PLAY - Prima Luce AstrophotographY software

Discover PLAY, the Prima Luce AstrophotographY software.

PLAY is the software for Windows 10/11 and EAGLE computers that PrimaLuceLab developed in order to provide the easiest solution for astrophotography with telescope, camera and other accessories you want to use in your setup. PLAY is not a replacement for great automation astrophotography softwares like Sequence Generator Pro, NINA, Voyager, MaximDL, Prism and others that provide the most advanced features but that are designed for experts. PLAY is the straightforward way for advanced astrophotography allowing you to record great pictures of galaxies, nebulas, star clusters, planets, Moon and Sun without complexity!

PLAY Prima Luce AstrophotographY software v1.6 - main features:

- Connect to PrimaLuceLab devices
- Connect to ASCOM mounts (equatorial)
- Connect to supported Alt-Azi mounts (tested with SkyWatcher AZ-EQ5/AZ-EQ6 and Track The Stars TTS-160 Panther with ASCOM driver updated for 6.6 platform)
- Connect to ASCOM cameras (tested with QHYCCD, ZWO, Atik and QSI cameras with ASCOM driver updated for 6.6 platform)
- Connect to ScopeDome observatory domes provided with ASCOM (tested with ScopeDome Arduino Card ver. 5.5.24)
- FOCUS tab to control SESTO SENSO 2 or ESATTO focusing solutions
- TARGET tab to control mount and rotate ARCO
- CALIBRATE tab to control GIOTTO flat field generator and/or ALTO telescope cover motor
- PREVIEW tab to view real time picture, set capture settings and capture images and calibration files
- Dual telescope mode to control setups with dual focusers, dual rotators, dual flat field generators and dual telescope cover motor
- Multi-language support: English, Italian, German, Spanish, French and Japanese
 

The all-in-one and easy to use platform for your astrophotography.

Instead of requiring you to use many different softwares to control all your devices or a complicated software to make it all work together, PLAY offers an easy to use interface that simplify the capture process of astrophotography images. PLAY offers many features like focus control, mount alignment and goto, target preview, camera rotation, and much more!

As an industry first, automated deep-sky astrophotography with Alt-Az mounts and ARCO rotator.

Not only PLAY allows you to control EQ mounts through their ASCOM driver but it also automates Alt-Az deep-sky astrophotography by taking control of selected Alt-Az mounts (tested with SkyWatcher AZ-EQ5/AZ-EQ6 and Track The Stars TTS-160 Panther) and using ARCO rotator as high resolution field de-rotator! This opens new possibilities in deep-sky objects astrophotography since an Alt-Az mount doesn’t require polar alignment, is not limited by the meridian flip and allows to install multiple parallel telescopes and removing counterweights!

Astronomy camera control to preview image and capture a sequence.

Not only PLAY allows you to connect to PrimaLuceLab devices, but you can also control astronomy cameras provided with ASCOM drivers (compatible with cameras provided with ASCOM driver updated for ASCOM platform 6.6). This way you can decide your acquisition settings, preview the image, stretch the histogram and capture a sequence of images that you can later stack with a dedicated astrophotography processing software.

Take control of your preferred telescope and accessories for astrophotography.

PLAY allows you to configurate your telescope by selecting OTA and mount type by connecting to ASCOM drivers (tested with ASCOM platform 6.6). In order to use PLAY you have to have at least an ESATTO focuser, a SESTO SENSO 2 focusing motor, a GIOTTO flat field generator or an ALTO telescope cover motor and it natively supports ARCO rotator!

Dual-telescope mode: simultaneously control 2 telescopes.

PLAY allows you to control also setups composed by 2 telescopes on a single mount: now you can control 2 optical tubes (OTA1 and OTA2) that have dual focusers, dual rotators, dual flat field generators and dual telescope cover motors! Also the "Connect All" feature allows you to connect to dual telescope setups with just a click of a button.

Multi-language support: English, Italian, German, Spanish, French and Japanese.

PLAY is available in different languages so it's even easier to use. With a simple selector you can select different languages: English, Italian, German, Spanish, French and Japanese. We're also working to add new languages and, if you want to help us to translate in another language, please write us to [email protected].

PLAY - Prima Luce AstrophotographY software: questions and answers.

Q: What PLAY features are available in latest PLAY 1.6?
A: PLAY 1.6 includes the configurator with ASCOM interface, ESATTO and SESTO SENSO 2 support (with ARCO integration), EQ and Alt-Az mounts support with alignment and target pointing, GIOTTO flat field generator control, ALTO telescope cover motor control, astronomy camera control and ScopeDome observatory domes provided with ASCOM (tested with ScopeDome Arduino Card ver. 5.5.24).

Q: How much does PLAY cost?
A: PLAY is free.

Q: Does PLAY work only with the EAGLE computer?
A: PLAY is designed for Windows (tested and developed with Windows 10/11 64bit) so you can install it also in standard computers, not only in the EAGLEs.

Q: Can I use my third party focuser or rotator with PLAY? Can I use PLAY without ESATTO, SESTO SENSO 2, GIOTTO or ALTO?
A: No, PLAY doesn’t support third party focusers or rotators and it requires the use of ESATTO focuser, SESTO SENSO 2 focusing motor, GIOTTO flat field generator or ALTO telescope cover motor.

Q: What Alt-Az mounts can I use for Alt-Az astrophotography with PLAY?
A: Alt-Az deep-sky astrophotography feature in PLAY has been tested with SkyWatcher AZ-EQ5/AZ-EQ6 and Track The Stars TTS-160 Panther mounts and it requires the use of the ARCO rotator.

Q: Does PLAY replace astrophotography automation softwares?
A: Astrophotography automation suites offer more advanced features and are designed for expert users. PLAY offers an easier solution for beginners or for astronomers searching for an easier way for astrophotography.