soon find you want more controllers, you have a large staic display and will want to automate it all once you get started.

I second Don's recommendation - go for the Advanced.

Download the Demo copy, read the training presentations and watch the tutorials from http://www.lightorama.com/w_support.htm

Then build an Animation of your house lighting in S2 and play with the sequencing.

You should also begin planning for controller placement, power requirements, and extension cords - lots of extension cords. In addition to all of the extension cords I had for my 12,000 light static display - I went through 1,000 foot of SPT-1 last year. Last year was my first with LOR, I started with 72 ch of LOR and 96 ch of DIO (used a total of 81 channels) - I'm adding another 64 ch of LOR for 2010. I received my shipment of 2,400 LEDS this week for my new features and am planning on adding another 100 or so custom extension cords this year.

Once again - welcome to the addiction.... err hobby!

Steve

[Terry Hurrle]

Go with the advanced software and save yourself money in the long run. If you go with 64 channels you will be doing 80 or 96 later if not more.

[lightzilla]

goduke21 wrote:

I am just getting started with getting my whole light o rama christmas display. I purchased 4 ctb16 kits and a mini mp3 director. I am waiting for the summer sale to purchase the software. My question is which software do I need. Also I am good with computers but I am not a musical engineer. How hard is 64 channels going to be to sync up with the software. I line my house with lights so 32 channels are going to the house. I am doing 3 arches and 6 mini trees. Any help would be great to just get started in the right direction

Well I must say that you had a great looking Static display. Now your going for a great looking musical display for 2010.

Well done.

Once you load the demo version, find a few shared sequences and work on them to fit your display, that way you gain some knowledge on sequencing and then make a few of you own.

Learn the key board short cuts.

Maybe somebody will post a few short cuts.

[sjmiller]

The short cuts I use most often are:

n = on

f = off

d = fade down

u = fade up

t = twinkle

s = shimmer

highlight cells - ctrl c to copy

highlight starting cell for paste - ctrl v to paste

highlights cells - ctrl x to delete



Steve

[cjackson]

when do must of the sales start?

[ryebred]

cjackson wrote:

when do must of the sales start?

According to the lightorama website...

http://www.lightorama.com/w_sale_info.htm

The summer sale is in the June/July time frame.

[Steven]

goduke21 wrote:

Any help would be great to just get started in the right direction

You want to get started with sequencing quick, to avoid frustration. Here is what I would recommend for your first sequence:

• Start with a song about 2 minutes long. Chop it if necessary.
• Use a song with a strong regular beat. Some kind of "Dance Party Christmas" music will work best.
• Use the Beat Wizard. It works very well on songs with strong beats, and is faster than the Tapper Wizard. After you get more experience, you can "graduate" to a song that is difficult for the Beat Wizard.
• Use the Beat Wizard to set a timing event on each beat. Many "old timers" will say to use a fixed timing grid, but that was because that was the only thing that worked with LOR 1.
• Sequence one element first. For example, do your mega tree first and don't worry about the arches and all your other stuff until you have experience with the mega tree. You could also start with something else, but I think the mega tree would be best to learn on.
• Start with a simple chase sequence to the beat. Sequence about 8 beats, then copy and paste multiple to the end of the sequence. This will take about 2 minutes and you'll have something to look at and see how easy it is.

[Terry Hurrle]

I have learned that using tracks for one or two elements works great. Depending on the number channels used in each element. I have some that take all 16 channels and they are on one track. I too do one element and then go to the next and fine tune after they are all sequenced. Just my way of doing it. Works great for me.
Terry

[Cray Augsburg]

Steven wrote:

Use the Beat Wizard. It works very well on songs with strong beats, and is faster than the Tapper Wizard. After you get more experience, you can "graduate" to a song that is difficult for the Beat Wizard.

Strong beats DO appear to be beneficial when using Beat Wizard. The problem I had (when I used it on the first song I sequenced) was that it appears Beat Wizard checks the the strong beats, counts them, then divides that into the total length, giving each beat the same length. Of course this is fine when the music is a DJed remix or something with a computer-generated beat. BUT, doesn't work very well for a piece recorded using human players, who will unintentionally (or intentionally) alter the tempo slightly (or to a greater extent).

The song was about two minutes in length, and I was sequencing vertically (all channels at the same time). Everything appeared to be going well until about 01:54 and the song slowed down quite a bit, but the beats from Beat Wizard didn't. I tried adding timings, but was never happy with it. After much playing around with it, I went back and re-beated the piece using Tapper. I have not since experienced such frustration at trying to get the lights and music synchronized when I did this. To get a decent result in this case, you have to do it in sections. I personally find it much easier to go ahead and use the Tapper Wizard. And, as you pointed out, I learned it's best to start the sequencing with one display element all the way through (to catch any misalignment.) After that, you can sequence however is comfortable.

Aside from my experiences with Beat Wizard, your little methodical approach is very sound for any beginner. Anything to get a quick positive result that will fire the inspiration for future attempts.

Thanks,

Cray