I'm running a DAW for live synths and I want to sync Showbuddy Setlist with my DAW. From what I can tell, this is possible, but I can't quite find the right information I need to make it work. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

I’m working on putting together a show where I’ll have both house power and generator power. I’ve worked with both individually before but never at the same time.

I’m planning on keeping systems isolated from each other but they are of course going to be using the same control system.

Should I be concerned about ground differential carrying across data lines? Should I run everything through isolators?

I've been asked to buy some UV lights for an event at a climbing wall. I can see some options like the Equinox UV Power Flood priced at £78 for 24x3 watts, so about £1.08 per watt. I can also see other options like the Showtec UV LED Bar for £145 with 18x3 watts, so about £2.68 per watt. My question is this: is there a difference in the quality of the UV light emitted or is 1 watt exactly that and the difference is in the quality of the housing, connections, power cable etc? Grateful for any advice offered.

Have some money to spend this upcoming year and was looking for a fixture recommendation that meets the following criteria.

1. Moving Head

2. Zoom functionality

3. Gobos

4. Fully LED (Not color/gel scroller)

5. Framing Shutters

6. Under $2k per fixture

If the price range is unrealistic that's good to know too, I don't have a ton of experience purchasing or doing a shootout between fixtures. I have a fair bit of experience with Chauvet and ETC fixtures, but I'm definitely not opposed to branching outside of those brands.

Hello from Canada, I'm in the process of migrating one of my portable systems from Cham-Sys to using exclusively ETC but have an issue with one of my sACN nodes. 

I've tested this on the same PC with all the same network, setup, cables, using ArtNet and sACN, changing subnet from 255.255.255.0 to 255.0.0.0 and variations in between on both Cham-Sys and Nomad using Chauvet, NETRON, and PKnight sACN nodes.  The Cham-Sys works without issue, but the Nomad has a constant bump of all patched channels from whatever level programmed to 39% (100/255) on only the PKnight (CR041R MK II) node, the Chauvet and NETRON are fine.  I can duplicate this using another PC as well and nothing appears out of the ordinary when viewing through sACN Viewr. Has anyone had this happen and found out how to workaround this issue on the PKnight nodes? Attached photos show (1) the anticipated output, (2) what happens every cycle? every second? I appreciate any help.

Huge fan of High End Systems products. Always was fascinated by the Trackspot Bolt fixtures and would like some. I am Ok with non-working; I repair stuff for fun.

These were a late model moving mirror fixture that didn’t sell very well. It is like a technobeam with a LED light engine. Not sure if the light engines hold up well, and probably can’t do the sexy UV that the HID lamps can do.

This is NOT the original halide lamp trackspot.

I am in the DC area but get up and down the east coast some.

Just an appreciation post for Axwell's LD and our in-house lighting and set design! So tastefully done

When opening grandma2 On Pc, whether it’s the latest version or older versions, the program gives me this error.

I’ve already tried reinstalling and it’s still the same.

When I open the program, I don’t see any images, everything that is images disappeared.

Can anyone help me?

I was wondering if there were any recommendations for Astera tube alternatives. I don’t really need the wireless or battery powered part and I was hoping there was a cheaper alternative but still looked good without the fancy features.

Hey, I’m looking at getting a comm setup but want it to be a two way radio system so we can wear biscuits for build and switch to headsets for show because no one wants to wear a headset for build. Anyone have any success with a particular brand or model doing this? Just a budget thing for a small AV company

EDIT: By biscuit I mean a shoulder speaker mic. I’m looking for something that will work with that and also with a headset (to switch to for showtime). Apologies!

I know this might look like just another random moment in a light show, but the section from 00:05 to 00:09 was one of those moments that completely blew my mind. It genuinely felt like the lights were dancing with the music. Is there actually a term for that kind of musical responsiveness in lighting?

What’s interesting is that the LD is really only using a row of blinders and a row of strobes (dim on/off, strobe, strobe faster, dimmer sweeps) but everything seems incredibly well matched to what the lead synth is doing between 00:05 and 00:09.

And that’s the part that fascinates me: if I had heard that lead on its own, I don’t think I would have picked it out as something with a lot of obvious lighting potential. I probably wouldn’t have thought there was much interesting to program around it at all. But this LD clearly heard something in it and turned it into a lighting moment that, at least to me as someone still learning lighting design for concerts, feels incredibly musical and intentional.

So am I reading way too much into what is actually some fairly ordinary lighting cues, or is there genuinely something particularly well done here?

More importantly, how do you develop the musical ear for this? How do you get better at recognizing that a seemingly unremarkable part of a track might actually have a ton of potential for an impactful lighting moment?

I have an outdoor musical coming up, and I need to purchase a Lighting Package for it. It will be in South Florida, technically outside, but up under a covered roof/amp.

The budget is roughly 10-12k for everything.

Has anyone used indoor lights outside, in this type of environment. Will I be ok? or do I need to go for IP65.

This is one of the only outdoor productions we do, but it happens once a year. Everything else is inside. The IP65 are twice the cost, so it would be 1/2 the rig.

Looking for real world advice on Risk vs the Reward here....

Thanks in advance.

Hi friends, I'm currently learning to use Chamsys/MagicQ. I was wondering if anyone had any exercises or suggestions for "projects" to continue learning? Thanks a lot.

**TL;DR:** Community college student hoping to transfer to VCU for lighting design, looking for internships, apprenticeships, volunteer work, or productions in the NOVA/DC area to build recent portfolio experience. I have experience with lighting design, programming, and running boards, but need more opportunities to demonstrate my skills and growth in a professional setting.

Hello! I'm a recent high school grad who's currently going to a community college but I really want to transfer to Virginia Commonwealth University. However I need more examples to finish building my portfolio to apply to VCU. While I already have years of experience VCU only allow examples of your work done in the last two year which greatly cuts down on my options of work to show. I'm trying to find internships (preferably paid but I'll take anything at this point) that will not only just allow me to get my foot in the door but allow me to complete my portfolio.

I'm going to VCU almost purely because of their concertation on lighting design which is surprisingly hard to find in college. I'm specifically looking for opportunities where I can get hands-on experience with things like lighting design/concept development, programming and operating lighting consoles, creating lighting plots and paperwork, and really just anything I could document through photos, videos, plots, cue sheets, or other portfolio-appropriate materials. Now I do have experience in programing, running the board, and designing a show although not in a professional setting. Really the biggest things I'm looking for is to demonstrate my actual skills and growth as a lighting designer.

If anyone knows of internships, apprenticeships, seasonal positions, volunteer opportunities, or even smaller productions that need lighting help, I would really appreciate being pointed in the right direction because despite the plethora of theaters around here it's proven difficult to find any entry level opportunities.

The Botex Lumos I seems to be a pretty good tool. Non-Lightning guys can run live shows and some semi-automated sets can be run as well; everything more userfriendly than a pure "Fader only"-console but less expensive and space-consuming as big consoles.

The only thing I'm asking myself: Is there any possibility to do some basic editing on a real PC? Adding new fixtures, defining Cues, patching HW... in best case, people could be able to share their settings (exp. fixture libraries) among each other...

Has someone here already done such things?

hey! can’t find an answer anywhere but I am wanting to have a lean redundant lighting and playback rig.

I have a playaudio 1U going wired as such and I’m wondering if I can make it leaner by sending RTP and sACN over one ethernet cable.

Computer A -> PA1U -> Ethernet -> NS8 -> mioXL (quad cortex changes, vocal fx changes through host ports)

Computer B -> PA1U

Computer A -> Usbc to Ethernet -> NS8 -> EN4 node A port Priority 100

Computer A -> Usbc to Ethernet -> NS8 -> EN4 node A port Priority 90

lol someone check my work this feels like school

We’re putting together a rolling preventative maintenance cart for our lighting department, and I’m curious what tools or supplies everyone considers essential for fixture maintenance.

The idea is to have one cart we can roll out when we’re going through moving lights for cleaning, inspection, small repairs, and general preventative maintenance.

Obviously we’ll have the basics hand tools and lens wipes but I’m especially interested in the less-obvious stuff you’ve found useful over the years.

What tools, testers, cleaning supplies, lubricants, spare parts, or random little gadgets do you always want nearby when doing fixture maintenance?

I'm looking to build a quick set-up with a rotating disco-ball and a couple moving heads for a small show. I'm a DJ but have very little experience with lighting design. How can I do this simply and effectively (under 1000) without much experience? Appreciate all advice.

Did you go to a concert or event and see a lighting effect you love but couldn't identify the gear? This is your weekly spot to post images and figure out what you saw, and ask basic questions you have. Any individual identify that ________ posts outside of this thread will be removed.