Hi,
I’m getting a new theater winter 2007 and the system design consists of two racks of C21 dimmers and a Strand Classic Memory Palette. We are fundraising at this point. If we are able to sell naming rights then the lighting budget is going to double and a lot of cool intelligent toys will be in the mix. I've got years of experience working with conventionals and can run an ETC Express with the best of you, but this will be a step up to the big boy toys for me. I've never worked with Ethernet before and my only real experience with DMX is just setting up a gobo rotator and a few I-cues. I'm doing my best reading up on it the topic. (By the way, "Practical DMX" is a great book for those like me with little knowledge of how these things really work).
Anyway, I've got a couple of questions:
1) With ACN being officially accepted by ANSI. Do I need to worry about anything? Should I be excited? Combined with RDM, Will all my new gear be plug and play (or "plug and Pray") by next winter? Is that reality still years away?
2) If I get the big bucks and am allowed to drop $200K on intelligent lighting, the Strand Classic Memory Palette will be way under matched for the gear in the rig. So my first order of business will be a change order on the console. I really like the looks of EOS... I've always been an "ETC guy"... and the future "EOS Jr." to be released next summer might be perfect for my needs and budget. Will that work with the C21's and Strand Ethernet language? Am I stuck with a Strand Console? (I’ll upgrade to one of the new Light Palettes) Is it "possible" but a pain in the butt to run ETC and Strand Ethernet languages together? Does ACN fix this?
3) Nodes, Nodes, Nodes... My theater will be wired with Ethernet ports everywhere. I'm a little unclear on how this makes my life easier. The signal travels via Ethernet cable in the Ethernet protocol throughout the house. I can use good but relatively cheap RJ5 (or 6?) for all these runs. However I have to plug a node onto the end of that and transform it all back to DMX for a run over expensive DMX cables to the instrument. So If I purchase a dozen Selador LED strips, a dozen VL1000's, and two dozen Seachangers... this get's crazy. Do I have a node for each type of intelligent instrument and then run DMX cables all over the place to string them together? Do I buy a node for each instrument and run RJ5 all over the place to a node and then a 1 foot DMX jumper cable? How do YOU deal with the lack of Ethernet jacks on instruments? Will the implementation of RDM help any of this in the next year?
4) I've heard of "DMX over Ethernet" can I run DMX over Ethernet from the node to the instruments and save money on DMX cables? It would be so much better to purchase a spool of RJ5, a crimping tool, and some high quality plugs, than a basket of DMX cables. Am I obsessing too much about the price of DMX cable?
I dream of a world where I can plug an EOS Jr. into two racks of Strand C21's. Then connect an arsenal of VL1000's, Selador Strip lights, and other toys. Fire up the console and it will recognize and talk to everything without me programing all the DMX chanels. Is that going to happen with equipment installed in Fall of 2007?
Thanks for your help.
I’m getting a new theater winter 2007 and the system design consists of two racks of C21 dimmers and a Strand Classic Memory Palette. We are fundraising at this point. If we are able to sell naming rights then the lighting budget is going to double and a lot of cool intelligent toys will be in the mix. I've got years of experience working with conventionals and can run an ETC Express with the best of you, but this will be a step up to the big boy toys for me. I've never worked with Ethernet before and my only real experience with DMX is just setting up a gobo rotator and a few I-cues. I'm doing my best reading up on it the topic. (By the way, "Practical DMX" is a great book for those like me with little knowledge of how these things really work).
Anyway, I've got a couple of questions:
1) With ACN being officially accepted by ANSI. Do I need to worry about anything? Should I be excited? Combined with RDM, Will all my new gear be plug and play (or "plug and Pray") by next winter? Is that reality still years away?
2) If I get the big bucks and am allowed to drop $200K on intelligent lighting, the Strand Classic Memory Palette will be way under matched for the gear in the rig. So my first order of business will be a change order on the console. I really like the looks of EOS... I've always been an "ETC guy"... and the future "EOS Jr." to be released next summer might be perfect for my needs and budget. Will that work with the C21's and Strand Ethernet language? Am I stuck with a Strand Console? (I’ll upgrade to one of the new Light Palettes) Is it "possible" but a pain in the butt to run ETC and Strand Ethernet languages together? Does ACN fix this?
3) Nodes, Nodes, Nodes... My theater will be wired with Ethernet ports everywhere. I'm a little unclear on how this makes my life easier. The signal travels via Ethernet cable in the Ethernet protocol throughout the house. I can use good but relatively cheap RJ5 (or 6?) for all these runs. However I have to plug a node onto the end of that and transform it all back to DMX for a run over expensive DMX cables to the instrument. So If I purchase a dozen Selador LED strips, a dozen VL1000's, and two dozen Seachangers... this get's crazy. Do I have a node for each type of intelligent instrument and then run DMX cables all over the place to string them together? Do I buy a node for each instrument and run RJ5 all over the place to a node and then a 1 foot DMX jumper cable? How do YOU deal with the lack of Ethernet jacks on instruments? Will the implementation of RDM help any of this in the next year?
4) I've heard of "DMX over Ethernet" can I run DMX over Ethernet from the node to the instruments and save money on DMX cables? It would be so much better to purchase a spool of RJ5, a crimping tool, and some high quality plugs, than a basket of DMX cables. Am I obsessing too much about the price of DMX cable?
I dream of a world where I can plug an EOS Jr. into two racks of Strand C21's. Then connect an arsenal of VL1000's, Selador Strip lights, and other toys. Fire up the console and it will recognize and talk to everything without me programing all the DMX chanels. Is that going to happen with equipment installed in Fall of 2007?
Thanks for your help.
Last edited: