QLC+ 4.10.1 running on a WandBoard Quad!

[JohnnyDMonic]

Hi guys,

Just thought I'd let you know - I've managed to get QLC+ 4.10.1 running on a WandBoard Quad.

I used the official ubuntu 14.04 (hard-float with GPU+VPU) image from the WandBoard website. I downloaded the QLC+ source files and built with Qt5. The user interface is lighting quick and CPU usage is barely registering anything. I haven't tried it with any real lights yet but my EntTec DMX USB Pro Mk2 is connected and the correct LEDs are flashing so it looks promising.

I think there may be a problem with sound because I get the message:

ALSA lib seq_hw.c:457:(snd_seq_hw_open) open /dev/snd/seq failed: No such file or directory

But I think this is a problem with the WandBoard image.. I don't really use sound so not sure if it matters to me right now, unless MIDI doesn't work. I will check soon.

I also get the message:

Failed to create secure directory (/home/ubuntu/.config/pulse): Operation not permitted

But again, I think this is to do with the image. I have other folder/file permission problems as well so I will investigate and post back with my findings.

Looks like it might be another promising way of running lights on a tiny machine!

John.

[mcallegari]

Hi, thanks for sharing.

I suppose QLC+ can run on a wide variety of embedded devices, since it doesn't require that much CPU.
However, this WandBoard Quad is a very expensive one.
I try to target the most used and cheapest out there, to provide a cost effective solution for lighting usages.

[JohnnyDMonic]

I just happened to have one lying around from a previous project and thought I'd give it a try. I got it because the raspberry pi has problems with high-speed usb which seems to be an in-built problem with their USB peripheral.

My primary aim is to be able to run QLC+ on something small enough to be velcro'd on to the back of a monitor. For theatre shows when there often isn't very much space in the control room, it's handy to not have a keyboard in the way which makes space for having the script in front of me. This is why I wanted to see if I could get away with not using a laptop.

The problem with the raspberry pi specific version of QLC+ is not being able to edit shows properly due to not having a window manager, etc.. It is fantastic for running shows, but I always have to use a linux PC to do the editing. With the Wandboard running lxde, I can run the full version of QLC+ and so should be able to edit and run shows without any problems. The boot time is also very similar to the raspberry pi 2 (ie - pretty fast!).

I appreciate the Wandboard (especially the Quad) isn't for everyone, and the pi definitely wins on cost but when you compare the cost of a Wandboard vs the cost of a dedicated intelligent lighting controller it is still a massive saving!

The next thing I'm going to try is running lxde and the full version of QLC+ on the raspberry pi 2 and see how it compares.

[JohnnyDMonic]

Great news! I am now running the full desktop version of QLC+ 4.10.1 on a raspberry pi 2. It is really responsive and fast. Definitely 100% useable.

I used the latest MINIBIAN (JESSIE) 2015-11-12 image.
Resized file system to make it fill the SD card.
Installed lxde.
Tweaked the graphics to use 24bit RGB.
Installed the fbturbo gxf driver.
Built QLC+ from sources.
Had to change a few symbolic links to get the libEGL/libGLESv2 working.

The cpu usage barely registers, it is so low. My EntTec DMX USB Pro Mk2 works perfectly. MIDI input also works perfectly. I am so happy now that I can do full show editing and running on the raspberry pi.

The only issue I have is that when I start QLC+ the window size is the full size of my monitor, but the window title bar is off the top of the screen. I have to right click in the task-bar and click "Maximize". This then gets me a window title bar which I can then click on the little icon (top-left), click resize and then I can size the window. I wonder if there is any command-line argument for setting the default window size?

[mcallegari]

Cool. What is the boot time to get into QLC+ ?

There is a check in the code, that detects if QLC+ is running on a RPi. If so, it goes fullscreen.
I'd say you can tweak this line of code and always return false. It should behave like the desktop version then:
https://github.com/mcallegari/qlcplus/b ... e.cpp#L265

or, comment/delete this line:
https://github.com/mcallegari/qlcplus/b ... p.cpp#L211

[JohnnyDMonic]

Thanks for the advice. I thought there might be something like that going on. I will try recompiling and let you know.

I made it so qlcplus auto-starts on login and timed the bootup:

From power-on to lxde login screen - 20s
From entering password and clicking login to qlcplus being ready to use - 16s

Pretty good!

[JohnnyDMonic]

I changed qlcfile.cpp because my app.cpp doesn't have a separate call to QLCFile::checkRaspberry(). Maybe this has been changed since 4.10.1. Anyway, I recompiled and yes, it works perfectly. Just like the full desktop version now! It remembers the window size and position when I close it.

This is totally brilliant. Thanks a lot

[JohnnyDMonic]

Oh, also regarding those timings... I am only using a generic SD card at the moment. I normally use Sandisk Extreme cards but I've not got any spare. I have ordered some more so I'll let you know the new timings once they arrive. I would expect a noticeable improvement.

[JohnnyDMonic]

So I'm up and running with the new Sandisk Extreme SD card.

Timings:

From power-on to lxde login screen - 17s
From entering password and clicking login to qlcplus being ready to use - 7s

Pretty happy with that!