Pangolin User Meeting Results (and more Free Laser Shows)

[carmangary]

For someone who just wants to play shows and not develop them, does it make sense to buy the LD2000? Is the hardware really that much better?

[White-Light]

great news, its just a shame none work on the fb3

Do you get the Lightspeed Animation Library with FB3?

[andy_con]

??? whats that

probably not

[Stuka]

Do you get the Lightspeed Animation Library with FB3?

No - that's part of the serious licensing $$ Bill referred to!

However, the LiveQUICK application for the FB3 comes pre-loaded with a workspace file that contains quite a few graphics frames. Also, everything in the free LAStudio suite will play (and generate) standard ILD-format files, so you'll still have access to TONS of free animation frames online, including the FTP sites associated with this forum!!

[buffo]

For someone who just wants to play shows and not develop them, does it make sense to buy the LD2000? Is the hardware really that much better?

In a word, yes. In two words, Hell Yes!

The QM-2000 board's output is rock-stable. Other controllers I've used have exhibited sample jitter and a nasty tendency to "freeze" at inopportune times. You won't get any of that with the QM-2000.

Furthermore, because the board is basically a stand-alone computer (complete with it's own Operating System), the host computer can crash and the show will continue to play. Granted, that's a feature that is more important to a paid laserist than a hobbyist, but it still makes for a more enjoyable viewing experience.

Then you've got the color balance wizard, which automatically corrects for non-linearities in your lasers' modulation circuits. This wizard takes a complicated calibration process and reduces it to a few simple steps than can be completed in just a few minutes by an untrained operator. The result is some of the most beautiful color blending you've ever seen. (See Jem's comments in the UKLEM thread about the Gradient Moby show...)

Beam attenuation maps are another handy feature. (Though admittedly, this is more of a software feature than a hardware one.) It allows you to reduce the beam intensity in specific areas of your projection field, either to protect the eyes of your viewers, or to keep high-power beams away from things that could be damaged by them. (Cameras, DLP projectors, etc.)

Even if you don't want to make your own shows, the LD-2000 system offers enough pre-made shows that you'd be hard-pressed to get bored watching them all. And if you ever did get bored, you could always fire up the Winamp Laser Visualiser plug-in and let the system create a beat-syncronized beam show for you on-the-fly. The show will be perfectly syncronized to whatever music you happen to be listening to.

This is by no means a complete list, but it hits some of the highlights that would be relevent to someone that never wanted to do anything more than watch pre-made shows. Reall though, the best thing would be for you to have the chance to see one in operation for yourself. If you get a chance to make it to SELEM 2009 (or even to one of the FLEM's in Orlando), you'll get a chance to put your hands on an LD-2000 system. That way you can judge for yourself the differences between it and other show hardware and software.

I know I sound like a fanboy, but I'm not. Trust me - I was once *firmly* in the camp that believed Pangolin was overpriced and only good for the professional folks that had the excess cash to spend on it. In fact, if you search the forums you'll find posts I've made (back in 2006) that show a decidedly anti-pangolin attitude. My only excuse was that I was ignorant of the true power of the QM-2000 board. (Mea Culpa)

However, all that changed after I saw an LD-2000 system running side-by-side against a Mamba Black / Easylase system at the very first FLEM in January of 2007. You can follow my posting history from that point on if you're interested in the details, but the short version is a lot like one of Bill Benner's favorite sayings: "The proof of the pudding is in the eating..." After seeing what the system could do, I realised that I'd been basing my arguements on what I *thought* Pangolin could do, rather than on what it actually was capable of. And it turned out that the LD-2000 system was a whole lot better than anything I had ever imagined.

And I was not alone in that assessment. At the first FLEM we had 2 people present (out of 8) that were running Pangolin. Just 6 months later, 6 out of the original 8 were running Pangolin! That's how powerful the demonstration was.

Bottom line: once you see what it can do, you're hooked. Sure, it's more expensive than other solutions. But once you get your hands on one, you see that it really is *worth* that extra money. (After all, have you ever heard anyone here complain that they were unhappy with their LD-2000 system purchase?)

Adam

[DZ]

Is the hardware really that much better?

Abso-freakin-lutely....

Do you get the Lightspeed Animation Library with FB3?

I don't think the FB3 comes with much. Which is why, in my opionion, its best to just bite the bullet and get a QM2K. Over 100 free shows (plus a couple more freebies coming) and over 300,000 free frames to help you create your own shows.

Its hard for some people to understand how much better a QM2K will run a projector, sometimes, seeing is believing. Oh, and there's no more arguing over which "format" does what, the .LDS format is far superior over those silly ilda formats....

[buffo]

3rd Place: "Rhythm is a dancer" graphic show, by Harry de Boer, DTL Lasertechnology, THE NETHERLANDS

I was in attendance at the Pangolin User's Meeting on the ILDA cruise, and I saw all these shows. Let me tell you that this "Rhythm is a Dancer" show is Fantastic!

I'm not sure exactly how the artist did it, but the show contains rotoscoped animations of live dancers dancing to the music. (There's lots of other things going on as well, of course.) The dancers are *very* cool. (If you've seen the Pangolin show set to Madonna's "Music", you have some idea of what I'm talking about, but this show is *much* better!) This was actually my favorite show of the event.

Oh, and a little background info on the show - the artist that created it did the whole show WITHOUT THE USE OF A LASER PROJECTOR! Yeah, that's right... The guy used the preview window only. He had no idea how it would look on a real projector because he didn't have one! Now that's talent! (And it says a lot for the realism of Pangolin's preview window too!)

The beam shows were equally stunning. I'm very pleased to learn that they'll be available for Pangolin users in the near future. (Standing in Motion will blow you away!)

Can't wait to see these shows on my projector at home!

Adam

[Stuka]

For someone who just wants to play shows and not develop them, does it make sense to buy the LD2000? Is the hardware really that much better?

Having recently dropped the $$ to make the upgrade from the FB3 to the LD2000 (QM2000.net in my case), I'll toss in my 10 cents worth:

NOTE - Buffo and DZ beat me with their posts while I was typing, but I think you'll find similar sentiments!!

For someone who has no desire to create shows, and is willing to playback ONLY shows that are generic ILD files; or, playback & create shows for the LAStudio suite for a single projector: MAYBE not!. And, in all honesty, the LAStudio suite combined with the FB3 is a pretty powerfull package for not a whole lot of money. (I plan on keeping my to use in conjunction with my LD2000, and for eventually incorporating into a compact "travel -ready" projector when I'm "on the road...). For a hobbyist especially, it IS a GREAT way to get started, and you do get a slight "taste" of what a professional system is capable of handling.

However...

Hardwise-wise: yes, I'd have to say the QM2000 board is VASTLY different. It is basically a computer-on-a-board dedicated to nothing but the control of lasers, scanners, and related peripherals. Used in conjunction with the LD2000 software suite, it can use it's built-in DMX support to control a virtually unlimited number of DMX compatible devices, such as effects wheels, strobes, smoke machines, light panels, etc., etc. And, it can control virtually any laser & scanner combination out there, at the highest resolution settings those devices can handle!

The LD2000/QM2000 combination is probably THE standard for the laser show industry, and it probably takes seeing it in person to appreciate how powerful that combination really is! Of course, you can get a pretty good idea of the capabilities by looking at the Pangolin website, but you really can't appreciate the capabilities until you see first hand!!

As far as show playback goes -
Wow, I was completely blown away by the show capabilites of the LD2000 suite!! The shows that are INCLUDED are probably worth the cost of the package!! If you'll check the posts concerning this last SELEM meet and look at the online video posted by 300EVIL, you'll see what several projectors running the LD2000 shows simultaneously can do!

Best suggestion - come to a SLEM or FLEM event sometime and check it out. You'll probably be amazed!!

[andy_con]

i own 4 different dac and it has to be said my fb3 blows the others out the water!!

it really is that good

[Stuka]

i own 4 different dac and it has to be said my fb3 blows the others out the water!!

it really is that good

I agree!!

From everything I've read since I got into this hobby, I've been VERY happy that I started out with the Pangolin FB3! I feel fortunate that I had so many people recommend that while I was starting out - and that Bill was willing to ship one to me quickly while I was "camping" in northern Kuwait!

That's why even though I now have a LD2000/QM2000 system, I plan to keep the FB3 as part of my "arsenal". Like you said, "it really is that good" !!


By the way - thanks for posting the info, Bill!!

Looking forward to checking out the new shows!!


Randy