PCStage Plugins

These plugins extend the power and capabilities of PCStage, adding features and interfaces with the outside world that are too specialized for inclusion in PCStage itself. To use a plugin download its archive, unzip it to the Plugins sub-directory of PCStage's installation directory (by default C:\Program Files\PCStage) and restart PCStage. It can then be opened from the Plugins menu.

ASIOAudio enables PCStage to play mono sounds on any channel of an ASIO audio device. Although the many features of PCStage's internal DirectX audio support are not available, ASIO drivers give access to all the channels of multi-output soundcards, which is often not the case with DirectX.

ASIOAudio is still in development, and feedback and suggestions from interested users are appreciated. Beta version of PCStage required.

AudioMixer enables PCStage to control volume and mute settings on your soundcard's mixer; smooth volume fades are supported.

BeatDetect sends a command to PCStage whenever a beat is detected in the audio input. This is most commonly used to step chasers in sync with music. A real-time display of the music waveform and detection thresholds is available.

ButtonPanel enables you to create a matrix of buttons with individual properties (colour, label, momentary/toggled/timed action) which send commands to PCStage. It is used to give instant access to important operations in a show.

CDAudio is an audio CD player which be can controlled by PCStage. Multiple drives and smooth fadeouts are supported.

ComplexPath enables the interactive creation of robotic pan/tilt paths of any complexity, as a series of straight and bezier-curve segments. These are then converted to PCStage chasers for use in shows.

GameButtons enables PCStage's button triggers to use all of the buttons on any game device supported by DirectX (e.g. USB gamepad) rather than just the two joysticks which can be connected to the game port.

MediaSync gives PCStage access to the Windows Media Player. Movies, MIDI files, MP3s etc can be played and controlled, and events can be created which send commands to PCStage when defined points in the played media are reached, enabling lighting to be synchronized precisely with them.

MSC enables PCStage to support the MIDI Show Control protocol, providing events (with data parameters) and triggers. PCStage can have any ID and belong to any combination of ID groups.

Path enables the interactive creation of robotic pan/tilt paths by manipulation of several simple geometric shapes, which can be scaled and rotated. These are then converted to PCStage chasers for use in shows.

Server enables PCStage to receive commands via a TCP port connection, from other programs running on either the same machine or another on the network. A small included program sends a single command, allowing PCStage to be controlled by any software (e.g. PowerPoint, Director etc) capable of running external programs.

TimeCode synchronizes PCStage with a MIDI Time Code source, executing commands at specified times.

TimeExec executes PCStage commands at specified times, which can either be time-of-day or relative to a timer started by the user. This enables PCStage to operate daily lighting plans unattended.