LIGHT O RAMA Forums "watchout"

[ydeardorff]

I recently have been digging for info on DMX, sequencing, you name it like any newbie would be.
When after a day or two I received a interesting post saying essentially if you don't own one of our systems, and you may be thinking of buying something else, why should we help you.
Nothing like forum content to make the breaking decision for me. Thanks to one of LOR's own beta testers I will not now purchase their product. Perhaps they might think of muffling their employees lest sale drop off.
I understand that these forums are for support of the respective products, however their should (at least to me) be some form of kinship here for all those who have these displays, and those whom wish they could to bring holiday cheer.
I am planning mine as a potential charity fund raiser for next year. Has anyone else run into this belong to us or else mentality?
The truth be told, LSP has answered my questions, LOR has not. Solsticewerks, has talked with me directly and answered my questions directly, while LOR hasn't. I mean just on customer service alone LOR is losing this battle.

[Wizard]

Ydeardorff I have been looking into putting together a show for 2 years.. I cant say anything bad about LOR i am sure the product is awesome. My personal experience is not only the Admin of LSP but all the users here are here to help. from what i have experienced all the people that have helped me are only in it for the promotion of the automated light hobby. Many users collect money for thier shows and make large donations to local charities.

This is my first season doing this and could not pulled it off without several people from this forum.

[tng5737]

Each product site has its own personality. On those sites which sell their own commercial products you are more likely to find the restrictive topic limits. This is undertandable since they are after all trying to make money and hence have little reason to support other products. Other reasons for this tendency is simply that those on those forums are likely to know most about the products sold thru those sites. You will find both friendly and and less-friendly people on every site. For many of us LOR was our first equipment/software. Their hardware and software understandably work well together. When you want cheaper and more flexible solutions then the DIY community is generally your next stop. The ACL and DIYC sites offer many many solutions and will take some studying before making your choices. The DLA site revolves around Lynx and SmartString equipment which like the LOR was designed to work together. In all three of these sites you will find a bunch of very helpful folks who are very tolerant and welcoming of the newbies. LSP software is far advanced of other available DIY software solutions and frankly I can't imagine trying to sequence smartstrings without LSP.
IMHO, this site has some of the most helpful folks around! I have seen the folks here go way out of their way to help others solve their issues. In fact when I first joined I assumed that some of them were part owners of the LSP product - so great was their support. As is true in any site, much depends on how you ask the question and also how much detail you can provide. Very general questions tend to produce very general response.
As you continue to learn LSP and someone post a questions to which you know the answer - don't be shy - post a suitable response - it makes the whole commuity stronger and better.
I hope that you enjoy your time here and our mutual hobby!

[ydeardorff]

Thanks! My only wish is that I had the wallet to afford all my hobbies at the same time. LOL

But getting the "why should we help you" response really put me off. I love these ridiculous displays, it takes passion, time, and effort, but like my hand made Vader costume for the 501st legion, Seeing a smile and look of wonder on a child's face makes it all worth it.

[Keith Adams]

First I would like to say that a LOR Beta Tester is not a LOR employee just like the LSP Beta testers are not LSP employees. Most people on that forum are helpful also. They do a lot of kidding around and may not have intended to offend you. Their software is highly geared toward their hardware whereas LSP tries to include more support for a variety of hardware as it is not in the hardware business. I belong to many forums and all are helpful but obviously if it is a LSP question the people on here are the most familiar with it. I have LOR hardware and started with LOR software years ago but as I started adding RGB floods last year and Pixelnet strings this year I went beyond the capabilities of the LOR software and LSP was the choice I made.

[rdebolt]

I agree totally with Keith! The LOR hardware and software are bullet proof in my opinion. The are built though to run LOR protocol (Language) which is not DMX. That does not mean that you cannot run LOR hardware in DMX mode, but their support is built on their platform. You will always find someone on any forum that you may not agree with, but that is just life. I hope that you can get the information that you need and that your display become a hit in your area. This is a very addictive hobby so beware!

[mmulvenna]

Hi ydeardorff,

Please don't abandon the other forums as all of them have a lot to offer. Although each forum will have a tendency to promote its own product both by the owners and by the users you will find many great hints and suggestions not just related to the specific hardware or software. Indeed you might even want to download some of the wonderful sequences create by users on those other forums for use in LSP.

I am sorry you had a bad experience on another forum but as stated by the other posts above we wont always agree with everyone on every forum but the real power of these forums is the sharing of knowledge from user to user. I truly think that you will find that is true the vast majority of times on all the forums including this one.

Remember, it's just Christmas Lights and the real joy of our passion is watching the smiles of the visitors that we attract to our shows. Given your initial questions it sounds like you are going to become a very valuable member of the Blinky-flashy community.

Merry Christmas and good luck with your quest to join this addictive hobby.

[ydeardorff]

Hi ydeardorff,

Please don't abandon the other forums as all of them have a lot to offer. Although each forum will have a tendency to promote its own product both by the owners and by the users you will find many great hints and suggestions not just related to the specific hardware or software. Indeed you might even want to download some of the wonderful sequences create by users on those other forums for use in LSP.

I am sorry you had a bad experience on another forum but as stated by the other posts above we wont always agree with everyone on every forum but the real power of these forums is the sharing of knowledge from user to user. I truly think that you will find that is true the vast majority of times on all the forums including this one.

Remember, it's just Christmas Lights and the real joy of our passion is watching the smiles of the visitors that we attract to our shows. Given your initial questions it sounds like you are going to become a very valuable member of the Blinky-flashy community.

Merry Christmas and good luck with your quest to join this addictive hobby.

Heh, yes I have, I don't have a 500gb hd for nothing. LOL
My intent isn't to just play someone else's stuff, but to see how it works, and copy certain effects to make my sequencing that much faster.

Running into the "beta tester types" are not that big of a deal. Retiring, after 20 years in the US Navy, I think my skin is thick enough. LOL This person struck a nerve in me is all. Ive met the type before in the 501st legion. They are the best of the worst part of that organization. And truly ruin the experience for everyone.

Thanks to a handful of people on this site, as well as on many other sites i have a pretty good theoretical knowledge base on DMX, and LPS sequencing. Plus, this years micro sized 6 channel display was the jumping point, for next year.

To me, its all about the Holiday Spirit, and the smiles, young and old alike. (Now only if they had an RGB color in the pallet bar.) LOL

[admin]

To me, its all about the Holiday Spirit, and the smiles, young and old alike.

no more true words.

[n8huntsman]

Check out http://www.doityourselfchristmas.com They have free designs for all types of boards, primarily Renard, which work well with LSP. If your'e into pixels you can build an E680, which also works well with LSP. They are all very helpful and will not shun you.