Another networking testimonial...

Pangolin

Staff member
Hi Folks,

Patrick Burns wrote the following "mini article" on Networking with LD2000:

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Pangolins LD networking utility is the perfect solution to an issue I've experienced for some time. Used to be I'd have to swap my QM2000 card between my primary workstation (when I was working on editing a show) and the more modest PC mounted in a flight case that I actually take to perform and playback shows. This was both inconvenient and posed a risk to the hardware by having to frequently insert and remove the QM2000 card between PC's.

Now I simply leave the QM2000 card in the flight case PC. This PC stays in my equipment storage area where I run it in a "headless" configuration - with no keyboard, monitor or mouse. All I need to do is plug in the network connection and apply power. This not only is much more convenient and saves me time, but it also saves wear and tear on my computers and QM2000 card.

Now when I go to my primary workstation on the same LAN, I'm able to run an LD or Showtime session as if the QM2000 card was installed locally.

Since I normally have no keyboard or monitor connected to the computer that houses the QM2000 card, I've tweaked Windows 2000 so that it will automatically log onto the network without user intervention - that is, without needing to press CTRL ALT DEL and type in a password. Consult the following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles for specific information on how to do this.

For Windows 2000 / NT (all versions)
http://support.microsoft.com/search/preview.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q97597

For Windows XP (All Versions)
http://support.microsoft.com/search/preview.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q315231

I've also placed a shortcut to the networking utility in the startup menu so that it runs automatically when Windows starts.

An extra bonus to running networked is that you can edit LD2000 and Showtime sessions on just about any computer connected to your LAN - including laptops that do not have a docking station with a PCI slot! What's even better, with an 802.11 enabled wireless LAN, you are not even tied to a physical network connection - you can work anywhere within the range of the wireless signal, anywhere your creativity strikes your fancy - family room, in bed, backyard, etc.

The only caveats I've discovered are that LD and Showtime sessions do take slightly longer to load in a networked environment. Load time for each is roughly 30 seconds over my 10 megabit Ethernet connection versus 5 to 10 seconds when the QM2000 card is installed locally. Also, there is a slight lag of a few milliseconds when dragging events on the Showtime timeline while "SHOW LASER OUTPUT WHILE SCROLLING" is enabled. However, these "cons" in my experience are quite tolerable and should be minimal (if noticeable at all) on faster Ethernet connections of 100 megabit or more.

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Patrick Burns may be contacted directly at: patrick_burns68@hotmail.com
 
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