Avolites vs Chamsys Dongles

[haymere]

Hi All

Probably a question asked a million times, Avolites or Chamsys Dongle. Chamsys is £70, Avolites is nearly £200. Context is small setup with a couple of generics & pars + 24 leds & a hazer. Maybe eventually up to 8 movers. Budget it needs to be. Run off a touchscreen pc.

Also has anyone hooked up a midi faderbank

[paulears]

You forgot the question? Are you wanting to know if you can buy the Avo dongle and use it on Chamsys or vice versa, or are you asking which software is best, ignoring the dongle cost, or something else?

 

The dongles are not swappable, and software wise, it's personal choice. I've never got on that well with Avo, since my first in around 2000 or so - so when I needed something to run on a computer I went MagicQ, and stayed with it. I really like it, but of course I've never tried going back to Avo.

[haymere]

1545816582[/url]' post='569763']

You forgot the question? Are you wanting to know if you can buy the Avo dongle and use it on Chamsys or vice versa, or are you asking which software is best, ignoring the dongle cost, or something else?

 

The dongles are not swappable, and software wise, it's personal choice. I've never got on that well with Avo, since my first in around 2000 or so - so when I needed something to run on a computer I went MagicQ, and stayed with it. I really like it, but of course I've never tried going back to Avo.

 

Sorry it’s a which is better question. Obviously horses for courses but is the extra money for Avo actually worth it in context

 

1545816582[/url]' post='569763']

You forgot the question? Are you wanting to know if you can buy the Avo dongle and use it on Chamsys or vice versa, or are you asking which software is best, ignoring the dongle cost, or something else?

 

The dongles are not swappable, and software wise, it's personal choice. I've never got on that well with Avo, since my first in around 2000 or so - so when I needed something to run on a computer I went MagicQ, and stayed with it. I really like it, but of course I've never tried going back to Avo.

 

Sorry it’s a which is better question. Obviously horses for courses but is the extra money for Avo actually worth it in context

 

 

[paulears]

Personally - The chamsys product is tried and well tested, and most people who try it like it - but why not download both and play with them? I have chamsys on quite a few computers, and one got me out of a real hole this Christmas. I've also got wings and things too, so very happy - and of course having every one able to run everything on any version is a great plus. So I am 100% happy with them. TBH, I'm sure the Avo people say the same, but to my mind they're just not quite so versatile. The one thing you find with other Magicq users is that nobody ever has their systems set up the same! Everything is so customisable we all have a different way of working - and that applies to how to do things as well. Loads of times you see another chamsys person do something and have to say "what did you just do?" they then show you some feature or better way of doing what you do! Happens all the time!

[timsabre]

I use both, they are very similar in capabilities though I've always been an avo person having learned the original Pearl back in the 1990s.

 

If it's just for you and you never use a full console, as Paul suggests I'd download both softwares and have a play to see which suits you better. But where they come in really useful is that you can load shows between the software and the full console, and also you've learned how to operate the console.

 

So if you ever go to venues with avo I'd get the Titan dongle, likewise with Chamsys.

[themadhippy]

Also has anyone hooked up a midi faderbank

As far as I aware you still need to add the chamsys midi box for full midi capability if your using the dongle.

[timsabre]

You can't use midi faders with Avo Titan One either.

[gareth]

Neither is better than the other - it's largely down to which software you feel most comfortable with, along with budget considerations. Download the offline editors for each platform, and see which one best suits your needs and your way of working.

[Stuart91]

You can't use midi faders with Avo Titan One either.

 

OSI Midi might be an option. One of my customers turned it up and has been quite happy with the results. But the usual caveats apply with unrelated third party products like this.

[timsabre]

I would class osimidi along with counterfeit desks since it is basically a hack into Avo's software without their permission.

[Stuart91]

I would class osimidi along with counterfeit desks since it is basically a hack into Avo's software without their permission.

 

Fair enough.

 

I had a quick chat with some of the Avo folks at Plasa about OSiMidi, just in case there were any known issues (or horror stories) that I could pass onto my customer. They didn't seem too upset about the concept, but the people I was speaking to might not have known how exactly the functionality is obtained.

[paulears]

Why would a lighting controller via USB be like a 'counterfeit' - How many Qlab controllers are there, and in the audio world, 3rd party controllers are extremely common. Have they copied the design of the manufactures own product, or pinched some of the code? If all they've done is produce the controller data that matches the software, then surely they're just taking advantage of existing remote operation facilities the software is set up for - or is there real skulduggery going on?

[Stuart91]

I'd imagine that it could be quite disruptive to both the Avo and Chamsys business model, if users can hook up cheap midi fader wings rather than paying for the hardware.

 

A TitanOne and a midi controller is a far cheaper purchase than a Titan Mobile. I'd imagine that most of the R&D costs for the Titan software, and the ongoing support with things like fixture personalities, is paid for by sales of the hardware.

 

In terms of "hacking" the question is probably how the OSiMidi software translates the midi controls into commands that TitanOne understands.

[timsabre]

Exactly as Stuart says, manufacturers set a price/feature point for each product, and osimidi adds features to a cheap product which Avo intended to reserve for a more expensive product.

 

I guess they've probably decided it is not worth pursuing the osimidi bloke.

[alistermorton]

I wonder if it's comparable to using luminosus with etc's nomad to add a cheap usb fader bank. That doesn't hack into eos at all, just exploiting the very comprehensive control that OSC gives you.