Vixen user looking to try ...

[brianweb]

I have used Vixen 3 for two years now. My show is 100% pixels and I am looking to try out Xlights for its extensive effects. I keep hearing how the two programs are very different in their approach and the different mindset needed.

So in the vixen world I create elements, nest them together into groups and then patch them to outputs on the controllers.

What is the equivalent process in Xlights or other advice from current/former Vixen users that have made the switch?

Thanks,

Brian


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[JonB256]

So in the vixen world I create elements, nest them together into groups and then patch them to outputs on the controllers.

In the xLights world, you create elements and can put them together into groups. They are patched to outputs during the element creation process.

[Gilrock]

Yeah I heard someone say the patching in Vixen was so much easier than xLights.  When I tried Vixen a year ago I couldn't even figure out what to do.  Everything seems easier once you get familiar with it.  In xLights you create a bunch of outputs in the Setup tab.  If you have an all E1.31 setup for pixels like I do then it's super simple.  You just click the add E1.31 button type in how many universes you want and bam your done.  Then when you create a model you can put the universe number where it says "From Output" and then channel number into the "Start Channel".  The reason it says "From Output" and not universe number is because your output numbers on the Setup tab are not required to be equal to the universe numbers.  But if you create it that way it makes it real easy to do your assignments.

Like mentioned above you can create model groups which contain multiple models and each model may reside in multiple groups.

[gerry]

Hi Brian,

the Wiki has links to a number of tutorials (look in the new section for one the Sean did a few weeks ago). There is also a manual that is worth a browse . Once u get going, xLights is very easy to use and awesome.

[Phrog30]

I have used Vixen 3 for two years now. My show is 100% pixels and I am looking to try out Xlights for its extensive effects. I keep hearing how the two programs are very different in their approach and the different mindset needed.

So in the vixen world I create elements, nest them together into groups and then patch them to outputs on the controllers.

What is the equivalent process in Xlights or other advice from current/former Vixen users that have made the switch?

Thanks,

Brian


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Lightorama users will say how do I do this in xlights.

Vixen users will say how do I do this in xlights.

Etc...

My advice, install the software, learn it, disregard the software you used to use.

This is coming from an ex lor user, and a current Vixen user (I use both xlights and Vixen, however, mainly xlights). Xlights has proven to be the best software out there, but I had to let go of the past to realize that.

My two pennies.

[deonb]

I think there's something to be said about Vixen's double-indirection between channels and controllers.

I have 43 E131 universe starts. I got into a situation during December where I needed to add one more channel on the 3rd of those universes so I can stick another DMX prop on the same line, which would push all of my other channel numbers of all other universes in the system down by one.

That means going into all of the > 100 models I have and changing each of their start addresses.

Luckily I've figured out another way by getting the new channel onto a new Universe which I could stick at the end - but I was ready to cry there for a moment.

[Gilrock]

I don't know anything about Vixen and don't care to.  But I did have an idea I want to implement where you can chain models.  So instead of giving a specific channel to a model you would have the option to say element2 starts where element1 ends.  By the way I inserted new stuff into my display no problem because I always allocate full universes.

[mararunr]

I don't know anything about Vixen and don't care to.  But I did have an idea I want to implement where you can chain models.  So instead of giving a specific channel to a model you would have the option to say element2 starts where element1 ends.  By the way I inserted new stuff into my display no problem because I always allocate full universes.

+1 - this would be amazing because with the Falcon F16v2, I'm putting several models in the same data run.  With this I would only have to input the start channel for the first model of a new data run.


I'm hoping this year is the year of Falcon/xLights integration where we only have to define stuff once and it populates/replicates across Falcon Player, Falcon Controller and xLights.  I've seen Sean mention it.  (Apologies to those using other controllers/products).

[Gilrock]

Yep that's one of the things on Sean's wish list is to get the configuration between FPP and xLights as smooth as possible.

[deonb]

I don't know anything about Vixen and don't care to.  But I did have an idea I want to implement where you can chain models.  So instead of giving a specific channel to a model you would have the option to say element2 starts where element1 ends.  By the way I inserted new stuff into my display no problem because I always allocate full universes.

Actually, come to think of it, it's not Vixen's double indirection that solves this. It's that they bind to the name of a Network+Offset instead of a running channel number. So another solution would be for the user to be able to name the E131 / USB (or whatever) entry in xLights setup, and then have the model be able to bind to the Entry + Offset from it. That would make things more resilient to changes.

Chaining elements would help, but I've never hooked elements up the same way two years in a row, so it will still be an effort to go through them again to fix things up.


Either way, the real beauty of xLights is the dead simple XML file format. So I'll more than likely just build something this year that take my growing Excel spreadsheet of lights & universes and convert it directly to xlights_rgbeffects.xml.

Wish I can set up FPP and my controllers from it at the same time. Screen scraping comes to mind...