Need some feedback on this

[Phredy1]

I posted this in Laser Display Files but I never got any feedback / opinions. Maybe here I can.

If you haven't seen my other posts there, I have been sharing some old LA Studio shows that I converted to Beyond format.

Here is what I am asking:

At one time I used to have a QM2000 setup. I traded it, but I still had all the Showtime shows. And since some were pretty good shows, I started converting them for me to use in Beyond.

So I have a big stack of Showtime shows all converted to Beyond. The ones I'm asking about are all either shows that came with LD2000 or shows from Show-Space. All I have done is changed them from Showtime to Beyond. No editing or changing anything.

Am I going to get an ass whopping if I share any of these on PL, or should I just keep them to myself? I'm all about sharing, but I don't want to cross any lines. Legal or otherwise.

On one hand I think I might cross a line I shouldn't, and on the other hand, Pangolin put the Import / Save As function in Beyond for people to use, right?

Comments?

[buffo]

I'd check with Pangolin first, just to be sure, but I *think* you are in the clear. I know lots of other Pangolin users who have converted showtime shows for use in Beyond too. Sharing them with fellow PLers who also have Beyond shouldn't be an issue, at least in my mind. (Disclaimer: I don't work for Pangolin!)

The one thing they (Pangolin) might not want is for you to post them in public. I know Bill has asked people to upload shows to the show portal rather than other places, because if they are on the show portal they (Pangolin) can check them for unsafe items (hot beams going to the wrong zone, for example) before making them public. So maybe it would be better to just upload them there.

Like I said, a quick call to Orlando should solve this.

Adam

[Phredy1]

I was hoping you wouldn't say that, but it's kind of what I was thinking too. I'm not the biggest Show-Space fan for 3 reasons: 1. It takes forever for a show to get put on. 2. The site is kind of a mess. 3. They don't put the audio with the download. Ya, I understand the legal thing with the audio, but it still sucks.

[kecked]

I thought beyond read showtime now. It was in the works a while ago.

[Phredy1]

Beyond does read / import Showtime files. But with most you have to do some tinkering to get them to display the show correctly. And, since most Showtime shows don't include the audio file, a person has to get the audio and get it timed to sync with the show. Once you get things as they should be, it can then be saved as a Beyond show. That's what I'm talking about doing. Importing the Showtime shows into Beyond, and then adjusting things and saving / sharing them as Beyond shows.

I thought beyond read showtime now. It was in the works a while ago.

[masterpj]

Showtime shows don't always convert well to beyond.. I have many shows I made that do not convert well directly to beyond without exporting it to a frame sequence first and such.
I don't think you should share beyond converted shows as creators *including myself* do not like it when people provide external/third party links without being in charge of those things ourselves.

[kecked]

With the new cloud sharing coming I'd wait as I think that might all be done for you.

My stuff is on the show portal because it uses pangolin lightspeed frames and that protects the licensing of the shows and frames to just registered pangolin users. I for sure would NOT make links to some other place with show material from the portal. Maybe ask Pangolin if you can do it as a project and then have them repost the converted shows to the portal. That seems controlled and clean. For now I'd keep them to yourself.

Also exporting and sharing the frame stream as say ilda is not cool. It might be the same with the LAStudio shows as well. My 2 cents of interpretation of the licensing agreement.

[Phredy1]

It seems like the general consensus is to not share Showtime converted shows, so I won't.

The LA Studio converted shows I shared, I'm not worried about. That's ancient technology, and it was convert and share or be lost forever. Those will stay posted until I get sued or Admin wants them gone. I don't think I crossed any lines I shouldn't have with those.

[White-Light]

Just ask Bill!

Any shows supplied with Pangolin software are licensed for distribution to Pangolin users. The fact that you're converting them to another proprietary format (Beyond) means they can't be used by anyone other than Pangolin users, so it should be OK in that regard provided there aren't any other restrictive terms on Pangolin's distribution method. Even then the Pangolin's cloud may be the solution to the terms.

However, as Adam commented, if Pangolin are OK with this, then they would most likely be wanting you to share them via showspace / their cloud in any event.

I'd have a quick chat to Bill, or Justin as operations manager. A 2 minute chat can probably clear this up and may benefit the community.

As for conversion issues, the answer is simply to to check them if you get permission and only upload those that display correctly. On the one hand that could be a pain, on the the other hand it could be a great afternoon of watching shows!