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Thread: Quickshow 3.0

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    Default Quickshow 3.0

    Video recently posted by Pangolin to Facebook. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6FWNyzFVBU
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    I've worked a bit with the Virtual DJ plugin in beta and it's going to be a cool feature although, I must admit I have mixed emotions about it. Yes it's good for Pangolin since they can expand their market even more to the weekend warrior DJ's and sell more copies of Quickshow and subsequently more lasers but, the problem is... they can expand their market to even more of the weekend warrior DJ's.
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    Lasers are becoming easier and cheaper for every Tom, Dick and Harry to start using them which concerns me from a safety standpoint. It concerns me from a attitude standpoint since trust me... there are a lot of ignorant attitudes in the weekend warrior DJ market. And it concerns me from the standpoint of market saturation and being able to sell a unique, quality service. I often stress to DJ's thinking about getting a laser that, their focus should really be on the music since if they are running lasers, they really need to stay focused on the lasers and not try to do both at the same time. Music isn't going to possibly injure someones eyes or catch something on fire.
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    We'll see. Maybe it's time to think about moving to pyro.
    Last edited by Bradfo69; 04-10-2016 at 03:38.
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    You could make the same argument for lots of things.
    Think about how cheaper and more powerful smartphones are enabling more people to text while driving.
    Think about how smartphones have hit the desktop and laptop computer industry in a major way.
    Think about how some dude with a HD pro and YouTube has cut revenue from TV stations that have crappy shows and a lot of commercials.
    Also think about how some older laserists might feel about a guy with a banquet hall who really doesn't have much of a background in electronics or lasers suddenly being able to equip his venue and perform shows when it would took tons of training and tons of money for them. This isn't dig on you or your abilities. It's just pointing out that you took advantage of lower costs and technology and possibly hurt others just like someone might end up doing the same to you.

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    Fair enough statement. I'll accept that.
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    This is an old argument Brad, one that played out in the lighting industry about 10 years ago. It still rankles when bobby bloke from down the road rocks up with his $500 copies of the lights I paid $5000 for and steals my gig, but it's generally only the crappy no money gigs that get stolen like this (and generally only once or twice) because clients learn quickly that there's a big difference between having the kit and having a clue about how to use it!

    DJs with lasers scare me as they generally don't really appreciate what they've got, but short of reporting offenders, there's not much you can do. The djinn is out the bottle! :/
    If in doubt... Give it a clout?

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    Thing is, the technology is always going to move along. Laws and regulations are always way behind. Markets change and we all change with it, or we don't, we stay where we are and get passed by. As Gary has pointed out, this is an AGE-OLD concern. It's been happening for decades and I dare say, centuries. 34 years ago, Atari had nothing to worry about and 1 year later, Atari was sinking. Remember when Nintendo was the big kid on the block? I think this happens in every single industry and it will always happen. There's only thing that can remain a constant and that's quality e.g. the tools don't make the craftsman.
    If you're the smartest person in the room, then you're in the wrong room.

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    To be truthful, my concern in the initial post was really more about safety than it was about "competition". I am of the opinion that if you are doing lasers, that needs 100% of your attention. I don't think you can safely be DJ'ing and trying to run lasers as well. If a DJ brings along an assistant whose job is to handle lighting - and I've had a few of those - fine. But the idea of a DJ just putting a whatever watt projector on his table (not even on a stand) as I've seen them start to do, and just let it run through Quickshow to the beat of music playing in VirtualDJ is my concern. In nearly 8 years I've only had one DJ come in with an RGB projector. It was an X-Laser model and he had a variance. It was only DMX controlled and not through ILDA and he pointed it at the ceiling. I've had a few others though that have brought in Chinese effects lasers with stepper motors that we all know are not certified and certainly not under 4.95mW and just aim them towards the dance floor. I've been able to get them to not run them with the exception of one. He had bought his from Xstatic - based in Brooklyn - that I know wasn't legal but, it was a US company selling a laser in the US. And they had been blatantly breaking the law for some time. (I think that"s changed.) Even at trade shows such as the Atlantic City DJ Expo. It was a hard discussion of why his projector wasn't legal in the US when he bought it in the US from a US company.
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    I don't expect that just because there is now a Virtual DJ plugin that suddenly I'm going to see a rise of DJ's bringing in lasers here but, the fact remains that I suspect you will see more of these guys starting to use them and quite possibly with less regard for safety than we would like. But, I appreciate Gary's response because yes, for the guys that were dragging around feeder cable, garden hose and 300lb projectors that cost tens of thousands, the rise of solid state and the cheap diode is traumatic. And I admit I fall in that category of newer people that are a part of that trauma.
    Last edited by Bradfo69; 04-11-2016 at 15:01.
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    TBH, I doubt it will make any difference. Dj's already use lasers whether through QS or through other software. All its adding is more accurate beat selection. It's not a huge difference as you can already select the beat rate in Vlj currently and get pretty accurate results. Most DJ's know the beat rate of their type of music and if they don't most DJ software displays the exact rate for the current track. There will always be a difference between Vlj and someone good selecting cues manually instead of just automatically running through the cues on a page simply because they can pick the most appropriate cues if they know the music and can more accurately allow for instrumental or vocal breaks. I doubt having better beat matching will encourage a sudden rush on lasers.

    One thing that could be done though is for manufacturers to be required to stick more explicit A2 sized leaflets and larger safety labels to laser equipment when supplying it that explain that the laser must be used overhead unless you have "own and can safely use a combination of specialised lenses, a calibrated power meter, and have the knowledge to be able to both calculate and stay within MPE requirements through the complex use of such tools". Maybe a picture of a burned retina cigarette packing style would help bring home the message.
    Last edited by White-Light; 04-12-2016 at 01:02. Reason: Edited as originally posted from the mobile.

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