If you’re new to designing your own Christmas light display, you’ve probably heard the term line and coro props.
But what are they exactly and where should you get them?
In this post, we’re going to cover the basic types of props as well as couple of options for where you should purchase them for your Christmas Display.
Why Use Props?
Props are essential to have in a pixel light show because the pixels are set up in a certain shape and form. This helps when programming your show to create movements and effects on your display, because your sequencing software knows exactly where each light is.
Knowing exactly where your pixels are placed makes it easier when setting up effects and video to play across your display properly.
Strip & Line Props
One of the most commonly used props would be your strip and line props. These strips are fantastic for keeping your pixels in a line and gives you the options to separate your pixels a certain distance if needed.
One of my favorites go-to shop is: Boscoyo Props and Gilbert Engineering USA
These props are very inexpensive and you can cut these to the size that you need. Vertical strips can hang freely, but horizontal strips require conduit or PVC pipe to keep them straight.
I generally use these strip and lined props to help create outlines for the roof, the house, and the garage.
Some folks go the DIY route where you can use a drill press to drill out the specific holes in a PVC pipe and push your pixels through the drilled holes. Personally, I prefer purchasing these strips since they are inexpensive and it helps save me time. However, this is definitely another option if you want to create your own props.
Shaped and Coro Props
Shaped and corrugated props are a lot of fun to work with. Not only do you get to select multiple shapes and sizes, you also get a lot of options when designing your lighting show.
You do have a couple of options with shaped and coro style props. You can order the shaped “coro” or corrugated props that are sturdy plastic and you can easily push the pixels through.
I share more on how to do this in this post: How to Setup Corrugated Props
The upside to these is that with xLights, the shape model is saved into their interface and can easily be downloaded and added to your show.
There are also other options such as building the props yourself with wood or purchasing the corrugated plastic. You can create the shapes or have a sign shop that can make it for you. The downside to this method is creating the shape – called a “custom model” – in xLights can be very time consuming.