Can't turn off light Guide?

Has NI introduced a way of turning off the Light Guide on S88 Mk2 yet? I bought one last week, but will return it if not. The lights are doing my head in. It's nice to have it on when you need it, but surely we need to be able to switch it off when we don't?

 

Better box it up and ship it back then....

 

Yup. Returned it yesterday. Shame. Was a nice keyboard. I hope NI read this. They just lost a grand.

 

The Light Guide is the biggest reason to buy the S88 Mk2 (in my opinion), but I think I know what you're talking about as far as it "doing your head in."

I don't presume to know the technology they're using, but if I were to guess, each light consists of 3 LEDs, one each of Red, Green and Blue. In this way they can create multiple colors by mixing the lights. The problem is the refresh rate (?). The lights are basically flashing very quickly. When there are multiple color sets on the board, when I scan my eyes from left to right I can see something akin to the DLP Rainbow Effect. https://epson.com/projector-no-rainbow-effect-visual-artifacts I can perceive the flashing and can see the other colors. It's super weird and disorienting.

Some people are sensitive to the DLP Rainbow Effect, some are not. I bought a projector that had it and it totally bugged me out and I had to return it. Anyway, just wanted to see if that's what was "doing your head in." From my standpoint, when this effect is most pronounced is when I most need the Light Guide (multiple sets of colors), so I decided to tolerate it. Over time the effect seems to be bothering me less. With the projector, it's all about viewing so THAT I could not tolerate. Once you see it, you'll always see it.

Anyone with more knowledge about this? I'd love to hear a more technical explanation. I wonder if there's any way to mitigate this via software or firmware. I remember reading somewhere that the Light Guide on the first S88 was super bright, and I have to wonder if this flicker was present on that device. Using a cheap dimmer on LED chips will cause flicker and create this effect. For example, I bought an LED light strip for my closet that has selectable colors and a dimmer on the remote. Anything less than full brightness causes a similar flickering/rainbow effect. Since I can't see the lights themselves (they're hidden), it's not an issue. So maybe they are just sending less voltage to the LEDs instead of properly dimming them. Who knows.

Again, if I'm totally off on all this speculation, someone let me know.

 

It's probably a much more simple case of the fact they glow blue right in your face all-the-damn-time!!! It would be a big reason if it was better utilised but the fact it really only functions with key switches which apply to only a VERY small number of plugins it's a completely wasted feature IMO.

The LEDs are a tri-state coloured led so basically 3 coloured leds in one. They are polled with a refresh and if you dim the LED output (or run from USB power only) they can create a bit of a flicker but not very noticeable and u'd have to have a bit of an uncommon sensitivity for it to be a problem.

When NI finally get around to pulling a finger out and developing software again like they use to I am sure this will be added in as an option to disable the LEDs since it's an option on the good ol'e MK1 keyboard but seems they need additional years to finish a second gen product after launch. I heard the MK3 version will ship with the ability to play the black notes. White note playback will be available in an update the following year

 

Great invention...black tape

 

Yeah not spending a grand on something I have to stick tape to. Plus I might want to use them occasionally. I have to peel off tape every time? The lights are just plain annoying if you're not using them. When I look at my screens, I just get this blazing blue in my peripheral vision. Anyway sent the unit back. Maybe I'll buy it again if they fix it. NI have known about this for a year now. Not clever of them.

 

Nothing to fix, they work as intended.

 

It's a problem if loads of people have a problem with it. Which judging by the forums they do.

 

Judging by others, many more others do not..

 

How do you know have you asked them?

 

Have you?

 

Hope they have you on payroll, if not keep at it you may get a purple goon hat !

 

Goon, come on - you are just being a troll.

Yes, there are lots of people wanting to turn the lights off. And this is something that can easily be done in a firmware update, allowing everybody to be happy with the setting they prefer. NI has recognized in other posts that this is a very common request, but they just don't know when or if it will be implemented, which is really sad from a customer care point of view.

Is it one of the great features of the controller? Yes, it can be very useful. But for many people, it isn't something useful most of the time. Many people use it as a midi controller with mainly plugins that are not from NI. And I have to agree, that even when I use it for some cases, I really wish I could turn it off, or dim it down, or even change the default color. I used black vinyl tape to cover the LEDs and I left a tiny portion of them (in the part that points to the keys) showing up. This has allowed me to not feel the lights on my face all of the time and still use them when I'm using a plugin that supports them. The tape is not noticeable and I'm much more comfortable this way. But, wouldn't it be great for everyone to just have a setting to customize that light? At hardware level, it is supported. It just needs the good will from NI to implement it in the firmware.

 

Do you know how many total users of S-series keyboards are there? When you say "lots", what number is that? Where are your statistics?

 

I love Light Guide on my S61 Mk2, so definitely not “everyone” wants to have it off

 

A function to turn it of does not mean that everyone must turn it off. So what's the problem? I don't know why so many users propagate to guzzle the work of NI as served on the plate and always antipate to any suggestions or critism.

The lightguide itself is a nice feature but with these cheap LEDs, you just see each RGB color blinking after the other. And that is a real psycho-stress if the color isn't pure red, blue or green. If they should appear in orange, purple or yellow for example, this is only suitable if you want to get an eye-cancer.

 

Wanting to turn them off is reasonable enough, but how do you know that the LEDs are cheap?

 

Technically, all multi-color LEDs are red, green and blue LEDs in one case; blinking frequently and alternately to simulate the impression of real colors. With the cheaper one, many people recognize the moments when a single color is lighting as a still impression if they're twinking or moving their eyes rapidly. Depending on the quality, this phenomenom is less distinced or nearly not existing due to a more frequent alternating which is only possible if the dimming times are shorter after the current becomes off. This requires a more complex (and expensive) construction.

 

I think the semantics of this need to be laid to rest. The question itself isn’t far fetched. I think we are mature enough people to recognize that not “literally” everyone has an issue with the leds but the MK1 has the option at least to switch them off. They can be a distraction but as for causing cancer I don’t believe there would be any studies that led light can cause cancer, especially not to do with refresh or specific colors.

I’m all for ANY functionality that can be added that at least indicates it’s not a dying platform as development has been less than exciting over the last 4 years.