Controllers. What to buy?

[cslampman]

I have been debating for years, and it has always gotten put off until I felt it was too late to start buying hardware to setup a light show. But this year I bit the bullet and started buying pixels and trying to decide which route to go on a controller. I’ve looked at the Mattos Dragon, the Genius, the Hinkspix Pro, and of course, the Falcon. And I’m stuck, having trouble deciding. I plan on starting with the roof line (1500 pixels purchased) for year round holidays, and I have four 5V 192 pixel small Christmas trees, I picked up on sale. With that being said, I’m looking for a 16 port controller with a couple smart receivers, one of which can manage 5V lights.
I’m really leaning towards the HinksPix Pro Ready to Run boxes. What are y’all’s thought on them or what are your suggestions?

Thanks
Southeast Texas, USA

 

[uncledan]

AVOID HOLIDAY CORO!!! Don't focus on the ready to run stuff. You'll need to figure it all out anyways. Hop into chat, this is a DIY hobby. Very easy to do it all yourself even with minimal skills and save some money

 

[Mark_M]

I’m really leaning towards the HinksPix Pro Ready to Run boxes.

Ready-to-run is fine as a concept to start out with, but you will need to learn later on. There's no running away from learning it.


Holiday Coro as a business has many people angry/annoyed at their practices.
All sorts of reasons; one I hear is that people have said something bad about their product and have now been blocked from future orders and support.

 

[merryoncherry]

I ordered a bunch of HinksPix PROs before anyone told me not to (and also the other controllers were not in stock). They work just fine (bit of a scramble with firmware for those of us with Halloween shows, but sorted long before Xmas). I've decided I love ready to run because I'm lazy, and only customize hardware when there is a special situation, like a really big, dense matrix, and then I primarily customize around differential receivers. Or 5V/12V/DMX hybrid props... I make receivers for those.

This, however, is not the prevailing opinion here on ACL. I'd say it depends on the part of the hobby you want to spend time on. A lot of people here like to solder, or assemble controllers with their own laser-cut mounting plates... but I want to mess with the software instead.

 

[Skymaster]

As you can see, there are very differing opinions on the topic.
All the controllers you have listed will do what you want them to do. There is no right and wrong answer to it - and ultimately it's up your comfort level with each product as to how you wish to proceed.
Support wise- there is someone who knows pretty much everything on that list. If you get stuck, you will be able to get help.

 

[cslampman]

That’s not a great business practice. You’ll never make everyone happy.

But I have already been learning. I’ve had xlights for a while and watched plenty of YouTube videos, read any manual I can find. But actually configuring and testing requires a controller to start with. I’m a control systems engineer, so I pick the programming up pretty quickly. Of course, there is a lot to learn about each of the different brands of controllers.
The Ready to Runs just seem appealing because they come with everything needed to get started.

 

[cslampman]

As you can see, there are very differing opinions on the topic.
All the controllers you have listed will do what you want them to do. There is no right and wrong answer to it - and ultimately it's up your comfort level with each product as to how you wish to proceed.
Support wise- there is someone who knows pretty much everything on that list. If you get stuck, you will be able to get help.

Thanks for the info. I design industrial control panels for a living, so I don’t want to spend my time building them at home. Like you, the software side is more appealing. I understand it’s necessary to solder and build sometimes though.

 

[uncledan]

I spent about $10,000 my first year with pixels back in 2015 from Holiday Coro. I will never buy anything from Holiday Coro after the customer service I received back then. It's very easy to buy the components and build yourself. You could improve the build to fit your needs.

 

[merryoncherry]

I've heard a few stories, but it didn't happen to me. I got much better support from HC than a couple of the other vendors people seem to love.

 

[uncledan]

If you design industrial controls seems like a no brainer to DIY. The Falcon F16v3 Ready to Run shows in stock

 

[merryoncherry]

If you design industrial controls seems like a no brainer to DIY. The Falcon F16v3 Ready to Run shows in stock

The first thing to do to that is add another PSU, put on a waterproof network connection, put on some better output labels, and add bulkhead ports for the long range. Maybe then it's ready to run

 

[cslampman]

I

If you design industrial controls seems like a no brainer to DIY. The Falcon F16v3 Ready to Run shows in stock

Yea, I did see that the v3 was in stock.

 

[darylc]

I like the v3's, very solid controllers

 

[cslampman]

I like the v3's, very solid controllers

From everything I’ve read, Falcon components are the best or at least preferred. The only reason I was looking at other brands was because of how hard they are to get. Their documentation is better than the rest as well.

 

[Skymaster]

Falcons are proven, solid workhorses. The support is fantastic. The compatibility is fantastic. If one was available and in the price range, I wouldnt bat an eyelid to get it.
Experience lights are a new player to the market, having only just released their controller in October? I think. It would have barely had a season under its belt.
FPP based controllers are reasonable (Kulp/Wallys/S.Hanson/A.Hanson/etc) and some are decent value for money
Hinkspix are quite common with the people who start out in the hobby. There are a lot of nuances with them, and specific guides that really need to be followed. That said, there are many out there too, and some people have good relationships with the developer.
WLED based controllers are decent for fixed lighting as you can run them in the off season, without sequencing. FPP is starting to get this too. However, don't be tempted with the fact they can be run wireless.