Free Computerised Sound Cue Playback software

[dbuckley]

But if you have a problem with PCStage are you going to be able to get any user support? If a certain bit of it doesn't quite fit the needs of your production, will the developer tweek it for you so that it does? THAT'S what I like about SCS. I'm betting that if PCStage doesn't work for you and you haven't paid for the DMX bit, you are on your own. . . He even developed the MIDI portion of the software with input from me and provided a special release of the program just for me so that I could do a show with it. I could be wrong, but I don't see that happening with a program like PCStage.

 

To answer your question (which is more of an allegation) takes a bit of background.

 

PCStage is develeoped and supported by Michael Warner in Australia. PCStage interfaces are manufactured and sold (as are licence keys for non-hardware users) by Mike North in the UK. (No, not "our" mickienorth). I would be willing to bet the developer doesnt actually know who is a paid user and who isnt. General support is via a mailing list, and anyone can just sign up and participate. Thus it would be a bit hard to verify that anyone asking for support or features is a paid user or not.

 

There is only one version of the program, and thats everyone's version, so in the event you find a bug, post it and it'll get fixed. Its in everyone's interest to have bugs fixed. Any software developer who ignores any bug reports is not the sharpest tool in the box. Having said that, if you're running a release version of the program you're unlikely to come up with a fatal bug, and even if you do, the program can continue, and will often make it through the night despite it having crashed. This has only happened to me once, when I was using a beta version of the program, I got 15 seconds of embarressment, but the show continued. For the next night, the code was fixed.

 

Come up with a feature suggestion, then you are no more or less likely than any other user (paid or otherwise) to get it developed. I've done quite well, I've got MSC, MIDI clocks and several other enhancements made. I've been turned down on VST host and a few other things.

 

There is a bit of a difference between SCS and PCStage, in that SCS is a single-aimed program, whereas PCStage is a platform for doing shows, so you are far less likely to bump into limitations in PCStage, if your'e trying to do something really weird then more likely just a bit of advice from a power user on how to achieve what you want to do right now. If you come up with a genuinely new interesting request you'll get support from others. On the other hand, there is a tradeoff: PCStage isn't as immediately accessible as SCS, its more flexible, but its not quite as out of the box.

 

Finally, there the program's providence. Most stagey programs originated from an amateur (or professional) stager who "programs a bit" to "scratch an itch". Even SFX started out that way. PCStage is entirely different, as to the best of my knowledge, the author has never actually done anything on a show. He's a software engineer with an interest in user interface design. His first lighting experiment, DJLights is still freely available, he then (I believe in 1997) created PCLights, which somewhere along the line became PCStage. Versions of PCStage prior to 4.0 were written in C++, and the 4.0 series is a from-the-ground rewrite in Delphi.

 

PCStage used to be free for non-lighting use, but now it "encourages" you to purchase a registration key (which I honestly dont know how much it is) or the audio stops after an hour. The truth is, if the key were $1000 it would still be as good a value than its competitors at that price point, but that would be silly, as the 36 channel DMX interface is under a hundred quid. As I said earlier, there is simply no comparison of the capabilities of the low cost packages with PCStage and the other $1000 packages, the difference is greater than that between notepad with word, but something low-cost may be all you need. But even so, I'd encourage you to try the big boys toys, SFX is free for 30 days, PCStage is free forever but with a one hour limit (just close and reopen to continue), you have nothing to lose... come visit the dark side :unsure:

[Bobbsy]

Rather than start a new thread, I'll resurrect this one!

 

I've just come across a programme called "Cool Play" which might do the job as a very simple Sound Effects replay application. It's actually designed as a simple playout tool for BBC newsreaders, but my first impression is that it might work in theatre as well.

 

It's a free download, available from: http://www.matti.co.uk/coolplay/

 

Caveat: so far I've played with it for only a few minutes, so can't comment in detail on it's reliability.

 

Bob