ATTENTION ALL MY DMX USERS

Well, here are some things I'd like to see:

Stability issues caused me to have to do something that really I should have done anyways, which was upgrade to Compu Show. But this upgrade wasn't really just for stablity, it was really because it was the right product for the job. But regardless, there are some stability issues that need to be resolved.

Related, I would like to have MyDMX be able to run in the background and not glitch up, especially if I have to go run music on another program at the same time(such as iTunes or Windows Media Player). I would prefer it if it could still respond to MIDI when in the background so I can retain some level of control in myDMX.

TRUE MIDI functionality:
MyDMX DOES NOT work with MIDI devices that show up as Audio devices. This affects me from using the M-Audio MIDISPORT 2X2 Anniversary Edition with my JLCooper CS102, yet the older MIDIMAN MIDISPORT 2X2 works fine. This also cuts off my Akai LKP-25 keyboard because it installs as an audio device, yet it works fine tested with MIDIOX and Sonar.
ALONG with this, an ability to use more than 1 MIDI device at a time would be nice. I would like to use my Korg nanoKONTROL at the same time as my Novation Launchpad, for example. I think some sort of selection would need to be done. I realize that anything behind a MIDI interface can't be auto-detected(often), but at least say "OK, where do you want to look at MIDI signals", and then grant it exclusive use for those devices as long as MyDMX is operational.

I know many people would like this(MyDMX) to integrate as a MIDI device with bridging functionality so it can be used for a one-box solution for sequencing and triggering. This would also require operating in the background.

COLORS!! The color choices in the user page are horrible. And the font is too small. It's hard to see in dark environments, so let the users choose their own colors and font sizes. Along with that, button sizes, but this needs to be a global(all buttons are one size, but based on user choice). Let users choose whatever colors the want for buttons, individually. This helps with organizations. Say, someone says "Red buttons are washes, blue are this, green is that, yellow is something else... and purple are strobe scenes". Let the USER come up with their color design, good, bad or ugly!

This might be too much to ask, but the ability to MOVE fixtures but have the programming go wiht the fixture and not follow the channel. The ability to copy a fixture would be nice as well.

I would like to see tap tempo,

It would be nice to be able to have a black out function. Right now I have to grab faders and manually move them down while holding shift. Then click my next scene then grab the dimmer faders while holding shift and bring them back up.

It would be nice to be able to hit a key on the keyboard to bring dimming to 100% from a preset without selecting a new scene. this would let us be able to randomly strobe led lights and traditional par cans with out changing a new scene. So my moving lights can be doing there thing and I can have my Led/ par cans doing there own scene without changing a scene kind of like a hot key.

Please up grade the midi functions Iv had a lot of problems in that area. It would be nice to have a touchosc incoming/outgoing port section. The touch OSC app for the iphone is growing very fast and a lot of people are looking for options in that department. maybe even Artnet compatible that would be great.

How about being able to preset fader positions. Like if I selected a Scene that lets say had my lights moving in a circle I would be able to keep that scene selected and do a slow gobo scroll with out manually moving the faders or selecting a new scene.

How about making Mydmx compatible with mac.


The Mydmx user manual is horrible that would be a nice upgrade.

If I can think of any others I will post them.

It's been suggested to make a blackout scene. That resolves your blackout issue.

To chance dimming values, that's modifying an existing scene, so I'm not sure if they would bother adding that sort of a function. You could just make another scene at 100% values.

but then i would have to change my scene.

Lets say I have all my moving lights doing a sinus wave and color scroll. If I make a scene that is bringing the dimmer down then it will stop my current scene and need to have a color/gobo selected. this means I have to make individual black out scenes for every scene I have. Or is there a way around this I do not know about?

Maybe another Universe setup and maybe a change color access in user mode

Blackout is blackout: No lights, and at least zero values on dimmers and shutters. That's what blackout is.

So, yeah, you might need to make sepparate partial blackouts.

I think you might need a different product, like Compu Live or Compu Show. MyDMX is more basic. Adding what you want is something that's already in a higher end product and would require a whole different philosphy behind MyDMX.

As far as "another universe set up", you can export your patch and then import it into a fresh universe. In my case, I go "save as" and then go delete all my unwanted scenes and start over. More work though. I just discovered the save/import a few days ago, but it's been mentioned here in the past.

The problem with fading values is you want to be able to edit default values. For example, on the Hog an LED default strobe value is open. For moving lights, its pointed straight up (or down if hanging) for pan and tilt, and other things like that. That would help some of the issues (especially with LEDs scrolling through the strobe channel). If it defaults to the open, non strobe mode, it never has to fade through it to blackout.

Another thing would be setting it up more like a moving light desk. Only intensity channels fade up and down when I bring down a cuelist master handle. Then you can add a grand master fader and the grand master only effects intensity channels or any channel you want if you edit the channel in the patch to be that way. A lot of theatre desks have this option, it is called making the channel 'Independent' which means it operates independently of the GM.

If you had that ability to make channels Independent and a GM, you could then just bring down the GM to fade out intensities only. And since you can change this easily in the Patch, you can make things like house lights or front lights not effected when the GM is brought down.

Chris, you terminology is a little off. A blackout is just no lights intensities up. I can hit the BO key on the Hog, an Express, GrandMA, Ion, Vista, etc, and only the intensity channels go out. Things like pan, tilt, color, gobos, etc, shouldn't be effected in a BO. That is why theatre desks have that Independent function. If you wanted to reset everything to its default value, that would be Homing the fixtures. When fixtures are at their default value, they are considered Home. It is also when you first turn on moving lights and the check the limits of all there motors, that is considered Homing as well.

Since all fixtures default the intensity as off, that is more of what you are talking about in your description. There are also Blocking Cues on tracking desks that basically reset the tracking schedule and nothing before that cue tracks through. It is a common thing to do in blackouts between scenes.

Oh, editing dimmer curves. That features is not as usefully as it use to be but still can be. For example, LEDs tend to dim up much faster then conventionals. So you just set the dimmer curve so it creeps up more slowly at lower levels and rises faster at the top where change in percentage isn't as noticeable. It is also useful for creating hot patch changes (channels that are simply always on full no matter what intensity) or instant on channels (at 1% they go to full).

You can also make dimmers not dim below a certain level. Very useful for house lights since some venues you aren't suppose to take them below a certain level. My high school's big theatre is like that, house lights never go below 15% for safety reasons (they were sued twice for people falling in a dark house).

OK, so that does make sense with my terminology being off a bit. But I am right with basically, a blackout being no lights showing. As you know, some lights can't shut off, they have a shutter(My movers are like that).

So, my thought was right, my wording was off. But, it's an important difference to understand that blackout isn't necessarily ALL zero values.

Well there are basically like two types of "blackout"
1 being all values 0.
2 being light beam blackout.

Also let me add that everything Serra listed in his last post can be done in compu show.
So on that note I do not think they will try to make my dmx like compu show.
Some if the things I am personally suggesting to them is the ability to select to turn fade times on or off on individual channels per scene. Also the color adjustment was one I was gonna suggest also. And also to fix midi.
Sincerely,

Depends on fixture. But if I again hit BO on those desks or drop the GM down, the shutter on movers and/or LEDs won't close unless the intensity and shutter/strobe channel at the same channel.

I personally have never run into this do to the level of gear I work with. Things like channel counts don't really matter when I am using desks with 2048 built in and expandable to unlimited channels with more processors and/or ArtNet. I do know they, that is fixtures with strobe/shutter/intensity on same channel, exist however.

Well, you're coming into this with a significantly higher knowledge and experience level than most people who are hitting this forum. It doesn't make what you have to say any less valid or applicable, but some of the concepts might simply be way past what a product like MyDMX was ever intended for.

I mean, let's face it, there are multiple categories here.

The people who use MyDMX are most likely not people using it ot make their living, or at least not their sole source of income. People who are using Compu Live or Compu Show might be. I am using MyDMX for a portion of what I do to make my living, but my main income is live sound(among other things). Even with my upgrades to Compu Show and Compu Live, they aren't going to be paying my bills any time soon, especially since i use live sound to drive the business.

People who are using the high-end desks are often in the category of "this is what I do for a living", and companies like Hog have ot listen to their client base to ensure they deliver a product that will do what the clients need to do. It's like buying a car, except actually more complicated because a lighting desk is going to do a hell of a lot more than a car can do!

As far as Jingle's suggestion, we definately need the color stuff, it's a must have. I can't stand and can barely use the color scheme in the dark. So much so that I think on my next trip to Fry's, I gotta get one of those USB lights!

As far as adjusting individual fade times channels, well, I could certainly see a need for it, but I don't think that's going to be something they'll addd. But, it can't hurt to ask!

For myself, I have to keep in mind who the intended market for a product is. When I was doing hardware development, I was working on various products that started with a top end product with 3 grades: Top, medium Top, and Not quite Medium Top. Basically, an industrial grade modem, but as we went down the heirarchy, we had to strip features out to help make cost-effective options. Even so, the cheap one was selling for well over $600. And yes, wwe're talkng pre x.90/92 times. But then again, how many of you ever worked with 2 and 4 wire lease line modems that could also do dial-switched? and had a true front panel control panel? Not many of you, I bet!

I'm STILL amazed at all the stuff they crammed into MyDMX for the price. It really blows me away. Even though I'm using Compu Show now out of necessity, I see no valid reason to get rid of MyDMX, as it has an ideal place. The fact that the develop STILL continues to listen to end users about the product and expresses at least a willingness to add some extra functionality shocks me, but in a good way. This isn't like Compu Show, where being an expensive product, MUST respond to users requests/demands, because you can't pull that crap with high end users. Even so, that doesn't mean they have to give into our demands either, but you do get heard!

I think ADJ does have to give a little bit to the users who bought into MyDMX and see about fixing some things and adding some token elements, but at a rate where they don't have to raise the price. Similarly, to remain competitive(and honestly, I don't know what competes with MyDMX), the have to keep adding features without raising prices to keep an edge over competition. This will attract new clients, who even though they are newbies, just are more demanding but often for no valid reason other than they can be.

Over the past 4 years, I've seen how a cheap product like MyDMX(and by cheap, I mean by pricing only) has HELPED my business grow, coupled with LED fixtures. And I'm not a DJ outfit. Equiped with a decent lighting rig, a DJ with MyDMX can easily charge anywhere from 25-200% more for their services based on adding MyDMX into the mix.

And yet, MyDMX hints they may be able to offer us more? That's amazing.

Maybe it's time for a MyDMX 2.0?

Okay I wasn't sure but I will post this anyway.
How about a way to layer scenes. For example having more than one scene active at a time. Further example if I had a standard blue scene and wanted a strobe scene attached to it I can, so it will start strobing blue, but then I would want to unlatch blue and switch to red but still have it strobe.

Also like everyone else is mentioning better midi as well as able to run in the background and accept midi in the background.

Ksound, yes good requests.
Sincerely,

I think the scene layering concept has been requested before. I would like to see this, because I have similar things I'd like to do.

IN my big show, my biggest PITA scene was one that involved a beaconing spot mover(doing yellow color wheel, no gobo in circles) while one side was solid and held for X, then that side went to 50% and the other side then went from 0 to 100% in a different color and then held, and then later on the beacon goes out.

To do that properly required me to edit 200 steps manually, times 8 fixtures, for well over 1600 manual changes. Not fun!!

But the way MyDMX works, I don't see this being really a viable option. I'd still like to see them try though. I have a lot of things where I'd like to have my movers doing their thing, and my washes doing something else as I see fit.

More then one scene at once sounds exactly like more then one cue list at once, which I believe is in CompuShow or exactly like the Hog. That, I think, would be rather costly to implement simply because of the amount of code as well as error checking that would be needed to implement it.

You could do something like two scenes at once, which would be easier because you only have to worry about code between the two. The other issue with adding more then one scene active at once is that it would then have to be a tracking desk. You would also need to add release commands to safely transfer between lists.

The problem with tracking is it can be a very hard concept to wrap your hard around and very hard to learn. Some people just never get it. I fear there would be a lot of programing questions that would pop up like, "Why is light x still on despite the fact that I went to scene y but don't have light x in that scene?". I think it would be rather much to a DJ or small club band (which is the main target for MyDMX) to wrap their head around.

If you want something that powerful, you should be looking at CompuShow or higher.

Speaking for myself only, I'm moving onto Compu Show because most of the events I really involve myself in, MyDMX is not the right product anymore due to the complexity of the shows I'm working on now.

I also have to admit that I'm still struggling with Compu Show. MyDMX is pretty much "walk up and get to work" with the layout and how it operates. I think this is a wise decision, especially considering an entry level package designed with newbies, DJ's, bands and other clients who may not have a lot of lighting experience.

Compu Show does take a different mindset, which I am SLOWLY grasping. I do have two suggestions for CompuShow, but that's for another forum.

I think if I take the multi-scene/cue idea, it might be necessary to take it a step further. Maybe you have to control-click the SECOND scene? Standard scene selection is the straight forward click, while adding a SECOND(only 2 at a time toal) requires a right click. If a user right-clicks ANOTHER scene(trying to get clever and fire up a third), the LAST clicked scene(right or otherwise) is exited and the new right-clicked scene is played. And, if you're going to go that route, you have ot be able to right-click to shut off either 1 of the two active scenes.

Similarly, there might want to be a new scene option, especially for those needing a blackout: Override. This would mean "if this scene is selected, then all other scenes/cues currently running would be overridden by this one".

Based on how I see MyDMX operating(it looks at ALL values per step/scene), it doesn't make sense that this would work without a total overhaul.

I am in agreement that the multiple scene/cue sutff could easily cause confution, especially on the fly, experienced or not, as depending on who is running lights, this may not be able to be a task that can be prioritized. Like, say a musician is running scenes, well, I think their priority is going to be their instrument, not lights. Now, if it's guy who is there to run lights, they best focus and get it resolved.

BUt while we're on the topic of blackout, why not have a dedicated blackout button since so many users can't figure out how to add one.

Here's how I like to roll:
My TOP scene is my "work scene". It's just a garbage scene that is in all my shows. That's the one I play around with when testing lights and stuff. It gets messed up and changed constantly, but that's fine.
My next 3 scenes are blackouts. Snap, fast fade, slow fade. These each have hot keys associated with them on the computer keyboard.

quote:

I think if I take the multi-scene/cue idea, it might be necessary to take it a step further. Maybe you have to control-click the SECOND scene? Standard scene selection is the straight forward click, while adding a SECOND(only 2 at a time toal) requires a right click. If a user right-clicks ANOTHER scene(trying to get clever and fire up a third), the LAST clicked scene(right or otherwise) is exited and the new right-clicked scene is played. And, if you're going to go that route, you have ot be able to right-click to shut off either 1 of the two active scenes.

Woah
Absolutely not. All your "clicking" confused even ME just reading it. could you imagine trying to explain that in a user manual?? haha. no. If that's how it is gonna work there is no WAY they would add that to my dmx. I think I will tell them about being able to trigger two scenes or make a switch or overlay scene and let THEM try to figure out how to trigger it. lol.
Also some of this is going off topic. Please everyone try to stay on topic.
Thanks.
Sincerely,

Well, my explaination may have been bad, but it sort of uses a FIFO methodology to justify how it would have to be implemented. The thing is, if you allow 2 scenes to be overlaid, then why not 3? 5? 10? It can get kinda overwhelming fast. Documentation is gonna be a pain though, because users have to understand why stuff stopped working or changed without them understanding.

While as handy as I think this would be, I think the effort to make it happen would be "more trouble than it is worth" from a development point of view.

They could also end up saying "well, we could, but scenes have to follow certain rules" and maybe there's an option to click for "scene overlay capable" with a checking system. Say, you can't overlay your wash lights scene with a mover scene if your mover scene has your wash lights programmed into that scene already.

I don't know. I think using Compu Show, despite my struggles, is starting to spoil me!

Actually the multi-scene idea of layering I got it from the daslight, sunlite suite, lumidesk software. They all can just patch and go scene selection. What I mean is that they are able to select multiple scenes at once by layering all the scenes. It is done by just regular one click on the mouse. Click blue and all lights change to blue. Then click strobe all lights strobe. Then click red all lights strobe in magenta. Until you unclick one of the previous scenes that was latched.

But aren't those kinda higher-end products?

I got the idea from others who requested it, but then seeing Compu show and MyDMX and understanding the differences, I can see why people would want and need and demand this functionality.

Now, a good example I can come up with is let's say I want my movers to circle, so I make a "circle movers scene". Then I want my washes to go back and forth between red and blue, so I make a scene to do that, at least say 2 second fade up. .25 hold, change colors....

In myDMX, this ain't easy, because right now I have to incorporate that into 1 scene and it's a lot of manual work to smash these two scenes into 1 scene. But if I can overlay them...

I think it would be nice to have a limited option of this. Say, up to no more than 2 scenes at once. Anything more than that really tells me that people should step up to Compu Live or Compu Show.

I hear what you're saying. I was working on that sort of exact stuff myself in Compu Show until I discovered I hadn't been saving right and lost it all! Oh well, just helps learning to have to do it all again. No pressure, just need it for tomorrow! But if I fail, I'm under no pressure because I have my generic MyDMX show, which will also be more than sufficient.

Here are a couple picture of Daslight and lumidesk.
Daslight 2

Daslight 1


Lumidesk



Oh by the way on topic for Lumidesk. Jingles you aren't going to like this:
I was testing Lumidesk Beta out and I had my mydmx dongle plugged in. It works it controlled my megapixel led. Which is odd because I thought the mydmx interface is locked down to mydmx software

you must use like a 24 inch screen or something.
Ya I figured eventually one day SOMETHING would. Luckily it is a program our development company makes as well. We just don't sell it. the interface is still a limited interface so you probably don't get too many advanced features.
Sincerely,

So if it is a program your development company has, would it be possible to get the source and implement it into myDMX. Because I was looking around in the lumidesk software and found some very interesting midi protocols that I think would make a bunch of people excited about.

Ehh but then again I think with that much features the price of myDMX would go up.

Just got done talking with one of my engineers for MY dmx, compu show, lumidesk, etc. You were limited to 10 dmx channels only and it was a limited beta demo. But no it should not have worked. Thanks for telling me, we will have this fixed soon. I did copy and paste to them what you asked about implementing the source from lumidesk into my dmx. Sorry but no. Not gonna happen. I say it a lot but Chris can back me up now, If you want more advanced features and functionality go for compu show. We have a VERY nice started package for compu show called Compu cue basic and it allows for 75% of the entire Compu show feature set to be used with that model interface. VERY VERY nice stuff. Excellent midi functionality, has multiple scenes, EVERYTHING everyone has mentioned in this thread so far, in some way shape or form it is IN Compu Show.
Sincerely,
Sincerely,

Could it be at least possible to implement multi-scenes though.

Don't know for sure yet. But all of you should keep in mind, once I send these in to them, what they choose to add or not will still take months to add or finish the program. I'll be beta testing most likely. So this is not something that is gonna happen very soon.
Sincerely,

Sure, I'll back ya up. And it's not because I spent big on Compu show and want everyone else to bite the bullet too.

Stepping up from a basic controller, the DMX Operator, to a software solution, such as MyDMX, MyDMX, at least for a good many years, was able to address ALL my needs. And considering what I paid, I was and really, AM still happy. For the price of an entry level controller, there's MyDMX, offering way more than the controller would ever be able to offer. Of course, that doesn't mean I've completely phased out the DMX Operator, but I do admit I haven't used it for at least 2 years now.

And I've been active on the forum and reading almost every post on the MyDMX area, and seeing what people want and need or desire. I can't say I disagree. But, at the same time, I am being pushed by my choice into more and more complex shows. This is where talking to those in the KNOW is critical to get steered to the right product, which after back and forth consulting with Jingles, was Compu Show, which, despite the price and I could have gotten along with Compu Live, there are features in Compu Show that make what I'm trying to do easier and possible.

Once again,we have to look at the target marketplace. I think the developers realize they can make a few concessions to appease the masses. Maybe a dedicated blackout, maybe adding color choices, maybe adding some other goodies to make life a bit easier.

Unfortunately, it's the guys who have to come in cheap who want the most for the least. Many of these people are folks who should have bought Compu live or Compu Show, but the higher price tags were just outside their reach. But, thank goodness Elation and ADJ let you use their software in an unlimited demo mode to see if you CAN do what you want before you go out and actually commit to buying the hardware.

I spent hard on Compu Show. But, it's a business decision, one that I'm only regretting because I've got to spend a LOT of time learning it, but at the same time, the rewards from the time I've put in have paid off and I get a little better every time I play with it. I can see what I can do, I can envision what I want to do and make it happen easier. But again, we're talking as much as possible, a professional and full featured product.

Often when we pay more, we get more. This is the case here.

Let's keep throwing the requests out there and see what the developers think is acceptable to incorporate. My main thing is better MIDI implementation(proper would be sufficient) and overall stability.

And as I've said before, MyDMX ain't leaving my rig, even with Compu Show going in. Each product has it's place. And in time, I'll become proficient with all the Elation and ADJ software DMX offerings and add them into the rig as well.

Compu Show rocks! The only thing it's missing is the "wipe your butt" feature, but that's a hardware option that they use in Japanese toilets, and I ain't into making a DMX interface for that! I don't want to think how many DMX channels an articulated arm is going to need!

I like alot of the ideas being thrown around, but I have one after running my laptop the other night with Mydmx, how about different screen colors say for daylight and night time. I have to admit i didn't need my light on my soundboard.
just a thought

Jim

That would require an ambient light sensor or an algorithm based on local weather/lighting projections, which can usually be predicted out a couple of years at a time(sunrise and sunset) along with the tides.

I think a better idea might be to be able to support 2 color schemes of the user's choice, and let them switch between 1 and 2.

I like the idea. Reminds me of my Magellan Roadmate navigation system that changes color schemes based on time of day and/or a light sensor.

I don't think he means an internal clock that senses, just different color options for your surroundings. Hog 3 has this and it is very useful.

This is it in the 'Dark' setting, useful in dark rooms and theatres so your screens aren't blinding you. This is the one I use basically all the time:


This is the 'Light' setting. I only ever use this on outdoor events when the screens are competing against the sun or I am in really bright rooms, which is almost never:


I think it would be a useful and easy thing to implement and help out so you don't have to turn your screen brightness down to keep from blinding you.

Hi

I think the possibilty of layering scenes would be great.

I know this is the way Sweetlight works. Each scene has its own steps (like MYDMX) but you can toggle on many different scenes at the same time.

As a mobile dj this would give me the possibilty of creating different light shows at each event without having to spend further hours programming the scenes first and the only efficient way of doing that is when my full light rig is up as the 3D vis doesn't realy work well.

regards

Sean

I'm reminded of a feature I would like to see implemented based on a reply I did for a user.

I would like to see a method where lights could be moved within the universe, and then have the programming follow the lights. This way I can re-arrange my universe without having to scrap work.

Similarly, I would like to see the ability to DUPLICATE lights. Say, within Universe 1 on "MyShow", I have 8 64 LED Pros and they are all individually addressed, and they are all programmed. But, I go and buy 8 more and want to incorporate those into the existing universe, but I not only want them to have THEIR own unique addresses, but I want them to be the same from a programming perspective as the previous 8.

Lastly, I've noticed when I have to adjust profiles, MyDMX won't pull the adjusted/modified profile up unless I remove the fixture from the universe and then re-add it right back. The cool part about this is that because programming follows the channel and not the fixture, if I add the updated profile to the same channel, I'm good.

Example: The Mega Bar 50 profile and the Mega Panel profile AS provided by ADJ, they are "glowing objects", not really lights, so I had to tweak those profiles to turn them into actual lighting fixtures with a beam. Fortunately, I discovered this before I did programming.

In another example, I had 4 Mega Bar 50's, and I added 4 more. I want to retain the programming for all 4 original fixtures, but I must move them in order to insert the new 4 Mega Bar50's and then basically COPY programming, but then also adjust programming.

Slightly off topic, but right on about what's been posted here............why not try Enttec open dmx? Then you can run *most* of the software usb>dmx out there.......multiple scenes, cues etc..... not to take anything away from mydmx, but it's aimed at a certain user market... which I do use for certain things, ie: when I'm not operating it!! Mydmx aint ever gonna do what you *think* you might want it too.....but it will work if you don't get too big for your boots!!

SerraAva that's exactly what I'm talking about,On a audio software SAC I know they have different lighting schemes for this very thing. That actually were written by forum members.Like this for example http://www.brettbrandon.com/shades/NiteShade.html Edit: I was looking around the SAC site and someone posted this for dimming your monitor and it's free.
http://www.pangobright.com/

Thanks,
Jim

Sometimes you simply have to go for the right tool for the job. And sometimes it's not from a certain maker.

One reason why I don't get microphone endorsement deals is that I can't be limited to just one brand. I'd prefer my endorsement deals to be of the kind where "Hey, this guy uses our products, see it in action", rather than "he only uses our products".

Some tours have stipulations that limit them to a specific brand for certain things. But what if there's a better offering for some elements that say a great company like Shure can't really address? I'm using Shure as an example. And for the record, I do like Shure.

One of the issues here is many people want things that MyDMX was never really meant to do, but people have a hard time grasping that concept. Still, it can do a lot. But, if you find something more to your liking elsewhere and within your budget, then really, people should buy the best product they can afford. In my case, I'm not abandoning MyDMX, but I am moving onto Compu Show, because I need things like multiple scenes running at the same time, more control and more complex design capabilities.

I'm also trying to limit my requests that are more inline with what we've been told in the past: New features really won't be added, so I'm thinking along the lines of better functionality. I'd love to see scene layering, but the way I see MyDMX using scenes and how to program it, I just can't see it happening because that's more higher end stuff.

I think MyDMX is a great product aimed at a specific type of user and market. For the price, we have to accept we can't get the whole set of tools, it's just not financially possible to offer a full blown package at those sorts of prices. I spend HARD for the Compu Show interface and software, and it costs me multiples more than what I paid for MyDMX.

But, let's keep tossing ideas out there. Who knows what thye might want to incorporate. I'd rather hear a "no" vs. a "well, nobody asked for it, so we ain't gonna bother" situation.

This might be little long, but I know I am going to get slammed with go with live, but give it a huge thought!

Change how scenes operate. Change them into cues and be able to launch multiple cues from one scene button.

For instance:

on the editor tab, when you create a new scene, you have 4 slots.

So on slot 1 you want a set of fixtures to circle around. So you use the effect generator, make your circle effect.

Slot 2, you grab another group of fixtures, use the effect generator and make a back to forth sweep with a phase.

Slot 3, you have a color chase with all the fixtures.

Slot 4, you get the idea...

So on the playback tab, when you click on a scene, you can have 4 shows running at once out of the scene.

Reason I suggest this is the effect generator only gives "one" effect. I would like to have different effects with movements between fixtures.

I have 2 scanners, 2 accuspots, 2 ufo's, several par cans, and some strobes. Its very odd looking when I apply movement effects to all fixtures. Another draw back, the effect generator shares channels between fixtures, such as par cans dimmer channel and the dimmer channels on the scanners and accuspots. It would be nice to break it up to where I can have 3 different movement effects between the scanners, accuspots, ufo's, then par cans having a chase effect.

I don't know if the devs would be willing to do this but for this to work right, we would need the cues to effect channels being used. So need to be some of method to select what channels are included into the slots, so the other channels can be have effects in a different slot and a priority system. So all channels included in slot 1 have priority of 2. Channels not included in slot 1 are free to be used in slot 2 (cue stacking) and so on.

I have worked around with live, but its so bloated with stuff and it's not easy for me to go through things. Mydmx has a nice layout but needs a little work with being more flexible between different set of fixtures. If this feature can be added, then you looking a rock solid product which would I willing to pay more for. Now I know people going to say go with live, but live still have lots more feature than this alone I suggested.

Well from reading more post. It seems like the devs are going to sway away from multi scene (cues). Pretty sad. I don't get why everyone has the Compu show mindset.. I don't want all the over bloated features and the huge learning curve just so I can have multi scenes at once. I don't care so much about audio triggering, show designer, good midi functions...


Multi scene is a huge request and if you sway away from it just cause its in cumpu show, then that just a poor move. There is tons more stuff in compu show aside from multi scene!

I know your going to point out the price of this product, but I wouldn't mind paying a extra $100 to maybe purchase a software upgrade if you all went the route. Mydmx has a clean interface and thats what I like.