Madrix - Live show (versus Sequenced) experiment...

This is posted below as well in the original post. I wanted to post it again for those that might think that Madrix is a good choice for doing an un-sequenced show. As you will read, not a great experience... here is the entire reply:


Hi to any that may stumble across this very old post... sorry for not updating it sooner. In fact a PM prompted me to come back and do this. I will make a new post to cover this topic for those that may be considering Madrix.


Well in a nutshell Madrix did not work out as I planned. I had hoped to use a its features of sound card input to "interpret" the music and provide a pleasing display. I had everything ready to go. Learned a lot about it in the 6 months prior to show time and then after my lights were up and I was ready for testing. BLAH! It was so disappointing. I messed with it for more than a week most every evening. It was awful. Settings for one song did not work well for the next song. As viennaxmas pointed out in his post, you really have more work in Madrix that in LOR S3 (or your s/w equivalent) because using the feature of Madrix to listen and respond was good in theory and one example I saw via YouTube (with only a portion of one song), but it really was horrible in practice. I had prepped myself for potential problems and had a contingency plan... I purchase a few LOR sequences and worked about 5 of my own. I had a total of 28 minutes of show. The purchased shows were not cheap, especially when you buy 5 of them (full versions that allow editing). Oh yea, I did add another controller and two arches. Those are really cool. It is neat to see them, live and video, but it is a kick to have them in your show. I like them better than a meager.


To sum up Madrix, it is a great piece of s/w, but it, in retrospect, is very, very expensive. It is most definitely "professional" s/w for bigger budget shows. If you are not making money using it (meaning professional lighting folks) I do not see the need nor will I have the time it would take to implement it so the show would be pleasing.
vimmaxmas was right on the money (pun intended) concerning the number of universes and the cost. Max'ed out, Madrix can run greater than $7000.00. Yes that is thousands. My little piddly little 1 universe version may serve me well one day, but thus far it was an expensive lesson learned.

 

Thanks for mentioning LED Lab. I installed it on my iPad and have taken a quick look and so far I like it! I am considering RGB-123 as I am a big fan of the BeagleBone.