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[Rattie]

This year I was in charge of the stage light for my companys yearly cabaret, and it went so well, that next year I would like to do media effects too.
Thus I am looking into educating myself in terms of using a live performance playback software for media cues.
In general terms, when certain events happens on stage it results in a media clip being played back/displayed to the audience.

People with experience in this area, what software would you recommend? I have done a little Google research and found these two options:

• ShowCueSystems - http://showcuesystems.com/
• QLAB (from Figure 53) - http://figure53.com/

They seems like a good choice at first glance. Would you recommend any of those, or perhaps suggest a third option?

[Cheetah]

I think which choice is the best depends on what exactly you are trying to do. We use SCS for the EF pawpetshow. We're generally very happy with it - it's by no means perfect, but it allows for very complex setups, and is very extensible because it supports all kinds of externel interfaces, such as serial, midi, dmx and so on. We even built our own wireless sound trigger system for it. However it's very heavily centered around sound production. It does have some video features, but they're pretty much in their infancy. If you want to add sound cues to your theatre production, I would say, give SCS a try - especially because it is really cheap.

If you're looking for a tool to handle your projections ... try something else I've not had the pleasure to work with QLAB (since it's apple based, which makes everything about 10 times as expensive as in the PC world), but from the description it's heavily centered around video projection.

[Rattie]

The production does contain a good amount of video. Both stored clips and live feeds, and considering the fact that my fastest computer is my (gaah! - 8 years old) IMac, I'll see what kind of tricks QLab can do for me. There is even a free version up for grabs that seems to work very well. And the expensive pro versions can be rented on a daily basis too, which is a neat feature!

I will definitely try to see what SCS can do, just to familiarize myself with it. Since you are using it, I feel inclined to know what tools you are wielding, even though I don't get to use it. What can I say; I am a geek, and I like to know tech stuff ^^
Can you please ellaborate how the video function in SCS is still in its infancy?

For now I think I'll go with QLab. If you like, I'll happily share my experience with QLab once I get to know it better. Regarding using another software for video production, try take a look at "Isadora" from "Troikatronix". It is a very powerful tool.

[Cheetah]

Seriously, I would recommend getting the trial version and experiment with it - that will tell you a lot more than I can tell you even if I'd write a full-blown review

http://www.showcuesystems.com/download.htm

It's unlimited except for a 30 minute nag timer.