I wanted to drop a note about my experience using a SmartBoard for controlling Live.
We have one at work for teleconferencing and I always wondered about using it as an input device for Live. Man did it rock! Triggering clips was very fluid, including dropping new clips in. And, fun! Pushing slider levels was so so - the tolerancing was difficult because they don't seem to track 1:1 with pointer vs. screen position. Dials were very tricky. If I was serious about using it, I'd likely stick to the SmartBoard for sample dropping/triggering/arranging and midi editing, leaving the slider and dial controls to something like a Korg microKontrol.
When a controller allows you to work in ways you couldn't before then you know something interesting is going on. In this case, I had a midi percussion clip looping and I was able to edit it on the fly, as it was looping, by staying just ahead of it, clicking on/off midi hits. What a blast! There's no way I could do that in with a mouse and likely not with a pen either.
The fact that the surface was so big made it easier for fat fingers to hit accurately, so there was no mis-triggering of loops. And there's something to be said about being able to physically move around while making music.
Another interesting change was how my coworker was able to get involved. I had tried showing him Live in the past but its awkward with a small screen and having to negotiate handing back and forth the mouse and keyboard. In this case he was able to just jump right in and trigger clips, with control passing naturally back and forth between us. He also finally "got" Live in a way I was never able to convey previously. Great for training!
This could be an interesting route to take as a performance.
The only downside was that being front projected, you had to keep getting out of the way of the projector to see what you were doing. SmartTech have one with a top mounted projector arm which would help, plus rear projected and LCD TV overlays too but then the price gets even higher. Also, 3M has a similar product that is front projected but from high up.
As an input device its expensive for the hobbyest. Then again, it could significantly change how you use Live.
Experience report: Using a SmartBoard for direct input
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adventurepants
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 2:01 am
Ive been installing some at work, and the first thing I thought of was controlling Live! Should be able to get one finished in a couple of days, ive been dreaming about the possibilites all week.
There is some latency though when navigating windows, so i assume it might be a little slow for on screen drumming?
pants.
There is some latency though when navigating windows, so i assume it might be a little slow for on screen drumming?
pants.
There was a bit of latency yes. I'd say though that the ability to move around quickly, faster than with any other pointing device save maybe a pen, made up for it.
I don't have access to the board anymore so I can't verify, but there may be a dwell setting which builds in a delay (to reduce accidental "clicks").
If you get this going let us know. I am always interested in different control devices and how they affect our ability to express ourselves.
I don't have access to the board anymore so I can't verify, but there may be a dwell setting which builds in a delay (to reduce accidental "clicks").
If you get this going let us know. I am always interested in different control devices and how they affect our ability to express ourselves.