Members WynnD Posted February 20, 2014 Members Share Posted February 20, 2014 Bought a DL-1608 last September and since Mackie has upgraded the control software including some very nice new features. (Features I was never expecting.) I was just wondering if Mackie's primary interest is getting the features right on a programable testbed for their next generations of digital mixers. On the other hand, I don't think Personus ever made any changes to the StudioLive 24.4.2. Maybe because it's too hardware intensive and not programable enough? I've been working with one for my Senior's show for the last two years. (Show is in May.) Can't think of anything that's different on it. (Not complaining. It's a nice mixer as is.) Just opening the thought up for discussion. Maybe your next mixer should be software upgradeable in ways that expand beyond its original purpose. (And there have to be other mixers out there that this is happening with too.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted February 21, 2014 CMS Author Share Posted February 21, 2014 Anything with software could be considered a "testbed", since changes can be made more easily than redesigning and manufacturing hardware. Of course, the hardware imposes limits to what the software can manipulate, so at some point the design can be considered "maxed out". This would be one area where a soft interface such as an iPad or any built-in screen has the advantage, as it's easy to 'add' a new control to the screen, rather than the task of adding a knob, switch or indicator to a hardware box. An example would be the A&H Mixwiz, which had to wait for a new (W3) model release to add the main mix fader next to the LR faders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted February 21, 2014 Members Share Posted February 21, 2014 I believe when the SL16.4.2 was introduced, there was no capture software, VSL software, no iPad app, no Qmix app, they added the SL24.4.2, they added 8 31 band EQ's to the 24.4.2, they added flip mode to the 16.4.2 to route FX and more to the aux's, they've also added a new version of capture, Capture 2.0. There's more, when I find out I'll post it since I didn't have an SL from the beginning. To say they've never added anything since its inception is being seriously Mis-informed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WynnD Posted February 22, 2014 Author Members Share Posted February 22, 2014 Just pointing out that I never saw anything on the installation that I was using. Wasn't using an ipad and the install never required me to do anything with the main EQs. (They couldn't have added the button on the 24.4.2 so I'm guessing that there was something there prior to any software changes.) The company that did the install was quite professional about everything. Single on/off switch for the entire system. EQ already dealt with and EAW speakers flown. Nice permanent installation. The DL is looking like a better mixer every time they update the app. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scodiddly Posted February 22, 2014 Members Share Posted February 22, 2014 You never really know how your software will hold up until you get it into the hands of actual users. So it's not incredibly rare to do a project in phases, managable chunks that will be stable while the next phase is coded and tested.Of course back in the days of hard ROM chips and no Internet gear manufacturers really had to get it right the first time. Generally it's the old-line companies like Roland or Yamaha that put out really solid 1.0 versions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rob_H Posted February 22, 2014 Members Share Posted February 22, 2014 Craig Vecchione wrote: Anything with software could be considered a "testbed", since changes can be made more easily than redesigning and manufacturing hardware. Of course, the hardware imposes limits to what the software can manipulate, so at some point the design can be considered "maxed out". This would be one area where a soft interface such as an iPad or any built-in screen has the advantage, as it's easy to 'add' a new control to the screen, rather than the task of adding a knob, switch or indicator to a hardware box. An example would be the A&H Mixwiz, which had to wait for a new (W3) model release to add the main mix fader next to the LR faders. Did you ever manage to get yours working Craig? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members abzurd Posted February 23, 2014 Members Share Posted February 23, 2014 StratGuy22 wrote:I believe when the SL16.4.2 was introduced, there was no capture software, VSL software, no iPad app, no Qmix app, they added the SL24.4.2, they added 8 31 band EQ's to the 24.4.2, they added flip mode to the 16.4.2 to route FX and more to the aux's, they've also added a new version of capture, Capture 2.0. There's more, when I find out I'll post it since I didn't have an SL from the beginning. To say they've never added anything since its inception is being seriously Mis-informed. I owned one of the very first 16.4.2. An, yes tons of stuff were added as you have highlighted. Aux mutes were the first update, and an "oops" on their part for omitting with the initial release. Speaker delay and HPF on auxes are a couple additional ones that come to mind. The whole Smaart thing as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted February 23, 2014 Members Share Posted February 23, 2014 That's right. The speaker delay wizard was handy when I did sound in our local arena for grad. Using the delay wizard and having the speakers about 100' down, the transition was seamless when walking down the aisle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wesg Posted March 2, 2014 Members Share Posted March 2, 2014 You want my opinion? Manufacturers should be working on device independent GUIs. The only way to go with that right now is HTML5 in a modern browser, which is not ideal but it WILL work. Once you are there, you can deploy on laptop, COTS tablets, phones, Ethernet, wifi, whatever. Getting up and running with a scalable real time web app is non trivial, but it can be done (I have done it). Chasing the browser changes is a full time job, though. Realistically for at least two people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted March 2, 2014 CMS Author Share Posted March 2, 2014 wesg wrote:You want my opinion? Manufacturers should be working on device independent GUIs. The only way to go with that right now is HTML5 in a modern browser, which is not ideal but it WILL work. Once you are there, you can deploy on laptop, COTS tablets, phones, Ethernet, wifi, whatever.Getting up and running with a scalable real time web app is non trivial, but it can be done (I have done it). Chasing the browser changes is a full time job, though. Realistically for at least two people. I really don't know what size IT teams these companies are employing, but I have a sneaking suspicion some might be in for a rude awakening regarding the amount of time and money required to build and MAINTAIN software for these applications. It can be staggering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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