Beyond Color Settings

[JStewart]

You can ask, but if the past is anything to go by, I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting for it to be added. Bill has made it publically known that he is against using software to solve the issues present between using different laser technologies within a projector. Many have asked for software based separate timing delays on each channel, (which is now offered on other software platforms), but the Pangolin view is that it shouldn’t be the responsibility software to address what is considered a hardware issue. Hence the publication of the filter circuits on its website.

I recognise the argument for taking this approach. But when I still see pro laserists on my rounds fighting with colour issues, it does seem a great pity that something that is easily solvable in software, is not available to the end user, who would benefit, given that manufacturers have not stepped up to the plate in the way Pangolin wanted to eradicate the problem.

In fact the QM2K could offer some quite granular control of this given that it can run at 120k, which could effectively allow the colour output to be oversampled by four times, whilst the XY data remains at 30k.

Maybe if people keep on asking their view may change…

[planters]

Bill has made it publically known that he is against using software to solve the issues present between using different laser technologies within a projector.

That seems inconsistent. If you do allow for linear modulation lasers OR log modulation lasers what is the philosophical reason for not allowing either of these two acceptable modulation techniques to be contained together on a given platform? Doesn't make sense. Furthermore P then leaves the pure software world and markets actual hardware (defocing lens sets).

I have a pair of low cost dpss lasers from DHOM and their modulation is probably neither linear or logarithmic. It is probably even a little inconsistent between the two presumably identical models. Not everyone can afford an OPSL and so the improvement in performance with lower cost lasers that would come from a "tuning of the mod. curve to better equalize the three ( or more ) colors would be very useful.

What the heck, we adjust the scan speed and blanking points and Bill has done a lengthy tutorial on scanner tuning. Doesn't P want their shows to look as good as they can?

[White-Light]

I've edited my post above for greater BAM clarity and also given the continuing debate, sent the 2 suggestions over to Bill.

[Pangolin]

Hi guys,

Al pointed me to this thread a little while ago, but I didn't have a chance to respond until now.

First let me say that BAM is not intended to be a POWER control, but rather a BRIGHTNESS control. If you set the color system up vaguely correctly (as I suggest in my color tutorial on YouTube), then a reduction *to* 10% in the BAM should give you 10% brightness output.

Since the eye is highly logarithmic (as discussed in many other posts), and since you'd have to reduce the actual laser POWER by a factor of 4 or 5 before your eye perceives it as "half as bright", it means that a reduction *to* 10% would be a deep power reduction indeed.

Now, if you don't have your color system setup as we would prefer, then sure, it could be that a BAM setting of 10% would not give you any light output what so ever. I would always suggest using our "10 circles" test pattern to tune brightness versus voltage settings on a laser.

Second, let me refine what James Stewart said was my position. I am STRONGLY AGAINST implementing a separate color-shift for each laser. It should be assumed that all lasers will respond with the same speed JUST LIKE IT IS ASSUMED THAT BOTH X AND Y SCANNERS RESPOND WITH THE SAME SPEED. And it's so easy to get all lasers to respond with the same speed. If anyone wants help with this, contact me privately.

Nevertheless, I am not at all against adding features to the software to allow people to tailor the output voltage response of the software to lasers, and BEYOND certainly allows you to do this if you have an FB3 and you tell BEYOND that you want to operate in 6-channel color mode.

(Note that if you have a QM2000 you simply train the color system while in LD2000, and BEYOND will automatically pick up that training and use this for the laser output. So effectively LD2000 has allowed you to do what Al and James is talking about for the past 12 years...)

Anyway, see the picture below. It shows BEYOND with the built-in "10 circles" test pattern and the color adjustment dialog box.

BEYOND has several ways in which you can map the RGB computer colors to a laser. One of the ways presents an 11-element line, and you can adjust each element to correspond to a projected circle.




BEYOND can also map the RGB computer colors to a laser using a TTL method, and allow you to choose "where" you want to consider the threshold to be.




BEYOND can also use splines to define the output curve.



In the rightward portion, you can see colored boxes. The boxes may not reach all the way to the top of the screen, or all the way to the bottom either. The boxes show you the voltage range used. It can clearly be seen that I need to elevate the bottom threshold on my red and blue lasers, and the boxes also show that substantially NONE of my lasers require a full 5 volts (or anywhere near it) to give full output power from the laser. (In fact this is very typical, and I cringe every time someone tells me that they measure only 4.7 volts from our color outputs -- using a meter and not a scope of course -- and cry that they are not getting all of the power from their laser because of our software. Nonsense!)

It is noteworthy that BEYOND -- like LD2000 -- has three separate color palettes which are always available and can be selected at any time, by any cue, on any timeline, etc. If, for example, you have a green-heavy projector (or blue-heavy as is often the case these days) this gives you the possibility to have one palette that is "fully balanced" (which gives perfect whites but might not give full power), and another palette that is "high power" (which gets maximum power from the laser but might sacrifice white balance), etc. Very handy indeed, and very unique!

Anyway I suspect that not everyone has the latest version of BEYOND and in fact we've just recently released a brand new build with built-in APC-40 definitions, built-in universe examples, updated 3D portion with built-in video help, and other new features. As always, contact me by email if you haven't already received a download link to the new version.

Best regards,

William Benner