DISCLAIMER:
This thread contains no pictures, and by default is therefore worthless...
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As some of you know, I am a BIG fan of using the LD2000 "Autoplay" feature for running graphic shows:
http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...646#post124646
The "preload" feature of Autoplay can make for a near-seamless transition between shows, making it great for keeping the audience entertained with pre-choreographed content! (Thank-you for the shows, Pangolin and FirstLight Laser!!!)
This evening I provided the entertainment for our first-ever laser show inside the confines of the Government building I now work in. Even though the crowd was a bit small (around 25 folks counting the younger family members that joined in), this was a pretty big deal to me, since it has the potential to open up a future opportunity or two! The big issue going into the event was we could NOT use smoke inside the building, which killed about half of the show content I originally planned to run...
Since I still wanted to add some overhead "pizazz" to go with the graphics shows, I decide to add a DMX-controlled "Galaxian" star-effects laser from American DJ. This fixture gives DMX control of red and green beam selection, speed, direction, and macros - perfect for some add-on overhead "ceiling" effects.
To control it, I decided to use my Enttec DMX USB Pro adapter combined with BEYOND. I added a custom DMX page to the workspace Grid, and in about 15 minutes I had created a dozen different cues that I could use to trigger different "Galaxian" combinations on-the-fly.
To prep for the show, I ran everything as I normally would whenever running Autoplay - launch LD2000 for Zone control, launch Autoplay and pre-load the desired shows; then, I launched BEYOND, enabling DMX and laser output.
The combination worked GREAT:
Even with the Autoplay show list pre-loaded (but shows not started), I could access ANY of the cues in the BEYOND workspace without impacting the pre-loaded show list - AWESOME for demos and allowing the younger members the chance to "drive the lasers" before the show officially started!! Once the Autoplay shows were started, I could switch back to BEYOND and activate the DMX cues on-the-fly, adding the "Galaxian" overhead effects as needed while Autoplay faithfully sequenced the shows.
Must have worked out okay - in addition to the parents, I even heard some 8-year olds comment how cool the Galaxian effects looked with Pink Floyd!!
BTW -
The laptop I used for this was a 4-year old 2gHz machine with 4GB RAM running Windows XP, that is frequently used for a LOT of different non-laser related tasks.
Worked great!!
Thank-you, Pangolin!!!![]()