FAQ
Hardware
Does Liberation run on Windows?
Yes, Windows 10 or 11 64 bit machines (TBC)
Does Liberation run on Mac
Yes, MacOS 12.xxxx and later
What is the minimum spec machine required?
It depends how many lasers you want to control. If you're only running a few lasers, you'll be fine with a low spec machine. Any Apple Silicon Mac runs really well, and should be able to control up to 100 lasers. If you're running complex shows with high stakes then we recommend the best machine you can afford.
How many lasers can I control with Liberation?
Liberation can run many lasers on one computer, it's been tested with over 100 laser controllers so the answer depends on :
your computer CPU
network speed
your subscription type
Which MIDI controllers can I use?
Liberation has been designed and optimised around the popular APC40 Mk2 MIDI controller. It also works with the APC40 Mk1. See Live control with the APC40
There is also the MIDI Send/Receive system that offers additional MIDI control. See MIDI Send/Receive
See MIDI controlfor more information.
Laser controllers
Which laser controllers are compatible with Liberation?
Mercury (in beta testing)
LaserCube USB (and LaserDock)
LaserCube Wifi protocol (with a wired network connection)
See Compatible lasers and controllers (DACs) for more information
Why don't you support [other brand of] laser controller?
To encourage greater interoperability between software and hardware, Liberation will only support DACs that have a published communication protocol. I believe that this is the best way forward for the laser industry.
How can I tell if my laser can be used with Liberation?
If your laser has one of the following, you can use it with Liberation :
An external ILDA input - it's a 25 pin D connector, and you will need a compatible external controller.
An internally installed Ether Dream
Any LaserCube (works with both USB and Wifi LaserCube)
An X-Laser unit with a built-in Mercury system (currently in testing)
See Compatible lasers and controllers (DACs) for more information
Can I use Liberation with my LaserCube?
Yes, Liberation works directly with any LaserCube. See LaserCube
Subscriptions
What is the price of a subscription?
What are the limitations between the 3 subscription tiers?
Hobbyist tier - 2 x laser controllers and 2 x DMX fixtures
Pro tier - 8 x laser controllers and 8 x DMX fixtures
Unlimited tier - as many lasers and DMX fixtures as your system can handle
Note that you can set up and preview as many lasers as you want on every tier, and there are no other limitations at all apart from the number of lasers that you can arm. Every other Liberation feature is available to all.
Can I upgrade to a new tier?
You can upgrade to a higher tier at any time. You will get a partial refund for the remaining time on your current subscription, and your new plan will start immediately. See Upgrade / downgrade your license
Can I downgrade my subscription?
You can downgrade at any time but the change will take effect at the end of your current subscription period. See Upgrade / downgrade your license
How do I license my computer with my subscription?
Once you have become a subscriber and downloaded Liberation you can then authorise the computer within the Liberation software itself. You will see an Authorise button on the About screen that will prompt you to log in to the website. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the authorisation process. See Authorising and de-authorising
How often do I need to connect my computer to the internet?
Every time the subscription renews you will need to connect Liberation to the internet to update its internal license. It's a monthly subscription, you will need to connect every month.
What happens if I can’t connect my computer to the internet after renewal?
Liberation will give you a grace period of 7 days after your license renews to connect to the internet and update its internal license.
What happens if my credit card expires?
You will get an email notification from our payment provider, and you will need to update your payment system. Log in to the website and use the Update payment details link on the subscriptions page.
How do I cancel my subscription?
Log in to the website, open the My subscriptions page, select the subscription you want to cancel, then click the Cancel Subscription link. You can continue to use Liberation for the remainder of the subscription period.
How many computers can I install Liberation on?
It depends which tier of subscription you purchase. See How licensing works
How do I move my license from one computer to another?
Open Liberation on the computer you do not want to use any more
Make sure you are connected to the internet and click the De-authorise this computer button on the About screen
Now open Liberation on the new computer
Click Authorise this computer button on the About screen.
The website will open, log-in and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the authorisation
You can also remotely de-authorise a computer you no longer have access to (with some limitations). See Authorising and de-authorising
Can I deauthorise Liberation on a computer that has been lost or stolen?
You can deauthorise the computer via the website. If the Liberation installation has not been online since your last renewal, this can be done immediately.
If not, the deauthorisation will take effect when the subscription renews or when the computer connects to the internet, whichever comes first. If you urgently need to re-authorise a new computer get in touch with support.
Using Liberation
The default set up has 8 lasers - how do I change this?
See Setting up your project and Adding / removing lasers
Can I copy zone settings from one laser to the others?
Yes! See Copy zones between lasers
Can I type a number instead of using a slider?
Yes! CMD/CTRL click on the slider and you can enter the value using the keyboard.
How do I sync Liberation to music?
It has an intelligent "tap tempo" system that works as you would expect, but you can also use an external MIDI clock or Ableton Link. The timeline can be synced to incoming LTC/SMPTE timecode coming in via any audio interface.
What settings do I need to adjust to get the best output from the laser?
The main setting is Colour Shift, which compensates for the slight delay between the mirrors moving and the lasers changing brightness. If your laser dots/beams have little 'tails' then you'll need to adjust this. (See the photos on the Laser output settings panel page for an example of 'tails')
You can also try changing the scanner speed, slower if your scanners are basic, or faster if they are good. But use with caution as you can damage your scanners if you drive them too hard.
There are also some preset scanner settings. The default option is conservative and fine for most laser beam requirements. But there are other presets for if you have better scanners, and there are presets that are tuned for graphics.
For more information see Laser output settings panel, and for information on how to create your own presets see Scanner presets & render profiles (advanced, in progress)
You can also correct the colour balance using the Colour calibration settings. See Colour calibration(advanced, in progress)
What does the Latency(ms) setting do?
This is the frame latency, or maximum amount of time between a frame being generated and subsequently sent to a laser. You shouldn't need to adjust it, but if you are having network issues you could try increasing it. See Latency setting for more details.
Clips
How do I adjust zones and settings for a clip without running it?
ALT/OPTION click to make it the currently selected clip but without activating it. See also Starting / stopping clips
How do I copy clips?
Click and drag while holding the ALT/OPTION key. See also Organising your clip deck
How do I delete clips?
Click and drag them off the clip deck. See also Organising your clip deck
How do I multi-select, delete, combine clip decks etc?
What do the little microphone symbol and other icons on the clip denote?
They are there to show you that a clip takes sound or MIDI input, and the 3 dots show you that there is a zone delay. See What are the small icons on the clip buttons?
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