new to the hobby and need to know what software to download?

[duane.mosley]

i am new to the hobby and i need to know which software to get started with? DMXControl 2.10? or Vixen 2.1.1.0 ?

thanks
duane

[Beanbag109]

Good question.

I too am new, and it seems to me that many here use Vixen. That is what I plan on using, due to the HUGE knowledge base here.

Just my two cents...

Mike,
Colorado

[Steve Gase]

You'll see a number of discussions about software in the forum... debates about what is better.

LightShow Pro is considered by some to be expensive, but if you are trying to manage thousands (!) of channels, the value is there.
Vixen is good, and it is free.

LOR (LightORama) is more closed in the options it supports, but if you have LOR hardware and you are considering adding DMX to that setup, LOR still is a valid choice.

Your mention of DMXControl is the first I've seen.

[Opopanax]

This Christmas season was my first year and I used Vixen. I would highly recommend it for someone starting out for two reasons.

1. It's free (lowers your first year expenses)
2. It works:)

There were a few things that I found out halfway through my first sequence that would make things easier.

1. Adjustable preview (plugin) allows you to insert a picture (house, yard etc) and put colored squares for every channel you're using. Helps give you an idea of what it looks like
2. You can "virtually" change the channels. You sequence something on Channel 4, but accidentally plugged the lights on your roof to Channel 6? No problem. You can move your "Channel 4" to output on Channel 6. No re-sequencing required
3. Audio wave can help really show when the notes are starting or stopping. Can be very helpful getting that exact start and stop point

[duane.mosley]

steve, here is the link for the dmx 2.1.1: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login   i googled vixen and this was one of the options that came up.

thanks
duane

[taybrynn]

Your main three options are:

LightShowPro 2.0 (aka LSP)

LOR S3 (aka S3, but Light-O-Rama)

Vixen

= = = =

Vixen basically does very little for you in terms of RGB, but you can do it and it works ... its just ol reliable
and you need to know what your doing ... and the learning curve isnt that steep because its kept fairly simple.
THe cost is of course wonderful (free).  To me, Vixen my be a short term choice, but maybe not a good long term
choice unless that project gets moving again.

LOR S3 has decent RGB support, but its on the fairly basic side.  Its easy, reliable and fairly bug free.
A lot of people using DMX and/or smart strings (RGB) on here use LOR to sequence the songs, then xlights (free)
as the show scheduler and player.  For me the LOR S3 upgrade (from S2) was only $30 .  So yes, you could say LOR
wants to trap you into using their hardware only (which is good), but you can use LOR software to sequence with
and xlights to play back against various hardware and protocols ... but most that are doing that are coming from LOR
so it makes more sense for them.  If your starting fresh, its less clear cut.

LSP 2.0 has way more RGB support, esp. in high channel counts and allows some object oriented programming to occur that
neither of the other options have ... but its more to learn and has some stability issues which are being addressed.  Overall,
I think LSP is the software with the most potential and current capability as a sub $500 price point.

It kind of depends what you want to do in your first year or two and whether RGB is part of those plans or not.

It also depends how important saving money on software is as well ... because if saving money is the top priority, then Vixen
may be the choice, period.  If you have a prior investment in LOR, LOR S3 may suffice for now.  If your willing to pay for RGB
and advanced capabilities for larger channel counts ... then LSP.

[Steve Gase]

I think for software, it makes a lot of sense to look 2-3 years out.

Consider how big you think this hobby might grow, and plan for that in your software choice.  You will spend time getting to know one solution, and find it harder to make a switch later (...although some of the choices do allow you to import sequences from another product with varying levels of success)

That said... there is a lot to be said for starting simple with an easy-to-use product and getting quick success under your belt!

[duane.mosley]

This Christmas season was my first year and I used Vixen. I would highly recommend it for someone starting out for two reasons.

1. It's free (lowers your first year expenses)
2. It works:)

There were a few things that I found out halfway through my first sequence that would make things easier.

1. Adjustable preview (plugin) allows you to insert a picture (house, yard etc) and put colored squares for every channel you're using. Helps give you an idea of what it looks like
2. You can "virtually" change the channels. You sequence something on Channel 4, but accidentally plugged the lights on your roof to Channel 6? No problem. You can move your "Channel 4" to output on Channel 6. No re-sequencing required
3. Audio wave can help really show when the notes are starting or stopping. Can be very helpful getting that exact start and stop point
[/quote]


 thanks

[duane.mosley]

 i am  running into the 64 bit issue with windows 7 trying to download vixen 2.1? i have been reading and reading and some people say no problem but then others are having issues. it says i need .netframework 2.0 but when trying to download .netframework 2.0, it says not supported due to 64 bit. I'm not the most savvy when it comes to the computer. i have an older PC  that doesn't get used but i really wanted to keep everything on my laptop.

[RJ]

One thing I think I would make sure you understand is the way the software works can be quite different. If you think you will end up with LSP for example learning Vixen can slow you in learning LSP. Or at least in my case I believe it did. I found people that had not learned to use other software learned LSP easier than people like I that did.

RJ

[rimist]

I have 64 bit vista laptop and run vixen without a problem

-Rimist

[Steve Gase]

I have 64 bit vista laptop and run vixen without a problem

Same here, but I will say that I have installed all of the .net versions and kept them current.  If you have the option of installing the 32-bit version of .net, do that as well.  It could be that you have 64bit .net version installed and vixen is built for 32-bit.

[jnealand]

I use vixen 2.1 on 32 and 64 bit computers, laptops and a netbook.  All with no problem.

[zwiller]

If you are considering Vixen at all, you might want to try out the Vixen beta 3.0 instead of the older versions.  At some point I am going to that as well as try the LSP demo if they still offer it since there is no way I can fathom using older vixen versions for rgb the way I want.   

[DanHouston]

I'm running vixen with win7 64-bit on a laptop and desktop.

This was my first year and I used Vixen...If you are going to start there I'd recommend start experimenting with the 3.0 beta since it is totally different. I like the direction they are going, but in many ways behind LSP.

I also agree with RJ that learning Vixen may slow you down with LSP...It was tough for me during the trial period, so much so that I'm just not sure I will make the leap (especially with what they are doing in Vixen 3.0).