Horizon???
- Thread starterjuanboquin
- Start date
I second using MagicQ - just know that it is MUCH different than Horizon. While Horizon has the feel of an ETC or Strand "conventional lighting board", MagicQ has many of the features that a Hog does as a "moving light / conventional light board." - So it does take some time to get used to how to do things. (And, at least in my year and a half using the software, I have not found a away to watch the levels of my fixtures change when I go to the next cue, causing me to have to go take some extra time to find out what levels things are running at) So, I say try it, but be forewarned that it is a MUCH different experience.
Hope this helps!
Hope this helps!
juanboquin
Member
Not that I have been able to find - you can view / edit the cue if you load the cue into the "programmer" window (i think that's what it's called), but it takes some time, and it still won't let you track the levels. But if you don't mind that, and you plan to use moving lights in the future, I would look into it.
juanboquin
Member
ok. ill look into it tomorrow and tell u how it goes
Have you loaded the new horizon build 205? (Updated 8/6/2008)
Horizon Download Area
Horizon is a solid program, i would not be quick to abandon it, unless you are upgrading to a full desk. Do you have wingpanels?
what features are you looking for, or what problems are you having that makes you wish to change?
Any new program would necessitate the purchase of a new interface, so you will need some funds to cover that, and any wings you might need.
Horizon Download Area
Horizon is a solid program, i would not be quick to abandon it, unless you are upgrading to a full desk. Do you have wingpanels?
what features are you looking for, or what problems are you having that makes you wish to change?
Any new program would necessitate the purchase of a new interface, so you will need some funds to cover that, and any wings you might need.
I Have to agree with Venuetech that it makes a lot more sense to get your existing system working and save your money for a real console. However if your Horizon is truly ancient it may cost you more to upgrade than switch systems.
Again what's the problem? What do you need that you don't already have?
Again what's the problem? What do you need that you don't already have?
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juanboquin
Member
We don't really want to get rid of the program. we were told by the company that the program was out of date and it wasn't compatible with a MAC. So our director decided it was time to try something else. We found a PC and we're going to use that for a while but when that starts giving us trouble it would be nice to have a backup plan
You do realize that while all software is not compatible with Windoze, it is all compatible with Mac. If you have a new intel mac you can just boot to Windoze with Boot Camp, or you can run Horizon in VMWare Fusion or Parallels. You could try Crossover by CodeWeavers, but it doesn't quite work with all windoze software yet. If you still have a PPC Mac (G3, G4, G5) then you can use VirtualPC. All of the above with work with your USB DMX dongle and such.
I suppose though that these options may cost you as much as getting Mac compatible software in the first place.
I suppose though that these options may cost you as much as getting Mac compatible software in the first place.
Stay with your PC, and simply update your version of Horizon. You could simply go out to fry's and buy an $89.0 Yes that's not a typo I mean $89. barebones PC with the latest version of Horizon, load nothing on it but lighting related programs, and keep using it for the next 10 years. Or you could go spend $3,000. on a new mac, find a PC emulator, run Horizon under an unstable three party work around, and hope for th best.
But I'll leave the decision to you.
The one question here is, what is the cost of a Horizon upgrade? Just like a Microsoft product you can upgrade so far within a particular version then you need to buy the upgrade to the next version. So depending on how far out of date you are it may cost a chunk of change to upgrade. Find out what version you have and contact Horizon to find out if you can upgrade for free, if there is a cost, if so what will it be. Horizon has been officially discontinued as they have switched to Marquee as their focus product.
At one time Marquee and Horizon were the same software. I believe with the big buy out there was an official split in software between Marquee and Horizon. Horizon has now been adapted to become the official Strand software. Meanwhile Marquee has taken the core of the software off in a different direction. The old Horizon has been officially discontinued even though it really still exists in two other formats. (Is that about right DarthRob?)
If the old Horizon software still works and meets your needs. They seem to be still supporting it somewhat. If you've got the dongle and wing panel then I see no reason to go switching systems, just upgrade to the latest version and save your money for a real console down the road.
At one time Marquee and Horizon were the same software. I believe with the big buy out there was an official split in software between Marquee and Horizon. Horizon has now been adapted to become the official Strand software. Meanwhile Marquee has taken the core of the software off in a different direction. The old Horizon has been officially discontinued even though it really still exists in two other formats. (Is that about right DarthRob?)
If the old Horizon software still works and meets your needs. They seem to be still supporting it somewhat. If you've got the dongle and wing panel then I see no reason to go switching systems, just upgrade to the latest version and save your money for a real console down the road.
I also support the thought of upgrading your current system. I have been using Horizong Gold with 1024 channels for 5 years now, and have had no issues at all, even with moving lights. For stability reasons, you should really run any lighting software on a dedicated computer used ONLY for that purpose. In this instance Horizon is very stable, and can be run on a PC that is very cost effective.
From the Horizon site: you can upgrade Horizon from Basic to gold for $2 per channel ($1024 / DMX universe). To me, this would be a very cost effective way to go. I have yet to have Horizon NOT be able to do anything I need it to do, it is a great program after you get use to it. They are still updating the software, fixture libraries (as of August 2008) and still have tech support, so that should be no issue.
http://www.horizoncontrol.com/download/Horizon_Upgrade_Prices.pdf
~Dave
From the Horizon site: you can upgrade Horizon from Basic to gold for $2 per channel ($1024 / DMX universe). To me, this would be a very cost effective way to go. I have yet to have Horizon NOT be able to do anything I need it to do, it is a great program after you get use to it. They are still updating the software, fixture libraries (as of August 2008) and still have tech support, so that should be no issue.
http://www.horizoncontrol.com/download/Horizon_Upgrade_Prices.pdf
~Dave
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There is no cost to update to build 205 it is just a few clicks to download.
Horizon originally came in three versions
basic
silver added features
gold added moving light support
the interface came with the basic licence
you could then purchase the silver/gold upgrades
The interface is in effect the dongle.
there was a dongle that licensed you to use the software with third party network devices such as the pathway, path-port
at some point silver was discontinued, the silver features were added to the basic software
A sub master wing panel could be purchased for a hands on control surface
but other than that there are no moving parts
What is very handy would be the keyboard shortcut labels. If you don't already have these look for them on your c: drive
"An Adobe Acrobat file of the keyboard overlay labels (Keyboard labels.pdf) is in the directory C:\Program Files\Horizon" or (HZ_KB_Labels.pdf)
These short cuts are not necessary as you can do everything with the mouse and mouse wheel. but they do make short work of some moves.
it is a very flexible program you can even use it to run sound cues if you care to.
marquee was a clean slate build using the lessons of horizon. in many ways it is closely related, but in reality marquee is built on a new foundation and is very different from horizon.
it does seem that horizon-control is getting lost in the corporate structure and struggles that appear to have gobbled it up.
Philips Lighting Business Unit Professional Luminaires North America
Horizon originally came in three versions
basic
silver added features
gold added moving light support
the interface came with the basic licence
you could then purchase the silver/gold upgrades
The interface is in effect the dongle.
there was a dongle that licensed you to use the software with third party network devices such as the pathway, path-port
at some point silver was discontinued, the silver features were added to the basic software
A sub master wing panel could be purchased for a hands on control surface
but other than that there are no moving parts
What is very handy would be the keyboard shortcut labels. If you don't already have these look for them on your c: drive
"An Adobe Acrobat file of the keyboard overlay labels (Keyboard labels.pdf) is in the directory C:\Program Files\Horizon" or (HZ_KB_Labels.pdf)
These short cuts are not necessary as you can do everything with the mouse and mouse wheel. but they do make short work of some moves.
it is a very flexible program you can even use it to run sound cues if you care to.
marquee was a clean slate build using the lessons of horizon. in many ways it is closely related, but in reality marquee is built on a new foundation and is very different from horizon.
it does seem that horizon-control is getting lost in the corporate structure and struggles that appear to have gobbled it up.
Philips Lighting Business Unit Professional Luminaires North America
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