New here! First time user!

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ljmakepeace

New elf
Joined
Dec 30, 2021
Messages
1
Hey, I am new and have no idea where to start! I have wanted to use synced lights for the last few year but just can’t start! I would love any advice and help! I’m would like to use singing props. I don’t want to go massive my first year but not tiny either. Haha my kids are youngish but growing fast and just want to make it as amazing for them as it is for me! I would love to get as much help. Thanks guys! Hopefully talk soon!
 
merryoncherry

merryoncherry

Senior elf
Joined
Apr 2, 2022
Messages
645
Location
Cherry St., Hudson MA USA
Here are a few questions you might consider:
  • Do you have a lot of existing decorations that you want to keep? If so, what are those like?
  • How much free time do you have to put into this? (It gets pretty time consuming...)
  • What's the budget? (Turns out a billion butterfly sneezes adds up to a lot of $$$)
  • What's your background / how good at technical stuff, patience, and troubleshooting are you? (It is not impossible to start a fair-sized show in Sept, but having done that in 2021, I can't recommend it...)
  • Is there anybody near by that you can talk to / can show you what they've done?
Coming from it the other direction:
  • Besides the singing faces, what have you seen (in person, or in videos) that motivates you? Have you watched xLights Around the World videos?
  • Have you downloaded any programs (xLights is free) to mock up a layout, and play with sequencing?
 
Iain

Iain

Full time elf
Joined
Nov 13, 2018
Messages
242
Location
Darwin
Hi and welcome!

Someone will link to the 101 document which is a good read, and if you haven’t already, have a look at the videos in the display section to get an idea of what you can do. I also find the professional sequence websites good to get ideas about what’s possible.

then you need to ask a few questions:
  • What’s your budget? For “smart pixels”, where every individual light can be controlled to make those whole-house animations, your “all in” price is about $1 per pixel, even though you can get them for much less, this includes power supplies, cables, controllers, accessories, etc. fairy lights are probably cheaper but I don’t have any experience with those
  • Make a plan for your lights. Measure house edges, fence lines, count pixels in the props you want, and try and figure out if your budget allows for the number you want
  • Start small, and you will still underestimate everything involved. You’ve left it a bit late but I started in September a couple of years ago with 5 propsand nothing else
once you’ve done that, post back with some ideas of what you want to achieve and we can recommend some more specific ideas.
 
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