Single Board Computer??

[lightningrod4life]

I was just curious to put out and see if anyone has used a single board computer (like a raspberry pi) or similar to run their LOR display?? I know that LOR has the MP3 directors to consider and I know there are ways to adapt an LOR sequence to work on an SBC with certain software but I didn't know if there was a way to install the schedule editor, ect. on a SBC type setup and have it run a show display vs. a full-blown computer.

[k6ccc]

Only sort of.  The LOR software is strictly Windows based.  The show player does not require a lot of horsepower, so using something like one of the paperback book size computers is not normally a problem.  Also because a show player does not take much horsepower, using that old computer that your kids said was too damn slow, and got replaced - will likely work just fine as a show player.  In other words, a give away or almost free computer.  If you take that route, I do recommend formatting the hard drive and reinstalling Windows so that you get a clean install without whatever leftovers may be on that old computer - especially if it was not yours to start with.

If you REALLY NEED to use a RasPi there are ways to convert the sequences to .fseq format and then you can use a RasPi or BeagleBone running Falcon Player to run a show.  Way more effort in my opinion.  I don't have details because I don't do it that way.

And of course as you mentioned, you can use a LOR Director.  There are advantages and disadvantages to that.  I have always used a show computer, and have actually never even seen a Director.  In my opinion, there are some huge advantages to using a show computer.  Remote access and show monitoring being two of the big ones IMHO.

 

[TheDucks]

I'm with Jim.

Directors can do things the (built into controllers) Standalone mode can't (like fades)

Reasons FOR. No secure place for a separate unit (computer) in a public venue and no path for a network cable to the controller.

ELL were not good for Pixels until recently due to speed limitations ...

The N4G4 can be slaved over an ELL (both get loaded with the same SD CARD) to another N4G4 (master)

AFAIK A Showtime computer CAN NOT replace the Master N4G4 syncing feature

If you don't have the need for a director... Why not get a refurb Windows computer to RUN the show

 

[k6ccc]

1 hour ago, TheDucks said:

AFAIK A Showtime computer CAN NOT replace the Master N4G4 syncing feature

Correct - for now.

The early beta versions of S6 had a master / slave (future) capability, but it was stated that was quite a ways out and the buttons were removed for now.  No idea yet what the capability will be.

 

[Jeremiah Ackermann]

If you are wanting a single board computer for space/simplicity reasons, a mini-PC could be an option. I run my show with an old desktop I built in 2010, but would like to replace it with a mini-PC next year. I am thinking it will be a Beelink model, as they have many with varying CPU/RAM capabilities and are relatively cheap. Once it is setup, you could run it without a monitor and just remote access as Jim mentioned above with his show computer (with S6, you could use the phone app to do some interaction, but would likely still need to remote in from time to time).

So for just a show player, something like this $170 mini-pc would likely work just fine https://www.amazon.com/Beelink-4-Cores-Desktop-Computer-Ethernet/dp/B0B17LZ4GD?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1.