ready to purchase, need advice

[gentz]

ok guys, i am ready to make a purchase. i want a package but want to choose correctly. i want to be able to run rgb, will buy ribbons.  what do you guys recommend? i will also upgrade the software to the advanced. i will grow it with lights and use it for all major holidays.  what do you recommend? my budget is @1k , i already have hundreds of lights from previous holidays but have no ribbons.  need to see if i can get setup for these holidays.  thanks.

[Brian Mitchell]

I recommend you start planning for NEXT year because you are really too late for this year.  The learning curve is steep and there really is a lot involved. Especially with RGB.

[Willballz]

I just started two weeks ago and am overwhelmed.  Even if you buy the sequences pre done you still have to outfit them to your house and your setup.  Very time consuming,  My regret I didnt start earlier because as much time as I have put into this my setup is still small in comparison.  Also the RGB Ribbons are way out of your budget at a 1000.  At LOR they sell for 200 + with controller and power supply. I have 6 ribbons a mega tree and 8 flood lights and have spent well over 3000.  That doesnt even include my time and the sequences that I need to buy and setup to my layout

[DownTown]

I agree with Brian, it's too late for this year. Go ahead and dive in, because there is a lot to learn about the hardware and software, and how to make them work together. A lot of planning goes into layout, controller locations, how to get power where you need it, and even more times goes into sequencing the lights. When I was seriously hooked, I would only take off the months of January and February from my addiction. I would be planning, building and sequencing in all of my free time. 

Good luck with your display!

[gentz]

so what kit do you recommend...

[Brian Mitchell]

Get a solid design together and lay out the channels you want.  That will tell you how many boxes you need.  Also need to decide if you want to run from a computer or from a director.   These things will determine what you need to buy.

[George Simmons]

I also recommend for you to be looking at next year. 

Are you thinking dumb RGB where the whole strip/string stays the same color, or smart pixels that you control individually?

LOR products are pretty much plug and play, and they have both an excellent reputation and an excellent warranty.  There's a lot to be said for that, and it's going to cost more than DIY.  There are varying degrees of DIY and varying amounts of savings depending on how much DIY you want to do.  For a lot of us, there's a balance between the two that seems to work.

I also agree that step one is deciding exactly what you want to do.  Many vendors in this hobby are getting ready to announce their pre-season sales.  LOR has two sales during the course of the year.  Forget the packages for now.  Decide what you want/need first.

[gentz]

On 11/30/2016 at 9:28 PM, George Simmons said:

I also recommend for you to be looking at next year. 

Are you thinking dumb RGB where the whole strip/string stays the same color, or smart pixels that you control individually?

LOR products are pretty much plug and play, and they have both an excellent reputation and an excellent warranty.  There's a lot to be said for that, and it's going to cost more than DIY.  There are varying degrees of DIY and varying amounts of savings depending on how much DIY you want to do.  For a lot of us, there's a balance between the two that seems to work.

I also agree that step one is deciding exactly what you want to do.  Many vendors in this hobby are getting ready to announce their pre-season sales.  LOR has two sales during the course of the year.  Forget the packages for now.  Decide what you want/need first.

per smart and dumb i will eventually use both. i would eventually create a big show but need to get started first.  that is the reason for my help purchasing request.

[BryanZ]

I would get the software first with a license level above what you think you will need. Start sequencing in there. This will allow you to determine if you want to run RGB strips, smart pixels or LED/incandescent. BobO has a wealth of links on his signature which may be beneficial to you. Sequencing will buy you time for what hardware you will want to purchase as you can wait for the sales. You may find you don't need or want to upgrade the lights to RGB/smart pixels immediately or they can wait a while.