Announcement: New laser show software available: Procedural dynamic frames, Much More

[drlava]

Hi,
If it's built into the projector, I don't suggest licensing LSX to the Moncha.net. You will probably want to be able to work on shows in a situation where getting out and powering, networking a projector doesn't make sense. I can get you a download link after your order, and issue a temporary act license while the dongle is in the mail. Also, since you aren't ordering a DAC, we can arrange cheaper shipping. paypal isn't first choice but it's doable, will PM with details.

[Leonard]

Thank you
I can pay by Credit Card to reduce the Paypal Overhead Fee and Also reduce final end user Price :-)

[tsteele93]

Hi Dr. Lava,

It is good to see you on here. From discussions on other forums, I thought you had gone AWOL! I would have considered your software, but I honestly was afraid it wasn't orderable.

I have a few questions...

A. Is I orderable? If I order it, will I get it right away? Is it a download deal, or do you ship the software?

B. I just purchased a Goldenstar H-RGB1200 with DT30 scanners. I also have Pangolin QS with FB3. Does LSX work with the FB3 and do I just tie the LSX software to the serial on my FB3? I am very new to this part of the laser hobby so I don't really know how everything is tied together.

C. I'm not sure I completely understand the distinctions between versions. Right now I only have one laser projector and I don't see myself adding another anytime soon. Would "Lite" be enough, or am I missing out on important features in Basic or Pro?

D. I think that I did see that Pro comes with effects or shows or animations or something like that which are not in the lower versions. How important are those to the casual new user?

E. Is there a site that hosts downloadable shows or effects or frames like Pangolin's site?

Thank you (or anyone who can answer) for any help you can give me in getting started with LSX!

Tom

[colouredmirrorball]

I guess I can answer a few of those.

A. Yes, you can order the software now. It appears drlava was very busy moving to the other side of the states a few months ago, which caused him to not be able to provide support instantaneously. This was a reason for some haters to cause a lot of drama. Nothing to worry about, as of now he is very responsive. The package needs to be shipped, there is an installation DVD and also a dongle that needs to be licensed before use.

B. Unfortunately, no. Pangolin decided to not release an SDK for the FB3, so drlava can't make it compatible. Other DACs make it possible to lock the software to their serial number instead of the dongle, such as the Riya or Pangolin's QM2k, but those come at a price. If you want to get LSX, you need another DAC than the FB3, so I suggest the Riya as it saves a dongle.

C. Lite should be good, but you can't use MIDI input, for using with an external control board for example. It's up to you if you want that or not. Not sure about the other differences, but I think MIDI is the biggest one.

D. All effects in Pro are also in Lite or Basic, but you can only play the old shows in Pro, I think.

E. There's a show space in the running, but I don't know when it will be open in public. Meanwhile, keep your eyes open for people posting shows, check out the user manual dzodzo posted (a few posts above yours), and my tutorials! thread.

It's great software, but it takes some time getting used to it. I'm curious how it compares to other software though...

[tsteele93]

Thank you very much! I think that I will PM the good Dr. and try the demo version if possible. Having to buy another DAC makes it a bit more expensive option for me. It is too bad that pangolin doesn't offer the sdk as I would still have gotten their software and the FB3, but it would have been nice to add other software to my toolbox without having to buy another DAC.

Your reply was very complete, thank you very much for the info!

[drlava]

Hi tsteele,

Yes, I'm actively shipping and improving LSX and the user base is constantly growing. Some of the work coming out of them is fantastic. It looks like CMB covered most everything, but a few points to consider:

By choosing a DAC (FB3) that doesn't support 3rd party developers, you're not just missing out on LSX, but also direct laser output from ILD SOS, LaserCam, zoof's laseroids game, mikkojay's amazing LazyMame (laser vetor arcade simulator), and all other laser software that the PL and widespread laser community develops.

DACs that are 'closed' and do not support these things:
FB3, Phoenix DAC

DACs that are 'open SDK' and DO support your friendly PL software developers:
RIYA Multibus, RIYA 3-in-one, RIYA Multibus Ethernet, Easylase 1, Easylase 2, Netlase, EtherDream, OLSD, Moncha, Moncha.net, Fiesta, EzAudDac, Lumax (LaserWorld DAC), Medialas Mamba, QM2k

You can use any in the second category with LSX. Also mentionable is that the EtherDream and OLSD are entirely open source DACs, both built on the hard work of two PL members right here.

The other thing to keep in mind that most people miss is that if you DO ever want to expand to more projectors, The second category allows you to do so only at the price of the DAC ($75-350 per projector), not the system price ($650-1000 per projector for the first category) resulting in large savings down the road.

[tsteele93]

I've found that with any hobby, if you jump right in, you can make costly mistakes. I was in a time crunch for a party coming up and my main criteria was that I needed to be able to scan logos and project them and QS is working very well for that and I am figuring out a lot that I can do with it very quickly.

However, I did not know that I was getting into a closed system with it.

The good thing is that it sounds like I can buy another DAC and have both options available at that point.

Do you have any recommendations for easiest, but able to do most anything needed DAC's that work with LSX?

I see RIYA mentioned a lot. I will do some reading here about the others as well.

Also, if I could pick your brain about the lite/basic/pro options, I would love to know the most important differences. I see that a big difference is the number of projectors you can run, but right now I am pretty solidly stuck at one. If that changed, I assume I could upgrade?

But are there any other feature that would make basic or pro necessary to the average user? By average user, I guess more specifically my usage would be primarily home parties and occasionally a larger private party. At my home I have the ability to set up the projector to shoot high up onto a two story wall from atop a built-in bookcase that is 9ft+ so I can put together a very safe setup there. I'm not going to be doing any audience scanning and the vast majority - if not all - of my use would be graphics shows rather than beam shows. I suppose that could change over time, but for the foreseeable future that would be my thinking.

Would I be missing out on anything important with Lite compared to Basic or Pro? I seem to recall something about Pro coming with lots of frames and shows or something like that...

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I'll have to report that you are alive and well over on the other laser forums!

[drlava]

well, I wouldn't go so far as to call your choice a mistake. As you noticed there are always nuances to the available options, and part of the process of growing into a field like this is discovering desires for things that you didn't know were possible previously. If you look at most of the marketing out there one might get the impression that laser shows are mostly just about firing spasmatic beams into crowds and splashing up advertizing 'deejay' style. The truth is there's a whole world of artisic expression waiting for those that want it.

The differences between the LSX levels are listed in the site below on the LSX page. Lite is good, but many beginners get Basic to unlock the MIDI live control functionality and to get the expanded DMX/TTL/Projection target controls. Upgrades are always available so there's really no risk either way. Basic and Pro do come with more shows than Lite, but Lite comes lots of shows and tons of frames already.

The RIYA Lite is mentioned a lot because it's only $155. For a single projector setup it's a good solution now that the USB cable issue is ironed out. I'm not aware of any other dedicated DACs with true color (24 bit) output at that price.

[dzodzo]

with LSX you can do audience scanning as well because you can set up 2 safe-zones and modify intensity inside these zones, however plausible output depends also on tweaking the color output so you get nice balance between colors and visibility

talking about this i just got an idea if it's possible to make the safe-zone transition to danger-zone gradient, currently the intensity is set inside sharp boundaries but maybe gradiently adding the power in transition could give more eye-candy result

[Alex_kld]

Hi!
i have adapter Phoenix 2.0/.
LSX support this dac?