How hard is DMX programming with a controller?

[jz416]

Lets say for example, i want to do the following with a chauvet obey 40 and 4 moving head washes.

Lets say i wanted to program them so that they would do a very slow sweep across the dancefloor, changing directions every 2 bars, and every 16th bar would do a 1 beat up, 1 beat down, 1 beat left, 1 beat right, and back to slow motion sweep.

I'm likely going to be purchasing my first time every in 2 weeks, but i really have no idea how difficult dmx is.

Im not looking for how to do it, i will use the manual and youtube for that and if i need help ill ask you guys, im just wondering whether to expect 1 hour in the basement and perfect, or 3 hours everyday for a week, or somewhere in between.

[fueledbymusic]

For Allen, it's HARD.:D But for me, it's not that hard one you get the hang of it.:P Youtube is a good source of learning.
Oh BTW, the Obey 40 is a good choice to start with. To get to know the basics.

Allen and others WILL suggest you going with a dungle and an extra computer.. But it's no need unless those moving heads are more than 16 channels each

[fueledbymusic]

Well what you have to do is program the "slow sweep" as scene 1, then program the "beat up" as scene 2, and "beat down" as scene 3 and so on, until you finish programming all the "moves" you want. It may take quite a few scenes there. But the Obey 40 can store a total of about 240 "scenes"

Then after programming all the "moves". Then you need program a "chase" putting together all the scenes you programmed. Then it will pretty much do what you want it to do.. And for the chase feature, it have a slider for the speed (how frequently) you want it to change the scene of a chase.

That's the basics

[jz416]

Well what you have to do is program the "slow sweep" as scene 1, then program the "beat up" as scene 2, and "beat down" as scene 3 and so on, until you finish programming all the "moves" you want. It may take quite a few scenes there. But the Obey 40 can store a total of about 240 "scenes"

Then after programming all the "moves". Then you need program a "chase" putting together all the scenes you programmed. Then it will pretty much do what you want it to do.. And for the chase feature, it have a slider for the speed (how frequently) you want it to change the scene of a chase.

That's the basics

Thanks for the breakdown man.

So, im looking at a few hours i take it.
if im not mistaken, the obey 40 has a tap function to sync the lights with the music, and a microphone for the same purpose, which apparently doesnt work very well.

[fueledbymusic]

Thanks for the breakdown man.

So, im looking at a few hours i take it.
if im not mistaken, the obey 40 has a tap function to sync the lights with the music, and a microphone for the same purpose, which apparently doesnt work very well.
Actually the obey 40 does have a sound active feature. But I don't use it. Have not tried anyway. It took me a few hours to get the hang of programming the Obey 40. But once every imaginable scene you can ever think of has been programmed. It's mostly the "chases" to worry about.

To make a scene is what can take a little time because you have to get the light to do exactly what you want it to do. That can involve getting several sliders in the right place and saving it. And of course with certain things you want a light to do, it involves a sort of more complicated "operation" of those sliders especially if the light has alot of channels. Not only that it's also when programming more than one light on the same scene. As far as I know you can program as many lights to do a specific thing you want on the same scene.

[allensmusic]

For Allen, it's HARD.:D But for me, it's not that hard one you get the hang of it.:P Youtube is a good source of learning.
Oh BTW, the Obey 40 is a good choice to start with. To get to know the basics.

Allen and others WILL suggest you going with a dungle and an extra computer.. But it's no need unless those moving heads are more than 16 channels each

WTF is your problem, and why are you telling him lies?
no, I certainly do not think a laptop and dongle is an answer in this situation, so why would you assume that is my answer?
What is up with all the trolling here lately?

[allensmusic]

JZ, the first time you use the obey 40 you are going to have to figure it out so it will take longer. as you get better with it you will get faster. depending on the number of DMX channels the fixtures have, I would think 2 or 3 hours for a entry level person to get it programmed, but that would not include setting up the lights, watching the youtube tutorial, etc. for the very first time ever trying to program I would expect up to maybe 12 hours to get it programmed?
once you are proficient with the obey 40 you could do it much faster.

however, it also depends on exactly how you program the 4 lights. will they sweep in an identical fashion, same color, same direction, same speed?
or will you have them all 4 sweeping in a symmetrical pattern yet all 4 different?
my newest movers have 25 dmx channels per light, so 4 of them would be 100 dmx channels to program, and the variables become astronomical.. the time to program them is dramatically more than a 4 dmx channel light.
so without knowing the style of programming and the number of DMX channels the time needed to program could vary dramatically.

[Synaxis]

Well what you have to do is program the "slow sweep" as scene 1, then program the "beat up" as scene 2, and "beat down" as scene 3 and so on, until you finish programming all the "moves" you want. It may take quite a few scenes there. But the Obey 40 can store a total of about 240 "scenes"

Then after programming all the "moves". Then you need program a "chase" putting together all the scenes you programmed. Then it will pretty much do what you want it to do.. And for the chase feature, it have a slider for the speed (how frequently) you want it to change the scene of a chase.

That's the basics

This is not correct fueledbymusic...

A scene is "static," a.k.a not moving, unless there is some sort of continuous motor function. If you want to do a slow sweep from 0° to 360°, you need two steps, one with 0°, and the other with 360°. Then, you make a chase using those two steps, with a time interval in between. That is how you get a sweep.

Also, I'm going to ask you RESPECTFULLY, now, that you change your signature. Mystic, Allen, and I ARE NOT some "animals" that you think you can "tame."




jz416, In response to your original post. It will definitely take quite a bit longer on a hardware controller than on a PC based controller, as there is a certain "process" you could say that you need to learn. As in, you'll find yourself pressing the same buttons over and over again in order to create a show, and it's harder to keep track of everything as opposed if you were to have a screen and keyboard in front of you. It's a bit repetitive, but you'll get used to it as you get along, and it will eventually start to go faster.

Since, you say you are completely new to DMX, I'd recommend dedicating at least a weekend to get everything figured out. But, like Allensmusic said, it depends how you are programming everything. If you want each head to be in a different direction for a single scene, well, expect to spend 4 times as much hours to get it right, since you will need to position each head individually to your liking.

Also, just take note that you probably won't be able to get it "perfect" with a specific song, since you mentioned "bars." I'm not sure if the Obey 40 allows you to program individual hold/fade times for each scene, so each scene would in that case would change one after another at a set interval. So, if you set the show fader to 5 seconds, it would take 5 seconds between each scene. If you needed the next scene to be 10 seconds, you would need to change it on the fly. You would not be able to for example, program the first scene for 20 seconds (slow scan), second scene for 2 seconds, third scene, for 5 seconds. That would need to be changed manually as the chase runs.

[allensmusic]

.

Also, I'm going to ask you RESPECTFULLY, now, that you change your signature. Mystic, Allen, and I ARE NOT some "animals" that you think you can "tame."



Thanks for pointing this out. i am not sure what it means, but i hadnt noticed it before.
If by taming us he means we will stop correcting his incorrect information he keeps giving out then hell no.
and if he means anything else, I am quite certain he will find out he is wrong just like he is with everything else.

[jz416]

JZ, the first time you use the obey 40 you are going to have to figure it out so it will take longer. as you get better with it you will get faster. depending on the number of DMX channels the fixtures have, I would think 2 or 3 hours for a entry level person to get it programmed, but that would not include setting up the lights, watching the youtube tutorial, etc. for the very first time ever trying to program I would expect up to maybe 12 hours to get it programmed?
once you are proficient with the obey 40 you could do it much faster.

however, it also depends on exactly how you program the 4 lights. will they sweep in an identical fashion, same color, same direction, same speed?
or will you have them all 4 sweeping in a symmetrical pattern yet all 4 different?
my newest movers have 25 dmx channels per light, so 4 of them would be 100 dmx channels to program, and the variables become astronomical.. the time to program them is dramatically more than a 4 dmx channel light.
so without knowing the style of programming and the number of DMX channels the time needed to program could vary dramatically.

Thanks,
If my intention is to program all 4 lights to do the exact same sweep, with the exact same colour, do i have to program each light individually, or can i just assign them all to the same channel (Not sure if channel is the word im looking for here)?



This is not correct fueledbymusic...

A scene is "static," a.k.a not moving, unless there is some sort of continuous motor function. If you want to do a slow sweep from 0° to 360°, you need two steps, one with 0°, and the other with 360°. Then, you make a chase using those two steps, with a time interval in between. That is how you get a sweep.

Also, I'm going to ask you RESPECTFULLY, now, that you change your signature. Mystic, Allen, and I ARE NOT some "animals" that you think you can "tame."




jz416, In response to your original post. It will definitely take quite a bit longer on a hardware controller than on a PC based controller, as there is a certain "process" you could say that you need to learn. As in, you'll find yourself pressing the same buttons over and over again in order to create a show, and it's harder to keep track of everything as opposed if you were to have a screen and keyboard in front of you. It's a bit repetitive, but you'll get used to it as you get along, and it will eventually start to go faster.

Since, you say you are completely new to DMX, I'd recommend dedicating at least a weekend to get everything figured out. But, like Allensmusic said, it depends how you are programming everything. If you want each head to be in a different direction for a single scene, well, expect to spend 4 times as much hours to get it right, since you will need to position each head individually to your liking.

Also, just take note that you probably won't be able to get it "perfect" with a specific song, since you mentioned "bars." I'm not sure if the Obey 40 allows you to program individual hold/fade times for each scene, so each scene would in that case would change one after another at a set interval. So, if you set the show fader to 5 seconds, it would take 5 seconds between each scene. If you needed the next scene to be 10 seconds, you would need to change it on the fly. You would not be able to for example, program the first scene for 20 seconds (slow scan), second scene for 2 seconds, third scene, for 5 seconds. That would need to be changed manually as the chase runs.

Mystic, the way you explained how to make lights sweep at the top really helped me understand how dmx actually works.
Would it be possible to make two steps, 0 and 360, and make the chase time 4 beats using the built in microphone?

[jz416]

Delete

[fueledbymusic]

WTF is your problem, and why are you telling him lies?
no, I certainly do not think a laptop and dongle is an answer in this situation, so why would you assume that is my answer?
What is up with all the trolling here lately?You suggest an extra computer and a dongle every time someone asks about a controller. RIGHT??? You can't take a joke, Allen??:D:P

[light-o-matic]

Learning how to control lights using a stand-alone DMX controller is not very hard.. you do have to understand a few basic concepts, figure out what your lights are capable of doing, and then you need to work out the best way to organize your scenes. In the first day or two you'll have some lights programmed.

BUT, it will take you weeks to get it all worked out anyway, because DJ-oriented controllers like Chauvet, American DJ and all the others that look similar to those, are just poorly designed and really, just incredibly annoying and tedious to work with. The more different kinds of lights you own, the more tedious the controllers become.

That is why some people are suggesting that you get PC software to run your lights.

Unfortunately, as far as non-laptop lighting controller go.. there are pretty much just two kinds: The shitty kind, and the expensive (multi-thousands $$ and up) kind. Not too much in the middle of the range. So, for DJ's.. unless you go with a laptop, you will pretty much have to learn to program the shitty kind.

But one thing that can help you is that some DJ lights have built in programs that you can trigger from DMX. So for example you can tell a moving light to go into sound active mode via DMX, or tell an LED to do a color chase. Rather than having to always program all the steps of the color chase yourself directly on the DMX controller. It depends on the capabilities of the lights that you have.

Where DJ DMX controllers really suck is that they are only capable of running one sequence at a time. If you own three or four different types of lights you will very quickly find out why this sucks.

If you do go with a laptop, check out all the different software, because some of it isn't that great either.

[allensmusic]

You suggest an extra computer and a dongle every time someone asks about a controller. RIGHT??? You can't take a joke, Allen??:D:P

no, I suggest a dongle and a laptop when I think the user NEEDS a laptop and a dongle. I think a software approach for just 4 lights isnt worth the potential problems.

in fact, for my own personal rig when I am only using 4 movers I use an American DJ automate.

I own and regularly use no less than 6 hardware controllers.
I also own two laptops with dongles, one for dmx with freestyler and one for lasers with Pangolin
I can control the pangolin software with DMX, and I can control DMX withg pangolin.



And no, if that was some sort of a joke, I couldnt take it. I am also not seeing the humor in your signature quote about being tamed.

[jz416]

Learning how to control lights using a stand-alone DMX controller is not very hard.. you do have to understand a few basic concepts, figure out what your lights are capable of doing, and then you need to work out the best way to organize your scenes. In the first day or two you'll have some lights programmed.

BUT, it will take you weeks to get it all worked out anyway, because DJ-oriented controllers like Chauvet, American DJ and all the others that look similar to those, are just poorly designed and really, just incredibly annoying and tedious to work with. The more different kinds of lights you own, the more tedious the controllers become.

That is why some people are suggesting that you get PC software to run your lights.

Unfortunately, as far as non-laptop lighting controller go.. there are pretty much just two kinds: The shitty kind, and the expensive (multi-thousands $$ and up) kind. Not too much in the middle of the range. So, for DJ's.. unless you go with a laptop, you will pretty much have to learn to program the shitty kind.

But one thing that can help you is that some DJ lights have built in programs that you can trigger from DMX. So for example you can tell a moving light to go into sound active mode via DMX, or tell an LED to do a color chase. Rather than having to always program all the steps of the color chase yourself directly on the DMX controller. It depends on the capabilities of the lights that you have.

Where DJ DMX controllers really suck is that they are only capable of running one sequence at a time. If you own three or four different types of lights you will very quickly find out why this sucks.

If you do go with a laptop, check out all the different software, because some of it isn't that great either.

Could you use a dmx controller to program for moving head washes to do a slow sweep, while also turning on and off a centerpiece scanner on sound active?

[allensmusic]

Could you use a dmx controller to program for moving head washes to do a slow sweep, while also turning on and off a centerpiece scanner on sound active?

possibly, it depends on the scanner. each company decides how the light is operated and what it can be programmed to do.
we would need the make and model to look up the owners manual to answer that question

[jz416]

possibly, it depends on the scanner. each company decides how the light is operated and what it can be programmed to do.
we would need the make and model to look up the owners manual to answer that question

Assuming the light in question has the function of being set to sound active via dmx, my question is can i control 2 different lights at one time (making the 4 moving heads sweep, while also toggling on and off the sound active on the scanner), as light-o-matic post makes it seem like it may not be possible.

[fueledbymusic]

This is not correct fueledbymusic...

A scene is "static," a.k.a not moving, unless there is some sort of continuous motor function. If you want to do a slow sweep from 0° to 360°, you need two steps, one with 0°, and the other with 360°. Then, you make a chase using those two steps, with a time interval in between. That is how you get a sweep.




Thanks for clarifying this for me. I didn't know about that for moving heads, since I don't have any. But the rest remains accurate.


But as far as the experience of the controller. It did indeed take me a few hours to get a hang of it. The other day I programmed a "Christmas theme" for my 4 par cans to flash blue, red, green and yellow on individual cans at random times. That took me about an hour.


Well what you have to do is program the "slow sweep" as scene 1, then program the "beat up" as scene 2, and "beat down" as scene 3 and so on, until you finish programming all the "moves" you want. It may take quite a few scenes there. But the Obey 40 can store a total of about 240 "scenes"

Then after programming all the "moves". Then you need program a "chase" putting together all the scenes you programmed. Then it will pretty much do what you want it to do.. And for the chase feature, it have a slider for the speed (how frequently) you want it to change the scene of a chase.

That's the basics

[allensmusic]

Assuming the light in question has the function of being set to sound active via dmx, my question is can i control 2 different lights at one time (making the 4 moving heads sweep, while also toggling on and off the sound active on the scanner), as light-o-matic post makes it seem like it may not be possible.

yes, you can control a very large number of fixtures to interact simultaneously with DMX.

[conanski]

Hey new guy here.. not new to this stuff however and just for reference I have and use a DMX Operator 192 and FreeStyler with all kinds of DJ effects and movers. Here's my 2 cents on this, if you have moving heads you owe it to yourself to either get a hardware controller with built-in movement macros(ie: Martin Freakie, ADJ Magic260) or break down and get a dongle and software to run on your laptop, and I don't think a separate laptop is necessary if you have one that is at all decent. The reason I say this is because with a basic controller like the Obey programming movers is beyond tedious since you have to program all movements 1 step at a time, a macro on the other hand will make the fixture do smooth arcs, circles, figure 8s, etc and you just have to worry about colors and gobos. Now these slightly better controllers like the Magic and Freakie are still limited, for example you cannot program in a slow - fast - slow - fast sequence, speed is global and will be the same for all scenes until you manually change it during playback. You also have to program all the traits for every fixture you want on in a particular scene at one time, you can't for example make a bank of scenes that is just colors, and a bank that is just gobos, and a bank that is just positions and then play them all at the same time, but this is exactly what you can do with a software controller and you could also set different chase speeds for each one of those banks for a large number of looks from very little programming. Learning software Like FreeStyler will require some work but in general if you put most the effort into building fixture profiles you will do very little actual lighting programming afterwords, with the custom macros, cue stacks and override buttons you can create, an infinite number of lighting scenes or sequences are right there at you fingertips.

[light-o-matic]

Could you use a dmx controller to program for moving head washes to do a slow sweep, while also turning on and off a centerpiece scanner on sound active?

Exactly what Conanski said.. and what I said earlier. With Dj DMX controllers, you can only run one sequence (aka program) at a time. All your lights can be included in the program, so the number of lights you can control is not limited by that.. but let's say you have one program that sweeps your moving heads, and then another program that runs color patterns on LED wash lights. If you want to do BOTH those things at the same time, you cannot. You can only run one program at a time. But, you could create a third program that included both the LEDs and the moving heads together in one program. But let's say you want to now have a variation on that, where the LED's do the same thing, but the movers sweep up and down instead of left and right... Well, yea, that's another program you have to create. Want that, but with different colors on your LED's?? Yep, another program.

So, yea, that's why it's tedious, that's why DJ lighting controllers suck.

But there are some tricks. For example, in most controllers, they have the concept of "banks" of scenes. Usually 8 but sometimes 16 scenes in a bank, and you'll have at least 30 banks to work with. Each bank can be run as a sequence. So, 8 or 16 scenes that go in sequence, one to the next, then after the last one, loop back to the first. But, then most controllers also give you 6 or more chases.. which are sequences that you put together by selecting any of your existing scenes that you created.. in any order from any bank. So, once you have several banks programmed, you can pretty quickly put together chases out of the scenes you created in the past. The other trick is, you can override parameters on the lights with manual sliders. So, let's say that raising channel 6 on your centerpiece to 50% puts it in sound active mode. You can be running a sequence on your other lights, and take over manual control on JUST channel 6 of your centerpiece, and put it into sound active mode, manually.. without stopping the sequence. You can also for example change the color on all your moving heads without stopping the sequence that is running on them, you can flip the color around by moving the slider by hand.

The other thing you can do is.. if you want easier control... is to buy two controllers! Since all DJ controllers under a few hundred dollars are pretty much identical, you can get two cheap ones and use one to run let's say just your moving heads, and the other to control everything else. Then you can mix and match programs between controllers. It's not ideal, but I'd rather have two $150 DJ lighting controllers than one $300 controller, any day of the week.

But really the only small moving light controller I know (non PC) that doesn't suck (ie, can mix and match multiple programs) is the NSI MLC128R. And it's $800. But it can run multiple sequences, therefore by definition it's way way better than every controller that can't do that.

[robare99]

Look at this on eBay:

NSI MLC128R,PROGRAMABLE,MOVING LIGHT CONTROLLER

http://bit.ly/1ehXCtB

[Dj Vishnu]

Hi All,

I just picked up a pair of Chauvet Scan 300's and was wanting to do more or less what the OP is wanting to achieve. I do have an Obey 70, a few LED effect lights and a few wash slim cans, all from Chauvet. Other top brands & moving heads are pretty pricey here in SA. Further, we just have a small mobile disco and people dont like paying for what we have to offer...but for those that do, we give our best.

I haven't tested the Scan 300's completely as yet, but want to try and make them do the opposite of each, figure 8's (not sure if it can do that), room sweeps and the like.

Can the Obey 70 achieve this???

The only fairly priced dongle & software available is the Chauvet Show Xpress....but this would mean me also getting a laptop.

Trying to avoid spending.

[jz416]

Exactly what Conanski said.. and what I said earlier. With Dj DMX controllers, you can only run one sequence (aka program) at a time. All your lights can be included in the program, so the number of lights you can control is not limited by that.. but let's say you have one program that sweeps your moving heads, and then another program that runs color patterns on LED wash lights. If you want to do BOTH those things at the same time, you cannot. You can only run one program at a time. But, you could create a third program that included both the LEDs and the moving heads together in one program. But let's say you want to now have a variation on that, where the LED's do the same thing, but the movers sweep up and down instead of left and right... Well, yea, that's another program you have to create. Want that, but with different colors on your LED's?? Yep, another program.

So, yea, that's why it's tedious, that's why DJ lighting controllers suck.

But there are some tricks. For example, in most controllers, they have the concept of "banks" of scenes. Usually 8 but sometimes 16 scenes in a bank, and you'll have at least 30 banks to work with. Each bank can be run as a sequence. So, 8 or 16 scenes that go in sequence, one to the next, then after the last one, loop back to the first. But, then most controllers also give you 6 or more chases.. which are sequences that you put together by selecting any of your existing scenes that you created.. in any order from any bank. So, once you have several banks programmed, you can pretty quickly put together chases out of the scenes you created in the past. The other trick is, you can override parameters on the lights with manual sliders. So, let's say that raising channel 6 on your centerpiece to 50% puts it in sound active mode. You can be running a sequence on your other lights, and take over manual control on JUST channel 6 of your centerpiece, and put it into sound active mode, manually.. without stopping the sequence. You can also for example change the color on all your moving heads without stopping the sequence that is running on them, you can flip the color around by moving the slider by hand.

The other thing you can do is.. if you want easier control... is to buy two controllers! Since all DJ controllers under a few hundred dollars are pretty much identical, you can get two cheap ones and use one to run let's say just your moving heads, and the other to control everything else. Then you can mix and match programs between controllers. It's not ideal, but I'd rather have two $150 DJ lighting controllers than one $300 controller, any day of the week.

But really the only small moving light controller I know (non PC) that doesn't suck (ie, can mix and match multiple programs) is the NSI MLC128R. And it's $800. But it can run multiple sequences, therefore by definition it's way way better than every controller that can't do that.

I get it now. Id have to have two scenes, one with just the moving heads sweeping and one with the moving heads sweeping and the centerpiece going, and toggling on and off would be switching between the two scenes.

I'm starting to really see why DJ DMX controllers suck.

How much of an investment am i looking at to go software?

Unfortunately i already own a Obey 40 (long story), so i have to compare the cost of software to zero dollars, not the cost of a controller.



Hey new guy here.. not new to this stuff however and just for reference I have and use a DMX Operator 192 and FreeStyler with all kinds of DJ effects and movers. Here's my 2 cents on this, if you have moving heads you owe it to yourself to either get a hardware controller with built-in movement macros(ie: Martin Freakie, ADJ Magic260) or break down and get a dongle and software to run on your laptop, and I don't think a separate laptop is necessary if you have one that is at all decent. The reason I say this is because with a basic controller like the Obey programming movers is beyond tedious since you have to program all movements 1 step at a time, a macro on the other hand will make the fixture do smooth arcs, circles, figure 8s, etc and you just have to worry about colors and gobos. Now these slightly better controllers like the Magic and Freakie are still limited, for example you cannot program in a slow - fast - slow - fast sequence, speed is global and will be the same for all scenes until you manually change it during playback. You also have to program all the traits for every fixture you want on in a particular scene at one time, you can't for example make a bank of scenes that is just colors, and a bank that is just gobos, and a bank that is just positions and then play them all at the same time, but this is exactly what you can do with a software controller and you could also set different chase speeds for each one of those banks for a large number of looks from very little programming. Learning software Like FreeStyler will require some work but in general if you put most the effort into building fixture profiles you will do very little actual lighting programming afterwords, with the custom macros, cue stacks and override buttons you can create, an infinite number of lighting scenes or sequences are right there at you fingertips.

Thanks. How is freestyler considering its a free program

[robare99]

I use DMXIS it's around $300, but I figure what the hell. I'm running a business so it's a business expense. I'm no light guy but I get some pretty decent results. The oscillators are handy when programming moving heads.

[conanski]

Thanks. How is freestyler considering its a free program
The first time you look at Freestyler it will be intimi****** but it's worth it to take the time to figure it out. The Program is not as polished as some of the programs you have to pay for but it doesn't leave much functionality on the table and the latest releases have been very stable.. no reports of crashes or lockups that I'm aware of. There are lots of tutorials on the Freestyler website so check out their forum and ask questions. Another big plus of these software controllers is that you can do programming without setting up any of your lighting, Freestyler includes a stripped down version of the Magic 3D visualizer which when loaded with the same fixture profiles as Freestyler will display your programming output in real time.. colors, movements, everything. This requires a good video card so it won't run on an older laptop for example, but if you had a desktop with a good video card you can do all your programming on it and then copy the files to your laptop. Another suggestion I would make is to get a better quality USB-DMX interface(dongle) like the Enttec USB Pro to start with, that means something with buffering(memory) on board to prevent loss of control of the lighting if the USB signal gets interrupted.. which is more common than you would think.

http://www.freestylerdmx.be/

[allensmusic]

freestyler is free, you can get a dongle to convert from USB to DMX for as cheap as $70 but a good trusted dongle would be the Enttec Pro for $170 new.
it doesnt take much of a laptop to control it, so if you have an old outdated one it will work.

as far as programming the hardware controller, you can program one light, then it is simple to duplicate the sequence to another ecene, and then add more lights to the other scene.
since you want the lights doing the exact same thing, it is relatively simple.

However, regardless of what controller you decide upon, I think you will discover that you are not getting your moneys worth from your light show if they are all doing the exact same thing.
A light show with all the lights programmed together and working together but moving in different ways looks a lot more impressive.
I am not as eloquent as some of the guys here, I will see if I can find some videos to show what I am saying.
my point being, you do need to look for future expansion in the future.

I personally trust the hardware more than software. any software on any computer can fail.
granted, the expensive software on an expensive computer is not very likely to fail but not very many of us can afford that level of security.
however, the software is much much easier to program and control

[allensmusic]

here is a video that shows what I was trying to explain with the movers. look at Robare has them programmed so they work in unison but each light is always doing something different from the others.


Here's mine. Grade 6&7 dance. Some songs there was some dancing, other songs not so much.

7 Blizzard 3NX
4 Blizzard Fab5's
4 Intimidator 1.0
2 Mini Kinta
2 Jellydomes

At this price the 8 Minimac Profiles stay home.

;)

mVLES4HMfL4



this means each light in each step must be programmed differently.

on the other hand, if all four lights are always going to do the exact same thing, you could program one light and set them all four to the same DMX address

[fueledbymusic]

freestyler is free, you can get a dongle to convert from USB to DMX for as cheap as $70 but a good trusted dongle would be the Enttec Pro for $170 new.


Which one is $70.. I WANT IT

[robare99]

here is a video that shows what I was trying to explain with the movers. look at Robare has them programmed so they work in unison but each light is always doing something different from the others.




This means each light in each step must be programmed differently.

on the other hand, if all four lights are always going to do the exact same thing, you could program one light and set them all four to the same DMX address


You can begin the programming of the movers all at once. By double clicking the horizontal fader, I can make them all go side to side in a group at the same speed. Then by using the offset feature I can move them in a variety of motions, from one at a time to a mirror back and forth. Then I play with the vertical sliders. All up or down or wherever.

Once I'm done they will continue that movement within that scene, instead if choosing a bunch of end points.


Ill be setting up my light rig in my basement this week and ill whip up a few "how to" videos to illustrate what I'm talking about. I'm definitely not a "light guy" but here's some scenes I've come up with...


http://youtu.be/I6aajl89834

Even the varying chases on the static wash lights are all controlled with oscillators.

[allensmusic]

Robare, the problem is he is asking about using a hardware controller. What you (we) are doing is a lot easier with software

[allensmusic]

Which one is $70.. I WANT IT

I RECOMEND THE ENTTEC PRO, IT IS MUCH BETTER
however this can get the job done in a PINCH.
http://sirs-e.com/shop/open-dmx-usb/enttec-open-dmx-usb-interface/?gclid=CO253-z57LsCFUZqfgod0wMAGQ

[robare99]

True enough. For the record I have an Obey70. I was able to get it to barely work. I found it frustrating and pretty much impossible to add a foot controller (needed at the time). I gave it a go, but man I never got anywhere with it. I still have it, but I don't use it.

[jz416]

True enough. For the record I have an Obey70. I was able to get it to barely work. I found it frustrating and pretty much impossible to add a foot controller (needed at the time). I gave it a go, but man I never got anywhere with it. I still have it, but I don't use it.

Robare Inspiring confidence since never. lol.

As to the 70 dollar dmx to usb, technically, you can get one for 30 dollars. Just dont expect reliability, english instructions, tech support, returns, a warranty, and a slight chance of a defective product:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/DMX512-USB-to-DMX-Interface-Adapter-Computer-Satge-Lighting-Controller-FreeStyler-control/1145068190.html

HOwever, it does have very good feedback in english that is far beyond the capability of chinese factories trying to fake good feedback, and its only 30 bucks, so its not a huge loss if it doesnt work.

For the record, i woudlnt do it... IM the type of guy who would rather spend a little more and get a warranty and tech support, but i do feel like some of the ballsier guys on here might want to give it a shot.

[fueledbymusic]

^^^ So as for those dungles. Are they just simply usb to DMX converters. That there are alot of different brands and prices?
Do all of those "free programs" use any of those "converters"

[allensmusic]

^^^ So as for those dungles. Are they just simply usb to DMX converters. That there are alot of different brands and prices?
Do all of those "free programs" use any of those "converters"
I use freestyler and enttec.
I am not a lighting expert, I am a mobile DJ so I cant tell for the stuff I dont have but I think you get what you pay for and it is all supposed to work together.

I think the Enntec pro at around $160 is the best solution for most of the guys on this forum

[robare99]

Robare Inspiring confidence since never. lol.

Haha yeah really. My band had an NYE gig. It was hitting late oct and I was getting nowhere fast with the obey70. I couldn't take the chance, it HAD to work, so I went with DMXIS. I wanted a product that worked on a Mac and PC, had foot control, eventual iPad control, and wasn't too difficult for a simple sound guy to use.


If I can get it to work, anyone can. I've walked a dozen people through getting the foot controller and iPad to work. I should be their tech support lol

This was the best I could do with the Obey70, 4 intimidator 1.0's and a couple pins pot 360's. it was enough to give me a vision of what I wanted:


http://youtu.be/ZzQZohGAU0M

Here's a video with the same 4 intimidator 1.0's and a half dozen Pinspot 360's being controlled by DMXIS



http://youtu.be/MrBCgQ5lzcU

I just bought another one from this auction. I offered $269 and they went for it....


Look at this on eBay:

USB DMX ENTTEC DMXIS 70570 MAC OS & PC Controller & Software 512 Channels

http://bit.ly/1aFvluK

I figured its $110 more than just the interface from Entec (same company)

[jz416]

Haha yeah really. My band had an NYE gig. It was hitting late oct and I was getting nowhere fast with the obey70. I couldn't take the chance, it HAD to work, so I went with DMXIS. I wanted a product that worked on a Mac and PC, had foot control, eventual iPad control, and wasn't too difficult for a simple sound guy to use.


If I can get it to work, anyone can. I've walked a dozen people through getting the foot controller and iPad to work. I should be their tech support lol

This was the best I could do with the Obey70, 4 intimidator 1.0's and a couple pins pot 360's. it was enough to give me a vision of what I wanted:


http://youtu.be/ZzQZohGAU0M

Here's a video with the same 4 intimidator 1.0's and a half dozen Pinspot 360's being controlled by DMXIS



http://youtu.be/MrBCgQ5lzcU

I just bought another one from this auction. I offered $269 and they went for it....


Look at this on eBay:

USB DMX ENTTEC DMXIS 70570 MAC OS & PC Controller & Software 512 Channels

http://bit.ly/1aFvluK

I figured its $110 more than just the interface from Entec (same company)

That does look tempting.