DMX for one light only. Which program?

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Galager

Galager

DJ Extraordinaire
Feb 5, 2016
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I use only one light when I do weddings. The Chauvet Gigbar IRC. The big drawback with that light is there is no real good sound active program for slow songs. I want to use DMX to fix that.

Because I am NOT getting into DMX hard and heavy I need a program that will do what I need but not be too difficult. I have a ShowXpress 512 but the program that goes with it, Xpress, sucks when it comes to tutorials and manuals. There is NO real manual and the youtube tutorials are using an outdated version of the program and it is extremely difficult trying to find where in the videos I need to look. I DO like the idea of layering.

I am looking at possibly selling the Xpress 512 and getting a Lumidesk Nano but don't know if the program is any good that goes with it.

Before I do that I wanted to know if you had any ideas of what I should look into.
 
Buy the flarecon and use ur phone or tablet. App is simple and easy to use.
 
I'm a Show Xpress user and it would absolutely be my first choice. With that being said since it's only 1 light Luminair is a good option for ya if you happen to already own an ipad and a wireless router. I use a box from Eternal lighting called the " Elitenet " to run mine. You plug the Elitenet into your wireless Router, then you just connect your ipad and you control and program the light with the ipad. So it is an incredibly portable option with no computer involved. Either option would work well for you
 
jaswrx said:
Buy the flarecon and use ur phone or tablet. App is simple and easy to use.
Click to expand...
Flarecon is great for Freedom Pars and just OK for other static colors. Sucks for anything more complex than a single color. The SUSHI (or ADJ MyDMX) are the cheapest alternatives.
 
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I would love to use ShowXpress since I already have the Xpress 512 but like I said, the tutorial is outdated and difficult to follow and the user manual is a joke. I can tell it is a pretty good platform. I just wish it was supported as well.
 
IceBurghDJ said:
sushi ds and the easy standalone software (clone of adj's program). $40.
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I'll check it out right now. Thanks.

OK. Just checked it out. For $39 I'm willing to give it a try. If it doesn't work I'm not out much.
 
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I am hoping the Flarecon software evolves, since I paid $170 for the thing and it really is good for just static colors .. though it IS a good WiFi access point (better than the Behringer X-Air I also have).
 
Galager said:
I use only one light when I do weddings. The Chauvet Gigbar IRC. The big drawback with that light is there is no real good sound active program for slow songs. I want to use DMX to fix that.

Because I am NOT getting into DMX hard and heavy I need a program that will do what I need but not be too difficult. I have a ShowXpress 512 but the program that goes with it, Xpress, sucks when it comes to tutorials and manuals. There is NO real manual and the youtube tutorials are using an outdated version of the program and it is extremely difficult trying to find where in the videos I need to look. I DO like the idea of layering.

I am looking at possibly selling the Xpress 512 and getting a Lumidesk Nano but don't know if the program is any good that goes with it.

Before I do that I wanted to know if you had any ideas of what I should look into.
Click to expand...

Keep it simple. Buy a slow song fixture (mirror ball, starball, etc) - use one for fast, one for slow.
 
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most fictures I've seen have multiple channels, one being speed.

so I have a 'sound active', a 'fast dance' and 'slow dance' and a white/slow for the first and parent dances, and blackout.
With easy stand alone you can make one key shortcuts..so simple scenes, no looping, timing, etc.

I am working on doing that for school dances and such. Maybe for wedding entrance..strobe the lights in the brides color or something.
 
Fresstyler has been working for me. Speed adjustments on the fly are easy and so are fades.
 
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Ya know, i could probably help you with your Show Xpress if you have any specific questions. I've been using Showxpress for years now. It would be a shame in my opinion for you to get rid of what I consider the best simply for lack of tutorials. Granted, we taught ourselves for basically the same reason but once you get it - there isn't much out there that can compete with the power and ease of using that software. Ya just need to learn how to use it once and you'll have it down
 
Hey that looks cool, Cap.
Please tell me that the live mode acts akin to an old school colour organ and I'm sold!:)
 
The unit reacts to the "beats per minute mode" better than anything out there because it's not using an external mic. With traditional uplight in sound active mode, the lights farthest away would not react as the ones closest to the speakers. Sometime folks will up the bass for lighting purposes, sacrificing life like sound.

The REACTIVE mode senses the beats AND the frequencies being fed it, translating various frequencies into color. High horn riff? Perhaps a big blast of red while the bass drum sticks with the blue. I've never seen anything quite like this so comparing to old skool devices is tough.

One issue. In the reactive mode with bpm's greater than 150, the led's themselves have a tough time keeping up. However, even with the latency of led color combos on and off, it is the easiest most simplistic to run "light show" I've ever used.
 
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Looks awesome Cap. I like that you can use it as a simple light board if you want to mix colors manually, but it does all the other stuff too, in a very small package.

GJ
 
From what I can see it looks like ShowXpress is a more powerful software than most of the others. The lack of support is highly frustrating.

This is my quandary. I know that ShowXpress can layer (I think that is the correct term) different scenes over each other to easily make much more complex lighting displays on the fly. Do other simpler programs do the same?
 
Galager said:
I know that ShowXpress can layer (I think that is the correct term) different scenes over each other to easily make much more complex lighting displays on the fly.
Click to expand...

That right there is the main reason Show Xpress is my favorite. Just let me know if there's any questions i can answer for you to get going with your Showxpress, Once you learn it , you'll love it!
 
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If the only thing you are running is an IRC color bar then don't waste your time on DMX. Use the IRC remote and IRC mode setting to change the light on the fly. You should be able to easily point and click your way in and out of a static color or chase with the supplied remote.

DMX is more useful when you want to sync multiple fixtures.
 
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