Vixen 2 or 3 for me?

Charger

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Nov 5, 2013
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My laptop is several years old now (2.2ghz and 4G ram) and I am having concerns that it is not adequate for vixen 3. I have created a couple of sequences now and noticed that the preview play back was not as smooth as I was hoping. Now I have all the hardware set up it is the same for the actual lights. Although my sequences are very basic (fairy lights only) it still isn't as tight as it should be. So my question is, should I give up on vixen 3 (which is great otherwise) or can I make it work with different settings etc. Other options would also be appreciated. Thanks.
 

SmartAlecLights

Im a SmartAlec what can i say!
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i got a quad core 3.2ghz, upgrade from my dual core..
an 4gig ram an vixen 3 runs fine (so long as output controllers are turned off) an im doing around 60 universe's
 

Charger

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Wow 60 universes. That sounds hard core. Not sure what you mean by controllers being turned off? Are you saying that performance id affected only after you actually hook up the lights?
 

i13

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Try turning off the preview. Untick the box next to the preview's name.
 

B_P_J

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I think Alec means in the Setup Display section of Vixen, you can stop or play the controller, if its stopped you will see the controller with a red dot next to it,
 

Charger

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Thanks all for your replies. Looking at it closer, it seems that the preview is a lot tighter than the actual lights - which are quite sloppy (preview is pretty close to the beat, where as the lights go on and off beat?)


I tried disabling the preview, but didn't seem to make much difference. I also exported the sequence to Vixen 2 and noticed a similar problem using that. I am now thinking that it is less to do with the computer/software and more to do with my hardware. I have an AAH USB to DMX dongle going into a DMX 36. Even when I only use a couple of channels I can still see the issue. Should I be expecting accurate timing with this stuff?
 

Charger

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Further to this, I have uploaded a video to Youtube (hopefully it works). Although the video quality is atrocious, you should be able to get the idea. The light on the left side is from the computer screen - preview of the sequence and on the right side, you can see a reflection of the lights, which should be in time with the preview. I have slowed it down to accentuate the difference, but as you can see they are certainly not synced.


VIDEO HERE - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8gjWCMhdLI
 

Charger

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Well it's been a week of pulling my hair out and I am no closer to solving this issue. I have tried other software - Vixen 2, HLS and XLights but they are either too confusing or unreliable. Vixen 3 certainly seems the easiest to use but I just can't get that accuracy I am after for my sequences. This is my first year of sequencing and everything has gone great except for this final hurdle.


I am convinced that my processor can't quite handle the load, but with no new PC in my budget I will have to suck it up.


Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated. (Hoping there is a magic setting that will solve this issue!)



Thanks.
 

i13

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Have you considered using a Raspberry Pi with Falcon Player? I thought I'd seen somewhere that it can run your show with a USB dongle but you'd need to double-check as I'm not sure. Otherwise you'd need an E1.31 to DMX bridge as well. The BeagleBone might be another similar option to the Pi. If someone nearby has either a Raspberry Pi or an E1.31 to DMX bridge then this would be worth trying. An E1.31 to DMX bridge takes the USB dongle out of the equation and would be worth trying even without a Raspberry Pi.
 

Charger

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Thanks i13. I had considered that the Open USB Dongle may indeed be contributing to my issues.


I think I will head over to the Networking section to get some further advice on on connectivity.
 

jcmarksafb

Hello from Christopher Creek Arizona
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While I don't know much about vixen 3, I've heard it takes a lot of overhead and memory. Any sequencer takes a bit to learn but might be worth a try. You might try xlights 4. There are many videos to help you out and it has a good users manual. Just a thought. There are many people converting to xl4 this year. I know it's a little late to start on a new sequencer but keep it in mind for maybe next year.
 

B_P_J

Full time elf
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Hey Charger, check my pics out, do your controllers appear offline or online?
Online has the lines as seen in second picture,
Also how have you setup your elements? can you screenshot your display setup page?
OwXSToX.jpg

i4dfAej.jpg

NLjbBfQ.jpg
 

i13

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bpj1980, I am not yet very familiar with how Vixen 3 has the controllers set up but you're demonstrating with E1.31 controllers while Charger is using a USB DMX dongle.
 

Charger

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Ha! I appreciate the effort though bpj1980.


JCMarksafb said:
While I don't know much about vixen 3, I've heard it takes a lot of overhead and memory. Any sequencer takes a bit to learn but might be worth a try. You might try xlights 4. There are many videos to help you out and it has a good users manual. Just a thought. There are many people converting to xl4 this year. I know it's a little late to start on a new sequencer but keep it in mind for maybe next year.


Thanks JCMarksafb - Had a bit of a play with xlights, but it certainly wasn't as straightforward as Vixen 3. I will hopefully be able to test some other gear in the near future and if it turns out that my laptop isn't up to the challenge I might have to give that another crack.


I see you are a Hinkle user. How do you find that?
 
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