Love the Manual BPM feature, but I'm running into something that I've seen mentioned numerous times: It takes a few seconds for clicks on the manual BPM button to start affecting the light. Coming from a programming background as well, I was wondering if it would be possible to set up the following:
Could we possibly have each click on the Manual BPM button manually advance each scene set to manual BPM one step? I think this would resolve the lag we're seeing with manual BPM button usage. It would basically function just the same as Manual BPM does now, but allow for instant reaction, as opposed to waiting for the program to calculate the BPM based on what rate you're clicking. Don't get me wrong, that functionality would still be necessary to maintain the rate of clicks you've set once you stop clicking, so things continue.
I believe this would allow for some GREAT interaction, basically having each click advance color/pattern changes for everything you have flagged to ManualBPM, at whatever ratio you have them defined at (1 to 1, 1 to 4, etc). Puts you in direct control of beat matching, and still allows for you to just stop clicking to let things carry on at whatever pace you stopped at. Would be -really- nice for drum fill sections and such.
Anyways, just something I wanted to throw out there. If anyone has suggestions on how to achieve a similar effect with what's already available, please let me know. Thanks!
Manual BPM change - add manual stepping?
Re: Manual BPM change - add manual stepping?
I fully support this. People have been asking for what may be described as a go button for manual stepping of scene changes. If it can more easily be done with clicking the manual bpm button I'm with you.
Re: Manual BPM change - add manual stepping?
I was just thinking on the lines of this.
I was testing how some moving head scenes reacted to when I set them to manual BPM and then changed the BPM. What I found was that it changed the movement form from a sine wave to a square.
So no matter what the BPM was, gone was their smooth movement. Which is a bummer.
So can we have it so that it doesn't effect the FORM type?
OR maybe have the Master Fader be able to control the "Manual Speed" %
I was testing how some moving head scenes reacted to when I set them to manual BPM and then changed the BPM. What I found was that it changed the movement form from a sine wave to a square.
So no matter what the BPM was, gone was their smooth movement. Which is a bummer.
So can we have it so that it doesn't effect the FORM type?
OR maybe have the Master Fader be able to control the "Manual Speed" %
Re: Manual BPM change - add manual stepping?
I think when you switch to manual BPM, it bypasses smooth transition and switches it to step transition.
Also, I would think you could make your own fader button for movement speed, so long as you create a two-step scene with just the movement speed channel for the scanners active, with the first step at 0 and the last step at 255 (or whatever the active movement speed % range is). Then just make a button for the scene, and set it to fader. You could then remove the movement speed channel from your scanner scenes, and just use that new button to control the movement speed.
At least, I -think- that should work. That's what I did with my lights to control solo/focus lighting levels across all my scenes. Should work same for movement speed.
Also, I would think you could make your own fader button for movement speed, so long as you create a two-step scene with just the movement speed channel for the scanners active, with the first step at 0 and the last step at 255 (or whatever the active movement speed % range is). Then just make a button for the scene, and set it to fader. You could then remove the movement speed channel from your scanner scenes, and just use that new button to control the movement speed.
At least, I -think- that should work. That's what I did with my lights to control solo/focus lighting levels across all my scenes. Should work same for movement speed.
Re: Manual BPM change - add manual stepping?
I'm not following your thought process. (and sorry this gets us off OG topic)
Scanner speed is a non existent thing. You have X and Y coordinates. These are programmed over numerous steps. No way to control multiple lights as each will have different X and Y coordinates. Even on lights where you can change movement speed, you can just have that say on different percentage scales because the scene you created is using Time. So if scene step is say 2 seconds before change and you make light half the speed as it was when you programmed said scene it will only travel half the distance until it changes direction.
Back to OG topic.
Yes - If you change a button to Auto or Manual BPM speed setting it automatically changes the scene transition type to SQUARE. (step)
Which is fine if you want that BUT if scene transition was SINE (smooth) and you want it to remain that way you can't use this function.
Again - great for you guys who use Par cans still but for complex light shows with moving heads etc, it is not.
So just asking IF they could make it so it does NOT change the scenes transition type.
Scanner speed is a non existent thing. You have X and Y coordinates. These are programmed over numerous steps. No way to control multiple lights as each will have different X and Y coordinates. Even on lights where you can change movement speed, you can just have that say on different percentage scales because the scene you created is using Time. So if scene step is say 2 seconds before change and you make light half the speed as it was when you programmed said scene it will only travel half the distance until it changes direction.
Back to OG topic.
Yes - If you change a button to Auto or Manual BPM speed setting it automatically changes the scene transition type to SQUARE. (step)
Which is fine if you want that BUT if scene transition was SINE (smooth) and you want it to remain that way you can't use this function.
Again - great for you guys who use Par cans still but for complex light shows with moving heads etc, it is not.
So just asking IF they could make it so it does NOT change the scenes transition type.
Re: Manual BPM change - add manual stepping?
Yeah; what you said makes sense. Unfortunately, moving heads are about the only fixture type I don't have any real experience with just yet. I get where you're coming from now on the necessity of smooth/sine transition for moving head control and such. Programmatically, though, I'm not sure how smooth transition can function on manual BPM, as that's some pretty complex recalculation to do on-the-fly (basically having to take what the rate of step change is at any given time, and using that in place of the fade duration time/sine step duration, as opposed to just snapping to the next step on the beat.) Dunno how well that could be handled, given the frequency the BPM could/does change at, even with Manual BPM. :/
Don't get me wrong, I'm in TOTAL support of this as an option, if it's doable at all. I'd love to be able to control my fade scenes with MBPM
Don't get me wrong, I'm in TOTAL support of this as an option, if it's doable at all. I'd love to be able to control my fade scenes with MBPM