PC Lighting program

[juanboquin]

Hey guys i have a question I am running the lights in a high school auditorium off of a PC with a DMX interface. I am currently running the horizon program. The director of our show this year(Bye Bye Birdie) decided that he doesn't want to use Horizon anymore. SO i was wondering if you guys had any suggestions on inexpensive lighting programs that can be run from a PC.

[epimetheus]

Take a look at the Chamsys MagicQ and Cooper Lightfactory software. I've downloaded both and began playing with them. I don't have a compatible output device at the moment, so I'm afraid I can't say too much. Both seem to have decent interfaces and were generally recommended to me.

[Van]

Why would the director care what program you use to run the lights ?
Just wondering.
We use Horizon in both out theaters, We also have an ETC Express for renters and the Horizonally challenged.
While I admit the interface can be daunting, Horizon is a perfectly servicable control program especially in an H.S. situation.

[misterm]

Personally, I like Daslight. Its easy to set-up and use, especially for high schoolers. I've been running it since college and i honestly haven't touched a traditional console since, mostly because our basic lights don't need much more than up and down. We don't have any movers or "toys" so the software is cheaper and much more efficient. Daslight almost runs itself. For basic uses, v1.0 is great as long as you assign your channels properly. v2.0 has more options and is more versatile, but i've also found it to be a bit glitchy in its Live mode, jumping whole sections of scenes at a time unexpectedly. then again, that was a demo mode too.
DmxSoft | Home - lighting control software, Dmx 512 information, computer Dmx 512 control, Sunlite, Daslight, Easy Stand Alone, Dmx 512 resources, dmx soft sells lots of software based programs and offers demos you can play with and figure out whats best for you.

[cghaffoor]

Does the director know something about lighting? Not trying to be mean. I know Horizon from the inside out. If you have any questions about anything, let me know. What ver is Horizon (like Basic, Silver, or Gold) and what are you trying to do during programming?

Chris

[len]

Originally Posted by Van

Why would the director care what program you use to run the lights ?
Just wondering.

Me, too.

But to answer the question there's a ton of products now.

Depending on what hardware you have, you may not have to spend any money. If you have the Entec box, just google "entec dmx software" and I'll bet you'll get a lot of choices.

Most of the $$$ ones require you to use the same brand of hardware and software. So you can't use a Hog dongle with Martin software, etc. But you did say low $$.

[Soxred93]

I would have to agree. From what I've seen, Horizon is one of the best computer-based software there is out there. Unless there's a practical complaint about it, I'm curious as to why they don't want to use it.

[DaveySimps]

Originally Posted by Van

Why would the director care what program you use to run the lights ?
Just wondering.
We use Horizon in both out theaters, We also have an ETC Express for renters and the Horizonally challenged.
While I admit the interface can be daunting, Horizon is a perfectly servicable control program especially in an H.S. situation.

I agree 100%. We have been using Horizon for 6 years with 300 conventionals, a handful of movers, scrollers, and other DMX toys and love it. We rent other boards for outside folks as needed, but we have never had Horizon NOT be able to do what we need it to. Plus, it programs very quickly for us. Unless the director is designing or programming the show, I do not see what the issue is. The money could be better spent on other things, I am sure.

~Dave

[Soxred93]

Originally Posted by len

Me, too.

But to answer the question there's a ton of products now.

Depending on what hardware you have, you may not have to spend any money. If you have the Entec box, just google "entec dmx software" and I'll bet you'll get a lot of choices.

Most of the $$$ ones require you to use the same brand of hardware and software. So you can't use a Hog dongle with Martin software, etc. But you did say low $$.

But if the person has been using it in the past, he has all the hardware, software, dongles, etc to run it, so that's not an issue anymore.

[len]

Originally Posted by Soxred93

But if the person has been using it in the past, he has all the hardware, software, dongles, etc to run it, so that's not an issue anymore.

You lost me.