Author Topic: Ok I am lost with light elf  (Read 3967 times)

Offline arw01

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Ok I am lost with light elf
« on: November 10, 2013, »
I converted a sequence from LSP that I am playing with to xlights, moved it to xlights directory.

Opened xlights, go to the nutcracker tab, open the xlights file,  and there is nothing there for a timing matrix, nothing.  The file is like 6 megs, but I don't know what xlights is doing with it after i open it?

Offline rrowan

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Re: Ok I am lost with light elf
« Reply #1 on: November 10, 2013, »
Is this post in the wrong board?

btw: xlights won't show any data from any other sequence software. It more geared to add nutcracker data to your sequence. Then of course either play the sequence in xlights or convert to another software format.

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Offline arw01

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Re: Ok I am lost with light elf
« Reply #2 on: November 10, 2013, »
Well that's part of my issue, how do I play that converted sequence in xlights?

Ok think I found that, add a playlist and then you can get to the converted files..

Good to know.  Thanks for the little nudge, found new functions I didn't know how to use!
« Last Edit: November 10, 2013, by arw01 »

Offline smeighan

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Re: Ok I am lost with light elf
« Reply #3 on: November 11, 2013, »
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I converted a sequence from LSP that I am playing with to xlights, moved it to xlights directory.

Opened xlights, go to the nutcracker tab, open the xlights file,  and there is nothing there for a timing matrix, nothing.  The file is like 6 megs, but I don't know what xlights is doing with it after i open it?
i think you misunderstand how xlights works.

you have two choices of bringing in a existing lsp sequence.
1) In lsp create a conductor file (*.seq). In xlights convert the *.seq into an xlights file *.xseq.
2) Use frankr's light elf program (You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login)  to convert your lsp *.msq into a xlights *.xseq

Ok, now assume you used one thee methods and conversion is done. you open the new *.xseq file and go to the nutcracker tab.,  nothing is there. why?

xlights/nutcracke does NOT have a matrix of cells like lor,vixen,lsp. We are at a level higher than that.

nutcracker was designed for creating very complicated effects on massive rgb displays.

Example: I have a 20x120 megatree. This is 2400 nodes, 7200 channels.
If i wanted to create effetcs on it in vixen, i would have to set 7200 rows, 20 times per second. 50ms frame timing.

This would be unwieldy

So what nutcracker does instead is ask you to build a model for the megatree. Takes just less than a minute and you will have a model that matches your rgb device. Now in the nutcracker tab, our matrix is not 7200 rows of channels but one row for timing marks where you want effect changes.
You attach a spiral effect to your model to last 10 seconds, it will take one cell of the grid to do this. In the other sequences it would have been 7200 channels * 20 frames per second * 10 seconds = 288,000 cells.

1 cell in nutcracker, 288,000 cells in vixen. If you group your channels in vixen as rgb it will take 3 times less cells. This would still take 96,000 cells of data.

You import data but have not created any models nor have you added nutcracker effects.

So Nutcracker is an "add-on" to the other sequencers to help when creating effects on massive rgb devices.

i hope this helps ....

sean

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Offline arw01

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Re: Ok I am lost with light elf
« Reply #4 on: November 11, 2013, »
Thank you Sean, that higher level explanation helped.  Is there a way to put nutcracker affects back into like an lsp, or how do you blend the two, I guess would be a better question.

Offline smeighan

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Re: Ok I am lost with light elf
« Reply #5 on: November 11, 2013, »
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Thank you Sean, that higher level explanation helped.  Is there a way to put nutcracker affects back into like an lsp, or how do you blend the two, I guess would be a better question.

after you create effects you export the data as the  LSP UserPatterns.xml file. You now bring that back into LSP.

I have to tell you many people do NOT bring it back into LSP, once they bring their non-rgb stuff into xlights they add nutcracker effects and then play their shows using xlights scheduler or convert their show for conductor to play it.

sean
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Offline arw01

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Re: Ok I am lost with light elf
« Reply #6 on: November 11, 2013, »
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after you create effects you export the data as the  LSP UserPatterns.xml file. You now bring that back into LSP.

I have to tell you many people do NOT bring it back into LSP, once they bring their non-rgb stuff into xlights they add nutcracker effects and then play their shows using xlights scheduler or convert their show for conductor to play it.

sean

Ok, there's the heart of the matter, is there a thread or web page that talks about how you would bring non rgb into xlights?  So I make up my big show in LSP, maybe with some rgb stuff in there, then export it out vs using light elf to convert it, then how do I get that into the xlights grid to mix the effects I could make there with what I did in LSP, or do you have some sort of merge utility that takes the timing from my effects and inserts it into the exported LSP file?

That make any sense at all?

Offline lashbyrn

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Re: Ok I am lost with light elf
« Reply #7 on: November 11, 2013, »
The biggest problem that I have run into trying to convert back to LSP from XLights is that the size of the file that is created to run in LSP is MASSIVE. 

Offline taybrynn

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Re: Ok I am lost with light elf
« Reply #8 on: November 11, 2013, »
Lsp format is so bloated, that should tell you something ... Don't go back after xlights

I think a lot of us would like to be able go back, make changes ... Then have xlights "bolt on" again in the same way you did the first time.
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