Jay Czerwinski Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 So I attended the show in Gatlinburg - and bought some DMX lighting from another vendor knowing I would need an iDMX box to get it all running. (this vendor was brightly displaying at the entry of the LOR booth)I also enrolled in the LOR 2 day trainging classes where they started to sell of equipment right there on the spot for summer sale or better prices. (why I did not beg for the iDMX box that momemnt is beyond me today -- maybe just brain dead from all of the presentations and the TN humid heat)So my situation is that the equipment is in my home and ready for fun, but I need a DMX converter.What do do!??!1. Just buy iDMX now and bite the bullet to get started for $2502. Wait for the summer sale where it might not even be excess inventory for sale3. Hope a LOR rep reads this and offers me the deal I should have taken at the show4. Wait for the more affordable USB option5. Something else I haven't thought of??6. Stop bothering you guys with this and go back to step 1?? Ha!I'm just going crazy about all of these sale and launch dates that never seem to happen....Thanks in advance for your response, perhaps humoring me and helping me get through this addictive anxiety!!Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimswinder Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Jay Czerwinski wrote: 2. Wait for the summer sale where it might not even be excess inventory for saleThe "excess inventory" sale has already happened...I believe the "mid July" summer sale (soon to be mid August) will have everything on sale and no limit to quantities... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Czerwinski Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 jimswinder wrote: The "excess inventory" sale has already happened...I believe the "mid July" summer sale (soon to be mid August) will have everything on sale and no limit to quantities...Ahh, that sheds some light on the topic. Thank you! So at least WHEN the sale finally happens, the iDMX will in fact be an option. Good to know! From what I have researched, the sale price would be around $200 unless the USB option is available or has some kind of an impact on the iDMX price. Hmmmm..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenL_MCSE Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 LOR will have a less expensive DMX convertor out soon. It was already supposed to be out. You other options to play or buy a dmx dongle for about $100 from ebay.If you buy a Enttec DMX PRO you can use your LOR S2 software an xLights. xLights allows you to run both DMX and LOR on the same machine. Works great!Here is a DMX Pro.http://cgi.ebay.com/ENTTEC-DMX-USB-Pro-Interface-PC-Based-512CH-70304-/170669003501?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27bcaa52edThere is a $45 version but it won't work with LOR and xLight. It does however work wtih LightShowPro.So that is 4 options;1- iDMX2 - New Lor DMX dongle3 - Enttec Pro with xLights4 - Enttec with LSP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhays Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 KenL_MCSE wrote:...If you buy a Enttec DMX PRO you can use your LOR S2 software an xLights. xLights allows you to run both DMX and LOR on the same machine. Works great!:shock: What is this xLights you speak of? News to me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Czerwinski Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 I googled it and found a bit of info.http://sourceforge.net/projects/xlights/"A cross-platform Christmas light show scheduler built on wxWidgets. Plays Vixen and LOR S2 sequences. Compatible with LOR, D-Light, DMX, and Renard controllers."http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=3387.0"It can control a variety of lighting networks including LOR, D-Light, DMX, and Renard. And it runs on Windows, Mac OS/X, and Linux."I'm weighing the benifits of either waiting for LOR sale, the extra costs of buying now, or the extra complexity of learning additional software. But I love the feedback and options I am getting here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenL_MCSE Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 xLights is a showbuilder. It is about as complex as boiling water. Learning DMX itself is easy too.Download xLights and play with it. It works with your LOR dongle. You will be able to use the hardware test utility and scheduler.If you really want to get fancy you can write a script that allows you to have multiple shows, interactive, etc. All things LOR scheduler does without any script knowledge but hey, you can do DMX for free...Bottom line, don't buy the iDmx now, wait till LOR's new dmx dongle is out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Young Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 KenL_MCSE wrote: xLights is a showbuilder. It is about as complex as boiling water. Learning DMX itself is easy too.Download xLights and play with it. It works with your LOR dongle. You will be able to use the hardware test utility and scheduler.If you really want to get fancy you can write a script that allows you to have multiple shows, interactive, etc. All things LOR scheduler does without any script knowledge but hey, you can do DMX for free...Bottom line, don't buy the iDmx now, wait till LOR's new dmx dongle is outJust one caution - if you plan to use a non-intelligent DMX dongle you will need to run your show with a pc.If you plan to run your show with a mp3 player/director, you will need the iDMX, or a similar unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gizmomkr Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 I agree with the frustration. I keep hearing its around the corner.... must be a really big corner. I did REALLY want to use some DMX this year, so I bought the fixtures. I also bought an enttec dongle, and I'm playing with some sound to light features of DMX Control and Freestyler (both are opensource software that have ability to convert sound into DMX signals. I havnt put a lot of time into it - my hope is LOR's dongle shows up, but if it doesnt or if I get to a happy place with the other software I could switch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Czerwinski Posted July 20, 2011 Author Share Posted July 20, 2011 Yes Ken and Greg - thank you very much for the advice and suggestions! Hopefully one day in the future I am blessed with the opportunity to support one of your needs. (and that really goes to everyone in these forums!)Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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