Strand has gotten the clue that an open interface allows for lots of neat things to be done with the board.
There are some cool open source opportunities
Strand/Horizon have provided with
OpenPalette.org The
Strand/Horizon software team has a very "linux-y" view of their program. As Fred said they are very interested in what users are experiencing and what additional features users want.
If you've got one (a
Palette, that is) what features are you looking for?
Strand is very responsive to user
feedback. If you don't have one, then I'm not sure why you are even commenting.
Thanks Fred. There's been a lot of trash talk about
Strand Palette consoles around here lately and like you I'm a little tired of it. Those of us who
actually own one know they are a pretty sweet
console. There is very little functionally you can do on an
ETC console that you can't do on a
Strand (and vice versa by the way). One of the major differences is that
Strand gives you far more options than
ETC when it comes to the control surface. There are seven consoles running the same software. You choose the control surface that best fit your needs and budget (prices run from under $4k to over $40k).
ETC on the other
hand went with three different levels of customizable consoles, each running similar but slightly different software. Both are interesting choices to consider with pros and cons.
ETC said, we think it's time for the 2 scene
preset console to go away and we are willing to risk some sales to back that up.
Strand said... if you want one we'll make it for you with the same software so you can do both. A well informed customer should consider both approaches and decide what makes sense to their need's.
Strand is a major player in the industry and deserves more respect than some have been giving it here.
ETC may be in the lead right now in overall sales but that does not mean that
Strand somehow sucks or is in trouble. On the contrary, they are in a amazing vortex with a variety of merging technologies at their fingertips thanks to the deep pockets of Phillips. I look for
Strand to become more and more of a threat to
ETC in the coming years. Consider light fixtures. Go back to every thread on purchasing
ERS fixtures around here. Over and over you'll read the same message, "
Strand SL's are not very good, buy
ETC Source Fours... unless you have a lot of money then step up to Selecons." In the last few months Phillips bought
Selecon and the entire
Strand ERS product
line has been replaced with
Selecon products. If
Strand can
drop the price on
Selecon fixed
lens fixtures down to compete with
ETC... look out. OR consider this: Where is the future of lighting technology currently pointing?
LED of course. Who own's the patent on just about everything
LED? Color Kinetics another sister company to
Strand.
People have criticized
Strand in the past because of their customer service, while
ETC is glorified as the best. Some say this is the single reason you should choose
ETC over
Strand. While I agree that
ETC has extraordinary customer service, those who have followed my posts here will know that I am VERY happy with the way
Strand has handled my problems. It is VERY
clear to me that
Strand has decided that they need to fix their poor customer service
image. Like
ETC has done for years,
Strand now has a 24 hour tech support
line. I've had many e-mails and phone calls with tech support answered quickly and directly. If you have a problem or a question the
Strand-Dev.com forums are staffed by the writers of the software. Last year I needed a custom
fixture profile created and got it back in less than 8 hours. I can't emphasize enough how happy I am at the way
Strand has reacted to get me what I need quickly when I've needed support. But you have to actually OWN one, and contact them to take advantage of what they will do, in order to know these things.
I want to be
clear that
ETC makes excellent consoles and is the more popular product in the market right now. I'm not at all saying that they are not excellent products However, some people get lost in fan clubs instead of considering the real facts... P.C. vs
Mac anyone? Anyone who wants to make an informed decision needs to consider all the options for themselves. Maybe a
Strand console will make better sense for you to buy and maybe an
ETC will. There are plenty of legitimate reasons to like and buy one
console over another. However, hearsay based trash talking and innuendo is immature and unprofessional.
