new member bitten by the christmas craze bug

J

jimmeh

New elf
Joined
Apr 25, 2017
Messages
23
Hey guys

This will be my first year incorporating pixels and music to my Christmas lights and syncing, the last 2 years i have just used store bought Christmas lights.
I have read post after post and watched video after video about pixels and controllers ect i know i have a lot of work and sleepless nights ahead, i am having a competition with one of my close friends who challenged me who could have the best Halloween display and Christmas light display.
Halloween i am pretty confident with and is a lot easier then Christmas but i do welcome any ideas or hints for Halloween if you are a fellow Halloween lover like myself :)
My big problem is choosing which program to use and which controllers...i have heard good and bad things about all the main companies/lighting software so i am unsure which to go with and if i should go with a package deal or go for the DIY way.
I have little to moderate knowledge of electrical stuff just what i have seen and read about on pixels and controllers but what i lack in over all knowledge i make up for with creativity and enthusiasm and a love for Christmas and seeing all the happy smiling faces that come to visit!!
I live in a moderately smallish town where only 10-20 homes go all out for Christmas and others just put up a couple lights, in my street there is only basically myself who goes all out for Christmas but i am hoping from my displays comes an interest in others to also put up displays and lights and get into the spirit!

sorry for dribbling on but look forward to all the help and advice this site can offer me!
 
Hey jimmeh,
Welcome to ACL :)
Love the idea of the competition your having with your friend. I would suggest having a look at the different sections on the AusChristmasLighting forum. There is a lot of info there to help you choose what would work best for you
There's also chat if you have any questions too
 
You should go to the NSW mini that being held soon, you will learn a lot there.

As far as software try Vixen 3 or xlights both are free and most think are far superior to the bought software. I use Vixen 3 and absolutely love it does everything.

I have just about every type of E1.31 pixel controller but find the Pixlite 16 and 4 to be awesome.
 
hey thanks guys for all the advice and warm welcome! :) i am hoping to attend the nsw mini! Newcastle would be easy for me to attend to but if its Swansea i will have to break out the GPS or something and find my way there haha but either place is good, if work permits i am looking forward to attending.

Fing said:
Welcome to the madhouse....where are you located?
Cheers
Fing
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Hey Fing
I am in same town as you haha i visited your house last year and we had a chat about pixels and ray wu's store you probably don't remember as xmas you would have ALOT of people talking to you about you're lights lol i am in Wollombi road and my house was the house you could see from space as people told me.
 
Welcome!

I wont be biased and say xlights and falcon controllers are the way to go! Great to see you at the mini.

Troy
 
TByrne said:
Welcome!

I wont be biased and say xlights and falcon controllers are the way to go! Great to see you at the mini.

Troy
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I will be checking out all software and controllers so maybe xlights and falcon might be for me who knows. :)
I am kind of the type of person who does alot of research and considers all possibilities before making my decision so if you have any links or advice or opinions on certain things i will be more then happy to hear as the more info i get the better informed decision i make.
 
Hey jimmeh welcome to ACL! Lots of friendly advice to be found on the site and in the chat room. No such thing as a dumb question!!
 
thanks everyone for all the advice and links it is much needed and much appreciated! and i do appologize in advance if i ask something completely dumb or confusing lol
djgra79 said:
Hey jimmeh welcome to ACL! Lots of friendly advice to be found on the site and in the chat room. No such thing as a dumb question!!
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hey thanks for the warm welcome! yeah i may have a few dumb questions rolling round in my head haha but im still learning and the only way to learn is to ask the pro's and learn from them i see :)
keithsw1111 said:
Check out videos.xlights.org for all your XLights training video needs. There is also a manual. It is a little dated but covers all the main things.
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thank you so much! i will for sure check it out as far as i can see its either vixen3 or xlights is the main software so this will be a huge help! :)
 
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