Pangolin QuickShow vs BEYOND: How Many Laser Projectors?

It sounds like a simple numbers problem, but it’s really a stability problem. You can have a license that “supports” a big rig on paper… and still end up with dropped connections, laggy cue changes, or out-of-sync zones on show night.

This guide keeps the main point crystal clear: QuickShow and BEYOND support different recommended multi-projector limits, and your real-world results depend on your FB3/FB4 hardware, your PC specs, your network setup, and your content complexity.

• QuickShow: up to 9 laser projectors
• BEYOND Essentials: up to 10
• BEYOND Advanced: up to 25
• BEYOND Ultimate: up to 40

And if you’re close to any limit: treat your setup like a system (interfaces + PC + network), not a single software purchase.

Written by: Laser Show Technician / Lighting Consultant
Last updated: December 19, 2025

Based on commonly cited Pangolin guidance, here are the recommended stable ceilings for how many laser show projectors you can run per version:

Important: These are “recommended stable max” numbers—meaning a setup that’s realistically expected to run smoothly for live shows when everything else is done correctly.

If your project plan says “we need 20 lasers,” don’t spec your system exactly at 20. Give yourself headroom. Live events always have friction.

When someone asks, “How many pangolin lasers can I control?”, they usually mean:

• How many independent outputs I can run at once
• Can each projector be individually addressed (zones, cues, timing)?
• Can I keep everything synced across multiple fixtures and positions?
• Can I change cues without lag or awkward delays?

In real life, controlling multiple projectors means you’re managing:

• multiple data outputs (often one interface per projector)
• multiple physical cable runs or network nodes
• multiple mounting points and alignment constraints
• safety rules and audience scanning considerations

So yes—it’s a software question. But it’s also a workflow and infrastructure question.

QuickShow is often the cleanest entry point into professional laser programming:

• faster learning curve
• straightforward show control
• great for clubs, weddings, smaller stages, and mobile event teams

If your venue is small-to-medium and you’re using lasers mainly for:

• aerial beam looks
• simple logo moments
• clean “wow factor” transitions

…then QuickShow controlling up to 9 laser projectors can be genuinely practical.

You’ll feel the ceiling when you need:

• lots of zones across a wide footprint
• multiple scenic structures with different cues
• heavier show control logic and syncing demands
• consistent “big stage” style programming

That’s usually when teams start looking up terms like pangolin beyond, beyond laser software, or quickshow vs beyond—because the project has outgrown the “simple and fast” toolset.

Best for:

• mid-size venues
• production companies running frequent events
• consistent show schedules where stability matters more than experimentation

If you’re hovering around 8–10 projectors and you want breathing room beyond QuickShow, Essentials is often the “safe step up.”

Best for:

• larger stages and multi-zone designs
• touring workflows
• more complex cue stacks and tighter sync expectations

If you’re regularly planning 12–25 projectors, Advanced is the tier that tends to feel “like a real production tool” rather than “something you’re forcing.”

Best for:

• festivals
• large-scale outdoor shows
• high-end installs
• extremely wide multi-projector coverage

Ultimate is less about chasing “40 projectors” and more about running large systems with margin—so your show stays stable when you add complexity, not just fixtures.

You can have the right software version and still struggle. These are the four real-world limiters:

• FB3 (USB): simple and direct, but scaling USB can get messy—hub quality, cable length, power stability, and OS settings can all bite you.
• FB4 (network): usually the better long-term path for multi-projector setups, especially across distance or when you need structured deployment.

If you’re building a true laser light show system with many fixtures, FB4-style networking tends to be easier to maintain and troubleshoot.

Laser control is real-time. If your computer stutters, your audience sees it.

At minimum for professional use:

• SSD storage (non-negotiable)
• strong CPU performance (especially for real-time responsiveness)
• enough RAM to keep everything smooth under load

If you add screen recording, media playback, lighting control software, or timecode tools on the same machine—your requirements go up fast.

For multi-FB4 shows, “it connects” is not the same as “it’s show-ready.”

Basic show-safe habits:

• use a solid gigabit switch
• label everything (ports, IPs, zones)
• avoid chaotic last-minute wiring
• keep your show network clean (don’t share with random venue Wi-Fi traffic)

Ten projectors doing simple beams can be easier than three doing heavy graphics with dense point counts, multiple layers, and rapid changes.

If your show leans toward graphics, you’ll naturally overlap with terms like ILDA laser projector, ILDA interface, and ILDA cable—because signal and content discipline becomes a bigger part of “stability.”

• 1–6 projectors: QuickShow or BEYOND Essentials can be fine with a solid Windows laptop + SSD
• 6–12 projectors: favor BEYOND Essentials (near 10) or Advanced (for margin), and start treating cabling/network as a system
• 12–25 projectors: BEYOND Advanced + strong PC + structured networking (FB4 strongly preferred)
• 25–40 projectors: BEYOND Ultimate + high-end PC + professional networking discipline + redundancy planning

• disable sleep/hibernation
• set Windows power plan to High Performance
• turn off USB selective suspend / aggressive power saving
• avoid running heavy background apps
• keep a dedicated “show user account” if possible
• don’t update drivers the day of show

• spare cables
• spare switch (for large FB4 rigs)
• at least one spare interface path if feasible
• backups of show files on two separate drives
• a printed or offline copy of your cue list and emergency steps

Live shows are less about perfection and more about recovery speed.

Before you scale up your rig, make sure you can confidently answer “yes” to these:

• ✅ I know which version (QuickShow / BEYOND tier) matches my projector count
• ✅ I have one interface path per projector (and it’s labeled)
• ✅ My show PC is SSD-based and configured for performance
• ✅ My network (for FB4) is isolated and structured
• ✅ I tested the full show under real conditions (not just a quick desk test)
• ✅ I have backups and a recovery plan if something drops mid-show

If you want, you can share your target projector count + venue type + whether you’re using FB3 or FB4, and a supplier can help tailor a “best-practice spec” section (PC baseline + network layout + recommended version) that fits your exact use case.