Udo Marx said:
I have the honour to participate in a video art project.
My job is it to regulate the Video/DVD's and light installations by
movement alarm units or proximity sensors.
My questions:
Does it make sense to do this with perl, for example by serial
controls? Does someone know about controlling software for this
purpose?
Do you already have the software to control these external units, or are
you free to choose whatever control interfaces you need? My guess is
that you have a computer, some DVDs and some lighting rigs, and you want
to get the computer to talk to the other things somehow.
If that's the case, what external control interfaces does the gear have?
Some lighting rigs will accept controls via MIDI, some use controls via
DMX (I think?), maybe some have RS232 links already. You could control
DVD players via an infra-red remote control. In those cases you can hook
up interfaces to the serial port and perl can easily talk to the serial
port. Possibly you can play the video straight out from the computer
somehow. I would guess that you can take inputs from the sensors into
some kind of serial or parallel interface that perl could also read from.
Don't forget: safety first! All this stuff is running with mains
electricity and could be lethal. Even incorrect signal voltages could
damage the equipment. Some things might be hot, or heavy, or pose other
risks! Make sure everything is safe - maybe you have to ask a
professional and/or lawyer for advice (which might cost money).
P
