The Armchair DP 2021

M

morgan_moore

Major Contributor
From another thread and my experience yesterday of flying some lights above the set and having to stepladder adjust them my interest in remote control was piqued.

I also note that a search for DMX controller brings resuts for 'slidey boxes' from $200.

Could posters describe the options.

Personally IM not a fan of apps as app based is .. movi, gopros, C200 whatever its all a bit much for one phone/tablet.

I like the idea of slidey sliders.

On a side note 'no one manufacturer makes the best panel lights and COBs' - I have heard of some lights people heading towards apture just because keeping one brand is so strong with thier app.

Im in a bit of a Godox/APture battle right now.
 
I think you're approaching this from the wrong direction. You should be looking at features like leather vs faux leather, how well the cushions contour to your body, degree of softness, if it can rock or not, if it can spin, does it recline, do you prefer manual or motorized reclining, does it have USB ports and a cup holder. I'm currently looking for a good recliner chair for my house - I've gone to Haverty's, Ashley's, and Rooms to Go, but haven't quite found what I'm looking for yet. The search continues.

I don't think what I'm looking for for my home will work well in the field as a DP, as unfortunately most of the shoots I work on do not have a budget to have two dedicated PAs constantly moving a 250 lb recliner from location to location, so if I was in the market for a DP armchair I'd be looking for something lighter weight until I move into higher end shoots that can afford the PA manpower to handle the larger and more comfortable armchair. Until then, I've got some $10 camping armchairs from Walmart that I can handle as a one-man-band.





As for apps, I wish all the lighting companies would come together and use one single app, so that all lights could be managed from that one app, and then all of our lives would be easier. Even better if all the companies' lights could also be managed from the same control module/remote control in addition to an app to give us options.

It's kind of like cable TV. We used to have it easy; just one cable provider and we were all set, and now we've got Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Disney+, and a bajillion other subscription services to deal with. If a new overall content provider, like cable, could take over all the subscription companies to provide one service for a set monthly charge, life would be easier.

I spent too much money on Hue RGB light bulbs for some of my house and have found the app for it is too much of a hassle to deal with, so don't particularly like them. Then I later bought some much cheaper RGB no name brand bulbs which come with a remote control and found those easier to work with.

Ideally, a light has both a remote control and an app option, in addition to good light controls on the light (or ballast) itself. Remote controls get lost and apps get outdated with IOS updates or whatever, so I wonder how well lights focused heavily on app control will fare over say a 10 year period.
 
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Eric Coughlin said:
I think you're approaching this from the wrong direction. You should be looking at features like leather vs faux leather, how well the cushions contour to your body, degree of softness, if it can rock or not, if it can spin, does it recline, do you prefer manual or motorized reclining, does it have USB ports and a cup holder. I'm currently looking for a good recliner chair for my house - I've gone to Haverty's, Ashley's, and Rooms to Go, but haven't quite found what I'm looking for yet. The search continues.

I don't think what I'm looking for for my home will work well in the field as a DP, as unfortunately most of the shoots I work on do not have a budget to have two dedicated PAs constantly moving a 250 lb recliner from location to location, so if I was in the market for a DP armchair I'd be looking for something lighter weight until I move into higher end shoots that can afford the PA manpower to handle the larger and more comfortable armchair. Until then, I've got some $10 camping armchairs from Walmart that I can handle as a one-man-band.





As for apps, I wish all the lighting companies would come together and use one single app, so that all lights could be managed from that one app, and then all of our lives would be easier. Even better if all the companies' lights could also be managed from the same control module/remote control in addition to an app to give us options.

It's kind of like cable TV. We used to have it easy; just one cable provider and we were all set, and now we've got Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Disney+, and a bajillion other subscription services to deal with. If a new overall content provider, like cable, could take over all the subscription companies to provide one service for a set monthly charge, life would be easier.

I spent too much money on Hue RGB light bulbs for some of my house and have found the app for it is too much of a hassle to deal with, so don't particularly like them. Then I later bought some much cheaper RGB no name brand bulbs which come with a remote control and found those easier to work with.

Ideally, a light has both a remote control and an app option, in addition to good light controls on the light (or ballast) itself. Remote controls get lost and apps get outdated with IOS updates or whatever, so I wonder how well lights focused heavily on app control will fare over say a 10 year period.
Click to expand...

C’mon, bro. You’re bringing in a few hundred K a year, why are you shopping for furniture at Ashley’s and Rooms To Go? Furniture buying is definitely one of those things where you should follow the old mantra, “You get what you pay for”. You wanna buy something that lasts. At least Haverty’s is nice, though.

Go hit a La-Z-Boy Gallery. Or Lane. I just replaced my leather La-Z-Boy recliner at the end of ‘19, before the pandemic shutdown(good timing, considering the amount of time I logged in the new one in 2020). The old one was almost 19 years old(all the rest of the furniture in my den is Lane and 20 yrs old)(bought it all new when I originally moved into my house). Replaced it with the newer version(which still looks exactly the same), but went with the full-power option, instead of manual like the original. Power footrest, recline, lumbar and headrest. Individual controls for each and two memory positions, plus a “home” button on a wireless remote. And yes, there is a USB charging port on the side. No cup holders, but that’s one of the reasons I have a side table right next to it.

Apple is kinda trying to wrangle all the streaming apps under one roof.

Good point about app controlled lights. I mean, really, you’re only one software/firmware update away from not being able to control some fixtures out there, at least not anywhere close to fully.

Arri has an app that can control other fixtures, besides their own, so you can have a unified app if your other brands are compatible, but you have to pay to use it and it looks like it can get a little complicated. But it’s probably fine once you get used to it.

Out of the major LED’s that I own with apps really tied to their systems, hands-down the best is Astera’s. Incredibly powerful. You’re only really limited by your creativity and how many fixtures you have. Hive’s is a close second, now, with its usability, interface and options, but the BT range on their lights is very poor. I get maybe 10’ if I’m lucky(I have 2x first gen 100C’s from the Kickstarter campaign and 2x 200C’s that are early models, as well)(although I’ve been told I can send them in for radio/antenna upgrades). Litepanels app/BT system has never worked well for me and seems like an afterthought, if not just a very poor implementation. I put the BT modules in the first set of Astra’s I had and they were kinda cool, WHEN they worked, BUT you had to re-pair the modules and app all the time and keep the app always open while you used them. Not ready for prime-time. I then bought the BT modules for the 2x1 Gemini’s when I got them. Never could get that app system to work worth a crap, either. When I first got ‘em, I don’t think you could do anything with the app, except dim them and change the color temp. Now it won’t work, at all. The app sees the lights, but just won’t ever connect.

Oh yeah... “Expensive” home LED bulbs and home automation systems can suck, too. I foolishly bought into the C by GE system right before Christmas. That entire system is a flaming pile of garbage. And the app locks-up and crashes about every third time you use it.
 
Run&Gun said:
C’mon, bro. You’re bringing in a few hundred K a year, why are you shopping for furniture at Ashley’s and Rooms To Go? Furniture buying is definitely one of those things where you should follow the old mantra, “You get what you pay for”. You wanna buy something that lasts. At least Haverty’s is nice, though.

Go hit a La-Z-Boy Gallery. Or Lane. I just replaced my leather La-Z-Boy recliner at the end of ‘19, before the pandemic shutdown(good timing, considering the amount of time I logged in the new one in 2020). The old one was almost 19 years old(all the rest of the furniture in my den is Lane and 20 yrs old)(bought it all new when I originally moved into my house). Replaced it with the newer version(which still looks exactly the same), but went with the full-power option, instead of manual like the original. Power footrest, recline, lumbar and headrest. Individual controls for each and two memory positions, plus a “home” button on a wireless remote. And yes, there is a USB charging port on the side. No cup holders, but that’s one of the reasons I have a side table right next to it.

Apple is kinda trying to wrangle all the streaming apps under one roof.

Good point about app controlled lights. I mean, really, you’re only one software/firmware update away from not being able to control some fixtures out there, at least not anywhere close to fully.

Arri has an app that can control other fixtures, besides their own, so you can have a unified app if your other brands are compatible, but you have to pay to use it and it looks like it can get a little complicated. But it’s probably fine once you get used to it.

Out of the major LED’s that I own with apps really tied to their systems, hands-down the best is Astera’s. Incredibly powerful. You’re only really limited by your creativity and how many fixtures you have. Hive’s is a close second, now, with its usability, interface and options, but the BT range on their lights is very poor. I get maybe 10’ if I’m lucky(I have 2x first gen 100C’s from the Kickstarter campaign and 2x 200C’s that are early models, as well)(although I’ve been told I can send them in for radio/antenna upgrades). Litepanels app/BT system has never worked well for me and seems like an afterthought, if not just a very poor implementation. I put the BT modules in the first set of Astra’s I had and they were kinda cool, WHEN they worked, BUT you had to re-pair the modules and app all the time and keep the app always open while you used them. Not ready for prime-time. I then bought the BT modules for the 2x1 Gemini’s when I got them. Never could get that app system to work worth a crap, either. When I first got ‘em, I don’t think you could do anything with the app, except dim them and change the color temp. Now it won’t work, at all. The app sees the lights, but just won’t ever connect.

Oh yeah... “Expensive” home LED bulbs and home automation systems can suck, too. I foolishly bought into the C by GE system right before Christmas. That entire system is a flaming pile of garbage. And the app locks-up and crashes about every third time you use it.
Click to expand...
Furnishing a 5400 sq ft house to a large degree from scratch can get really expensive if you only buy high quality brand new furniture. You could easily spend $150k or more doing so and I don't make enough money to spend that much on furniture in a year (well, I guess if I really wanted to, but I've got other priorities); I suppose if I spaced it out over a few years but I'm also getting tired of not having a fully furnished house so am working on finishing up with furnishing, which means searching for good used deals or buying some cheaper new furniture in addition to some quality new furniture. I've probably spent about $50k on furniture in the past year and I've still got a good amount of furnishing to do, plus non-furniture items like the home theater electronics get pricey as well. I got a nicer couch from Haverty's for my family room a few weeks ago. Today I just bought a couch and love seat from Rooms to Go for the game room. I got a good pool table last week from Facebook Marketplace at a bit less than half the price of buying new. A quality brand air hockey table from Amazon which arrives next week. Still need to find a recliner. I went to Lazy-Boy awhile ago; from what I vaguely recall the furniture was more modern and I tend to like a bit more rustic or casual. I haven't been to Lane.

I've got a short film I want to film at my house but want the set decoration and home furnishing to look good, so am rushing to get that all in order, plus my family is visiting in a couple weeks, so double the motivation to do as much as I can in the near term. Furniture shopping isn't exactly my idea of fun, so I'm looking forward to not having to worry about it much once it's mostly done.

I sometimes wonder about longevity of furniture in relation to price. I've still got some furniture I inherited from my grandparents, so it's 30-50 years old, and still functions fine (the couch definitely looks like an old person's couch but nothing is broken on it). Did they spend a lot of money on this long lasting furniture way back in the day? I doubt it. Just because furniture is cheap doesn't mean it won't last. Of course, more expensive furniture often looks nicer, and generally speaking, should be more likely to last longer, but that still doesn't mean that cheap furniture can't last a lifetime.

I was leaving my neighborhood today and saw a sign for a garage sale, so turned around, checked it out, and they were selling off a lot of furniture. I got a coffee table and a couple end tables which look okay for $100, but I also got a full bedroom set with a cool looking queen size bed frame, mattress, comforter and blankets, two night stands, and a large dresser for $350. The furniture has a nautical theme to it which is what I had been thinking to make my guest room anyway, so it worked out really well. The biggest problem with buying used furniture is finding what you want, and the amount of effort it takes to find that, but looks like I got lucky today by finding furniture I want to furnish a whole room and on the cheap. Hopefully the mattress doesn't have any bed bugs. It was from a nice house that seemed clean; elderly people and I gather they also used it as a guest bedroom. I could always get rid of the mattress, though, it's an old spring mattress and I feel like those are difficult to find these days amidst all the hybrids, memory foam, etc., that's in style. Like, it's actually difficult to find a legit spring only mattress when buying new.

I've bought about half of my home theater setup so far. H&M seven series speakers and Optomo UHZ65lv projector. Still need to get a subwoofer, receiver, and screen; looking at a Da-Lite 184" ALR for the screen. This will be a slight upgrade from the 17.3" laptop screen I've been viewing movies and TV shows on for the past several years since I haven't even owned a legit TV. I've been looking at TVs to have in addition to the projector setup, but with so many options out there and always new tech around the corner it's been difficult to make a choice, plus I'm not sure how important it is to have TVs throughout the house if I have one nice projector setup.


Yeah, I've had pretty much the same experience with the Astra apps. Bought the modules, used them for awhile, but got fed up with them and they pretty much eventually stopped working, so I never use them now. I haven't tried the Gemini app controls yet. I thought they weren't ready until the next firmware update or something.

I'm probably going to buy more cheap RGB LED bulbs with the remote control as I'm pretty happy with the no-name brand I got. The remote makes it pretty simple. I guess the trick will be not losing the remote, but at the price point could just buy new ones since they're more like $10 or less per bulb compared to $50-$70 for the Hue ones.

I also need to buy either the Aputure RGB bulbs or the Astera RGB bulbs as I've got an upcoming short film filming at my house and I want to use practical lamps while having control of them. I'm doubtful of how well the non-video RGB bulbs will look on camera so thinking I need to get some legit video ones. A friend got the Astera and said to enable app control you have to hook it up to a $400 Astera box to update the firmware; he was able to borrow the box from a friend and was not sure if Astera had yet fixed or is going to fix this by making sure the bulbs are updated prior to shipping, but an extra $400 just for a firmware update box is pretty not cool. I gather the Aputures are I think 2w lower power and larger in size, and Astera tends to be a higher end brand in general, so likely better designed.
 
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So it seems no-one has a coheraent strategy for armchair lighting.

Ive worked (had a gaffer doin it) with the Astera and that seemed fully programable (to change during the shot) and very good if you knew what you are doing

ProAv boy bigs up the Sidius app from apture

I like the concept of a slidey desk.. but also of programming changes mid shot..
 
Eric Coughlin said:
Furnishing a 5400 sq ft house to a large degree from scratch can get really expensive if you only buy high quality brand new furniture. You could easily spend $150k or more doing so and I don't make enough money to spend that much on furniture in a year (well, I guess if I really wanted to, but I've got other priorities); I suppose if I spaced it out over a few years but I'm also getting tired of not having a fully furnished house so am working on finishing up with furnishing, which means searching for good used deals or buying some cheaper new furniture in addition to some quality new furniture. I've probably spent about $50k on furniture in the past year and I've still got a good amount of furnishing to do, plus non-furniture items like the home theater electronics get pricey as well. I got a nicer couch from Haverty's for my family room a few weeks ago. Today I just bought a couch and love seat from Rooms to Go for the game room. I got a good pool table last week from Facebook Marketplace at a bit less than half the price of buying new. A quality brand air hockey table from Amazon which arrives next week. Still need to find a recliner. I went to Lazy-Boy awhile ago; from what I vaguely recall the furniture was more modern and I tend to like a bit more rustic or casual. I haven't been to Lane.

I've got a short film I want to film at my house but want the set decoration and home furnishing to look good, so am rushing to get that all in order, plus my family is visiting in a couple weeks, so double the motivation to do as much as I can in the near term. Furniture shopping isn't exactly my idea of fun, so I'm looking forward to not having to worry about it much once it's mostly done.

I sometimes wonder about longevity of furniture in relation to price. I've still got some furniture I inherited from my grandparents, so it's 30-50 years old, and still functions fine (the couch definitely looks like an old person's couch but nothing is broken on it). Did they spend a lot of money on this long lasting furniture way back in the day? I doubt it. Just because furniture is cheap doesn't mean it won't last. Of course, more expensive furniture often looks nicer, and generally speaking, should be more likely to last longer, but that still doesn't mean that cheap furniture can't last a lifetime.

I was leaving my neighborhood today and saw a sign for a garage sale, so turned around, checked it out, and they were selling off a lot of furniture. I got a coffee table and a couple end tables which look okay for $100, but I also got a full bedroom set with a cool looking queen size bed frame, mattress, comforter and blankets, two night stands, and a large dresser for $350. The furniture has a nautical theme to it which is what I had been thinking to make my guest room anyway, so it worked out really well. The biggest problem with buying used furniture is finding what you want, and the amount of effort it takes to find that, but looks like I got lucky today by finding furniture I want to furnish a whole room and on the cheap. Hopefully the mattress doesn't have any bed bugs. It was from a nice house that seemed clean; elderly people and I gather they also used it as a guest bedroom. I could always get rid of the mattress, though, it's an old spring mattress and I feel like those are difficult to find these days amidst all the hybrids, memory foam, etc., that's in style. Like, it's actually difficult to find a legit spring only mattress when buying new.

I've bought about half of my home theater setup so far. H&M seven series speakers and Optomo UHZ65lv projector. Still need to get a subwoofer, receiver, and screen; looking at a Da-Lite 184" ALR for the screen. This will be a slight upgrade from the 17.3" laptop screen I've been viewing movies and TV shows on for the past several years since I haven't even owned a legit TV. I've been looking at TVs to have in addition to the projector setup, but with so many options out there and always new tech around the corner it's been difficult to make a choice, plus I'm not sure how important it is to have TVs throughout the house if I have one nice projector setup.


Yeah, I've had pretty much the same experience with the Astra apps. Bought the modules, used them for awhile, but got fed up with them and they pretty much eventually stopped working, so I never use them now. I haven't tried the Gemini app controls yet. I thought they weren't ready until the next firmware update or something.

I'm probably going to buy more cheap RGB LED bulbs with the remote control as I'm pretty happy with the no-name brand I got. The remote makes it pretty simple. I guess the trick will be not losing the remote, but at the price point could just buy new ones since they're more like $10 or less per bulb compared to $50-$70 for the Hue ones.

I also need to buy either the Aputure RGB bulbs or the Astera RGB bulbs as I've got an upcoming short film filming at my house and I want to use practical lamps while having control of them. I'm doubtful of how well the non-video RGB bulbs will look on camera so thinking I need to get some legit video ones. A friend got the Astera and said to enable app control you have to hook it up to a $400 Astera box to update the firmware; he was able to borrow the box from a friend and was not sure if Astera had yet fixed or is going to fix this by making sure the bulbs are updated prior to shipping, but an extra $400 just for a firmware update box is pretty not cool. I gather the Aputures are I think 2w lower power and larger in size, and Astera tends to be a higher end brand in general, so likely better designed.
Click to expand...

I was kinda just busting your stones. But you should definitely get a good recliner, especially if it’s primarily for you and where you will spend the most time sitting at home. My tastes are pretty traditional and a lot of La-Z-Boys stuff is modern, but they do have some traditional designs. And it helped that I already knew what I wanted. I walked in and told them this will be the easiest sale they’ll make all week. Showed them a pic of my old one and said, “I want this”.

If you go back 40-50 years, furniture, houses and all kinds of other things were built much better. You didn’t necessarily have to spend a ton of money to get quality stuff that lasted. That’s just the way things were made. I look at some of the furniture that’s in my Grandparents house that they had built in the early 60’s. I’m sure it wasn’t really expensive, even for the time, but it’s well crafted.

Doing a dedicated theater room, or more multi-purpose, like a living room/game room/hang-out room? 184” is a pretty darn big screen at home. I’ll swing by and take a look at the space on my way back from Alabama tomorrow evening.

Yeah, the Gemini 2x1’s are just with a BT module that slips in the back. I think the 2x1’s use the same. But it would be nice if they’d turn the WiFi on and make it so you can connect right to your phone.

The Astera Art7 box is the heart of the whole system. It allows you to control the lights via BT/app, wireless DMX, etc. incredible range and incredibly robust. I think the bulbs are supposed to have direct BT app control, now, without the Art7 box being necessary.

I actually bought a couple of the Aputure bulbs, despite already having 12 Astera lights. The Astera bulbs just seemed kind of like a janky, fiddly system, despite how streamlined and efficient most of their other stuff is. I just wanted to have a few bulbs, in-case I needed them for practicals in the background of an interview(had that happen a few months ago, so I bought some, so I’m ready now...). It’s not something I need often and the Aputures were a lot less, so that factored in, too.

The cheap-o Feit Electric color-tuneable LED bulbs were better(brighter and more reliable app) than the C by GE, but I wanted/needed some controllable light switches and plugs for some outlets, too and wanted everything on the same app, so I ditched the Feit’s and went for the GE’s. Should have done some more digging, first.
 
morgan_moore said:
So it seems no-one has a coheraent strategy for armchair lighting.

Ive worked (had a gaffer doin it) with the Astera and that seemed fully programable (to change during the shot) and very good if you knew what you are doing

ProAv boy bigs up the Sidius app from apture

I like the concept of a slidey desk.. but also of programming changes mid shot..
Click to expand...

Hire a gaffer and let him worry about it all. ; )

I think the best way to do it, if you’re mixing and matching brands, is to make sure they’re all wireless DMX compatible and the get one of those systems($$$). Andrew Lock has a slick looking wireless controller he uses all the time on his videos, but it’s big money.
 
Run&Gun said:
I was kinda just busting your stones. But you should definitely get a good recliner, especially if it’s primarily for you and where you will spend the most time sitting at home. My tastes are pretty traditional and a lot of La-Z-Boys stuff is modern, but they do have some traditional designs. And it helped that I already knew what I wanted. I walked in and told them this will be the easiest sale they’ll make all week. Showed them a pic of my old one and said, “I want this”.

If you go back 40-50 years, furniture, houses and all kinds of other things were built much better. You didn’t necessarily have to spend a ton of money to get quality stuff that lasted. That’s just the way things were made. I look at some of the furniture that’s in my Grandparents house that they had built in the early 60’s. I’m sure it wasn’t really expensive, even for the time, but it’s well crafted.

Doing a dedicated theater room, or more multi-purpose, like a living room/game room/hang-out room? 184” is a pretty darn big screen at home. I’ll swing by and take a look at the space on my way back from Alabama tomorrow evening.

Yeah, the Gemini 2x1’s are just with a BT module that slips in the back. I think the 2x1’s use the same. But it would be nice if they’d turn the WiFi on and make it so you can connect right to your phone.

The Astera Art7 box is the heart of the whole system. It allows you to control the lights via BT/app, wireless DMX, etc. incredible range and incredibly robust. I think the bulbs are supposed to have direct BT app control, now, without the Art7 box being necessary.

I actually bought a couple of the Aputure bulbs, despite already having 12 Astera lights. The Astera bulbs just seemed kind of like a janky, fiddly system, despite how streamlined and efficient most of their other stuff is. I just wanted to have a few bulbs, in-case I needed them for practicals in the background of an interview(had that happen a few months ago, so I bought some, so I’m ready now...). It’s not something I need often and the Aputures were a lot less, so that factored in, too.

The cheap-o Feit Electric color-tuneable LED bulbs were better(brighter and more reliable app) than the C by GE, but I wanted/needed some controllable light switches and plugs for some outlets, too and wanted everything on the same app, so I ditched the Feit’s and went for the GE’s. Should have done some more digging, first.
Click to expand...
Well, I went to Lazy-Boy today and I'm now $5,000 poorer and it's your fault. I ordered a recliner armchair (to DP from?) and a recliner couch, as the family room needs a second couch as well (which it currently has but it's the not so good looking grandma couch along with the grandma rocker chair which these Lazy-Boys will replace). Now since I went there because of your suggestion I can think of you whenever I'm sitting in it. Wait, that sounded gay. I'm going to be thinking of women when I'm sitting in it. Hmm, that's sounded weird too. Nevermind.

So, cheaper Rooms to Go for the basement game room couch and love seat and more pricey Lazy-Boy and Haverty's for the family room. I tend to spend most of my time at home in my office at my office chair where I do work and watch movies on my laptop, but I've been spending a bit more time in the family room since getting the nicer couch, and once the home theater is setup will likely be spending a lot more time in there. I'll have to see if I prefer the couch or recliner for viewing when alone. I think I've found I'm more productive when sitting in an office chair at a desk than at a couch, so try to avoid becoming too much of a couch potato. Hopefully a nice couch and recliner don't tempt me too much.

Doing a multi-purpose family room for the home theater. Feel free to check out my home theater musing post on the AVSforum to see the thought process I went through (click). Quoting from part of that, "My family room is 15' x 25' with 16' ceilings. ... I can place the couch 18.5' from the 15' wide by 16' high ceiling. At 18.5', the recommended screen size is 180", which seems cool to have such a large screen." I'm hoping to do some larger movies nights at my house and aside from the game room it's the largest open area of my house and will have all the seating in it, and the game room is getting filled up with game tables and has an 8' or 9' ceiling which limits screen size more.

Yeah, feel free to swing by if you're passing through on the way back. I'm around tomorrow. Still trying to figure out speaker placement and such, and what color to paint the currently beige walls. You've got my phone number.

I wonder why Astera doesn't do other types of lights such as panels and COBs. I guess I could say the same and wonder why Arri doesn't have tube lights. I bought four of the Aputure bulbs last night, so will see how well I like them.
 
$5K... Yeah, I can see that. I think my recliner(full power, custom leather[believe it or not black leather is custom and therefore $$]) was around $2700. But if I get close to 20 years out of this one, too, I figure that's pretty good. And companies like this tend to keep styles/models around for years, so if you need to match something down the road, you stand a pretty good chance. I mean heck, the model I just replaced was around for probably at least 20 years. And then they brought out a new model that is identical, except for a portion of the foot rest, that you don't even see when it's down.

I saw a couch and matching chairs and ottoman at Haverty's a few years ago that I was going to put in the living room that has actually been used as the dinning room for years and I think it was going to be $5K-$7K for a couch, two chairs and ottomans.

For the big "family room", you could go smaller screen(120"), but UST and UST screen, since they're kind of designed to be "giant TV" replacements in these type rooms and then down the road do a full-on home theater in that basement room.

I'll have to hit you next time through. After I sat on a shut-down stretch of I-20 in AL for an hour for a very bad wreck involving an 18-wheeler(I'd consider it a miracle if no-one got killed) Sunday afternoon, I just wanted to get home.

Astera is grounded in high-end stage and theatrical lighting and that's possibly why they've never decided to get into panel and COB type lighting.
 
The Optomo UHZ65LV I bought is a 5000 lumen laser projector, so it's brighter than most USTs, but since it's not UST, it can also make a much larger image. 5000 lumens should be bright enough to work with ambient light, but I'll probably install more window treatments so I can still darken the room pretty well during the day. I believe USTs tend to be marketed as TV replacements because for their pricepoints they offer more lumens than bulb based projectors, but this projector as far as I can see it seems to work well as both a large screen projector and TV replacement since it's bright enough for typical family room conditions at a similar price to your LG Cinebeam which I had also considered before. It is a newer projector. Of course it probably won't look as good as the one I would likely get if doing the basement room, the JVC NX-5, but I've read good things about it. It's currently ranked as #1 projector in the $5k-$10k price-point on Projector Central.

Yeah, let me know next time you're passing through. House is kind of a mess at the moment with all these house projects I've got going on but should be more settled pretty soon. Got a campground and a remote control race track being built in the backyard - man, these big RC cars are fun. Just did my first drive with one I got today. It can go up to 60 mph.
 
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Sam: the system we use most often for the "armchair" version is Luminaire, but there's a fairly heady cocktail of hardware required to get that all up and running (a case with router and interface, plus wireless DMX modules for the various lights). And that's still an iPad so not quite the slidey requirement you listed. The smallest hardware board I know is the Pocket Console brand, maybe have a look at those.
 
What's nice about app-based controllers is that they can be easily updated as new lights come out with new functions. Luminaire is quite popular but there are many others as well. Being able to remotely adjust the parameters of a light is not only fast & easy, it will soon be an expectation from all clients.

If you're thinking aout an Aputure spotlight, I suggest you also consider our new Prolycht Orion 300. Similar form factor but it is ful color tunable 6-color (RGBACL) with excellent skin tone reproduction. It basically offers the same functionality but with color control and a host of other functions. And it connects DMX/Ethernet/Wifi/Bluetooth.
 
Thanks for avoiding essays on armchairs - Ive got my on set arm chair it is a $20 camping stool.

So Luminaire is..
app->usb-> box with XLR out (many)->xlr cable-> any DMX light
or
app->usb-> box with XLR out (many)->xlr send receive radio boxes-> any DMX light

This seems cross compatible but a money eater?

not quite the slidey requirement you listed.

I guess slidey is not needed but im not a fan of phones.. a laptop or ipad would do.

I do like the idea of an app would clearly have the ability to group lights , remember settings et al (eg, night and day settings of a set) an ap should also playable .. eg 'after 35second move to setup 2'

Cheap slidey not so good. Im sure expensive desks can run routines/remember sets

What's nice about app-based controllers is that they can be easily updated as new lights come out with new functions.

But is there a non DMX app that runs accross brands?

And it connects DMX/Ethernet/Wifi/Bluetooth

Good evidence that there is not 'a way' right now

If you're thinking aout an Aputure spotlight, I suggest you also consider our new Prolycht Orion 300.

It would seem that APtur Sidus is a bit of a killer.. one app runs many lights from Apture/amaran which are some of the cheapest lights available and have 300/600 cob or an RGB panel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jknemrGlrK8

So one could back that horse which Ive heard some do.

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Mitch - nice to see a different light but honestly im in th Godox 200 class of sub $500 lights. Id be much more temted by a 1800w of led light.. basically a cluster of 9 200w cheapo daylight fixtures designed to go through a 6.6 or be bashed off a wall. Hell I would not even want a dimmer if I could switch half of them off :)
 
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