Introduction

This is a collection of notes and resources for Laser Light Show Designers and Operators.

Safety

This section covers safely operating laser shows and acquiring safe equipment. Safety regulations vary by country. This section is split into two sections, USA and Non-US.

USA

This section covers the requirements for safety in the USA, as well as the steps to get the necessary legal approval to operate your show.

Unterminated Shows

An unterminated show is any show where beams will not be terminated on a known visible surface to the operator.

Do not point lasers at aircraft.
Do not attempt to do unterminated shows without the proper equipment and training.
This page does not contain enough information to do unterminated shows safely. Do your own research.

Steps to do unterminated shows:

FAA paperwork

Audience Scanning

Do not attempt to do audience scanning without the proper equipment and training.
There is a serious risk of injury to audience members.
This page does not contain enough information to do audience scanning safely. Do your own research.

Steps to do audience scanning:

Get projectors with integrated safety features like PASS
Get a variance that allows audience scanning
Take the ILDA audience scanning course or equivalent

Non-US

todo

System Design

Designing and operating a laser show is a complex task. This section covers the various components that make up a laser show system. There are many manufacturers and products to choose from, many of which are not compatible with each other. This section will help you understand the options and make informed purchasing decisions.

# todo: add diagram
graph TD
    A[Hardware] --> B[Network]
    A --> C[Software]
    A --> D[Sourcing]

TODO: talk about analog ILDA.

Hardware

Projectors

DACs

Haze

Network

Network Topology

Network Protocols

IDN

IDN is a digital streaming and storage standard for Laser animations

IDN is an open standard, maintained by the International Laser Display Association

IDN is a device and manufacturer independent exchange format for professionals and hobbyists

IDN is a unified resolution independent streaming format

The Helios DAC is compatible with IDN with the OpenIDN Adapter

Other IDN compatible devices include the StageMate from DexLogic. Additionally, the StageFeed can be used to convert analog ILDA signals to IDN.

AVB

IEEE open standard. Originally developed for audio signals, can be used to stream laser color and position data. Mostly supported by LA Sollinger.

Proprietary

QM2000, FB3, FB4

"Industry standard" for laser shows. Proprietary and expensive.

Etherdream

LaserNet

Software

Liberation

Pangolin QuickShow/BEYOND

Proprietary and expensive. QuickShow is free, but severely limited.

LaserOS

Sourcing

Most products can be sourced directly from the manufacturer.

China

If you are in the US, be careful with importing from China. Ensure any products you purchase are compliant with US regulations and have an FDA Variance Number.

Show Design

Projector Limitations

Scan Rate

30kpps fine for beams, you may want more for graphics.

Talk about kpps at measured scan angle. Talk about pps vs frame rate and persistence of vision effect.

Color Depth

Don't get a TTL laser.

Content Types

Beams

Graphics

Sync Techniques

Most laser show generation software has support for adjusting the playback speed of the cue based on a metronome or clock.

Audio Sync

Madmom

PangoBeats

Only compatible with Pangolin QuickShow/BEYOND.

Advanced

MadMapper/MadLaser

TouchDesigner

BEYOND CHOP

For more control of the points displayed by the laser, disable "Vector Frame" mode in the BEYOND CHOP. This will bypass most of BEYOND's internal processing. This does not give you direct control of the laser, BEYOND will still add additional points for timing synchronization.

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