Favorite brands. What to look for or look out for.

Trying out the ADJ MyDMX3 software without any lights to get a feel for the capabilities. Thinking of going with a laptop rather than a dedicated controller.

Any brands to avoid?

What about light stands?

Thanks for any responses.

ETC has the Nomad, which basically turns your laptop into a full lightboard. But you pay per DMX universe, so a large modern rig with LED instruments (and heaven forbid, movers) means you could easily be into 4-5 universes in a moderate-sized hall. I've heard Nomad doesn't necessarily play well with others - the best bet is to have a designated laptop for the light rig.

I think one Universe will be enough for a while. Doing small Rock bands in bars and small halls.

I use a simple setup for our bar band.  A Chauvet  70 controller and two led wash lights, A Wash Fx and Wash Fx2.  

I didn't want to drag a laptop around. The controller is easy enough to program.  I've got probably a dozen or so "scenes" that I programmed into various "chases".  

I get it set up, pick my "chases", and hit the "run" button while it's on blackout mode.  I set the time per scene and transition times with the sliders.  Really simple.  When it's time to start, I disable the blackout and it lights up.  

That's about all I'd want to use.  It's simple and relatively cheap, and I understand enough to be functional.

My speaker stands serve as light stands. Lights are clamped to them.