Announcing...IngeniusPro

[IRW]

Hi All!

 

I have (what I hope is) an exciting announcement to make.

 

I have posted in Lighting as opposed to software release announcements, as the software technically has not been released, and I'm mainly after what people think of the idea at the moment!

 

http://wwww.irwdesign.com/Images/iptitle.jpg

 

Over the past eight or nine months, myself and a colleague have been working on a piece of software that will hopefully breath a bit more life into our faithful Strand Consoles.

 

You can find a bit more detail on the IngeniusPro site at http://ingeniuspro.irwdesign.com but to summarise:

 

At the current stage of development, IngeniusPro can be used on a Mac or Windows computer in a number of different ways:

• A means to increase the number of submasters available on your 500-series or 300-series Strand console by accessing the subs that are not necessarily physically there, but always exist in the GP software.
  
• A designer's remote plotting station, in combination with either a hardware, or Virtual PC 'Node'.
  
• A remote control surface to your 500-series or 300-series console, including rackmount backup units such as Strand 510 consoles.
  

At the moment it's still a work in progress, but it is now at the stage where we believe it is becoming a really useful piece of software (which has been tested on both Windows XP and OS X 10.5), and we will hopefully be looking at creating some sort of release within the next few months.

 

So...Who's interested...?

 

http://www.irwdesign.com/ingeniuspro/images/ip1.jpg

 

http://www.irwdesign.com/ingeniuspro/images/ip2.jpg

 

http://www.irwdesign.com/ingeniuspro/images/ip3.jpg

 

http://www.irwdesign.com/ingeniuspro/images/ip4.jpg

[gareth]

Looks very interesting.

 

Does it connect to the console via the usual network method?

 

Are there keyboard shortcuts for the buttons, or is it solely point-and-click?

 

If there are keyboard shortcuts, are they the same as the ones that the Strand software uses (so that I could use my X-Keys with your software without having to completely re-do my key mapping!!)?

 

Do you get any of the console output fed back to your laptop (level and playback screens, LCDs, etc.), or is it input only?

[Ynot]

Most definitely interested!

 

With the remote rigger's option, how far away could I plug a laptop in, say? eg - if I tuck a lappy on line on stage (probably ablout 150 to 200 feet of cabling) would that be OK?

[IRW]

Looks very interesting.

 

Does it connect to the console via the usual network method?

 

Are there keyboard shortcuts for the buttons, or is it solely point-and-click?

 

If there are keyboard shortcuts, are they the same as the ones that the Strand software uses (so that I could use my X-Keys with your software without having to completely re-do my key mapping!!)?

 

Do you get any of the console output fed back to your laptop (level and playback screens, LCDs, etc.), or is it input only?

 

 

To answer some questions- It connects via COM 1 (serial port) on a console or node. My ultimate aim is to get it working over shownet, but there don't seem to be any datasheets around that document the protocol :)

 

Pretty much most keyboard shortcuts that you would expect to work on a console or OLE work in IngeniusPro.

 

The best way of getting console output back to the computer you are working on is to install the 'node' software into virtual PC, or any other suitable DOS emulator, and run shownet to the IP computer, along with the serial link.

 

 

Most definitely interested!

 

With the remote rigger's option, how far away could I plug a laptop in, say? eg - if I tuck a lappy on line on stage (probably ablout 150 to 200 feet of cabling) would that be OK?

 

Out in the field, the longest cable my colleague has run over to date is 50m (164')

 

This was a cable made up of a 9-pin d-sub serial connector to 3-pin XLR adapter at either end. (Running GND, TX and RX over the three cores)

 

He has also had it running over Cat 5 cable, via suitable adaptors, but we haven't tried to get particularly far with this method yet.

 

I believe 50' is the 'official' figure for RS232, but as I say, we have had it working over a 50m run.

IngeniusPro works at 2400bps, so if anyone wants to step in and give us a guestimated theoretical distance, please do!

 

Ian

[richard]

Looks interesting - I have been looking into trying to hack the xconnect network stream in order to write a little iphone remote, Ingenius seems to just pass serial messages to the desk - I assume that if you have bought the wireless remote option (for the windows remote thing) then you could probably adjust ingenius to work over the network via that.

 

Are you planning to charge for this or give it away?

[richard]

I also wonder if you could do anything clever with serial over network stuff - if you were really clever you could install a network - serial driver on a 520 but I have no idea as to whether this would work.

[jexjexjex]

I may be being a bit thick here and please forgive me if I am but would this be the answer to my prayers?

 

Could it be connected directly to the master and fader panels, as a way of using the perfectly good panels from a 300 with a dead processor box and simply output DMX through a dongle?

 

Or am I barking completely up the wrong tree?

[Alan Pickwick]

Tried to use the links on your web page to make contact but they produce an error. Alan.

[IRW]

I may be being a bit thick here and please forgive me if I am but would this be the answer to my prayers?

 

Could it be connected directly to the master and fader panels, as a way of using the perfectly good panels from a 300 with a dead processor box and simply output DMX through a dongle?

 

Or am I barking completely up the wrong tree?

 

Sorry Jex, it could take the place of dead fader panels, or even a dead control panel, but the processor box is still required. When it comes down to it, IP is basically a front end, the bulk of the computing is still done at the console end.

 

A concurrent post has been automatically merged from this point on.

 

Looks interesting - I have been looking into trying to hack the xconnect network stream in order to write a little iphone remote, Ingenius seems to just pass serial messages to the desk - I assume that if you have bought the wireless remote option (for the windows remote thing) then you could probably adjust ingenius to work over the network via that.

 

Are you planning to charge for this or give it away?

 

Yes, IngeniusPro simply passes serial messages to the desk- I'm not sure about adapting to work in place of the iPaq software- the ASCII input is quite simply so much more flexible than the commands that can be sent from a WM device. A second laptop VNCing into a computer sat by the console would, IMO be an easier way to give yourself a wireless IP interface. (I hope that all makes sense!) Potentially though, a cut-down option could be included, to give basic desk control in that fashion.

 

In terms of how I make the software available, I've not quite decided on that yet. TBH I've not got the experience to set up an online web payment service or anything like that, so I may release it alongside a paypal 'donate' button :).

 

Potentially, If any other BRers can help towards the developement on the Shownet side of things, I would be very much inclined to make it freely available to the forum users.

 

Tried to use the links on your web page to make contact but they produce an error. Alan.

 

Oh dear, thanks for that Alan, I'll have a look at that when I get home tonight. In the meantime, feel free to PM me on here!

 

Edited to add some afterthoughts

[gareth]

The best way of getting console output back to the computer you are working on is to install the 'node' software into virtual PC, or any other suitable DOS emulator, and run shownet to the IP computer, along with the serial link.

Damn, that's a shame. Personally-speaking, I can see it probably having most potential as a stalls remote for plotting/re-lighting - a nice graphical point-and-click interface to the console without having to remember all the shortcut keys, but with the option to use them if you want. But by only being unidirectional (control only, no displays) it suddenly becomes of very limited use.

 

It looks really nice, Ian - the UI seems well thought out and very clear and uncluttered. But the lack of ShowNet communication and output screens means I can't really offer to give it a trial run for you - I'd have to have xConnect running alongside it in order to get the monitors up on screen anyway, so might as well just use that for control input as well (one less piece of software running, one less cable to run back to the desk).

 

Edit to remove appalling grammar :)

[jexjexjex]

Sorry Jex, it could take the place of dead fader panels, or even a dead control panel, but the processor box is still required. When it comes down to it, IP is basically a front end, the bulk of the computing is still done at the console end.

 

B*gg*r!

 

Thought it was too good to be true. Perhaps your next phase of development? :)

 

Seems like an interesting piece of software though. Good luck with it.

[simschr]

Potentially, If any other BRers can help towards the developement on the Shownet side of things, I would be very much inclined to make it freely available to the forum users.

 

I could be wrong but I believe ShowNet is a proprietary protocol owned by Strand. So unfortunately I doubt you'll have much chance finding out how it works, unless you're willing to pay.

 

Chris

[rossmck]

I could be wrong but I believe ShowNet is a proprietary protocol owned by Strand. So unfortunately I doubt you'll have much chance finding out how it works, unless you're willing to pay.

 

Artistic License do a ShowNet <> ArtNet converter (which incidentally I'd love a non-Windows version of :)) and the Linux Lighting project at http://code.google.com/p/linux-lighting/ has an opensource implementation of ShowNet so there might be some stuff of interest in there

[richard]

I had a little look at the LLP stuff a while ago, and I think it only does the control side of showNet, rather than the control/display stuff, but may be wrong! If we could crack that it would open many doors!

 

Out of interest - are you writing in realbasic, or java or something else entirely?

[IRW]

I had a little look at the LLP stuff a while ago, and I think it only does the control side of showNet, rather than the control/display stuff, but may be wrong! If we could crack that it would open many doors!

 

Out of interest - are you writing in realbasic, or java or something else entirely?

 

Realbasic.

 

I'm just having a look at the OLA stuff, but I'm not too familiar with the open source directory lark- and it appears to be written in C :)