Control/Dimming Best software/PC setup for intermediate size/complexity rig

[uriahdemon]

Hi, just starting off on getting a rig together for the odd hire out with bands that I know.

I have a Chauvet Obey 40 controller and was looking at upgrading to something else. I have been mulling over the benefits of a PC based control system over a seperate desk.

I kind of like the thought of a bit of software that allows me to programme scenes via a screen image as a huge advantage but not sure what disadvantages this also may bring.

I am also thinking of redundancy. What if I went down the PC road and as all good laptops do, they fail now and then, any thoughts on a basic yet effective backup apart from another laptop.

So really its a whole load of info I am after as I think its important to get the control level right before adding the lights (as and when the money comes along for them).

Any advice much appreciated.

Rgds

Mac

 

[bishopthomas]

A lot of people here (including myself) will recommend Chamsys MagicQ PC. The software is free and the USB to DMX dongle is around $100. If you already have a computer, great, but if not I would recommend an all in one touchscreen. It doesn't support multi touch so you can't play back several faders at a time, but it makes programming a whole lot faster. You can always add a playback wing later, but in my opinion the Chamsys wings are very expensive.

As far as system stability goes, just make sure you dedicate that computer to the lighting rig. Never get on the internet (I download software on a different computer and transfer the files over) and disable all virus scan and unnecessary hardware.

 

[tk2k]

Personally I found MagicQ extremely annoying for the way my brain organizes information. Just my thing though. It's also a fairly high learning curve for rental gear to a band. Fun fact 99% of dedicated lighting decks are just computers (anything by ETC other than a smartfade)

If you want to visual feedback, you CAN hook a smartfade up to a computer to get a whole cue stack, etc. It lacks the touch screen settings, but the color coded operation makes it useful for, as you put it, the odd hire out.

You could always just get an emphasis server USB key and run that

 

[LXPlot]

A lot of people here (including myself) will recommend Chamsys MagicQ PC. The software is free and the USB to DMX dongle is around $100. If you already have a computer, great, but if not I would recommend an all in one touchscreen. It doesn't support multi touch so you can't play back several faders at a time, but it makes programming a whole lot faster. You can always add a playback wing later, but in my opinion the Chamsys wings are very expensive.

As far as system stability goes, just make sure you dedicate that computer to the lighting rig. Never get on the internet (I download software on a different computer and transfer the files over) and disable all virus scan and unnecessary hardware.

And it supports Linux! Put it on something like Debian (yes, the features are old but you're using one program so...) and I challenge you to try and make it crash.

 

[metti]

You could always just get an emphasis server USB key and run that

This is sarcasm/a joke, right?

 

[shiben]

This is sarcasm/a joke, right?

Not sure, but I still think Chamsys is a better option.

 

[AhClem]

Sorry, but a blatant sales pitch is the only way I can reccommend this since I manufactuer it.
Take a look at our BlueLite X1 (4 universe) or X1-Mini (1 universe). The software is free to download and test and can support up to 16 DMX universes. The X1 hardware will let you use your existing controller (or and DMX controller) as an external console. Allows basic MIDI control (more to come). We just released a mobile Android allowing control (iOS version waiting for Apple Store approval process) of the Live Panel feature via WiFi network.

 

[lightman02]

Not sure, but I still think Chamsys is a better option.

Chamsys is a great option, I used it on several shows with then Entec Pro dongle and it works great!!! Get the Entec Pro dongle, do not get the cheap open DMX one cause you are more likely to have issues. Chamsys is a learning curve but you are also using a true and powerfull pro console software which is pretty much HOG. Once you learn Chamsys you'll know HOG as well. As far as computers to use, I use my laptop with virus scan, various other apps as well I have used the same machine on the internet. I have never had the problem with the software being unstable or crashing. I'm not sure why everyone says you need a dedicated computer, while good practice, it's not needed. However I would not be running other apps or be on the internet while running a show just as a precaution. Just make sure you have a machine in good working order.

 

[bishopthomas]

It's typically recommended to have a dedicated computer because many of the applications that we download for our personal computers end up running in the background and can bog down the processor, attempt to connect to the internet, and run processes automatically which can be just plain annoying. I always had stability issues running PC's until I dedicated one to be strictly recording (when I was doing live multitrack recording). I have since switched to Mac and never had any issues. I run Chamsys under BootCamp/Win XP and it's really the only thing I have installed other than the OS. It works like a champ.

 

[jpk]

Chamsys is a great option, I used it on several shows with then Entec Pro dongle and it works great!!! Get the Entec Pro dongle, do not get the cheap open DMX one cause you are more likely to have issues. Chamsys is a learning curve but you are also using a true and powerfull pro console software which is pretty much HOG. Once you learn Chamsys you'll know HOG as well. As far as computers to use, I use my laptop with virus scan, various other apps as well I have used the same machine on the internet. I have never had the problem with the software being unstable or crashing. I'm not sure why everyone says you need a dedicated computer, while good practice, it's not needed. However I would not be running other apps or be on the internet while running a show just as a precaution. Just make sure you have a machine in good working order.

<shameless plug alert>
Better still, pay open DMX price and get a unit just as capable and fully compatible with the enttec pro
DMXking.com ultraDMX Micro
</shameless plug alert>