Messages

1

Bugs in xLights/Nutcracker / Re: Multiple HDMI outputs from Multipe RPis

« on: October 22, 2019, 12:05:44 AM »

Sorry for the delay, forgot the RPi 4B uses Micro HDMI connectors and I had to order cables 

Anyway for anyone wanting to do this,  I can confirm that this does indeed work and quite well, although it took a hard boot for some reason.   Both videos play at the same time at normal speed.   

I don't see any way to delay the start of the video so I guess the only option is to edit the video that is shorter and add dead space before I want it to begin.  When the shorter video is over it just puts out black which is fine. 

Thanks for your help Keith, I would not have thought it would be this easy.   It is a bit confusing so what I did was make a folder for the videos I want with sub-directories of View 1, View2, etc. and put the files I want to view for each in those directories with identical names which I append with "_MV" for multi-view.  That way when I upload them I have some idea what I am doing and don't confuse them with the originals.

2

Bugs in xLights/Nutcracker / Re: Multiple HDMI outputs from Multipe RPis

« on: October 17, 2019, 07:34:20 PM »

Thanks Keith, I had thought about that but I wasn't sure what the FPP would do trying to sync them.  It makes sense though that it would just start the media file portion of it, especially if there were no E.1-31 attached.  I had a slower Pi that couldn't keep up as my master (I upgraded it now) and it kept making the other faster Pi video freeze while it caught up just a few frames.   That went away with the upgrade to a Pi 4b but I wasn't sure what would happen if I put different videos on different Pis with the same name.

I wonder what happens if they aren't the same length?  I am going to try it as soon as I get a chance.   Do I need to edit the videos to the same length or put blank space in front of them if I don't want them to start right away?  It would seem like it would but that is doable if necessary.   

Anyway thanks for your response, I will give it a shot tonight if I can.

3

Bugs in xLights/Nutcracker / Multiple HDMI outputs from Multipe RPis

« on: October 16, 2019, 09:03:56 PM »

So I have searched the forum for this and all the posts seem either pretty out of date or not applicable.

I am wanting to incorporate some videos I got from Atmosfx.com into this year's display.  So far it has gone great.   I made a sequence using the mpeg video, coordinated the lights and it works perfectly.  I get the sound out the speakers, the video out the HDMI and of course the lights using the E1.31.   I have a slave player which also is able to play the HDMI video flawlessly (1080p) as needed.

So of course since this works perfectly I want to push my luck one step further and play a different video on the master than the slave.   For example a ghost appearing in the yard while different ghosts are playing on the big hollusion screen by the entrance.   

I have not actually tried this and I have a few ideas but I am wondering if anyone has already tried this and has suggestions?  I have considered trying to make a sequence with a different mpeg video and the same name for one but that seems like it limits my options.   As far as I know there is no way to put a video into the sequence like I might to play on my mega tree and have it come out the HDMI.  The only way I know to do this is to use the mpeg for the media track.   

Is there another/better way?  If no one has any suggestions I will try making a sequence using the other video with the same name and edit the video to fit the same time frame.  But I would really to hear from anyone else who has tried this.

4

Bugs in xLights/Nutcracker / Re: Effects not changing on edit

« on: October 16, 2019, 08:53:09 PM »

Yeah, I will try and make a video this weekend.  It isn't the end of the world as it can be worked around, but maybe something that should be addressed.    Thanks for you responses.   

5

Bugs in xLights/Nutcracker / Re: Effects not changing on edit

« on: October 14, 2019, 08:41:36 PM »

I did indeed try changing the combo box, and yes, that did reproduce the problem.  In fact it probably started it.   After that failed I tried to drag from the tool bar and had the same issue.  Then I saved it, broken as it was and as mentioned after it re-rendered it the problem was gone.  It isn't a huge big deal, easy enough to work around I guess with the render all or save  command but something isn't quite right.  I will see if I can reproduce it without using the combo box and if so re-post, otherwise I will just not use that.

6

Bugs in xLights/Nutcracker / Re: Effects not changing on edit

« on: October 12, 2019, 11:49:53 PM »

And then I saved the sequence, went back and it worked correctly again.

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Bugs in xLights/Nutcracker / Re: Effects not changing on edit

« on: October 12, 2019, 11:13:46 PM »

OK so I think I have a better grasp on the issue .....

1) I have an effect I don't like, say "tree" on a single line sequence
2) I delete "tree"
3) I  pic a new effect, say "VU meter" from the menu
4) I  place it on the empty spot
5) I get "tree" instead of the effect I just chose.

I repeated this 5 times .....

8

Bugs in xLights/Nutcracker / Re: Effects not changing on edit

« on: October 12, 2019, 11:08:17 PM »

Never mind, I went back to the exact same sequence and I can't reproduce the problem.   Don't waste your time until I can reproduce it.

9

Bugs in xLights/Nutcracker / Effects not changing on edit

« on: October 12, 2019, 10:59:21 PM »

So I got on to tonight and before doing anything I updated to the latest version of Xlights.

So went edit some old sequences and I seem to be having a problem.  I delete the old effect (or click on it) and change the settings, but when I try to play it the old one is still there.  If I click on the space in the timeline the old effect is still there.   

I thought maybe there was something wrong with my old sequence so I created a brand new one, filled it with random effects, and when I went to delete the ones I didn't like, some of them deleted and I could replace them, but others refused to be deleted, new effects weren't filled in and when I click on the space in the timeline they  still there.  The very first effect in particular seems impossible to delete and/or change.  But it isn't just the first one, others have the same problem, but not all of them do.

10

Bugs in xLights/Nutcracker / Re: Crap, my 7 minute Sequence has gone!

« on: November 11, 2015, 09:26:06 PM »

Really good suggestion Sean, wish I had known that before, would have saved a few hours.  What about saving models?  I have clicked on the "link" at the bottom of the file menu ... doesn't say exactly what it does but sometimes it seems to save, sometimes it makes the program crash.  I have lost more models and had to redo them than anything else.

11

Bugs in xLights/Nutcracker / Re: Bug on exit

« on: November 11, 2015, 09:22:29 PM »

I had a similar problem.  It seems to come from editing the models after already establishing the sequence.  In my case I had two models, one which accessed the channels in a whole pixel strip, the other which referenced portions of the strip independently so I could have different effects on different sections.   I wasn't using the model that accessed the whole pixel strip at once but the XML still had references to it anyway.  Possibly because I changed it from the original sequence.   I had to go into the XML file for the sequence and delete those manually and the problem disappeared.

I have had the same problem changing face models after the sequence.  If you do them first, then do the sequence everything is good but when you change them after the sequence there seem to be "leftovers" which cause problems.  XML isn't hard to understand, I have just taken to editing the XML file directly if I have problems and the cause is usually obvious.

12

Do You Need Help? Post it here / Re: Having trouble with Timing tracks and models not agreeing with output.

« on: September 27, 2015, 07:23:59 PM »

Thanks Gerry.  Your posts have been very helpful.  This is a great plugin.  Most of my problems seem to occur when I go back and change a model and then  go back to the sequencer.  Somehow things just don't get updated correctly.  I have started saving as soon as I change a model then exiting and restarting.  A bit inconvenient but much less so than the other problems.  I do have one question you might know the answer to -- when you change a model it doesn't seem to update the voice track in the sequencer until you click on it.  I tried selecting a bunch and it didn't go so well (locked up).  The update button doesn't seem to have any affect either.  Is there a way to update all your coro face tracks when you change a model.

In case this isn't clear, I had both lower teeth and lower lip on for the devil in my display and I didn't like the way it looked, so I turned off the teeth in the model but the sequencer still had the outputs from the old model.  I have the song broken up in to a lot of coro face segments so I can control other things like the eyes and outline more easily during different parts of the song.  As I click on each one it does update the sequencer, but it takes a long time to click on every one.  Is there an easier way?

13

Do You Need Help? Post it here / Re: Having trouble with Timing tracks and models not agreeing with output.

« on: September 27, 2015, 01:44:06 PM »

FYI, after the crash one of my coro face models lost all the "faces".  The other two I was using are all fine.  Other than that it appears I was able to save the sequence (and restart Xlights) without losing too much this time.  Not too much work to recreate the faces but I still think this is where there is some sort of issue.

14

Do You Need Help? Post it here / Re: Having trouble with Timing tracks and models not agreeing with output.

« on: September 27, 2015, 01:12:48 PM »

Thank you on the "T".  That is what I was missing.   Maybe I knew that once, but  I couldn't remember and couldn't see what you were doing in the video.  Like you told me before I'm not looking over your shoulder.

As far as the problems being caused by my PC, its pretty unlikely that my PC would cause the strange behavior and crashing on one particular program without any others being affected and even less likely it would cause one window in one program (the sequencer) to refresh with corrupted display over and over.   I have had MUCH less crashing since I got my models defined and just have been working on sequences.   I did get a corrupted heap error this morning after letting the program sit overnight when I tried to move a timing mark.  I would have tried to get more information for you but I accidentally opened a version of Visual Studio with a trial license today to debug it and so it wouldn't let me do anything other than continue the program (which was nice because I had not saved the sequence).

15

Do You Need Help? Post it here / Re: Having trouble with Timing tracks and models not agreeing with output.

« on: September 25, 2015, 09:02:13 PM »

Hi Gerry, thanks for your help.  The red bars were vertical and flickering all over the sequencer window.  When I saved it kept the lyrics track and timing but lost all the tracks for the models.  That wasn't that hard to recreated, as long as it kept the timing track.    Sorry I didn't do a screen capture. 

So here is a capture of my screen so far.  I have four timing tracks now and only have 3 models defined so far.  I was doing Queen Bohemian Rhapsody So I have a timing track for each band member.  My biggest problem now is adding a timing on the other timing tracks.  I can import lyrics just fine, but despite watching Daniel's video 10 times I can't seem to figure out how he just selects a spot and adds timing.  Once its there I have no problem clicking and changing the lyrics, but I just can't seem to add a timing track in a particular spot like he did and then put the lyrics I want to use in it.

BTW, I have to exit nutcracker a couple times a night and restart since using this plugin -- a problem I have never had before.  I love the plugin, but rock solid is not a word I would use to describe it.