Kilkenny,
The good news is there are many other folks in your exact same position, so don't feel bad! The bad news is there is no clear cut answer to what is best. It's like asking a car enthusiast what car is the best...you're going to get almost as many answers as there are people. So, if you're not sure what you want there is one way that you can approach it that would help narrow down your choices. If you really like a piece of equipment or a technology, check and see if the controller, software, etc supports it. If it doesn't, well your choices just got narrower! If it does, then go on to the next item and so forth. An example would be lighting technology or a video matrix switcher your really like (or can get at a super low price, etc).
--Jamie
The good news is there are many other folks in your exact same position, so don't feel bad! The bad news is there is no clear cut answer to what is best. It's like asking a car enthusiast what car is the best...you're going to get almost as many answers as there are people. So, if you're not sure what you want there is one way that you can approach it that would help narrow down your choices. If you really like a piece of equipment or a technology, check and see if the controller, software, etc supports it. If it doesn't, well your choices just got narrower! If it does, then go on to the next item and so forth. An example would be lighting technology or a video matrix switcher your really like (or can get at a super low price, etc).
--Jamie