theatretechie Posted April 29, 2015 Posted April 29, 2015 I've read many posts on here but not really seen very many on Media Servers. As they are so heavily used in lighting now I'm curious to see what people use, prefer in an ideal world, why they like or hate them. I personally came from using PVP on a Mac then Arkaos 3.5. But then I moved over to MA VPU. I've not found many users of MA VPU I think due to the fact it can only run under MA control. I already owned and MA1 and MA2 so the VPU seemed a good choice. Its taken a bit of time to get my head round it but I wouldn't change it out now. Very clever warper and artnet out for pixel mapping of both LED walls and LED head via linking it back through the console. With full CITP and even CITP preview and playback on the console itself. The backup functions are very smart. One server can back up multiple servers. I also bought Avolites Ai dongle but really not getting to grips with this one at all. So what is everyone else using??
empyfree Posted April 29, 2015 Posted April 29, 2015 Resolume Arena. Feature set keeps growing and I can quickly add more licences to existing hardware.
theatretechie Posted April 29, 2015 Author Posted April 29, 2015 Resolume Arena. Feature set keeps growing and I can quickly add more licences to existing hardware. What do you use as a controller? I have not used Resolume but I understand it does not support CITP at the moment. I have a collegue who has recently purchased it and is learning it at the moment.
deadpixel Posted April 29, 2015 Posted April 29, 2015 I typically use either Catalyst or Resolume Arena on a daily basis (and sometimes VLC :) ) and they both have their strengths and weaknesses but are great bits of software. The only thing I find bad with Resolume is the way it renders files, they are not always as sharp as they could be due to the anti aliasing, this can be particularly visible when you scale things from a layer just above or below one to one. I find that the catalyst seems to cope with this better. On the upside, it has a lovely interface and a great set of functions, but I still get confused about the blending modes to this day, they seem to do something different every time! I wouldn't probably use arena for a corporate but for busking band visuals, its fantastic, its amazing how many things you can do with a simple black and white logo! CITP on both would be really nice!
empyfree Posted April 29, 2015 Posted April 29, 2015 We have an Akai apc40 which we use for "vj" style events, or else I use artnet and control it via chamsys. I'd love it to support msex or citp but I can live without it at the moment! For simple events I just click through columns directly in the Resolume interface. I've not noticed the aliasing problems, I'll have a closer inspection when I've next got it all set up, could it be a graphic card issue you've been having?
timsabre Posted April 30, 2015 Posted April 30, 2015 I also bought Avolites Ai dongle but really not getting to grips with this one at all. Ai is a great system with enormous capability but (like anything complex) it can be a bit difficult to get your head round it to start with. Have you been for some training with Avo, if you've shelled out for the dongle they will be very happy to train you up on it.
theatretechie Posted May 1, 2015 Author Posted May 1, 2015 In terms of training at Ai, I have yet to attend due to being on tour. I had a collegue go and he said he just could not get his head round it. I know Aaron at Avo so I will for sure be going along in the summer. So I'm assuming there are no MA VPU users on the forum??
mac.calder Posted May 1, 2015 Posted May 1, 2015 So I'm assuming there are no MA VPU users on the forum?? I've user a VPU a couple of times, but never spent any time going into real depth with it. I am a bit agnostic when it comes to "last gen" media servers (which in my books the VPU fits in, along side Catalyst, Axon, Arkaos) - they all generally operate fairly similarly when plugged into a lighting desk - beyond ingesting media and initial setup they all tend to operate similarly from a console front end point of view... The "current gen" (I would group D3, Ai, and probably the latest Hippo version) are a lot more complex and a lot more operator skill set specific.
ltully Posted May 5, 2015 Posted May 5, 2015 Only use Hippotizer. Tried others but I find hippo is the only real system I can walk up to and have a show running with in 10 mins. Own a v3 unit dont need to move up to V4 yet. V3 is still more powerful than Resolume. What you using it for?
Javis Posted May 17, 2015 Posted May 17, 2015 Green Hippo v3 and v4. Green hippo support is great and I find their systems are powerful yet flexible.
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