Thread: iPad based lighting rig

Gents,

I suppose I should have browsed a lot of threads and find a solution, but instead I'm making a new thread.
Some of you please excuse me ...

I'm preparing a smallish lighting 'rig' to support an acoustic act. 12 basic LED pars, 2 separate RGB strips, 4 'classic' dimmer channels for needed basic front white. I HAVE a all the fixtures ....

I need :

iPad (3) based controller, preferably connected through AirPort Express (1) based system to ingeniously control my fixtures through a USB-DMX gizmo. I have needed Apple devices, I guess I need some sort of USB-DMX box to connect it to the AirPort and a software or an app which will take charge of all of the above.

Do you have any practical experience or advice on what is the proper option ?
Please mind that wireless control, as described, is a must ... I also do not want to use an iPad as a VNC client or anything like it ...

Thank you very much.

Respectfully

You could take a look at "Luminair" at Luminair for iPad v2 - Multi-touch wireless DMX lighting control - Luminair for iPad v2 - Multi-touch wireless DMX lighting control .

Bluelight also has an iPad app for their software.

Lightin Motion Show Control - Home for the BlueLite X1

I use Chauvet Showxpress (USB to DMX) with the Live Mobile iPad app. In showxpress you build scenes in the editor and then select the scenes via the iPad.

For our band we create click tracks in the timeline and sync the lightshow to the track. I tap the song on my iPad, the track counts us in and the light show is synced.

When I run sound/Lights I have a page(s) with the scenes I've created and run them from either the iPad or the laptop.

I believe outside the States it is called sweetlight (??)

Products » ShowXpress

Ales,

The Bluelight and Sweetlight systems are basically a remote for a piece of softwarew that would require an additional PC on the network. The USB port on the original Airport express can only be used for printing as far as I remember.

The only way I can see this working without an additional computer is to use Artnet. You could use a converter such as the Enttec ODE

ENTTEC - OPEN DMX ETHERNET

along with a bit of software such as Luminair for iPAD or LightingPAD.

Luminair for iPad - DMX lighting control for iPad on the iTunes App Store

App Store - LightingPad

I'm not convinced this is a good way to run a show however, as I don't know what the outcome of loosing your wireless connection would be. I've used luminair on iphone as a riggers remote in the past and it worked.

Richard

I have used the luminaire system many times. It is a pretty cool piece of software. Relatively easy to program. For hardware, all you need is an airport express and an enttec open dmx Ethernet interface. The USB version will NOT work. So with software and hardware, not including the iPad, you will need to invest about $500. Add in the cost of an iPad, and you are at nearly $1000.

Now, one of the limitations of the software are that you cannot easily tap to adjust the speed of a chase that you have created. This is a fairly standard feature available on standalone controllers.

I have found the software quite reliable as long as you have a good wifi signal. If wifi signal is lost, the dmx signal will shut down. What the lights do will depend on the light. Some lights will go to blackout mode, some will stay at the last setting they heard.

The iPad must be set to never sleep for the program to stay running. It can chew up the battery pretty quickly, so it's best to run it plugged into the charger when at all possible.


I use my system primarily for aiming purposes, or for very small, non critical shows. In reality, standalone controllers with similar funcionality (minus touch screen and wireless, of course) are far less expensive.

Originally Posted by Jeff Williams

I use Chauvet Showxpress (USB to DMX) with the Live Mobile iPad app. In showxpress you build scenes in the editor and then select the scenes via the iPad.

For our band we create click tracks in the timeline and sync the lightshow to the track. I tap the song on my iPad, the track counts us in and the light show is synced.

When I run sound/Lights I have a page(s) with the scenes I've created and run them from either the iPad or the laptop.

I believe outside the States it is called sweetlight (??)

Products » ShowXpress

Jeff - a few questions -
What piece of hardware is your USB to DMX?
Can your MacBook Pro run the lighting program and StudioLive via iPad at the same time?
Can it do the lights - run the board AND Capture via the iPad at the same time?
Are you using the Macbook Pro as the wifi signal or are you using some kind of separate airport or router thingy?

Originally Posted by Gene Hardage

Jeff - a few questions -
What piece of hardware is your USB to DMX?
Can your MacBook Pro run the lighting program and StudioLive via iPad at the same time?
Can it do the lights - run the board AND Capture via the iPad at the same time?
Are you using the Macbook Pro as the wifi signal or are you using some kind of separate airport or router thingy?

I haven't tried running the lights from the mac, I bring a separate windows machine for them. I'm using an Apple time capsule dual band router to create my network. I do sound control on 5gHz and lights on 2.4 gHz.
USB to DMX is handled by a Chauvet Xpress 512. Products » Xpress

I'll do a test and see if the mac can do all that at once and remain stable.

Originally Posted by Jeff Williams

I haven't tried running the lights from the mac, I bring a separate windows machine for them. I'm using an Apple time capsule dual band router to create my network. I do sound control on 5gHz and lights on 2.4 gHz.
USB to DMX is handled by a Chauvet Xpress 512. Products » Xpress

I'll do a test and see if the mac can do all that at once and remain stable.

My setup is similar but I'm using the "create network" option on my MacBook Pro to provide the wireless signal to the iPad for the PreSonus Universal Control. If I could somehow do away with the little DMX light control board and just use the iPad/MacBook that would be great. The light control board is confusing to me because I'm using 2 or 3 different types of LED lights and of course even though they are all 7 channel LEDs - they have different functions from one brand to the other so they don't play well together. I'd really like to be able to assign a function to each light or group of lights and not have it screwed up when I move to the next brand. I've have wizkid DMX types try to run it with no better luck. Another bugaboo is that my LEDs are the older type with dip switches instead of buttons with a readout. I also have a PC laptop that I use for programing the Crown amps but really hate setting up all that stuff for a club gig so I wanna keep it as streamlined as possible with a minimal of parts.

Originally Posted by Gene Hardage

My setup is similar but I'm using the "create network" option on my MacBook Pro to provide the wireless signal to the iPad for the PreSonus Universal Control. If I could somehow do away with the little DMX light control board and just use the iPad/MacBook that would be great. The light control board is confusing to me because I'm using 2 or 3 different types of LED lights and of course even though they are all 7 channel LEDs - they have different functions from one brand to the other so they don't play well together. I'd really like to be able to assign a function to each light or group of lights and not have it screwed up when I move to the next brand. I've have wizkid DMX types try to run it with no better luck. Another bugaboo is that my LEDs are the older type with dip switches instead of buttons with a readout. I also have a PC laptop that I use for programing the Crown amps but really hate setting up all that stuff for a club gig so I wanna keep it as streamlined as possible with a minimal of parts.

It would be nice to have just the mac, we'll see how the tests go. I'm skeptical.
I'm about 50/50 on my lights with dip switches. The nice thing about showxpress is when you add a fixture it shows you what position to put the switches. I have a complete hodge podge of lights I'm controlling and the Chauvet software controls them all seamlessly (seamless enough for a bar band) The only "want" I have with the software is better control over the Roboscans.


Here's a list of what we bring to a club, by grouping several lights we've kept it to 172 DMX channels:
Chauvet Colorpanel (4)
Chauvet Colorstrip (2)
Chauvet ministrip (5)
Chauvet Vue 6.1 (4)
Chauvet Cubix (2)
Chauvet Mayhem (2)
Chauvet mini moon 360 (2)
Chauvet Hemisphere 5 (1)
Omnisistem LED Dancer (1)
Martin Roboscan 512 (4) (these are at the end of my run since they're phase reversed)
X-Laser Caliente (2)
Chauvet Flexfogger (1)
Omnisistem pyrofogger (2)
Chauvet hurricane hazer (1)

I have no basis for comparison of the Chauvet software, it's the only one I've used. But it's easy to use and pulls off a completely synced light show for our band without having a light guy.

As a sound guy I'm able to touch an iPad or click a mouse and set a scene or make an individual control of any light.

I would not rely on an ad-hoc network - the shows I worked that way were awful. Get a wireless router, hard-wire the MB to it, and turn off the MB's wireless.

Originally Posted by Jeff Williams

It would be nice to have just the mac, we'll see how the tests go. I'm skeptical.
I'm about 50/50 on my lights with dip switches. The nice thing about showxpress is when you add a fixture it shows you what position to put the switches. I have a complete hodge podge of lights I'm controlling and the Chauvet software controls them all seamlessly (seamless enough for a bar band) The only "want" I have with the software is better control over the Roboscans.


Here's a list of what we bring to a club, by grouping several lights we've kept it to 172 DMX channels:
Chauvet Colorpanel (4)
Chauvet Colorstrip (2)
Chauvet ministrip (5)
Chauvet Vue 6.1 (4)
Chauvet Cubix (2)
Chauvet Mayhem (2)
Chauvet mini moon 360 (2)
Chauvet Hemisphere 5 (1)
Omnisistem LED Dancer (1)
Martin Roboscan 512 (4) (these are at the end of my run since they're phase reversed)
X-Laser Caliente (2)
Chauvet Flexfogger (1)
Omnisistem pyrofogger (2)
Chauvet hurricane hazer (1)

I have no basis for comparison of the Chauvet software, it's the only one I've used. But it's easy to use and pulls off a completely synced light show for our band without having a light guy.

As a sound guy I'm able to touch an iPad or click a mouse and set a scene or make an individual control of any light.

Any updates on the ability to run everything off the MacBook Pro with iPad apps at the same time?

You mention that the software tells you how to set switches for each fixture. Are you referring to the old style LEDs with the dip switches (that's what I have) ?? Also - are you able to use the software/iPad/laptop without one of those little DMX control boards with the sliders and buttons? (I hate mine 'cause the various brands don't act the same and you can't make them all play nicely together trough the board) If I could just use the laptop/software/iPad without the little controller board maybe the software would allow them all to play nicely together?! I would gladly buy the little DMX interface box that talks to the laptop if I could get rid of the little control board and get all of them to work properly.

Originally Posted by Gene Hardage

Any updates on the ability to run everything off the MacBook Pro with iPad apps at the same time?

You mention that the software tells you how to set switches for each fixture. Are you referring to the old style LEDs with the dip switches (that's what I have) ?? Also - are you able to use the software/iPad/laptop without one of those little DMX control boards with the sliders and buttons? (I hate mine 'cause the various brands don't act the same and you can't make them all play nicely together trough the board) If I could just use the laptop/software/iPad without the little controller board maybe the software would allow them all to play nicely together?! I would gladly buy the little DMX interface box that talks to the laptop if I could get rid of the little control board and get all of them to work properly.

No update on using all apps at the same time. To be honest I'm chicken to try it live and haven't had the opportunity to set up the rig and do a practice run.

I am referring to the old style dip switches, in the setup area of the software it gives you a picture representation of how they should be set.






Showxpress requires no board, only a laptop and the USB to DMX box.

I'm interested in this as well. I'm running my SL off a Mac mini. Would love to add DMX functionality to it as well. Worse comes to worse I could pick up another Mac mini and mount it in the same ATA case...

I'm going with DMXIS

I am using Luminair with a dedicated Airport Express and it is working perfectly. I am running 8 Led Par Cans, 2 Led strips, 1 6-spot, 2 color pallets, 2 moving heads and a laser.

Originally Posted by Brian jojade

I have used the luminaire system many times. It is a pretty cool piece of software. Relatively easy to program. For hardware, all you need is an airport express and an enttec open dmx Ethernet interface. The USB version will NOT work. So with software and hardware, not including the iPad, you will need to invest about $500. Add in the cost of an iPad, and you are at nearly $1000.

Now, one of the limitations of the software are that you cannot easily tap to adjust the speed of a chase that you have created. This is a fairly standard feature available on standalone controllers.

I have found the software quite reliable as long as you have a good wifi signal. If wifi signal is lost, the dmx signal will shut down. What the lights do will depend on the light. Some lights will go to blackout mode, some will stay at the last setting they heard.

The iPad must be set to never sleep for the program to stay running. It can chew up the battery pretty quickly, so it's best to run it plugged into the charger when at all possible.


I use my system primarily for aiming purposes, or for very small, non critical shows. In reality, standalone controllers with similar funcionality (minus touch screen and wireless, of course) are far less expensive.

The latest version of Luminair has a setting to never sleep.

Originally Posted by Rob Gow

I'm going with DMXIS

I use DMXIS for my rig as well. Haven't tried it with the same MBPro as what is running studiolive yet though. I prefer to have separate systems for lighting and audio. I also use a midi controller with DMXIS to be able to change certain lights with physical control instead of having to use a mouse or touchpad for everything.

Here's a few shots from last weekend with ShowXpress, it controls all lights/foggers/lasers/video/back tracks.
This was a first run for the video and the back-lit bases. This week we're adding 2 more layers of diffusing to the boxes and enlarging the video screen under the drums.
We're a small bar band in Tulsa, but I think the setup is nice (for budget stuff.) Can anyone guess our name?




SoundWoman abandoning her post for a song:












Gear the software controls:

Chauvet:
ShowXpress controller software on Dell 510 laptop
Colorstrip- 2
Ministrip- 7
Cubix- 2
Vue 6.1- 4
Mayhem- 2
360- 2
colorpalette- 4
Slimpar-3
Hemisphere- 1
Hurricane flex fogger- 1
Hazer- 1

Martin:
Roboscan 812- 4

X-Laser:
Caliente- 2

Omnisistem:
Pyro fogger- 2

Howdy Jeff and thank you for reviving this thread. Nice pics and nice results - for the budget minded like me this looks to be a valid solution to my DMX problems. So far I have not been able to make 3 different brands of DMX lighting play nicely together using only a basic small controller. The values are all over the map and when one type is strobing the other may be doing something else. There is no easy integration of types with a small controller.

So far nobody has chanced the single MacbookPro running the PA and lights at the same time using an iPad. It's a scary concept and I may break down and try your approach with a separate cheap PC type laptop. I have an old one that I use for programing presets on my Xti Crowns but I hate using it because Windows PCs are alien to me.


Do you know if the ShowXpress software has an app for iPhone?

If so could the Dell laptop create an adhoc network an let the iPhone run it remotely the way the MacbookPro/iPad/StudioLive works?

Originally Posted by Jeff Williams

Here's a few shots from last weekend with ShowXpress, it controls all lights/foggers/lasers/video/back tracks.
This was a first run for the video and the back-lit bases. This week we're adding 2 more layers of diffusing to the boxes and enlarging the video screen under the drums.
We're a small bar band in Tulsa, but I think the setup is nice (for budget stuff.) Can anyone guess our name?




SoundWoman abandoning her post for a song:












Gear the software controls:

Chauvet:
ShowXpress controller software on Dell 510 laptop
Colorstrip- 2
Ministrip- 7
Cubix- 2
Vue 6.1- 4
Mayhem- 2
360- 2
colorpalette- 4
Slimpar-3
Hemisphere- 1
Hurricane flex fogger- 1
Hazer- 1

Martin:
Roboscan 812- 4

X-Laser:
Caliente- 2

Omnisistem:
Pyro fogger- 2