Firstly, I have been a happy user of PC Stage for a number of years. However, due to the untimely loss of the developer in a car accident, it isn't being updated for recent operating systems, so I am looking for an alternative and QLC+ looks like a good option.
PC Stage looks a bit clunky, and perhaps it's interface could be a bit slicker, but I haven't reached the limit of what it can actually do. My background is in amateur theatre, so I am looking for a system capable of driving mainly traditional fixtures, as well as the odd modern LED I might hire in.
I like many of the features of QLC+, but there are a few that so far I haven't found, or could do with being added if it is to be a replacement for me.
1. PC Stage can handle a number of simultaneous sound 'tracks', each of which can be linked to any of the sound outputs available. The sound outputs include the Primary Sound Driver as well as the named outputs, which is helpful when programming on one machine but operating on another. The end result - I can set up a background ambience sound, then send a cue sound to the same output, another sound to a different output, and then overlay more sounds on any of the outputs, some of which can be linked to operate with any keypress. Useful in Pantos!
2. Sounds are triggered by just another cue in the cue list, but a cue can set the pan, the level, start the sound, pause it, resume it or stop it - each function with the appropriate timed fades, and functions for different tracks can all be performed in the same cue, i.e. start one track fading down while starting and fading up another.
3. One simple function - PC Stage shows a simple duration bar for the current cue, showing the progress of the cue and the time remaining
Since many plays only have incidental music and just a few sound cues, having both in the same application makes my life a lot easier. Some plays and pantos are more involved, but so far PC Stage has handled everything I needed.
I would like to say well done with QLC+ so far. When I saw the list of available fixtures my first impression was that it was aimed at the professional with access to every fixture possible, rather than a small society with a few Furse fresnels and Strand Patt 23's, S battens and Patt 743's, but I've worked out how to make it drive my DMX-Demux-analogue system. Keep up the good work!
Q Light Controller+
Official forums of the QLC+ project