Eh, we're moving away from having hundreds of faders, but I don't think we're really moving to a place with no faders. The
Ion dosen't sell with faders, but everyone is going to buy a
fader wing
To quote the
Ion spec's:
- Up to 240 submasters
- Up to 30 playbacks - That's a new definition in the spec's and is a clue as to where
ETC is going with the
fader wings and what the
Ion processor can handle
- Up to 6
fader wings.
The
fader wings come as a 1x20 that can sit on the top of the
console, a 2x10 or 2x20.
ETC obviously believes that people still need a lot of
manual handles.
Strand does as well witnessing the
current Sub
Palette,
Preset Palette,
etc... I'm guessing that there's a lot of TV studios that use a lot of handles, as example.
One of the issues
ETC is still dealing with (according to what I've read on the
ETC Users Forum) in the early software versions is how to deal with configuring the playbacks. The wings (at least the 2x10 and 2x20) can
plug via the USB ports and have an external
power supply. This lets the
wing operate remotely from the
console via a gateway. Another method is to remove the side panels of the
console and
fader wing and attach using the electrical connections hidden under the side panels. The stand-alone USB connection method is currently problematic as they are still writing the software to figure our how to assign the playbacks and how the
console recognizes the panels when plugged directly to the
console via USB. Future
release.
In any event, that's a LOT of playbacks and submasters - more then an Insight. Managing those submasters is one of the issues I'm currently trying to get the
ETC folks to think about (as if they don't already have their hands full), as it's my belief that a lot of folks will want
Express 48 replacements, even if the days of 2 scene are really over - and that may well be the case.
I am currently doing a lot of soul searching as to how I'm going to do what I do without 2 scene and in truth I may well be building a lot of looks, which having all those submasters allows. But I still am of the belief that a
manual channel control with a label, either an
LCD panel, or a white tape with a name on it, is a faster method of programming then even a touch
screen that allows me to select an individual or groups of channels, With the touch
screen I still need a
magic sheet as reference. With the tape and label "Fnt Wrm DR" next to the handle I simply grab and slide.
So I'm one of those folks that needs
manual control.
Steve Bailey
Brooklyn College