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Thread: SELEM Highlights

  1. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by buffo View Post
    Actually, one of the things I wanted to do (but we didn't have time for) is to have everyone load up the winamp plugin (or even showtime live) and then play along to whatever music is playing. The winamp plugin is sort of like cheating though, because it's already beat-syncronized. But you can still change presets and stuff to make interesting effects. Playing along with Showtime Live is more of a challenge. (It would be great if we all had LivePro! installed, but I think only 3 of us have it - Stuka, Mecheng3, and Whitcher88.)

    Now, if you *really* want a syncronized show to some classic rock, then make your own! Do what I've been doing... Promise yourself that you'll have one new show for the next event. (I've been doing this since the very first FLEM, and now I have 5 Pangolin shows done, with a 6th one in progress.) It's easy enough to pass the shows around at one of these events (remember passing the thumb drive around at SELEM), so everyone can have the same show. Then it's just a matter of launching the show at the same time.

    And really, if we want to get fancy we can link the computers together using the .net software from Pangolin and control them all from a single computer. There are drawbacks to this method, but it does work...

    Lots of ideas for next year... Chief among them will be projector placement! (Well, and better time management I think...)

    Adam
    Yep, a custom show or 2 for next year's meet is the plan - provided I get off my rear, get the rig built, AND finally REALLY learn the Pangolin software!
    Of course, as far as I'm concerned another round or two of all the shows we did this year would be awesome!

    I kind of enjoyed the "3..2..1..click" method of "synchronizing" our shows!! Didn't have to reconfigure anything on the computers, plus the slight timing (and color palette) differences between the rigs made for some cool effects!

    I'm sure there'll be all kinds of ideas brewing for next year's event(s)
    Don't want to get TOO organized, though - part of the fun was seeing what we came up with on the fly!!

    Kudos again for organizing the bash, Adam!!
    RR

    Metrologic HeNe 3.3mw Modulated laser, 2 Radio Shack motors, and a broken mirror.
    1979.
    Sweet.....

  2. #32
    soforene's Avatar
    soforene is offline The Troll formerly known as Herbert Von Poople-Futtocks
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stuka View Post
    ...I kind of enjoyed the "3..2..1..click" method of "synchronizing" our shows!!
    I thought all the RGB's running the same show was done by one computer and some clever wiring.


    Another dream shattered...............

  3. #33
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    Quote Originally Posted by soforene View Post
    I thought all the RGB's running the same show was done by one computer and some clever wiring.


    Another dream shattered...............
    Nope, not this year !
    Each projector had it's own computer running identical shows.

    MAYBE next year, although the method we used worked - and looked - pretty darn good !!
    RR

    Metrologic HeNe 3.3mw Modulated laser, 2 Radio Shack motors, and a broken mirror.
    1979.
    Sweet.....

  4. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by soforene View Post
    I thought all the RGB's running the same show was done by one computer and some clever wiring.
    This can be done. In fact, there are a couple different ways to do it. One way (which will work for 2-3 projectors) is to split the ILDA db-25 cable and send it to multiple projectors. MechEng3 uses this method to control 2 RGB projectors from a single QM-2000 board. But this doesn't work well for lots of projectors (signal loss becomes a problem).

    Another way to do this is to use Pangolin's .net software. This is not the .net enclosure I'm talking about... Those are on the pricey side and are basically a housing for a QM-2000 board with a network port. But if you have the QM-2000 installed in a computer, and that computer is on a network, then you can link it to another computer that also has a QM-2000 board in it. You set one computer to be the master, and then it controls the other QM-2000 boards in the other computers on the network. This .net software is compatible with *all* QM-2000 boards, and it doesn't cost anything to get this feature.

    You can link projectors like this very easily, so long as each one is connected to a computer (that has a network card) and that computer has a QM-2000 board in it. The only problem is that you need to re-configure the show on the main computer so that the output is sent to all projectors. Then you also need to go through the color balance wizard for each projector, and save all the settings.

    This is a good bit of work, but if you're a professional you only have to do it once and you're all set. But for our purposes, this was too much work. It was easier for us to all load the same show and then hit "play" at the same time. Sure, it wasn't perfect, but what do you expect for something that was thrown together in a matter of a couple minutes on stage?

    Adam

  5. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by buffo View Post
    But this doesn't work well for lots of projectors (signal loss becomes a problem).
    just put buffers in your cable, i usually use BUF634's from TI for audio applications, should work fine for scanner/color signals, would get expensive quick tho lol

  6. #36
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    this is probably going to go down like a lead balloon!

    just watched the SELEM08 dvd.

    very very good dont get me wrong but it was an hour of synced shows. which, no questions asked look fooking awesome, but was like watching a promotions video for a company selling scanners!

    where were the people, their equipment, the dicking around?!
    Eat Sleep Lase Repeat

  7. #37
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    Most of it was behind the cameras. I sent a set of DVDs out with a set of shows filmed from the balcony that you can hear us "ewwwing and ahhing", scanner tuning with Bill, laser safety, and the history of ILDA with Patrick. No one requested it over there. Spec has some footage around here but I am not sure what it is of.

    There wasn't much "dicking around"... James seemed a little too excitable... He was making sound card DACs and everyone wanted a quality product. 100% concentration is needed for that type of work. Soldering irons can leave nasty burns too...

  8. #38
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    ah i see, so there was more than one dvd?

    no dicking around! you mean there was high powered lasers there and no dicking around! dont know whats wrong with you all...
    Eat Sleep Lase Repeat

  9. #39
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    Quote Originally Posted by allthatwhichis View Post
    James seemed a little too excitable... He was making sound card DACs and everyone wanted a quality product. 100% concentration is needed for that type of work. Soldering irons can leave nasty burns too...
    Ha!

    I wish that had been the only issue!

    When I got there and set up my stuff, THAT is when I realized that my main computer was just about useless. Since XP automatic updates wiped out my codecs, I had no Echo Layla sound system. All of my cool waves were on that computer and my ADAT tape machine was running through the Layla! If I had not brought my laptop and a USB sound card, I would have had NOTHING!

    That was a bummer!

    It kinda' threw me off for the whole gig.

    I just let Dean go crazy with his VB abstract generator.

    I was GLAD to have a soldering iron. At least I felt somewhat useful.

    James.

  10. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by James Lehman View Post
    . . .I was GLAD to have a soldering iron. At least I felt somewhat useful.

    James.
    Not only that, but you had some solder-terminals and did a great job "modding" my FB3 to operate via USB instead of an external power supply.

    I remember finding that very nifty as I was having a weird phantom-ground issue or something and being able to run off of USB seems to have fixed it.

    -Jonathan

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