Looking for advice on a setup

[sibbs]

Hello,  I'm a beginner in this technology and looking for advice on what components I'd need for an idea I have.

 

In July a bunch of friends and I get together at a local Rock Festival.   I'd like to set up the 6  campers and the tree in our group of  campsites to be synchronized with lights to a predetermined rock soundtrack.  

 

I do have a computer I could use.

Power is provided by generators

 

To connect lights into our current stereo system what would be needed?

 

 

What equipment would I need to start out?  

 

Thanks,

Mark

 

 

[oilmoney]

www.lightorama.org/lighting-starter-package/

[dgrant]

Hi Mark, This is certainly not a plug and play hobby. You won't be able to just sync everything without serious time in "sequencing" as we call it. Each and every song would need to be manually synchronized to the light strings you wish to control. Yes, you can do it but you need to get busy right away. So with that said, there are different types of lights...incans, LED's, LED Floods, Dumb RGB strips and Intelligent Strips/Nodes. There are different requirements for each as far as controlling them goes and any number of ways to get things to work the way you wish. So you start with a plan. Drawing strings of lights on it and how you wish to control them or how you wish them to appear during your music. This will dictate your hardware requirements. Download the software and start learning it right away. You do not need the controllers to do that. You will need a license to actually send commands to the controller. Use the "Visualizer" program to see what you are doing and how it looks as you get going with the sequencing.

    I'm not familiar with more automated systems that might be available for your music/display although I'm sure they exist. Others will be able to tell you.

[LOR Staff]

To get a feel for how everything fits together in the new world of show animation, take a look at our typical setups: http://www1.lightorama.com/typical-setups/ 

Here's a really good way to get started if you want to use off-the-shelf lights: http://www1.lightorama.com/lighting-starter-package/
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You may want to download the Light-O-Rama Software demo and try it out to see how you create your personal show. 
http://www1.lightorama.com/sequencing-software-download/ We do require the Microsoft Windows operating system for our software.

You can use your own lights if they are incandescent or LEDs and can be connect to a standard wall plug.  See more information here (including a link to how many lights you can control): http://www1.lightorama.com/your-lights/

Not interested in writing your own shows? No need to worry. We have plenty of pre-built shows (we call them sequences) that will make any venue look great. Checkout our sequence store at http://sequences.LightORama.com

Don't want to dedicate a computer and speaker system to your show? Consider our ShowTime Central. It include a specialized mini-computer just for running LOR shows as well as a small FM transmitter so you can broadcast on the radio. See details at http://store.lightorama.com/shce.html 

You can also join our forum where there are a plenty of helpful LOR users.http://forums.lightorama.com/

If you want further help, check our list of official Light-O-Rama partners to see if one is in your area: http://www1.lightorama.com/partners/

Thanks for considering Light-O-Rama!

[wbaker4]

Color organs are perfect for this.  You can use any songs - all real time too!  

[EmmienLightFan]

Color organs are perfect for this.  You can use any songs - all real time too!  

 But it won't as good. Pre programmed lights are going to look better, as the sequence is planned and done by a person, who can hear points in the music and decide the best effect.

[Old Sarge]

keep in mind the generator power is probably not going to be constant and you dont want to take the chance of burning out your computer or LOR Controllers with it. Check to see if it is surging power such as down to 100 v then possibly up to 125v or 130v etc. it doesnt have to be very high to cause you problems.

 

also keep in mind the added amperage you will be running on it and make sure it is rated high enough to handle it.

[EmmienLightFan]

Yes, the above comment is important. You should buy a power conditioner which will help keep the power stable.