New to this laser thing - what do i need

[swamidog]

a small correction...

LSX has an equation editor option for just about every single event and this allows for complex and mind bending effects (cmb used the equation editors to write a simple game a few weeks ago). however, it is not necessary to use the equation editors or have big math skills to make shows. it is just one of the many tools LSX has under the hood.

LSX is more complicated to use than QS. it's also more powerful.

here's a new abstract i made over the weekend. no equations. it's just a lissajous abstract i created and cloned a number of times.

LSX is pretty much the best for abstracts which is what Swami specialises in. It does however require some maths and equation skills to get the results that Swami does as that side is maths based, so the learning curve is very steep. I don't use it but understand it offers live play and a time line as well.

Pangolin software is pretty much the industry standard software for professionals as its very powerful in both live play and pre-programmed show areas, Beyond is probably by far the most powerful package on the market, whilst retaining ease of use.

QS is a high end hobbyist / semi-pro / Disco / Small club level software although many pro's use it for shows. Its simple and easy to use but not as powerful in some aspects as LSX at this price point. Its main forte is ease of use and live play capabilities with some features that are unrivalled such as Virtual Live Jockey (VLJ) an automated playback system and Pangolin's Zoning / Beam Attenuation Mapping systems. So its a case of ultimate power vs ease of use at this price point.

Pangolin Beyond however combines ease of use with ultimate power, its probably by far the most powerful software on the market and can be bought with either the Fb3 or QM boards. However, although it isn't cheap, there is an upgrade path from QS to Beyond though where you simply pay the difference in price.

At the end which package you choose is horses for courses and what your wallet can stand!

[lulighttec]

I agree with swami dog. I am something of a newbie myself, and I have very few problems with LSX, and the few I do are usually due to user error. :-) I almost NEVER use equations unless someone else tells me what they are, and I've done just fine with LSX.

[lulighttec]

Oh, and one other thing: no disrespect intended, but if you don't use it, how exactly can you comment on it?

[colouredmirrorball]

Made a small edit in my post above. Something got changed in the list.

I agree with lulighttec. You don't *need* math in LSX but it can make your life much easier, and the possibilities suddenly get expanded a lot. It is perfectly possible to do awesome stuff in LSX without math, but the stuff you can do with it is even more awesomer

[White-Light]

I agree with swami dog. I am something of a newbie myself, and I have very few problems with LSX, and the few I do are usually due to user error. :-) I almost NEVER use equations unless someone else tells me what they are, and I've done just fine with LSX.

I never said anyone had problems with it just that to get the very best out of it you have to resort to maths.

I acknowledged that both live play and time line existed without maths being necessary and Swami mentioned that you can do abstracts without maths as well.

As for not being a user, very true. But I've never heard anyone comment that any software was as easy to use for Live Play as the new generation of Pangolin software and indeed this side of Moncha and Fiesta I've never seen any software with an interface as easy to use as on Pangolin and even then, those two offer nothing like the features of even QS for live play from what I've seen.

It's like I said above, its horses for courses. I'm trying to paint a neutral picture here and LSX excels at abstracts. For the price point I think most would place it between QS and Beyond for power. So for the QS price, its a choice between the ease of use of QS (and the upgrade path that comes with it) or the more difficult to use power of LSX. Compared to Beyond, I've yet to hear anyone claim it has the same level of power and indeed I'd like to see that demonstrated if that was in fact the case.

Its also interesting to note tonight that Pangolin have acquired Phoenix which now promises even more possibilities for future developments through their technologies and patents.

[LaserCo]

hello kevb, I noticed you have not logged in since this post, did you find a solution?

There are other ways about this:

The way I am going now is with using an arduino dueminalove with drlava's preloaded IC on it (so I can run his LSX software in MAX Mode, it will still work without his chip) and then using cfavreau's OLS DAC idea which is DAC hardware you build as an arduino shield.

drlava's post:
Using the Open Laser Show DAC (OLSD) with LSX laser show software
http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...read.php/18351

cfavreau's DAC:
Me & Mr. Cranky Pants - Open Laser Show DAC
http://fab-favreau.com/index.php/Main/OpenLaserShowDAC