So you’ve bought the hardware, figured out xLights, FPP , assembled props and created (or downloaded) a bunch of light show sequences. How are you planning for people to see your show?
- Option 1: Have FPP schedule a playlist periodically (for example every hour on the hour after dark) which is sort of traditional
- Option 2: Have some sort of button or kiosk out front that triggers the show (I have not tried this)
- Option 3: Give your viewers control of the show from their phones!
My choice is #3, but all have their place. Other than on Halloween Night, when I have shows running on a constant loop (we get hundreds of trick-or-treaters!), I let the viewers decide. The way to accomplish this is via a plugin for FPP called RemoteFalcon (RF)! RF lets you create a free account and gives you a URL that viewers will be able to navigate to in order to control your show (see screenshot at left). I had coro signs printed for both Christmas and Halloween with a QR code that takes users to our unique RF URL, plus I advertise the URL on our neighborhood Facebook group. When folks aren’t actively running shows, I have a non-musical “background” light display playing on loop for people driving / walking by – and have a matrix telling folks to scan the QR code.
Remote Falcon also provides stats on how many unique viewers hit the URL, how many sequences and which sequences are being requested. The graphs above are based on data downloaded from RF for the 2025 Christmas season, where we served out over 900 musical light shows. “Six-Seven Christmas” was the big winner this year, eclipsing Taylor Swift’s “Last Christmas” which was the big winner in 2024. We often have full cars lined up along the street, so this doesn’t really give you an idea of total “impressions”, but you can see directionally what’s popular by what’s being requested. I also save the data year-to-year so I can compare growth in viewers.