Animated light displays
From d.e.w.e.y.c.o.o.t.e.r
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Misty Isle Ct 2009
Discussion of plans and progress for the 2009 Misty Isle Ct Christmas Display
Description
Animated light displays are traditional Christmas light displays that are controlled by a computer and typically set to music for effect. These displays exploded in popularity in 2005 with the viral video of Carson Williams' display set to Transiberian Orchestra's Wizards in Winter.
Hardware
In the early days of animated lighting, the display was created entirely from scratch. Circuits were assembled from raw electrical components - relays, optocouplers, triacs. The work required a significant amount of knowledge of and electrical engineering and circuit design.
Today, there are choices between vendors, offering products that vary in features and complexity. Boards can be purchased that require components to be soldered, power cords, and enclosures or ready-to-go (and typically priced accordingly). Development of additional features in these boards is active, with wireless options and additional control capabilities being released.
Light-o-rama and D-Light are the most popular hardware vendors. Their products are similar in features and allow the users to play customized light sequences with the help of additional software.
Animated Christmas
Mr. Christmas
At the lower level, the user can choose to create their light controls from scratch. Computer Christmas is a good resource to consult for information. This approach provides more freedom in the design choices and requires a working knowledge of electrical circuit design.
Software
There are several choices in software to control lights.
Aurora is a editor and show player that is known for requiring very little system resources to run a show. DMX support was in beta in 2009 and is scheduled for formal release in 2010. Aurora has a very sophisticated editor in that the user can place time lines visually with high precision (as opposed to listening for the event lines), spectrum analyzer (for finding specific notes in a song), and various filtering and waveform analysis tools. Aurora is available for $100.
ShowTime Suite II by Light-o-rama is compatible with LOR and D-Light controller boards. It has an editor with light features including light intensity, ramps (fades), shimmer, and twinkle events set to a media file of your choice (typically a .wav or .mp3 sound file). In addition, a scheduler module allows the user to set up a show including start time, stop time, and sequences. ShowTime Suite currently has a tiered pricing structure - it can be purchased for as little as $50, but if you want to use more than 4 sequences for your show, you must purchase the Advanced version for $140.
Light Show Pro made its debut in 2008 as a rebranded version of Spectrum. LSP is becoming known its ability to release a wide variety of features for the user. Spectrum was abandoned due to its resource requirements - making editing a very labor intensive task. LSP may have solved these issues as there isn't much negative feedback. LSP is typically around $100.
Vixen was designed for the DIY hardware, but supports community-created plug-ins that allow it to drive a large number of devices. Vixen can be downloaded for free.
MouseWhisper is a free utility that allows for easy sequencing of servo movements using a mouse or Wii remote (future version), but may also be used for light sequencing. It can convert the recorded sequence into a Aurora (v1.0.x) sequence or export as a flat file.
Animation Objects
Other... [TODO: Add more here!!]
Getting Started
This hobby, like any hobby, can take as little or as much time as you want to put into it. Read this page to get an idea of what options you have, and from there you can make a decision as to what direction to take. Formulate an idea of how much you're willing to learn, how much you're willing to spend, and how much you're willing to do.
A larger budget means you can buy more items ready-to-go, unless of course you like the adventure of soldering up your own hardware.
Assuming that you want to be able to create your own musical sequences, at a minimum you will need (minimum costs shown in parenthesis):
Controller Board
D-Light - the Gold Edition ACx16 board (already assembled) has typically been selling for about $125. There is a silver kit available, but the savings once you purchase the parts aren't very large ($10/board?). Platinum edition is available with extension cord leads for $210.
Lynx Express - these boards can be obtained through a co-operative buy for around $60. Board is in kit form, so soldering is required.
Light-o-rama - CTB-16D with heatsink is $220
Sequencing Software
Vixen - Vixen is the only sequencing application that is freeware. D-Light/LOR plug-ins were created in late 2009 but many user reported problems (perhaps will be more stable in 2010+). Vixen supports MANY devices/protocols including DMX and can be extended by anyone.
Aurora - Aurora touts its ability to run on machines without much horsepower. The sequencer has many advanced features that help finding song characteristics (beat, vocals, etc) in the song visually for better event timing placement. Aurora supports D-Light, LOR, and DMX (DIY) boards. $100
Light Show Pro - LSP is the newest product of the 4 (though it is thought to be the former D-Light Spectrum suite rebranded) and is the forerunner in adding new features. Performance has been a big issue in the past with this software, but they may have solved that issue as there doesn't seem to be as much noise about performance as there once was. The software is usually around $100.
Light-o-rama - LOR currently has several tiers of their ShowTime II product that can be purchased with each tier having limitations on the number of sequences and controllers. If you plan to have more than 4 sequences or 8 controllers, you have to get the top tier for $140. Supports D-Light, LOR, and DMX (via the iDMX adapter - currently $260)
USB Adapter
The USB adapter is used to convert the signal from the USB cord and allow it to go down a network cable.
D-Light - $30
Light-O-Rama - $28
Lynx - $50 (via co-op)
Extension Cords ($0.20 per ft) Vampire plugs
Lights ($2 for a string of 100 mini)
In addition, you may consider adding:
FM Transmitter ($25 for Belkin, $125 for Ramsey FM25B)
Tune-To Sign
Hardware for Animated Lighting Objects such as Mega Trees, Mini Trees, or Leaping Arches
