Compare · QLab
The theatre standard on the Mac. The video cue list for the Windows machine next to it.
QLab by Figure 53 is what most theatres mean when they say "cue playback": sound, video and lighting cues in one workspace, from community theatre to Olympic ceremonies. It runs only on macOS. VIIY is video-first and Windows-only, and a lot of what we built — cue numbers, follow actions, timecode, a backup server — was shaped by operators who learned the craft on QLab and needed the same discipline on a PC driving LED walls.
Facts about QLab were read on qlab.app (shop and the Licenses chapter of the QLab 5 documentation) on 4 September 2026.
Side by side
| VIIY 1.0 | QLab 5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | Windows 10/11 | macOS only |
| Price | €399 founding (first 20 operators or until 31 December 2026), then €549 · EU prices include VAT | Core features free · one feature set (e.g. Video) $599 · two sets $1,099 · full $1,399 · rent-to-own $8 / $12 / $15 per day |
| What the licence covers | One working machine plus a backup machine, perpetual | Two activations per licence (main and backup, or two rooms), perpetual |
| Cue list | Cue list with follow / on-end / jump, cue numbers, markers, plus a timeline | The reference implementation: cue lists, groups, fades, pre-waits and post-waits, triggers |
| Audio | Stereo audio on the layer or as a separate track; no multichannel routing | Up to 64 outputs, matrix routing, effects — the strongest part of the product |
| Lighting | Video to fixtures: pixel mapping over Art-Net and sACN, MVR import; DMX in as a parameter source | Lighting cues to DMX fixtures (licence lifts the 16-address limit); not video-to-pixel mapping |
| Video outputs | Any number of monitors, DeckLink SDI, AJA (preview), NDI, Spout; 10-bit | Displays, NDI, Syphon, Blackmagic devices |
| Mapping | Slices, corner pin, mesh warp, edge blend, camera calibration | Corner pin, edge blending, surfaces |
| Timecode and control | SMPTE (LTC) and MTC in, MTC out, OSC in and out, MIDI learn, DMX in, built-in MCP server | MTC and LTC in, OSC, MIDI, MIDI Show Control, scripting |
| Backup during the show | Backup server receives the show over the network and takes over on failure | Second activation allowed; syncing and switching are manual or via third-party tools |
| Live sources | Cameras and capture cards, DeckLink and AJA in, NDI in, Spout in, a matrix router | Camera cues from capture devices, NDI |
| AI | AI Showbuilder from a brief; the assistant writes ISF shaders in the app; MCP server | — |
| Track record | Released September 2026 | Two decades, the default in theatre education |
Which one
Plays with complex audio routing, a Mac in the booth, a crew that already speaks QLab. Nothing on Windows matches its audio cues.
LED walls, projection, multiple outputs from a Windows PC, timecode from the desk, a backup that syncs itself. Pixel mapping when the video must reach the fixtures.
QLab fires VIIY cues over OSC, or both follow the same LTC. Many booths run a Mac for sound and a PC for video already.