Flashback 3 and different software from Pangolin

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pangolin

RE: http://photonlexicon.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=287

Regarding the Flashback 3 with USB 2.0, yes, absolutely you can stream data to this system in real time. This happens both from our included free utility software as well as with a special implementation of LivePRO. As time runs, more Pangolin software will be able to run directly on the Flashback 3, such as most of our Lasershow Converter series products.

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This is directed at Pangolin (William) but not exclusivly. ;)

I have a question relating to the software from Pangolin which works with Flashback 3. From what I understand Flashback 3 comes with a piece of software called Samba which runs a single head with no frills. From a bit of digging a company called Neo Laser appears to have exactly the same product renamed Cyber Live Lite which is downloadable as a demo from their website. Cyber Live Lite is shipped with some of the high end lasers they sell. But also ebay traders are shipping a software product called Cyber Live PRO (for free) which looks very much like LivePRO with the same laser.

I'm assuming Pangolin has done some custom work after Neo Laser bought X number of Flash Back 3 OEM cards but I'm interested to know if there is a enhanced version of Samba with the bells and whistles similar to Cyber Live PRO .. And will it be released? Obviously if it is the same product as LivePRO then I doubt it will be, but if Pangolin wish to make a bigger mark in the hobby market surely a "enhanced" Samba with a few more of the LivePRO traits would be of help. (Shipped with Flashback 3, I'd pay a few more pennie maybe)

I'm really leaning towards buying FlashBack but would love a few extra features like BPM and midi control, even if it is all still restricted to one head.

I'm still very new to this game and learning fast so my apologies if I've broken taboos or ranted drivel.

Damo

Hi Damo,

Neo laser offers 2 software packages. Cypherlite usb, and Cypher LivePRO usb.

Cypherlite usb is a customised samba package with control for neo's drop down effects such as diffraction gratings.

The same goes for Cypher LivePRO.

To get the extra features, you must buy LivePRO.

We love LivePRO. For live work, ie dance parties, there is nothing in LivePRO's league. The same goes for LD2000 imho.

Dave

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dave

To get the extra features, you must buy LivePRO.

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You can't blame a guy for trying ;)

I think you can download the cypherlitepro/samba demo off the neo laser web site.

Dave

Hi Damo,

Dave is entirely correct, but let me expound a little on what he has written, and maybe give you a little bit of background information.

Several years ago, Pangolin released the Flashback 3 hardware platform. You can read about it here:
http://www.pangolin.com/flashback/flashback3.htm

The idea was to create a small, flexible, low cost platform for laser display applications. If you take a close look at the picture, you will see that there is a "base board" and plug-on daughter boards. This allows us (and others) to customize the offering, while providing the lowest cost possible. For example, the FB3 base board price is $350 (quantity 1). If you want to add DMX-control functionality, or USB-control functionality (or both), these are available at an additional cost. We also have other little daughterboards that we have custom made for clients (such as NEO-NEON). This is a very open architecture which provides very good performance in what is, to the best of our knowledge, the smallest package and lowest power consumption (a single 5V supply at 100mA for the base board). Also, it has the greatest number of DMX-controlled parameters of any board-level product.

As the name sort of implies, the Flashback 3 is the third in a series of "Flashback" board products. It offers 12-bit X and Y and four color channels, each with 8-bit resolution. Despite the relatively low cost, this design uses all industrial components so stability and repeatability are quite good.

Back in the Flashback 2 days, we developed a software package for another client. All of this other client's product names had something to do with a dance. There was the Fox Trot, the Waltz, the Tango and, software we developed called SAMBA. We later migrated this software for use on the Flashback 3, and we now include this particular software package for free. It has a complete drawing and animation package as well as a limited Live Control platform. It looks vaguely similar to LivePRO, but that was done by design. Our idea is that people can get used to SAMBA, and then if they want greater functionality later on, they can migrate to LivePRO and not really have to learn a new software package.

If you have any questions about this, I would love to answer them. Please contact me using our "Contact" form here:
http://www.pangolin.com/contact

Best regards,

William Benner