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Subject: Re: [LCtalk] Virtual mixer #2 :-)
From: Fokko van Duin
Date: Tue, 06 Jul 2004 12:22:58 +0200

At 11:14 +0200 06-07-2004, Flemming Bloch wrote:
Well, the reason why the mixer metaphore works so well is that you've got instant overview over a full scene. And it's something most light engineers know already, so no getting used to a totally different approach.

Yeah, well, in the good old days when everything was so simple it was good, but...

If you have only say 100 simple luminaire, open in LCedit a new stage and place large invisible icons with intensity indicators in a row. If your screen is wide enough you can place about 80 of them :-))

You can set any lamp(s) by clicking on a number and type e.g. v50<enter> to set to 50%, or vff<enter> to set to full. (mixer sliders on a screen are really terrible due to the lack of space, but.. if you like that, use MAX with 100 sliders ;-)

The general problem of the "old" way is that is was designed for simple lamps. In this modern time however intelligent fixtures are more and more common, and you have many controls per fixture. In order still have the overview to see what you are doing they invented visualizers, which shows you in 3D as accurate as possible what is going on on the stage.

As you also have your fixtures located on a virtual stage in LCedit+, you can find a fixture very quickly, you almost automatically selects it (them). From that moment you have the details of the fixture in your control window and you can easily change them, especially if you know the key shortcuts.

We think that this "new" approach is needed in order to handle up to hundreds of fixtures without the need of having a desk of 3 meters wide, with two operators :-)

Maybe we should make with MAX a 96 channel virtual a/b desk example for simple lighting solutions, but I believe a French customer already did make it.

Regards,

Fokko van Duin,                     Creators of the LanBox-LC
CDS advanced technology bv,         DMX lighting controller.
http://www.cds.nl/                  http://www.lanbox.com/

Member of MIDI Manufacturers Association, MMA
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