Ideas & More

[gilsontech]

Great job on this new Beta, I've only played with it for about 30 minutes, but it's looking good. I'll try it in a theater this weekend and test a few things.

A couple things I noticed first:
1 - The Master Fader should be more dominate. For example, maybe a darker background and larger knob (That's what she said) I could resist
2 - Option for MF to "snap" back into the default position (0%) - thoughts? Usually it's 0-100%, the bottom being 0, but i like what you did with -100% to 0% to 100%, but I can see it being a little tricky to get right at 0% during a show in a hurry.
3 - LED indicator next to the MF, like the DMX Levels window. Maybe showing a vertical red line for visual reference. I'm very visual, hence why I got into lighting.
4 - Also the ability to use my scroll-wheel on my mouse to fade up/down the MF (when I hover over the MF area) would be great.
5 - Having the option to have the MF pick and choose which fixtures/channels it controls gave me the idea of: What about have sub-faders. Sort-of a Master Fader for each Button Page? I can see use for this, but I know it would be a lot of work.

Great Job, and keep it up.

Here's a few notes I had about features and other non-beta questions.
- I'm working with a Big church and they are going with the software with 4 universes, but need the ability to go up to 8 DMX universes over time and for special events. Would it be possible to make the max 8 DMX universes vs. 6?
- Also this brings me to ArtNet, it's a big deal with some of my bigger clients and I've lost 2 deals over it. I know I've brought this up before, but I think ArtNet needs to seriously be considered. Maybe an "In-App" purchase?
- ETC released a new version of their EOS software for their lighting consoles: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIwpspRhYGU I think it's worth a watch. Not sure how it's done or if it could be added, but RDM looks pretty interesting.
- You'll also notice ETC's UI is very dark. I love this. I know more designers that love it. It's easier on the eyes and better for me to see the stage during a black-out or scene change. I saw you made note of the software going to 64-bit and that reprogramming was being done. I would consider look into adding a Dark UI as the default or at least an option.

Thanks Again!
-Josh

[support]

Thank you for your feedback.

Master Fader should be more dominate

Hum ! In our opinion, we prefer like this. We will wait for more comments.

Master Fader "snap" back into the default position (0%)

This requirement makes sence. The problem is it requires one more button per MF, and we indeed miss room for that.

LED indicator

Looks redundant aside the MF. Anyway, missing room for this to.

Ability to use my scroll-wheel on my mouse to fade up/down the MF (when I hover over the MF area)

Nice idea. Added in TODO list, but not sure possible to do in multi-OS code.

option to have the MF pick and choose which fixtures/channels it controls

Is was an alternative choice during "discussion before taking a decision" (viewtopic.php?f=31&t=1811). But we choosed another solution. We can not change this now.

Ability to go up to 8 DMX universes

Big coding job and high responsability for less than 10 requirements per year ! We hope you will understand our situation.
Why not using 2 computers with synch via dmx ?
(in our opinion, it is much more safe to use 2 computers for so big lightshows)

RDM

We think RDM has no future via dmx line.
The reason it is very difficult for DMX (RS485) to support dmx streaming out + RDM in.

Dark UI

Not possible until we use standard OS window (standard window and gadgets). The OS decides the colors for us.
PS: some pure OS users love also to see native OS colors

Artnet

We are studying Ethernet communications. We are improving our knowledge on Ethernet. We keep an eye on this.
But right now, our software is not ready to manage more than 3 thousands of channels.

[DHoude]

Here are my thoughs.

I like the snap back to 0% idea, that is why I was initially thinking about the text box to actually type a velue. But that seems slow...

1. There could be a right click the slider to snap to a few saved presets, like you can with DMX values on the Channel fader, in the Editor app.
2. There could also be a Double click that sends you back to 0%?
3. Either that (this may be hard) drag the fader and have it stop at 0% when reached, then click again to drag past.

The double click could be easy to mess up, but the right click for -25%, -50%, -75%, 0%... or something may be nice and not take up any screen space (right click). On the flip side. A smooth fade (not a jump) seems to be a better solution to me. So not super critical to me, just ideas for conversation.

As far as the OP's request for dark UI. I too have felt a BIG need for this. My DJ software is very dark for low lit shows. VDJ uses a graphic that can be loaded in the backgroud and XML to program the elements. Serato (other DJ software) is literally a "Day" and "Night" button (Best option by far). I only mention that, to say that maybe loading an overall background color to live or image to fill around the buttons could achive this goal without too much work.

Going from Dark DJ software to bright light software is not fun. BUT there is already a solution (for the most part). Change the color of all your live buttons or add graphics. it is a HUGE help and already possible! I have even added a graphic AND a color to make a darker button for my reduced brightness scenes. This could help you further. I find it has helped me allot!

[support]

An option "snap to "0"", with smooth transition looks indeed complex (coding side).

Dark UI is not easy for us because we use native OS window/gadgets. For example, the window background is defined by the OS, and we can not change it.
Selecting dark colors for buttons looks like the best solution: easy, customisable, and already possible.

[eedetail]

I used ver 6.33 beta last night for a smaller gig, only used 2 of the 4 master faders.
They were invaluable... all my wash chases were programmed full intensity, so dropping their
level across the board worked very well. Same for chases on my par's on the front line.
Yeah, I might find it useful for a snap to 0 on the master faders, but it was no big deal
to just drag them above that level. I wasnt looking at their values anyway, I was looking
at the level of lighting I wanted at the back of the stage or front.

As for the brightness of the software, I use a mixture of plain buttons, and ones
with images and colors. Its too bright when I fire up, but i just turn the darkness way
down after booting; I also turn off the wireless network so the computer it not doing
much besides running showxpress. All my gigs have some ambient light back at the
lighting desk anyways.....what I really need is a decent USB reading light to I can
see the keyboard. My second monitor is also turned way down. Anymore, and my
eyes cant read too much... showing my age.
TimE

[DHoude]

An option "snap to "0"", with smooth transition looks indeed complex (coding side).

Actually this was not what I was asking, but sweet idea Support! If at some point it can be done, great. There are so many other fades and controls, lol, I don't know how you guys figure it all out! But I am glad you have!

I ment that manaully sliding the fader back to 0 smoothly seems better than a harsh jump. Like other ideas would do by jumping to a value. So I still think I still would choose manual over a "snap to value XXX%" approach.

Like eedetail said, right levels are right levels. your audience can't see +/- 5%. I am prehaps a bit guilty of obsessing over perfect, but perfect isn't a number, it is a look. That is why we need master fader in the first place, to tweak it perfect at the venue and for your conditions.

[gilsontech]

So I ran 4 production-like church services over the weekend with the new beta, and a backup PC with the real version just in case, and everything went great.

I did notice it taking up more processing power and some of my light scenes were jumping a little.
Also the gradient looks good, but the red line around the selected buttons are GREAT!!
I only used 2/4 Master Faders and I found the Snapping to 0% would be perfect. Also is there a way to be able to label each fader myself?
For example (Dimmers) & (ALL) etc.

Keep up the good work and I look forward to try the next release of the Beta.

[support]

Thank you for your feedback.

Yes, the new Master Fader takes some more processor time.
The "red line" is not clear for us ; if possible, please desing a picture and post it.
We are looking for a multi-OS and "saving space on screen" solution for "snapping to 0%".
"Possibility to label Master Faders" is added in TODO list (may be only tooltip, in order to save space on screen).

[gilsontech]

Red Outline: