@crystalhorizon

I've been working with the OBSBOT camera's for a while now they have different models in different price ranges and they work great. I like the tail models because they are completely wireless. 

you can control them using OSC but i use the AI tracking mode most of the time.

advice sought from more professional colleagues:

I do some solo av performances, and thinking about using a Black Magic Video Assist monitor which would also allow me to record my Macbook Pro video output (I think) without CPU impact during performances.

my questions are:

has anyone tried this? would it work?

would it function like an 'extended desktop' monitor for the Mac or would/could it take video signal straight from Izzy, and allow me to output (throughput) without the Mac orange dot?

Are there other alternatives that would do this, possibly better, and/or cheaper?

thanks

@bexxtr for timecode work I would not choose Isadora as my tool of choice - although it can do DMX programming anything other than a few dimmers is not a great experience, there are no fixture definitions and not a great interface for designing lighting.

I would propose doing your lighting design with a normal lighting desk that can chase timecode (rent one or borrow one for a day). You can send timecode out of Isadora (either Midi time code or SMPTE over audio - although Artnet timecode is much more widely used these days) and have the board chase while you program - the playback to do this is also much easier from something with a timeline  as it lets you scrub through and play specific parts for programming. 

Once you have a timecode show you can use something like the Enttec S-Play series devices (https://www.enttec.com.au/prod...)- or the Visual productions Q Core hardware (https://www.visualproductions....)Both these boxes can record and playback all you DMX synced to timecode. 

Then you can use either Midi time code or LTC on an audio track of your video to send timecode to one of these boxes and it will chase and play the DMX.

Chataigne (https://benjamin.kuperberg.fr/...) will also give you a good timeline for programming Cues and can also control Isadora, including launching it and opening your project to a schedule. You can get some more flexible protocol and accurate timing with this software too and its free. 

QLC is a free cross platform lighting software with a timeline and fixture definitions that you can also use - you can porgram complex lighting cues in a lighting environment and drop them on a timeline. It can also play audio and video.

I understand the desire for only a single software - going with hardware DMX playback is a great option for that. If you do need to run multiple software or even just want to have a timed regulated and auto-restart on crash control of Isadora I would definitely make Chataigne the master controller on your machine.

TLDR Use actual lighting gear for programming lighting cues, for timecode shows use at least one tool with a timeline for programming and something that can record and playback DMX to timecode (in hardware).

@crystalhorizon said:

Is there an example file

The example file is available on the add-ons page: TROIKATRONIX : ISADORA - Pythoner Example File

Regarding the monitor window, I open it and check it because, Pythoner will print out any errors to the monitor window, so it is very helpful to have it open when you are working with Pythoner.
!! open it before running your code, otherwise you can lose the output.
Also, when writing Python, any print() calls you add will print directly to the Monitor window, which is very helpful in figuring things out.
The other thing I am doing at the same time as opening the Monitor window is opening and closing the Pythoner code editor, this is because that forces the code to initialize and can provide feedback about missing modules or other issues.

@jandraka

Thankyou! that totally works. I had tried adding different actors in that position, but not a Video Mixer. : )

@woland, I wasn't sure how to incorporate the hold range and scale actor. I created what appears to be a workaround, as I am now receiving a signal. What issues do you see this workaround potentially causing?

@woland , Yes, I’m aware that they are separate accounts, and even though I’ve already created one, it won’t let me access it — I keep getting a 'Login failed. Wrong username/password combination' message, and when I try to reset the password, I get an error as well. I’m not sure what’s going on, so I’m adding it here just in case someone wants a dark mode.☺

Hallo Hallo,

I am trying to export a stage with alpha channel and I am setting the codec to ProRes444.

It doesn't seem to work though. The file in the end doesn't have alpha. Does anyone know why?

Thanks

Elena

@woland said:

I am afraid of snakes*

 me too.

thanks

@bonemap said:

I could not get a matching set of resolutions for each display area, perhaps because of the different model projectors.

Just re-reading this now and for anyone reading this in future, in my experience, the Matrox TH2G DP editions don't like it when you connect displays that don't all have matching resolutions, and I think they even suggest connecting three displays that are all the exact same make and model.

@dbini

Is this not the same as the lock feature? When I choose this, I get the exact same options.

The issue is, if I activate the option "User can save changes", the only difference is, that one could save the patch to a backup file, but not to the original.
Second; In non of the options the scene editing is available.
Or am I wrong here?

@DusX 
I'm working for a big city theatre, where the main system is a bigger media server (pixera). But for smaller productions on the little stages and the rehearsal rooms, we need a system, which isn't to complex. As we are a small team for video and can not be there all the time for all rehearsals and productions, we like to give the prepared hard and software to the production team. But they often doesn't have any technical background beyond playing a youtube video or maybe using VLC. Therefore it needs to be as noob proof as possible. But then sometimes there are more complex productions, with multiple outputs and often live cam inputs, etc.
This is where Isadora could come in handy. We would build a basic patch with a specific GUI for the production, limited to the settings they need. To avoid irritations and braking things, it would help to deactivate all parts, which could lead to issues.

At the moment as far as I could try it, these are the available options:

1. No option activated at all:
Controls can change values
No actors view/ control edit
No adding of new Scenes
Media library locked
No save option at all

2. "User can edit controls"

Controls can change values
Controls can be edited
Actor view is available and actors can be manipulated (Which is not obvious reading the options text)
No adding of new Scenes
Media library locked
No save option at all (still)

3. "User can edit media"

Controls can change values
No actors view/ control edit
No adding of new Scenes
Media library UNlocked
No save option at all (still)

4. "User can save changes"

This works as an addition to the other options and gives "Save Backup" option. But not saving to the same project.
But still no Scene adding/editing (Maybe with an option to lock the first X scenes to keep them save)

Actually I am wondering why there is no Scene editing available at all...

What I'd need:

Controls can change values
No actors view/ control edit
Adding/ editing Scenes with an option to lock the first X scenes to keep them save
Media library UNlocked
Save to the same project

Hello. thanks to this thread we know that the supercard Blackmagic decklinck quad 2 (8 3g sdi configurable in/out 1080p) works with Isadora in a tower pc. Anyone experience of it working on a mac ? I have a Sonnet USB-C cabinet that works well with another Blackmagic PCI card that allows Isadora to have 4 HDMI cameras captured at the same time. What about this one ?

@obx

Ah, I think you misread just "actors" as "User Actors". 

There is indeed a warning you'll get when opening an old file that contains what are now considered "classic" (outdated) actors, and those actors are indeed red in color. Usually these actors have new versions and/or are now considered inefficient because they're CPU-based instead of GPU-based.

@konrad

It'd be awesome if you could upload this to our Add-Ons Page.

Cool stuff like this eventually gets buried in the forum.

@georgie_done Here is a number guessing game I made for a friend while learning python from "Automate the Boring Stuff with Python" tv.png number-guesser.izz 

Its simple and silly, and I don't have an active license so I cant edit it.

@dillthekraut said:

needing to change all the numbers in the addresses manually.

 Yes, this has been driving me nuts as well.

@dusxthis Thank you, this is helpful.

@dusx

Thanks a lot

Best regards, 

Jean-François 

@webmammuth

Have you tried the same thing in Isadora 4.0.9?

Isadora 3.2.6 was released in December of 2022, so there's been quite a lot of changes since then and it's possible that what you're running into has already been addressed in a more modern version of the software.

The 3D Calc actor in the Rokoko Guru Session works great! Thank you for pointing me in that direction. 

E.