anyone know of laser software that will work with the ishow dac?

[masterpj]

The ishow dac and software is crap.. never buy it again. it's like a turd in a case... same thing..both are crap and work like shit.

[JohnYayas]

The iShow DAC most definitely does not provide the quality that other DACs do. The problem has nothing to do with the fact that it is an 8 bit device. The problem is in the firmware but the worst of of it can be worked around and that is what I did when I wrote the custom iShow driver for Spaghetti. But even still the quality suffers because the iShow firmware attempts to optimize the frames even when that isn't what you want. The microprocessor architecture that they use requires uploading of firmware to the device and one day when I have time I am going to write my own firware for it so that it performs as well as it should.

8 bits and TTL is not the best but it looks pretty good in small settings (eg your house). I and many others used Popelscan 8 bit TTL DACs for a long time before there was much else available at hobbyist prices. So, to say that 8 bit TTL dacs aren't adequate for laser display is retarded. Especially since they are and have been used in large quantities.

I don't use my ishow DAC normally but back when I was developing the driver for it, there were times when I forgot that I had it plugged in and only realized it when I noticed I didn't have analog output.

So, to say that the iShow is inferior to other DACs is fair. To say that it is crap or inadequate is not considering that it is quite capable of meeting the modest needs of hobbyists who only have TTL lasers and just want to play around. You can get a complete iShow setup for under $100. It comes with a lot of ILDA frames to get you started. The ILDA frames alone are worth the cost in my opinion.

I have seen a new version that has ethernet capabilities. I have not used that one so I don't know anything about. My driver doesn't support it anyway.

But, no, I don't recommend anyone go out and by an iShow as a primary display DAC because there are better DACs at comparable prices. But, as a 2nd or 3rd DAC to control a 15K green satellite scanner they work fine. You could use them all with Spaghetti which supports and unlimited number of DACs and projectors, DMX devices, TTL devices, video display, and more for a basic price. Or you can spend the extra money so that you can write math functions to make laser pictures. That's always useful.

[A1pyro]

hey john, i tried an old version of spaghetti 1.8 and it does the same thing as the newer versions do. what else could i do to try to fix the problem. it has to be something with the computer. what would it be????

[JohnYayas]

Old video drivers perhaps? Try getting latest. Someone was having a similar sound problem and replacing the drivers fixed it.

[nuphotonix]

If your laptop uses intel extreme graphics your screwed. I just bout this. * and a few more cpoies soon) and I LOVE the program

[flecom]

one day when I have time I am going to write my own firware for it so that it performs as well as it should.

that would be cool, considering the thing is so cheap if someone could hack it and write some open-firmware for it, could be a pretty decent device for people that want to get their feet wet

[JohnYayas]

Yea, I learned a lot about it when I wrote the Spaghetti driver for it. It does have problems and they can all be corrected with new firmware, which is not too difficult to do. The hardware design itself is pretty solid. New firmware could even make the iShow application behave correctly.

[pablozamek]

Hello.
I have a problem with Ishow controller.
spaghetti program (demo version) does not detect dac's (ishow)
if anyone knows it is dependent on the version of spaghetti?
or just the full version of spaghetti will detect dac's?
please help. Ishow program sucks.
I use a computer with windows 7 64bit so I install VNWare and windows7-32 bit, and window XP. Ishow program detects dac's but the program spaghetti, does not detect the controller dac's. Is this the fault of the driver Dac's??
I tried on XP and spaghetti win7.32bit but just does not detect the dac's. ; (

[JohnYayas]

The demo version of Spaghetti does not detect ANY DACs. The full version of Spaghetti works with both old and new iShow DACs.

[skacutter]

The ishow dac and software is crap.. never buy it again. it's like a turd in a case... same thing..both are crap and work like shit.

DITTO- Bought it because I am getting old and lugging around my Pangolin QM32 is getting difficult. Ifigured IShow has got to at least provide some good beam effects and word scroll. I can't even get Ishow to project an image on screen and there are no projector settings like in Pangolin. The settings in Ishow seem to alter the size of the image on screen but not my projector. Ishow is super buggy. Its like a 4 year old coded it.