Mastering Universes & Channels Setup in Xlights, FPP, and Controllers
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 31 июл 2024
- In today's video, I go over how to set up Universes and Channels in Xlights, on Falcon Player, and on your controller to make your lights work. I also go over what each of them does and why we need them to make the lights work. Feel free to use the timestamps below to skip to the part of the video you want to see. If you're wondering where I got the idea for the text in the thumbnail, I found it in the Xlights manual 😂
Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro skit
01:46 - Today's topic
02:35 - What are channels?
02:57 - Pixel basics
05:21 - Back to what are channels
09:41 - What are universes?
16:15 - Setting up Universes and channels in Xlights
26:16 - Setting up Universes and channels in Falcon Player
32:42 - Setting up Universes and channels on your controller
37:54 - Finishing up
Thanks for watching! If you enjoy the videos, feel free to leave a like and subscribe!
For more information about the show, or to see it in person, visit our Facebook page at: / bridgeportsbrightestli... 
Хобби
I just wanted to let everyone know what I said at 2:43 and 5:28 is not correct. I did some research and each channel only holds 8 bits of data for each LED, but it still has a value from 0 - 255 to tell the LED how bright to be.
Or 1 byte of data. Good video.
I started doing this years ago and then stopped for a number of years. Your educational and inspirational videos have brought me back into the fold..THANKS
No problem!
Nicely done . Thank you so much for explaining channels in a straight forward and easy to understand format . Your video was brilliant !!!!
Thank you very much! Glad the video was useful!
You really do some of the best, most detailed, and understandable tutorials! Well done!
Thank you! Glad it was useful!
Thank you for giving me hope of getting my show running :) Thank you for all you do.
You're welcome, glad the videos are useful!
With kids like this, I'm not as afraid of the future as I used to be! Thanks for what you do, and who you are!
Thank you so much!!!
Awesome video! Thanks for sharing! Cleared up SO many questions I had.
Awesome! Glad the video was useful!
This fills in lots of questions I had bro. Thanks AWESOME VIDEO,
Thank you!! Glad it helped out!
Thank you Very much!! This info was great for a beginner like me!!
Awesome, glad the video was useful!!
Love your videos clear and easy to follow I have learned so much. Please keep it up!!!!
Thank you! Will do!
Clever intro, way to keep it interesting.
Haha thanks!
dude thank you so effing much, youre the only dude on here that actually shows how to set up the fpp outputs, so annoying.
Really?! I for sure thought there would be at least a couple more videos about this. Well at least the video was helpful!
great video... well explained..thanks!
Thank you! Glad it was useful!
Loved the intro! 🤣
FINALLY SOMEONE SAID SOMETHING!
0:54 Tho.. it’s rlly good. 🤣🤣@@How2Pixel
I bet I'm going to look back on this intro in a year and regret making it 🤣
Universes are not meant as a means of organizing channels, they are based on the DMX 512 universe maximum size. I believe that E1.31 was also known as DMX over Ethernet. Unlike a pixel output which can have thousands of channels, DMX512 is limited to a maximum of 512 channels but can be as low as 1 channel. Like pixel channels, DMX channels are also 8 bits with 256 possible values. Pixel controllers can combine multiple E1.31 universes on the same output but that is not possible with actual DMX. You can only have up to 512 channels on a wire pair in DMX which is why it is called a universe. When using E1.31, ALWAYS use Unicast unless you have a very old controller such as the EtherDongle from DLA that can only use Multicast. Multicast will flood your network with pixel data and most home type switches will sent that data out on ALL ports which will really slow down your network so unless you really need to use it, don't.
I always use Unicast because I found out the problems of multicast the hard way 😂. I only recommend using multicast at first if you can't find the IP address of the controller. I think I've heard the term DMX over ethernet too, but I wasn't fully sure about all the technical parts of it. I just tried to keep this video easy to understand, and the simplest way I could think of describing universes is what holds the channels in groups. But thank you for letting me know about all the other information!
Thanks for the info. Been a few years since I set all this up manually in the Falcon Controller. Have set things up differently this year so hoping to have xlights push out all the info to the controller this year
Glad the video was useful!
After many hours of WTF in my first year of pixels i went for 384 channels per universe, this way i have 8 universe's per port of 1024 pixels, every port starts on channel 1, for the universe number its a simple case 8 times the port before, so port 6 is "8 times 5" so universe 40 channel 1,
i have a total of 129 universes as 129 is for my DMX setup that i now no longer need. Its from following your videos i know what i do, i forget the other youtuber who i followed for setting up my PI but between the two of you i was all sorted in 3 weeks from the start, glad i am no stranger to soldering and wiring etc, thanks for all your help.
512 channels per universe makes sense if you have say R G B W Led's as then that's 128 pixels and 8 universes per port of 1024. (which is how i come to the conclusion of doing it how i did as soon as i found i could loads more universes than i originally thought i could have.
384 channels per universe is actually a good idea so each port starts on the first channel of a universe, never thought of setting it up that way. I just don't care anymore though because I let Xlights do the work for me 🤣. I'm glad that you were at least able to figure everything out!
Great information. I had a couple of things off. I went to a different controller that is easier to set up but I forgot to change a setting that I didn’t realize. My channel count was off.
Glad you found the video useful!
Can you confirm if my assumption is correct that once I set up props with various names in Xlights, any purchased musical sequences will automatically synchronize with my props in my timeline?
Great video thank you, question to your knowledge what do you suggest between falcon f16 v5 vs land o rama , am a first timer but I would like to have the musical synchronized all over the house, thank you
Glad the video is useful! Comparing the F16v5 and Light O Roma controllers is a little hard since they control 2 different things. Falcon controllers control smart pixels, while most LOR controllers control regular AC Christmas lights. I don't know much about LOR, but they do have a few pixel controllers to my knowledge. If you are looking for a more "classic" looking light show with regular Christmas lights, then I'd say go with LOR. But if you're looking to have a light show with smart pixels, then I'd definitely recommend a Falcon controller. LOR's pixel controllers don't have nearly as many features as a Falcon, so it's worth spending the extra money on the F16v5 (or whatever Falcon controller you're looking at getting). Hope this helps!
Your videos have been amazing - literally going through each one to plan my show! I was hoping you had a video or explanation of how to best handle matrix / trees for connections to the controller. You briefly mentioned it @ 25:37 - how by default each string is a connection to the controller. I have a F16V4 and I am planning the string runs for power injection, cable runs from controller output to grouped sequential props etc. I have a matrix I wanted to include in the show which alone is 1152 pixels (24×48) and wanted to optimise the connections to the controller. I am struggling with understanding what is optimal to have the matrix run off as little outputs from the controller as possible to optimise the amount of pixels I can include (and to make logical physical cable runs). Any reason why I wouldn't have the whole matrix running off one output from the controller and zigzagging 24 times (ignoring the risk of a pixel failure which will break sequential pixels after it) haha.
First off, I'm glad the videos have been helpful! Second, the way I usually try to handle dense props like trees or matrixes is to use as many ports as possible, so there are the least amount of power injections. I usually accomplish this by using an expansion board or differential receivers on my controller. However, in your case, it sounds like you'd like to use the least amount of outputs as possible. There are 2 main risks with this: you have a lot more splices for power injection, and as you said, if one pixel breaks a lot of the matrix could turn off. People still use very few ports for dense items, and you can as well. There's only 1 problem with your matrix though which is the F16v4 can only run up to 1024 per port. So you'd need to use at least 2 ports for your matrix. However, if you have 40 fps sequences, the F16v4 can only do about 680 pixels on one port (I've gotten up to 696 but never tested higher). This is ok though because you'd still only need to use 2 ports for the whole thing.
If I were in your shoes, I would try to use 4 ports from the F16v4 for the matrix, and have the wiring go horizontal. For example, the bottom 6 rows of 48 pixels are on one port, then the next 6 rows of 48, and so on. That way there are 288 pixels per port, and you would only need to power inject at the end of each section IF you are using 50% brightness or less. If you are using more, you will have to power inject in the middle as well. This also means you won't have to splice the wire halfway through.
This is just my recommendation, and I know I said a lot, so if you have any more questions please feel free to ask!
@@How2Pixel Makes sense, just thought I'd check whether there was another reason I hadn't considered!
I've split the matrix into two and added power injection every 100 pixels (using xconnect Ts) which I am confident will be enough voltage at 12V.
A lot of wire will end up being used though. I'll look to optimise next year with smart receivers so I can make it a little more "plug and play" haha.
Thanks for your response though, genuinely appreciated!
So sorry for the late reply, youtube doesn't notify me when there's new replies on a comment. But you're welcome and glad I could help you out!
If your using the visualizer in xLights, it will configure the controller and for you right? I dont have a falcon so i was just curious. Great video, learned what i was missing in stetting up my FPP Pi.
If Xlights supports your controller in the vendor list, then more than likely it can configure it for you. You just need to have the controller powered and on your network, tell Xlights the IP address of it, then click the "Upload output" button with your controller selected. You may however not have the option to upload the input for it (That's for the E1.31/Artnet tab on my controller in this video). Xlights used to upload the input for my controller, but now it can't so I have to set that up manually. For some controllers it may let you, but I'm not sure.
Hello sir, I am putting together my pixel LED light show for Christmas, but I want to make some sequences to the rhythm of music, and I would like to know what program to use so that the pixel LEDs work to the rhythm of the music. Thank you so much.
I would recommend using Xlights. It's 100% free, it has tons of features, and isn't too hard to get the hang of. If you'd like to check it out, I have a video explaining how to fully use the software here ruclips.net/video/xLd35K_e65Q/видео.html
Once you're done with that, I also have a video explaining how to make sequences inside of Xlights to sync your LED's too here ruclips.net/video/0nojG3zjq1Q/видео.html
Hope this helps!
what about color curves?
This video is great thank you! Would you happen to know a good way to keep your FPP (Pi) Time accurate when it boots back up for a show? Every time I shut it off and turn it back on the time goes back to default, its hooked up to wifi too, Ive done everything recommended...
Hmm I've never heard of this problem before. Even though your pi is connected to your wifi, does it have internet connection? Did you select your time zone and make sure you have the real time clock setting set to none? I'm not sure what else the problem could be. Let me know if you can get it fixed.
yes i have done that, it shows my time zone however the time itself doesn't reflect the correct time@@How2Pixel
I'm really sorry but I'm not sure what the problem could be. Maybe try asking on the Falcon Christmas forum? Someone might know what's going on.
thats a good idea, thank you!@@How2Pixel
So i have a question bro on xlights it says "channels per packet" is this the new updated name for the 510 channels your referring to?
Channels per packet are something to do with DDP protocol. Xlights supports many types of protocols, and you can select which one to use based on what your controller accepts. E1.31 is probably the most commonly used protocol, and almost all pixel controllers nowadays accepts E1.31. DDP is another protocol that stands for Distributed Display Protocol. E1.31 uses "universes" to group channels, but DDP uses "channels per packet". I don't know a ton about DDP protocol, but I know you can have way more channels per packet. The default is usually 1,440. So if you're using E1.31 protocol, it will be called universes, but DDP calls it "channels per packet". You can find more information about all the different protocols here if you'd like manual.xlights.org/xlights/chapters/chapter-four-set-up/lighting-networks/ethernet-controller Hope this helps!
my computer stop working hard drive gave away and if i change computer do i have to install the advatek assist for my controller
I'm really sorry, but I don't know much about Advatek controllers, so there's not a lot I can help you with. Maybe email the company and see if they know? Good luck!
If you are using rgbw lights you wouldn't have any leftovers, correct? Because 512 is equally divisible by 4. If you have a chance to talk about this. Why would someone not want to go with rgbw in that case. What are the pros and cons related to just RGB versus rgbw?
That is a very good point and you are absolutely correct. There wouldn't be any leftovers at all and you could make each universe be 512 channels. However, the reason many people stick with RGB pixels is because they are cheaper and easier to find online. RGBW pixels also aren't supported on every type of controller, whereas RGB pixels work on any type of pixel controller. So it may seem like switching to RGBW pixels would be easier, but just changing your universe size to 510 or having pixels overlap isn't that hard to set up. Now I'm not saying don't buy RGBW pixels, because there are some other pros to them, I'm just letting you know these reasons are why most people stick with RGB pixels 😊
Hope this helps!
is it difficult to switch from LOR to xLights with barely any knowledge
I wouldn't say it's difficult but it's definitely not easy. There's a pretty steep learning curve to it, but once you get the hang of it it's not so bad. Xlights does have a way to import LOR models, but I'm not very familiar with anything LOR related. Are you planning on using pixels, AC lights, or both in Xlights? My recommendation would be to find some tutorials about how to use Xlights, and install it to check it out. If you'd like, I have a full Xlights tutorial on my channel here you can watch ruclips.net/video/xLd35K_e65Q/видео.html I try to explain everything as simply as possible for anyone new to it. Let me know if you have any other questions I can help you out with!
i cant figure out how to add a prop to my sequence that i already saved is there a way to add a prop without starting over
Yes there is. Is the model not showing up on your list in the sequencer? If that's the case, right-click the list of models when you're in the sequencer tab and select "Edit display elements." From there you can move the model from the "Available list" to the "Added list" by clicking the model and then the arrows to move it. After you're done, you can close that window and the model should show up. You'll probably have to render the sequence but then you can add effects to it. Did that answer your question?
thanks alot it work your the best hnight
ave a good @@How2Pixel
I was going to ask you the same question but I'm glad I start reading all the comments, thank you so much, and keep up the good work, I'm new on this, and after seeing your videos I'm getting better every day@@How2Pixel
So how do I set up the 16 string mega tree? You dragged it off to the side.
Could you leave a timestamp so I know what part of the video you're talking about? If you'd like to know how to set up a mega tree inside of Xlights, I explain how to in my full Xlights tutorial here ruclips.net/video/xLd35K_e65Q/видео.html
If you skip to 1:18:28, you can find the section where I talk about mega trees. Hope this helps!
@@How2Pixel At 25:38 you add things visually but the trees stay on the right. I will watch the videos you suggested. Thank you for all your help. You are awesome!
Ohhhhh ok I understand what you are talking about. The reason I took the tree back off was because it was configured to use 16 ports. In this example I was showing, the controller only has 16 ports, and some other props were already covering the ports. Since the tree was configured to use 16 ports (1 strand per port) it overlapped the other props and gave errors. So for my example, I would need another controller to run the tree alone on 16 ports. However, in the layout tab, you can tell Xlights to put multiple strands on one port. For example, I could have a 16 string tree, but tell Xlights to put 4 strands on 1 port. Now the tree would only use 4 ports, the first port would go to strands 1 through 4, then 5-8, 9-12, and finally 13 to 16. I explain how you can do this in the full Xlights tutorial I sent. Did this answer your question?
@@How2Pixel I'll watch that one. Thank you!
Do current controllers still require this type of setup?
All controllers still use this setup, but now Xlights can do almost all of it automatically. It's still really good to know this stuff though so you aren't completely confused when you see your controller has "Universes and channel" counts in the string settings.
What if you dont have a home network near your display
If you don't have a network your controllers and Pi's can connect to, you can use the mobile hotspot on Falcon player, and connect everything to that. You could have a network switch to hardwire all your controllers to the pi, or connect them wireless with that hotspot. The only problem is the hotspot doesn't have internet, just the ability to allow the devices to talk to each other. So you'll have to get an RTC chip (real time clock chip) that can connect to the pi to allow it to keep the time. This will make it so the Pi can figure out what time it is and when to begin the show. They're pretty cheap, usually around $20.
Oh yeah try the color brown. Leds suck at brown.