PALETTE SOFTWARE 10.6.2 JUST RELEASED!!!

[rschwimmer]

Wanted to let everyone know that we JUST released 10.6.2 yesterday.

Download here: Products | Strand Lighting - A Philips Group Brand

Hot List of Palette OS 10.6.2:

• Cheat Sheets are now included
• Tutorials are now included
• Remote Video Follow is now available
• Playbacks can now function as extra submasters

Check it out everyone. If you have a Palette, and need to update your console, and need a little advice on how to do it, please don't hesitate to ask me!

[NickJones]

Yeah, I saw the email, is this all that's included in the updates, or will the Pallate users on here find that there's a lot more bundled in? And will you support an iPhone RFR?
Nick

[Darthrob13]

My guess would be no.

Try Mote.

R

[fredthe]

Originally Posted by NickJones

And will you support an iPhone RFR?
Nick

They already did. (Though Mote is not official, it seems Strand has been adding the necessary interfaces to support it.) Additionally, with the open interface, our students were running the palette with an iTouch over a year ago...

Strand has gotten the clue that an open interface allows for lots of neat things to be done with the board.

If you've got one (a Palette, that is) what features are you looking for? Strand is very responsive to user feedback. If you don't have one, then I'm not sure why you are even commenting.

-Fred

[gafftaper]

Originally Posted by fredthe

Strand has gotten the clue that an open interface allows for lots of neat things to be done with the board.

There are some cool open source opportunities Strand/Horizon have provided with OpenPalette.org The Strand/Horizon software team has a very "linux-y" view of their program. As Fred said they are very interested in what users are experiencing and what additional features users want.

Originally Posted by fredthe

If you've got one (a Palette, that is) what features are you looking for? Strand is very responsive to user feedback. If you don't have one, then I'm not sure why you are even commenting.

Thanks Fred. There's been a lot of trash talk about Strand Palette consoles around here lately and like you I'm a little tired of it. Those of us who actually own one know they are a pretty sweet console. There is very little functionally you can do on an ETC console that you can't do on a Strand (and vice versa by the way). One of the major differences is that Strand gives you far more options than ETC when it comes to the control surface. There are seven consoles running the same software. You choose the control surface that best fit your needs and budget (prices run from under $4k to over $40k). ETC on the other hand went with three different levels of customizable consoles, each running similar but slightly different software. Both are interesting choices to consider with pros and cons. ETC said, we think it's time for the 2 scene preset console to go away and we are willing to risk some sales to back that up. Strand said... if you want one we'll make it for you with the same software so you can do both. A well informed customer should consider both approaches and decide what makes sense to their need's.

Strand is a major player in the industry and deserves more respect than some have been giving it here. ETC may be in the lead right now in overall sales but that does not mean that Strand somehow sucks or is in trouble. On the contrary, they are in a amazing vortex with a variety of merging technologies at their fingertips thanks to the deep pockets of Phillips. I look for Strand to become more and more of a threat to ETC in the coming years. Consider light fixtures. Go back to every thread on purchasing ERS fixtures around here. Over and over you'll read the same message, "Strand SL's are not very good, buy ETC Source Fours... unless you have a lot of money then step up to Selecons." In the last few months Phillips bought Selecon and the entire Strand ERS product line has been replaced with Selecon products. If Strand can drop the price on Selecon fixed lens fixtures down to compete with ETC... look out. OR consider this: Where is the future of lighting technology currently pointing? LED of course. Who own's the patent on just about everything LED? Color Kinetics another sister company to Strand.

People have criticized Strand in the past because of their customer service, while ETC is glorified as the best. Some say this is the single reason you should choose ETC over Strand. While I agree that ETC has extraordinary customer service, those who have followed my posts here will know that I am VERY happy with the way Strand has handled my problems. It is VERY clear to me that Strand has decided that they need to fix their poor customer service image. Like ETC has done for years, Strand now has a 24 hour tech support line. I've had many e-mails and phone calls with tech support answered quickly and directly. If you have a problem or a question the Strand-Dev.com forums are staffed by the writers of the software. Last year I needed a custom fixture profile created and got it back in less than 8 hours. I can't emphasize enough how happy I am at the way Strand has reacted to get me what I need quickly when I've needed support. But you have to actually OWN one, and contact them to take advantage of what they will do, in order to know these things.

I want to be clear that ETC makes excellent consoles and is the more popular product in the market right now. I'm not at all saying that they are not excellent products However, some people get lost in fan clubs instead of considering the real facts... P.C. vs Mac anyone? Anyone who wants to make an informed decision needs to consider all the options for themselves. Maybe a Strand console will make better sense for you to buy and maybe an ETC will. There are plenty of legitimate reasons to like and buy one console over another. However, hearsay based trash talking and innuendo is immature and unprofessional.

[NickJones]

Don't get angry Gaff, I like Strands.....
I have little experience with the new ones, but the 300/500 series I love and use on a regular basis. They are all hanging in there a lot more than older ETC consoles. And on the 300, the buttons light up! (You would love it here in Aus Gaff, so many Strands! There are 4 Ions and 2 EOSs in the state, its Strand heaven. Plus LSC.)

I love the Open Palette, the CueTip FS is something I sooo want for my next show, and I was aware of the Open Palette HTML RFR thing, but it is unnoficial, and it isn't a shining example of what Strand can do, nor does it have buttons that light up.

Just out of curiosity, how often do updates like this come along? And will you ever give the Strand 300/500 2.8.whatever one last update?

Nick

[DCATTechie]

Originally Posted by fredthe

Additionally, with the open interface, our students were running the palette with an iTouch over a year ago...

...Strand has gotten the clue that an open interface allows for lots of neat things to be done with the board.

Can you elaborate a little more on how to run the palette with a iTouch?

[jmabray]

Originally Posted by gafftaper

People have criticized Strand in the past because of their customer service, while ETC is glorified as the best. Some say this is the single reason you should choose ETC over Strand. While I agree that ETC has extraordinary customer service, those who have followed my posts here will know that I am VERY happy with the way Strand has handled my problems. It is VERY clear to me that Strand has decided that they need to fix their poor customer service image. Like ETC has done for years, Strand now has a 24 hour tech support line. I've had many e-mails and phone calls with tech support answered quickly and directly. If you have a problem or a question the Strand-Dev.com forums are staffed by the writers of the software. Last year I needed a custom fixture profile created and got it back in less than 8 hours. I can't emphasize enough how happy I am at the way Strand has reacted to get me what I need quickly when I've needed support. But you have to actually OWN one, and contact them to take advantage of what they will do, in order to know these things.

The larger problem is that Strand has a long, long, long history of poor customer service that they have to overcome, while ETC has been providing great customer service since their inception. I, for one, am glad that Strand is starting to come back. They have always had a good product, just never the customer support to back it up. If they keep it up, it can be nothing but good for the industry as a whole.

[fredthe]

Originally Posted by DCATTechie

Can you elaborate a little more on how to run the palette with a iTouch?

Our students originally hacked together a quick web interface to do specific things that they needed at the time. (The Palettes have a webserver , through which you can run scripts to drive the board.)

Take a look at mote, which is available at strand-dev.com • View topic - Iphone webapp remote focus unit - mote 0.6 (full) update
Read through the thread, there is a newer verson posted part way through.

-Fred

[NevilleLighting]

I grew up on the Palette when it was just the "Palette" and the size of a piano. I've been a fan of the 500 series too. I have one question about the original post that fascinated me. What is remote video follow?