Which software is best for you? – red and white banners above the Tianchuang, LED Strip Studio and Madrix logos, a lighting console and dancers in glowing orange LED suits

Hi Tron Dancers! Are you wondering which software is the best for programming your light show? We have done research and combined it with our experience and we are bringing you some basic facts about the software programs which are the most famous on the market.

In this blog, we are comparing Light Effect from China, Madrix from Germany and of course our software LED Strip Studio from Slovakia. We will tell you some pros and cons of each software so you have a clear vision of which one meets your requirements the best.

Light Effect

As I mentioned above, Light Effect is from China. It is used for programming LED costumes.

Video 1 – Light Effect tutorialVideos play from YouTube or Vimeo, which may store cookies once you press play.

+There are more pre-mapped types of costumes so you can choose them directly from the software and start programming

Screenshot of the Light Effect software – five LED costume outlines of different types, each with a Suits Num. selector, and a Scene Info box with the time and scene number
Picture 1 – Light Effect, more types of LED costumes (Source: Visual Star Tech Co.)

+You get the software when buying the costume (you do not have to pay any extra money or expensive licenses)
+Low PC requirements to operate the software

-The software is quite basic.
-It does not have a timeline, so you are inserting there just the time when the effect should appear, which makes your work much more complicated and longer to program.

Detail of the Light Effect software – the Scene Info box with Now Time and Sum Time, and the Fade time and Keep time fields circled in red next to the Insert button
Picture 2 – Light Effect, inserting the time scale for each effect (Source: Visual Star Tech Co.)

-You cannot see the music waveform, so it is more difficult to fit the effects to the music.
-When you color one dancer you cannot copy the effect and apply it to the others – you have to give them the effects one by one.
-It does not have an effect library so you always have to create the same effects again and again.
-Keyboard shortcuts do not exist.
-There is no possibility to use the timecode.

Madrix

Madrix is from Germany and it is used for programming digital suits and LED installations.

Video 2 – Madrix tutorialVideos play from YouTube or Vimeo, which may store cookies once you press play.

+Highly-developed software.
+ Madrix is a worldwide known brand.
+You can work a lot with the existing effects – changing colors, direction, size, intensity…
+Possible to synchronize it via timecode.
+The software has layers so you can layer your effects.

Madrix effect deck – a preview of an orange and yellow equalizer effect above the crossfade, colour, FADE and Programmer controls
Picture 3 – Madrix, layered effects (Source: MADRIX®)

-The work in this software can be too complicated for LED suit programming.
-Software is not included in the costume’s price. You have to pay the license according to the number of pixels you want to use.
-You need to program each pixel (cannot program the lines)

LED Strip Studio

LSS is our software from Slovakia. We use it for programming LED costumes (analogue – fiber optic, LED strips, digital) and LED installations.

Video 3 – LED Strip Studio tutorialVideos play from YouTube or Vimeo, which may store cookies once you press play.

+It is user-friendly.
+You can create many various effects and adjust them however you want.
+It has an effect library so you can save the effect you have already created.
+Timeline with music waveform, which can really help you in fitting your effects to the beats.

The Shows timeline of LED Strip Studio – scenes on tracks 3 and 4 over the blue waveform of the music, with the red playhead at 00:01:32:49
Picture 5 – LED Strip Studio, timeline with music waveform (Source: ours)

+Possible to synchronize with LED screens, lasers, projectors via the timecode
+A lot of shortcut options to make your programming faster.
+License is included in hardware’s price (no additional payments).
+ You can pre-make as many shows as you want.

-There is not any undo button
-Mapping is time-consuming but end users are not using this feature. (your suits are already mapped in the workspace).

I hope this information was useful for you and I help you to decide, which software fits you the best. Remember that choosing good software can save you a huge amount of time and you can rely on it during the show.

If you have any further questions do not hesitate to contact me HERE!