Create category descriptions #3358
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| - Barrel Scanner | ||
| A fixture which has a rotating cylinder of mirrors to reflect the light in a moving pattern. | ||
| Example: american-dj/inno-pocket-fusion = https://www.adj.com/inno-pocket-fusion |
| - Blinder | ||
| Extremely bright fixtures intended to light the audience, rather than the stage. | ||
| Example: elation/cuepix-blinder-ww2 = https://www.elationlighting.com/cuepix-blinder-ww2 |
schemas/categories.txt
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| - Color Changer | ||
| A fixture which can change its color electronically, especially (but not only) one with a gel wheel. This includes RGB LEDs. | ||
| Example: clay-paky/sharpy = https://www.claypaky.it/en/products/sharpy |
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Fixtures with a color wheel should also be included in the "Color Changer" category. Basically, it's every fixture with the ability to change the color of its light output.
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That's what I was trying to say, but it wasn't as clear as I'd hoped. How about something like:
"A fixture which can electronically change its color, like with a wheel of gels, or RGB LEDs. (A fixture which can only modulate warm/cool tints of white is not considered a color changer.)"
For some reason I'm having trouble making this sound not-awkward.
| - Dimmer | ||
| A device which takes mains power and DMX, and outputs PWM dimmed power, like for a conventional fixture to use. | ||
| Example: chauvet-dj/dmx-4 = https://www.chauvetdj.com/products/dmx-4/ |
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Yes, dimmer packs are in that category currently. But most "Dimmer" fixtures are "simple" PAR lights that are mainly used for (non-colored) illumination of e.g. a stage.
It might make sense to split this category into two.
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FWIW, my rationale for making "Dimmer" mean "dimmer pack" and not "any fixture with an intensity feature" was:
- nearly all fixtures have dimming capability, and
- you can already tell if a fixture can dim via DMX by searching for an "Intensity" channel
If we keep both dimmer packs and dimmable fixtures in the same category, it's not a terribly useful category. If we kick out dimmable fixtures, and they don't have any other specific features, then they have to be "Other" (as each fixture is required to have at least one category). So I'm tentatively inclined to agree that they need their own category.
(Currently, fewer than 10% of fixtures in OFL don't have an Intensity channel -- mostly smoke/hazers, plus some lasers and pyro and other oddballs.)
I'm open as to what this new category should be called, or how it should be defined. Do we want a generic "controllable intensity" that everybody should use? Or a "dimmable white light" for these PARs which would otherwise not have any specific category?
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My 2c, on reading this today: if we had categories for how fixtures are described and used in practice (like PAR, Beam, Spot, Wash, Cyc), then we wouldn't need a new category for "has an intensity channel".
From a programming perspective, if you wanted all your washes, you'd tell your console to grab everything where "Category contains Wash". If you wanted everything with controllable intensity, you'd ask for "every fixture where Channel contains type=Intensity". There's no case I can think of where I'd want "Category contains Dimmable". That's just another redundant tag which is going to occasionally get missed.
schemas/categories.txt
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| - Effect | ||
| A non-lighting special effect, such as pyro. | ||
| Example: magicfx/stage-flame = https://www.magicfx.eu/en/home |
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It sounds like we should expand this definition, then, like:
"A special effect which doesn't fall in any other category (like Flower or Hazer). Examples include pyrotechnics, or a water effect light.
| - Scanner | ||
| A fixture which can focus its beam by controlling the pan/tilt of a mirror. | ||
| Example: martin/mx-10-extreme = https://www.martin.com/en/products/mx-10-extreme |
schemas/categories.txt
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| - Smoke | ||
| (a.k.a. "fog") Thick, visible, focused clouds of fog. | ||
| Example: stairville/af-180-led-fogger = https://www.thomannmusic.com/stairville_af_180_led_fogger_co2_fx_dmx.htm |
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The text should describe the fixture, not its output. But the gist is correct.
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Good catch. I'll rewrite this (and Hazer) to match this form.
| - Stand | ||
| A set of lights which are mounted together on their own floor-standing T-bar. | ||
| Example: cameo/multi-par-cob-1 = https://www.musikhaus-korn.de/en/cameo-multi-par-cob-1-set/pd/60366 |
| - Strobe | ||
| A bright light which is intended to be used primarily as a strobe (and not simply every device which has a strobe feature). | ||
| Example: futurelight/stb-648-led-strobe-smd-5050 = https://www.steinigke.de/en/mpn51841370-futurelight-stb-648-led-strobe-smd-5050.html |
| - Other | ||
| Any DMX-controlled device which doesn't fall into any other category. | ||
| Example: panasonic/pt-rz120 = https://panasonic.net/cns/projector/products/rz120/ |
From initial feedback in OpenLightingProject#3358 -- still WIP.
More updates from initial feedback
Initial draft of category descriptions for #2577.