Originally Posted by
buffo
What, exactly, are you trying to do with your laser projector? Are you interested in creating your own shows that are syncronized to music? Or are you planning to play along "live" to an external music source? Is it important for you to have lots of pre-made shows to watch? Do you have a use for DMX control? Do you need a library of ILDA frames? How important is image quality to you? Does your projector support analog color modulation?
The answers to these questions will help you decide which software package and hardware controller is best for you. Sound cards can indeed be used as controllers, both with a few of the free software packages out there (LaserBoy, Spaghetti, etc) as well as with some commercial software packages (Mamba Black, for example) that offer more advanced features. There are some drawbacks to using a sound card, but if money is very tight, it's a way to get started.
Don't forget the Pangolin "LA Freak" package though. For $500 you get the Flashback 3 controller *and* the LA Studio laser show software suite. It's a very good deal on a professional controller and software package.
Still, it *is* $500, and if that's a deal breaker, then LaserBoy or Spaghetti might be what you're looking for.
Adam