RCL iDirect vs Bluebeam
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
RCL iDirect
This application provides a user-friendly interface for managing and controlling remote-controlled spotlights. It allows for easy setup, precise adjustments of pan, tilt, and intensity, and the creation of custom lighting scenes. Designed for iPad, it offers intuitive gesture controls and centralized dimming capabilities.
- Intuitive gesture control for pan, tilt, and dimming
- Easy setup and spotlight addition
- Light Tables with customizable tiles and areas
- Reflected ceiling plan integration for precise placement
- Centralized dimming for individual areas and all areas
- Scene recording and recall for lighting schemes
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iDirect is a lighting control system developed by RCL to manage and control their remote controlled spotlights. Designed to take full advantage of the iPad’s larger screen, iDirect provides a simple yet powerful interface for adjusting spotlights in pan, tilt and intensity. Easy Setup – Designed with the user in mind. Easy to setup and use, iDirect allows spotlights to be added from within the app. Simply select the light’s model, finish and lamp type and follow the on screen instructions to complete the process. Spotlights are added to 'Light Tables', with each light represented by a tile. Spotlight tiles can be renamed and distributed across different 'Areas' for easy navigation. Light Plans - Select lights from a reflected ceiling plan. Light Plans allow spotlights to be added to an imported reflected ceiling plan. Fixtures can be positioned precisely and adjusted in scale to suit the layout. Pinch-to-Zoom functionality makes spotlight selection quick and easy. Multiple Light Plans can be imported for different Areas, allowing for easier navigation and selection. Gesture Pad - Control spotlights using simple gestures. Adjust spotlights individually using simple, intuitive gestures. The iPad’s larger screen allows lights to be controlled easily in pan, tilt and dim level. Multi-gestures can be used for fine-tuning or apply the ‘Axis Lock’ for even greater accuracy. Dimming - Centralised dimming for individual areas. Control the intensity of all spotlights in a single Area from one central location. A dimmer is automatically created for each new Area added. Dimming overrides the intensity of individual spotlights within the same 'Area'. Use the ‘All Areas’ dimmer to adjust the dim level across all Areas simultaneously. Scenes - Record scenes to save you time. A great time saving option, Scenes allow lighting schemes to be quickly recorded and recalled from within the app. Once lights have been set to the desired position and intensity, a new 'Scene' can be created which saves the settings. Scenes can be set across different Areas, allowing for even greater flexibility. Please Note: iDirect requires connection to an Ethernet to DMX512 converter.
Bluebeam
Access and collaborate on PDF documents directly from your mobile device. Communicate project updates with markups and work offline by syncing files. Seamlessly join live collaboration sessions and manage document revisions from the field.
- Real-time PDF collaboration
- Markup and annotation tools
- Offline file access
- Document syncing
- Studio Project management
- Live session joining
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Bluebeam for iOS keeps you connected to your teams and documents, so you can quickly access the information you need in the field and capture what matters for the office. - Communicate with markups using tools like callouts, text, clouds, and status indicators - Import your team's custom Tool Sets from Revu, so your standardized markups are ready to go in the field, even offline - Attach photos captured in the field directly to a markup, so supporting documentation stays organized without cluttering your drawings - Open your files stored on your device, Studio Projects, or Studio Sessions - Join Studio Sessions for live collaboration. If your connection drops, your changes sync when you're back online - Check out files in Studio Projects to make edits, then check them back in when you're ready - Work offline by syncing Project files ahead of time or opening PDFs stored on your device Whether you’re reviewing submittals, placing markups in the field, or tracking revisions with your team, Bluebeam gives you the flexibility to get the job done from anywhere.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: RCL iDirect at 100% against Bluebeam's 3%. RCL iDirect also leads on iOS requirement (12.5.7 vs 18.0). Bluebeam's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 5 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
RCL iDirect ships an update every 5 months, Bluebeam monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | RCL iDirect | Bluebeam |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 1.5 (408 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 2.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 408 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.5.7 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 295 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Remote Controlled Lighting Limited | Bluebeam, Inc. |
Customer experience
RCL iDirect
Bluebeam
Bugs and requests
RCL iDirect
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Bluebeam
Reported bugs
28 issues- Markups fail to load or display correctly
- App deletes markups instead of saving them
- Documents wipe clean when reopened
- Files uploaded disappear from app
- Corrupted file errors when opening PDFs
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- Keyboard disappears during login
- Selection boundaries too large, preventing precise markup selection
- Apple Pencil input stops working intermittently
- Pen tool produces no line output despite input
- App crashes when opening large file sets
- Session documents fail to load
- Blank PDF pages displayed
- Scaling doesn't work properly
- Blue screen errors
- Markups missing after checkout and checkin
- Incomplete markups syncing between devices
- App freezes during document checkin
- Unable to add users to sessions
- Projects not showing up in app
- App crashes when opening Studio sessions
- Drawings won't load or open
- Markup placement doesn't correspond to tap location
- PDF goes blank when inserting callouts
- Constant logout requiring re-authentication
- Links to details don't work
- App crashes on older iOS versions
- Audio communication issues
- File synchronization failures
Requested features
25 requests- Restore measurement and scaling tools
- Add custom toolsets and tool libraries
- Implement bookmarks for document navigation
- Enable image embedding in callouts
- Add undo/redo functionality
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- Support multiple PDF tabs simultaneously
- Create stamp library with standardized markups
- Add dimension markup capabilities
- Allow local PDF file access and import
- Full Studio session integration
- Improve Apple Pencil responsiveness and precision
- Add eraser tool for pen markups
- Enable photo capture and attachment to markups
- Support Dropbox and cloud storage integration
- Add form field editing capabilities
- Implement punch list and defect tracking
- Add RFI creation functionality
- Support for custom columns and data fields
- Reset viewpoints feature
- Pen width and cloud shape customization
- Settings menu for preferences
- Better pen and drawing mechanics like Notability
- Ability to download session documents to device
- Support for opening PDF attachments from desktop
- Batch file upload capability
In-app purchases
RCL iDirect
No in-app purchases
Bluebeam
No in-app purchases









