Chauvet Minspot/Minwash

[martinty]

Hey, So im looking at buying a few of these just for small effects during some corporate banquets and such... And i am also trying to figure out what would be the most cost effective PC based system for DMX control of ML's

[JChenault]

Well - at the risk wandering into the realm of commercial posts, I would take a look at mLight OSF Solutions - inGenius This is a new product that was developed at the Oregon Shakespeare festival to control moving lights. The pricing us under review at this time, but the goal is to make it inexpensive. You can download a demo version and play with it.

Another possibility is to download Chamsys MagicQ. This software has a much steeper learning curve, but you can't beat the price ( free ).

With either product you would need to by something like an Enttec USB Dongle to spit out DMX for you.

Disclaimer - I am one of the developers of mLight, so am somewhat biased about how good it is.

[gafftaper]

Do a search. There are many articles on software based lighting control. Champsys combined with the Entec dongle is definitely a favorite around here because you can be up and running for very little money. It works but don't expect it to run movers like a GrandMA. In many ways you get what you pay for in this area. If you've got a little more money, but not a lot JChenault's OSF software is an interesting product. I haven't used it but it looks worth checking out as it looks like it has a lot of bang for the buck as they charge you based on how much you use... but it may be out of your price range. If you want to get fancy there are great products like Hog's PC stuff but they are probably way out of your price range if you are thinking about buying Minspots.

I purchased two Minspots for educational purposes and I really can't imagine a lot of uses other than dark club environments. They just are not very bright. I've used them at the college for new student orientation night recruitment in a big conference room. With typical fluorescent lights on they barely read. It's fine for my purpose, but they are not be useful for any sort of dramatic effect with any ambient light. If it's a dark room, you are pointing them at the crowd, and the crowd isn't more than 15 feet away you might find them useful. Get a demo before you drop the coin. Call you local dealer and see what they carry that you can go in and see in person before buying. If you don't have a local dealer, CB member BillESC is a dealer for most of the low priced lighting manufacturers as well as Chinese options send him a PM.