How GALVO works.

Getting started

GALVO is software for macOS and Windows for designing laser shows on recorded music. Start from a track, write on its beatgrid, check your stage in 3D, and export for your lasers. The same workflow serves a small mobile rig and a touring production.

Rekordbox import

Export your XML collection from Rekordbox: File › Export Collection in xml format. GALVO reads tracks, BPM, beatgrid, hot cues and memory cues. Access is read-only: collection, cues and playlists stay exactly as they are.

Timeline & automation

Clips are anchored to beats, not seconds. Snap to bar, beat or 1/16, or place freely with millisecond precision. If the beatgrid changes, clips follow the beats. Automation controls color, rays, aperture, tilt, intensity and speed.

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Lanes & groups

Every laser has its own lane. The hierarchy is ALL, then groups (left, center, right, back or custom), then individual lasers. A group effect plays on every laser in it. Mute, solo or lock lanes, or switch off a single laser. Add combines levels, Override silences lower-priority lanes, Exclusive plays only that lane. Safety zones and laser limits always apply.

Effects & Quick Create

100 effects, with direction, rotation and phase controls. Quick Create reads the track structure — intro, build, drop, break, outro — and writes a first draft to refine. Reusable blocks and whole-set workflows make programming faster without repeating a generic loop.

Colors, text & vectors

Free RGB values, gradients across rays and timeline automation. Preview colors are computed from actual diode power and wavelength. A single-stroke laser font and simple SVG import bring text and vector graphics to the show.

Stage & physical preview

Start from 22 ready-made stages and edit in plan, front and side views. Add lasers, truss, LED wall, PA, barriers, haze and crowd. HDR rendering models air and haze scattering, daylight and night, sunset, stars, weather and environments such as club, forest, beach and city.

Lasers & limits

33 laser models from Laserworld, KVANT and Unity Lasers data sheets, plus 4 generic profiles. Mix models in one rig. Scan angle, ray count, scanner point budget, RGB power and beam divergence define what each unit can do. Per-laser calibration uses measured data. The same calculation drives 3D, ILDA and live output.

Safety

Define the audience area, safe height, DJ booth and no-go zones. Beams entering a protected zone turn red in the preview and are blanked in the ILDA export. Hazard distance (NOHD) is estimated per laser model following IEC 60825-1.

GALVO is a design and preview tool. It does not replace a qualified laser safety officer, local regulations or a venue risk assessment.

ILDA & show reports

One ILDA format 5 file per laser at 30 fps, within its scanner’s point budget. Calibration files are included. Import into BEYOND or QuickShow. Export a PDF and data report for the lighting and laser crew.

Video recording

Record synchronized cameras: front, wide, left, right, top, audience, low angle, close-up, current view and saved cameras with name, position, rotation, tilt, zoom and field of view. Up to 4K at 60 fps, H.264 or H.265, MOV or MP4. Files share frames and audio. Each recording uses a new numbered folder with export info; recordings are never overwritten.

Pro DJ Link & live output

GALVO joins as a virtual player, reads title and artist, recognizes the track and follows play, cue, hot cues, loops and pitch. Kernel-timestamped packets and a synchronized clock kept position within about 1 ms of a real XDJ-XZ’s beatgrid in tests. Pull the channel fader down and the lasers go dark. CDJ-3000 testing is in progress. Art-Net timecode synchronizes the rest of the show. Ether Dream and IDN output, including arm/blackout and a 100 ms watchdog, is implemented and simulator-tested; real laser hardware validation is in progress.

A few clear answers.

Does GALVO have a sound-to-light mode?

No, by design. Every beam is programmed on the track’s timeline. There is no generic beat loop. A track without a show stays dark.

Which players are supported?

Pro DJ Link synchronization has been tested with a real XDJ-XZ. CDJ-3000 testing is in progress. GALVO follows play, cue, hot cues, loops and pitch.

Which lasers and interfaces?

33 laser models from Laserworld, KVANT and Unity Lasers data sheets, plus 4 generic profiles. Export ILDA for BEYOND or QuickShow. Live Ether Dream and IDN output is simulator-tested; real hardware validation is in progress.

Mac and Windows?

Yes. GALVO launches on macOS and Windows at the same time.

What is the Founders offer?

GALVO Standard is €99 if you pre-order before launch, €149 after launch. Same software. One payment. EU prices include VAT. Your license arrives by email on launch day. Pre-orders open soon; waitlist members get the link first.

Is there a free demo?

A free demo will be available at launch. Join the waitlist to get it first.

Do I need Rekordbox?

GALVO reads the XML collection exported from Rekordbox. Tracks, BPM, beatgrid and cues are read-only. Your library is never changed.

Does it replace a laser safety officer?

No. GALVO helps you design and preview shows. Audience exposure must follow local regulations and be checked by a qualified professional.