Control/Dimming $5k board for lots of LED fixtures

[edinc90]

I come from a traditional fixture world running a whole bunch of dimmers with an Express 24/48. I probably pushed that thing to it's limits as much as I could considering we had no moving lights.

Now I'm in the position to outfit a space with a new board (the Elation Show Designer 2 we have isn't cutting the mustard). We have all LED fixtures, so each one has at least 3 channels, many even more (like 28 channels per fixture for a non mover!) We also have two Elation Design Spot 250 Pros with the option of adding more later. The space is a television studio that shoots everything from political talk shows to rock concerts, so flexibility is key.

We have $5,000 for a board, and I'm a bit out of my element. I was looking at the ETC Ion, which seems like more than what I need, although it is shiny. I have only used the ETC Express and a Lehigh Millennium. Any suggestions?

 

[alyx92]

Welcome to the boards!

I'm not sure how much the current list price is, but look at the Ion's younger brother, the Element. Seems like it would suit your needs pretty well. If you're not doing a lot of moving light stuff, you don't really need some of the Ions features (encoder wheels, etc.), however, when you do need movers, they're simple to program.

 

[techieman33]

How many universes do you need? is 2 universes from the element going to be enough? If your using many 28 channel fixtures you can eat up universes in a hurry.

 

[JChenault]

If you are running a fixed cue list ( ie never busking the show live ). You might want to consider a PC based solution. There are a number out there and they will run much less than $5,000

Our companies product is Plexus. Take a look. It is designed to be simple, powerful, and inexpensive,
GAM PLEXUS©

 

[edinc90]

The Element reminds me of my old Express, and it looks like it hits my price range. How does it handle fixtures with multiple colors. We have some CW/WW/Amber PARs that take up 6 channels as well as the RGBAW 28 channel beasts. I don't want all my physical controls gone before I get halfway through my stage.

We did try an iPad based solution (because iPads are the new thing, I suppose) and it crashed three times before I even got 10 fixtures into it! If Gam has someone in the LA area I'd be interested in seeing a demo of Plexus.

 

[JohnD]

A couple of others to take a look at, if 2 universes are enough you might consider the Cognito:
Pathway Connectivity, an Acuity Brands Company - Cognito Lighting Console
Here is more info from CB:
http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/usitt-2013/31772-pathway-cognito-lighting-console.html
A pc wing that you might find interesting is the Titan Mobile from Avolites:
Titan Mobile

 

[sk8rsdad]

The Element reminds me of my old Express, and it looks like it hits my price range. How does it handle fixtures with multiple colors. We have some CW/WW/Amber PARs that take up 6 channels as well as the RGBAW 28 channel beasts. I don't want all my physical controls gone before I get halfway through my stage.

The top-end Element supports 500 channels and 1024 addresses. If you have fewer than 500 fixtures (or individual cells for multicell fixtures) and they consume no more than 1024 DMX addresses then Element can work. Without an instrument count nobody here is going to be able to assist with the math for you. The 28 channel beasts may have other modes that use fewer DMX addresses. People often use the console effect engine rather than the built-in effects in the fixture.

Element doesn't have native support for multi-cell LEDs (yet). There are workarounds involving treating them as multiple fixtures if individual cell control is required.

 

[JChenault]

The Element reminds me of my old Express, and it looks like it hits my price range. How does it handle fixtures with multiple colors. We have some CW/WW/Amber PARs that take up 6 channels as well as the RGBAW 28 channel beasts. I don't want all my physical controls gone before I get halfway through my stage.

We did try an iPad based solution (because iPads are the new thing, I suppose) and it crashed three times before I even got 10 fixtures into it! If Gam has someone in the LA area I'd be interested in seeing a demo of Plexus.

With Rosco's purchase of GAM I'm not completely sure who is in LA these days. Send me a PM with your contact info and I will try to find someone.

You can download the product and take it for a test drive on your computer. Might be the easiest way.

 

[gafftaper]

I've become a big fan of the Pathway Cognito for a small budget rig. It's got a ton of bang for the buck and is one of the easier consoles out there to work with. Check out the video demo we shot at USITT 2013 in conventions forum.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[JD]

There is some irony that your answer was actually embedded in your first post!

I'm a bit out of my element.

 

[edinc90]

I was watching some Element tutorial videos, and it's looking more and more like a perfect fit. My boss's main complaint is that it uses our entire budget, and it's physically too big.

I have a vendor here who is buying a Cognito and will let us demo it. I need to find an Element that I can demo and show the boss why it's worth it.

 

[gafftaper]

I'm a huge fan of getting demos. The right fit console is more than just specifications to do the job. A console may be awesome to me, but terribly annoying to you. I suggest you try out Element, Cognito, a Strand Palette, and PC solutions like Plexus.

Also don't underestimate the importance of Service in your choice. One of the largest benefits of ETC is they stand behind their products 100%. Strand is doing better than their old reputation. I don't know what to think of Cognito in terms of long term repairs and updates. They are good guys but have not been in the console business long enough to establish a record of what will happen in 5-10 years when they discontinue the product line.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2