Congo - Fixture replacement

I can't work out what you mean - You appear to be confusing DMX Outputs with Desk Channels.

All data inside Congo is stored as a reference to the Desk Channel. When playing back, this is run through the Patch to determine what DMX should actually be output.

Can you explain what you are trying to do?

I think Adam is wondering if there is a way to substitute fixture types without having to reprogram show data from scratch. (If this is indeed his question,) I have been wondering the same thing myself.

Hi Anne,

You are right.

I am thinking of programming (recoding Presets) a show having Robe eg Wash moving head patched (parameters: Intensity, Pan, Tilt, C, M, Y). Then lets say somebody tells me that we need to do it on Clay Paky Washes (also the same parameters: Intensity, Pan, Tilt, C, M, Y parameters, but these parameters have different DMX channel numbers than in Robe). So there is a question does Congo during playback recall (take) eg Cyan value from Preset and:

1.Set the value to the Cyan parameter of actually patched fixture (not depending what fixture was patched during recording and playback?

or

2. Set the value to DMX channel number of Cyan of the fixture that was patched while recording (then it could be eg Till parameter in Clay Paky)?

Of course I can do some tests, but would like to know it from the source ;-)

Adam

Congo is recording parameters by the parameter number, not the DMX offset. This means that you can swap the Template after recording and the recorded parameter data will play back on the same parameter number in a new device. So, your color mix will show up on the CMY parameters of the new device. With a simple device like the ones mentioned, this will probably work pretty well.

(Note: There is no conversion of parameter values when you swap template, so on a more complex device with a slightly different set of parameters or parameter ranges, it might not play back as well as in the simple case. Also, the meaning of specific Pan/Tilt values might vary slightly between devices depending on the physical ranges. But if you have used Palettes, this would be easy to compensate for.)

Congo is recording parameters by the parameter number, not the DMX offset. This means that you can swap the Template after recording and the recorded parameter data will play back on the same parameter number in a new device. So, your color mix will show up on the CMY parameters of the new device. With a simple device like the ones mentioned, this will probably work pretty well.

(Note: There is no conversion of parameter values when you swap template, so on a more complex device with a slightly different set of parameters or parameter ranges, it might not play back as well as in the simple case. Also, the meaning of specific Pan/Tilt values might vary slightly between devices depending on the physical ranges. But if you have used Palettes, this would be easy to compensate for.)

Ah, now I understand!

There are a few other things to watch out for:

• You must not delete the device and then repatch the new template to the channel.
  • This will erase all the parameter data.
• The 'new' device template must include the same attribute names for any attribute you want to migrate.
  • Eg "Cyan" and "Cyan 1" are different parameters.
• All palettes recorded 'By Device Type' won't migrate to the new template.

To do this, import or create the new Template, then open the Device List and choose the new Template from the relevant dropdown list.

- Alternatively, you can also edit the in-use Template to rearrange attributes. I've used this a few times when trying to figure out how an 'unknown' fixture works.