APC mini vs. DMX Controller

wafflelad

New Member
I've been using Quickshow for about a year for a single laser and I'm going to start controlling DMX lighting with it as well. I'm trying to figure out if it would make more sense to control everything via something like the APC mini in QS or to run everything from a hardware DMX controller and trigger laser cues in QS from there.

Here's my questions...

1. I see that there is mapping for the APC mini that looks great for running a projector live in QS. Is it also possible to use it to control DMX lights (channel intensity, etc.) through QS? I'd prefer to go that route, but I wasn't sure what it's capabilities were for setting up and running a DMX show. With the laser, I usually prebuild everything and only need to trigger cues during a show, so having all of the control over the different attributes of the projection don't really matter to me in a hardware controller.

2. If I was to use a DMX controller, would I still be able to set up all of the DMX in QS and just use the controller as a hardware interface or would all of the lighting have to be run solely by the hardware controller? I know I can trigger cues in QS with it, but if I can't use the faders and joystick to control the lighting when setting up those cues, then it's not as attractive to me.

Basically my idea situation is hardware control of all of the attributes of the lighting, but having everything programmed in and run through Quickshow. Any answers to my questions and tips on how to do this best are appreciated.

Thanks!

Joey

Oh also, my intended lighting set up for the near term would be two moving heads and 8 par cans run off of two dmx dimmers.
 
1. I see that there is mapping for the APC mini that looks great for running a projector live in QS. Is it also possible to use it to control DMX lights (channel intensity, etc.) through QS? I'd prefer to go that route, but I wasn't sure what it's capabilities were for setting up and running a DMX show. With the laser, I usually prebuild everything and only need to trigger cues during a show, so having all of the control over the different attributes of the projection don't really matter to me in a hardware controller..

The APC mini profile is hardcoded inside QuickShow. You are not able map buttons differently other then predefined. But other midi controllers can be used on QuickShow, however Midi functionality is limited in QuickShow. There is no way to attach DMX to sliders for example. The only way you will be able to use DMX is pre-defined cues (on timeline or live), or with a mouse on screen, in the QuickDMX tab.

2. If I was to use a DMX controller, would I still be able to set up all of the DMX in QS and just use the controller as a hardware interface or would all of the lighting have to be run solely by the hardware controller? I know I can trigger cues in QS with it, but if I can't use the faders and joystick to control the lighting when setting up those cues, then it's not as attractive to me.

QuickShow can act as a dmx fixture, (I suppose your asking that) But its much more limited compared to what you can do with an APC min.

Basically my idea situation is hardware control of all of the attributes of the lighting, but having everything programmed in and run through Quickshow. Any answers to my questions and tips on how to do this best are appreciated.

Oh also, my intended lighting set up for the near term would be two moving heads and 8 par cans run off of two dmx dimmers

I think you should look to BEYOND, its big brother, there you have much more flexibility, as well as on dmx as in the control area.
 
Thanks for the reply! In my research since posting that, I've come to the conclusion that Beyond is where I need to go, when I can justify the money. I don't do any control over lasers other than cue them, though, so using Quickshow as a dmx fixture and running everything through a dmx system might also work well.

While I've got you here, is there any way to change the number of columns in a page? I ended up buying the APC mini but the buttons are arranged with less columns than Quickshow so the buttons don't match the screen. It's really hard to reliably use it to trigger cues unless you're just going from one to the next in sequence.

Thanks!
Joey
 
PS, you can play with the demo of BEYOND, it does allow art-net/dmx/midi in and out. You are just not able to save anything and are not able to output laser signal.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top