HinksPix Show Player

The HinksPix Pro controllers have a built-in light show player that will play lighting sequences and audio created in xLights software. This page goes over how to use the Tools / HInksPix Export feature in xLights which makes configuring the Hinks show player easy to do.

 

  • Before you use the Hinks Show Player you need to configure your light show in xLights, upload the configuration to the controller, and test your lights are working properly. This is accomplished by hooking up the HInksPix to your xLights computer via an Ethernet cable. The details of this are beyond the scope of this tutorial.

  • Prior to setting up the Hinks Show Player you also need to have 20 fps (50 ms) sequence(s) mapped and rendered as .FSEQ file(s) within your xLights show directory or a location where xLights can find them.

 

Step 1 – Start the HInksPix Export process:
xLights Tools Menu
  1. Open xLights app.
  2. From the Tools menu  choose HinksPix Export.
    NOTE: Make sure you are  using xLights 2024.19 or a later version.

Step 2 – On the Controllers tab:
Choose Controller(s) & SD Card
  1. For a single controller it should be listed as <Master> Mode.
  2. Insert your Micro SD Card into your computer and click on Refresh USB Drives button.
    NOTE: Recommend SanDisk 32GB Ultra microSDHC C10 A10
  3. Choose the SD Card under the Drive column next to the controller(s) you have selected.
    NOTE: The export process will prompt you to swap out SD cards if you have more than one controller selected.

 

Step 3 – On the Playlists tab:
Create Playlist
  1. Click the Add button.
  2. Enter a Playlist Name
  3. Click the OK button.

 

 

Step 4 – Add & order sequences in the Playlist:
Choose & Order Sequences
  1. Click on the open box next to a sequence to mark it to be added to the playlist.
    NOTE: You can right-click to open a menu that allows you to to more quickly select or clear multiple sequences.
    TIP: Its recommended the name of your sequences and media files have no punctuation or special characters in them.

  2. Use the green arrows on the left side to move the sequences into the order you want them to play during the light show. Selected sequences will play in a top-down order.

 

 

Step 5 – On the Schedule tab:
Set Show Schedule
  1. Make sure there is a Playlist entered for each day you want the  show to play.
  2. Enter an X in the Enabled column for each day you want the show to play.
  3. Enter a start and end hour and minute for each day the show will play.
    TIP: If you want the show to start immediately after the controller starts up then enter start time of 00:00 and end time of 23:59.
    NOTE: Time is entered in 24-hour Clock format.
  4. After completing all prior steps click the Export to SD Card button.
You will see windows and files like those shown below during and following a successful creation of the SD card.
SD Card Creation
Files on SD Card
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Troubleshooting – Sequence Timing
Timing Error Message
 If you see this error during SD card generation then you have one or more sequences with the Sequence Timing set different than 50 milliseconds.

NOTE: The Hinks Show Player only supports 20 fps (frames per second) so the sequence timing must be set for 50 msec.
  1. Open the Sequence.
  2. Click on File then Sequence Settings.
  3. Click on the ? icon next to the right of Sequence Timing.
  4. Click on the Yes button.
  1. Like shown in the screen shot workflow above, change the Frame interval to 50 (msec) and the rate will change to 20 fps (frames per second) which is what the Hinks Player requires.
  2. Click the Yes button.
  3. Click the Done button.
  4. Save the sequence.
  5. Re-render the sequence.
  6. Save the sequence.
Repeat from this process for every squence that does not have 50ms sequence timing.