noiseman Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Hi all One of the acts I do sound for have to come to me with a request to explore the possibilities of operating lights via Ipad along with the sound.I have a stable system for the sound, use an X32rack with a solid router/AP but I need to find an equally solid method so I can run a lighting control app on the same Ipad ( I believe multi-tasking is now an option with IOS 11).Anyone else currently doing this? Assuming I'm not approaching this completely wrong, I'm looking for options for apps that are as simple as possible for basic lighting control (scenes/chases etc).Fixture wise, they currently have a couple of flat LED par type bars and a couple of LED movers so nothing too complex.In addition and the most important question is the bridge from my router to the lights. I gather I need an ethernet to DMX interface, I've seen the Enttec ODE unit but anyone have any suggestions for a more cost effective option? All and any input and advice gratefully received.Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timsabre Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Lights and sound on the same ipad? Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. Get another ipad for lights, you can use the same wifi.Regarding the ethernet-DMX, you need to pick the lighting app you are going to use first as many of them use their own bespoke hardware device. Luminair seems to be well recommended, that's just an app which will work with any DMX device. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomHoward Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 We use Luminair and it is really good, as it's been ground-up designed for the iPad rather than being an iPad version of a hardware desk. It's really quick to create fades and colour palette chases.It works with an SmartShow NetDMX off ebay but the configuration isn't as straightforward as the SmartShow doesn't respond to polling so you have to set the IPs manually, or it works with an Entec ODE which is quicker and easier but also more expensive. We run it on the same wifi network as our X32 rack and wifi router.Ideally two iPads is better but once you've programmed your luminair and you're just doing scene recall / playback you can just do it on one ipad, but it depends how much sound you're doing. For one guitar one mic type gigs it could be workable on one.You need to set up luminair so that it is still running chases when it hasn't got focus on the iPad as as default they stop and it doesn't run in the background. Alternately Lumiair sessions sync across your devices so you can program it on your iPad and switch scenes etc from your luminair on your iPhone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noiseman Posted February 20, 2018 Author Share Posted February 20, 2018 We use Luminair and it is really good, as it's been ground-up designed for the iPad rather than being an iPad version of a hardware desk. It's really quick to create fades and colour palette chases.It works with an SmartShow NetDMX off ebay but the configuration isn't as straightforward as the SmartShow doesn't respond to polling so you have to set the IPs manually, or it works with an Entec ODE which is quicker and easier but also more expensive. We run it on the same wifi network as our X32 rack and wifi router.Ideally two iPads is better but once you've programmed your luminair and you're just doing scene recall / playback you can just do it on one ipad, but it depends how much sound you're doing. For one guitar one mic type gigs it could be workable on one.You need to set up luminair so that it is still running chases when it hasn't got focus on the iPad as as default they stop and it doesn't run in the background. Alternately Lumiair sessions sync across your devices so you can program it on your iPad and switch scenes etc from your luminair on your iPhone. CheersSo to clarify (I'm a sound eng not a lampy) I'd simply plug the Smartshow interface into a spare LAN port on the router and connect DMX to fixtures from there? I don't need anything else other than power in to the interface? I've looked at some vids and config is done once via a browser on PC which is fine then for everyday use it's not required. Running via an additional phone or ipod could work as it's only start/stop chase at the appropriate time that's required rather than constant scene changes. Luminaire looks good if pricey but at least the interface is reasonable so this could mitigate the cost! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjadingle Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Not something I've tried - but would using a VNC app to a laptop running a software program (something like Chamsys) work? Reduces the processing power needed on the iPad and gives a fallback option if the iPad falls over? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noiseman Posted February 20, 2018 Author Share Posted February 20, 2018 Not something I've tried - but would using a VNC app to a laptop running a software program (something like Chamsys) work? Reduces the processing power needed on the iPad and gives a fallback option if the iPad falls over?Not really an option I'm really keen on as it's additional kit although thinking again a laptop could be used in place of the artnet interface (I already have a magic q usb interface). ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timsabre Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Not something I've tried - but would using a VNC app to a laptop running a software program (something like Chamsys) work? Reduces the processing power needed on the iPad and gives a fallback option if the iPad falls over?Not really an option I'm really keen on as it's additional kit although thinking again a laptop could be used in place of the artnet interface (I already have a magic q usb interface). ;) Chamsys is pretty hard to use on a small touch screen in my opinion. There are plenty of apps cheaper than Luminair but they can be a bit, shall we say, unconventional to program. Also look at Cuety and AirDMX from Ehrgeiz (think I spelled that right) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shez Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Chamsys is pretty hard to use on a small touch screen in my opinion. For programming, yes. I suspect in this instance, for playback, a few buttons and faders would be set up on the execute screen which would be very easy to control from a smaller touchscreen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timsabre Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 That's true, and the programming could be done on the laptop so I withdraw my objection m'lud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrV Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 The remote execute screen on MagicQ was a revelation to me the first time I used it but don't you need some genuine Chamsys hardware connected to make it work (more than just the £10 dongle)? I've only used it with a PC wing. Of course you could use a local execute screen and then drive it with RealVNC but all the panning around is a bit fiddly on a small screen device Edit to add: which is what I now realise is exactly what Shez said. Sorry about the copyright infringement Shez! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.