Newcomer. Just a nod to others and a couple questions

[poke0123]

So hi. Let me get this out front. I'm new to this and I'm addicted. Having said that, I have obtained a 4w RGB inexpensive laser and that seems to be of pretty high quality considering the price. I quickly learned about ilda and it's advantages and so I got a pangolin fb3qs and a license for beyond.
I guess my first and maybe only question is what are the advantages of other software like lsx, fiesta, or any others, over beyond? I know there are differences but I haven't found a thread explaining those. Should i spend the money to get the other dac and software?or/ use that money to put towards lifetime license for the hardware i already own?
I love the software beyond and the hardware works great but I feel a bit stifled knowing that the fb3 only works with pangolin. I'm probably going to pick up an eitherdream or helios in the immediate future and your suggestions might help make that decision easier.
I worked as a front of house sound engineer for 30 years and always kept a small amount of intelligent fixtures around to rent out and play with. I wish I had the ability to get into this back then, but it was outrageously expensive back then as I'm sure you all know.
I'm working on my first beam show and when I get it complete I'll create a link.

[james]

Never underestimate the value of free open source multiplatform software and technology. It might teach you things that are generally useful with any kind of laser application or hardware; things you might not learn any other way.

[absolom7691]

Open source is good and typically, the people who support a lot of these options are dedicated and very willing to help. On the flip side, the development, though active, is typically slower because it there are only one or a few people working on things in their spare time.

I have Beyond, I have LSX, I have Spaghetti, I have used LaserBoy and a soundcard/correction amp DAC. The one I use... Pangolin, all the time, every time. I even use it for non-laser productions. The DMX suite in Beyond is extremely powerful. Though the Pangolin sphere is locked to Pangolin users, there are a TON of users out there and likewise, content. I won't say the other options were a waste of money but I just don't use them. There are some really advanced things Pangolin can do that I haven't even unlocked yet but the best part is, I haven't had any trouble progressing. I would say the main difference is learning curve. I see Pangolin like Apple, Powerful and simple to use right out of the box and you can go as deep as you want, all the way into scripting.

I know I am flying my Pangolin flag again but it is great software.

[james]

FOSS, especially multiplatform exists for a completely different reason than a commercial product. Typically it is designed to be as generic as possible and work with as many other projects as possible. By its very nature, there is nothing proprietary about it. It can also possibly do things that commercial software cannot.

[absolom7691]

FOSS, especially multiplatform exists for a completely different reason than a commercial product. Typically it is designed to be as generic as possible and work with as many other projects as possible. By its very nature, there is nothing proprietary about it. It can also possibly do things that commercial software cannot.

I absolutely agree with this. I go back to my statement that the learning curve is, typically, way steeper for FOSS because most devs aren't interested in dumbing it down for end users. I'm not trashing it and it doesn't mean it's bad, I'm just sharing my experience. Living most of my professional day in CLI, I have come to love it. Every time I have to do something more than once, I script it for the next time because I am lazy. GUIs are easy to pick up and learn vs CLI. A GUI took me a few minutes to know what to do. Bash took much longer to learn (and I'm still learning). Now, I know it seems like I am poking at LaserBoy here because it is CLI, but I assure you, there are definitely things it can do that I haven't seen any other software do, and that's very impressive, especially since you're the sole dev for it. For developing canned content, it's pretty awesome but for live control, it's limited.

I love that you have brought a completely free alternative to the community. When I had very little money to spend on this very expensive hobby, it was awesome that LaserBoy existed and gave me access to content that I wouldn't have been able to afford any other way. For the types of shows I do now, along with the other aspects of what I use Beyond for, LB is basically just a tool in my toolkit that I don't use anymore but still has value if I ever need it. I'd like to fool around with the math generated/manipulated abstracts in LB but time is an ever-present enemy.

[james]

Possibly, without even realizing it, you absorbed a lot of knowledge from LaserBoy that you now think of as common sense. That's the most important thing LaserBoy can do. It shows you a lot about how all of this stuff actually works.

[dchammonds]

I love the software beyond and the hardware works great but I feel a bit stifled knowing that the fb3 only works with pangolin. I'm probably going to pick up an eitherdream or helios in the immediate future and your suggestions might help make that decision easier.

Consider a Helios- it's cheap and my free apps SpiroDAC and LWave support it as well as Spaghetti (and probably a few others). LWave can also play back wave files created in LaserBoy through a Helios as well as a modified sound card.

[james]

+1

..............

[james]

I love that you have brought a completely free alternative to the community. When I had very little money to spend on this very expensive hobby, it was awesome that LaserBoy existed and gave me access to content that I wouldn't have been able to afford any other way. For the types of shows I do now, along with the other aspects of what I use Beyond for, LB is basically just a tool in my toolkit that I don't use anymore but still has value if I ever need it. I'd like to fool around with the math generated/manipulated abstracts in LB but time is an ever-present enemy.

Thank you.

That's a very appreciated response.

I want to make an effort much like my 2020 demo videos to visually describe LaserBoy Liquid Math.

https://laserboy.org/mp4

[absolom7691]

Thank you.
I want to make an effort much like my 2020 demo videos to visually describe LaserBoy Liquid Math.

https://laserboy.org/mp4

I saw you post this link in another thread and it prompted me to want to play around with it. It's really awesome stuff!