Jump to content
Light-O-Rama Forums

Light O Rama Summer Sale?


cmulvey

Recommended Posts

8 hours ago, EmmienLightFan said:

MP3 director + intensity files and LOR's standalone device has caught up with FPP.

No, it has not...

The thing thats nice with the FPP is they are much more expandable and versatile, the showtime directors are still limited by the 1-4 ports depending on which one you buy and it still has a very high price tag. And plus with the FPP I can run more then 128 channels with out lag Lol :)

Edited by canadianchristmas
Link to comment
Share on other sites

52 minutes ago, canadianchristmas said:

No, it has not...

The thing thats nice with the FPP is they are much more expandable and versatile, the showtime directors are still limited by the 1-4 ports depending on which one you buy and it still has a very high price tag. And plus with the FPP I can run more then 128 channels with out lag Lol :)

Thanks for that information.  

Apparently my G1 mini-director used in 2013 and 2014 and the G3 MP3 that replaced it in 2015 that flawlessly ran 224 channels without lag are the exception.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, basis21b said:

Thanks for that information.  

Apparently my G1 mini-director used in 2013 and 2014 and the G3 MP3 that replaced it in 2015 that flawlessly ran 224 channels without lag are the exception.

Sorry the channel thing was a joke.

On a serious note though I have heard that if you run more then 96 channels per LOR dongle on the LOR protocol you could experience very very minor lag on sequences with fast timing , this is the reason some people prefer to run their LOR controllers in dmx mode. LORs intensity files may also help solve lag issues.

As for FPP vs Director: you still can not run as many channels as the pie and for the price the FPP is the clear winner at least to me.

The Show directors are good though for people who want a easier less complex show player though.

Edited by canadianchristmas
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay, going to show my ignorance here, what is the "FPP"?   Not sure I'm familiar with it or what it is.   Is it something more for RGB or ?.   Trying to learn as much as I can now before I actually get into the RGB mess of things to come. LOL

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Mr. P said:

Falcon player.

What is it and how does it differ from the LOR G3 Mini Director unit?   Been thinking of getting an new director unit to have and have been considering the G3 MP3 Director, but if there's something a bit more sophisticated and can do better, I'd like to know more about it.   PM me with details on it would you please?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, canadianchristmas said:

Sorry the channel thing was a joke.

On a serious note though I have heard that if you run more then 96 channels per LOR dongle on the LOR protocol you could experience very very minor lag on sequences with fast timing , this is the reason some people prefer to run their LOR controllers in dmx mode. LORs intensity files may also help solve lag issues.

As for FPP vs Director: you still can not run as many channels as the pie and for the price the FPP is the clear winner at least to me.

The Show directors are good though for people who want a easier less complex show player though.

HUH?  That is news to me.

We successfully run THOUSANDS of channels without lag on a MP3 director and certainly more than 96!  That includes directors all the way back to the original one we sold.  

At comparable speeds, LOR protocol is MORE efficient than DMX.  If you could run LOR controllers at the same 250K speed as DMX, it would be easy to prove.  However we only support 115K (about 1/2 the speed of DMX), and 500K (double speed of DMX).  If we assume 3600 channels @500K LOR, that means we would be able to do approx 1800 at DMX 250K speed.  Running them with DMX does NOT make them less 'laggy'.

As for 'fast' sequences, LOR protocol has DMX beat as well.  LOR response time is normally less than 10ms, where as the frame refresh rate of DMX is around 24ms.

Now, let's look at number of channels controllable with a protocol.  DMX is limited to 512 channels, no exceptions.  LOR protocol (at 500K), can run approx 3600 channels at DMX refresh rates, and even MORE than that at lower rates - since the LOR protocol only transmits what is needed to be transmitted while DMX transmits full frames every pass.  If you are looking at a limited number of channel changes, 10,000 channels or more are possible with LOR protocol on a SINGLE network.

The FPP exceeds the LOR MP3 directors in one way only, and that is it's ability to run E1.31.  E1.31 is not in big demand for many LOR customers, and an even smaller group needs it in a stand alone player.  There are some of you who would like the functionality, and for those the FPP is a fine choice.  

The simplicity of LOR Directors along with their ability to run THOUSANDS of channels (not a laughable 96) makes them a FINE (no,  EXCELLENT) choice for many.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, DevMike said:

HUH?  That is news to me.

We successfully run THOUSANDS of channels without lag on a MP3 director and certainly more than 96!  That includes directors all the way back to the original one we sold.  

At comparable speeds, LOR protocol is MORE efficient than DMX.  If you could run LOR controllers at the same 250K speed as DMX, it would be easy to prove.  However we only support 115K (about 1/2 the speed of DMX), and 500K (double speed of DMX).  If we assume 3600 channels @500K LOR, that means we would be able to do approx 1800 at DMX 250K speed.  Running them with DMX does NOT make them less 'laggy'.

As for 'fast' sequences, LOR protocol has DMX beat as well.  LOR response time is normally less than 10ms, where as the frame refresh rate of DMX is around 24ms.

Now, let's look at number of channels controllable with a protocol.  DMX is limited to 512 channels, no exceptions.  LOR protocol (at 500K), can run approx 3600 channels at DMX refresh rates, and even MORE than that at lower rates - since the LOR protocol only transmits what is needed to be transmitted while DMX transmits full frames every pass.  If you are looking at a limited number of channel changes, 10,000 channels or more are possible with LOR protocol on a SINGLE network.

The FPP exceeds the LOR MP3 directors in one way only, and that is it's ability to run E1.31.  E1.31 is not in big demand for many LOR customers, and an even smaller group needs it in a stand alone player.  There are some of you who would like the functionality, and for those the FPP is a fine choice.  

The simplicity of LOR Directors along with their ability to run THOUSANDS of channels (not a laughable 96) makes them a FINE (no,  EXCELLENT) choice for many.

Ok, It took me a bit of time, but I was able to dig up one of the Xlights forum threads I read this on: http://nutcracker123.com/forum/index.php?topic=267.msg1187#msg1187 The 96 channel issue with LOR protocol has also been discussed on other christmas forums but this is the one I found the fastest. The one thing that I did not think of though is if it is a Xlights specific problem with the LOR dongle or not, and that is hard to say, and I do not own enough LOR boxes to do the test between programs. However from what I can tell there have been people that experienced these issues in S3 but I can't say anything for S4.

 

Screen Shot.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I believed it was said, but just because it was said does not make it true.  The last message in that thread is accurate.  We recommend about 900 channels per 115K non enhanced network, which if you do the math, matches up exactly with what I said earlier at 500K:  3600.  

Again, we say ABOUT simply because our protocol allows for many more channels with slower sequences.  The 900 @ 115K number does NOT include the speed enhancements that can be had running ELOR protocol.  900 @ 115K is a conservative estimate based on what we see are 'average' to above average speed sequences running regular LOR protocol.   FYI:  900 at 115K is substantially faster than the 512 at 250K of DMX.  In fact, it's around 4 times faster.

We can back our numbers up as well: At expo this year, we ran 3 separate Pixel Trees (the ones at the very front of our booth) for a total of 7,200 channels (2400 pixels) - not on the new FOUR port adapter, not on the existing G3MP3 TWO port adapter, but on a SINGLE MINI MP3 director on a single port @500K using ELOR.  We ran a 16 ribbon CCR tree with a 4 CCP star (3,600) channels on another director.  The XLights people were at expo.  They dropped by.  Ask them.

ANYONE who is only getting 96 channels working AT ANY SPEED (and that includes at the snail slow 19.2) needs to IMMEDIATELY open a help desk ticket because they are doing something very wrong, or they have something very broken.  We need to fix that.

Now that you've been informed, I hope you let others know when they are wrong about this as well.

Edited by DevMike
clarified we used 2 directors - 1 for 3 pixel trees, another for 1 ribbon tree
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, DevMike said:

We can back our numbers up as well: At expo this year, we ran 3 separate Pixel Trees (the ones at the very front of our booth) for a total of 7,200 channels (2400 pixels) - not on the new FOUR port adapter, not on the existing G3MP3 TWO port adapter, but on a SINGLE MINI MP3 director on a single port @500K using ELOR.  We ran a 16 ribbon CCR tree with a 4 CCP star (3,600) channels also on a director.  The XLights people where at expo.  They dropped by.  Ask them.

So a total of 2 mp3 directors to run the 3 trees? Very impressive!

So there was no issue with the two trees even in faster sequences?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, canadianchristmas said:

So a total of 2 mp3 directors to run the 3 trees? Very impressive!

So there was no issue with the two trees even in faster sequences?

I think 1 director was running 3 trees.

The other director was running the CCR/CCP tree.

(At least that's how I read Mike's post.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmm, I read it as ONE SINGLE MINI DIRECTOR, not two.  

And DevMike, thanks for the clarification on the LOR Directors as opposed to the FPP.   If I go RGB, I'll be using LOR CCB's ready to go out of the box, so I don't think I'll really ever have need for E1.31 myself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry for the confusion.  I thought I was clear, but I guess not.  It was on 2 directors.  One ran the 3 pixel trees upfront (2 trees with 400 pixels each, and 1 with 1600 pixels = 2400 pixels), another that ran the 16 strip tree (16x50 = 800) at the back.  I edited my message to make it clearer.

I should also note (before anyone else tries to claim otherwise) those 2400 pixels on those 3 trees were all individually controlled.  In other words we did not cheat and put controllers on identical Unit IDs and have them duplicating each other.  We used 4 total PixCon16's (1 each for the 16x25 trees, and 2 for the 32x50) on 4 separate unit IDs @ 500K ELOR.  We were pushing all 7200 channels from a single uMP3 director.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@DevMike

Do you have an estimate on when the Pixie 1 will be available? I'm interested in a dozen or so of them for Halloween but if they're not going to be available in time then I need to plan accordingly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That I am not sure of.  I have touched the prototype and know the firmware for the devices is almost done, but other than that I don't know.  There are just too many other external factors that are out of our/my control.  I'm only the programmer ;)

While I hate to loose a sale, if it is important to you to get it done for THIS year, you may want to find something else.  Yes, they could make it in time for this year for you to use, but I don't want to take the blame if they come out too late.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You've teased us and I want some too for Halloween.  If they can't get them out in time I hope they'll make the CCPs much more affordable at the summer sale. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, gorichgo said:

If they can't get them out in time I hope they'll make the CCPs much more affordable at the summer sale. 

Agreed. The cost on those isn't in-line with the rest of the industry. MUCH cheaper to go the DMX route which is a shame. Really the only LOR product that I feel is overpriced.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Right now, I still just know what we were telling folks at Expo.  I also know that many of you can get anxious waiting for stuff.  Only you can answer if you want to 'wait and see' or want to look at other options.  Like I said in that early post of mine:

"Just because I work here please don't treat this as an official LOR  release.  All of this is subject to change, cancellation, or whatever else Dan (the owner) decides to do.  This is what we were telling people at expo.  It's been a couple of weeks.  Things can change :)"

I need to point out that I also don't know when a sale will happen, or if the reason it is/was delayed is because we are waiting on getting these ready for a sale.  They may be part of the sale, they may not be.  I don't know.

In other words, don't rely on anything I may have said to affect your planning.   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just curious, is there ever a sale on the software?  I have to upgrade from Basic Pro to Pro w/Superstar and wondering if I should wait or if there's never really a sale so I might as well grab it now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Brucey said:

Just curious, is there ever a sale on the software?  I have to upgrade from Basic Pro to Pro w/Superstar and wondering if I should wait or if there's never really a sale so I might as well grab it now.

May as well grab it now.  I can't recall ever seeing the software on sale, only the hardware.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...