Ok, first, I want to thank everyone and anyone for reading this long post and offering any help..I truly will appreciate your time and knowledge.
So, the laserdock intrigued me after owning a simple blue 500mw DMX controlled projector. No visual objects on that setup...just really amazing haze effects such as liquid sky and all the other great haze burning effects the scanner produces. So, after watching a 400mw RGB DMX only laserworld projector demo on youtube, I instantly wanted to sell my blue 500mw to get those amazing full colors. My simple DMX DAC dongle from American DJ, coupled with their free DMX software, works great with my blue laser as it has about every model light fixture on the market in the database which instantly takes you to a channel slider screen tuned to the fixture. The laserworld RGB DMX was on the list and I thought I was ready to go. Buuuut, then I discovered the laserdock and a demo of it's abstract visuals projecting onto a scrim between the projector and viewer and was sold on that setup. Just incredible looking stuff. So, I sourced a 1w RGB ILDA projector for a steal. Then I discovered the Maxwell laser synth / abstract demo on youtube hooked up to a laserdock projector. Amazing.
So, I'd love to have music visualizer software to run, but I'm not keen on paying $300 bux for the laserdock dongle/DAC just to use their Laser OS app which has all those great looking presets that go along with the music using a selected mic / line input. I'm a house DJ of 20+ years and have a large studio / nightclub room setup with a variety of lighting so it would be great to be laying down a set while the laser projector does it's thing to the music. I'm just not interested into getting into pre-programming laser shows at all. That's what got me interested in Maxwell. Just creating interesting abstract visuals in real-time / twiddling some knobs as bluefang has quoted on the software seems up my alley. Something high impact but simple to plug and play with. I can't seem to suss out where to download presets to import into Maxwell. The one video of a wickedlasers tech testing out the Laserdock with Maxwell showed him importing a .json file off presets and tweaking those. That's, pretty much, the direction I'm wanting to head in with Maxwell. I'm just not fully understanding where to grab presets people have put out there. I'd simply like a nice library of presets to load into Maxwell and tweak around with along with just twiddling the knobs to create my own.
I'd go with the laserdock straight out and call it a day but It's simply out of my budget at $700 and provides less power than what I can source direct from China for more than half the price. Doing tha math, I can still save $200-300 bux even with the need of a DAC. Heck, they are linking to alibaba to get direct from China as I suppose wicked hasn't gotten clearance to sell direct in the USA yet (read all the refunds that had to be initiated during the indiegogo campaign due to the US restrictions)
So, here's where I'm at as far as what to source and gather:
-Already sourced and ready to purchase - 1w RGB DMX, ILDA, 300mw Red 638nm, 200mw Green 532nm, 500w blue 445nm projector - scanner at 25kpps +/- 30 degrees
-Helios DAC - now supported by Maxwell - Is there another DAC I should consider that works with Maxwell (Ether Dreams 2, etc, etc) which will perform better for my needs?
-ILDA cable
-40 foot Active USB (needs to be powered for that long of a run run) USB cable for the run from the DAC to my studio desk where a separate Macbook Pro dedicated for lighting lives alongside my other MB Pro that runs my DJ software interfacing with my decks
-Maxwell Laser Synth / Abstract visual software
-A scrim to hang such as a mosquito net or something (haven't suss'ed that out yet...what material works best to hang and where to buy - craft / fabric store?..don't want it hanging there permanently...something hanging off a large tension curtain rod I can roll up and toss in the closet after I'm done with it is what I'm thinking)
-Some reasonably priced protective eye wear that will provide proper protection from the projector specs above (any suggestions / purchase links?)
Am I missing anything or other open source or reasonably priced software / hardware I could use or need for the project?
I've reached out to Bluefang for some pointers on how to best make use of his software and the hardware I'm thinking of using but also wanted to get some input from you laser geniuses out there on slapping this together based on my fairly simple needs and budget.
Again, thanks in advanced for your help.
-J