Hog vs GrandMA?

[jrdeamicis]

yeah Boots was awesome to work with, and it was last October, and he was traveling with it so didn't run off our Expression 3 (don't blame him really) it was for their xmas tour last year.. as for the Jands we've used it a couple of times and it's Linux based which is really nice even though I've seen it do a kind of crash once.. it's really cool how you can literally drag and drop to assign buttons, faders, etc. on the main screen to set up the whole console in a matter of minutes.. it makes it really easy to run a show on the fly.

How funny, he hit my theater for the x-mas tour also.

There is something VERY un-nerving about a board that crashes. I want them to work out some of the issues and make it just a great board.

And of course there is always the MA sitting there, holding its place in the high end world.

 

[TimMiller]

I want to say the hog III is acutally linux based, if i remember what brad told me correctly.

 

[rosebudld]

Yeah it was weird.. every light kept on doing to same program, but the board crashed.. surprised since it was Linux based.. and yeah the MA is just awesome..

 

[rosebudld]

I want to say the hog III is acutally linux based, if i remember what brad told me correctly.

I thought it was Windows embedded.. I'll check again..

 

[SerraAva]

Hog III is Linux. Road Hog, Road Hog Full Boar, Hog IPC, and Hog PC are all Windows.

 

[thenelsontwins]

GEEARGH!

I think we all know my thoughts on the HOG III (II, ipc, road hog, whatever).

But at the risk of angering everyone on here and their delicate sensibilities, I will go ahead and beg all of you to stop promoting the HOG in any of its incarnations. (ha, I know, let the hate mail begin)

It makes me die inside a little each time. Worst...desks...ever. They were garbage in 1995 as the HOG500/1000 and they are still garbage today.

If those are your two choices... then the Grand MA all the way.

Of course, I am a total sucker for the Jands Vista, which the S1 control surface would be perfect for your application, but of course, I invite an onslaught of criticism upon myself for outwardly hating all things HOG related.

 

[TechiGoz]

Hi All

Not sure if this post has been answered fully, but I just wanted to throw my two cents in.

I've used both Hog and MA, actually started with Hog, and used both their PC versions for shows. I am now a full time, nothing else, MA user. It wins hands down. Sure it may not have 1 or two features that the Hog has, but thats all been fixed in the MA Series 2.

For functionality, reliability, flexability and the ethernet/fiber backbones you can build with it, MA wins and walks all over hog. Thats my opinion anyway.

So if you haven't bought your console yet, enjoy the wonders of MA and go grab one!

 

[iLightTheStage]

Personally, I like the GrandMA MUCH better than the hog. Much more power behind it. I've taken both Hog and GrandMA classes, and after the GrandMA class, that's all I want to use, although because of budgets, I'm very often stuck with an iPC.

If you get an NSP for the MA dmx interface, it handles the calculations for broadcasting the DMX, so it is less strain on your computer's processor. You are basically attaching another computer to your laptop to help it out.

I would highly recommend just getting an actual desk (grandMA pico or lite) and make it available for rental when you aren't using it. Making subrentals of it to rental shops can help offset the cost of ownership.

 

[hercthx]

So, questions of price aside, who recommends what, and why?
hello i am a board operater fo the tv show Stargate, We had been running grand ma's but lately we here have been running a hog 3 on all our stages, during the last season of stargate atlantis we ran both a grand ma and a hog 3. and we have found that when it comes to runing a show with the programing "in the can" so to speak that the grand ma performs quite well, however when it comes to on the fly programming the hog 3 does produce the lighting state you need much quicker.
on a tv show i am pretty much programing and updating live all day as we go thru the scenes, and as time is money they want me to be able to produce different lighting states constantly as fast as possible. after switching from a grand ma to a hog 3 i found that my programing times have been almost halved! what used to take me 15-20 mins to set up, now only take me 10-15mins(keeping in mind that I am lighting a whole **** spacship)! in summary i must conclude that for preprogramed shows grand ma is a wonderfull tool, however for on the fly speed i must tip my hat to the hog 3.

it impressed our d.o.p. so much that after us using a hog for season 1, the hog was demanded and even twinned for season 2. hope this helps

 

[hercthx]

GEEARGH!

I think we all know my thoughts on the HOG III (II, ipc, road hog, whatever).

But at the risk of angering everyone on here and their delicate sensibilities, I will go ahead and beg all of you to stop promoting the HOG in any of its incarnations. (ha, I know, let the hate mail begin)

It makes me die inside a little each time. Worst...desks...ever. They were garbage in 1995 as the HOG500/1000 and they are still garbage today.

no hate mail here!
but actauly back in 95 ther were no hog 500/1000 that was the Jands series 500/600 wich used the hog 1 software platfrom you are refering to and yes they were a pain to work on towards the end of their life cycle however around here the hog 2 was the console of choise if you were not running an avolite or compulite and in some case you were running them together!! accualy as i remember pretty much all the network record tours ( brian adams, Sarah Mc, tragicaly hip, bnl,etc) all used hog 2's, hell at most of the festivals I go to I see the old dogs still running their 2's. the hog 2 keep in the mid to late nintey's was a very powerfull and capable desk.( in fact most notable touring ops ran a hog 2 or pearl or compulite back in the day) but also remember that in the begining the hog 2 was origional designed to be an automated lighting desk so was usualy run in tandum with a conventional desk, it was only thru time that people began to use the hog more and more multipurposfuly. now with the hog 3 you have a hog desk that is more tllted towards multi use.

there is nothing wrong with the grand ma as it is also a very powerful tool but to say that the ma is superiour or to say the same of hog is rediculious. it is tantamount to saying that coke is better then pepsi or vise versa! they are both excelt and top of the line products. that can produce the same result. the decision reall comes down to cost vs. astetics. the hog is less expencive, while the grand ma features more bells and whistles. but both perform to the same standards. please note i am refering to the hog 3 variant only, as the ipc and roadhog are for similar yet different applications.

praising the Hog or the MA is not promotions, different desks work for different people. it really is down to the application. different desks are more suited for different jobs. like having a good wrench some perfer stanley, some mastercraft! so just like back in the day when the argument was avolite vs. compulite vs. hog, the truth was they all worked well its all down to the money you want to spend and the features that you want on hand.

BTW windows, and Coke, are my picks for the other 2 likewised arguments haha

 

[jxgriffi]

I agree with Hercthx....

Consoles ALL do the SAME THING...spit out DMX. It's the interface and the person behind the console that makes all the difference.

Hog/Ma/Vista...whatever. It's purely a personal preference. I have run most of the majors out there...Hog, Ma I and II, Virt, Vista, Avo....and, I always come back to my Hogs. I've been a Hog3 owner for 8 years and for my time and money, I can build fastest on that.

And that's what it comes down to...what are you going to be fastest on and most proficient with? Then that's your console.

I have endured many many many debates about what console is the best. And, the truth, as has been stated, it's all in the eyes of the person sitting behind it. Some people only play with GrandMa's (1 or 2) and won't touch anything else like it's beneath them. Some people are the same with Hogs. I'm being paid as a programmer. When they ask me what desks I know, I tell them. When they ask me what I PREFER, I tell them a Hog3. If they tell me they have an Avo or a Vista or a Ma or whatever, I do my best to learn that console as well as I can to be the best programmer I can for them.

I'm not sure why some people hate Hogs the way that's been described, but I don't see it. I own 3 different Hog setups and have installed many others. Sorry they don't have the fun to run the consoles....

Hope it helps....

 

[kendal69]

My two cents. After reading many, many posts on consoles lately ans I do mean hundreds what I found is people are leaving the HOG systems for a variety of reasons.

GrandMa was my next choice but when I was referred to the GrandM forum I read nothing but problem after problem. Yes I know people generally don't come to a forum to rave about a product but in all my reading I only found trouble questions.

I did a Demo on the Martin M1 and that will be my next console. The touch screen will let you fly through your work and all the built in windows along with the amazing customization is just what I'm looking for.

The product is hitting the shores of the USA as I type.

No I'm affiliated with them.

 

[Robert James]

I am going to try the Hog on PC now but in two weeks I had the MA onPC up and running two Chauvet rogues and two PAR LED's. It also took over the 96 other dimmers my ETC 2496 was already controlling. It was pretty sweet. I connected two monitors to the laptop, vga and usb-to-vga. The latency was normal but not when executing and that I think is key. I am in the same boat between MA vs Hog. If you are near a dealer like AVDB or Barbizon go talk to them. They can even have a quick Demo if you give them a heads up. I borrowed the Chauvets and an MA 2port node 512. That's the dongle to connect to the universe for MA like the Hog DMX usb box. As long as you dont use a patch cable (unless you are networked in). I missed that part in the setup. I was amazed at how fast and easy the MA was to setup.