tbeck said:
you can get an app that will run windows inside
mac os... its roughly 500 bucks though... then you will need smoe sort of usb >
dmx interface, such as hogIIpc from high end... software is free but the
widget (usb>
dmx interface) is roughly $1800.. its pricey, i know ive looked into it... but i would recommend a traditional board or a pc..
mac might be too expencive unless you have a large gudget... then i would just spring for a
ETC board then
there are pros and cons of everything
High end recommends you get their whole
system to take advatage of all the features. and in the long run if you dont have intelligent lighting then go for a traditional lighting
console
thats just my two cents though (i know i was rambling)
if you need any mopre info email me
[email protected]
Unfortunately, it is usually not quite as simple as just running one of the Windows emulators. The Windows
Driver Model and USB stack is not really emulated.
Early this year I wrote a a
driver and hook to get our
system running under an emulator. With the
Mac offerings so slim it was tempting to
release but we finally decided not to. Bottom
line, running under an emulator was a little quirky and it broke our 'rule of 4'. Basically, we've been trying to stick with two basic principles with all our products. They have to be rock solid and they either have to offer 4 times the capacity or be 1/4 the price. Sort of a variation on the old 'twice the features at half the price' philosophy.
The emulator broke both these. It wasn't seriously unstable, but it was possible to crash it. And, once you add $500-$600 for emulation software even our entry
level dongle (1
DMX In, 1
DMX Out,
SMPTE in,
SMPTE out), at $300 street price, starts pushing into the Light Jockey and Hog PC 1
DMX out pricing. When you factor in needing a more powerful
Mac computer because you are emulating another
processor and OS and the gap vanishes. Sure, we think we have more powerful software, but what vendor doesn't? Price is tangible and stability and reliability are testable.
The 'whole
system' recommendation from Flying Pig is very understandable. Remember that Hog PC isn't really a software product designed from the
ground up to control lighting from a PC. It is an emulation of a popular
console. Pictures of knobs, buttons, and faders, is great for emulation. It let's users already familiar with the 'real' item get right to work. But it does not always make for the most efficient user interface. Can you program a Hog PC
system without a
wing? Of course, but it is dramatically more efficient to
plug in a controller with the actual knobs and switches being emulated.
These systems can serve an important purpose. For example, I think that MaxxyzPC, when it is released, will be a big value addition to the Maxxyz
console. Leveraging Maxxyz popularity into applications that cannot handle the Maxxyz capitol investment. But I also think that application specific products, as well as emulations (or 'knobless' consoles) are important as well. That is why I hope that
Martin moves forward with a Light Jockey 3 (I've seen public comments from at least one
Martin person that the decision is still up in the air).
Some LJ fans would be surprised to hear that (I definately rub some of them the wrong way). But I really mean it. Having a big player continue to push something other than an emulation helps grow the market and makes niches for smaller players like us to exploit.
Back on the original question, it is possible to run a decent show solely from a laptop computer. We've even tried to push this further with a new
screen in our latest version. But, there are still many times when tactile controls are a huge asset. We approached this by supporting
MIDI and always including a DMX-in on our dongles. Or thinking was that this gives the user a lot of options and it also provides mortals with rational backup. If I'm on a major tour, I can carry an extra Hog, GrandMA, or whatever. If I'm on the sort of budget that the majority of shows operate, this isn't an option. $5-10K in spare 'wings' or even $700-800 for a spare 'fingers' is a capitol investment I really can't afford unless I absolutely have to. By trying to get the most out of existing tactile surfaces we hoped that we had put emergency salvation a Guitar Center away.
One unexpected side
effect of this approach is that it allows a laptop to be used as a cost effective 'lighting
system upgrade'. We've actually seen this quite a
bit. A
theatre wants to start dabling in intelligent fixtures and they don't want to invest in a massive upgrade. Buy us and
point and click your looks for your rented intelligent fixtures. Then use the DMX-in to drive us from your existing
console. Since we decouple time from cues/scenes and automatically handle in-betweening (basically, go between any two scenes at any speed and get a nice transition) you can almost treat whole intelligent
fixture looks like
dimmer channels on your existing
console.
Personally, it does not matter to me if a user keeps running this way or eventually migrates everything to us and then uses the existing
console only as a tactile surface or an emergency backup. I'm just glad they are getting good use out of the
system. In fact, I think we will see some features pop up in other systems that make them friendlier to this sort of hybrid usage in the future.
-jjf
Innovate Show Controls