in a world of steadily increasing lighting set ups, especially in the led section, there is a strong need to matrix control. today a fixture often is nothing more but a pixel!
img212.imageshack.us/img212/1856/matrixpatch1gs.jpg Matrix 1) create table 2) create patch a) no auto, select fixture + touch a cell, the fixture is affected to cell b) Auto, select group + touch first cell affect fixture one by one in cells. if Column is not selected pacth is left to right if Culumn is selected patch is up to down if 2 ways is selected first line is left to right second is right to left....
Matrix for text and picture img92.imageshack.us/img92/8767/matrixpic1ym.jpg select dimmer or/and color select a picture or insert test, size is by cell, 1= 1cell choose effects .... start, first step of effect, right, left, top, down, if symetrical is on, right and down start effect from center. direction is way of effect right to left, left to right, both right (right to left and left to right), both left symetrical, fixture 3 will do the same than fixture 1 (horizontal effect).
here it should be: Red picture, and 1+3 red, 2 red, 4+5 red, 6+8 red, 7red, 9+10 red Matrix for all features img234.imageshack.us/img234/5822/matrixmov9ii.jpg Start palette is start volue of effect, End palette is end value of effect, or use middle palette and size
Line Start is Off if all fixtures are doing the samething at same time, Exterior/interioris isthe direction exterior is exterior to center interior is opposite
Line Offset Is offset on lines
Mirror is option for pan and tilt, to have opposite moving effect. Symmetrical is option to have same effect on opposite fixtures, if Symmetrical and mirror are selected fixture 1 and 3 do the same effect but with opposite Pan/Tilt
That's just first ideas.
Edit: Repeats and buddying could be used to have simple 1 on two ..........
<"pixels" then you are better off using a pixel mapping product...No matter what lighting console you use, nothing beats using video clips that are easily modifiable for LED control. No matter what type of interface is on a console, it can not beat the power of a media server or pixel mapper in terms of creative ability it provides the LD.
I do feel that lighting console should add some simple matrix control for basic "blocks" of control, but purely from a creative standpoint the possibilities are endless with a media server compared to programing capabilities of so many pixels on a desk.>>
What I haven't seen yet in the land of media-server-output-mapped-to-LED-arrays is the ability to specify pixel/fixture-specific values in anything resembling an efficient manner. Mapping still and moving images to an LED array is a piece of cake compared to creating pixel-specific imagery. You can mess around all day long with low-res artwork trying to make individual pixels match up to specific fixtures, but by the time you've done that and create a solution that works, a decent programmer will have it already done the "old fashioned way" with fixture selections, groups, buddying, etc.
The GrandMA does a reasonably decent job of controlling LEDs despite it's arcane UI. The best part of it though, if you're doing things the "old fashioned way" is that you can use the matrix editor for individual & group fixture selection by clicking & clicking/dragging...which, by the way, is a lot faster than typing in fixture numbers...especially when you're making pixel-specific images.
What I'd really like to see (and maybe, hopefully Catalyst 4 can already do this, I don't know) is to be able to mix and match bitmap-based and pixel-specific playback...I don't know how this would be achieved, maybe through some kind of virtual fixture type & direct ethernet connection or something....which would enable the DMX processing to be handled completely outside the console...which is my other favorite feature of media servers.
That's what i try to explain in Matrix for text and picture you can create your matrix with fixtures you want (yoke mirror led...) and make choice between pic or text, after you have effects on text or pic.
This should prob be in the Catalyst forum, but. I've sometimes wanted to see a function like "bypassing" the mediaserver.. think that a mediaserver had an extra dmx input(other than the control dmx that we use to control the mediaserver) that could be routed to the dmx output from the mediaserver(led wall) then you could add the "old fashion" way of controling a led array to your desk, and have it connected to that new dmx input on the mediaserver.. so if you wanted to take the desk and make a effect over the ledwall, you could just "bypass" the mediaserver, and use the dmx from the desk to control it..
Yeah, that's why I was saying something like a virtual fixture might be cool...a fixture that only outputs to Catalyst via ethernet and would not output to an actual DP DMX port...theoretically this could still keep the DMX processing on the Catalyst server.
It could be a good idea to develop somekind of visual marks for Buddying and Repeat in the programmer, which will "predict" what would happen with currently selected Fan
It would be nice to have a tool something like this www.valo.teak.fi/%7Esrautane/H3GFX/Matrix%20tool.jpg
You just place it in your matrix and choose spreading directions... Spreading can be continous like when fixture range comes to and end of row it continues on a next row defined by this tool. For example you have right and down arrow selected matrix fills from left to right and from up to down... arrows could have also somekind of selection order markings or numbers Spreading can be also "sequential" like first left second down third left fourth down etc.
It would be nice if you could add a group or a fixture range in one pixel
When you create matrix it would be nice to have somekind of empty space where you throw the same type of arrow tool, add numbers near arrows and matrix layout is created from those numbers...
This may sound a bit weird...it's 0:35 AM here...I hope someone got the idea...:06:
I order a grandMa. I can not wait 1-2 years for Hog III software expansion...the summer is near and also festival / jobs comes up. Lot with LED stuff and for me its to expensive to order 3 DP 2000 to drive 3000 LED HTP chanels
I am sorry if you think it will be 1-2 years as that is simply not true. We have many exciting things we are preently working on for the Wholehog 3 system.
Please feel free to contact me directly if you wish to discuss this further.
As i'm also very intrested in this part, i can give a pretty good example where we could use it. In the setup on the attached picture we used 100 moodlight tiles as a wall. ( these are simple RGB LED units) Creating effects with the engine is quiet simple ( grouping and budying)
but to display text ? So we use a Marti Matrix controller, one of the most simple interfaces i have seen. ( and u can control it by dmx ). Maybe it's worth looking at it to implement a Matrix in the hog 3.
As said before if the matrix is too complex and large , it is suggested to use a mediaserver or other matrix, pixeldrive,... but for simple setups it can be a great tool if impemented in the console.
That's my last thoughts on Matrix editer: www.zimagez.com/miniature/matrix-1.jpg
www.zimagez.com/miniature/matrix-2.jpg - Big difference is that 1 part is for fixtures and second one is for pic and/or text - i have separate texte and pic to create combinable effects, Split is of course to have the same texte or picture repeated several times by contribution with the axes, split rot is a rotation of splited picture
one more thing is that we could have small cells at the beginning of each raws and columns in order to easily select each one or plusior with pig + click
