Light Stream - System requirements

Light Stream Software is a program for mapping and creating animations, in which the entire picture (the Mapping window, 3D View, effect previews) is drawn by the video card. That's why the main requirement for the computer is not the processor or the amount of memory, but a video card with support for OpenGL 4.6 and up-to-date drivers. Everything else depends on how heavy the projects you build are.

In short

What is needed	Requirement
Operating system	64-bit Windows. The program is released only in a 64-bit version and will not launch on a 32-bit system
Runtime	Microsoft .NET 6. There's no need to install it in advance: the Light Stream installer itself offers to install it — at the end of setup
Video card	Support for OpenGL 4.6 and a current driver from the video card manufacturer. This is a mandatory requirement, and the program checks it at startup
Processor and RAM	The more complex the project, the more is required. The program does not check any particular minimum
Disk space	For the program itself, projects, loaded video and sequences, as well as for exported cue files
Network	A wired network adapter — for sending Art-Net and for communicating with Converter and Player
Internet	Needed when activating a license and when transferring it to another computer

Video card and OpenGL

Light Stream requires a video card with support for OpenGL version 4.6. This is not a recommendation: on an older video card, some effects and the 3D scene may render incorrectly or not render at all.

Every time it starts, the program polls the video card itself. If it reports support for a version lower than 4.6, a red Warning! window appears on top of the program window with text like "Your card supports OpenGL version 4.3. The required OpenGL version is 4.6. There may be problems with the software!". The program will keep running, but you should not count on stability.

How to find out your OpenGL version

Launch Light Stream.
Open the Help → Activation menu.
Two lines are shown at the top of the window: Version — the version of the program itself, and OpenGL Version — the version reported by your video card.

If the value shown there is less than 4.6, first update the video card driver — it's better to download it from the video card manufacturer's website rather than rely on the driver installed by Windows itself. The OpenGL version often goes up specifically after updating the driver: the standard Windows driver supports only older versions.

Laptops with two video cards

Laptops usually have an integrated graphics chip and a separate (discrete) video card. Windows may launch Light Stream on the integrated graphics — it is weaker, and its OpenGL version is often lower. Make sure the program launches on the discrete video card and in maximum performance mode: how to set this up for NVIDIA video cards and how to set the Windows power plan is described in the article Light Stream - Quick start in the "PC Performance Setup" section.

What loads the video card the most

A large number of fixtures and universes in the project.
Effects playing simultaneously in several layouts.
The 3D View window: imported models, fixture glow, spotlight and wallwasher beams, the pixel bloom effect.
Effects with video, image sequences, and high-resolution textures.

If the program noticeably lags, it usually helps to close or minimize the 3D View window while working on the mapping and to reduce the number of heavy effects playing simultaneously.

Windows and the runtime

Light Stream is a 64-bit program for Windows. In addition to it, the computer must have the Microsoft .NET 6 runtime installed: without it, the program will not start.

There's no need to install .NET 6 in advance. At the end of the Light Stream installation, the installer itself will offer to install it — if you're not sure whether it's already installed, agree: a repeat installation won't break anything, the .NET installer will simply report that the library is already present and offer to close the window. The step-by-step installation procedure is covered in the article Light Stream - Quick start.

To install into the Program Files folder, Windows will request administrator rights. Administrator rights are not needed for everyday work with the program.

The program's interface supports Windows scaling, including different scaling on different monitors: if one screen is set to 100% and another to 150%, the program will rebuild the interface for the new scale when the window is dragged over.

There is no strict screen resolution requirement, but the interface consists of several panels (Mapping, Timeline, Compositions, Properties and others), so the larger the screen, the more convenient it is to work. On small screens, rearranging windows and switching workspaces helps — see Workspace.

Processor, memory and disk

The program does not check any specific minimum values and does not show warnings if they are insufficient — it will simply start working more slowly. Base your expectations on the composition of the project:

The processor is loaded by effect computation, video playback, and composition export. Export is the longest operation: the more compositions there are, the longer they are, and the higher their FPS, the longer it takes.
RAM is used by loaded video, image sequences, 3D models, and textures. The program can keep video sequence frames in memory if desired: this speeds up working with them but requires a reserve of RAM. The cache is enabled with the Enable video sequence caching and Number of cached frames settings on the Memory & Performance tab of the Settings window — see Settings.
Disk space is needed for the project itself and everything loaded into it, for the project backup copy (it is saved next to the project file on every save), and for export results — cue files, and in Video render mode, also video files. The size of a cue file depends on the number of universes, the duration, and the FPS of the composition; the program shows an approximate value in the Export window in the Size, MB column even before computation begins.

It's convenient to keep projects and their related files on a fast disk: with sequences of thousands of images, disk speed is immediately noticeable.

Network

A network is not needed to launch the program, but it is needed to work with lighting equipment.

Wired connection. Art-Net is a real-time data stream, so connect converters and Light Stream Player with a cable. Wi-Fi introduces delays and packet loss, which make the animation stutter.
A single network segment. The computer's IP address must be on the same subnet as the addresses of the converters and players. Which network adapter is used for the whole project is set by the Network adapter parameter on the Network tab of the Settings window, see Settings. An individual converter can be assigned its own adapter in its properties — see Properties.
Firewall. Art-Net is transmitted over UDP on port 6454 (a converter can also be switched to the sACN protocol). If the Windows firewall or antivirus blocks Light Stream, devices are not found during search and the signal doesn't reach them — allow the program network access the first time it starts.
Multiple network adapters. If the computer has several (for example, Wi-Fi and Ethernet), specify the needed one explicitly, otherwise Art-Net may go out over the wrong network.

Internet and license

Internet access is needed for license operations: activating a key and deactivating it when transferring it to another computer (a single key can be transferred 5 times). If there is no connection, the program will report an error and suggest checking the internet connection.

For everyday work — creating projects, arranging fixtures, building compositions, exporting — a permanent internet connection is not required.

The program also launches without an activated license, and you can work in it, but with limitations: Art-Net is not sent directly from the program, exported animations turn out empty, and the working area goes blank every few seconds. More details — in the article Light Stream - Quick start.

Additional equipment

Everything listed below is only needed for the corresponding functions; it is not required for normal work.

Equipment	What it's for
Light Stream Converter and Light Stream Player	Controlling real fixtures and standalone playback of animations
Audio device	Audio track on the timeline (the device is selected in the Audio output group) and effects reacting to sound — equalizer and beat (the Audio input group). Both groups are located on the Audio / SMPTE tab of the Settings window
SMPTE timecode source	Synchronizing playback with external equipment. Timecode is received by the audio input, settings are in the same place, in the SMPTE timecode group
MIDI console or controller	Controlling the program from an external console. Devices are added on the MIDI tab of the same window
Camera or video capture device	The Camera effect takes the picture from a connected camera and feeds it to fixtures

The Spout effect pulls the picture from another program (After Effects, Touch Designer, Resolume and others) running on the same computer — it makes sense to work with it when the computer can handle both programs at once.

If effects don't react to sound, check not only the selected device in the Audio input group, but also microphone access permission in Windows privacy settings: without it, the program won't receive sound from the input.

What to check if the program is behaving strangely

A red OpenGL Warning window appears at startup — your video card's OpenGL version is lower than 4.6. Update the video card driver, and on a laptop also make sure the program launches on the discrete video card.
The program doesn't launch at all — most likely the Microsoft .NET 6 runtime is not installed. Run the Light Stream installer again and agree to install it.
Everything is stuttering, 3D is lagging — check that maximum performance mode is selected for the video card and the Windows power plan is set to "High performance" (Light Stream - Quick start), and close other programs that load the video card.
Devices aren't found, Art-Net doesn't arrive — check that the correct network adapter is selected, that the addresses are on the same subnet, and that the firewall isn't blocking the program.
A heavy project won't open, or errors appear when saving — not enough RAM. Close other programs, reduce the Number of cached frames, and unload the project of unused video and sequences.