LIVE Beam Show Software - Inexpensive recommendation?

[Majik]

As a hobbyist and musician, currently I own a Shinp 1w RGB and (2) 500mw RGB projectors with 15k scanners. Personally, I am involved with a network of local artists and musicians. We organize and put on several not-for-profit events each year. Right now I'm in the market for an inexpensive solution to control my lasers for live music shows…strictly beam effects, with an occasional and simple logo. I am working with a local tribute band for some upcoming private events and would like to be able to "choose" my beam effects at will, with the push of a button or the click of a mouse, essentially choreographing to the music, on the fly.

I’ve looked in to Pangolin quickshow, but it’s out of my budget. Are there any recommendations for a simple and inexpensive solution for creating live beam shows? My Shinp distributor told me about what he calls a “Black Mamba – Chinese Copy”. However, I can’t find anything information about it. Any and all recommendations are welcome.

[colouredmirrorball]

LSX Basic. At $189 not really inexpensive (without DAC...) but your best option if QS is out of your budget.
Also Basic only has two timelines so you would need to use one timeline for the two satelites.
But it will do anything you ask of it and much more.

[Majik]

Thanks! That seems like a viable option, but I don't have a full understanding of DACs (or dongles)? I understand that it converts a USB signal to ILDA or DMX, but what makes one DAC (or Dongle) better than another? And what determines if a DAC or Dongle is compatible with a particular software? Sorry for the ignorance...I'm in the midst of a learning curve.

[colouredmirrorball]

Overall build quality and bit rate. A 16 bit DAC has 2^16 (=65 536) possibilities while a 12 bit DAC only has 2^12 (=4096), so in the case of a typical laser DAC with an output between 0 and 5 V, there would be 4096 different steps between 0 and 5 V on a 12 bit DAC. For things like laser modulation, this is of course a bit overkill and in fact 8 bit will work just fine, but for scanners there can be a benefit of a higher bit rate. But of course, the higher the bitrate, the faster the DAC needs to be, so the more expensive.
Also robustness and safety are important. What happens when the signal falls out all of a sudden? Does the current frame freezes, does the output drop completely or does it project a static beam? How easy is it to crash?
Some DACs have extra options that make it more expensive such as MIDI support, DMX, OSC, TTL, SD-card, standalone, etc.

If a DAC is compatible with software is dependent on the software and hardware producers. Pangolin decided no one besides themselves can use the FB3 or any software that goes with it, while on the other hand Drlava (the current programmer of LSX) has decided that his software should work with as many DACs as possible, that is, for any DAC of which the manufacturers have decided to publish an SDK (Software Development Kit).

For quality, I'd suggest either an Easylase or Etherdream, but both are kind of expensive. I think a Riya DAC ($145 for Lite) would be your best option, especially since you need two to control your projectors independently (unless you're fine with all of them doing the same pattern of course). Also the serial numbers of those DACs can work as an alternative for the dongle of LSX.

http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...ames-Much-More

[Stuka]

You don't mention your location, so make sure you know about any regulations governing your shows, especially if you move away from "private" functions.

Please keep in mind that the projectors you list DO present some potential hazards to your audience.
Regardless of your location, please DO NOT "audience scan" until you know how to take the proper precautions!

As colouredmirrorball mentioned, robustness and safety are EXTREMELY important, and please keep that in mind when shopping for an "inexpensive solution".

You might think about posting your location info on your profile -
you might find out you are in close proximity to some other experienced lasersist here on PL.
If so, you could probably get the chance to get some "hands-on" time with some equipment before buying, which could help with your purchase decision.

You already have a pretty good investment in projectors, so I wouldn't recommend "going cheap" on the controller, just to save money!
(I kind of equate that to buying some kick-ass speakers for my car, but powering them with an inexpensive, low-end radio)
Chances are, if you go cheap up front, you'll wind up buying again down the road.

[Armando]

I am heard first time about this show and i think this is related with Emcee shows like Emcees are make their own music and planning manually to organised any event or musical show and i think this software is related with the Emcees and make the automatically event planning and musics anyways this is nice information and i have shared and get a lot of information on this thread ....