| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| xLights | Powerful software for designing / choreographing professional looking light shows on you computer — free and open source (https://xlights.org) — this is where you CREATE a light show. xLights is drag & drop (similar to video editing software) where you bring in a soundtrack (music) and choreograph the lights to the music visually (you can see what it will look like on the screen). In the end xLights renders a file that can control the lights that will get passed to the “show runner” (usually FPP, but xLights also has some built in capabilities if you want to tie your computer up). xLights has excellent integrations with FPP, so this is easier than it sounds. |
| FPP | Falcon Pi Player (now just Falcon Player) is software that runs on an inexpensive Raspberry Pi or BeagleBone single board computer that acts as the “show runner” managing the controller(s) that are connected to the lights as well as outputting the music to speakers or short range radio station, allowing you to schedule light shows for specific times, etc.(https://falconchristmas.com/forum/) — this is what MANAGES the light shows. |
| Remote Falcon | Plug-in for FPP that enables user control of your light show via their smart phones (https://remotefalcon.com); this lets the folks watching interact with your show (purely optional). |
| WLED | Firmware that runs on ESP32 or ESP8266 controller boards to create lightweight (and inexpensive) RGB lighting controllers that have built in effects and can run standalone similar to Twinkly (which also uses ESP32). WLED controllers can also be controlled by xLights/FPP allowing them to be used in light shows. Personally, I use these for running LED strips in my bar / game room, not as part of any light show. |
| Sequence | Each light show is based on a file in xLights called a sequence (.xsq file extension); sequence can refer to the file or the show. You can create your own sequences, find free ones online or buy them. If you use someone else’s sequence, you will need to map it to your props when you import it. xLights has some sequences you can download directly in the software (tools menu, download sequences/lyrics) or there’s a 3rd party website that has both free and paid sequences: https://xlightsseq.com. You will usually need to purchase an mp3 of the song from Amazon or Apple, as they won’t be included with the sequence for copyright reasons. |