christmas light synchronization

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GeekDrew

Diamond Member
Jun 7, 2000
9,099
19
81
Originally posted by: DrPizza
Actually, the "original" is far from the original synched light show... But, it certainly is the most widely distributed video of a show.

The software they use is incredibly simple to operate; I'm surprised the synchronization is off (or, perhaps, the problem exists in the software used to compress the video - I've seen that happen quite a few times.) Light show coming to my house... soon.

The software *is* simple to operate... but getting sync right is not a trivial task, from what I'm told. I've not personally created a synchronized display, but I "hang out" with many, many people that have. They've been going crazy this year, because light displays have been popping up ALL OVER THE PLACE that look absolutely horrible to someone that has done this for more than a year... but to the untrained eye & ear, they look tolerable.

Most people do not realize that you cannot have a high quality display, and only work on it for a few days or weeks. There are hundreds of people out there that do this as their year-round hobby; they spend all year buying, planning, synchronizing, testing, and prepping for opening night.

Feel free to PM me with any questions about the technology or etc. :)

(Sidebar: I own & operate a forum that some of the "best of the best" hang out at; we're going to be opening up to the public before long. If you'd be interested in joining, PM me.)
 

BrownTown

Diamond Member
Dec 1, 2005
5,314
1
0
Yeah, i'd say the theory behind getting this to work isn't very hard in terms of conceptually understanding it, but actually making it look good is more of an art form than an engineering problem. As an electrical engineer the wiring involved doesn't seem to big a task (just take time), but actually moving from the music to the visual and making it look good is what really makes the quality.