Laser show run from ShowTimeCoda
ShowTimeCoda plays the show's music and video and is the timecode master. A Pangolin BEYOND laser timeline follows it by Art-Net timecode, and the video goes into the Capture visualiser over NDI.
Example setup, not a customer story. Check it with your own gear before a show.
You need
- ShowTimeCoda and BEYOND, on the same PC or on two PCs on one wired network.
- Capture (or another NDI-capable visualiser) and the free NDI Tools on the PC that runs ShowTimeCoda.
- The show's music and video files.
Steps
- Build the cue list. Add the songs (or videos with their soundtrack). Give each its own timecode range, for example song 1 at 01:00:00:00 and song 2 at 02:00:00:00, or use Auto-offset to lay them end to end.
- Frame rate. In Setup > Show timing, choose the rate the BEYOND timeline uses (25 or 30 fps are the usual choices).
- Art-Net timecode out. In Setup > Art-Net timecode, switch it on. Set the destination to your network's
broadcast address (for example
192.168.0.255) and pick the show network under Send via. Use broadcast even when BEYOND is on the same PC: Capture and BEYOND both listen on the Art-Net port, and a packet sent to the PC's own address reaches only one of them. - BEYOND. Set the timeline to follow Art-Net timecode (see BEYOND's manual), and program each song at its timecode.
- NDI out. In Setup > NDI out, switch it on, name the source (for example ShowTimeCoda) and turn sound on if Capture should play it. In Capture, pick that NDI source for the screen or LED surface.
- Line up picture and lasers. NDI delays the picture slightly. Play a song with a clear hit, and set a negative Art-Net offset until the lasers land with the picture in Capture. Trim a frame at a time.
- Save the show, so the offsets travel with it.
Settings at a glance
| Mode | Master TC Out |
|---|---|
| Art-Net timecode | On, broadcast address, show network adapter, offset trimmed by eye (negative) |
| NDI out | On, sound on, picture size as decoded (or 1280×720 if Capture runs on another PC) |
| Video output window | Optional: also show the video on a projector or LED processor |
Check before the show
- The Art-Net light in ShowTimeCoda's status bar goes green while playing, and BEYOND's timeline moves with it.
- Jump around the show (cue list, sub-cues) and check that BEYOND follows each jump.
- Run the whole show once end to end.
Add markers for song sections, and OSC triggers to send each song's BPM to BEYOND as it starts.