Loupedeck VS Streamdeck
-
Hello,
I just wanted to post a couple of observations about the Loupedeck Live Controller vs the Stream Deck+ controller.
After doing a bunch of work on the Isadora side to work with the Loupedeck, I found that programming the Loupedeck controller is show-stoppingly difficult. You can't drag buttons, you can't copy/paste buttons on the interface, and you can't use CTRL+C and CTRL+V to copy and paste "Custom actions" in the actions bar. When you copy/paste actions, you have to use a menu, and then the screen scrolls back to the top, so you have to scroll down to get to the pasted action. In addition, the MIDI plugin is adequate but not very flexible. Also, you can't easily display dynamic information or toggle button states. Editing actions involves lots of scrolling and clicking, and adding custom icons requires several layers of interface to click through - it's not drag and drop.
Having used the Stream Deck in the past, I assumed that configuring the controller on the Loupedeck would be similar. I absolutely love the Loupedeck hardware, but with 800+ buttons to program, the software is a show stopper for me. If I were doing just a few pages, I think I would stick with it, but instead, I picked up a couple of Stream Deck+ consoles to replace it.
The Stream Deck software allows for copying of buttons, moving buttons, easily switching between profiles... it takes me a tenth or less of the time to configure a page. The UI is really designed for quick configuration of buttons and dials. What's extra excellent is the MIDI plugin. While it's not perfect, it's very configurable and allows custom scripting that enables the execution of any number of MIDI commands/notes, etc., and also allows displaying dynamic text and graphic information on each button. It allows for very rich programming of the interface.
I'm using a Stream Deck XL to trigger clips, so it's also helpful to have everything under one piece of software.
W11 PRO 13700K (in a 4U case), 128GB RAM, 4 Lane M.2 Storage, RTX 3090, Behringer UMC404HD audio interface, Streamdeck XL, Stremdeck +, KorgNano Kontrol2, Izzy 4.0.2 USB
Website: http://justinstephenson.com -
Thanks for the report :)
I've never used a Loupedeck, but I'm a big fan of my Streamdeck (which I use every day). I like it for many of the same reasons, it's super easy to configure. I don't think I ever needed to hit the manual/documentation to figure out how to do anything; from launching webpages to triggering Isadora with OSC and from making pages to setting custom icons and text for different buttons, it was all just very apparent how to do it.
-
@woland Ooooo. OSC! I will look into this. I am running up against a wall with the number 127! I will look into this.
EDIT: Booo. The plugin on the marketplace is mac only. I am dark-side PC only :-)
-
Have you tried it with companion? There is an unofficial plugin which implements limited support for the Loup.
I don't own a Loup, but use Streamdecks with companion.There is an open request for official support for the Loup. Maybe some day...
-
@dillthekraut said:
Have you tried it with companion?
No. I will look into it though. I am trying to make a build right now that I can live with for a few years. I ended up putting the Loupedeck up for sale and replaced it with a couple of Streamdeck+ controllers. They're super easy to program. The midi plugin for Streamdeck is pretty great and flexible.
-
@dillthekraut Oh wow. Companion looks super cool. I am going to investigate further. I like that it is opensource. How do you find building multi-page interfaces? Is is easier to work with than streamdeck?
-
I just discovered, they already support the Loupdeck officially, as well as several other interfaces.
I don't use the original Software, so I can't compare. You can copy/move buttons between positions and pages. But only one at a time. But there is an export/import function, which can be used as a workaround to move whole pages.
The page up/down buttons can be moved and removed freely, and there is an internal button function to jump straight to a specific page.
The plugin link I gave you, was probably misinterpreted by me. It is a Loupdeck plugin which enables the Loup software to use the companion functionality (both softwares have to be running). There is a Streamdeck version as well. This way you use the original software for programming as usual, but implement companion buttons programmed in companion.The plugins use the remote interface / API of companion, which enables remote control by several protocols, like OSC, ArtNet, etc. This way you can easily trigger buttons from a different device (e.g. a computer running Isadora, sending OSC to companion, triggering a button which shuts the light via Home Assistant or ESP). There even is a Web remote interface which emulates the physical interface in a remote web browser.
The companion open source community is very active and as it is used a lot in professional live media/ event productions, there already is a long list of of modules (called connections) with specific support for software and hardware devices.I personally use the raspberry version with a pi 4b which is connected headless to the network, as a multi device remote interface. With a PoE+ HAT you even don't need a PSU anymore, or you go wireless with a Powerbank. (this isn't mine, but there are several examples for companion pi).
