Yet another Newbie !

[BDJCEvents]

Hello all

Yet another newbie here, thanks for letting me join the group. A few years back I made a mega tree with a stand along controller, this year I have decided to up my game and go for it, I'm based in the UK, Christmas light shows are not that big over here (yet) so I need to get everything shipped in !
 
I have been playing with Xlights 4, that’s is some awesome software. As this is my first attempt of building a show have a number of questions, but as this is my first post I will limit it

I am very familiar with DMX and Artnet, but I have noticed that all the E1.31 boards seem work in universes (512 channels) to control the pixels. That’s means only 170 pixels per universe, but WS2811 can handle 2048 pixels per string (if you inject power).
I have been looking at Advatekl. Then just to confuse me even more, I have been looking at the PixLite 16, it claims 5440 RGB Pixels, which does make sense, as 16 x 170 is 2720??

Based on what I want to do I will need 16 universes. The mega tree will take up 10.
So is it better to get smaller boards and run the network round each one, or a 16 universe board and run the control lines out to each ?
Also what boards would you guys recommend?

Last question about Xlights, I have spent a few hours trying to get my head round it, I have, there are quite a few questions I have, but will try to find the answers for myself, but the main I have now is driving me mad.
I have built a display, added a sound track and added a load of effects. But it’s a nit hit and miss if they display when playing back. By this a mean if I change an effect is seems some effects later on in the show working, I then have to select each one and click update and any change I do and I have to go back though each one and update again, when your running a lot of timed effects take a LONG time, what am I doing wrong here?


Thanks in advanced

Brian


 

[Gilrock]

Your last question is hard to guess at.  It depends a lot on whether you have models group mixed with models in the group in which case rendering order could be biting you.  Are the effect really long?  If you have an effect that stretches 2 minutes across the screen it may take a few seconds to render.  Everything should automatically update as you make changes.

[keithsw1111]

You shouldn't need to but you could always hit the render all button on the toolbar.

[bravado67]

You shouldn't need to but you could always hit the render all button on the toolbar.

+1 Render All depending on the complexity and length of the effect.

Ron

[sean]

brian have you looked at the Falcon16 V2, that is what i use for my show.

you can see a comparison of different controllers here
http://nutcracker123.com/nutcracker/rgb_controllers/

they all light up your lights, i think many like teh ease of use and the great support dave pitts gives

[babybear]

First I would like to say Welcome to Xlights/Nutcracker.....
   Dont be afraid to ask as we were all newbies at one time or another.  One thing to keep in mind is the distance that can be run as the E682 controller has a distance of 15 feet while the F16v2r can move data 60 feet on cat5 cable. as for universes dont get hung up on that part. Think more of the pixel outputs per port on the card. F16v2r can run 640 pixels per output. or 10240 pixels per controller. Gotta run

[kentd]

First I would like to say Welcome to Xlights/Nutcracker.....
   Dont be afraid to ask as we were all newbies at one time or another.  One thing to keep in mind is the distance that can be run as the E682 controller has a distance of 15 feet while the F16v2r can move data 60 feet on cat5 cable. as for universes dont get hung up on that part. Think more of the pixel outputs per port on the card. F16v2r can run 640 pixels per output. or 10240 pixels per controller. Gotta run

Actually the Falcon can run 680 pixels per output with 16 available that is 10,880 separate pixels. I own an AlphaPix4 but it is not used for my show because the Falcons can so far out perform it. I use three of the Falcons and would not even think about anything else. You also will want to use a Raspberry PI to send your data out. It's the best way to run your show.

You mentioned your mega tree, I use one controller on my mega tree with 12 outputs feeding it but have other models that feed from for example Dalek trees & Dalek Stars then on to a series of Northpoles that are globes and that is on one output.

Just my 2 cents worth
Kent

[babybear]

Oops Yes it was early. LOL. Now for my mega tree I'm running 16 strands with 50 nodes each plus a 50 node star. I'm only using 3 outputs on my controller. The F16v2r also has a daughter board that doubles the number of outputs but cuts the nodes down to 340 per output. That just goes to show there are a ton of combos. There is no right or wrong, just works best for you. Dont worry we will just confuse the hell out of you by the time your done.

[danj]

Welcome to the xlights/nutcracker forum!   There are lots of very smart and very helpful people here!!

[BDJCEvents]

Hi Guys

REALLY sorry for the delay in my reply, work went a bit nuts (that’s the trouble being self-employed) .

Based on your recommendations looks like I need to get hold of a F16V2, however there website only shows F16V2-R (not sure what the difference is) and it's not being shipping until the end of the month.

Ref the render button, I have notice it, thanks !!

I haven't had lot of time to play with X-Lights, but there are 2 things I just can't get to work.
The first, this may be me doing something wrong. Lets say I have 4 layers playing 4 difference effects. On the 'All' layer I want to flash white at a given point, so I have put a 'On' effect on the 'All' layer while the effects on the 4 layer were still running. I was hopping that the all would overrule the 4 layer and flash, but its doesn't. Do I need to stop the effect on the 4 layers, flash all, and then start the 4 effects again?

Fading, once again maybe me. My 4 layers, I'm trying to do an effect where they all come on but fade out at different times, eg L1 fade out 2 second, L2 3 seconds, L3, 4 seconds and L4 5 seconds. But they all fade out at the same time?


Thanks for all your help guys, I'm sure this will not be the last you see of me (sorry about that  !! )

Brian

[Chris A]

Hi Guys

REALLY sorry for the delay in my reply, work went a bit nuts (that’s the trouble being self-employed) .

Based on your recommendations looks like I need to get hold of a F16V2, however there website only shows F16V2-R (not sure what the difference is) and it's not being shipping until the end of the month.

The F16V2-R is the latest version and is what you want. I ordered one two weeks ago and had it in 2 days. You could always check with David Pitts at Falcon and he can give you an accurate time frame.

[Phrog30]

Hi Guys

REALLY sorry for the delay in my reply, work went a bit nuts (that’s the trouble being self-employed) .

Based on your recommendations looks like I need to get hold of a F16V2, however there website only shows F16V2-R (not sure what the difference is) and it's not being shipping until the end of the month.

Ref the render button, I have notice it, thanks !!

I haven't had lot of time to play with X-Lights, but there are 2 things I just can't get to work.
The first, this may be me doing something wrong. Lets say I have 4 layers playing 4 difference effects. On the 'All' layer I want to flash white at a given point, so I have put a 'On' effect on the 'All' layer while the effects on the 4 layer were still running. I was hopping that the all would overrule the 4 layer and flash, but its doesn't. Do I need to stop the effect on the 4 layers, flash all, and then start the 4 effects again?

Fading, once again maybe me. My 4 layers, I'm trying to do an effect where they all come on but fade out at different times, eg L1 fade out 2 second, L2 3 seconds, L3, 4 seconds and L4 5 seconds. But they all fade out at the same time?


Thanks for all your help guys, I'm sure this will not be the last you see of me (sorry about that  !! )

Brian

Read the manual on how xlights renders. You need to truly understand that before you start sequencing. On top of render, there are masks that you can set.

The manual is on the releases page, right above where you download xlights.

James

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[Gilrock]

You can change the render order by how you arrange the display elements.  Select "Master View" and the render order is top down.  Right-click the row headings and select Edit Display Elements to change the order.  But typically most people render the larger group models first and the individual models second.  You could always create two models that contain the same stuff and put one on top and one on the bottom and then use them to determine when an effect will render.

[BDJCEvents]

Hi Guys

REALLY sorry for the delay in my reply, work went a bit nuts (that’s the trouble being self-employed) .

Based on your recommendations looks like I need to get hold of a F16V2, however there website only shows F16V2-R (not sure what the difference is) and it's not being shipping until the end of the month.

Ref the render button, I have notice it, thanks !!

I haven't had lot of time to play with X-Lights, but there are 2 things I just can't get to work.
The first, this may be me doing something wrong. Lets say I have 4 layers playing 4 difference effects. On the 'All' layer I want to flash white at a given point, so I have put a 'On' effect on the 'All' layer while the effects on the 4 layer were still running. I was hopping that the all would overrule the 4 layer and flash, but its doesn't. Do I need to stop the effect on the 4 layers, flash all, and then start the 4 effects again?

Fading, once again maybe me. My 4 layers, I'm trying to do an effect where they all come on but fade out at different times, eg L1 fade out 2 second, L2 3 seconds, L3, 4 seconds and L4 5 seconds. But they all fade out at the same time?


Thanks for all your help guys, I'm sure this will not be the last you see of me (sorry about that  !! )

Brian

Read the manual on how xlights renders. You need to truly understand that before you start sequencing. On top of render, there are masks that you can set.

The manual is on the releases page, right above where you download xlights.

James

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

I didn't know there was one, thanks James

[kevinp]

I didn't know there was one, thanks James

Use the direct link on this wiki page as it's the most recent revision of the manual.  If you follow the link on the release page, it's a older outdated manual version.

http://www.nutcracker123.com/wk/index.php?title=Nutcracker_User_Manual