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Author Topic: Problem with fading if LED fixtures and dimmers are in one cue  (Read 2433 times)

November 21, 2017, 09:22:41 PM
Read 2433 times

ljack

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Hello everybody, I hope someone can help me with this annoying problem:
For a small school theater production I use regular dimmerpacks side by side with LED fixtures.
I set the LED fixtures to one color (for example red) and create a scene.
Then I set them to another color (for example green) and create another scene.
If I pull up both faders, I will get orange, but I can also get all the shades in between by moving the faders up and down.
This behaviour is just as I would expect it.
Now comes my problem:
If I create a scene that also includes a conventional dimmer, the colors of the second scene I want to fade in immediately jump to the intensity that the first scene currently has. This problem occurs, no matter if virtual dimmer is activated or not. Without the virtual dimmer, the LED in the scene jumps to 100%, even if the fader of the scene is just on 1% and no other scene is active! (I don't need a virtual dimmer if I mix the LED or dimmerpack only scenes...)
I even went so far to put the DIMM value of the LED fixtures into a separate scene. But as soon as I activate a scene where LED and dimmerpacks are mixed, the colors jump again.
BTW: If I create a scene for the conventional dimmerpacks and scenes for the LED fixtures, I can use them all side by side and everything is mixed just perfectly. But I want to be able to fade scenes that are on just one fader.

So: am I missing something or is this just a very annoying bug?
Thanks in advance for your help!  :)

Edit: Cuelux 1.3.97 on Mac OS 10.11.6
« Last Edit: November 22, 2017, 02:21:03 PM by ljack »

November 23, 2017, 04:14:20 AM
Reply #1

Julien Levaufre

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I will try to rrproduce your problem and see from what it can be coming. I'll let you know. ;)
Julien Levaufre
Visual Productions BV

November 26, 2017, 09:01:48 PM
Reply #2

ljack

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Thank you for looking into it!
I'm eagerly awaiting your feedback! I really appreciate it!  :)

November 27, 2017, 08:47:41 AM
Reply #3

Julien Levaufre

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from what you told me and my tests, i think it's just coming from the normal cuelux behavior.
When you record a scene with just any dimmable parameter and you record the scene on a fader the fader will control the parameter intensity ( this is how it goes when you only record color). Now when you record a scene with one dimmable parameter and the dimmer, the fader will always control the dimmer value and the other parameter will always be to the recorded value.
I know this won't solve your problem, but i think it explains it.
I hope you will enjoy using cuelux anyway  ;)
Julien Levaufre
Visual Productions BV

November 27, 2017, 11:04:22 AM
Reply #4

ljack

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Thank you for your reply!
I now understand, why Cuelux behaves this way, I just don't know why it has to be like that. It doesn't seem difficult to implement.
If I adress the LED fixture as a dimmerpack, everything will be just fine, but I have no preview of the colors in Cuelux.
Wouldn't it be possible to give the color channels the same behaviour as the dimmer channels?
(It would be great if you could do this in a future release, at least as an option, just like the HTP color mix option...)
Any thoughts on that?  :D

November 27, 2017, 02:17:59 PM
Reply #5

Julien Levaufre

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The main problem is that the dimmer parameter will always get priority iver other parameters like color.
I can ask the dev team if there is any way to change that, but if it may ever happen i think it would be a cuelux pro feature.
Julien Levaufre
Visual Productions BV

November 27, 2017, 09:28:53 PM
Reply #6

ljack

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I totally get this behaviour for all kinds of moving heads etc.
But for fixtures like LED cans and bars, the color channel is basically just a dimmer (for a single color). So it would be great if there would be an option to treat the colors as a dimmer (since there is nothing else in a LED can).
As I said, Cuelux is so close to perfect here, that I don't quite get why I can fade the colors correctly (if I set them up as a dimmerpack) but loose the preview of the mixed color or get the right preview but always have to separate LEDs and conventional lights in different cuelists.
So close but yet so far...  :-[
Anyways, it wood be great if you could get feedback from the dev team!
And thank you for being so supportive, there are not many companies out there, that provide this level of support!  :)

November 28, 2017, 05:43:27 AM
Reply #7

Julien Levaufre

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The colors parameters are already acting like dimmers when you record them on a fader playback, but it need to be the only parameter recorded on the fader. If you record a dimmer value , the dimmer will be the only linear parameter.
If you want to be able to get a full control on colors and dimmer for your pars you will have to use 4 faders, 3 for rgb colors and one specific for dimmer. Doing that you will be able to create the exact color you want and then did it in and out.
 
Julien Levaufre
Visual Productions BV

December 03, 2017, 07:59:56 PM
Reply #8

ljack

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I took some time to try to figure it out.
The 4 different faders that you describe are not necessary, it is possible to put a mixed color on one fader and get a perfect transition with a mixed color on another fader. It also doesn't matter if the colors are in different LED fixtures, they mix and blend perfectly.

The troubling thing is this:
The behaviour of fixtures change, as soon as a device with a dimmer channel is put into the same cuelist.
And this doesn't make sense to me.  :o
The behaviour of a fixture should always be the same, no matter what other fixtures are on the playlist.

Unfortunately, this is not the way Cuelux behaves. I can't find a reason for this inconsistency.
Maybe it really is something the dev team just overlooked.
It would be great, if you could ask the dev team about it and get back to me!

Thanks a lot for your effort!

December 04, 2017, 05:50:31 PM
Reply #9

Julien Levaufre

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Yes you are right, if you already know witch mixed color you want you do not have to use 4 faders but 2 will be ok, i thaught you wanted to be able to change the color on the fly.
Now, your "trouble" has an explanation,  when you record a cue on a fader playback the fader can control only one parameter, and the priority one in cuelux is the dimmer. So as soon as there is a dimmer value in the cue the fader will ONLY" control the dimmer not taking care if all the fixtures in the cue gets one. If there is no dimmer value in the cue, then it will control an other dimmable parameter like color mix.
There are some controllers where you can select witch parameter you want the fader to control in each cue but they are profesionnal/expensives one!
So i am sorry you cannot do exactly what you want with Cuelux, but i hope you are still enjoying using it.
Julien Levaufre
Visual Productions BV

 

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