GrandMA onPC Command Wing vs HedgeHog 4

Re: GrandMA onPC Command Wing vs HedgeHog 4

Please tell me which one I should buy and why.
I've always found that I prefer GrandMA in terms of interface, but I think the real difference here is not actually in the interface as much as reliability and the technology.

The HedgeHog is a dedicated piece of gear. Advantages include the reliability that comes with it, lower latency due to dedicated processing, and a single piece of gear that houses all of the I/O and processing.

On the other hand, GrandMA on PC with the command wing will require a laptop or other computer with it at all times. Laptops and computers seem to be less reliable than their single use counterparts inside other consoles. There might be some latency in the system, but you'll gain the use of the mouse and a nicer screen. Also, a strange advantage is that with a laptop being the processor, you can exchange between multiple laptops practically at will, if you ever had multiple LDs using the same gear or whatever like that. Also, there is less hassle with offline software - the laptop software contains it. In addition, if one laptop fails, you will almost definitely have another one, i.e. you'll always have a spare if you have a spare laptop with the software installed.

Assuming that the price is comparable, I think you'll find that it's easier to rent out and use the GrandMA on PC gear and also it will be easier to maintain over time. The HedgeHog is still rather new and hasn't caught on yet, so you can't guarantee resale price, but with the GrandMA gear you probably can bet on at least some resale value - even just the PC wings.

Enjoy your new "toy" either way. :D~:-D~:grin:
 
Re: GrandMA onPC Command Wing vs HedgeHog 4

I've always found that I prefer GrandMA in terms of interface, but I think the real difference here is not actually in the interface as much as reliability and the technology.

The HedgeHog is a dedicated piece of gear. Advantages include the reliability that comes with it, lower latency due to dedicated processing, and a single piece of gear that houses all of the I/O and processing.

On the other hand, GrandMA on PC with the command wing will require a laptop or other computer with it at all times. Laptops and computers seem to be less reliable than their single use counterparts inside other consoles. There might be some latency in the system, but you'll gain the use of the mouse and a nicer screen. Also, a strange advantage is that with a laptop being the processor, you can exchange between multiple laptops practically at will, if you ever had multiple LDs using the same gear or whatever like that. Also, there is less hassle with offline software - the laptop software contains it. In addition, if one laptop fails, you will almost definitely have another one, i.e. you'll always have a spare if you have a spare laptop with the software installed.

Assuming that the price is comparable, I think you'll find that it's easier to rent out and use the GrandMA on PC gear and also it will be easier to maintain over time. The HedgeHog is still rather new and hasn't caught on yet, so you can't guarantee resale price, but with the GrandMA gear you probably can bet on at least some resale value - even just the PC wings.

Enjoy your new "toy" either way. :D~:-D~:grin:

Given that most consoles these days are based on dedicated industrial computers, reliability should be very similar between a hardware console and a PC based system with a dedicated computer. And that's what I've seen in practice.
 
Re: GrandMA onPC Command Wing vs HedgeHog 4

Difference between your home computer (even if its dedicated) and the computers in the consoles is, They use commercial parts not, consumer, They run a stripped down (to the bare essentials operating systems, meaning, they dump a lot of the extra drivers, the extra software features and I'm not talking just uninstalling Microsoft word.) that said I don't know of the last time anyone has complained about their system crashing during the show as long as its a dedicated PC that isn't used for anything other than running the Lighting controller software. Personally I can't stand hogs, too many bad memories associated with corrupted saves, failing hard drives, and just utter nonsense for failure. Hogs support is okay, and so is GrandMA but I prefer GrandMA over hog just in terms of reliability.
 
Re: GrandMA onPC Command Wing vs HedgeHog 4

Difference between your home computer (even if its dedicated) and the computers in the consoles is, They use commercial parts not, consumer, They run a stripped down (to the bare essentials operating systems, meaning, they dump a lot of the extra drivers, the extra software features and I'm not talking just uninstalling Microsoft word.) that said I don't know of the last time anyone has complained about their system crashing during the show as long as its a dedicated PC that isn't used for anything other than running the Lighting controller software. Personally I can't stand hogs, too many bad memories associated with corrupted saves, failing hard drives, and just utter nonsense for failure. Hogs support is okay, and so is GrandMA but I prefer GrandMA over hog just in terms of reliability.

I'm not a lighting guy. I try to not play one on TV. I haven't "done lights" since high school.

That said, the MA ecosystem is pretty slick, and the way it networks together and can share/control/expand/back up among the various devices is quite ingenious. Getting into their system at any level can open a much larger world of control very quickly.
 
Re: GrandMA onPC Command Wing vs HedgeHog 4

Difference between your home computer (even if its dedicated) and the computers in the consoles is, They use commercial parts not, consumer, They run a stripped down (to the bare essentials operating systems, meaning, they dump a lot of the extra drivers, the extra software features and I'm not talking just uninstalling Microsoft word.) that said I don't know of the last time anyone has complained about their system crashing during the show as long as its a dedicated PC that isn't used for anything other than running the Lighting controller software. Personally I can't stand hogs, too many bad memories associated with corrupted saves, failing hard drives, and just utter nonsense for failure. Hogs support is okay, and so is GrandMA but I prefer GrandMA over hog just in terms of reliability.

I'm not worried about the reliability of Windows-based machines; we maintain our systems and never have a problem

The only reason I wouldn't want the MA Command Wing is that I have a bunch of separate components to hook up at every show. I think with a creative case design I could leave it all permanently wired and not have a problem.

The HedgeHog doesn't have support for external monitors, doesn't support as many universes, and is not as industry-standard as the MA rig. I think it's going to be MA Command Wing for me.
 
Re: GrandMA onPC Command Wing vs HedgeHog 4

Most LDs will be familiar with the MA and have their basic show templates (effects & al) on a USB stick or at least basic knowledge of how to use it ; the hedgehog maybe not so much.


Most of the time I carried anything other than MA I ended up having to help visiting LDs to get set up on on whatever I had and it gobbled up a lot of time I would have spent on something else...