New DMX Software

[TheatreImage]

Hey CB, I have been a member for a while, mostly reading and sharing the community with others. Anyway, I have been working on a brand new concept is lighting control for the past couple of years and when it came to debuting it, I thought of only one place, The Booth.

LightRift just launched into a public beta of our product and would like you guys to try it out. For the first month during the beta testing period it is free, then you will have the opportunity to purchase a plan at a discount since you participated in the testing. We are very excited to show it to you, all we ask for is a fair and honest test and a fair and honest opinion.

Please visit www.lightrift.com to sign up and download the software.

Thank you very much
Jarret Baker

 

[NateJanota]

So, questions...

First: Your website says "Real Time Control of Lighting, Audio, and Video Effects." Are you intending to turn this into show control software then? Because Audio devices don't take DMX as native, and Video will normally use CITP as far as I'm aware. And as a general rule if you're going to be making show control it's all going to be over SaCN and Ethernet anyway.

Second: Who's your market? Are we talking Joe Schmoe with a DJ Chauvet Obey 40 as his current solution? Themed entertainment with three or four embedded, networked lighting consoles and VPUs? Touring rigs requiring intuitive real-time control with low latency and high levels of flexibility?

Third: What differentiates you from the rest of the DMX PC solution market, particularly where more powerful and tried-and-true residents such as Cuelux, ShowXpress, M-Show, and MAonPC exist?

 

[TheatreImage]

So, questions...

First: Your website says "Real Time Control of Lighting, Audio, and Video Effects." Are you intending to turn this into show control software then? Because Audio devices don't take DMX as native, and Video will normally use CITP as far as I'm aware. And as a general rule if you're going to be making show control it's all going to be over SaCN and Ethernet anyway.

Second: Who's your market? Are we talking Joe Schmoe with a DJ Chauvet Obey 40 as his current solution? Themed entertainment with three or four embedded, networked lighting consoles and VPUs? Touring rigs requiring intuitive real-time control with low latency and high levels of flexibility?

Third: What differentiates you from the rest of the DMX PC solution market, particularly where more powerful and tried-and-true residents such as Cuelux, ShowXpress, M-Show, and MAonPC exist?

NateJanota, first thanks for visiting our website and thanks for the great questions

The vision for LightRift is to round out into a show control solution, so to that end, we have built it to function natively in a networked environment. The interface is 100% web based so the software can be installed on a server then accessed from any computer on the network. We don't even support USB interfaces the first DMX protocol we are supporting is ArtNet and when the production release is launched in March we will have audio cue playback functionality. Continual future development will produce many new features to support show control and grow into a production control platform. We started with DMX since it is the most prevalent and easiest to adopt.

Our market, for now, is small to mid-sized arts organizations, schools, churches and community theatres. Groups that may not have the technical resources or personnel to fully realize their visions with other solutions

We provide a simple to setup, simple to deploy and simple to operate environment, we have chosen functions and features carefully and removed outdated controls to support this vision. We started this project to support people and groups in our community that may not have huge technical backgrounds but want to provide the very best to their audiences. Many of the options on the market today are out of reach for this group because of this reason.

Jarret Baker

 

[NateJanota]

NateJanota, first thanks for visiting our website and thanks for the great questions

The vision for LightRift is to round out into a show control solution, so to that end, we have built it to function natively in a networked environment. The interface is 100% web based so the software can be installed on a server then accessed from any computer on the network. We don't even support USB interfaces the first DMX protocol we are supporting is ArtNet and when the production release is launched in March we will have audio cue playback functionality. Continual future development will produce many new features to support show control and grow into a production control platform. We started with DMX since it is the most prevalent and easiest to adopt.

Our market, for now, is small to mid-sized arts organizations, schools, churches and community theatres. Groups that may not have the technical resources or personnel to fully realize their visions with other solutions

We provide a simple to setup, simple to deploy and simple to operate environment, we have chosen functions and features carefully and removed outdated controls to support this vision. We started this project to support people and groups in our community that may not have huge technical backgrounds but want to provide the very best to their audiences. Many of the options on the market today are out of reach for this group because of this reason.

Jarret Baker

I must applaud you for answering my questions directly and thoroughly. I'm not used to getting direct answers from developers and advertisers in this industry, so I appreciate the effort you've put into it. If I could offer a suggestion- I would suggest you offer some sort of "system design emulation" similar to what the Q-SYS Designer has for audio, or MAonPC/MA3D has for lighting. Allowing a show control system designer to design a layout with devices, adjust device settings, and then "emulate" the system (visualizer compatibility, perhaps?) would be incredibly useful, and would significantly boost your market by making your software more powerful for professionals.

 

[TheatreImage]

NateJanota, thanks for the feedback, this type of thing is in the pipeline and will ultimately bring both sides of the industry together.

 

[JonathanHarpur]

Having a bit of difficulty getting the software to work. I don't know if the final process will be this involved, but I know users who refuse to put their show machines online, so if an internet connection is crucial to the process you'll definitely lose some potential customers right from the get-go. If an ongoing internet connection is necessary, it will seriously handicap anyone who wants to use the software in the field, where connections are often sketchy at best, and frequently nonexistent. Just my experience so far; don't know if it's an actual issue for your final product.

 

[TheatreImage]

Having a bit of difficulty getting the software to work. I don't know if the final process will be this involved, but I know users who refuse to put their show machines online, so if an internet connection is crucial to the process you'll definitely lose some potential customers right from the get-go. If an ongoing internet connection is necessary, it will seriously handicap anyone who wants to use the software in the field, where connections are often sketchy at best, and frequently nonexistent. Just my experience so far; don't know if it's an actual issue for your final product.

JonathanHarpur, thanks for trying the product. At this point, internet access is only needed to download the software, get a valid license and access the small but soon to be growing fixture DB. The operation of the software is in no way dependent on the internet, we do use a network protocol (ArtNet) but this is used on an internal network. What type of problems are you having? If you want you can email [email protected] or I can answer them here.

 

[coldnorth57]

I am not sure what is going on but i registered but i can not log in .....

 

[TheatreImage]

I am not sure what is going on but i registered but i can not log in .....

Glenn, Due to the nature of this problem, you will have to contact [email protected]. We will get you going.

 

[JonathanHarpur]

JonathanHarpur, thanks for trying the product. [...] What type of problems are you having? If you want you can email [email protected] or I can answer them here.

It takes quite a while before the Lightrift window pops the Open In Browser button up (sometimes up to 5 minutes) - which is fine for a demo, but would be painful on a day-to-day basis. But when I open the browser, I get a No Active License error, along with directions to the location where I can download it - which I've tried a few times without success.

That said: The administration of our in-house network is under the dominion of the city's IT department, and while I hesitate to use the term Fascist to describe some of their policies, it's entirely possible that the cause of the issues I'm having are locally-derived.

Jonathan

 

[TheatreImage]

It takes quite a while before the Lightrift window pops the Open In Browser button up (sometimes up to 5 minutes) - which is fine for a demo, but would be painful on a day-to-day basis. But when I open the browser, I get a No Active License error, along with directions to the location where I can download it - which I've tried a few times without success.

That said: The administration of our in-house network is under the dominion of the city's IT department, and while I hesitate to use the term Fascist to describe some of their policies, it's entirely possible that the cause of the issues I'm having are locally-derived.

Jonathan

Jonathan, it could be tight security on your network, I just sent you a license to the email address you used to sign up. Let me know how that goes.

 

[JonathanHarpur]

Just so everyone -else- is aware, the license grief I experienced was self-derived. I missed a step in the installation procedure, but got back on track
with the kind assistance of Jarret.