Messages

1

What new effects you would like to see / Re: new features for v5?

« on: March 14, 2016, 07:39:59 PM »

OK thinking about the Colour gradient stuff overnight, it's going to be better to do a screen capture video of how I use the feature in Vixen and why I miss it than to write it up, this will take a few days and likely should have it's own thread.
Colour Gradients and curves for that matter can be applied to nearly all effects in vixen with a simple drag and drop that makes some sequencing things significantly easier.
I'll do the video..... need to buy a new headset first, the old one broke last night

Cheers
Phil

2

What new effects you would like to see / Re: new features for v5?

« on: March 14, 2016, 01:43:30 AM »

James the Blur with Bars does result in nice gradients.  Thanks for the tip.  To be fair though, Blur was just added a couple weeks ago.  I'll definitely be using that.

Gil thanks for your example too. 

I can't say exactly what AussiePhil, GadgetSmith, Jeffl, etc. prefer about Gradients and Dimming Curves.  There may be other aspects they are looking for.

Maybe it's because it's all they know. I won't knock Vixen, it's beautiful software. But, there are a lot of misinformed users out there. Some still think xlights is only an effects generator.

James

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

James,
I'll gracefully admit i don't know xlights4 back the front, but i did use it fairly heavily last year including layers etc AND i still completely miss colour gradients.....
I'll come back with some more detail tomorrow.

3

Xlights Setup / Re: Big arches

« on: February 21, 2016, 05:18:41 PM »

You know I used to be that guy that didn't want to pack my universes either.  But the F16v2 has made it so easy I switched all my stuff over to pack it in there.  I've had outputs that start on channel 511 of a universe however crazy that may seem to some people.  That's why xLights and the Falcon boards are a perfect match because they both worth pretty much the same way.  Just define where things start and it handles the rest.

i see what your saying. I was just trying to make it easy for me. My mind still stuck in LOR world. This is my first year without LOR and first year with pixels, Pi, and fpp. Jumped head first woth about 7,000 pixels and I ordered 3 f1)v2s with expansions and one without lol. No idea why that many but I did lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

100% with Gil.... I also went from a per universe setup with fpp and J1Sys controllers to a largely contiguous channel array for the three F16v2's.
I did however keep 16 universes in XL4 as 4800 channels with 16 300ch universes, to cater for a 16 x 100 node based matrix running from J1Sys controllers to keep the universe boundary stuff easy.

I hear it's your first year but please just bite the bullet and stop thinking in discreet universes.
you will find it far easy in the long run to handle the final output config directly on the F16v2 units.

7000 Pixels = 21,000 channels = @42 -510ch universes.
Well inside the 64 universes each unit can handle.
Even with your proposed multiple Pi's running each F16v2 I'd just let each Pi play the entire 42 universes to the F16v2's and then pick the channels needed for each port from the 32k array.

4

Do You Need Help? Post it here / Re: Mapping the Set-up to my elements to a Falcon Controller

« on: February 14, 2016, 05:22:22 PM »

HI All,

I am having a hard time determining the best way to map my elements in the software so that when I hook them up they will work correctly.  I am planning on most elements be less than 150 pixels and assigning them to a port on the F16-V2 controller.  I will have 3 of these controllers.  Logically I have them mapped to ports on the controller based on location and number of pixels that I want to drive per port on the controller.  I have the expansion board so I have 32 ports available that can each output 2 universes of lights as I understand it.  In Xlights what is the easiest way to map this out.  Set-up the generic network with all possible universes and then adjust the gaps in starting channels?  Or is there a better way to do this.

From memory you are also planning to use FPP on a Pi for sequence playback.....

In that case I would just configure all elements in XL using continuous channels without any real concern about final output with a couple of small caveats.
If you have more than 64k channels to assign then you will have to consider which channels each of the F16v2's will be processing.
All elements that need to go out on a single port should be part of a continuous group of channels.

In XL last year whilst taking those two things into account I didn't care till I set the output configuration on the FPP and then the channel to port assignments on the three F16v2's I ran last year.

The only wrinkle I had to take into account was a couple J1Sys P12R's that I needed to ensure got specific universe and channels.

5

Bugs in xLights/Nutcracker / Re: Layout with XL ver 2016.7

« on: February 11, 2016, 05:42:52 PM »

What I was referring more to is a simple pick list/drop down allowing quick switching including saving open work between different show/music directories (ie profiles in vixen speak)

yep, you can go to setup tab, select your show and music folders and your right to go..... all a dropdown gives is presets to this information without invoking folder browse/select dialogue boxes.

Thanks Dan,


We have this on the File menu.  The last 4 directories you used are right there.  Simple click and you're there.

6

Bugs in xLights/Nutcracker / Re: Layout with XL ver 2016.7

« on: February 10, 2016, 07:33:13 PM »

Phil;

I have 22 xmas profiles and 7 halloween profiles. I can pick any of them and then work them. We dont have a default profile, we remember the last profile you used.

So "add functionality to have different show directories.. test, pumpkin, xmas, etc." we have this now, or am I missing something?

We didnt give a way to have old version software and new version software and switch between them, but i didnt think that is what you were referring to?

What we dont have is the ability to have multiple profiles. For example some people are sequencing the same song for four houses. I imagine being able to see Whole House layout so it is divided in 4 parts and you see what the single sequence looks like on 4 different houses, 4 different background images or 6 or 8 or 9 .etc.. It would be nice, but i think it is a small group that is sequencing multiple houses to one song.


thanks
sean

hi Sean,

I have quite a few xmas folders but not that many.
Your right I wasn't referring to switching versions per se or multiple setups for different houses.

What I was referring more to is a simple pick list/drop down allowing quick switching including saving open work between different show/music directories (ie profiles in vixen speak)

yep, you can go to setup tab, select your show and music folders and your right to go..... all a dropdown gives is presets to this information without invoking folder browse/select dialogue boxes.

One thought (as I typed this) how much stuff is actually in the registry? I've longed to have a portable windows version but registry entries prevent this.

Cheers

7

Xlights Setup / Re: E1.31, Pixelnet, DMX, Universes, Channels, etc EXPLAINED

« on: February 09, 2016, 05:57:35 PM »

Maybe of interest to some history buffs, Pixelnet is somewhat of a marriage of HyperDMX and Renard Serial.

HyperDMX exists in some J1Sys products and it encompasses sending Standard DMX at 1Mbs allowing 4 universes to be sent out on the line at the same time. Receivers need to know how many universes are being sent though.
Renard protocol also drops a value to enable syncing

Both existed prior to Pixelnet coming out.

8

Xlights Setup / Re: Let The Madness Begin Part 2

« on: February 09, 2016, 05:16:49 PM »

Anyone this organised should succeed
That many pixels is a serious commitment for the year, Whilst I only brought in 2k of new pixels last year my rebuild of display elements involved around 5k and I have 6/7 years of pixels under the belt and still it was a big job.

I think the forum name is spot on bravado

Cheers

PS I did some cost comparison calculations in a couple threads last year for P10 v nodes and from memory around 2000 nodes plus it became cost effective to use P10's. 

9

Bugs in xLights/Nutcracker / Re: Layout with XL ver 2016.7

« on: February 09, 2016, 04:10:50 PM »

Lesson from the Vixen team..... you can have a default profile and any number of other profiles that can be selected at app start.
Whilst we may not change versions often, profiles would solve the issue and add functionality to have different show directories.. test, pumpkin, xmas, etc.

10

Do You Need Help? Post it here / Re: Channel mapping strategy questions

« on: February 09, 2016, 03:45:19 PM »

Brian,
I'm one of those people that has no idea what they will have in the yard to sequence to well into October so my strategy in XL4 last year was to create  models as I needed them, all the big known stuff first and all the smaller ad-hoc stuff then just tacked on the end, often with shared absolute numbers whilst I sorted final layout.
creating the models allows you to sequence even if the preview is not 100% correct.

After I had finalised things I went back in and reconfigured all additional models added to used contiguous numbering, yes it's a bit of a pain but I personally think it's easier than leaving gaps.

It was only at this point I configured the FPP instances on the Pi's and BBB's and then spent the evening before go live configuring all the external controllers

11

What new effects you would like to see / Re: new features for v5?

« on: January 11, 2016, 01:40:34 AM »

Second Jeffl - make it easier to work with fades

second Gadget - make the colour pallet bigger, i'll use 20+ colours from a pallet.
Honestly the way Vixen 3 handles colours and curves via a user built "library" is just better.

would love to see gradients and gradient libraries in xl5, it's a major thing i missed in changing from vix3

right click paste options to paste with current time or fit into timing marks.

second tptech - E131 priority   (does need controller support as well)

The ability to limit the effects used for autocreate..... some like lightning just don't work for my display at least.
autocreate also to be time period sensitive, no need for fast pace in a 10 second timing period.

12

What new effects you would like to see / Re: Model Proportion aspect ratio with shift key

« on: December 01, 2015, 05:52:43 PM »

No problem.  I just kinda laugh when I see # of posts 1 and it's a request.  I'm like hey you forgot to say hi, introduce yourself, tell us how great we are, then make your demands...lol.

Dan's been around for so long with the same name he hardly needs intro... at least to us oldies

13

Do You Need Help? Post it here / Another Models Group question - playing effect per object

« on: August 23, 2015, 06:54:04 PM »

Bit of background,

I have had two largely identical megatrees in the front yard for quite a few seasons now and I normally just have them doing the same thing for most of the time. Vixen made this easy with it's grouping function.

The model I did for testing was 2 x 32x50 pixel megatrees drawn at each end of the preview window then grouped together.
The two trees do not have consecutive channel numbering.

Now the Model grouping behaves differently in XL4 with the spacing between the trees seemingly taken into account when applying an effect on the group, this leads to some weird things when my trees are at opposite ends of the yard.

I've added a third megatree last year and this season that makes it slightly better as it's in the middle but is a different size.

I guess my question is.... Is there a way to have an effect dropped on the model group to either play on each model independently or across the model group as if there is no space between the models?

Or am I missing something easy.....

14

Bugs (Please dont post here, soon to be deprecated) / 4.1.11 - Crash on Quit/close of application

« on: July 15, 2015, 07:27:01 AM »

was testing the matrix issue from the previous thread and it all seems stable however i saved the sequence, closed the sequence, reopened it.... at this stage all seemed ok.

Now decide to quit xlights, it hang on exit, becoming un-responsive then crashed.

On restarting it got error that parsing rgbeffects file line 1, and then no models when it finally opened.

no debug file created so nothing to attach

Phil

OS Windows 8.1

15

Bugs (Please dont post here, soon to be deprecated) / Re: 4.01.10 - crash whilst trying to change effect property

« on: July 14, 2015, 07:50:30 PM »

Are you talking about the Circles effect?  You can see the name in the effect settings dialog combo-box.

Yes Gil, I was, sorry

Another note:  the crashes from above are definitely not from the sequence of events you describe above.   They have Text effects being rendered with specific text in them ("Now playing ..").   

Dan, sorry looks like it confused things by adding multiple files... the newest debug file came precisely from the sequence of events described.

I haven't seen it.  Not sure what's causing it.  One of those log kind of appeared that multiple threads were trying to render the same effect on the same model and layer.

in one of the log files I would have had 2 or 3 matrixes with similar names all running copies of the same effect.
Phil

Phil