Do I dare add more?

P

pyro2k

Member
When do I have too many pixel lights? I was thinking of adding 3 2x8' matrices with 2" spacing between the porch posts which are the red rectangles and a 4x4' matrix with 2" spacing on the second level which is the red square. I have 20 pixel stakes in a square grid and a tune to sign off to the far left which aren't in the photo.

Are the new planned matrices too much and do you think that they will drown out the railing, gutters, and snowflakes in the process? I'm debating if I should fill in the gaps to get more pixel density or leave the display more open. The pixel tree is also planned to go from 3" to 2" spacing which should provide a better look at the given distance.

If I went with 4 more matrices and the denser tree and 4 more window stars (50 nodes each) then I will be adding about 2500 more pixels this year.

Should I add more pixels as described, leave it as is, do something completely different, rearrange and compress some of the display elements, or focus on improving the density of the existing display elements? The gutters, railing, and window frames are spaced at 4" and I could instead attach those lights to pixel mounting strips and make them spaced at 2 or 3".

I am about 20-30 feet from the road (big matrix and smaller trees are closer, house is farther back) depending on the display element. The big matrix and pixel poles are currently at 2" spacing. I'm running the whole display at about 40-50% brightness. For comparison purposes the big matrix ix 4x8' mounted on a 2x4" frame.

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Hang rosa wreaths (or whatever your favorite is) in between instead unless you have some specific ideas on using the matrices. In my opinion, a prop would be better than a matrix.

If you do that consider doing two other things. Cluster the flakes around the upper left window and definitely put pixels on the posts.
 
I would add them. They will only wash out the snowflakes if you let them. No one says every pixel needs to be on all the time. Having the marticies between the posts lends itself to a bunch of interesting effects. Someone on this forum told me darkness can be just as powerful as full bright when you do it right.
 
In the dark, a single light becomes a beacon.
In a field of light, that single light could be burned out and almost no one would notice.
Darkness is your friend when it comes to a light show. Embrace it. :cool:
 
ErnieHorning said:
So, now when a controller crashes and the display goes dark, that's a good thing. :sneaky:
Click to expand...
Last year we had a total power outage in the park we use. I had a battery backup on the primary FPP and the transmitter. Because they had power, the "show" continued (at least over the airwaves). We actually had people sit and listen to the show, waiting for the lights to blink. A sort of audio-darkness. Go figure.
 
Last week we had a professional sequencing guy do a class, and the projector didn't work. I said the projector worked fine--he was just teaching us the Off effect in Xlights.
 
MikeKrebs said:
Hang rosa wreaths (or whatever your favorite is) in between instead unless you have some specific ideas on using the matrices. In my opinion, a prop would be better than a matrix.

If you do that consider doing two other things. Cluster the flakes around the upper left window and definitely put pixels on the posts.
Click to expand...
I like the matrices because the poles are spaced 8' apart and I can zip tie directly to the poles. I also like the flexibility of displaying different patterns on the matrix. I have 2 singing bulbs in the upper left window which may not be visible. Would you still cluster the snowflakes around the window?

I'm limited to hanging things where I can reach them on foot since i don't want to put a ladder on the sloped roof over the porch. I also don't own a 30 foot ladder to reach the 2nd or third floor from the ground.

Are you referring to the rosa wreaths from Gilbert Engineering? Those look nice and would add 696 pixels a piece.
 
I'm also debating the idea of changing the main pixel tree from 6' up to 8 or 10' and using 2" spacing. Any additional thoughts on that?
 
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