I am very familiar with the LOR sequencer and have used it for years.  Mostly I bought pre-made sequences and adapted them for my own use, adding my own sequencing when I did not like things the way they were.  Each of these would run ~$40 and have stuff I could work with to fit my elements.  I know it was the easy way out but I haven’t had a lot of time in previous years to dedicate a block of time to sequencing from scratch.

With a potential move to RGB, I figured the smart thing would be to decide which sequencer I might like and then setup elements in it that would give me an idea of what my shopping list would be for 2016.  Seems like I would kill two birds with one stone as if I am unable to find a sequencer I like using the whole topic is moot, but if I do find something I just have to price stuff out.

So, I know the 2 main free tools right now are Vixen 3 and xLights.
There are others but these seem to be the most mainstream ones currently and if I am going to use something new, I want a large and active user base.  I need documentation and active forums for any issues/questions I encounter.

Honestly, from reading the documentation and perusing the forums for each, the functionality between the two (as of today) is pretty similar.  I admit that I am a novice and simply do not know what “I don’t know”.  Still, they both seem to be model based tools with built-in effects and visualizers.  Those are some key aspects in my mind.  Both can group elements including grouping a “whole house” element comprised of all your items.  So basically you can apply/paint effects across multiple items or the entire display (which probably looks amazing for some effects if your display is somewhat covering your entire “canvas”).  I gathered from posts in forums that in 2015 the xLights product made a lot of headway and I think Vixen 3 was the smart choice before they became more even.

Where did I end up?  Which sequencer won my heart?  xLights for now.  I could have missed something big when comparing, but it seemed to be a good fit when in use and the forums are actually a bit more active… although keep in mind the Vixen 3 forums are housed on diychristmas (the com one).

Off to setup my display in xLights and build a shopping list!