Need help Converting xLights to LOR in 2016.44

[jem5136]

Hello everyone,

I am having some issues trying to convert my xLights sequence in an LOR sequence. I go to Tools>Convert. When the window opens, I press "Choose Files" however I am only given an option to convert .xseq files and all of my sequences are saved as .xml (by defult).

I've tried to go in and "save as" a .xseq however I'm only given the option to save as a .xml file. How can I save my sequences as .xseq so I can convert them to .lms?

Thanks for the help.

[Gilrock]

Windows 101...click the down arrow by the .xseq file type and you can change it.

[jem5136]

Windows 101...click the down arrow by the .xseq file type and you can change it.

I'm not given an that option, I've looked through the types of files it'll convert and the types of files it'll save. It doesn't show .xml in the converter and it doesn't show .xseq when I save the sequences. You can see what I mean by looking at the screenshots I've attached. I feel like I'm missing something basic but I can't figure it out, am I overthinking this?

[Gilrock]

Yes you're missing the fact that when you save an XML sequence we create a FSEQ file that contains the data.  When you convert from xLights to another sequencer you need to specify the FSEQ file not the XML file because the FSEQ contains the data.

[jem5136]

I got it to convert to the .lms file, however the timing was completely off, by a few seconds. Any idea why? The lms file was almost 1.3 gig in size, I'm thinking it might be too much for LOR to handle?

[jnealand]

I have not used LOR for a number of years, but I do read almost every post on multiple forums.  I would report that probably my 90% of the folks who try to take xlights back to LOR eventually find that it is much easier to just convert everything to xlights and then spend your time fine tuning and doing new sequences all in xlights.  YMMV, just my observation.

[Gilrock]

Your timing should match whatever you had in xLights.  Can you show screenshots of both programs that show where data doesn't align?

[jem5136]

I have not used LOR for a number of years, but I do read almost every post on multiple forums.  I would report that probably my 90% of the folks who try to take xlights back to LOR eventually find that it is much easier to just convert everything to xlights and then spend your time fine tuning and doing new sequences all in xlights.  YMMV, just my observation.

I am sequencing a show for the city I live in and all of their equipment is LOR and they use a LOR show director to run the show. And because the show director will only work with .lms files, I am stuck having to convert all of the sequences to .lms files when I'm done with them. I've tried talking them into using different hardware to run the show (so I don't have to convert everything back to .lms files) but they're pretty set on using LOR and I can't change their mind since they are the ones that pay for the lights and hardware.

Your timing should match whatever you had in xLights.  Can you show screenshots of both programs that show where data doesn't align?

In the screenshot below you can see the same sequence in LOR and xLights. The effect (for the Light Pole- White) should begin just before 46 seconds (as it does in xLights), however when converted to LOR, it begins just before 37 seconds. It appears that when it was converted, the sequences was "fast forward" the effect happen quicker than they should.  I'm wondering if, when I converted the file, if I should have chosen the Time Resolution at 25 ms instead of 50 ms? I don't know if that would make a difference or not.

[Gilrock]

You don't happen to have a 25m xLights sequence do you?  The convert code was written when xLights only had 50ms as an option.  So to figure out the centisecond interval for LOR it's dividing your sequence interval by 10 which is 2.5 but then its saved as an integer so the 0.5 is truncated so you probably lose 20% of your sequence.  I'm looking into whether it can be fixed on our side as long as the format supports it.

[Gilrock]

So looking at the LMS file it appears to only support down to the centisecond which is 10ms.  So that means you can only use sequence intervals like 10ms, 20ms, 30ms, 40ms, 50ms, etc. in xLights.  If you have 25ms it's not supported because that requires 5ms resolution and it looks like LOR only support 10ms resolution.

[jem5136]

You don't happen to have a 25m xLights sequence do you?  The convert code was written when xLights only had 50ms as an option.  So to figure out the centisecond interval for LOR it's dividing your sequence interval by 10 which is 2.5 but then its saved as an integer so the 0.5 is truncated so you probably lose 20% of your sequence.  I'm looking into whether it can be fixed on our side as long as the format supports it.

I believe when I created this sequence, I created it at 25 ms, but I can't swear to it. I usually use 25ms.

I tried converting the same sequence at 25ms, it really didn't make any difference at all.

So looking at the LMS file it appears to only support down to the centisecond which is 10ms.  So that means you can only use sequence intervals like 10ms, 20ms, 30ms, 40ms, 50ms, etc. in xLights.  If you have 25ms it's not supported because that requires 5ms resolution and it looks like LOR only support 10ms resolution.

So I'm not missing anything, it's something that you'll have to look further into?

[Gilrock]

There's nothing I can do.  LOR's minimum resolution is 10ms so you can't use any timing interval that ends in a "5".  The timing box you changed does nothing for export that's an import option.  You need to change your sequence timing interval.  You gotta do it manually in the top of the xml where you see the <sequenceTiming> tab.  It can be anything we support 1ms resolution.  So you could change it to 10ms if you wanted.  Then reopen and resave your sequence and then export again.

[jem5136]

I started a new sequence at 50ms and imported the effects from the old sequence. Converted it, and it seems the timing is pretty spot on, however many of my effect have suffered and lost quality. For example, I have a few spots in the song that fade quickly in between red and green, however once I converted it there is no fade, it simply changes color.

I am beginning to think I am just going to throw a laptop out there instead of messing with converting everything back and forth, this is really a pain in the rear! Not to mention, I'm not sure LOR's "Show Director" can handle 30,000+ RGB channels.