Hi everyone from Sunny Sawtell, NSW!

brettmcdermid

brettmcdermid

New elf
Joined
Feb 16, 2020
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4
Hi everyone,
I am looking for a new way to express my electronics expertise, and I thought what better way than to build a lovely christmas light display!
I am an electronics tech by trade, but also just finishing a degree in music, and about to start a mechatronic engineering degree.
I am looking at using the Falcon controllers with xLights to sequence to music, and finally transmit audio through an FM transmitter.
I was also interested in potential ways of synchronizing the light show to Ableton Live for potentially adding live music as well. Ableton Link is a feature within Live that can be used to synchronize multiple computers over a WiFi connection. I thought that this might potentially be a way to synchronize to a light show with a common metronome. Does anyone else have experience with this sort of thing? I'd be interested to hear from you.
Although, I have absolutely ZERO experience with xLights. It just seemed like a good option for creating the light show from the few YouTube videos that I have watched?
I look forward to talking with you all some more.
Kind regards,
Brett McDermid.
 
Welcome Brett McDermid; @brettmcdermid !
Read up on the ACL 101 manual. https://auschristmaslighting.com/wiki/AusChristmasLighting-101 .

As I saw a comment on a newbie's Facebook post:
"Hope your single, rich, and have a full liquor cabinet."
Read up, study, study, plan and repeat.

xLights is easy to learn, just takes time for people to learn. It's a like a video editor over a timeline.
Falcon boards are too easy to use. I see you've already made a post in 2020 interest thread. They are good boards. Electronics behind wiring pixels and power will be a easy for you having done electrical tech.

brettmcdermid said:
I was also interested in potential ways of synchronizing the light show to Ableton Live for potentially adding live music as well. Ableton Link is a feature within Live that can be used to synchronize multiple computers over a WiFi connection. I thought that this might potentially be a way to synchronize to a light show with a common metronome. Does anyone else have experience with this sort of thing?
Click to expand...
Never even hear of it, but I think I can grasp what you would like. Almost sounds like a multiple computer based MIDI. I know that xLights has some engine behind MIDI but I have no idea with Ableton Live.

Live music would be a challenge. Sort of thing lighting consoles have as 'cues' which are manually changed through. MIDI then makes this automatically switch through based on a timing beat.
You can easily have a backing track in xLights and perform from that. Just a little tricky with synchronization for live timing.

Live synchronization is a little over the top of our heads; we all have a pre-sequenced song playing from a show player.

PC based lighting control software like Chamsys MagicQ should work with taking a MIDI and playing back cues. There is plenty more software; I'm just familiar with this from my theatres lighting console. ACL/wiki/sequencers

From the Media tab and minis:




No matter what you do, anything pixels you will learn about channels and universes. The protocol E1.31 we use is the same as sACN which stage lighting uses for large amounts of lights. That might be very useful if you're taking music and electronics into theatre and production industry.

I can't really help much, live playback is something I haven't played around with. All I can do is confuse you more with what I think I know.. :confused:
Unnessercery talk from me: I do plan on doing so with my theatres lighting console but I haven't seen how to get xLights and the console working together yet. (Pixels use a lot of universe, the lighting console I work with has a max of 8. I need a 'media server' type thing).

Disregard this if it confuses you. I would start small with what people on here are familiar with, basic display running off a show player (like Falcon Pi PLayer).
 
Hi Mark,

Thanks for your reply. I will flag this video to watch in the near future.

I think when all is said and done regarding integrating MIDI and Pixels; if I stick with a pretty rigid metronome that doesn't change on the fly, I'm sure I could get everything pre-programmed into a light show, and play music in time with that. I really just need a cue of some sorts to syncronise the metronome and the light show, but if you are suggesting that xLights has some sort of MIDI engine inbuilt, then this would no doubt be a feature somewhere within.

Like you have suggested, I think I will stick with the basics for the first year at least. This way I can get my head around xLights, and how that works. I have used many different video editors, and as you suggest, they pretty much are all laid out the same way.

I am thinking that I will start with a playlist of 10 songs, and a Falcon F16v3 Pixel Controller controlled by a Falcon Pi Player which runs audio to an FM transmitter. I think I should be able to wrap my head around this before Christmas time without too many sleepless nights! Lol!
 
Hi Mark,

I live close by you and this year setting up to first light show. Happy to build a few things together if you like.

Trav
 
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