Announcing DigiSynth!

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, laserists of all ages...

I am pleased to announce a new product becoming available for lasershow production. DigiSynth made a splash at the ILDA cruise, where we were proud to gain recognition as Silver Sponsors, and earned six ILDA Artistic Awards for some of the content I produced with DigiSynth. We are excited to have swept the abstract category, and the timing with the release couldn't have been better.

People are talking about DigiSynth, asking what it is and how they can make shows with it. I'm going to keep this brief, but you can go to www.digisynth.com to see for yourself. There is already a vast collection of information there, but I'll be updating the site soon with even more info, including videos of how to use the software to create a wide range of abstracts and beam effects, and show you how to import your favorite frames.

Anyone interested should take advantage of our intro pricing which is nearly $1000 off of our normal rate.

Check out the website and drop me a line if you have any questions. you can also view some videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/DigiSynthLaser


-Chuck

Chuck Rau
DigiSynth

since your application has been designed around outputting to lightpipe would it be possible to use DigiSynth with a modified soundcard based dac?

If your not sure I would be happy to test it out for you ;) *retardo

although I guess if you can afford $4000 for this app a lightpipe interface and a transcoder would be chump change lol

I will definitely put this on my "things to buy when I hit the lotto" list lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by flecom

although I guess if you can afford $4000 for this app a lightpipe interface and a transcoder would be chump change lol

I will definitely put this on my "things to buy when I hit the lotto" list lol

---

Yes, VERY pricey. I's be interested in seeing a demo though.

Hi Chuck

I have seen some interesting discussions and images , looks rather creative but it is professional software of course with a professional price tag , its possible that quite a few hobbyist would spend less than the cost of your software on their enitre projector.

Anyway in case you were not aware ,the UK holds laser meets called UKLEMs , theres one in just over a week

http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...f-October-2010

Its a long way to come over to demo :-) but im sure you can organise something with one of the attendees to offer a demonstration and of course when about 50 of the UK laserist ( albeit a lot of hobbyist ) they will know what its all about / talk and publicise your product naturally for you.

If you are interested in providing a demo , maybe start with a chap called JEM , i think this product would be a lot of interest to him as he has a love of Abstracts.

Paul

Great observation flecom, you are entirely correct! We describe DigiSynth as being 'IO hardware agnostic' as it will use any compliant ASIO multi-channel audio device for realtime input/output, and most higher-end soundcards usually ship with an ASIO driver these days. (It also gives us the option to cross-compile for other operating systems as well in the future, as DigiSynth is not written as a Windows-specific application)

For a down-and-dirty solution, a modified soundcard would absolutely work and be a very inexpensive route to go. The motivation for Lightpipe I/O primarily stems from the software being built around very high end internal show authoring needs over the past few years when it was an in-house tool. For many installations the content is specifically required to be running multiple scanners played back from a stand-alone hard-drive deck such as the Alesis HD24, and thus the preference was to keep all production entirely digital through the authoring pipeline up until the final stage of playback. Doing the Lightpipe connections allow for this and many other cool possibilities such as multi-km fiber signal distribution, which we use on many larger installs. Your average user just doesn't need that kind of stuff, though!

To date Digisynth has been used near-exclusively with our Optical Showlink Transcoder product series, which was designed from the ground up to provide very precise response for high-speed color modulation and signal processing, as well as proper differential ILDA input/output, all in a separate box far away from on-board computer system noise. It allows for a lot of additional functionality you will not get from a sound card conversion: full soft-patch channel mappings, calibration outputs, level control, geometry correction, DMX/MIDI/Shutter, sub-encoding, additional ILDA signal lines (for controlling things like intensity, beam-brush, additional colors, etc) and the ability to handle bidirectional ILDA signal conversion (yes, DS can work with live analog inputs as a source!) simultaneously all in a 1U package.

Be that as it may, these are a lot of Transcoder features that the casual user will simply not need and would be silly (and expensive) overkill. A modified soundcard will work great for many casual users, but for an adjustable ILDA plug 'n play solution the Transcoder fits the bill for a lot of other permanent installations. The external conversion factor also allows running DigiSynth from a laptop or other portable system where a soundcard modification simply may not be possible, but a USB or Firewire connection is.

We are always working on ways to reduce cost, and the modified sound-card route is an excellent suggestion for this. We are also kicking around the idea of an extremely inexpensive USB->ILDA device that would take the place of a normal soundcard modification, but would maintain the same quality of signal output from the Showlink as well as provide dedicated audio output channels.

Like most things, there are a lot of tradeoffs! I'm a big fan of using the most appropriate tool for the job. Then again, I've been known to use my best flat-head screwdriver for prying open paint-cans because it was handy and 'just works' without going and digging for a proper paint-can opener. :D

-- Matt

Quote:

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Originally Posted by flecom

since your application has been designed around outputting to lightpipe would it be possible to use DigiSynth with a modified soundcard based dac?

If your not sure I would be happy to test it out for you ;) *retardo

although I guess if you can afford $4000 for this app a lightpipe interface and a transcoder would be chump change lol

I will definitely put this on my "things to buy when I hit the lotto" list lol

---

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mpolak

Great observation flecom, you are entirely correct! We describe DigiSynth as being 'IO hardware agnostic' as it will use any compliant ASIO multi-channel audio device for realtime input/output, and most higher-end soundcards usually ship with an ASIO driver these days. (It also gives us the option to cross-compile for other operating systems as well in the future, as DigiSynth is not written as a Windows-specific application)

For a down-and-dirty solution, a modified soundcard would absolutely work and be a very inexpensive route to go. The motivation for Lightpipe I/O primarily stems from the software being built around very high end internal show authoring needs over the past few years when it was an in-house tool. For many installations the content is specifically required to be running multiple scanners played back from a stand-alone hard-drive deck such as the Alesis HD24, and thus the preference was to keep all production entirely digital through the authoring pipeline up until the final stage of playback. Doing the Lightpipe connections allow for this and many other cool possibilities such as multi-km fiber signal distribution, which we use on many larger installs. Your average user just doesn't need that kind of stuff, though!

To date Digisynth has been used near-exclusively with our Optical Showlink Transcoder product series, which was designed from the ground up to provide very precise response for high-speed color modulation and signal processing, as well as proper differential ILDA input/output, all in a separate box far away from on-board computer system noise. It allows for a lot of additional functionality you will not get from a sound card conversion: full soft-patch channel mappings, calibration outputs, level control, geometry correction, DMX/MIDI/Shutter, sub-encoding, additional ILDA signal lines (for controlling things like intensity, beam-brush, additional colors, etc) and the ability to handle bidirectional ILDA signal conversion (yes, DS can work with live analog inputs as a source!) simultaneously all in a 1U package.

Be that as it may, these are a lot of Transcoder features that the casual user will simply not need and would be silly (and expensive) overkill. A modified soundcard will work great for many casual users, but for an adjustable ILDA plug 'n play solution the Transcoder fits the bill for a lot of other permanent installations. The external conversion factor also allows running DigiSynth from a laptop or other portable system where a soundcard modification simply may not be possible, but a USB or Firewire connection is.

We are always working on ways to reduce cost, and the modified sound-card route is an excellent suggestion for this. We are also kicking around the idea of an extremely inexpensive USB->ILDA device that would take the place of a normal soundcard modification, but would maintain the same quality of signal output from the Showlink as well as provide dedicated audio output channels.

Like most things, there are a lot of tradeoffs! I'm a big fan of using the most appropriate tool for the job. Then again, I've been known to use my best flat-head screwdriver for prying open paint-cans because it was handy and 'just works' without going and digging for a proper paint-can opener. :D

-- Matt

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Very cool, we use the showlink transcoder to go from an HD24 to the projector at the Miami Museum of Science... it is indeed a powerful box... it has a few quirks but its been very reliable...

I do very much love the old "planetarium" style shows, and we still have several large (and i mean LARGE) analog boards and "image computers" that still work and make some really neat effects...

unfortunately for me personally he planetarium style shows dont pay the bills lol

I end up doing the ADAT and live shows for the planetarium for free since the laser shows are the only thing keeping the entire museum in the black and I love that place... *retardo

perhaps you would consider some day making a "lite" version of your software aimed towards hobbyists... maybe put some sort of artificial limits on what you can do with it, amount of things you can "connect" or something to that effect... especially since it looks like it can be used with a common sound card dac that a lot of people already have...

most of the sound card dacs provide separate audio channels but provide unbalanced X/Y data...

personally I have been thinking of making a more "proper" soundcard dac and adding DRV134's from Ti to the X/Y output to give a proper balanced signal output to the scanners... and maybe a BUF634 or just an OP27 on each color channel... or maybe find some USB audio codec IC that can provide me balanced outputs and remove the DC using a pair of high speed op-amps per line... but thats way down the list of projects unfortunately lol

I will be letting our acting planetarium director know about your software, he loves the old analog consoles and I think this would make it to the top of their list next time a grant comes around :)

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Originally Posted by Lasermad

If you are interested in providing a demo , maybe start with a chap called JEM , i think this product would be a lot of interest to him as he has a love of Abstracts.

Paul

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Thanks Paul :)

Yep, you're right on the money. I LOVE abstracts and Lumia effects. I've spent countless hours with the abstract generators in both LD2000 (Pro) and LivePRO - Great fun!

I would be happy to demonstrate this at a UKLEM, feel free to PM me anytime ;)

Cheers

Jem

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Very cool, we use the showlink transcoder to go from an HD24 to the projector at the Miami Museum of Science... it is indeed a powerful box... it has a few quirks but its been very reliable...

---

Great to hear you already have experience with it. Please feel free to drop me a line with regard to any 'quirks' you are experiencing with the unit - the firmware you have loaded is likely very out of date - there's been a number of things fixed/added in recent months and the firmware update is quite easy to perform. We will be doing a Gen4 unit at some point in the future and certainly would like to know people's experiences with the previous Gen3 units, good and bad, so we can consider redesigning where necessary! We are always striving for perfection in product design.

Quote:

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I do very much love the old "planetarium" style shows, and we still have several large (and i mean LARGE) analog boards and "image computers" that still work and make some really neat effects...

unfortunately for me personally he planetarium style shows dont pay the bills lol

I end up doing the ADAT and live shows for the planetarium for free since the laser shows are the only thing keeping the entire museum in the black and I love that place...

---

Right on! Our love for a lot of the classic style abstract graphics was actually what prompted the creation of DigiSynth (an interesting story in of itself!) - helping to bring back the feeling and excitement of classic analog live performance without all of the overhead of the traditional ways. DigiSynth is finding a lot of interesting uses, too, like doing digital remastering of old XYI live-performance content into XYRGB and even conversion of old ADAT tape material to readjust levels/gamma curves/mastering without taking an analog conversion 'hit'. We can also do interesting stuff like previewing the ADAT material live on-screen coming from a deck using Lightpipe input signals, so you can watch ADAT material in full color real-time without even turning on the laser. :D

Quote:

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perhaps you would consider some day making a "lite" version of your software aimed towards hobbyists... maybe put some sort of artificial limits on what you can do with it, amount of things you can "connect" or something to that effect... especially since it looks like it can be used with a common sound card dac that a lot of people already have...

---

We've actually talked about this exact thing quite a bit internally already, and we're very happy to see people enthusiastic about what we are working on! Our focus is getting everything up and online with DS3's full version right now, however, we are considering offering some levels of the software in the near future. This goes perfectly hand-in-hand with the USB converter plan as well, since admittedly the output solutions for the software right now ARE rather expensive. Timeframe for the "lite" version is completely indeterminate, though, but we are motivated to persue it as time permits. Ideally we'd like to get the software into many peoples hands, though, since it's just so much fun to play with! That and you don't have to be a traditional artist in order to make cool lasery stuff! (Believe me, I know! I can't draw my way out of a paper bag, let alone trying to make quality artwork with a mouse!) It works amazingly well for dynamic beam effects, too!

Quote:

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I will be letting our acting planetarium director know about your software, he loves the old analog consoles and I think this would make it to the top of their list next time a grant comes around :)

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Awesome! Feel free to have him get in touch with Chuck if he has any specific questions. Too bad we didn't know sooner, as we were just passing through Miami for the ILDA cruise two weeks ago and could have stopped in to do a demo! Next time perhaps!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mpolak

Great to hear you already have experience with it. Please feel free to drop me a line with regard to any 'quirks' you are experiencing with the unit - the firmware you have loaded is likely very out of date - there's been a number of things fixed/added in recent months and the firmware update is quite easy to perform. We will be doing a Gen4 unit at some point in the future and certainly would like to know people's experiences with the previous Gen3 units, good and bad, so we can consider redesigning where necessary! We are always striving for perfection in product design.

---

Sometimes it seems like it gets a mind of its own, the colors get all wonky, but turning it off and back on fixes it

is there some way of checking the firmware revision?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mpolak

Right on! Our love for a lot of the classic style abstract graphics was actually what prompted the creation of DigiSynth (an interesting story in of itself!) - helping to bring back the feeling and excitement of classic analog live performance without all of the overhead of the traditional ways. DigiSynth is finding a lot of interesting uses, too, like doing digital remastering of old XYI live-performance content into XYRGB and even conversion of old ADAT tape material to readjust levels/gamma curves/mastering without taking an analog conversion 'hit'. We can also do interesting stuff like previewing the ADAT material live on-screen coming from a deck using Lightpipe input signals, so you can watch ADAT material in full color real-time without even turning on the laser. :D

We've actually talked about this exact thing quite a bit internally already, and we're very happy to see people enthusiastic about what we are working on! Our focus is getting everything up and online with DS3's full version right now, however, we are considering offering some levels of the software in the near future. This goes perfectly hand-in-hand with the USB converter plan as well, since admittedly the output solutions for the software right now ARE rather expensive. Timeframe for the "lite" version is completely indeterminate, though, but we are motivated to persue it as time permits. Ideally we'd like to get the software into many peoples hands, though, since it's just so much fun to play with! That and you don't have to be a traditional artist in order to make cool lasery stuff! (Believe me, I know! I can't draw my way out of a paper bag, let alone trying to make quality artwork with a mouse!) It works amazingly well for dynamic beam effects, too!

---

I look forward to it :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mpolak

Awesome! Feel free to have him get in touch with Chuck if he has any specific questions. Too bad we didn't know sooner, as we were just passing through Miami for the ILDA cruise two weeks ago and could have stopped in to do a demo! Next time perhaps!!

---

he was on the ILDA cruise, I will ask him if he saw your demo

Quote:

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Sometimes it seems like it gets a mind of its own, the colors get all wonky, but turning it off and back on fixes it. Is there some way of checking the firmware revision?

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Weird! Yeah, it absolutely should NOT be doing that. We have a lot of units out in the field that (due to venue placement) never get power-cycled and run for months at a time on a single boot without issue.

When you cycle power on the unit you should see it come up with a quick splash screen that will indicate the version of the firmware loaded. We are currently at v1.31. If you have an older version let me know and we'll hook up via email so I can get you the newer files and instructions on how to reflash.

If the firmware update doesn't fix the problem then I would be happy to send a replacement unit down for a full swap-out if necessary; is this a new unit or have you had it for a while? Most of the sales go to vendors, so we often don't have any idea where they ultimately wind up. We've had a few (albeit rare) problems with inconsistent silicon that will cause odd problems that never manifest when we do initial test. Nothing we can do about our supply chain (beyond use different chips when alternatives are available - there's several proprietary parts in there), but we CAN always offer great customer service!

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he was on the ILDA cruise, I will ask him if he saw your demo

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Actually I seem to remember him now that you mention it, though I admit to being a bit bad with remembering names! I will mention it to Chuck, though, so we can follow up. Planetarium guys seem to magnetically cluster together, too (also being a small industry!) and perhaps that goes doubly for laserist-planetarium guys. :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mpolak

Weird! Yeah, it absolutely should NOT be doing that. We have a lot of units out in the field that (due to venue placement) never get power-cycled and run for months at a time on a single boot without issue.

When you cycle power on the unit you should see it come up with a quick splash screen that will indicate the version of the firmware loaded. We are currently at v1.31. If you have an older version let me know and we'll hook up via email so I can get you the newer files and instructions on how to reflash.

If the firmware update doesn't fix the problem then I would be happy to send a replacement unit down for a full swap-out if necessary; is this a new unit or have you had it for a while? Most of the sales go to vendors, so we often don't have any idea where they ultimately wind up. We've had a few (albeit rare) problems with inconsistent silicon that will cause odd problems that never manifest when we do initial test. Nothing we can do about our supply chain (beyond use different chips when alternatives are available - there's several proprietary parts in there), but we CAN always offer great customer service!

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it came via LaserNET... I think someone plays with it and nobody fesses up to it to be perfectly honest with you, but I will check the firmware and get back to you... its been there maybe a year or two, cant really remember now

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mpolak

Actually I seem to remember him now that you mention it, though I admit to being a bit bad with remembering names! I will mention it to Chuck, though, so we can follow up. Planetarium guys seem to magnetically cluster together, too (also being a small industry!) and perhaps that goes doubly for laserist-planetarium guys. :D

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I 100% understand the names thing, I have to reintroduce myself to everyone every year at SELEM lol

I have the memory of a goldfish *retardo

it is a small community... if i could afford to live off the pay I would love to be one of them O_o

but for now its just something I do for free because I love the planetarium and getting 250~ people that are stoned out of their mind to cheer is pretty exhilarating *retardo

Hi DS -

Attachment 19866

Let's chat, ASAP... :) I think Tel will be more 'efficient' than PMs or email... cool? :cool:

Talk to ya soon...
J

I love the image! Great use of star filter and who know what other effects! is that yours? Can't wait to talk, you've got my number in the PM, call me!

-Chuck
DigiSynth Patchmeister

There is a new video posted for those of you interested in seeing DigiSynth in action a little bit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7JDYiZB29s

This is from an earlier beta version that had some debug stuff turned on and there are a few other quirks that have been cleaned up in more recent builds, but it shows some basic functions of the new expandable oscillator. The "Hyper Oscillator" was our working title to distinguish it from the regular oscillator we had been using.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DigiSynth

There is a new video posted for those of you interested in seeing DigiSynth in action a little bit.

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Interesting GUI... 'virtual-patching' reminds me a bit of 'MidiOX'.. :)

...Will-be in touch... :cool:
j

That's pretty cool. Looks like you can create all kinds of signal configurations. But, that is something an engineer would use. What does the live show operator use once the different configurations have been built? Physical hardware with sliders and knobs that controls different patches that they select? Or is it open via some sort of interface like MIDI or programming SDK? I am a software engineer so I am curious technically... but I also create my own laser show software so don't tell me anything you don't want to reveal. :)

That is really cool. The patching reminds me of soundweb by bss audio.

Unfortunately it is way out of hobby land budget but I am sure it is going to be an awesome tool for pros.

chad

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Originally Posted by JohnYayas

That's pretty cool. Looks like you can create all kinds of signal configurations. But, that is something an engineer would use. What does the live show operator use once the different configurations have been built? Physical hardware with sliders and knobs that controls different patches that they select? Or is it open via some sort of interface like MIDI or programming SDK? I am a software engineer so I am curious technically... but I also create my own laser show software so don't tell me anything you don't want to reveal. :)

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Hey man, we are glad you like it, yes it is all about being flexible to create an unlimited number of configurations. When I was with AVI back in the 90's we used synthesizers to create most of the imagery for the shows, whether it be corporate, planetarium, or beams. DigiSynth in it's most basic description is a Digital Synthesizer, a digital replacement to the classic image creation and manipulation techniques.

There is a live interface "DigiLive" that is getting merged back in. All of this has been in used for a few years and is getting a major facelift and rewrite for the release version. We can accept midi control, and recommend the BCF2000 from Behringer. It is a great little 8-fader, 8-knob, 20-button control surface for performance. Couple that with a touchscreen and it is phenomenal.

More videos will happen as time goes along, as well as screen shots, etc. on the website. Don't worry, there's not much that is sensitive now that we've announced it, and all of this is talked about on the website. Besides, a great programmer doesn't need to copy what others have done.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chad

That is really cool. The patching reminds me of soundweb by bss audio.

Unfortunately it is way out of hobby land budget but I am sure it is going to be an awesome tool for pros.

chad

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Node-based editing certainly isn't new, there are many uses of it in a variety of industries, especially audio. We think it is a great fit for us, as it allows the highest level of freedom for the user.

As for the pricing and intention for this product, yes it is currently aimed at the professional market. It definitely isn't a "Fisher-Price: My First Lasershow" but if you compare to the pricing of basic and pro versions of other tools out there, it isn't off the charts either. There are several hobbiest level folks that look toward a more professional involvement and are interested in quickly creating content that is smooth, clean, fluid and performable.

It is definitely my favorite piece of software, and I've used enthusiastically and productively, well before officially being part of the team.


-chuck
DigiSynth Evangelist

Hey Chuck and Matt,

Congrats on a fine piece of software.. I'm going to try to get LaserDome in PA to give me a live demo ASAP. This level of live abstract creation has always been a dream of mine.

Best Regards,

Mark

Curious if DigiSynth comes with any shows (it looks like it has a show feature built in, in addition to the abstract generator), showing some of its abilities. If so any chance of posting a list.

Much of the work produced with DigiSynth was done for a private company that was selling content, so the completed shows from them are not included. However, the community of users are encouraged to share content at whatever level they are comfortable. To get the ball rolling, they were gracious enough to let us share their very large patch library with hundreds if not thousands of abstracts and live beam effects.

I've been itching to produce some songs that will be distributed freely, so I expect that there will be some available in the coming months. Do you have any requests?

-chuck

Quote:

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Originally Posted by polishedball

Curious if DigiSynth comes with any shows (it looks like it has a show feature built in, in addition to the abstract generator), showing some of its abilities. If so any chance of posting a list.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Laserchuck

Much of the work produced with DigiSynth was done for a private company that was selling content, so the completed shows from them are not included. However, the community of users are encouraged to share content at whatever level they are comfortable. To get the ball rolling, they were gracious enough to let us share their very large patch library with hundreds if not thousands of abstracts and live beam effects.

I've been itching to produce some songs that will be distributed freely, so I expect that there will be some available in the coming months. Do you have any requests?

-chuck

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This would be very cool, I am really wanting this software (have the needed audio card and lightpipe dac), but will not have the cash untill tax time. Hopefully it will be able to be had at a discount still then (perhaps a deposit ahead of time).

No direct request other than it be nice to see some newer material instead of more versions of floyd, hendrix, doors, led z etc.

I heard a copy of this was going to be the grand prize at next year's SELEM!! :eek:

JUST KIDDING!! *retardo

Hey, Chuck !

Glad to see you guys got this ready for prime time this year -
I was blown away when Greg (displaser) and I got to see a preview in Killleen iin summer '09!!

Looking forward to seeing you guys and the latest toys at next year's SELEM!!! :cool: :D

Randy

yeah man, DigiSynth is moving forward quite a bit from where you saw it!

You missed some fun at ILDA, most of the content displayed in laser was from us. It was a great time, but I'm definitely looking forward to playing with it more publicly... there's a joke in there somewhere.

Definitely still my favorite piece of software, and I'm glad to be on the team!

-chuck

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Originally Posted by Laserchuck

You missed some fun at ILDA, most of the content displayed in laser was from us.

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Yeah, that was more than a little embarrassing... The only one's who had their equipment working were you guys and the Russians (who were running LaserGraph DSP, if I remember correctly), at least for the lase-off, that is. (Though even during the awards ceremony, there were issues with the Pangolin shows... Guess that'll teach them to try running it on Windows 7 without testing it first!)

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It was a great time, but I'm definitely looking forward to playing with it more publicly... there's a joke in there somewhere.

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Snicker... Nope - I'm not going there... >:)

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Originally Posted by Stuka

I heard a copy of this was going to be the grand prize at next year's SELEM!!

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While that would be one *hell* of a door prize, you realize that the software is useless without both light-pipe output on your computer (which isn't all that expensive to add) *and* the transcoder module that converts the light-pipe signals to ILDA, right? Those transcoders are awesome units, but they're also north of $1500 each... So unless they're prepared to donate a copy of the software *AND* a transcoder, I don't see this happening. (And yes, I realize you were joking, but I didn't want anyone to get their hopes up...)

Personally, I'm holding out for a "hobbyist" version of the software. Something with perhaps a more limited feature set and a direct USB-to-ILDA dongle that bypasses the transcoder unit. Sure, you can't run the signals over long distances, but most hobbyists have their computer parked right next to the projector. And yeah, you lose all the cool adjustments in the transcoder, but a lot of that could be done in software if it had to be.

But realistically, I think it's going to be a while yet before Chuck and Matt have time to work on a hobbyist product. They're pretty busy as it is getting the professional version out the door. Those of us on a budget will just have to be patient...

Adam

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Originally Posted by buffo

While that would be one *hell* of a door prize, you realize that the software is useless without both light-pipe output on your computer (which isn't all that expensive to add) *and* the transcoder module that converts the light-pipe signals to ILDA, right? Those transcoders are awesome units, but they're also north of $1500 each... So unless they're prepared to donate a copy of the software *AND* a transcoder, I don't see this happening. (And yes, I realize you were joking, but I didn't want anyone to get their hopes up...)



Adam

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But you can use a cheap broken $25 black face ADAT as the transcoder, you only need the electronics to work not the deck.

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Originally Posted by polishedball

But you can use a cheap broken $25 black face ADAT as the transcoder, you only need the electronics to work not the deck.

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Yes! I have an old ADAT-XT here that I have run stuff through for a while now. I've not used the black-faced units for a while but they should work fine. if you can get them cheep, do it! I imagine they will mostly have bad heads and rollers. I think those were the ones that you could just bridge the caps to get DC out weren't they?

The Transcoder is absolutely great for the pros, with the geometric correction and track assignments. It has solved a world of issues for me including helping to get linear colors from some of the crazy DPSS systems out there. Imagine not having to rely on a palette for that!

-chuck

Previously, you mentioned ASIO output. Will any ASIO sound device work or do you look for a specific driver name? Currently, Spaghetti is using ASIO for output to the sound card DACs so I was wondering if the same would work for DigiSynth?

I have a transcoder and I also have the ADAT solution. They work identical. I also tried the soundcard method and that works fine to. So don't let the transcoder stand in the way.

Here's my request list:

"This space"- Royksopp
"Generator First Floor"-frelance whales
“Becoming a Jackal” – Villagers
“Billie Holiday” - Warpaint
“By Some Miracle” – Philip Selway from Familial
“Arrow” - Kathryn Calder from Are You My Mother?
“Buttercups” – Fran Healy from Wreckorder
“More O’s” - The Spruce Campbells from Mosques, Museums, and Mausoleums
“Frost Giant Demo” - The Spruce Campbells from Mosques, Museums, and Mausoleums

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Originally Posted by JohnYayas

Previously, you mentioned ASIO output. Will any ASIO sound device work or do you look for a specific driver name? Currently, Spaghetti is using ASIO for output to the sound card DACs so I was wondering if the same would work for DigiSynth?

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I don't see why not, and the more channels you have the better. I don't have any modded boards to test it with. Are you guys using 5.1 output cards with mods? Last time I was doing anything with modded sound cards was back when we could only get XY out.

-chuck

Most are using 5.1 or 7.1 USB sound cards. How many channels are typically needed for what you are doing?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Laserchuck

I don't see why not, and the more channels you have the better. I don't have any modded boards to test it with. Are you guys using 5.1 output cards with mods? Last time I was doing anything with modded sound cards was back when we could only get XY out.

-chuck

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Typically we are using a 48kHz 5.1/7.1 usb card based on the CM6206 IC A while back I wrote a dll called EzAudDac that can make that sound card look like a laser DAC, but if you are streaming wav-like data instead of frames the interface will be even easier.

ASIO is the interface.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JohnYayas

Most are using 5.1 or 7.1 USB sound cards. How many channels are typically needed for what you are doing?

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It's all about what you want to put out to your projector, typically XYRGB or more/fewer colors. We typically put out 8 channels when using a lightpipe, it has been mostly XYRGB_LR for my needs.

-chuck