LaserCam: A brand new live webcam to laser projection application

[swamidog]

2006 Macbook Pro. c2d and 2 gb ram.

Wow... that look great. What type of PC (Video/processor/ram) are you using?

[Phsycosis]

Bought lasercam 2 wks ago sent key in right away never got a responce. I waited them pm him twice here and emailed same address i sent key to. I bought the software for a show. It has now passed and still nothing.... I understand people have real jobs and this is a hoobby but come on. Its been a bit long not read your emails.

[tsteele93]

This kind of seems game changing. I was looking for a way to trace logos and such, but this seems like way more. I have FB3 so I can't do real time, but that doesn't seem to be an issue if I can save it as an ILDA file and replay it from QS - right?

Swami dog, your video is pretty impressive. Can you explain how you did that? What was involved in telling laser cam that the YouTube videos were web cam videos? Or were you just pointing a webcam at a screen with videos? I would assume yo we're somehow direct feeding the vids into lasercam?

I see the basics on the differences in lite and pro, how important is the difference in intensity shading or whatever that is? Don't really need two machines, but I would want the best rendering possible.

Thanks for any advice.

Tom

[swamidog]

lasercam pro has a virtual webcam device. you just select a section of your screen and it pretends that's the webcam input. no additional hardware necessary.

you can output to ILDA and import into fb3/quickshow, but it is handy to have a real time laser output so you can optimize the settings before you create your ilda. you will not be able to do this with an fb3 as pangolin has not released the SDK.

This kind of seems game changing. I was looking for a way to trace logos and such, but this seems like way more. I have FB3 so I can't do real time, but that doesn't seem to be an issue if I can save it as an ILDA file and replay it from QS - right?

Swami dog, your video is pretty impressive. Can you explain how you did that? What was involved in telling laser cam that the YouTube videos were web cam videos? Or were you just pointing a webcam at a screen with videos? I would assume yo we're somehow direct feeding the vids into lasercam?

I see the basics on the differences in lite and pro, how important is the difference in intensity shading or whatever that is? Don't really need two machines, but I would want the best rendering possible.

Thanks for any advice.

Tom

[tsteele93]

Drlava, this looks very impressive indeed!

Will definitely be buying this once my bank account recovers.

Andy_con, people have asked Pangolin to create a API for the FB3 numerous times now, but they seem to have a lot of other stuff ontop of the list. I'm sure they'll get around to it, hopefully

Just out of curiousity, have they ever addressed this? Because this is an old post and it is an issue that comes up a lot (probably because a lot of people buy QS and FB3 without knowing much about projectors and then want to do more and come here find out that the FB3 is a locked down piece of hardware).

I guess my question is, "Has Bill/Pangolin ever said they will release an API or perhaps have they said NO we have no intention of doing that!"

I really like a LOT about QS but it is a shame that you basically have to buy another DAC and software to do ANYTHING else or use any hobbyist software.

In many ways, if we were able to use other software with the FB3, I think a lot of us would be less likely to be bugging them for improvements to the QS software as we could just fill gaps with other offerings.

lasercam pro has a virtual webcam device. you just select a section of your screen and it pretends that's the webcam input. no additional hardware necessary.

you can output to ILDA and import into fb3/quickshow, but it is handy to have a real time laser output so you can optimize the settings before you create your ilda. you will not be able to do this with an fb3 as pangolin has not released the SDK.

Hmm, I hadn't considered not being able to adjust things... I'm gonna end up buying a RIYA at some point, aren't I? And it looks like Dr. Lava is gonna squeeze that pro money out of me on this software.

Correct me if I am wrong, but is this not utterly game-changing when it comes to creating shows? I mean, I have a frame of a spaceship taking off with my QS. I have NO IDEA how I would create that from scratch for a show and I assume it would be time consuming. But with this software I can create an animation from a real video of a launch in a matter of minutes and plug it into a show as a frame... All I need is some coloring and cleanup?

Is there anything really good at EDITING a frame after it has been saved?

Let's say I play a YouTube of a shuttle launch and save it as ILDA file. What would be the best way to then go and edit that file and change colors, or add text, etc?

You guys are awesome! Thanks for all the help.

[swamidog]

i would not assume Pangolin will ever release the SDK for FB3. it has been talked about for years, but i don't know of anyone outside of Pangolin who was ever seen it.

Just out of curiousity, have they ever addressed this? Because this is an old post and it is an issue that comes up a lot (probably because a lot of people buy QS and FB3 without knowing much about projectors and then want to do more and come here find out that the FB3 is a locked down piece of hardware).

I guess my question is, "Has Bill/Pangolin ever said they will release an API or perhaps have they said NO we have no intention of doing that!"

I really like a LOT about QS but it is a shame that you basically have to buy another DAC and software to do ANYTHING else or use any hobbyist software.

In many ways, if we were able to use other software with the FB3, I think a lot of us would be less likely to be bugging them for improvements to the QS software as we could just fill gaps with other offerings.

[tsteele93]

That is a shame. I'm sure they must have their reasons and I know everything is a matter of perspective. As a hobbyist, Pangolin's professional software is completely illogical to me, there is just no way to justify that kind of money for making shows for parties in my house. Even QS $ is a bit of lunacy if you think about it for just goofing off. But it is a very easy way to immediately do some pretty awesome stuff.

But I am sure from Pangolins view, they have to keep a difference between the extremely expensive software and the hobby software.

However, at some point I suspect the software by the Dr. Lava's and others like him will surpass QS and even LDS2000.

Right now the ease of use curve seems much higher with LSX than QS, but I think that I'm gonna have to spring for a DAC and laser cam! QS is awesome software in some areas and I think it is a pretty great wy to plug up and immediately get rolling with an easy to use interface! But I also feel like I immediately hit some of the limitations, even as a brand new user, and need to find programs to fill the gaps.

I'll post a thread elsewhere to make sure I get the right DAC to go with it...

Thanks Swamidog for your awesome help!

Tom

[White-Light]

i would not assume Pangolin will ever release the SDK for FB3. it has been talked about for years, but i don't know of anyone outside of Pangolin who was ever seen it.

I think the problem is more one of resources and priorities.

Beyond is under some serious continuous development - remember the big Beyond event is Version 2.0 and that's not been finished yet even in terms of features. Version 1 was only ever a taster. Then there's the scanners. Then there are other projects.

At the end of the day despite being a giant in the laser industry Pangolin are a relatively small company in terms of personnel and when it comes down to developing a SDK kit for free to allow others to use other software on their DAC vs developing other projects of high importance that will generate revenue, I think the priority probably lies with the important projects and profit making ventures. Maybe a SDK will come, maybe it won't, but I doubt if it does come that you'll see it until the number of important projects at Pangolin quieten down. I could be wrong though, it's just my opinion.

[White-Light]

That is a shame. I'm sure they must have their reasons and I know everything is a matter of perspective. As a hobbyist, Pangolin's professional software is completely illogical to me, there is just no way to justify that kind of money for making shows for parties in my house.

The whole point of professional software is it's aimed at professional who are doing paid for events and so can justify those kind of costs. The fact many hobbyists use it is well a by product of people wanting the best for home use. It's more a case of some people spending too much money on a hobby than it being intended for hobbyist use.

Even QS $ is a bit of lunacy if you think about it for just goofing off. But it is a very easy way to immediately do some pretty awesome stuff.

But I am sure from Pangolins view, they have to keep a difference between the extremely expensive software and the hobby software.

The whole point of QS is simplicity. Almost anyone can start using it straight away.

With QS the limitations come on the cue creation side although you can still create cues - I created 2 entire expansion packs exclusively in QS.

There's a lot more power in QS behind the scenes if you know where to dig. eg Virtual Laser Jockey is very powerful for hands off play, Quick Effects, Quick Effects VLJ, the beam targetting, the Beam Attenuation Mapping.

Software such as Dr. Lavas will give you more creativity power but I understand at the price of learning curve. Ultimately it's horses for courses. Hobbyist vs Semi-Pro, ease vs learning curve.

[dkumpula]

Swami dog, your video is pretty impressive. Can you explain how you did that? What was involved in telling laser cam that the YouTube videos were web cam videos? Or were you just pointing a webcam at a screen with videos? I would assume yo we're somehow direct feeding the vids into lasercam?

Hey tsteele93!

I've been using Lasercam Pro for at least 6 months and although I am no expert, I have had good success capturing ILDA files from videos that I can then incorporate into shows. I've found the trick to getting good results requires a few things:

1) Taking the time to find the right source. You generally want high contrast video with as little background as possible. Files created by 3D animation programs are frequently devoid of background images and therefore good for converting. Green screen files meant for reuse are also great. Objects or people recorded at night with good lighting on the subject works too. That video that Swamidog used is a U2 video with very high contrast with no background. Check out starting around 1:30.

2) Taking the time to tweak your viewer settings. This ensures that the right level of contrast is achieved to help clearly identify your target. It generally takes me a few tries to get an ILDA file that has the right level of detail (generally not too much even if you are going to be running it on a projector with 35K PPS scanners or better). Fewer points in your output makes for a cleaner reproduced image.

3) Choose the right frame effect (Edges, Edges Low CPU, or Centerline) depending on the content. I find Edges Low CPU tends to work best for capturing outlines of high contrast images.

4) Color Enhance. If you are capturing images in their original color, color enhance shift should generally be maximized to 6. (I personally wish I could exaggerate it even further.)

5) Keep it short - ILDA files get big fast - and large files take forever to load. You can always add an effect on top of whatever you capture to zoom, pan, etc. while running the frame sequences you captured.

6) Test and optimize. When at first you don't succeed, try, try again. I also started using ILD SOS to clean-up the files. I can't say how much of a difference I've noticed as yet, but I haven't spent much time with that program as yet. Note that ILD SOS is included with LSX.

Have fun!

-David