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A complete newbie to DL

Hello all,

Manny here from NY. I am a complete newbie who is interested in learning and eventually purchasing 2 DL2 fixtures. Before I do that, I have long ways to go in learning the fixtures and its full potentials. Everything I know about the DL fixtures is what I have saw on youtube videos. And these fixtures are simply amazing. I own 2 Elation Design Spot 250s (all you DL owners, do not laugh lol) and control them using Light Jockey or CompU Live.

So here are my questions.

1) I want to purchase them and eventually learn enough about them so I can sell the effects to my clients. Besides the fixtures, what do I need? Can the fixtures be controlled by something like Martin Light Jockey or do I need special hardware/software for it?

2) Are there any authorized dealers (around Manhattan, NY area) that will have these fixtures on display?

3) Is there any online websites that have step by step tutorials on these fixtures?

4) Are there any classes around NY area that I can attend (I saw that High End offers classes in TX only)?

Any help is appreciated. Like I mentioned, I am a complete rookie to these amazing fixtures and would love to learn about them and use them.

Cheers and Best regards,
Manny.
  • 0
    Hi Manny,

    I can't offer any help as far as the NY questions, but I wanted to offer what I could.

    As far as a controller for the DLs, I would highly recommend something more advanced than LightJockey. The Elation Design Spots that you mention have 16 channels of DMX that are required for control. With the latest software for the DL.2 fixtures, they can require up to 256 channels for control (DL.3 fixtures go all the way up to 481!). In fact, I'm not sure that Light Jockey even supports the DL.2/3 fixtures.

    On a budget, most of the major console manufacturers offer software that runs on a PC and have a USB DMX widget of some type for controlling the lights. For instance, High End Systems has Hog 3PC and DMX widgets. There are also various control wings to make programming easier. You can see them all here:

    www.highend.com/products/controllers/Wholehog3pc.asp

    This would be a much more powerful, and scalable system than LightJockey, since it more or less runs the same software as a full blown Hog 3 or Road Hog console.

    As far as learning the DL.2/3s, there is a wealth of information on our website here:

    www.highend.com/support/digital_lighting/dl3.asp

    I would recommend downloading the user manual and having a read through that. There is some "Getting Started" information in there, along with several tutorials to cover the basics.

    Something you may also want to consider for learning the fixtures is finding access to an Axon Media server. The Axon is a stand alone, rack-mount media server that runs the exact same software as the DL.2 fixtures and costs significantly less. Getting your hands on one of these would allow you to learn how to use the graphics engine/media server portion of the DL.2 (which is by far the more difficult part) without the expense of running an actual DL.2 fixture. The rest of it is pretty easy, since once you take the media server away from the DL.2 it really is just a projector on a yoke.

    I hope this helps with some of your questions.
  • 0
    Manny,

    From where you're at right now, as far as purchasing DL2s goes you may be getting a bit ahead of yourself - sort of like buying a BMW to learn to drive. Even used DL2s run upwards of $10K per fixture, and shouldn't be hard to find on cross-rental in NYC.

    As far as control goes, Matt hit it on the head - it may be possible to get a DL fixture running under Lightjockey, but I expect it would be pretty painful to work with.

    Have a look at Chamsys MagicQ, it's the best low-cost lighting control system available by a long margin. The software is free, and paired with a $60 Enttec USB->DMX dongle would give you pro-quality control of a full 512 channels, enough to run a pair of DL2s.

    chamsys.magicq.co.uk/

    Best of luck!
  • 0
    Manny,

    Is there a local rental house you deal with regularly that has some DL's?

    Have them set you up a demo so you can test drive them and get a feel for what you're getting into.

www.etcconnect.com