Plan Your Display with the EZRGB Light Show Designer
The Light Show Designer helps turn a photo of your house into a planned display. Start with a trustworthy reference photo and a clear idea of which surfaces and props you want to light. Then review the resulting equipment and installation details before treating the picture as a finished build plan.
Reviewed October 29, 2026. The Designer requires an EZRGB sign-in. This walkthrough follows the publicly documented workflow; account-specific controls can change. Use the labels shown in your current account.
1. Choose the design path
For a new EZRGB-designed display, start at the official Light Show Designer. EZRGB's process begins with an account and a home photo, then lets you place decorations to build the proposed show. See EZRGB’s design overview.
If you already have an accurate xLights layout, preserve it. Use the existing-show path for EZPlayer, and EZSequence layout mapping when preparing it for EZRGB sequences. Choose one deliberate layout workflow so you know which version represents the real display.
2. Prepare the photo and a measured reference
Take a clear daylight photograph from a position that shows the display area with as little perspective distortion as practical. Include the ground where yard props will stand. Keep an unobstructed original image so you can compare later revisions.
Measure a recognizable rectangular feature, such as a door or window. In the Designer, use the documented reference-box process and enter that feature's dimensions to establish scale. The reference should describe the actual feature you outlined. A neat box around the wrong edges still produces a misleading scale.
EZRGB documents tracing rooflines, curves, doors and windows after scaling the image. Its estimate depends on that drawing and reference. Follow the official first-show checklist for this photo-to-layout process.
3. Build one understandable design
- Start with the main outlines. Trace the roofline or openings you intend to illuminate and check their endpoints.
- Add the props that form the main display. Use recognizable locations so a helper can match the design to the yard.
- Inspect spacing from the audience's viewpoint. Check whether a foreground prop hides another element.
- Compare the proposal with a second view of the house. Features on a side wall or recessed porch can look deceptively short in a front photograph.
- Save the design through the account workflow and keep a dated reference image for your own notes.
Our practical recommendation is to finish one coherent area before adding every available decoration. A design that you can label and explain is easier to order, install and diagnose. Avoid treating apparent size on a photograph as the only check of fit.
4. Review the plan against the actual site
Scroll sideways to see all columns.
| Review | What to establish before ordering |
|---|---|
| Physical fit | Actual prop dimensions, clearances and the surfaces that will support each piece. |
| Mounting | Suitable supports and fasteners for the specific structure; safe access for installation and removal. |
| Cable route | The real path around doors, corners and walkways, including where equipment will sit. |
| Equipment | The exact supplied controller, pixel, connector and extension options in the resulting list. |
| Operation | The player location, network route, audio arrangement and intended show times. |
These are installation decisions to record alongside the design. A photo cannot show every obstruction, cable bend, mounting constraint or equipment location. Use the Mattos planning sheets to keep those decisions with the layout.
5. Check the supplied list and the remaining purchases
EZRGB's help page describes custom shows with selected pixel-loaded props, programmed controllers and a connection guide; it also describes included extensions for that offering. Use the current resulting order and the exact kit listing to confirm quantities and contents for your purchase. A separately purchased plug-and-play prop and a complete custom show have different scopes. Reference: EZRGB Guides and Help.
The current first-show checklist treats house-specific mounting as a separate requirement and says sequences and music are sold separately. Check those items before committing to the complete budget. For an existing Mattos controller or prop, record its exact model, connector and layout definition and have its role in the proposed arrangement confirmed.
6. Carry the approved design into playback
For an EZRGB cloud-managed show, install EZPlayer, choose its cloud setup and register the permanent show folder. The cloud supplies the layout and assigned content while EZPlayer on your computer handles playback. Follow the cloud setup guide and the official full-cloud workflow.
Wait until the required content is installed, then inspect the preview and test the real display. Verify one recognizable element at a time against the connection plan. Correct a mismatch at its source—design, mapping, controller assignment or physical connection—before adding more complexity.
7. Keep the design useful next season
EZRGB documents saving the layout for later expansion and accommodating available capacity on previously purchased EZRGB controllers. Review the new equipment plan after adding props; a saved photo alone does not confirm every installation detail.
Keep a dated copy of your successful design and notes on the changes you made during installation. Before the next season, compare that record with the active account layout and run a new test. For singer assignments, skipped models and tune-to behavior, continue with EZSequence mapping.
EZRGB & EZPlayer Learning Center · Planning tools and checklists
