Quote:
Originally Posted by
Stuka
Just an observation -
For someone who just got their first projector, you seem to be "maxing out" your software experience awfully quick!
Before you start spending more $$$ for THE software package that does everything you want it to do, you might want to spend a lot of quality time with the software you have and really learn it, inside-out.
Fair enough, but as someone who is new, I find it odd that I AM able to run headlong into limitations so quickly.
For instance, I'm not trying to even put together complicated shows. I could even argue that I AM moving slowly. One of my first goals was simply to take an ild file of a single picture of the superhero "Robin" and color it and make some optimization edits to show off to my five year old kid.
And I run into quick trace, which from what I can tell, is honestly archaic. I will gladly step back and say I was wrong if I am doing it wrong, but just trying to use the toolbar that is there is a very poor experience.
Even just now finding out about Trace-It and playing with it today, it seems huge steps forward for trying to edit a picture like that. I'm not at all aware of why it is a download that you have to find out about on the forums and not part of the QS software that comes with the FB3.
But even with Trace-It, I seem to have run into a huge problem. Unless I am just doing something wrong again, it seems like if I stop working on a trace and save it to ILDA file, then I cannot come back and re-load that ILDA file and continue editing later.
Quote:
If graphics shows is all you are interested in, keep in mind that NONE of the software packages out there are going to turn you into an instant, quick graphics artist.
I know, but the ones I am using from Pangolin seem hell-bent on KEEPING me from being a graphic artist. My complaints aren't that they are not turning me into an instant artist. My complaints are about how hard they are making it. There is plenty of photo editing software to take cues from and to use as a template. Maybe that is my problem, I'm expecting photoshop-like elegance in the drawing packages. To be fair, I'd gladly take paint shop pro or elements features though.
Quote:
Also, if all you have been watching is cues shot on a wall, you are missing a HUGE part of the laser viewing experience -
As you say, I need to walk before I run. I don't have as many options for safe beam shows right now, but I can safely set up on a wall and make SURE no one can get between the laser and the wall and have a safe and impressive experience. I'll try scrims and beam shows later after I've gotten some graphics under my belt.
Quote:
As far as your disappointment with Pangolin -
Again, you seem to be getting there awfully quick!
And again I would say, "yeah, I was really surprised to be able to get there so quickly!"
Quote:
I think you'll find that on this forum anyway, the Pangolin FB3 has a VERY big following, and for good reason!
There a very big community here that would be very happy to help and share in your creative efforts.
Well please do. I honestly am not trying to turn this into a Pangolin bashing session. I realize that everyone has things they are fans of and any criticism or questions tend to come across as "fighting words" but I'm in $600 deep to Pangolin which is fully half what I spent on the hardware of the projector, so TO ME I have some skin in the game.
I realize that to the pros this is just chump change, but for a guy setting up a projector for kicks, I feel like I bought into some pretty expensive software so I had high expectations.
That all said, I do feel like I have been respectful and I have freely admitted that my ignorance might be to blame and I would gladly accept help in accomplishing my goals. For the most part, it has ended up being a discussion telling me why I shouldn't expect to be able to do those things, rather than discussions showing me that they are doable and I was just missing how to do it...
Quote:
Have you checked out the Pangolin Shows portal?
Plenty of opportunity there to share cues & shows!!
Oh yeah, I even posted here asking if there were any suggestions of "must-download" shows.
Quote:
I wouldn't be too concerned about the ILD export limitation ~
There are many reasons Pangolin doesn't export that format, and trust me when I say the user base really does NOT suffer because of it!
I freely admit that I just don't know. But it seems like not being able to save to it limits me to only playing with other QS owners. And again, don't really know about this, but I don't think I can load pangolins other software created shows either. It makes it feel like I am in the cheap seats and very limited with Pangolin.
Quote:
Also, keep in mind that the FB3 card does open you up to the possibility of using 'Beyond' sometime down the road, which is a whole new ballgame...
I'm scared to ask what beyond costs. I'm afraid it may be well beyond my $ budget. ;)
Quote:
Couple of things to keep in mind when learning about this laser craziness (passed down from the school of "been there, done that"):
1. You get what you pay for!
2. Patience is a virtue...
:)
Yeah, I am sure that try as I might, I still probably am coming off as a chump. I waltz in and don't know why my lowest-rung-on-the-ladder pangolin software won't do the things that most users have come to expect from the high end software.
But to be fair, I do feel like I AM running into walls and limitations rather quickly. Maybe I am mistaken and the things that seem important to me now will be silly later, but just coming in and playing around I don't get it yet. I DO know that I am only scratching the surface, but that is what has me so surprised to be scratching up against limitations. I wasn't really expecting to even discover them yet...
I mean none of this mean-spiritedly and I'm not screaming, "I paid $600 and this software stinks!" I'm just trying to understand WHY I see these limitations already and trying to understand if there are ways around them or if those ways involve other software.
:)
Tom
