RGB Renard Plugin Idea

[Michael Sullivan]

Hi all,

The Renard RGB Plugin is now at Beta 1 stage and is attached.

I have also created a video that shows how to set it up and work the features.

Part 1 > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DetzZ6BhybE

Part 2 > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2VlSboq4lw




Cheers
Michael

[omzig]

Very interesting! Definitely would save some time. This year, I was planning to just use red, green, and blue individually, and not get into any mixing for my RGB devices because it would take to long to sequence the mixing manually. Time is definitely something that I don't have in abundance. Just a few questions:

You say that at this time the 3-bit color is sufficient for you...do you mean just for development purposes, or do you intend to increase the color depth in the near future?

How will this work with the Adjustable Preview?

Lastly...for most output devices, RGB mixing is rarely linear. In other words, for example, equal amounts of red and green might not visually give a true yellow. Might there be a possibility to incorporate some sort of gamma correction?

[TimW]

Mick,

I'm loving your work here!

Ok.. some more ideas...

As I understand it you're not using 3 bit colour.... you're mapping 1 channel in vixen to 3 x 256 levels going out to your controller.

So the colour depth is 256max (although you have 70 at the moment?).

To address gamma correction and customise in various ways I think it would be neat to have definable 'curves' (or even tables) that allow users to map the 256 values programmed in vixen to combinations of the 3 x 256 outputs from the plugin. This would enable compensation of individual colour intensity and enable you to switch the function of the plugin between various lighting modes.

For example, depending on how the curves are set 0-255 in vixen could provide the mix you are showing here
... or it could dim Red 0-255
.... or it could sweep 0-255 between red and blue (crossfade)
.... or it could balance the RGB elements (eg blue at full intensity is dimmed to match to red etc...)

The configuration could be set (per channel group?) to cater for different sorts of light configs- so the plugin is probably the right place to manage this. Don't know if you could dynamically configure this during a sequence...but at least set the plugin up with various options? You could have standard and configurable options of course.

Another plugin config item you might consider is to define the number of channels in the group (per vixen channel). For example some of JEC's pixels have 3 channels... some have 5 (I think). Think not just RGB but perhaps RGBW or RGBYW???

Keep up the innovation!

Tim

[Tabor]

Great work Mick

I just finished soldering up 12 RGB floodlights and started to program a sequence. I did not realise how much extra time it was going to take doing RGB.

Your little plugin should help to alleviate the pain.

Would be really interested in playing with the beta when available.

[cbell]

Very nice work. I got excited when I saw that you were able to attach to vixen's channel test and make your test window pop up. I'm hoping to get that in-depth in plugin development, but just haven't had time to dig into the inner workings of vixen much to do so (too busy soldering stuff lol).

Again, great work!

[TimW]

I was just putting my RGB floods together as well...

Strikes me there's another reason for making the numbr of channels per vixen channel definable - my floods each use 3 out of 4 channels on a DC SSR.. so the logical grouping is 4 channels per flood cable...(even though its just RGB!)

[Tabor]

I was just putting my RGB floods together as well...

Strikes me there's another reason for making the numbr of channels per vixen channel definable - my floods each use 3 out of 4 channels on a DC SSR.. so the logical grouping is 4 channels per flood cable...(even though its just RGB!)

I have actually used the forth channel to link to a second floodlight to produce pure white.

Would be nice if Micks plugin could take into account a forth channel of just white.

Not a request, Just thinking out loud.

[edward57]

I was thinking the same.. RGB Floodlights here using 3 or 4 channels on the SSR.
Using the 4th for white did cross my mind, but at this time I will keep it as a spare incase one of the 3 fails.

[Michael Sullivan]

Hello all,

The plugin is just about at Beta testing stage and it has the following new additions.

1. you can configure 1 to 255 dimming levels to any RGB color you want.
2. 4th channel feature so you can set the first 3 channels in the group as RGB and then set a dimming level up to 255 for the 4th channel in each group of 4 set to each dimming level.

Check the image of the current setup screen

Cheers
Michael

[fkostyun]

Very very cool! This will be helpfull to many folks (myself included) when doing the lightshow!

[edward57]

So tell me if I am mistaken.. but from what I can see.. I can set my 11 floods to channels 1 - 44 on Ren64, choose the RGB plugin for channels 1 - 44 in 4 channel groups..
Set it to Com1 @ 57K..

Then set up the modified Renard plugin for channels 45 - 256 on com1 @57K for the remainder of the display..??

[cbell]

Would you mind sharing how you attached your test window to open when you opened the channel test dialog? I've been poking around most of the evening and I haven't found any interfaces that quite give me what I want.

[Michael Sullivan]

cbell

inside your Function Startup() just call the form you wish to show.

Hope this helps

Michael

[cbell]

Oh I get it, you aren't really attaching to the channel test, the channel test is calling startup() of the plugin and that's where you launch your dialog. Cool. Thanks!

[Michael Sullivan]

New beta of the plugin and demo video are up see first post

Michael

[ron d]

I have been trying to use light show pro for the dmx control of a few rgb led wall washers and cant seem to get it working. Im hoping to add 100 or so dmx channels to an already decent sized show and wondered if this plugin is availabe or if i could also test it. I have a few different wall washers to test(1 is about 3000 lumens!) and a few others 1400 or so and a small on around 600 and hope to possibly add some other dmx items if i can get vixen or l.s.p. talking to these items.