Hi All,
I've been asked to help
clear a couple of things up
(and as I was typing this long reply, some others have replied sorry for duplicate data). I'll start with the original list of requirements:
...
I am looking a new lighting
console from
ETC for our TV station. I am Avolites user and we are still using Avolites Titan
system in the
channel but there are some missing functions on the Avo consoles and I want to use more effective
console. Avo is still working on Windows and actually I am not trusting to Windows based consoles.
Both Cobalt 20 and
Eos Ti are based on a Windows 7 embedded
operating system. This is not a bad thing. It helps push development faster, especially in the offline client side of the world when the programmers don't have to recode the same functions for different platforms. Remember that Windows Embedded is not the same as a fully functional copy of Windows. We customize the Windows portion to what we need and remove the extraneous items that (as it turns out) are the things that usually cause issues for Windows users.
Both Cobalt 20 and
Eos Ti have a
Mac offline program that can be used to edit show data. The
Eos Family also currently has a client capability to view the live
system with a Client
Dongle (sold separately) and the Cobalt Family will also have this ability in a future software
release.
2) Advanced control over internet
Neither
console family is designed to connect directly to the open internet. As @
SteveB said, this is usually a bad idea. That being said, there are other alternatives in your
system design that could give you more options. Why are you looking for this requirement? What is it specifically you are looking for in "advanced control"?
3) Advanced control on LAN
Both Cobalt 20 and
Eos Ti support Net3,
sACN,
ArtNet, and ETCNet2 EDMX output protocols.
Both consoles support remote control via
iRFR/
aRFR apps.
Both consoles support
dimmer feedback from Sensor+, Sensor3, FDX 2000/3000
dimmer racks via the Local Area
Network.
4) No restart need for stable working
The only required restart is after updating software or firmware on both consoles. That being said, we do recommend that you restart either family of
console at least once a month (preferably at least once a week) to help the
system release any unused memory.
5) High quality touch screens
Both Cobalt 20 and
Eos Ti have 17.1" 14-point multi-touch monitors built-in.
(If you can find a function where you need all 14-points, please let me know.)
Both consoles support any Windows 7 compatible touchscreen as external monitors.
Is this question related to
fixture channel selection or
fixture patching?
Given that
fixture personalities are on the list below, I am going to assume the former. Both consoles allow for selection via the touch screens as well as direct
channel recall, group recall, and recall using the selection
button on the master/
submaster.
7) Easy edit (add, remove or edit fixtures from recorded memory or
cue)
"Easy" is going to depend entirely on your preferences. Both consoles provide quick and fast solutions for editing record targets (presets, palettes, cues, groups, subs,
etc...)
Cobalt 20 has 20 motorized master faders that can be assigned to several different types of content including presets, sequences, groups, channels, parameters, palettes, and more. Up to 999 pages of master settings/assignments may be stored with upto 80 masters active at one time.
Eos Ti has 10 motorized faders which can be assigned as either a
submaster or a
cue list. There are 30 pages of faders and up to 300 faders may be active at one time.
Neither
console has a built-in
UPS. For the cost, space, and weight requirements needed to include it in the
console, it would be more economical to use an off the shelf
UPS.
10) Advanced
fixture database
Both consoles include an advanced
fixture database that is regularly updated both with new software releases as well as interim library updates.
11) Easy creating
fixture personality file
If the
fixture that you have is not in the library, both consoles include the ability to create your own
fixture personality or copy an existing
fixture personality that is close and edit it to the desired settings.
12) Easy backup, and
restore w/out any lost data or settings
Both consoles allow you to save your show data to the internal drive as well as allowing you to save to an external USB.Cobalt 20 even includes hard keys for Save and Save to USB.
There are certain settings on both consoles that are specific to the
desk that you are operating. Cobalt 20 currently allows you to save these in a separate file that can be restored/loaded on to a different
console and
Eos Ti will include this functionality in a future software
release.
Cobalt 20 supports
RDM natively on the local
DMX ports and via Net3
ACN/
RDM gateways.
Eos Ti supports
RDM via Net3
ACN/
RDM gateways and will support local
RDM in a future software
release.
As stated in question 2 above, neither
console is designed to be connected to the open internet. We believe that the
console, while based on computer technology, should not be thought of as a computer, but as a specialized piece of lighting equipment.
If you just want something that kind of looks like a browser, Cobalt 20's on board help
system is HTML based and includes robust search functionality that is similar to a web search
The Ti doesn't have motorized submasters...? I don't think so. It has ten motorized faders that can control 30 pages of playbacks and submasters. The external wings don't have motorized faders.
Ti does include 10 motorized faders that can be assigned as submasters. There is not currently a motorized
fader wing.