Playing My Show Every 30 Minutes

[RichieCharles88]

So I am working with the LOR system for the first time and have a pretty good grip on it so far. I scheduled my show to run between certain hours (4pm-11pm) using the "Simple PC Show" through the HUB. I clicked the option to repeat the show every 30 minutes and to leave lights on in between. The show runs on the hour but not the half. So 4, 5, 6, etc not 4, 4:30, 5, 5:30 Etc. Am i doing something wrong or missing something? Otherwise it all seems to be good.

[Orville]

7 hours ago, RichieCharles88 said:

So I am working with the LOR system for the first time and have a pretty good grip on it so far. I scheduled my show to run between certain hours (4pm-11pm) using the "Simple PC Show" through the HUB. I clicked the option to repeat the show every 30 minutes and to leave lights on in between. The show runs on the hour but not the half. So 4, 5, 6, etc not 4, 4:30, 5, 5:30 Etc. Am i doing something wrong or missing something? Otherwise it all seems to be good.

If you want it to run on the half hour, you'd need to create separate shows, each one starting on the half hour and also have a lights on time.  The SSB usually defaults to hourly, not sure if there is a half hour option, BUT, and this is a big BUT, if your sequences run longer than 30 minutes, your show and lights on together, this can also throw off the show running at the exact half hour spot. 

If you started it at 4pm, there could be another issue as well that's throwing off your 30 minute time frame.  If all your sequences total 30 minutes and you start it at 4:00pm, and also set it for lights on between shows could skew the time.  Your show sequences would have to be set for less than 30 minutes, as I don't know what the default for the duration of lights on between shows would be, as I could find no option to set the timing of lights on between shows, so I'd think this may also default to the same length of 30 minutes between shows, this would then make your show start at 4pm, if show sequences are 30 minutes, then show ends at 4:30, lights on now at 5pm, show should then start at 5:30, lights on at 6:00pm, show then starts at 6:30pm, lights on at 7pm, etc. until last show runs, then lights on at the end of the night before everything shuts down. 

But if you want the shows to run at specific half hour spots, you'd need to use the Show Editor and the Schedule editor and create shows for the specific times needed and an animation file for lights on that would be scheduled between your shows.  This last option is the best option for keeping things at specific times, but again, ALL your show sequences MUST NOT EXCEED that 30 minute length, if they do, even with set specific times, this will get skewed up.  It takes some time and patience, but it can be done.   You just have to make sure your SHOW files and your ANIMATION LIGHTS ON file do not exceed 30 minutes in total.

Hope this didn't confuse you.  But the Simple Show option, is just that simple, but doesn't always give the best control over using the Show Editor and the Schedule Editor to create and set up your shows.   And the Show Editor and Schedule Editor aren't at all that complicated, at first they may appear confusing to one that's not used them, but once you get the hang of them, you'll never go back to the Simple Show option again.

 

[RichieCharles88]

There’s literally a button that says run show every 30 minutes when schedualing it on the PC Based Show from the HUB. (Total Length of show about 4 mins). So frustrating it should be simple. The LOR people say It could be because of an old version of program that glitches sometimes but I am running the newest update so it can’t be that 

[james morris]

If you set your sequences in show then save it with a name open schedule pick the day then right click mouse pick add then pick name of show then set your start time and end time save do this for all week it will play an repeat intell end time then you dont have to do anthing else but run your show i have done this for 5 years now

[Orville]

21 hours ago, RichieCharles88 said:

There’s literally a button that says run show every 30 minutes when schedualing it on the PC Based Show from the HUB. (Total Length of show about 4 mins). So frustrating it should be simple. The LOR people say It could be because of an old version of program that glitches sometimes but I am running the newest update so it can’t be that 

Hmm, my "edits" didn't change, as the messgae I had typed I had seen that the HUB does have a 30 minute option, so I had changed my content.  seems it didn't take for some reason.

But the issue I see here is, your sequence{s} is/are only FOUR minutes for the entire show, 4 does not go into 30, so in a 30 minute window, your show would only run for a total of 28 minutes, 30 divided by 4 = 7.5 shows per 30 minutes, for this to work out to a 30 minute show, you'd need to add another sequence, your LIGHTS ON sequence would need to be 1 minute long to = a 5 minute show, then 6 shows would run in that 30 minute time slot.

To make this every 30 minutes, and a 10 minute LIGHTS ON display, you'd have to start your show and end it at the 20 minute mark, 5 shows at 4 minutes = 20 minutes, then 10 Minutes lights on Animation Sequence would make it 30 minutes.  The your show and Lights On would run for the 30 minutes you're trying to accomplish.  But just selecting lights on between shows, if the default in the HUB is 30 minutes, then it will be 30 minutes for Show to run {Show would need to be 5 minutes in length, 6 shows at 5 minutes = 30 minutes}, then once the show ends, chances are the Lights On between shows selected is ALSO GOING TO RUN for that same 30 minutes.  

So if your show started at 4pm, then being only 4 minutes long will end a little after 28 minutes, then your selected lights on between shows would start IMMEDIATELY after that, this in turn WILL SKEW your time and the shows may and probably will not start exactly at the time you think they will.  Doing a 4 minute show and setting the time will still not do what you want, you need to do away with the lights on between show selection, and create a 10 minute sequence and run your show sequences and the 10 minute LIGHTS ON animation file starting at 4pm and ending at 11pm, then your sequences will do all the work and you can leave the lights on between shows UNCHECKED and NOT use it, this should work to keep your show running.  But you would need to add your sequences that total up to 20 minutes BEFORE the LIGHTS ON Animation sequence in your show list.

Here's an example of how it should look using these example filenames:

So say you have a 4 minute sequence called 2019 Christmas Display.lms that is 4 minutes long, then you have a 10 minute Animation sequence called 2019 ALL LIGHTS ON.lms, to enter them for a 30 minute show would look like this:

2019 Christmas Display.lms

2019 Christmas Display.lms

2019 Christmas Display.lms

2019 Christmas Display.lms

2019 ALL LIGHTS ON.las

Start time: 4:00pm

End Time: 11:00pm

Run Show every 30 Minutes selected.

With this setup, your actual show is 20 minutes long, starts at 4:00pm and ends at 4:20pm, Lights on Starts at 4:20pm and ends at 4:30pm

Yes, that is correct, the same 4 minute .lms sequence is entered FOUR times, then the ALL LIGHTS ON.las {Animation Sequence} is entered last. 

Now this ONLY WORKS if the show sequences ARE EXACTLY 4 minutes long, even just a few tenths of a second over WILL cause this NOT to work in 30 minute intervals, same if just a second, two or more longer in length than 4 minutes will also throw off the time factor.  For things to work on a pre-selected/fixed schedule will require EXACT timings to make this work.  But it can be done, just takes a bit more time and patience to get the timing down perfectly.

With this setup your show will run 14 times in that 4pm-11pm time period.

This is just an example, in the example filenames .lms and .las, replace with your sequence files, but it is how it can be done.  And is how I've done it in the past, not with the HUB, but through the Simple Show Builder.  Most of us prefer the Show Editor and Show Scheduler, as this does {at least to me} make it a little less daunting and easier to accomplish using set times for each show.  I haven't used the SSB since I started using the Show Editor and Show Scheduler.

Best of luck.

 

 

 

Edited November 21, 2019 by Orville