Recent content by slugg

The AnandTech forum: let it die

I haven’t visited these forums in years, but as you can see on my profile, I’ve been a member for 22 years. I used to really enjoy this place, learned a lot, contributed, and even met a few people in real life. I left because the moderators turned into a bunch of jerks who had power go to their...
- slugg
- Thread
- Aug 30, 2024
- salty
- Replies: 82
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
My over-engineered holiday lights - 2018 version!

Would a Mayne themed light show in 2019 get me a Top Thread Award? I can see it now: “Welcome to the Mayne Event!”
- slugg
- Post #40
- Dec 31, 2018
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
My over-engineered holiday lights - 2018 version!

Believe it or not, we actually agree with you. The Star Trek show is just a medley of songs and not a cohesive story. This was actually “plan B” because we ran out of time. We had a lot of curveballs in 2018, including the death of my father. We’re usually pretty secretive about our creative...
- slugg
- Post #39
- Dec 31, 2018
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
My over-engineered holiday lights - 2018 version!

Oh and for commercial installations, I forgot to mention that I’d also have to contract installers that are licensed, insured, and bonded. And I’d have to train them - this isn’t the same as stringing up normal lights.
- slugg
- Post #36
- Dec 31, 2018
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
My over-engineered holiday lights - 2018 version!

Differences in layout are a major time consumer and hurdle for “recycling” shows between different houses, parks, or commercial buildings. We do have a solution, however it’s 100% novel and would require a LOT of software development. We were approached by an HOA to do a light show on their...
- slugg
- Post #35
- Dec 31, 2018
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
My over-engineered holiday lights - 2018 version!

All good ideas and we’ve thought about it. What it boils down to is time and money that we just don’t have. The money part is two-fold: we need to spend money to be able to offer those products/services, but we’d also need to quit our day jobs to have the time to do these ideas, which then...
- slugg
- Post #32
- Dec 31, 2018
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
My over-engineered holiday lights - 2018 version!

With more money, we could buy, rather than build, tools and equipment. There is a massive effort in custom software and physically building the lights, both of which could be avoided by just spending more money. Trust me, the commercial stuff is EXPENSIVE. As far as a side business, I’m very...
- slugg
- Post #24
- Dec 30, 2018
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
My over-engineered holiday lights - 2018 version!

It dies down after the 25th, but before that, absolutely yes. And we always have to be out there to control the crowd, direct traffic, and keep the neighborhood happy. The biggest problem is that we’re very limited on space, so we need to actively keep things running smoothly. On very busy...
- slugg
- Post #22
- Dec 30, 2018
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
My over-engineered holiday lights - 2018 version!

It’s a combination of DMX, WS2811, and direct PWM. But a vast majority is WS2811. A permanent installation is very, very hard to accomplish. You’ll find out why once you start your research spike. :)
- slugg
- Post #18
- Dec 30, 2018
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
My over-engineered holiday lights - 2018 version!

We have lots of tricks up our sleeves and, to our knowledge, we do it very differently from the rest of the DIY light shows (there are many out there). If I told you our secrets, I’d have to blast you with a photon torpedo. But I’ll give you some hints. 1. Want to get started? Look up the app...
- slugg
- Post #16
- Dec 30, 2018
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
My over-engineered holiday lights - 2018 version!

It’s done in “hobby time,” meaning 15 minutes here, half an hour there, etc. That said, it takes a calendar year to do the whole thing. We’ve already started on 2019, which will be quite a triumph because we also have our wedding ceremony, our honeymoon, and there’s a chance we’ll be moving...
- slugg
- Post #11
- Dec 30, 2018
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
My over-engineered holiday lights - 2018 version!

It takes A LOT of work to put this together and there’s just no way to do it all. We have to make tough decisions while developing the show, including the removal of great parts, due to resource limitations, budget, and average viewer attention span. However! We do have a pre-show for when...
- slugg
- Post #5
- Dec 30, 2018
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
My over-engineered holiday lights - 2018 version!

A little late on the video, but better late than never! My wife and I are both musicians and engineers and we do crazy shenanigans like this. We do a new themed show every year. This year’s show is “Star Trek: The Light Show.” Hope you like it! :) We are working on filming our Star Wars...
- slugg
- Thread
- Dec 30, 2018
- Replies: 40
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas (post your holiday decor pics here)

The protocols used are all industry standard stuff. There’s sACN/e1.31 and DMX. Same stuff used at concerts and theme parks. I’ve got nothing to patent. ;)
- slugg
- Post #82
- Dec 10, 2018
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas (post your holiday decor pics here)

I’m surprised ANYONE remembered that! Due to lack of time and severe curveballs pitched to me in life, I haven’t had the time to make our random pieces of software into any kind of marketable package. We use them ourselves behind the scenes, but they are junky prototypes that we know how to...
- slugg
- Post #79
- Dec 9, 2018
- Forum: OT Discussion Club

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