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Thread: Lightrider and Art-Net

  1. #21
    Imagine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DJ Jules View Post
    I've been considering paying out for the D:Fi adaptor thingy to control my freedom sticks but I'm still not sure if it's worth it or not? Part of me is tempted to put them into 50 channel mode, add another universe and play with all out pixel mapping the things. And another part of me is cringing at the thought of shoehorning another adaptor into my flight case and would much prefer to spend it's evenings doing something other than programming 200 dmx channels

    What are you planning to do with them?
    Been controlling the Freedoms via a Heath Robinson setup for about a year now (see photo)

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    What we have there is a USB dongle which is being fed by LightKeyApp on the MacBook, straight into the DiFi unit and then out to a WiFi transceiver to the fixtures. It's a complicated mess of wires which works, and works well (but requires two power adapters to work....one for the transceiver, one for the DiFi unit).

    When the LightRider dongle arrives, it' a case of plugging the wireless transceiver into that, which will then be picked up wirelessly by everything else via battery dongles....simples

    As for programming the Freedom sticks....yes it's a lot of effort but it's well worth it.

    I've done mine to pretty much mirror my wash lighting, and have programmes which chase along and up and down the sticks. You can also (depending on the DMX software you use) just tell the sticks to use any of the built-in programs. My main reason for wanting to program them however was because I'm always losing remote controls/having batteries in the damned things going flat, and it's one less thing to have to control during the evening when everything else is already through DMX.

  2. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by Imagine View Post
    As for programming the Freedom sticks....yes it's a lot of effort but it's well worth it.

    I've done mine to pretty much mirror my wash lighting, and have programmes which chase along and up and down the sticks. You can also (depending on the DMX software you use) just tell the sticks to use any of the built-in programs. My main reason for wanting to program them however was because I'm always losing remote controls/having batteries in the damned things going flat, and it's one less thing to have to control during the evening when everything else is already through DMX.
    Thanks for the comprehensive reply I'm almost tempted to try it!

    Julian
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  3. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by DJ Jules View Post
    Thanks for the comprehensive reply I'm almost tempted to try it!

    Julian
    Will let you know how I get on with them on LightRider when I get to play tomorrow night.

    By all accounts there's automatic lighting programs included (and the fixtures are all pre-programmed in the app for these shows)....could be interesting and save a hell of a lot of work

  4. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by Imagine View Post
    Will let you know how I get on with them on LightRider when I get to play tomorrow night.

    By all accounts there's automatic lighting programs included (and the fixtures are all pre-programmed in the app for these shows)....could be interesting and save a hell of a lot of work
    OK....first impressions (I still have much to learn, Sansei....)

    LightRider is a very good application, especially for those with little or no DMX knowledge. Out of the box...it just works.

    BUT...it's lacking in a lot of ways (for me, at least)

    It's only hour 3 of playing...I still have a lot to learn vs LightKey (which is what I've been using)

    * The LR512 DMX/Dongle thingy seems to lose connection at random intervals (VERY worrying and annoying)
    * Lightrider is an all or nothing application...there's no way (at the moment from what I've learned) of controlling individual fixtures (such as maybe shutting off the scanners)
    * On the scanner note, I have a set under LightKey which does a slow dance with my Intimidators on a very slow open GoBo....LightRider won't save this for some unknown reason.
    * BPM matching - I have yet to try properly when there aren't family in bed, but it appears to work nicely
    * The ability to control fixtures via built in macros isn't there (for example, LightKey allows me to program the wash in the colours of my choosing whilst allowing me to set the Freedom Sticks to an inbuilt program)

    As I say - very early days. It works, and works very well...but is seriously lacking from the software I'm used to.

    BIG QUESTION...would the client notice?

    When it comes to certain effects, yes I think they would!


    From what I've played with tonight....does it suit my needs? That's a big NO at the moment.

    I have a 7 day return on the LR512.....I'm hoping I'm not going to need to use it but at the moment. I'll do some more playing around over the next couple of days but I'm concerned that LightRider as good as it seems on the surface, isn't for me.

  5. #25
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    And an update with happier news

    Having had dialogue with Niclaudie that make the software, I'm more and more impressed.
    It seems it does do everything I wanted it to do.....it's just not blatantly obvious how to do it.

    So, I've spent pretty much all day getting most of my sequences programmed into it, and it works an absolute treat.

    There's still a couple of minor niggles I want to iron out, but it looks like my lighting is now iPad driven

  6. #26

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    Quote Originally Posted by Imagine View Post
    There's still a couple of minor niggles I want to iron out, but it looks like my lighting is now iPad driven
    What was the solution to the random disconnects?
    http://www.bristoldiscohire.co.uk - Quality Disco and Equipment hire for Bristol & Bath
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  7. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by DJ Jules View Post
    What was the solution to the random disconnects?
    It looks to be overcrowded WiFi networks. One of the hidden settings I've been directed to is how to change the WiFi channel the unit runs on (quite why it hasn't got an auto-seek option like most modern routers I don't know). I changed the channel this morning and had no drop outs today.

    That though.....is now the biggest issue for me, because when it DOES drop out, it means rebooting both the LR512 and the app (i.e. potential darkness for about 10 seconds)

  8. #28
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    Whilst I think it is great that the technology keeps on improving and making things (supposedly) easier, I personally would feel uncomfortable relying on Wi-Fi networks to run the software that runs the lighting system. As you've said, there could be potential darkness.

    Your BIG QUESTION of "Would the client notice?" - In my experience, very few take notice of the lighting sequences that have been programmed in by the DJ. Most just see coloured lights that move around and flash now and then. I'm not saying everybody, just the majority in my experience. Maybe I am not giving the average party goer enough credit? Maybe, I am scared to try out the technology that is available out there? The answer to that is - Probably.

    However, would the client notice if there was suddenly darkness? That has to be a yes (if absolutely everything is running through the program), and surely that can't be good?
    For years, We have all gone on and on about how back up is essential so, what do you do? Do you have a couple of other fixtures that aren't connected to the program just in case things do go boobies up? If that's the case, then from what I can tell, it doesn't really make things easier.......does it?

    I guess that if you are at the same venues regularly and know and trust their networks, it isn't much of a problem. However, will it be a case of asking a venue if they have secure a Wi-Fi network if you've never been there before? If they haven't got Wi-Fi, I take it that you'd use something else? To me, that defeats the object again because isn't the whole point of using these things, a way of making things easier for yourself. It would be a pain in the proverbial if the number of venues it could be used in were limited.

    I would love to embrace the technology, but only if I were 100% confident that it was secure and wouldn't let me down. Saying that though, nothing is really 100% is it, because things are there to test us. I just have my doubts. It probably comes from a chat I had with the wedding co-ordinator at a residency I had when I was living down South. Apparently, a DJ turned up for a wedding and couldn't get through the night issue free because all of his music was within Spotify on an iPad. The venue didn't have Wi-Fi back then (around 4 years ago) so I am not quite sure how he managed to do what he did. Apparently, he didn't have any CD's either. Very strange.

    Anyway, good luck with it all. I hope it works.
    Last edited by Shakermaker Promotions; 29-11-2018 at 01:19 PM.

  9. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shakermaker Promotions View Post
    I guess that if you are at the same venues regularly and know and trust their networks, it isn't much of a problem. However, will it be a case of asking a venue if they have secure a Wi-Fi network if you've never been there before? If they haven't got Wi-Fi, I take it that you'd use something else? To me, that defeats the object again because isn't the whole point of using these things, a way of making things easier for yourself. It would be a pain in the proverbial if the number of venues it could be used in were limited.
    It doesn't rely on venue Wi-Fi Gary. The magical box creates it's own secured Wi-Fi network. The tablet then connects to the box using this Wi-Fi network and the lights are controlled from there either via old fashioned cables or via wireless dongles.

    What happens if something fails? Already onto that one (I don't do risk taking). I have a small Windows laptop with lighting software on it (everything patched to the same fixture numbers) and a completely separate USB DMX dongle for that one.

  10. #30

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    It's strange how there's a blackout when the Wi-Fi drops. (Wouldn't like the idea of that)!

    On the Airstream I can close the app and turn the iPad off and the lights will stay in the last requested Scene or Show until it re-connects.
    Nathan.

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