CyberVol Posted June 2, 2022 Share Posted June 2, 2022 (edited) A little background… I have always loved and truly marvel at the synced light shows designed, built and executed by those here, on YouTube and elsewhere. I love the Blinding Lights with the tree, snowflakes, singing Christmas tree, spotlights on the roof, giant led panel on the garage door, etc. and would love to just replicate that show, tbh. Each year, when the new shows start coming out, I am inspired to try the same…but it’s already November and way (WAY!) too late in the holiday season to even get the equipment, much less set up the rest of my show. What then follows is a few weeks where I swear to be ready for next year, and begin a sincere but largely half-assed process of exploring the idea. I cruise this sub for tips and tricks, placing a heavy weight to your advice or suggestions, and watch some YouTube tutorials….but it’s largely like everyone is speaking a completely different language, and so advanced that I struggle to follow. I hear about Falcons, clips, RGB, panels, pixels, brook trout, FM modulators and a bunch of stuff I don’t understand. Typically, it’s when I find that my phone has anywhere between 43 and 62 tabs open to various forums, vendors, YouTube channels, etc….I just resign myself to being incapable of understanding it and shut it all down. To be clear - it isn’t that this forum and various YouTube channels aren’t helpful and full of useful knowledge, but more so that I am simply dumb. Dang near stupid. Simply, the problem is that my desire for a large and complex light show far exceeds my own and very limited comprehension and ability to produce it. I really don’t think I’d have either the interest or desire to start a small and more easily manageable show, tbh. If I do it, I want it to be awesome. As I am at least now wondering these things in June, and not November, is in and of itself an improvement over previous years, however small. I’ll take even small victories. Is paying someone to basically design your whole setup and guide you through its setup and use a thing that’s available? Any other advice that I should also consider? Edited June 2, 2022 by CyberVol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Posted June 2, 2022 Share Posted June 2, 2022 Yes, there are companies that will be glad to help you with things like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted June 2, 2022 Share Posted June 2, 2022 As Don said, there are companies that will do it for you. Get ready to write a large check... The reality is that very few shows started large and complex. Most of us started smaller than we ended up with. Some started really small, and some not so small. My first two years with an animation only show was almost 2,000 channels. Two years later when I moved to a music synced show, it started out around 3,000 channels. Almost every year after that it has grown. 2021 was about 66,000 channels - not as impressive as that sounds.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrant Posted June 2, 2022 Share Posted June 2, 2022 (edited) Part of the enjoyment of this hobby is creating your own show because you become an artist in lights. Its not hard to do and yes, if you can type that message in here, you too can do a show! As Jim mentioned already, most all of us started out smaller and built shows from there, learning as we went. My first show, I started with 6 AC controllers or 96 channels which was a lot more than most do. As you progress, as did we all, you learn what you can do and how to accomplish it. If you enjoy your first show, no matter the size of it, then you build. There's a lot more to it than just sequencing the lights to music, such as the wiring infrastructure, cabling, wiring of the connectors you use, placements, types of lights and how you want them to appear. That's why you might consider starting out small. If you pay someone to do it for you, you lose the knowledge of how or why something was done one way instead of another way. Also, you might not know how to connect it all in the years to come. I suggest you try on your own, start small and build from there. Its easier than you might think and you get to stand back and say to yourself, "I created that"! Better yet, when you see the smiles of children, you'll know your time and effort was well worth it. BTW, for a small show, the time to start planning, acquiring and building is NOW! A lot of us are already working on this coming season's shows. Edited June 2, 2022 by dgrant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyberVol Posted June 2, 2022 Author Share Posted June 2, 2022 I think for my first year, I’m just going to do a mega tree and try to build from there. Is that a do-able goal for a first year, with say a $5k budget? Is it already too late for a beginner to start prepping for a possible Christmas show? The lazy part of me wants to just buy a plug-and-play system that’s easy, even if limited. The other side of me wants a custom system that I can control, and frankly, where I’ll probably get a bigger bang for my buck. Can anyone recommend good / reputable sourcing for RGB Smart lights, controllers, tree toppers, etc.? I’ve looked at the approved vendor threads and they don’t seem to be current or active, so I thought it just best to ask. Any recommendations if I go the route of having someone else to design and develop a ready-made custom solution? Many thanks for all of the helpful replies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibblejr Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 (edited) 4 hours ago, CyberVol said: I think for my first year, I’m just going to do a mega tree and try to build from there. Is that a do-able goal for a first year, with say a $5k budget? Is it already too late for a beginner to start prepping for a possible Christmas show? The lazy part of me wants to just buy a plug-and-play system that’s easy, even if limited. The other side of me wants a custom system that I can control, and frankly, where I’ll probably get a bigger bang for my buck. Can anyone recommend good / reputable sourcing for RGB Smart lights, controllers, tree toppers, etc.? I’ve looked at the approved vendor threads and they don’t seem to be current or active, so I thought it just best to ask. Any recommendations if I go the route of having someone else to design and develop a ready-made custom solution? Many thanks for all of the helpful replies! You are in the LOR forums. I would highly recommend you visiting the LOR store. $5K will get you more than a pixel tree. Visit the store, make a list of what you want. Purchase "Modifiable" sequences from the sequence store. Add your 16ccr pixel tree kit. The TSO package , add the 8x25 pixel tree, add the mini floods, get the TSO Modifiable Series Sequence. You will be golden to start and under your $5K budget. Here is a link to the packages to get you started. Note = it does say out of stock but you can look around from there. You will also need the Pro license to dabble in pixels. One less thing to buy later on down the road. You really want to have a "look at that" moment - add the LOR Singing Quartet! Singing props are the Wow factor IMHO As far as your earlier statement about being "simply dumb". Not everyone can sequence and when you have that moment that is where the LOR HD team steps in. Simply create a ticket and you will get answers and help. Hands down the very best customer service. JR TSO ShowTime Central Starter Package (lightorama.com) Edited June 3, 2022 by dibblejr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimehc Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 (edited) I would have to agree with Purchasing the TSO Starter Package w/ Modifiable Sequences - if you were to compare all your options - you get the most bang for your buck with that Package Deal.... Yes, you will "want" (sooner or latter) more then the one 16 channel AC Controller and several Pixie16 Controllers.... So Plan out what you want in your "Display" then work on getting the "Hardware" A lot of folks will say "Sequence it yourself" or "if you can not sequence you should find another hobby" so it becomes a little discouraging for a new user - since creativity and experience is were most doubt themselves... That creativity comes over time as you learn from other Shared or Purchased Sequences... As you learn to Copy&Paste from one prop to another or another sequence preview to your sequence preview... You learn that it is the Lighting patterns that matter - as you gain experience with the Software you will be constantly tweaking your lighting patterns, sequences and Preview .... I had no problem understanding the Hardware Side of the hobby, as the actual testing, resulted far better than what I was being told or lead to believe... Getting to know my way around in the software took a little while, but it was not all that challenging either.. And since I knew I lacked the Creativity - I had no problem Purchasing Sequences.... The end result was the "Show" and "Display" I wanted... I wrote the Big Check (my first year) and nobody was able to discourage me from this "New Found Past Time" or "Hobby" (as they like to call it).... Edited June 3, 2022 by Jimehc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrant Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 I was not trying to discourage you in the slightest. Rather, learn everything as you go because you'll be able to create your own as you learn. Regardless of how you start out, you'll either hate it or love it. If you end up loving it, you'll be in this hobby for a long time to come! We all here are most willing to assist you as needed. I do suggest that you start with a picture of your house. Then draw strings of lights on it or props and how you want them to look. That'll dictate your hardware requirements and possibly your sequences/software. No matter how, pay attention to the details of the connections. First warning!!! There are two communication types; RS485 and TCPIP(Ethernet). Both use the same Cat5 cables. Its critical that you do not mix the cables up. Most all LOR products will work with RS485 but some also have TCPIP connectors too and they look identical. Do not mix them up so pay attention to the instructions. Failure to connect them properly will let out the magic smoke. To remind myself, just in case, I use a marker on the controller as to what kind of communication is inside. AC controllers and Pixie Controllers(I think) are RS485. I don't have any Pixie controllers. But others like the Pixcon16, has both RS485 and TCPIP. You really do not want to connect the wrong type to the wrong jack. Welcome to our hobby/madness. 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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