I guess one thing you can take from this video is that our entire display is snowproof 😂

@santanaman6783

Жыл бұрын

Hehehe great funny point made....

@blanksotechnology7788

6 ай бұрын

He he he

This will be my first year and this is the best walk through video I've seen yet. Well done!

@How2Pixel

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! Glad it was helpful!

Awesome video with some info I needed.... There is no such mess when always doing DIY stuff.

Great Job. I find your videos very useful and you have become very good at presentation. Thank You.

Thanks for making this video.

Back to you future Nick. 😂awesome.

@How2Pixel

Жыл бұрын

🤣

Great overview. Thanks for sharing. I'm taking your advice for the SoundBlaster Play 3 as the mini PC I purchased to run the show has a dead 3.5mm port.

Impressive - you speak very intelligently and with a lot of knowledge about the system; you can impart the important things very succinctly which I appreciate. Well done - wishing you the best

@How2Pixel

5 ай бұрын

Thank you very much!

Great job with your wiring

@How2Pixel

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! It took a ton of cable management to make it look that nice 🤣

Great content.

@How2Pixel

8 ай бұрын

Thank you!

I really recommend putting a tin roof on your projector box at a slight angle. It really helps with both snow and rain.

@How2Pixel

9 ай бұрын

Thanks for the tip! This year I won't have to worry about it since we are replacing it with a P5 panel.

@PKCubed

9 ай бұрын

@@How2Pixel Oh, awesome! Do the P5 panels fill your entire garage door?

@How2Pixel

9 ай бұрын

Almost. They are just about the whole width but a little shorter than the height of the garage

I glad I'm not the only one using HP sever power supplies to run my show!

@How2Pixel

Жыл бұрын

They definitely help out a lot when you don't want to buy a ton of regular ones!

One nit to pick - the ports on the F16V expansion chassis are differential signal ports- in other words RS485 serial data. They are NOT Ethernet and plugging a cable going to an Ethernet port into them could damage both the expansion chassis and the Ethernet port on the device. I use the F48V2 board with 10 smart receivers for my current show (although I don't yet have as many props as you - coming soon as they say). And thanks for the advice on the Soundblaster - I didn't even think of using one (and my audio was so bad I redid my show to be silent).

@How2Pixel

5 ай бұрын

Thanks for letting me know about that! You're not the first person to inform me about the differential receiver ports, you're probably around the 5th person haha. I talked about it in my updated behind the scenes video from this year, and let everyone know that they aren't ethernet ports. I've had such a terrible habit of calling them that and I still even realize I'm calling them that when I'm recording videos. But thanks for letting me know, and glad you found out about the soundblaster!

great informational video. thank you for sharing your knowledge. when you get time I would love for you to do a video showing how to power inject. I have watched some on KZread but they are just not that simple to understand.

@How2Pixel

Жыл бұрын

I have had a few people ask me to make a video about power injection, and I do plan on making it. As you could imagine I'm really busy with the show, making videos, and other stuff, so it probably won't be until the new year when I can get around to it. But I do plan on making that video eventually!

@dougmurdaugh8660

Жыл бұрын

@@How2Pixel thank you!!

Hi there. Thank you for explaining the wiring to these mega light displays. I often wonder how it is put together. Now some questions: Do you have a degree in electronics or some sort of advance electrical technology? How long does it take to configure the set up? Do you do it all yourself or do you have help? Do you have to have a permit for such an elaborate setup? What made you want to make such an awesome display? Would you change the setup in the future if you get board with the current one? I hope you can answer the questions I asked. I love Christmas and the lights that people put on their houses. It makes winter a bit easier to get through. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Stay safe out there. Take care and God bless ( edited for spelling)

@How2Pixel

6 ай бұрын

You're welcome! Glad the video was useful! To answer your questions, first I do not have any degree in electronics and I'm still in fact in highschool. I've been setting this up since I was 12 and it's not really that advanced. I've always loved coding and knew a decent amount about it (self-taught with KZread videos) so it wasn't an impossible challenge for me. To configure the setup, I'd say it takes me a couple of weeks, but programming the sequences to run the lights is what takes me the longest. I usually start in around April and it takes me months to program the lights to do all the patterns in sync with the songs. However, it is possible to spend way less time if you don't mind how fancy the sequences look. I do all the programming and configuration by myself, but my dad helps me with all the setup like building the tree, snowflakes, and all the other big things. I don't have a permit for this and have heard you don't need one. As long as the radio broadcast for the music is very low power, and the road isn't blocked with tons of traffic or loud viewers, nobody will mind. The reason I built such a huge display is because another local light show stopped their show for traffic reasons, and I didn't want the area to not have a cool show. Plus I've always loved putting up Christmas lights every year. It's possible I may change the set up in the future, but currently every year I just add more lights and don't change any of the old stuff. Hopefully this answered your questions, and have a Merry Christmas too!

Hey thanks for the great videos , question how do you program the raspberry pi 4 , do they come already program for the lights ? or you have to program it your self , thanks again

@How2Pixel

6 ай бұрын

There's software called Falcon Player you can get off of github and put on the pi. You flash the software to a micro SD card and put it in the pi. There is still settings and things you need to change on the pi but there is no actual "programming". I have a video explaining how to set up the pi if you'd like to see it here kzread.info/dash/bejne/op5-r9KwkbuthLQ.html

Gosuna- the brand of your smart plugs. Pronounced “go soonah” like “go sooner” but with your accent it’ll be perfect :)

@How2Pixel

5 ай бұрын

Thanks for letting me know haha 😂

For your projector box, why not put your air intake and exhaust holes on the bottom. So that way there's no way snow or rain or water can get inside the enclosure

@How2Pixel

8 ай бұрын

I'm honestly not sure why I didn't. There was probably a reason but I forgot 😅. It won't matter now though since this year I have a panel in place of the projector.

The audio output from the Raspberry Pi's is terrible, definitely have to go with the sound blaster 3 or X G1 which is what I use in my show 👌 How many pixels total are in your show? I'd also suggest perhaps removing the DIY mod on your DMX transmitter or you could void the warranty

@How2Pixel

Жыл бұрын

There's a total of 4369 pixels. And thank you for the tip, but I know there is no warranty on the transmitter. I bought it used from a guy who used the transmitter as part of his display for his great Christmas light fight episode. So I know it's been through a lot and probably doesn't have a warranty anymore 😂

Oh one more question regarding your controllers. Do you have to do everything all over again when you add another controller? Meaning just like how you add 1st time.

@How2Pixel

6 ай бұрын

I'm not quite sure what you mean. Do you mean redo everything like in xlights and in the controller UI? Or do you mean redoing everything like wiring and stuff?

@rpra7392

6 ай бұрын

@@How2Pixel I want to add 2nd controller Alphapix from Holidaycoro and currently running all my shows on falcon f4. I don't know if I will have to do anything else to the 2nd controller or I can just add it with ethernet. I guess I'm just asking if I need to do all the steps again like you did with 1st controller downloading software and github, etc.

@How2Pixel

6 ай бұрын

Oh ok. So if you are just adding this controller, not replacing your current one, then all you need to do is tell your main show player you have another controller. So like if you have Falcon Player as your show player, under the channel outputs section you'd just add another controller, and tell it the number of universes and channels it will use. You will also have to set up the new controller, but your old controller will be fine.

Hey man! I've been watching your videos for a while! I'm planning on doing a light show and I'm really having some troubles figuring out the hardware. I want to use xlights to sequence the show with 2 40ft LED strips. Could you please point me in the direction of a good controller and a set of LED strips? I'm a bit timid to buy something and not be able to use it due to incompatibility (not sure if that's a common issue?) Any advice really helps!

@lxmccvi6739

Жыл бұрын

I was thinking about a ready2run kit + some ws2811s

@lxmccvi6739

Жыл бұрын

f16s are sold out! sorry to keep adding lol

@How2Pixel

Жыл бұрын

I can definitely help you out! So first off, for a controller, I highly recommend something from Falcon Controllers (pixelcontroller.com/store/ ). If you don't plan on expanding, then I recommend getting the falcon pi cap (It mounts onto a raspberry pi) and it's best for small shows. However, if you want to expand one day, I recommend getting one of the bigger controllers like the F16v3, F16v4, or even an F48 if you think you'll be doing 1,000s of pixels one day. I know a lot of Falcon's supply is sold out right now, so you could either check the website every few days for updates, or the other brand I'd recommend is Kulp Boards at kulplights.com/ or on Wired Watts. They are similar to a Falcon, but they mount right to a beagle bone computer (a beagle bone is kinda like a raspberry pi). They also offer smaller controllers if you only plan on expanding a little. As for the lights, it's pretty rare to run into an occasion where they are incompatible with a controller. As long as they aren't dumb pixels/strips (The kind where the whole strand has to be the same color) they usually work with all controllers. The Falcons can run tons of different versions of pixels, but I'm not so sure about the Kulp boards because I've never used them before. I just recently made a video about some of the different places you can buy pixels from here kzread.info/dash/bejne/c4udk8mbfbTAoNo.html . There are a lot of different places you can get strips from with different prices, but as long as they are WS2811 and RGB style, they will work with every pixel controller. For other versions, I'd recommend checking to make sure the controller you want will work with them. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask! Hope this helped!

@lxmccvi6739

Жыл бұрын

@@How2Pixel this did help! Tho, is there a way to run the Xlights directly to my controller from my pc? I don’t want a raspberry pi. I’d like to que my shows In the sequencer if that makes sense? Basically, I want to press play on my sequence and then, at the same time; press play on my music (I’m using the lights for a DJ gig with lasers so everything has to be played at the same time)

@How2Pixel

Жыл бұрын

@@lxmccvi6739 Ohhhhh ok I understand. There is a way to do that and the program for it is called xSchedule. It should've been installed on your PC when you installed xlights. I've never used it before though so I can't really help you set it up. I'm sure there is a way you can push space and it will start. If you look up xSchedule tutorials I'm sure you'll find info on how to use it. The only problem is you won't be able to run kulp boards on it since it needs a pi or beagle bone. So probably your only option for a controller would be a Falcon.

Can you just come do mine for me?😂 This seems to be so much 😩

Hey looking very good , i have a question for you , the fpp with kulp i am using a receiver , it run the tree on port one and the other props off the receiver , my issue is the tree is overlapping the sequences for the receiver , so when all starts up what ever sequence is running the tree , it does the same for the props , i would like to run the tree and the other props different but there all running the same sequence as the tree , how do you stop the overlapping in fpp , i tried everything and it still does not sort it , running latest fpp .

@How2Pixel

Жыл бұрын

If I'm understanding you correctly, you want a sequence playing on the tree, while a different sequence plays on the rest of the props? If that's the case, you'd need a separate controller for the props and for the tree since fpp cannot run 2 sequences at a time. Another option would be to program both the tree and the props in one sequence, but I'm not sure what your situation is and if you can do that. Let me know if I miss understood you and you meant something else.

@blackdave8525

Жыл бұрын

@@How2Pixel Your right but i thought you could use a port to do the tree sequence and by adding a receiver which has 4 different ports you could run 4 different sequences as well , when i do xlights and set all to do different sequences the tree sequence does the same for all the props as well , it shows me that 1 port which is the tree is overlapping 9a 9b 9c 9d , surly the receiver should run what ever you input color wise but seems its being cloned buy the tree which i did not expect at all , when you highlight 9a and so forth it actually says 1 overlaps 9a 9b 9c 9d , the fact the receiver is not connected to port 1 why is 1 overlapping the receiver ? now i have 2 receivers which tells me if i use both receivers even more will overlap with the same tree sequence ? receivers to me should run there own color or sequence not what the tree is doing .

@How2Pixel

Жыл бұрын

So like I said, unless you buy another computer, you cannot run another sequence for just the tree. However, are you trying to say that you want 4 different ports instead of sequences? For example, you want the 1 tree to run off 4 ports? If that's what you are trying to ask, then yes you can do that. However, you cannot program your tree separate from the other props. It all has to be in the same sequence. Now for the part where you said 1 port is overlapping another, that sounds like a channel issue. Go onto your controller's output settings, and make sure all your channels and universes are set up correctly. Xlights can do this automatically from the controller tab, using the "upload output" button. This works for most controllers.

@blackdave8525

Жыл бұрын

@@How2Pixel What i am trying to say is that the receivers should run its own sequences from its own 4 ports when connected to the controller not be cloned with what ever else your running , ie the tree , the idea of having receivers is you should be able to run other things off them but the receivers are being cloned by the tree which is what i did not want or expect , as for the channels what happens is channel 1 does the tree but the receivers once uploaded go to channel port 2 ,3 4 , and so on in the channel list ports on the controller , but on fpp you can see you have a separate 4 port channel list for the receivers , so on fpp i put the receivers on the channel list receiver list , not the 8 port channel list at the beginning , but once i press upload it slots it straight to port 2 ,3 ,4 , but if you look at fpp 9a 10a and so on shows what receivers are in there own channel list , hope this makes sense .

@How2Pixel

Жыл бұрын

The receivers do not need to be cloned to the rest of the show, but they must be running the same sequence. The sequence can have any different effects at any point in time you want. For example, the tree can be rainbow, while everything else is green and red. But it must be in the same sequence. The sequence is the programming for the entire light show, but the sequence can have different effects in it for different items. So the tree doesn't have to be cloned. Now if that's your goal to have the tree doing different effects than the rest of the show, but all in the same sequence, then that is doable. Now I really wish I could help you, but I don't know too much about Kulp controllers and I'm not sure what else could be wrong. I recommend you ask your question on the Falcon Christmas forum. There are a lot of people that know about Kulp boards and they might be able to help you. Here is the website falconchristmas.com/

Do u normally power inject ever 150 pixels ?

@How2Pixel

Жыл бұрын

Yes. Every single prop in the show has at least one power injection if it's over 150 - 175 pixels.

@carycary1784

Жыл бұрын

Thank u for the reply.

There is a single wire coming to that junction box, so there is no way that one outlet on the left is on its own circuit, as you describe in the video

@How2Pixel

5 ай бұрын

That's my fault for not explaining properly what we did when we got the sub-panel. That used to be 1 of 2 outlets in the garage, the other one went to the garage door opener, but both of them were on the same circuit as our kitchen. When we put in the sub-panel, we put 2 breakers in it. 1 goes to just the main 4 plug outlet the show is plugged into. The other is now wired to go to the rest of the garage such as the light bulbs, door opener, and other outlets. So yes, that other outlet that used to go to our kitchen now goes to the sub-panel.

How did you wire your flood light? I don't kjow which ones to buy or if i will need to modify it in any way. Not sure where to start from or if i can buy led rgb and put the xconnect pigtail? Any help would be appreciated.

@How2Pixel

7 ай бұрын

There's actually many pixel vendors that sell RGB WS2811 flood lights that act as a single pixel in Xlights. I bought mine off of Wired Watts here www.wiredwatts.com/smart-floods . They only sell 10 watt flood lights, so if you want something more powerful check out Wizard of Wire for 20 or 30 watt flood lights www.wizardofwire.com/product-category/floodlights/ Hope this helps!

@rpra7392

7 ай бұрын

@@How2Pixel awesome! I will check it out. Have you done anything with dmx moving head?

@How2Pixel

7 ай бұрын

No, but I really want to! The only problem is the good ones are so expensive. With the budget I have I could probably add maybe 2 a year if I don't add any new lights 😂. But who knows, maybe one day I'll get some.

@rpra7392

7 ай бұрын

Yeah they are, I just bought a cheaper one and will try to it a shot and see how it goes. Channels are the issues I am having currently trying to figure it all out.

@How2Pixel

6 ай бұрын

Yeah it can definitely be really confusing. I have a video talking about universes and channels and how they work. It applies more to pixels but it might be a little helpful. If you'd like to check it out you can see it here kzread.info/dash/bejne/iHqfk8ahhdeZmc4.html

Where did you buy those singing bulbs?

@How2Pixel

6 ай бұрын

They are the 30 inch daycor standing chromabulbs from Boscoyo boscoyostudio.com/product/daycor-hires-chromabulb-30-standing/

@danielbuilds9595

6 ай бұрын

thank you @@How2Pixel

Great video why don't you guys consider running outlets outside so that way it's underground wire. And you can run all the ethernet in cundit so it's not visible. If this is somthing you plan on doing every year them it might be worth it. You can also do all waterproof enclosures then run all the wires and all you need to do is put your hardware out and lights and you are all set.

@How2Pixel

5 ай бұрын

Thanks for the tip! I've thought about this before, but I'm just not sure if the light show will still be here for another 3, 4 or 5 years to get maximum use out of it. I honestly don't mind all the cables outside that much, and it's funny to show people all of them and watch their reactions seeing wires everywhere 🤣

Why don’t you put your projector vent on the bottom so snow won’t get in?

@How2Pixel

7 ай бұрын

That's a good question. The answer is... I don't know why 🤣. For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to put them on the sides, but now I know better. However, it doesn't matter now since we built a panel screen to replace the projector.

How do you get away with copyright songs and not get a strike I always wondered on that

@How2Pixel

6 ай бұрын

I actually did have a lot of problems whenever I uploaded a video of the display with music. Every single video would get a copyright claim, and some videos would get removed if it had multiple songs in it. That's why I stopped uploading my light show videos on this channel and started posting them on a different channel. I was afraid one day I would get a strike, so I made a channel that's just for my light show and doesn't have any tutorials on it called Bridgeport's Brightest Lights. Usually if a video gets taken down there, I will just reupload it without sound, then put a link in the description to the video with sound on Google Drive.

@ddrusa

6 ай бұрын

@@How2Pixel Ah Interesting thank you for sharing on how to set up the pixel lights your show is amazing

@How2Pixel

6 ай бұрын

Thank you!

@ddrusa

6 ай бұрын

@@How2Pixel Merry Christmas

@How2Pixel

6 ай бұрын

Merry Christmas to you too!

For the projector, can’t you just connect an Ethernet cable to the projector then control it via that?

@How2Pixel

9 ай бұрын

Do you mean plug an ethernet cable directly into the projector? My projector only has HDMI, VGA, and RCA inputs. That's why the Raspberry PI gets the ethernet cable, and then the projector is plugged into that with an HDMI cable. I could've just ran a really long HDMI cable from the garage Raspberry Pi to the projector, but it would've needed to be 50+ feet and have signal boosters halfway through, so I just decided to buy another PI that could run in remote mode.

@JackiBoomer2

9 ай бұрын

Oh, I see. I believe you can connect an Ethernet cable from one of the controllers and control the projector via that. You could possibly get a HDMI adapter? HDMI to Ethernet. Or just Ethernet to HDMI; saves you from having another PI and seething that. Lol only a quick question. I was like there must be a reason why he hasn’t done that… he is so clever! 🤭🤣@@How2Pixel

@How2Pixel

9 ай бұрын

Haha I honestly never thought of that. Maybe I'm not that clever 😂. It doesn't matter now though since I'm replacing the projector with the P5 panel build this year. At least I have an extra Raspberry PI if I want to do other projects 🤣

@JackiBoomer2

9 ай бұрын

Haha, nah your super clever.. I was thinking you could do a “matrix” but with a projector. LOL.@@How2Pixel

what town and state do you live?

@How2Pixel

2 ай бұрын

Bridgeport, New York

@robertbailey1894

2 ай бұрын

Thank you it looked cold in your walk through

Umm why don’t you just get rid of the bracelets!!😂😂😂 If I was your neighbors I would be pissed that I had to ask for permission to leave my house!!! 😂😂😂

@How2Pixel

7 ай бұрын

I know I know and I felt like such a bad person for this, but I didn't want to turn off the bracelets since everyone already paid. So this year I've adjusted some things in the transmitter and the problems are far less worse. It only affects our cars in the driveway which is way better than our neighbors' cars too.

Why didn't you show us the light show?

@How2Pixel

10 ай бұрын

I used to show it on this channel, but I was getting copyright claims all the time from the music and didn't want to get copyright strikes. So I now upload all the light show videos on a different channel called Bridgeport's Brightest Lights (The name of the light show and the old name of this channel). You can check it out here if you'd like www.youtube.com/@BridgeportsBrightestLights1

Great breakdown of parts, thank you! My only request would be a bit more detailed parts list, along with current prices at the time you make the video. That will help me, a total beginner, plan how much of my Social Security will go to my newly discovered hobby. Thanks again!

@How2Pixel

5 ай бұрын

Hahaha! Thanks for the advice, I'll try to include some more detailed parts lists. The problem is the video is already so long every year, I don't want to have to make it even longer 😂

2:18 It is advisable to use no more than 80% of the rated capacity on a breaker. Thus 20A breaker should under normal circumstances not use more than 16A. 80% capacity is to make sure that the breaker does not trip unnecessarily 9:11 why is the bracelet transmitter in a metal box? That will reduce the range of the signal. Also interfering with other peoples vehicles is a bad thing, especially if a neighbor were to have an emergency and don't want to wait on you to turn off your bracelet thing. 11:58 would suggest that the female ends of the plugs be pointed down so that they do not collect water during rain or snowfall

@How2Pixel

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for all the tips! 9:11 the bracelet transmitter is the metal box. It's built like that and that's how it's sold on everyone website.

Hi sir . Good day. Sir I am interested in xlights software. But how I can use this software plz help . Basic tutorial vedio send me. I am from Pakistan 🇵🇰

@How2Pixel

Жыл бұрын

I have a full video explaining how to install and use xlights here kzread.info/dash/bejne/Zo5nqZKrkpi5ips.html It's almost 3 hours long, and it is a little bit old, but it goes through every setting and how to use the whole thing. Let me know if you have any questions!

@classiclightspixelwork6030

Жыл бұрын

Hi sir. Sir I see this vedio but this is house related. I HAVE PROJECT building lights and tunnel . So this type any vedio tutorial have. ?

@How2Pixel

Жыл бұрын

If you're asking for a video about how I put the lights up specifically, I don't have one. The only videos that show how I have the lights on the house are my behind the scenes video. I go over briefly in most of them how the lights are up.