is there any info out there that does a compare/contrast of the different DMX software available??? I'm going to be purchasing some, and as a complete noob, it's difficult to tell what features are important to me wihtout seeing something like a spreadsheet that lists all of the features and indicates which packages include what; the 3 that seem to be at the forefront for me are ADJ MyDMX, Elation CompuLive, Chauvet ShowXpress; I can appreciate why there are different levels and features, and whilst I don't mind paying more for something like CompuLive to get features I want, I don't want to pay more for a product with features I'll never use if a less expensive alternative will suit my needs just fine
the only thing I have now is a Chauvet MinSpot, and a haze machine on order, but I intend to add several more MinSpots, some lasers and some of those LED panels and/or LED par cans
without knowing much about the specifics of what each software package is capable of, some of the things that I find important:
-) design scenes on a desktop with a big monitor and use 3D viewer and actual lights, then use a laptop for gigs; I
think this is supported, given that you can load the software anywhere and control the actual lights based on
the USB/DMX dongle
-) key asign; like F1=verse, F2=chorus, F3=bridge, etc. on a per song (program???) basis for easy switching at a gig;
form what I've read, this appears to be supported
-) easy ability to load a new song (program???)
-) ability to create a setlist for a gig and a single click/key to advance to and load the next song (program???)
-) ability to have some constant keys load a scene for between songs when when the singer is addressing the audience
or introducing band members
-) presets for light movements; like having them all twist in a circle to the center, then twist in reverse back out,
or having the ability to select a couple to sweep forward and some other to sweep backwards, anything to not have to
start from scratch
-) some good example setups to hack on and create your own (like makefiles, no one writes makefiles from scratch,
you just find one close enough, then hack it to suit your needs)
-) flexibility to handle new lights; with Jingles and this group, that appears to be true for MyDMX
-) are all of the setups proprietary; i.e. if I buy MyDMX and later determine that I really need CompuLive, will I have
to re-create all of my scenes/programs/setups from scratch again???
-) quick and easy changes to ajust, for example, where the guitarist is located, at a particular venue, relative to
where the setup was originally designed; the ability to apply these deltas to all programs would be excellent!!!
if there's anything else some of you felt was important in your decision, I'd appreciate hearing about it; thanks for looking
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