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- Thread starter Gso125
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neilric99
Full time elf
I am using LFP for controlling my display, I also use Madrix.
Light Factory is different from the other lighting sequencers such as Vixen, HLS, LSP and LOR in that it does not use the grid to setup your sequence. Instead it is designed more for the person who has some stage/concert lighting/DJ experience as it uses cuelists to control what it does. IMHO I find it much easier to setup cuelists than a grid.
LFP is a cut down version of the regular version of Light Factory and the limitation is that it comes with a limited set of fixtures such a conventional dimmers, and discrete rgb led control. on the other hand for the price it offers us the ability to run up to 150 Universe of RGB nodes/pixels.
Madrix is more akin to a media server but for LED video type walls that you would see in nightclubs. LFP can be used to drive Madrix over E1.31 or DMX/Artnet or Midi. Controlling Madrix requires a fixture which can be enabled but costs an additional $50 per fixture type.
You may find that the Matrix effects engine in LFP is more than adequate for driving your megatree and matrix panels and Madrix is not needed.
LFP really gets useful when you have multiple cuelists which could be media effects like video on different servers, audio tracks and their sound to light effects and this all can be controlled by master cuelists / midi / dmx / http/ ipad and SMTPE timecode.
Light Factory is different from the other lighting sequencers such as Vixen, HLS, LSP and LOR in that it does not use the grid to setup your sequence. Instead it is designed more for the person who has some stage/concert lighting/DJ experience as it uses cuelists to control what it does. IMHO I find it much easier to setup cuelists than a grid.
LFP is a cut down version of the regular version of Light Factory and the limitation is that it comes with a limited set of fixtures such a conventional dimmers, and discrete rgb led control. on the other hand for the price it offers us the ability to run up to 150 Universe of RGB nodes/pixels.
Madrix is more akin to a media server but for LED video type walls that you would see in nightclubs. LFP can be used to drive Madrix over E1.31 or DMX/Artnet or Midi. Controlling Madrix requires a fixture which can be enabled but costs an additional $50 per fixture type.
You may find that the Matrix effects engine in LFP is more than adequate for driving your megatree and matrix panels and Madrix is not needed.
LFP really gets useful when you have multiple cuelists which could be media effects like video on different servers, audio tracks and their sound to light effects and this all can be controlled by master cuelists / midi / dmx / http/ ipad and SMTPE timecode.
candlelight
New elf
I've only been using lfp for about 2 weeks now, but i'd say one advantage it has is being able to easily organize channels into whatever group you want. I've setup groups with 1,000 channels just by typing in what range I want. In this manner its super easy to control large numbers of channels.
Another plus, one effect can control multiple matrices at once, making easier to sync up timing. It is much different than the grid based ones though, but I agree with neil, I find the cues much easier to work with, took some getting used to, but so far I like it better.
downside, this program is not meant to be used as a visualizer, and I've noticed on screen anyways it has a hard time keeping up with chases that are really close together. I'm hoping the actual output doesn't look this choppy, and will let you know tomorrow as i'm hooking them up as we speak to do some testing before I spend the $500...
Another plus, one effect can control multiple matrices at once, making easier to sync up timing. It is much different than the grid based ones though, but I agree with neil, I find the cues much easier to work with, took some getting used to, but so far I like it better.
downside, this program is not meant to be used as a visualizer, and I've noticed on screen anyways it has a hard time keeping up with chases that are really close together. I'm hoping the actual output doesn't look this choppy, and will let you know tomorrow as i'm hooking them up as we speak to do some testing before I spend the $500...
neilric99
Full time elf
LFP and MADRIX are very different products for different purposes.
I use LFP to drive Madrix as Madrix does not have a sequencer but it is the best effects engine which allows for multiple payer effects.
The matrix effects in LFP will give you some interesting results but they are geared more towards smaller arrays of fixtures and doing chases. Madrix is better for use on rgb led walls and other elements such as your megatree.
So I think both have their place and can compliment each other.
I use LFP to drive Madrix as Madrix does not have a sequencer but it is the best effects engine which allows for multiple payer effects.
The matrix effects in LFP will give you some interesting results but they are geared more towards smaller arrays of fixtures and doing chases. Madrix is better for use on rgb led walls and other elements such as your megatree.
So I think both have their place and can compliment each other.
candlelight
New elf
Hey neil, i'm having a hard time getting LFP to talk to my pixels. Is there any settings I need to change in LFP to enable output?
I went into system properties and turned on all universes and left them at the default settings
trying to connect them to a p12 from j1sys...
was wondering if you've had any success with that?
I went into system properties and turned on all universes and left them at the default settings
trying to connect them to a p12 from j1sys...
was wondering if you've had any success with that?
neilric99
Full time elf
the videos in this forum are a great start to understanding how to setup LFP
http://auschristmaslighting.com/forums/index.php/board,62.0.html
start with defining your streaming ACN outputs and inputs and which network interface you wish the traffic to go down (useful if you have 2 NICS, or a wireless and Ethernet connection to your show network)
Then you have to setup your channel mapping (Dimmer patching to your fixtures) and add the channels to your matrix
http://auschristmaslighting.com/forums/index.php/board,62.0.html
start with defining your streaming ACN outputs and inputs and which network interface you wish the traffic to go down (useful if you have 2 NICS, or a wireless and Ethernet connection to your show network)
Then you have to setup your channel mapping (Dimmer patching to your fixtures) and add the channels to your matrix
candlelight
New elf
thanks neil, had it all setup right.. but I was testing on universe 33... when I switched to testing on universe 1 it worked fine. Maybe a demo mode restriction that only the first universe is output
absolutely love how dmx is output all the time, without delay or optimization! makes it super easy to test. another thing I like, if the effect doesn't seem to match the speed of the music, a quick edit to the effect time length and voila!
to setup music, create a media effect.. pick the song and save the effect. then in your cue list, add that effect to every cue (not just the first) if LFP sees the effect in the previous cue, it continues that effect.
so lets say your arches are jumping around but u want your mega tree to change color at 3 specific points. you would add 3 cues to make the tree change colors. you could then add your arch effect to all three cues. since LFP sees that effect was running in the previous cue, it continues that effect until it reaches a cue where that effect is longer there
as far as the text goes, haven't played with that much and would depend on the resolution of your matrix. If you have a high resolution (lots of pixels spaced close together) you could add an image of the text to your matrix and make it move around that way. Otherwise, I think you'd have to do the pixel at a time deal. I find the matrix tools in LFP very powerful though. you can access them from almost any point in the software. create effects tied to them, or there also right there in each cue you create...
depends on your setup, I have a lot of pixels (6,000) so with 18,000 channels LFP seems like a good choice for me.
absolutely love how dmx is output all the time, without delay or optimization! makes it super easy to test. another thing I like, if the effect doesn't seem to match the speed of the music, a quick edit to the effect time length and voila!
to setup music, create a media effect.. pick the song and save the effect. then in your cue list, add that effect to every cue (not just the first) if LFP sees the effect in the previous cue, it continues that effect.
so lets say your arches are jumping around but u want your mega tree to change color at 3 specific points. you would add 3 cues to make the tree change colors. you could then add your arch effect to all three cues. since LFP sees that effect was running in the previous cue, it continues that effect until it reaches a cue where that effect is longer there
as far as the text goes, haven't played with that much and would depend on the resolution of your matrix. If you have a high resolution (lots of pixels spaced close together) you could add an image of the text to your matrix and make it move around that way. Otherwise, I think you'd have to do the pixel at a time deal. I find the matrix tools in LFP very powerful though. you can access them from almost any point in the software. create effects tied to them, or there also right there in each cue you create...
depends on your setup, I have a lot of pixels (6,000) so with 18,000 channels LFP seems like a good choice for me.
neilric99
Full time elf
Gso125 said:
I am not using any visualization software and just rely on the layout view to get an idea of the output.
I did hear from Martin that there may be problems using capture etc as we are outputting many more channels that it is used to visualizing and needs a powerful computer to work with 10's of DMX Universe.
tuppetsdad
Funding & Tech Support
Also to keep in mind is the new Madrix 3 which makes items like trees and multiples of much the same shape very easy.
candlelight
New elf
yeah, that's why I went with light factory, this year i'm using 33 universes.. a madrix license would be out of my budget, and so far lfp seems to be keeping up pretty well.
also, you can easily make copies of features in lfp by copying an effect and selecting to offset your fixture count
also, you can easily make copies of features in lfp by copying an effect and selecting to offset your fixture count
I know I'm a bit late to this conversation, but I'm the lead designer on the big CT display and I wanted to make a couple of points from my read of this....
1> On Screen display & Lag... Yes it is true the with LF the on screen display does not keep sync with the actual DMX output. It is not ideal for those of us who would like to use the screen as visualizer when programming in sync to the music. However, the performance to price ratio is most acceptable compared to the other big lighting desk software out there. (not that your considering a $100K whole hog or Grand MA lighting desk for your lightshow!)
2>I think that LF is as powerful as Madrix, but it requires a bit more work to get the same effects. I actually consider this an advantage because I'm not going to use the "canned" effects that everyone else is, because I have to create the effect. But with some VERY VERY Simple images and graphics in combination with a matrix effect, and you can do some amazing things! And 90% of the effects in the CT show are just Matrix grids that move across an image. The sparkle effect at the end is just a black and white image that the matrix moves across.
3> A little known "glitch" with LF is that if you rotate a matrix in an effect and the matrix is not a square, it will cut off parts of the image as it rotates. The simple fix is to create a matrix that has square proportions, but only use the cells that you need to for your grid. (leave the un-needed parts blank and this tricks the "engine" into thinking you have a square grid) (This *MIGHT* have been fixed in a recent release - I know it was on the list of things to get fixed, however it might also be part of LF3.)
4> Matrix import/export - it is very easy to create grids of numbers in excel. And it is very easy to import/export the matrix grids from LF. Easy to change your start address and have everything auto-shift in excel with some simple formulas - and then import. Easy to create a new matrix with a different layout. In fact the star in our CT show is driven by three different matrix layouts during the show. If it's easier to create an effect with a different layout, make one... It's great to be able to drive the same elements in different ways.
5> Chases & copies of chases. There are really powerful tools in the FX editor to remove channels/attributes from a chase and also increase or decrease the value of a color in a chase. So I can create a chase in white and then copy it and make it red. copy the white again and make it green, copy the white again and make blue. I can make a chase that only affects the "dimmer" of an RGB pixel, so I can set the color in the cue and then run a chase that dims that color up and down. Or I can have a separate chase controlling the colors while a 2nd chase controls the brightness....
5b> Chase & Offset Copy chases - create a chase on one set of channels (say a 10 channel arch chase) and copy it with an OFFSET and then you have the same chase on your next arch. Now you can run those chases together in sycn, or in tandem... and you only had to create it one time. Combine this with the Remove channels and you can create many chases very quickly.
6> There is a new visual audio/timeline editor (I have not played with it yet). But It is designed to be able to make cuing shows synced to music very easy.
6b> There is a new "dark" chase function - but I'm not sure if it is released yet, still in beta testing.
7> There is no "save" button in LF - As soon as you finish entering data, it is saved.
7B> The files get VERY large - there is a compact function to reduce the size of the database.
Options> System Properties> System Settings> Advanced Options> Make Show File Smaller.
8> If you have the Personal version, this may not apply, but if you want LF to load faster, remove the fixtures you don't use from the Library folder.
9> LF is one of the most actively developed pieces of software out there. And I can honestly say that Martin provides world class support. If you find a bug or crash the software, chances are it will be fixed with 24 hours (if not only hours). Not to mention that in three years of use, I have only lost my work once and that was because I was testing new features.
If you have other questions, I can try to answer them...
S
1> On Screen display & Lag... Yes it is true the with LF the on screen display does not keep sync with the actual DMX output. It is not ideal for those of us who would like to use the screen as visualizer when programming in sync to the music. However, the performance to price ratio is most acceptable compared to the other big lighting desk software out there. (not that your considering a $100K whole hog or Grand MA lighting desk for your lightshow!)
2>I think that LF is as powerful as Madrix, but it requires a bit more work to get the same effects. I actually consider this an advantage because I'm not going to use the "canned" effects that everyone else is, because I have to create the effect. But with some VERY VERY Simple images and graphics in combination with a matrix effect, and you can do some amazing things! And 90% of the effects in the CT show are just Matrix grids that move across an image. The sparkle effect at the end is just a black and white image that the matrix moves across.
3> A little known "glitch" with LF is that if you rotate a matrix in an effect and the matrix is not a square, it will cut off parts of the image as it rotates. The simple fix is to create a matrix that has square proportions, but only use the cells that you need to for your grid. (leave the un-needed parts blank and this tricks the "engine" into thinking you have a square grid) (This *MIGHT* have been fixed in a recent release - I know it was on the list of things to get fixed, however it might also be part of LF3.)
4> Matrix import/export - it is very easy to create grids of numbers in excel. And it is very easy to import/export the matrix grids from LF. Easy to change your start address and have everything auto-shift in excel with some simple formulas - and then import. Easy to create a new matrix with a different layout. In fact the star in our CT show is driven by three different matrix layouts during the show. If it's easier to create an effect with a different layout, make one... It's great to be able to drive the same elements in different ways.
5> Chases & copies of chases. There are really powerful tools in the FX editor to remove channels/attributes from a chase and also increase or decrease the value of a color in a chase. So I can create a chase in white and then copy it and make it red. copy the white again and make it green, copy the white again and make blue. I can make a chase that only affects the "dimmer" of an RGB pixel, so I can set the color in the cue and then run a chase that dims that color up and down. Or I can have a separate chase controlling the colors while a 2nd chase controls the brightness....
5b> Chase & Offset Copy chases - create a chase on one set of channels (say a 10 channel arch chase) and copy it with an OFFSET and then you have the same chase on your next arch. Now you can run those chases together in sycn, or in tandem... and you only had to create it one time. Combine this with the Remove channels and you can create many chases very quickly.
6> There is a new visual audio/timeline editor (I have not played with it yet). But It is designed to be able to make cuing shows synced to music very easy.
6b> There is a new "dark" chase function - but I'm not sure if it is released yet, still in beta testing.
7> There is no "save" button in LF - As soon as you finish entering data, it is saved.
7B> The files get VERY large - there is a compact function to reduce the size of the database.
Options> System Properties> System Settings> Advanced Options> Make Show File Smaller.
8> If you have the Personal version, this may not apply, but if you want LF to load faster, remove the fixtures you don't use from the Library folder.
9> LF is one of the most actively developed pieces of software out there. And I can honestly say that Martin provides world class support. If you find a bug or crash the software, chances are it will be fixed with 24 hours (if not only hours). Not to mention that in three years of use, I have only lost my work once and that was because I was testing new features.
If you have other questions, I can try to answer them...
S
candlelight
New elf
first thanks for the wealth of information in that post, I've discovered some of them while working in it...
been working on it for about 2 months now and it is a bit more difficult to program with, but once you get used to it you can create some great effects pretty easily.. and the dmx output performance is top notch! I programmed up to 15 minutes before my show yesterday and ran it no problem
i'll have to play with the matrix feature, seems very powerful but I wasn't having a lot of success with it. I'll have to play with it more, especially now that I know about the square grid. it was constantly cutting off my effects
I have several matrixs created for each feature, depending on my programming need, and it works wonderful
also like how in the chase effect, you can work with multiple matrices. each step of the chase can control different matrix maps, making it really easy to sync effects on different features
been working on it for about 2 months now and it is a bit more difficult to program with, but once you get used to it you can create some great effects pretty easily.. and the dmx output performance is top notch! I programmed up to 15 minutes before my show yesterday and ran it no problem
i'll have to play with the matrix feature, seems very powerful but I wasn't having a lot of success with it. I'll have to play with it more, especially now that I know about the square grid. it was constantly cutting off my effects
I have several matrixs created for each feature, depending on my programming need, and it works wonderful
also like how in the chase effect, you can work with multiple matrices. each step of the chase can control different matrix maps, making it really easy to sync effects on different features
candlelight
New elf
how would you create this effect??
on a mega tree, fade up from bottom white, then fade up from bottom red, then fade up from bottom blue
I tried creating a simple chase effect, and not adding the channels that I didn't want to change. but the chase effect seems to be all or nothing, if the channel is not included in the chase step, it turns it off. is this correct?
for instance, I removed the top half of the tree from my chase step, hoping it would leave whatever color was up there on, and then in the next chase step set those top channels to turn to red. but didn't seem to work that way..
any suggestions?
on a mega tree, fade up from bottom white, then fade up from bottom red, then fade up from bottom blue
I tried creating a simple chase effect, and not adding the channels that I didn't want to change. but the chase effect seems to be all or nothing, if the channel is not included in the chase step, it turns it off. is this correct?
for instance, I removed the top half of the tree from my chase step, hoping it would leave whatever color was up there on, and then in the next chase step set those top channels to turn to red. but didn't seem to work that way..
any suggestions?
Ive now done 2 xmas seasons with LightFactory Personal and cannot thank Martin enough, I know it's an old thread but would like to add a little info.
I've found on large fixture counts, mine was 6100 this year that when running cues directly the display will lag, my workaround has been to create one matrix with all fixtures and use this in layout view. Doesn't solve everything till you then run cues from the cuelist playback screen, at this point the "preview" in the layout window is spot on.whyrl said:
That's largely the way i have used it and you can create some great effects, the other way is to use short motion loops with a static matrix effect.whyrl said:
Not fixed as of the 213 beta i used this year but i used this as a feature to enable a swipe around the megatrees from on to offwhyrl said:
Ah now something i didn't know, thanks for thatwhyrl said:
love this ability and feature and only really started to get around it this yerwhyrl said:
Oh this is absolutely brilliant and makes cue point setting a breeze, and i just learnt a trick that makes a library of cuelists easy and essential. Just create a new database, add the media FX, create new cue list, use visual editor to set all the cue points. Now open the production database and import the cue just created and in cue zero fire a media playback ro play the music and set all the cues up for what you want in the show. This leaves with and untouched but valid cuelist in the first db that can be reimported if needed.whyrl said:
Oh yes and around 900Mb it will corrupt fully.whyrl said:
Thank you for that, will try but i find the cue list loading to be the longest delay nowwhyrl said:
TOO TRUE!whyrl said:
whyrl said:
May be of use to others, the easiest way but maybe not the best is to create an image with the three colours and just move the matrix over the image.candlelight said: