Lighting Control on Non-Windows Systems?

fgodfrey asks: "Being a computer geek during the day and a theater geek at night, I'm looking to combine the two and turn a non-Windows computer into a theater lighting console. All the products out there that I've seen (such as Martin's 'Light Jockey' and Rosco's 'Horizon') only seem to support Windows. I'm looking for a solution that works on Linux, or preferably, Mac OS X. It also would require a DMX converter (DMX being the standard in dimmer control protocols) that could plug into the computer. I'm looking to be able to run an entire theater show directly from the computer. Has anyone out there tried such a thing? Before anyone suggests X10, it is not really acceptable for theater lighting as it doesn't respond 'instantly' to commands and would require a ton of X10 boxes."

Comments

ask slashdots

[cybergeak]

are stupid "dear slashdot, i do everyday things, and sometimes, not so everyday things, but im a geek and that some how makes me special, heres how i want to combine computers and stuff other, non-geeks do..."

anyway, googleing for "
theater lighting linux -X10" got me this:

http://llg.cubic.org/dmx43/

Hey, that's not fair...

[bill_mcgonigle]

...he wanted Mac OS X support.

So you'd have to go here and scroll all the way down to #3. :)

Why PC?

[SphericalCrusher]

Are you selecting to use a PC, because you want to? Or is that just what you think would work best?

Personally, I think that a Mac would better benefit you in this type of situation, as it is better for video editing, graphics, etc. The Mac's refresh rate just always seems to give that extra kick over the PC. I believe that it is also higher, stock, but I'm not totally sure.

For a PC though, I'm pretty sure you can find some OS that is made for just video editing. Search Google and you'll find a lot of stuff that you never thought existed. You're going to need a great video card and a lot of RAM nonetheless, though!