There may well be an effects generator, but the term: Effects Engine™ is a trademark of FPS/HES.
Last edited:
There may well be an effects generator, but the term: Effects Engine™ is a trademark of FPS/HES.
Color actually deals with the color that the fixture comes with. It is part of the library information about the fixture. If you want to change the color in the fixture, you can always edit the color wheel information about that particular fixture and have it available on your encoders. If your fixture is a CYM color mixing fixture, you have full access to a color picker as well as a full Gel library. Meaning you can tell your CYM fixture to mix to R80 to match an blue wash that you have on stage and it will match it.
All four gel company lines as well as several ways of looking at the color spectrum are available to you in the color picker. Plus the goofy upload a picture feature... not sure why that's so cool but it's there. You can text search Manufacturer's gel book type in Pink and every gel with the word pink will appear from the selected manufacturer. My trainer kept stressing that the console only cares about the end result color. Everything else just gets manipulated by the software to that color.
By the way I'm not trying to start a console feature war with you Jmabray. It's actually quite fascinating to me how similar Ion and Palette really are. It sounds like more than ever before it's going to be a case where you need to sit down and try out both consoles to see what you like best as the software will do very similar things.
It'll also be interesting to see how the software updates play out. If Strand really does keep releasing new software every few months (as my trainer thought would happen) and ETC does the same we could have a very rapidly evolving group of consoles here. Let's face it for the first time the desk is no longer particularly important, it's all about the computer inside and it's software. We could see a rapidly changing console with a variety of new features and abilities ever few months. One manufacturer comes out with a cool concept what's to stop the other from adding it into their next update. Things could get really tough for the manufacturers to compete but the result could be great for the consumers. How many years have we hated a particular feature of a console but been stuck with it in the past. Now we are looking at a world where if you get enough of your friends to request a console feature it can be added in the next software update. That's Very cool.
If I correctly understand your use of the word "desk" to mean "physical user/programmer/operator interface," I couldn't disagree with you more vehemently. Once I've learned where all of a console's buttons, switches, wheels, faders, and encoders are located, and what each does, I don't want any changes. New features added in software updates are acceptable and desirable, as long as the prior functions and methods of the console don't change. I don't want buttons re-labeled or re-purposed.Let's face it for the first time the desk is no longer particularly important, it's all about the computer inside and it's software. We could see a rapidly changing console with a variety of new features and abilities ever few months. One manufacturer comes out with a cool concept what's to stop the other from adding it into their next update.
Derek - I think that you and gaff are actually saying the same things. His point was, I think, that both of the major theatrical manufacturers are going to have pretty much the exact same features now, where as that wasn't really the case in the past. That it is all about the interface now. In the past the 300 series, for instance, did a some things that the express wouldn't do. Now, with consoles more and more being software driven, that wouldn't be the case as often (or for very long).
This looks like a signifigant oversight on someone's part...
This looks like a signifigant oversight on someone's part...
When the local HS did it's theater rebuild (completed almost a year ago) with a Strand Light Palette, the spec from the theater consultant included the PoE unit. (The spec was actually written for ETC gear, but they ended up with Strand.) Either the consultant, or the dealer should have caught this.
One question to ask... how do they expect you (or whoever is responsible) to sign-off that the nodes are functional as delivered. Perhaps you should just report them as defective, since they clearly don't work as delivered
Oh, and they've already used the trick of "lying" to the console on several shows... works great!
I was warned by my local Strand sales rep about the PoE need but we assumed that there would be a PoE Router in the system that would take care of the problem. On the flip side if the nodes are cut from the package there's no need to pay twice as much for a PoE router. So I got the squeeze in the middle. No one I can really complain to about it. Other than to say in general it's silly to sell them without the power supply in the first place.
I have to agree and disagree with Mr. Lincecum. Yes, my Ward-Leonard 60 dimmer, 5 scene preset, which required 4 people to run, was a great educational tool, but I see no need what so ever for any two-scene preset system today. The Insight3x remains one of my favorite ETC consoles. Why limit oneself to one channel per handle, when that handle can be a submaster, look, or cuestack? I've busked many a show on a HogII using the wing as a single-scene preset. Give the Concert LD all his PAR Washes on the wing and I do the movers on the main. If he's nice to me, I'll even let him push the [DBO] key sometimes....All to get a console that has manual handles, a concept that David Lincecum, the Marketing Manager at ETC commented on, on the ETC Consoles Forum - snip:
"The ultimate decision - supported by market research - was that 2 scene mode is primarily a teaching tool on any system over 24 channels. Now granted - 24 channels is a debated point - but that was the decision. We ultimately believe that 2 scene mode is more difficult and less dependable on any production over the 24 channel size."
Interesting comment.
The [Pig] key is one of the most used. It acts as a modifier when held while pressing another key, just like [shift] or [ctrl] on a personal computer. Keep trying.You talking about the "flying pig" key Derek? It did....something, but I sure as hell never used it.
This isn't really true at all. Why? USB. Plain and simple. As we talked about earlier in the thread, both ETC and Strand are working to add the features that the end user wants into the software. So, if enough Strand users wanted wings all Strand would have to do is produce the wing and update the software.That brings us back somewhat to the original topic and where Strand is heading, as it's my opinion that the Strand console series forces the user to lock themselves in to a particular type of console - 120 subs, OR, 48 ch. 2 scene OR Classic cueing console OR ML control. Seemingly a step backwards to the features that Marquee offered with it's add-on wing panels added to a basic console series, so it will be interesting to see which console manufacturer ends up with the next generation high school market.
Steve B.
This isn't really true at all. Why? USB. Plain and simple. As we talked about earlier in the thread, both ETC and Strand are working to add the features that the end user wants into the software. So, if enough Strand users wanted wings all Strand would have to do is produce the wing and update the software.
On the other hand, ETC is saying the user has two choices, EOS or ION. ION has no standard faders, you HAVE to buy a wing if you want faders. EOS has 10 faders, if you want more you have to buy ION wings for it.
Then if we look back at Strand and all the choices, all have at least 12 faders, and all have a keypad. If you want 128 faders and the functionality of a normal cue stack, you can have that on the SubPalette. It is all the same software (and yes, I know that EOS and ION run the same software too).
I think the big thing is that as shows (even in high schools) get more complex, it is getting less feasible to run them without recording cues. I am not arguing for or against either manufacturer, just pointing out facts. Also pointing out that yeah, I think the era of the physical faders is declining.
Also have to say that my wireless PDA RFU kicks ETC's cordless phone remote butt! I have basic keypad control, submaster control, view of the instrument grid of what's on, cue playback control, an instrument check feature that turns them all on in order, even a flash instrument feature. Lot's of cool things. I know ETC's logic is that if you drop the PDA it's real expensive to replace. Where you can always get a phone for $20. But those phone's have such limited features. Last I heard it sounded like ETC was going to stay phone only on some of their consoles. Is that right?
"The ultimate decision - supported by market research - was that 2 scene mode is primarily a teaching tool on any system over 24 channels. Now granted - 24 channels is a debated point - but that was the decision. We ultimately believe that 2 scene mode is more difficult and less dependable on any production over the 24 channel size."
One caution though, at least with ETC devices, is to isolate and label the PoE ports from any standard port and to have the ability to patch the ports to and from the PoE and the regular non-powered ports so as to not attempt a connection into the network on a powered port with a device that doesn't want to see power - such as a laptop.
We use essential cookies to make this site work, and optional cookies to enhance your experience.