Pangolin Lasershow Designer 2000 Tips...

[Stuka]

For those of us still learning various aspects of the LD2000 suite, I was thinking it might be helpful to post some tips from the "epiphanies" we've had along the way working with the software.
Whether or not the tips are obvious or not doesn't really matter -

I, for one, could use all the help I can get!!

So here's my first offerings (BTW - I run a QM2000.net):

AutoPlay 2000 v5.02 Tip # 1

Show preload works GREAT - however, the QM2000 frame buffer needs to be empty if loading a lot of shows!
I run LD2000 to set my zones and clear the frames, then leave it running when I launch AutoPlay.
After preloading all the shows, I scroll through the playlist and make sure the end times are correct for each show loaded.
If any changes are made to the playlist, it seems to work best if you edit the playlist, go back to LD2000 to clear the frame buffer, then completely reload all the shows on the playlist.

AutoPlay 2000 v5.02 Tip # 2

The timing of preloaded shows seem to be very sensitive to other things going on simultaneously on your computer.
I run a fairly high-end desktop computer, but I was having problems with frames dropping out during AutoPlay playback, even though I wasn't running any other applications other than LD2000.
Finally, I turned off the laser preview in AutoPlay, and my frame dropouts and timing problems seemed to have gone away.


Next....?

[Stuka]

AutoPlay 2000 v5.02 Tip # 3 -
Multiple AutoPlay Playlists using Batch Files

Here's a procedure I've used successfully several times now to setup multiple AutoPlay playlists in advance, then load the desired lists at "show time" using batch files.
It take a few minutes to set this up the first time, but after that creating and switching playlists is a snap!
This comes in very handy in situations where you might want to preload one type of shows (for example, a QM2K card full of Pink Floyd and other classic rock graphics shows), then during a brief intermission, clear out the memory of the QM2K and preload a bunch of beam shows.
Using batch files is MUCH quicker than manually deleting and adding a list full of shows!

My batch files work around the fact that AutoPlay 2000 uses a single .ini file to store all its settings:
C:\WINDOWS\LDauto2k.ini
Any playlist or setup changes made in AutoPlay 2000 are written "on the fly" to the LDauto2k.ini file. For multiple playlists to work, you need to save and swap this file, with all its changes, on demand.
I have used my batch files quite successfully on Windows XP, and I assume they will work on VISTA and Windows 7 as well...I think!

For demo purposes, we'll assume you want to have a graphics playlist and a separate beams playlist - although you could expand this procedure to include as many playlists as you want. Also, as mentioned previously I always keep LD2000 running minimized in the background, which makes it quick and easy to clear out the QM2K memory between playlists, and also adjust or call up projection zones as needed.

Start out by creating a folder to gold all your custom playlist configurations -
for simplicity, let's call it C:\autoplay_config. Within that folder, create two additional folders labeled graphics and beams.

For each type of playlist you create in advance, you'll need two batch files - one to SAVE your playlist, and one to LOAD your playlist.
The batch files work quite simply like this:
The SAVE batch file copies the active C:\WINDOWS\LDauto2k.ini to the custom folder you just created to store your playlist configuration.
The LOAD batch file copies the LDauto2k.ini file from your saved playlist configuration folder, makes it the active C:\WINDOWS\LDauto2k.ini, and launches AutoPlay using your selected playlist.

Simple!!

So, here's a sample SAVE BEAMS batch file, with extra comments added for some interactive options during use.
Save this batch file in your C:\autoplay_config folder:

************************************************** ***********************
@echo off
rem
rem Batch file to save current LDauto2k.ini file for custom session of Pangolin AutoPlay 2000.
rem
rem This batch file saves custom BEAM show list for Pangolin AutoPlay 2000.
rem
echo.
echo This batch file saves current AutoPlay 2000 session as BEAM show list
echo.
echo.
echo " <CTRL> <C> " to exit
echo.
echo OR
echo.
pause
echo.
@echo off
xcopy C:\WINDOWS\LDauto2k.ini C:\autoplay_config\beams\LDauto2k.ini /q /y
echo.
echo Copy complete
echo.
echo.
pause

************************************************** ***********************

For a SAVE GRAPHICS batch file, copy this same file and simply change the \beams\reference to \graphics\.
Save all the batch files in the same C:\autoplay_config folder.

Here's the LOAD BEAMS batch file to go with these:

************************************************** ***********************

@echo off
rem
rem Batch file to load selected custom LDauto2k.ini file for current session of Pangolin AutoPlay 2000.
rem
rem This batch file loads custom BEAM show list for AutoPlay 2000.
rem
echo.
echo This batch file loads custom BEAM show list and launches AutoPlay 2000
echo.
echo.
echo " <CTRL> <C> " to exit
echo.
echo OR
echo.
pause
echo.
@echo off
xcopy C:\autoplay_config\beams\LDauto2k.ini C:\WINDOWS\LDauto2k.ini /q /y
echo.
echo Copy complete
echo.
start C:\LD2000\Auto2000.exe

************************************************** ***********************
For a LOAD GRAPHICS batch file, copy this same file and simply change the \beams\reference to \graphics\

Putting these batch files to use:

To save your GRAPHICS playlist, run AutoPlay, setup all the graphics shows and options you want as part of this playlist, then run your SAVE GRAPHICS batch file.
To save your BEAMS playlist, setup all the beams shows and options you want as part of this playlist, then run your SAVE BEAMS batch file.
Easy!

To use the playlists, simply run the LOAD GRAPHICS or LOAD BEAMS batch files.
Be sure to preload all your shows within Autoplay after it launches.
Also, to help prevent memory-related "surprises" during playback, between playlists it is a good idea to close Autoplay, clear the QM2K memory (easy if LD2000 is running in the background), setup the next appropriate zones, then run your next playlist batch file.

One additional thing you may want to do before saving your playlists (SAVE batch files) is to edit the actual C:\WINDOWS\LDauto2k.ini file so the title bar in AutoPlay reflects the name of the currently loaded playlist.
Under the [Names] section, edit the Large text name= entry to display your desired text.
After editing, mine look something like this:



Hope some of you will find this helpful!!

PS -

These batch files were written using the default directory structure for Windows XP.
You may need to "tweak" the file locations referenced for things to work as expected under Vista or Windows 7

[DZ]

Hey Stuka, thanks for posting this, I've never really taken the time to figure out autoplay, this will be a great start!

[Pangolin]

Looks great Randy!!

By the way, using something similar to the technique implemented by Randy, it would be easy to add playlist capability *directly* to Autoplay itself. We give the source code for Autoplay so that others can make their own Autoplay versions. People have done this. Some have made players that were simpler than Autoplay (for example, dedicated player programs at Disney and Universal Studios), and others have made more complex player programs (for example, Laserlight Showcontrol).

We haven't added this directly ourselves because some clients have asked us specifically to keep Autoplay as a simple program...

Anyway, great work Randy and thanks for sharing this!

Bill

[Stuka]

Simple is good, for sure!

If I ever get around to diving into programming again (one of the many "fun" things on the "to do" list!), I would like to play around with the source code and try out some customizing!
For now, I'll stick with the batch files - at least until I get this whole "abstract generator" thing figured out...

[buffo]

"Figuring out the abstract generator" isn't as difficult as you might think, but there is no substitute for spending time in front of your computer playing with it. Once you've done a dozen or so different abstracts, you start to get an idea as to what works and what doesn't.

Adam

[allthatwhichis]

I actually hesitated putting this up as it can be very hard on any scanner set used. Attempt at your own risk.!!! My ct6215s don't have mush problem but there is a lot of flicker.

I have posted two Youtube video tutorials on how to set up projections zones in LD2000/Showtime to simulate 5 projectors from one projector. This is also a few steps away from a multi-projector projection zone set up when you have multiple QM2000s. All you have to do is change the scanner the zone is set to from scanner 1 to scanner n. I started this as a way to plan out multiple projector shows in Showtime and have grown to like watching shows this way. Let me know what you think and it I missed anything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrvosZD5fqE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR0cuuJDWUY

[DZ]

Nice job on the tutorial allthat!

I actually hesitated putting this up as it can be very hard on any scanner set used. Attempt at your own risk.!!! My ct6215s don't have mush problem but there is a lot of flicker.

I have posted two Youtube video tutorials on how to set up projections zones in LD2000/Showtime to simulate 5 projectors from one projector. This is also a few steps away from a multi-projector projection zone set up when you have multiple QM2000s. All you have to do is change the scanner the zone is set to from scanner 1 to scanner n. I started this as a way to plan out multiple projector shows in Showtime and have grown to like watching shows this way. Let me know what you think and it I missed anything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrvosZD5fqE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR0cuuJDWUY

[prodjallen]

Hey Guys & Girls,

Has anyone figured out how to make a very slow moving sine wave on the abstract generator? (QM2k) I've been trying to make a wide sine wave, sorta like a liquid sky, but it tends to move wayy too fast, and unable to make it go slow... any ideas?

-Allen

[allthatwhichis]

I know Bill showed us at one FLEM; I just forget how he did it. I will play around today and see if I can figure it out.