DMX question & Software Questions

[cyberstalker292]

I'm brand new to LOR, and I was wondering how DMX control works.

 

I'd like to get some moving RGB head lamps, how do you tell the unit where to point itself in LOR?

Chase sequences would look really cool, I'm just worried the programming will be very hard.

 

Question #2

Before deciding on LOR, I was looking at the "other guys" and one of them have a feature where you can take a photo of your project and overlay what the lights will look like. Does the LOR program have a feature like this?

 

Question #3

Is the LOR program extensible? If I wanted to create a plug in to make "macro" sequences in a catalog.... is that possible?

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

[LORisAwesome]

I don't know the answer to your first question.

 

LOR has a visualizer in which you can take a photo and overlay lights, props, etc...  You can run your sequence and see what it looks like in the visualizer too.

 

LOR does have macro capabilities.  The channels in the Macro cannot exist in the main sequence.

 

Jerry

[cyberstalker292]

Sweet, thanks man.

 

That really helps - now I'm confident before I buy all the software.

 

Much appreciated 

[Don]

Let's define what a macro is in the world of LOR.

 

Macro's are 7 channels associated with Cosmic Color Ribbons/Bulbs/Pixels that reduce the amount of programming for certain effects. They are meant to exist with other channels in your display. If you plan to use them, I wouldn't be deleting them from the sequence.

 

As for "sequences in a catalog" I'm not sure what you are meaning by that.

 

Chases, as programmed with the Chase tool, are quite simple. 

[cyberstalker292]

Thanks Don.

 

I'm a computer engineer, so I'm sure my terminology doesn't "match up" yet 

 

I was meaning by "sequences in a catalog", if I have a tree for instance and have 32 channels running thru it..... if I make 12 channels do something in a span of 2 seconds, could I save that snippet into a "catalog" for future use.

If you build up a large catalog of "snippets", I'd imagine that'd make creating an entire sequence pretty fast in the future. So it can do this? Sorta like a big folder of word files 

[zman]

To answer your first question, moving head or yoke lights are controled with DMX and the movements are defined in your sequences via intensities/ramps. Is that what you were asking?

[Ken Benedict]

I'm brand new to LOR, and I was wondering how DMX control works.

 

I'd like to get some moving RGB head lamps, how do you tell the unit where to point itself in LOR?

Chase sequences would look really cool, I'm just worried the programming will be very hard.

 

...

There's lots of tutorials out there, many on Youtube.

 

How DMX works: http://www.xledlighting.co.uk/led-technology/how-does-dmx-work/

 

More technical DMX information here: http://www.holidaycoro.com/v/vspfiles/downloads/DMXandLORProtocols.pdf

 

There's many people who have gone down this path before; learn from them at: http://forums.lightorama.com/index.php?/topic/27543-not-sure-what-i-need-i-want-to-use-existing-dmx-equipment-in-my-show/

 

To keep the hardware simple, I'd recommend the LOR iDMX1000 controller because it just plugs into your existing LOR system and reliably runs. LOR stands behind it if you have any problems. And there is excellent support on these forums. There are other DMX approaches that are cheaper, but they're more for technical types. Since I don't know your background, I'm only guessing.

 

But for your first year, you might want to keep things simple and concentrate on the programming.

 

And you should have the Advanced License option.

 

If you put your Location in your Profile, there may be people in your area that could help you get started.

[Ron Boyd]

Thanks Don.

 

I'm a computer engineer, so I'm sure my terminology doesn't "match up" yet 

 

I was meaning by "sequences in a catalog", if I have a tree for instance and have 32 channels running thru it..... if I make 12 channels do something in a span of 2 seconds, could I save that snippet into a "catalog" for future use.

If you build up a large catalog of "snippets", I'd imagine that'd make creating an entire sequence pretty fast in the future. So it can do this? Sorta like a big folder of word files 

Yeah, all you have to do is copy the effect and rename and save that clipboard. You can add more clipboards and save your "snippets". I'm not exactly sure how many clipboards can be in the SE at once, but you can save as many as your HD will hold I imagine.

[LORisAwesome]

I don't know the answer to your first question.

 

LOR has a visualizer in which you can take a photo and overlay lights, props, etc...  You can run your sequence and see what it looks like in the visualizer too.

 

LOR does have macro capabilities.  The channels in the Macro cannot exist in the main sequence.

 

Jerry

Sorry for the confusion on the Macros.

 

Don is correct, Macros are used with the Cosmic Color Ribbon.

 

I think what you were asking about is a sub-sequence.   A sub-sequence is another sequence that is stored in a seperate file.   Once the sub-sequence is defined, you can use it in any regular musical or animation sequence.  The channels in the sub sequence cannot be defined in the main sequence.     The sub sequence looks like a single channel in the sequence editor, when you turn it on, the sub sequence runs.  When it is turned off, it stops. 

 

Jerry

[sax]

Question #2

Before deciding on LOR, I was looking at the "other guys" and one of them have a feature where you can take a photo of your project and overlay what the lights will look like. Does the LOR program have a feature like this?

 

This is the Visualizer.  Works great especially with a 2 monitor setup.  Visualizer one monitor, sequencing the other.  See the effects in  real time as you make changes.

 

Question #3

Is the LOR program extensible? If I wanted to create a plug in to make "macro" sequences in a catalog.... is that possible?

 

You can save clipboards, yes.  Another feature in LOR is painting.  You can save whatever sequence you have made that you want to repeat later and then "paint" it into your new or current sequence.  I personally have a seperate folder for these generic, frequently used sequences and can pull them into my new sequences whenever.  You can extend or squeeze these to fit your sequence as needed.  Unlimited storage for these dependant upon size of your harddrive, or portable harddrive, NAS, thumbstick etc.  To see this in action just google LOR Paint Sequence and a video tutorial is available.

[cyberstalker292]

Just wanted to say "Thank you" to all the great responses here.... it really helped me.

 

I've bought my first 16 channels and the advanced version of the software 

 

Can't wait to start playing 

[Rafter Bar R]

Thanks for explaning what "macros" are, now I'll use four of them for..

[Ken Benedict]

I'm brand new to LOR, and I was wondering how DMX control works.

 

I'd like to get some moving RGB head lamps, how do you tell the unit where to point itself in LOR?

Chase sequences would look really cool, I'm just worried the programming will be very hard.

 

Question #2

Before deciding on LOR, I was looking at the "other guys" and one of them have a feature where you can take a photo of your project and overlay what the lights will look like. Does the LOR program have a feature like this?

 

Question #3

Is the LOR program extensible? If I wanted to create a plug in to make "macro" sequences in a catalog.... is that possible?

 

Thanks!

 

This video might help: http://youtu.be/ESFwt6tbbhg