Export .FSEQ of only one controller

G

gb70

Member
Hi,
I'm almost ready, I just need the .FSEQ extraction to copy to the micro sd of each single controller.
For next Christmas I'm testing the transmission system from FPP (on the BBB) to EPS32 in wifi multicast mode.
On the FPP I will have to copy the file. fseq of all controllers with the .mp3 file for audio
all.jpg
I think I will make 7 sequences, consequently I will copy the 7 .fseq files with the relative .mp3 files to the FPP.

For each ESP32 I will have a micro sd, where I should copy the relative .fseq file for that group of the show;
in the vixen export, of .fseq, if I choose to extract only one group I see that the numbering of the channels changes
mini.jpg

Is it possible to be able to keep the numbering that I set in FPP as well?
Or can I upload the same file (with all controllers) to each ESP32?

thanks
Graziano
 
You're on the right path. Just select the controllers you want to export for each SD card. Each one will start at one. That's fine. Just set up each controller to match.

One thing I'm a bit unclear of in your description though is whether you plan on streaming the data to the ESP32s from the FPP, or just using multisync and having it play local data. The latter makes more sense.

Channel numbering is always relative. Multisync simply transmits sync data. It basically says, "Playing XYZ sequence, current frame 12345" The slaves then make sure they're playing the sequence with the matching name, and at the same point in time. What is contained in the sequence files and what channels they go to is irrelevant to the multisync process. Because the ESP32 is a relatively resource limited microcontroller, you don't want to give it lots of extraneous data to sort thru. You only want to have the channels that are relevant to the pixels you're controlling. It doesn't matter how that channel range fits in to the whole overall sequence, it only matters with respect to the sequence file and the string it's going to. So each ESP will be set that its output starts at 1. It will be different data, because you put different data starting at slot 1 to each fseq file.
 
hello, jchuchla
yes i would like to stream everything from FPP deleting the pc; yes i would like to play files locally but with FPP, is it possible?

so if I extract each controller, the channel always starts from the number 1 and that file extracted .fseq I copy it on the esp32 micro-sd.
On the FPP instead? do I leave the .fseq file complete with all the controllers? Or should I enter something else?
I guess I didn't understand multisync very well.
 
I think you're missing the point. If you're playing from SD cards, you're not streaming from FPP. If you were streaming the data from FPP, you don't need SD cards.

The file you export for the master FPP only needs the data for the channels it's directly controlling, or streaming to. It does not need the channel data for the ESPs that are each playing local data.

If the FPP isn't directly controlling any lights you still need an FSEQ file on the FPP to use as a timing reference. It could be any of the files, in this case, the actual channel data would be irrelevant.
 
OK thank you, jchuchla
now i started to understand the difference.
Yes I'm configuring everything for FBB on BBB master and I will have 13 ESP32 as remotes... so ok only .fseq sequence on the FPP with mp3 files.

Just for info, maybe it will be useful for the future... would the single files on the sd of the ESP32 be controlled only if I have unicast connections? and data sent directly from Vixen on PC?

last question... the "timing", with FPP better 25 - 50 - 100?
timing.jpg
 
gb70 said:
.

Just for info, maybe it will be useful for the future... would the single files on the sd of the ESP32 be controlled only if I have unicast connections? and data sent directly from Vixen on PC?

last question... the "timing", with FPP better 25 - 50 - 100?
View attachment 46667
Click to expand...
No. Vixen does not act as a multisync master. It would not cause the ESP32s to play from their SD cards.

Don't mistake multisync with multicast. Multisync is a method of keeping FPP masters and remotes in sync. Multicast is a method for transmitting data to many devices at once. They are not related.

Your choice of timing speed depends on what you're doing. If you've got a lot of fast movement, 25ms (40FPS) would look best but at the expense of larger file sizes and longer upload times. 100ms (10 FPS) is ok for mostly static or slow moving patterns. You get small file sizes and fast uploads. 50ms (20FPS) is a compromise in performance vs file sizes.
 
ok, thanks ... now the difference between the transmissions is already clearer to me.
For now I'll stop at the FPP mlticast, I'll do some tests and if I still notice slowdowns on the shows I'll try the multisync.
To program the effects I'm using Vixen, but could Vixen (in multisync) also send the package files to the single ESPixelStick as xLights?
I saw a video on youtube where this .fseq file transfer is very fast, rather than extracting it on the PC and then copying it to the micro-sd cards.
 
Again, i think you might be thinking backwards. There's a lot going on here to get your head wrapped around.

Vixen can create fseq sequence files for the individual SD cards. But Vixen does not have the ability to automatically send it to all of the units. You have to manage those files manually. Furthermore, vixen cannot act as the sync master. FPP needs to do this part.

xLights has the FPP connect feature that Vixen currently does not have. This is what manages and uploads settings and sequence files directly to the controllers. In Vixen, you have to do this process manually.

Or you can use Vixen to play directly to the ESP units (without using SD cards). You have your choice of DDP or sACN protocol to stream data to them. Your mileage will vary. The whole multisync paradigm with local playback from local storage was designed to overcome the limitations of streaming large amounts of timing sensitive sequence data over wireless networks.
 
OK thank you,
since I don't know everything well yet, for now I don't want to upset my settings.
On Vixen, for now, I have active 9 controllers (all ESP32 with ESPixelStick) in E1.31 unicast.
The ESP32s are connected to a TP-Link router, dedicated and not connected to the internet, via Wi-Fi.
On FPP I have already set all the IP addresses in unicast with the relative start/end of the channel.
I did some tests with test files and it seems to me that everything is ok for now.
This evening I'm exporting the files (.fseq and .mp3) of my show (9 in all) and tomorrow I'll try the complete show.
 
yes, I will read the article.
now i extracted a couple of .fseq lises, i noticed that when playing from FPP the lights flicker continuously. Could it be due to the .fseq extraction? or some setting in FPP? because if I run the sequence directly from the Vixen on PC I have no flickering.
 
Do you still have vixen running when trying to play from FPP? If you do, you need to make sure the controllers are disabled in display setup. Otherwise both Vixen and FPP are sending data to the controllers and causing confusion.
I'm not sure what you mean about extracting the fseq file. FSEQ files are ready to use once vixen creates them.
 
oops... sorry, you're right; as I was testing with both FPP and Vixen, I had them both open. Now with Vixen closed, it works like a charm.
Thanks again for your help
 
I have a question, and i think this thread works to ask it in.
is there a way to export the .fseq for 1 song to a folder for each controller
so for example if I 10 controllers
is there a way that it could
create folder 1 and put controller 1 fseq in it then create folder 2 and put fseq 2 in it ... etc...

the only way that i have figured out now is to do the export 10 times with only seleting the controller and the folder for that controller
 
For vixen, that is pretty much it. Ten export with only the desired controller selected and then move the result into the desired folder.
 
There are a couple threads on this topic going.. For continuity, I gave this reply in one of the others.


I do this with mine. You should use the export wizard from the main admin screen so you can do multiple sequences at once. I only have 4, but I setup an export profile for each FPP instance. The profile has all the sequences for that instance and just the controller(s) that go to it. You can specify a target folder or an fpp instance. Then I run each export profile to export the full set. Each set will start at channel one and have just the controller(s) you select and the channel count will start at one and contain all the channels for the selected controllers. I export mine directly to the FPP instances that are networked to my computer via samba so I don't have to do other copying.

This is an item that is high on my list to better automate after the season.
 
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