What am I thinking? What are you thinking? : SmartFade ML

LDI Preview Part 1

dlincecum — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:19:00 GMT

We are getting close to LDI and I thought I would share with you all what we have up our sleeves this year.

First off - a great product, SmartSoft. SmartSoft is a software package companion for SmartFade ML (and soon SmartFade) that allows you to have video display (and much more) with your SmartFade ML. You're going to like this!

SmartSoft was designed by Adam Benette - creator of the ML console. The Software was done by Lars Wernlund - also knwon for his great product Capture. Anders Ekvall is the software developer for Congo, SmartFade and SmartFade ML.

SmartSoft boots fast and looks good. Cleanly designed screens make it easy to see your data and it runs on fairly weak PC's. Only real requirement is windows (for now) and a 1280x1064 display. Connect SmartFade to your ML console via USB and your off to the races.

You can click all the images below to get full size screens.

The display above will be best for working in offline mode. You get the controls you need most often and a cue list for the stack. A series of tabs across the top allow you to navigate to different screens. You also get labelling of the device and channel names. The faders at the bottom work live and interact with the connected desk.

The above image is of the Palettes tab. You can view and edit palette data in this screen. When you view the full image notice that you get a pan/tilt position indicator. Color palettes also show the approximate CMY mixture. Change the values in this screen by clicking on them - the Color will change too!

The patch tab is another cool one. You can see the 2 DMX ports in a field and channel and device indicators above. You can drag intensity channels to any address - or any DMX address can be dragged to a channel. Best of all you can drag a device to any DMX address and get the pop up as shown below to select your device. The entire Carallon library, over 1,000 devices, is included and you create your own devices as well.

This is a great feature for setting up shows in advance. SmartSoft also has a main output display that shows intensity and parameter values.

This display would most likely be used for running and programming live.

The pages tab is used to see and label content on the various memory pages. You get labelling here to see what the actual content is. This is a great way to keep track of a lot of memories.

There are dedicated screens for editting memories and sequences. It is really easy to insert and delete steps and you can see exactly what is going to happen next. The image below shows a sequence ready to be editted.

SmartSoft is a great addition to the SmartFade line. It will initially work with SmartFade ML only, but regular SmartFade users will get the benefits in early 2008.

Best of all - IT IS FREE. SmartSoft will be on display at LDI. We will be starting a public beta of SmartSoft in November open to all ETC Forum registered users. If you own an ML - look for the beta soon. If you don't own an ML - look for the beta - download - you'll want to buy an ML.

Any questions? Post them here as comments.

PLASA - DAY 1

dlincecum — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 22:57:00 GMT

I say DAY 1 because it is a 4 day show. That is not an easy thing. As someone who believes all trade shows should be 2 days, I must object.

Oh well. The ETC stand was as busy as ever - although many of us commented that it was not as busy as usual. Sunday is known as a day for tire kickers. The professional crowd comes during the week - when they are on payroll.

The demos went non-stop though as people paraded in to see Eos, Congo and Smartfade ML. I will feature more on our new products tomorrow.

Ofcourse today I was cruising the competition stands and really enjoying watching them work on their products. I also visited good friends of the family.

Lars and Lasse at the Capture stand.

Yngve continues the long debut of the E.go system!

Fred Foster and Lennart Knauf discuss the future of the E.go system.

Sarah Clausen and Oskar Krogell at the end of a long day of demos.

Dennis Varian converts Congo developer Bullen Lagerbielke to an Eos man. Bullen points out a small detail.

No need for alarm Dennis - remember, he likes things backwards.

Erik Larsen keeps the Sensor rack from falling onto Mike Wood.

Quite frankly there was very little noise today. Nothing really big to report on. Happy crowds, lots of food served and tired feet. I'll try to report more on the new innovations of the show tomorrow.

David

I've been quiet lately

dlincecum — Fri, 25 May 2007 01:24:00 GMT

Yes - it's true. The beginnings of summer in Wisconsin have quieted me. Actually I have been busy readying the launch of SmartFade ML. Did a short demo for Jackie Tien and David Barbour of Light and Sound America today. They were in the Mad city for a pilgimage to ETC and I spent a few minutes with them. They seemed to like the desk - but we'll see what they say!

There has been a lot of talk around ETC about training lately. How will we effectively train our reps, distributors, dealers and customers to use a completely new range of controls products we have been launching? I mean there has been a complete changeover here and there is a lot of need for knowledge to spread out around the world. What is your view on training? We have a task force headed up by Sarah Spencer Danke to form a better plan for training.

I am personally the big advocate for a heavy focus on electronic training tools. The past week found me making training videos for the SmartFade ML that ships next week. You can watch them here. My view is that this type of training is the base essential for virtually every product and that in-person training comes after this tool has been used. In-person training is expensive for the customer and costly for ETC as well. It is essential for many people - but we find that it never comes at the right time - the right people are often not present - someone is always missing - and the trainees retain a low percentage of the training if they were previously unfamiliar with the product.

I feel that a customer is far more likely to retain in-person training knowledge if they have already learned online and then continue to review information online afterwards. Agree or Disagree? This is your chnace to sound off.

I off to the North Woods for a few days. I plan to fish and ski for Memorial day and then spend a couple of extra days in seclusion finishing the SmartFade training series. Please let me know your thoughts.

USITT is open

dlincecum — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 17:39:00 GMT

Nothing like a trade show to test your patience and willingness to persevere!

This morning we went from this

To This

In 1 hour!

Yes - late breaking software mean't relabelling some buttons on the new Smartfade ML desks on the booth.

Fortunately we have capable product managers and sales people!

The traditional student rush went as expected. There were no reports of injury. The show floor always feels small after the larger fall shows, but the energy is strong.

My alma mater is back in action and recruiting after struggling to survive hurricane Katrina.

Our stand looks great - although it is packed with product!

David Smith wows the crowd with SmartFade ML. This desk will have a big impact! David has been on the beta test team and he is really happy with the direction it is taking. This is his first official demo!

SO FAR -- So good. We are barely 2 hours in and the fun has just begun! Stay tuned.

David

USITT This week

dlincecum — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 01:20:00 GMT

I'll be traveling to Phoenix Az this week for USITT. I will begin providing trade show coverage by Thursday - so stay tuned to see how the crowds in the desert like the SmartFade ML, Eos and the whole Complete Control concept. Should be a good time.

It will be 92 degrees when I step off the plane! Oh yeah! We are ready for spring here in Wisconsin, seeing 55 this past weekend, but 92 means short sleeves.

I am looking forward to seeing old friends and watching the folks on the stand have fun. Always a favorite show for me. I love to watch the students interacting and learning. Also making time for a little golf!

Stop by to see us - and check back here for daily show updates.

David

Get Smart, Get Moving!

dlincecum — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 01:08:00 GMT

I alluded to this last week. We have another new desk to discuss.

Building on the acceptance of Smartfade, we have tailored ML to run moving lights. A few items - right off the bat, because you are wondering - it handles 24 moving lights and 48 dimmers channels over 2 DMX ports. It allows you to run your show "hands on" using faders, or using a cue stack. It handles moving lights in powerful - yet very accessible ways - in the same desk.

I believe a college student running their first show and a "weekend warrior" earning a living on corporate gigs, fashion shows or tent events will be able to enjoy the desk equally. We packed a lot into this small form factor and that is what I mean by VALUE. This desk smacks of it!

What have we done for beginners? For starters - patching lights is very simple and the included library is immense - the same library you'll find in our larger consoles. One patched the moving fixtures will immediately move to home positions- ready for the lamp to come on.

The 24 buttons in the upper left of the desk are "direct selects." In the default mode you use them to select fixtures. Later they can be re-purposed to select color/beam and position palettes, effects and more. They are RGB backlit and will always indicate the color of their associated fixtures(!)

Next - you'll find the faders on the desk are also "multi-purposed." In their default mode they will map to the first 24 parameters for the ML's. Yes - this means you can control pan/tilt and other parameters for selected fixtures using encoders. It works really well and you have 24 parameters at your fingertips. Now if this sounds disgusting to you - 1. Give it a look, you may be surprised, 2. you can use the encoders to do the parameter control just as well - so don't snub the desk yet.

For the advanced and beginner users alike we offer Hue/Saturation color mixing. Set the Hue to red, adjust the saturation down to get pink! Great for those who are not CMY savvy as well as those who are. (Of course CMY and RGB are available via the encoders!)

Built in effects are available - both shape effects for pan/tilt as well as single parameter chase effects. The effects can be applied over static looks and get recorded to the cue stack or the fader based memories. They are easy to use.

SmartFade ML does not require a monitor -- but, for those who wish to see their data on screen as well as onstage - we will be releasing a software package that will allow for data viewing AND much more. Look for more on that later.

You can see SmartFade ML at the USITT trade show, March 15-17 or at Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt Germany, March 28 - 31. Look for more information online here. We plan to ship the product by June 1.

Smartfade ML represents value. More value to come in 2007!

David