Shows

What is a Show?

A show is a collection of sequences, to be played as a set.  After creating sequences with the Sequencer, you can build a show from them using the Show Editor.  Shows can then be scheduled to play at certain times, using the Schedule Editor, and are then actually played by the Show Player.

Assuming that your license level is at least Basic Plus, you can also cause a show to be played on demand, without scheduling it, via the Light-O-Rama Control Panel.

There are six different parts to a show, each of which consists of sequences:

•The Background Section

•The Startup Section

•The Animation Section

•The Musical Section

•The Interactive Section

•The Shutdown Section

Each of these parts is optional.  For example, a show can be built having only a musical section and a shutdown section.

By default, when a show is being played in the Show Player, any given sequence in the show will not be loaded until when it is about to be played for the first time.  Depending upon the size of the sequence and the power of the computer, it may take a human-noticeable amount of time to load a sequence; if so, this may cause an undesired delay between sequences, the first time they are played.  So, optionally, you can choose to preload all sequences before any of them are played.

Additionally, if your Light-O-Rama software license is for the Advanced feature level, you can modify exactly how your show will start up - for example, immediately at its scheduled start time, or after a certain circuit on a certain Light-O-Rama controller has been triggered (for example, by someone hitting a "start" button).  See "Show Startup Options" for details.

Note that the duration of a show is not part of the show itself; rather, it is determined by the schedule.