Hi Clément, before I spend my hard earned cash on Photon 2 Pro, is it possible to export/import the Photon 2 database/setup in case I need to move my Photon 2 to another iPad? I don’t see any mention of backup in the documentation. I would have expected this to be an essential feature. Having to re-configure Photon 2 from scratch, if changing/upgrading iPads, would seem like a major deterrent. Thanks.
Hi @SansMuso and welcome !
Happy to know you like Photon and you will buy the pro version.
We do our best to make sure you are happy with your purchase and that your money is not wasted 
It is possible to export the shows from the Photon homepage (the list of shows).
Be careful though, your patching will be imported but the list of your “custom devices” that you would have created from the fixture factory will not be reintegrated.
I let you try to export and import a show with the free version in order to validate if it suits you.
Enjoy Photon !
Hi Clément, thank you for your reply. I can successfully save and restore shows. Unfortunately my BeamZ LED lights are not in the Photon 2 devices list so I have had to add them as custom devices.
If I understand you correctly my custom devices will not be saved with my Shows backup…… is that correct? If so, is there any way to back up my custom devices please? Thanks.
Hi Sans,
You bring up a good point. The custom devices will be imported into the new iPad from the back up file. The sequences, presets as well. Unfortunately, even though the devices and their configuration will import, you cannot see them. This is one thing that I hope will be fixed at some time, because if I need to edit a device, I cannot do so if it was imported. Again, I hope that gets updated.
Nevertheless, the custom device that you created on another ipad WILL import but not be listed. I have attempted to upload the custom device to the community, but it never appears for reload, so, unless you go back to the iPad on which the device was created, there is no editing on another ipad. You CAN edit the LIVE Dashboard on the iPad with the imported shows, and assign MIDI etc. So that is a good thing. The devices is the only frustrating thing.
John
Hi John,
Thanks for your reply. I am very new to Photon2… initially purchased VIBRIO but unfortunately the MIDI functionality in VIBRIO doesn’t seem to work properly and support leaves a lot to be desired.
I use StageTraxx3 (great App with fantastic support) for my live performance back tracks and lyrics/chords. MIDI/DMX control of my lights is my primary focus and this is why I am hoping Photon2 is a reliable and functional solution.
I have successfully restored a saved Show to Photon on another iPad and see that my custom devices are listed in the Show’s devices but not in the Devices list…. I assume this is what you mean. I have not been able to test that the imported show’s custom devices work despite not being in the Devices list… from your experience can you confirm this please?
Also, I wasn’t able to import my saved show directly from my iCloud storage folder…. had to copy it to a local folder on the iPad and then restore the show…… not sure if that is my iPad/iCloud config or the same for everyone.
Thanks for your YT Photon2 training vids. I was hoping for a little more granularity on the actual MIDI data saved in Photon and what it looked like… does Photon receive and use Note data (note number, velocity etc.), CC, PC etc. and if the MIDI data can be used to control all aspects of the devices - if so, how?
I noticed in your MIDI vid that there were often lights that stayed on at the end of the song (some seemed to hang)…. How often does this happen in your live shows? Do you also use a “all notes off” type of MIDI message when this happens?
Thanks again and hope to hear from you soon.
Kind regards, Paul.
Hi Clément,
I have sent a request via the Photon2 App to have my beamZ FLATPAR 7x 18w lights to the Photon DMX Fixtures …. not sure how long that will take, but I have a question that might save me some time… if I import a Photon2 Show onto another iPad and re-create my custom devices on the 2nd iPad, will they appear to be the same Custom Devices contained in the imported show or will Photon2 see them as additional Custom Devices?
Thanks.
Hi Sans,
Thanks, sorry it is taking so long to reply.
- Stage Traxx 3 is more of a Karaoke-Hybrid than an actual professional alternative to Ableton. This becomes evident when you dive into the world of DMX. Does Stage Traxx 3 support MIDI? Yes. Does it support .mid files for DMX? So far, no. Still, Stage Traxx 3 is amazing and I plan to use it for live lyric transmission.
-Imported shows only use custom devices, but they will not be listed or be editable. A shortcoming of Photon2
-I used my MS OneDrive to upload and import shows. I will try iCloud, but I have never experienced any issues with it either.
-Not sure about the term “granularity” but you will notice in the videos that fading lights are CC, Photon2 Presets are MIDI note # and Program Changes are not used in my configuration.
-Lastly, since I have experience with using Photon2 live at quite a few gigs, now, I have noticed that it is beneficial to have a song start with a 50% white light on the band which you will see fades automatically (via MIDI CC message) as the song starts. At the finish of the song the lights return to the 50% white light setting to light the band between songs. These are intended acts and not lights freezing. I seldom have lights freeze, even with wireless DMX dongles. So the automated DMX is 50% white light at presong> White light fade at beginning of song count down in IEM>DMX light show during song> Song ends>50% White light preset is executed>50% white light at presong>White light fade at beginning of song countdown in IEM>etc…etc…etc…as we cycle through songs in Multitracker. This seems best for shows. But, no, those are not at all lights freezing.
Thanks for the questions!
John