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Topics - drlava

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1
Happy Memorial Day Weekend, everyone!  One of the things that has been keeping me busy lately, besides graduation, is a new exciting pro-level laser show software I have been working on, called LaserShow Xpress (LSX) which is officially publicly available, starting today.  This is a full-featured show software suite with a frame editor, multi-projector timeline, MIDI (novation) style control capability, a full color and animation control suite, a live interface, and more. 

The software is built around a simple principle:  build features (such as true color ILDA export, powerful interface, full abstract generation, and universal DAC compatibility) that the user community wants, and they will come!



The background:
  As a hobbyist, years ago I was offered a deal on a version of Laser Design Studio (LDS) in trade for a custom laser module.  Seeing its price and capability, it was a no-brainer and I was happy to experience my first 'pro' level show software at a fraction of the retail cost.  Over the years since then, despite its power, the many oddities and limitations it had began to grate on me, and the author had seemed to loose interest.  Eventually, the opportunity to create these improvements myself presented itself, and after a lot of development and hard work improving what was already pretty powerful software, here stands LSX today.



New features:
  There have been over 125 new features and fixes added to LDS Pro, and the list keeps growing.  One of the exciting new features (to me) is the ability to control, manipulate, and define frames in real-time using arbitrary mathematical expressions and scripts.  The complete real-time generation and control offered here with regards to frames, color, and movement - and with input sources such as music, MIDI control surfaces like the Novation Remote Zero SL, and the mouse -  I have not seen in any other laser show software, except Digisynth.  Don't worry, if you aren't comfortable with math, there are many presets and more are being created all the time.
  Usability improvements were a primary concern, and with the help of C Favreau and others (thank you!), LSX is getting easier to use all the time.  Improvements such as drag-and-drop DAC selection, a better organized setup menu, non-modal context-sensitive editing dialogs, full event group cut, copy, paste across timelines and shows, help pop-ups local help buttons, and the ability to 'Undo' are some of the things that make the use of this software more of a pleasure than a pain.



Depth:
  The features of this software are broad and deep.  While the pro version comes with over 100 shows, for those that are interested in creation, give yourself some time to learn all of the features and capabilities of the software.  Your investment will be rewarded with the ability to make amazing shows.  Not every aspect, such as dynamically evaluated expressions, need to be mastered right away, or even at all.  The animator and frame drawing tool bring you simple animation capability just a few clicks away.  The feature list is so long, I won't bother to list it here, let's just say that users of other pro software here on the forum were very impressed, and found several things LSX could do that theirs could not.



Versions:
  My goal with versioning -  Lite through Pro - was to set feature levels such that any user would have the same art creation capability (no color limts, abstract limits, track limits, etc) but the higher levels would get you more 'pro' required features such as more projectors and advanced features such as target worlds and show protection/encryption.  With this goal, even inspired hobbyists will have the chance to create the same caliber artwork as the pros.  The full Leveling list is available on the purchase page.



Animations:
  If you have ever looked at a static frame and wished you could move it and twist it while spinning it and stretching it, and recolor it all live to an amount determined by a slider(s) in your hardware MIDI controller, LSX is the software for you.  If you've ever wished for the ability to synchronize your animations to a visualization of the music which shows volume AND pitch, LSX is the software for you, too.  If you've created a cool animation effect and wanted to save it to a preset for later use on other frames, LSX has you covered.  If you've ever wanted to apply a single animation set to sets of frames all at once, including a live abstract, you can do it with LSX.  If you've ever wished to use an unlimited set of animation effects, even of the same type, of different effective timeline lengths, all applied and added together simultaneously, join the LSX users group and you'll be satisfied!



Pricing:
  LSX is offered at a loss-leader introductory pricing rate for the first 30 days.  During this break-in time, development will continue and I'll put out updates on a regular basis as user feedback comes in.  Each license can be tied to a dongle, RIYA controller (recommended), QM controller (in testing), or computer.  As with ILD SOS and LaserCam, updates will be issued as they are created and tested, and you'll receive an email informing you of the new update availability and what's in it.  Please don't wait to join the fun, the sooner I get your feedback, the better LSX can get.



Support:
  There are help buttons in various places in LSX to assist you and clarify operation in complex areas.  Please read these!  There is also a user manual and tutorial videos under development.  I could use help with these, please contact me if you are interested.  I have also created a support forum for LSX intended to be the best place for your questions to be answered, and also the best place where you can share your presets, animations, and shows:
http://lasershowforums.com
Also included in that forum are sub-forums where DAC compatibility (listed by name) and use can be discussed, as well as your projects.  Everyone is welcome to join, not just LSX users.

 Sorry this ended up getting so long.  Feel free to ask any questions and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Links:
The Sale Page
The New Support Forum

2
Free Art ! / Geetone's space show
« on: December 22, 2010, 09:34:57 am »
I didn't make this, but me and at least one other member of this forum played some part in the enablement of the creation of this show. Pretty cool, eh?

http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/showthread.php/13229-My-first-laser-show.

the whole show is ILDA available on the FTP there, too!

3
LavaSoft / LaserCam new news and features
« on: December 16, 2010, 11:05:40 am »
Hey guys, I'd like to let you know that lasercam now supports the Kinect 3D camera for use in getting live figure shapes without needing a contrasting background or clothing.  Fluid 30fps animations can be generated easily using this method for dance capture and other animation purposes. 

 In addition, a live desktop area capture feature allows you to convert videos, drawings, and more to laser in real time, using any player such as VLC.

Finally, in the Pro version a minimalist interface mode has been created that enables non-experts to easily operate the software after it has been set up.  This allows more robust installations in an environment where a laserist may not be available after installation.

I'd like to thank everyone for the great feedback and excitement you have given and shown so far, and extend an invitation to join what will be the official support forum which is being built for LaserCam, ILD SOS, and future software here:

http://lasershowforums.com

4
LavaSoft / ILD SOS 1.3
« on: April 13, 2010, 05:58:32 pm »
Hi Everyone, ILD SOS 1.3 is now available as a new point series.  It includes improved DXF import for Illustrator, autocad, and other sources of DXF vector graphics, including splines, multiple layers, and color by layer.

 Also, ILD SOS 1.3 includes SVG import capability.  The cool thing about importing SVG is that you can define beautiful color gradients along the shapes and text for laser art.  ILD SOS 1.3 SVG importer supports most general SVG sources including Inkscape, Illustrator, Corel Draw, and the web.  Download Inkscape and give it a try.  Even as a beta version, I have found it far easier to use and more capable than most dedicated laser frame editors.  Thanks to PL's 'Zoof' for offering his preliminary SVG loader as a starting point!

ILD SOS Page

5
Media of the moment / LaserBoy in vinyl
« on: March 12, 2010, 11:31:50 pm »

6
LavaSoft / Image to ILDA tutorial
« on: March 11, 2010, 08:26:49 pm »
Hi guys, just posted up a basic raster to vector ILDA conversion tutorial using inkscape and ILD SOS.
[size=+2]7.9MB Xvid compressed Image to ILDA Turorial[/size]

Check it out!

You can use the first part and swap the second part out if you're using laserboy.  I think James added compatibility for my true color DXF output script.

7
Nautilus Integration is proud to announce a new level of live laser interaction technology called LaserCam.  LaserCam allows you to project live video feeds in real time through your projector in vector mode.  This technology taps into a video source such as a webcam and, using your laser projector, projects a laser image that is representative of what your webcam or camera sees.  This is not your ordinary low-resolution raster scanning technique.  The images are vectorized in real time and can be scanned at a fluid 30FPS rate on ordinary 30k galvos.

With LaserCam you will be able to use your laser projector in an entirely new way - to display live vector representation of a video feed during a show or concert.  In a club, you can capture and display anonymized vector video of dancers that are on your dance floor in real time on your laser projection screen!  You will also be able to use LaserCam to capture and record frame sequences for use in shows that do not involve a live video feed.



Demo Video, Xvid compressed (note that the camera used to record this video causes significant flicker which is not seen in real life)

LaserCam opens the doors to live interactive laser projection as well as real-time frame generation techniques for shows.

Features:
    * Display real-time laser video from a camera source
    * Export ILDA 0,1,2,5
    * Interactive Colorization
    * Capture webcam input to ILDA file for use in shows
    * Real-time preview on screen and with laser
    * Supports RIYA, EasyLase, EzAudDac, QM2000 Controllers

Suggested System Requirements:
    * Webcam or similar video input device
    * Dual Core 2GHz processor
    * 1GB RAM (For recording)


Available here

Send a PM for Special Laserboy/AudioDAC pricing.

8
Lasers / blu ray diode aging analysis
« on: December 17, 2009, 01:29:31 am »
Introduction:
Back when KES-400A's were all the rage, in testing them with the P-I-V autoramper I noticed that at certain currents their output power slowly declined a minute amount.  In normal pointer operation, this decline is barely noticeable, but it is there.  Now is the time to revisit this effect, and to see if we can make use of it when testing very expensive diodes, to prevent the necessity of killing diodes and to extract the most information out of each test.

Hypothesis:
The theory goes like this:  if one is able to slowly level up the laser output and measure the output sag at each level, one should be able to construct an aging curve for the laser before it dies! The caveat is that the laser must age, not instantaneously die, to get useable data.

Protocol:
To test this hypothesis, the following procedure was used.  A single ramp test was performed as usual on a PHR-803T blu ray diode.  Next the diode was driven for 2 hours at 60mA while being shut off for one second at 5 minute intervals.  During this time, power, voltage, and temperature data were recorded. After 2 hours, the current was raised 5mA and the cycle repeated.  This test 2 hours, raise 5mA, test 2 hours procedure was performed up to 200mA (designed to eventually kill the diode in this case). After data collection, the aging of the diode during each 2 hour time span was calculated and plotted.

Results:
The diode had a typical PHR P-I-V curve:


and exhibited marked aging at output levels over 100mW


Unexpectedly, at 97mW, there was a 'reverse' aging process taking place, and between 100 and 120mW the aging varied between 0.2mW/Hr and 0.  This area corresponds with the first 'knee' of the P-I-V plot.Above the first 'knee' the aging increased to 1mW/Hr.  Unexpectedly, aging again ceased at 148mW after the second 'knee' but quickly increased again shortly before final failure.

Discussion:
While between 40 and 90mW the aging is negligible and probably the result of system noise, the reverse aging point at 97mW is not an anomaly.  The diode did increase in output power very slightly during this time.  One possible explanation is that the aging process on the die or output coupling mirror was changing the cavity properties in such a way as to push the first 'knee' further up the diode current slope, resulting in a temporarily increased lasing efficiency at that point.  Above the 'knee' at 120mA, no further reverse aging levels were recorded.
  Without this aging test (and our experimental knowledge gained through the sacrifice of many diodes), it might not be immediately clear that operation of the diode above the knee is detrimental to its life.  However with this single test, this becomes clear.  It remains to be seen if aging occurs significantly in 'kneeless' blu ray diodes before their death, but if it does, or if a knee develops spontaneously at high currents after a period of time, this aging test will find it and report it before the diode is completely destroyed.

  The testing methodology utilized here, while longer running, may be superior to that of running a lifetime test at a fixed current.  While the latter methodology will give results for that specific current/output power, it is possible to determine the  output power at which significant aging begins with the former test technique.


9
LaserBoy !!! / new effect: Lava Flow
« on: December 10, 2009, 01:51:31 am »
Hey James, If we come up with a new effect, will you name it after us or put us in the laserboy credits?

How about this one:  a frame set effect that animates the colored line that is drawn with another frame (but with blanking removed) moving through the x-y coordinates of the target frame, but with blanking for the target frame applied. 


For example if you had a frame with a dashed line like this:
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

and a frame with a figure eight

then applied the dashed line coloring of the line to the path of the figure eight, repeating or truncating where necessary, and animated it 'moving through' the figure 8 that would look pretty slick.



10
This link posted by steve over there bears repeating:
http://www.lowellcross.com/home/

got to the bottom of this page for a laser show file

http://www.lowellcross.com/artmusic/videoii/

not sure how bad the mp3 compression will make it..

11
Free Art ! / 2010 sci-fi newyears countdown animation
« on: November 04, 2009, 02:01:29 am »
Here's a donation for the forum if you like sci-fi :)
With the tools at hand, this took 3 long evenings.

Just start playback 46 seconds before 12:00 on new years eve.

Details:
30k ILDA, to be scanned half size at continuous 30kpps frame-by-frame.  If you have 25k scanners, start 55 seconds before 12:00 and scan at 25k.

Animation inspired from space ship Discovery One's final demise in the book 2010 a space odyssey. Thank you Arthur C. Clarke for memorable childhood wonder :)


click image:


12
Other software / free 3D hidden line rendering
« on: September 18, 2009, 01:32:04 am »
I don't know how many of you cave-dwellers saw this, but it bears repeating.  There is a FREE 3D RENDERER capable of generating laser animations.  AND it can be used with laserboy, too.

I have tried it and it works.  it's slow and hard to learn at first, but just go to the blender GUI tutorial immediately and it's not that bad. See attached.

http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8086



http://www.blender.org/education-help/tutorials/tutorial-folder/blender-user-interface-tutorial/

13
Other software / ilda browser
« on: September 14, 2009, 10:44:38 am »
This posted on LaserFreak not too long ago:

http://www.laserfreak.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=46460

14
Free Art ! / post your halloween frames!
« on: September 11, 2009, 02:14:22 am »
Halloween season is coming up, use this thread to share frames that you are/will be creating to celebrate!

Here's one to kick off (click the picture):


15
Hey guys, this has been brewing for a while, but has only been discussed briefly here until now.  That is, what is the appropriate way to send frames to the DAC driver, and what is the appropriate way for the DAC driver to send these frames on to the hardware in terms of blanking timing.

 I have noticed a trend with Spaghetti in that a lot of the shows that are available expect the lasers to have fast modulation speed in order to be displayed properly.  But, what happens when one tries to play one of these shows with galvo blanking? The frames have heads or tails on the lines unless blanking timing is adjusted by the laser controller, to make the galvo blanking signal slightly lead the xy signals.  What's wrong with that? you say..  well, nothing, until you realize that if you display the ilda test frame with these blanking adjustments it won't look right.  It will only look right with 0 controller blanking adjustment on galvo blanking setup.  So, to display the test frame correctly you need one controller setup, to display the currently available shows correctly you need another setup.  Something's not right.

Similarly, there is an issue with projectors with fast blanking such as our dpss and AOM modulated units.  When one displays the ilda test frame in spaghetti with 0 modulation delay, it doesn't look right, it looks like this:

This can be fixed now by adding in R, G, and B offset delays in the EzAudDac.ini file to simulate the slower galvo blanking. 

This was as close as I could get it, one 48000th of a second sooner blanking looked worse.
However after tuning up the system to make the test frame look as right as possible, when one goes to play a spaghetti show, there are often tails and or heads.


So, what's right?

There are frames available that are meant to be displayed just as the ilda test frame is displayed. 
There are some frames out there that are meant to be displayed with no galvo blanking simulation.
Pangolin loads frames assuming they are tuned to be displayed with galvo blanking.
Spaghetti loads frames assuming they are to be displayed with fast blanking (thus normally the blanking on the ilda test frame doesn't look right.)


Personally I lean toward making the ilda test frame look right with the controller/driver blanking delay if necessary, and then the other content should look right also.  The reason this is important is that if we are going to be sharing frames, this should be hammered out.  Also, it's important because EzAudDac 1.08 now has individual r,g,b,i blanking delay adjustments to make the ilda test frame (and most other frames) look right when it is fed directly to the driver.
 What are your opinions?

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