Longtime paying user, always a frustration
A $100 app deserves a long-term review. Here it is:
The interface looks simple but is not very easy to use. Don't expect someone to operate Luminair without training and practice. I've had dozens of clients call in a panic because the app has become inoperable for them. Usually it's because they accidentally closed a screen or maximized a particular region, and nobody on set could find the tiny icon that brings back the view they are familiar with. When it's not that, it's usually because they're not connected to the right network, or art-net auto-discovery isn't working, or auto-discovery is disabled (because it wasn't working last time) and IP addresses have changed. Even with everything configured properly, Luminair often needs to be restarted for the changes to take hold.
Even with the app functioning properly, many buttons are very small and hard to hit. The faders have small click targets and are surprisingly hard to operate while looking at the lights you're trying to control. Some screen elements require a double-tap, some a tap-and-hold, and there's no particular logic to what you can do where. Especially when you aren't sure that you've successfully hit your target, the process of discovery feels slow and cumbersome.
It's also worth noting that transmit frame rate is capped at something like 15fps when transmitting art-net over wifi. This is much slower than DMX (44fps), so animation always looks slow and choppy. For this reason, Luminair is insufficient for nearly any kind of animation or smooth fade on camera. It might work in a pinch if you're not picky, but the sequencer and FX modes are practically useless features so long as the transmit rate is so low.
For all I know, some of these problems are probably fixed by now, but I've already lost days of my life to this app and I have no desire to spend another moment with it. The only reason I've come back to write a review is because I noticed that, despite having paid $150 for a lifetime license in 2021, Luminair has been charging my company a subscription of $150/year ever since for features we never wanted and never used. I patiently and politely requested a refund, but I think they'd prefer to keep the $450 and take the negative review. So here it is!
The interface looks simple but is not very easy to use. Don't expect someone to operate Luminair without training and practice. I've had dozens of clients call in a panic because the app has become inoperable for them. Usually it's because they accidentally closed a screen or maximized a particular region, and nobody on set could find the tiny icon that brings back the view they are familiar with. When it's not that, it's usually because they're not connected to the right network, or art-net auto-discovery isn't working, or auto-discovery is disabled (because it wasn't working last time) and IP addresses have changed. Even with everything configured properly, Luminair often needs to be restarted for the changes to take hold.
Even with the app functioning properly, many buttons are very small and hard to hit. The faders have small click targets and are surprisingly hard to operate while looking at the lights you're trying to control. Some screen elements require a double-tap, some a tap-and-hold, and there's no particular logic to what you can do where. Especially when you aren't sure that you've successfully hit your target, the process of discovery feels slow and cumbersome.
It's also worth noting that transmit frame rate is capped at something like 15fps when transmitting art-net over wifi. This is much slower than DMX (44fps), so animation always looks slow and choppy. For this reason, Luminair is insufficient for nearly any kind of animation or smooth fade on camera. It might work in a pinch if you're not picky, but the sequencer and FX modes are practically useless features so long as the transmit rate is so low.
For all I know, some of these problems are probably fixed by now, but I've already lost days of my life to this app and I have no desire to spend another moment with it. The only reason I've come back to write a review is because I noticed that, despite having paid $150 for a lifetime license in 2021, Luminair has been charging my company a subscription of $150/year ever since for features we never wanted and never used. I patiently and politely requested a refund, but I think they'd prefer to keep the $450 and take the negative review. So here it is!
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