Light Minds Think Alike

It takes a village to raise a website

I'm overdue to say "thank you" to some people.

Specifically, "those people" being all the ETC staff, customers, end users that have ever stopped to say, "hey, this thing on your website isn't, or at least doesn't seem, quite right. can you fix it?" Some of those commenters have been bashful about raising these questions, but I can assure you that your feedback is invaluable and that we appreciate it.

Our website contains tens of thousands of unique pages and documents (since January 1, there have been over 119,000 unique pages served up about 3.7 million times on etcconnect.com - an admittedly inflated number that includes any unique keyword search, which isn't really a page, but still, it's a big site)...and there are just two people here at ETC who are full-time responsible for web-related work. Without the handful of people in the company that have at least part-time web responsibilities - from backend development to download posting - and the many other good Samaritans who call or email when they spot some newly-out-of-date or maybe-it's-always-been-a-little-inaccurate content, we'd labor to see and fix everything that needs fixing.

So, again, thank you for your help and diligence and shared interest in making etcconnect.com as accurate and reliable as can be!

Congo v6 Software now available!

A new software version – v6 – for Congo® and Congo jr consoles is now available! The v6 software contains a host of new features and changes to the internal structure of Congo, making it even more flexible for both traditional theatre-style and on-the-fly applications.

New Image Effects
ETC has added another powerful effect type to Congo: Image Effects. Image Effects use the Effect Playback concept from Congo v5 software to associate a layout of channels (which creates a graphical or positional relationship among included channels) with a source image or text. Parameters of the Effect Playback include positioning of the image on the layout, scale and aspect of that image/text, rotation, and effects like constant rotation, scaling or scrolling. Multiple effect playbacks allow for layered image effects.

Jam Mode
ETC has done a lot of work on Jam mode, making it easier for users to determine what data gets generated and where that data ends up in a play file. Users can also regenerate data quickly using the new Jam Mode Wizard. For those who like to experiment, we’ve added in Two Scene Masters where users can create a look “blind” using the top row of masters, then fade into that look in time using the Master Controls. The scene created on the top row of masters becomes “live” on the bottom row of masters, where additional adjustments can be made on the fly. This powerful feature of Congo v6 makes busking a breeze.

Masters
ETC has increased the number of Master Playbacks to 80 and made a lot of changes to the Masters, allowing once-global settings to be applied per master – including rubberbanding and exclude-from-record. And, there are new settings, such as the ability to choose what look a rubberbanding master returns to – this can be the previous state, or back to the main playback, or to a designated preset. Also improved is the Masters display and dock, allowing users to see a lot more information about the masters, including more steps of a sequence on a master.

Learn Profile
ETC has improved playback by incorporating the ability to learn a fade profile for crossfades in the Main Playback. Simply enable “Learn Profile” on a soft key and then move the faders in the manner you want the crossfade to happen. Also new is an indication of the current playback location (what’s in A and B) within the Sequence List editor.

Channel Views
The channel views have changed, giving users more options for the amount of information that is displayed within a channel box. There is also a new set of symbols in the Channel Layouts supporting more TV/film fixtures and adding special-purpose symbols as well. Now users can even draw circles!

Blind Editing
ETC also changed the way that blind editing is done, allowing for live moving-light controls to be used within blind views. This means that instead of using spreadsheet-style editing, users can view blind data and move encoders, use direct selects and other keyboard commands to select channels and enter data directly, as in Live.

New Docks
A number of new docks have been added, including the Designer Summary dock that collects important data about the main playback and/or selected channels and puts it in one compact location on-screen. A Timecode dock displaying a large clock for internal or external time code has been included. It enhances Congo’s functionality with support of the Net3™ Show Control Gateway for interaction with MIDI and SMPTE on the network, as well as adding an internal backup clock within Congo itself. There is also a new Selected – Live dock that shows the channels and effect playbacks users select in the Live tab.


Structural Changes
Congo has undergone some major structural changes including more Preset numbers – from 0.001 to 9999.999 – making it easier to organize shows that use multiple sequences. Also, finer timing resolution under ten seconds is now possible – 0.01 to 9.99 seconds. Lastly, 16-Bit intensity is now supported, providing improved control of automated fixtures and accessories that utilize high-resolution motor control and improved mastering of LED fixtures that use 16-bit color parameters.


View the Congo v6 movie at www.etcconnect.com/Congov6 .

Congo v6 software is available as a free download at www.etcconnect.com .

Wiki breakthrough…what we wanted in 1995

During my entire stint at ETC my good friend David North and I have always done a good bit of complaining about how we record and store information about our products. At first it was more about how to get info out of his BIG, semi-photographic, Electrical Engineer brain and into my tiny, dyslexic, barely graduated from high school, BFA in Production brain but then it was about how to record information for new ETC Service employees who were being hired at an alarming rate throughout the late 1990’s. What is an SD dimmer? How do I do an I3M upgrade and what is an I3M? DAS…I don’t know anything about DAS…what do you mean you cannot field program the system. I bought a Q119 from you guys and put it into my Colortran D192 rack but only 1 of the 2 dimmers is working…Um….. and the racks are pre-production Beta. Okay this last one was me calling David North in 1992 while I was at NSCA and he was the repair tech at Stageworks Lighting in Raleigh, NC but the fact remained that it was very difficult for someone who never even worked with an LMI dimming rack to provide ‘expert’ support to ETC customers calling for help.  

The first way that the ETC Service Department dealt with ‘knowledge issue’ was to build massive product binders for each phone support tech. When someone new started they were given about 10 3-ring binders with manuals and drawings. Slowly each individual would add things to their binders so that they could reference them when needed. Of course this did not help with the sharing of information between service employees. It did not do anyone else good that I had an excellent mark-up sheet of the I3M upgrade process in my binder…at my desk…which got moved every 3 months or so.

The next step was to invest in ‘Knowledge Base’ software program. Tony Romain and David North settled on a nice product and now everyone in the department was being told to start putting info into the database. This would be great. Not only could we share info internally, but we could publish info for our Service Providers and End-Users. Well…it was great…kind of. In the beginning we found the most challenging thing was to edit the info for accuracy and ensure that ‘internal use info’ was kept separate from ‘public use info’. This task fell to me for many years and was quite time consuming. In the end we did manage to get a version onto the Service Technician Pages of etcconnect.com….the 2^nd generation of which is still in use today and is now also available to all users of the site.

Mike does Wiki….The whole reason I decided to spend my working time today writing about all of this is because I spent my working time yesterday playing with the ETC Wiki Page (I’m sure to get mail form Fred Foster, Dick Titus or the always lovely Sarah Danke about why I’m not spending more time working during my working time). But let me tell them why, THE ETC WIKI IS THE GREATEST THING to hit the Technical Service Department since the I3M pin extraction tool. I know that a number of people have had a hand in making this happen but the largest leap has come over this summer as Technical Service employee a summer intern to do nothing else but add Wiki pages based on our knowledgebase and other miscellaneous technical information that was floating around the company. I was so inspired that I had to spend the better part of a day play with the Wiki and trying to learn how to add stuff by myself…a little bit of success but I will need some tutoring during my next trip to Middleton.

So…Check it out:

http://www.etcconnect.com/Community/wikis/products/etc-product-wiki-table-of-contents.aspx   

And add your own stuff as well….

Have a good show!

Mike

NY Times covers impact of state finances on college arts programs

Arts Programs in Academia Forced to Nip Here, Adjust There - New York Times, August 9, 2009

"There are no nationwide statistics to reveal whether one discipline is suffering more cuts than others. But administrators at more than a dozen state and private campuses who were interviewed say that the way that arts programs are structured and operated may amplify the effect of reductions."

ETC's home again sits near top of "Best Places to Live" list

I've lived in and around Middleton all my life (that's about 30 years as of this week, if you're curious), so it's with some deal of interest to me when the town shows up on various "Best Places to Live" lists. My personal and professional planets aligned this morning when reading coverage of Middleton's latest ranking in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which featured ETC Test Technician Craig Burfield and his family. Cool.

"Middleton is one of the best places to live - again" - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Buds appearing on long-imagined ETC Product Wiki

I've noticed that David Lincecum, Father of ETC's Online Community, hasn't been his just-on-the-sunny-side-of-giddy self this week. He's been even giddier. While it could be attributed to any number of things - say his recent business trip back to California, or his yoga class with this guy, or Fred's ice cream cart - I'm betting its the recent boom in content on the ETC Product Wiki that really has him smiling. Have you noticed our wiki? Check it out!

We haven't always known precisely where we're headed with the ETC Online Community - and you know, I don't think that's a negative with this kind of initiative. To prove my point, the wiki portion of the Community has been one of those should we/shouldn't we, how about this/how about that, you manage it/no you manage it, maybe today/maybe tomorrow ideas that we've wrestled with for some time. But now, somewhat organically and somewhat opportunistically, the ETC Product Wiki is beginning to find its legs.

Like the forums that have made our Online Community such a huge gathering place for ETC end users, customers, staff and more, I have a feeling we'll soon wonder how we ever got along without our wiki, too.

Good Humor Man

Is it the 95-degree heat, or did I just see Fred riding a bike down the hallway? And was the bike rigged with a freezer full of ice cream bars and a string of bells? And, was he dressed like the Good Humor Man?

Another Periodic Table!

With our Periodic Table of Element still top of mind around here, a link to this periodic table of video game controllers just lept out at me today on Twitter (via @Rands).

Congo v6 Previews at ABTT (London) and Showtech (Berlin) shows in June

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE

So, what have the Congo team been up to since the release of v5 you may ask? Simple – we’ve been busy designing a new version of Congo software we hope will please you. This version – v6 – contains some massive, but subtle (and some not so subtle), changes to the internal structure of Congo making it even more flexible. Here are some highlights:

1)      More Preset numbers – from 0.001 to 9999.999.

2)      Finer timing resolution under 10 seconds – 0.01 to 9.99 seconds now possible.

3)      Increased intensity resolution with the support of 16-bit intensity parameters.

Channel Views

We’ve changed up the channel views a bit by redesigning the way channels are displayed and have given you a lot more options for how much information is displayed within a channel box. We’ve also added a set of new symbols in the Channel Layouts supporting more TV/film fixtures and adding special purpose symbols as well. And you can now draw circles!

Blind Editing

We have also changed the way that blind editing is done, allowing for live moving light controls to be used within blind views. This means that instead of using table editing like one would in a spreadsheet, you can view blind data and move encoders, use direct selects and other keyboard commands to select channels and enter data directly, as you would in Live.

New Docks

We have added a number of new docks including the Designer Summary dock which collects important data about the main playback and/or selected channels and puts it in one compact location on-screen. We’ve added a Timecode dock displaying a large clock for internal or external time code, and have enhanced Congo’s functionality with support of the Net3 Show Control Gateway for interaction with MIDI and SMPTE on the network as well as adding an internal backup clock within Congo itself. There’s also the new Selected – Live dock that shows the channels and effect playbacks you’ve selected in the Live tab

Learn Profile

As for playback improvements, we have added the ability to learn a fade profile for crossfades in the Main Playback. Simply enable “Learn Profile” on a soft key and then move the faders in the manner you want the crossfade to happen. We’ve also added in an indication of the current playback location (what’s in A and B) within the Sequence List editor.

These changes are important for the day-to-day programming of Congo shows, but on the fun side, we have made a lot of improvements for those of you who like to “play” the console more like a musical instrument.

Masters, Masters, Masters...

First, we have increased the number of Master Playbacks to 80 and we’ve made a lot of changes to the Masters, allowing once-global settings to be applied per master – including rubberbanding and exclude-from-record. Also, we’ve added new settings including the ability to choose what look a rubberbanding master returns to – this can be the previous state (as it has been from the beginning of Congo), back to the main playback or to a designated preset. We have also improved the Masters display and dock so that you can see a lot more information about your masters, including more steps of a sequence on a master.

Jam Mode

We have done a lot of work on Jam mode, making it easier for you to determine what data gets generated and where that data ends up in your play. You can also regenerate data quickly using the new Jam Mode Wizard. For those who really like to play their console, we’ve added in Two Scene Masters where you can create a look “blind” using the top row of masters, then fade into that look in time using the Master Controls. The scene you created on the top row of masters becomes “live” on the bottom row of masters where you can make additional adjustments on the fly. This powerful feature of Congo v6 makes busking a breeze.

New Image Effects

Lastly, we’ve added another powerful effect to the Congo – Image Effects. Image Effects use the Effect Playback concept from v5 to associate a layout of channels (which create a graphical or positional relationship among included channels) with a source image or text. Parameters of the Effect Playback include positioning of the image on the layout, scale and aspect of that image/text, rotation, and effects like constant rotation, scaling or scrolling of that image or text.

Where can I see it???

Come and see Congo v6 in action at the ABTT show in London 10-11.June, or at the Showtech show in Berlin 16-18.June. Congo v6 software should be released later this summer.

A new approach, design for Controls on etcconnect.com

We recently made several notable changes to the section of our website dedicated to presenting our Controls products (both Entertainment and Architectural). I wanted to share some of the thought process and strategic planning that went into this project to bring a little extra attention to it and to invite any comments on the changes.

Problems

The project to redesign this section of our website was intended to address several problems. Mainly:

• We had recognized the existence and importance of our product families as a company, and had started to advertise around the idea, but we had not actively promoted these product relationships online. 
• On etcconnect.com, all consoles from all families were treated just about equally, diluting efforts to brand and position our products among one another and against the competition. 
• Our established method of segmenting entertainment and architectural control products just wasn't working.

Approach

You could say that we sought out to address these problems with nothing more than some basic marketing principles - defining our target more precisely and addressing the needs of that target more directly - and you'd be right to an extent. Especially when it comes to our three lines of architectural control systems under the Unison brand, which are well-articulated in their purpose and ideal applications. However, since our two flagship lines of entertainment controls are each functionally appropriate for a wide variety of lighting situations - a fact that the product managers for our controls products are very proud of - it was going to take a broader, more integrated approach to communicate the philosophical differences that could help users decide if they're a better fit for an Eos or Ion or for a Congo or Congo jr. So from a web marketing perspective, we aimed to solve our problems with the following strategies:

• Raise the visibility of our product families, and let their unique personalities shine through.
• Make product pages a true hub of relevant and related content.
• Offer more decision-making resources.

Results

New Entertainment Controls "Product Category" page

New version of this page uses a fast-loading interactive Flash module to allow buyers to explore a little bit about all our product families without having to click through to a new page. Graphics are meant to convey a sense of each families style and personality -  the Congo family as being dynamic, fun, and effects-driven, for instance. Brief positioning copy gives newbies a hint at the strengths of the different products, and subtle visual accents help to distinguish them further. What was the single laundry list of product links is now multiple, short lists grouped by family, making individual products easy to find for repeat visitors. The links have rollover descriptions to help buyers get a little bit of information on consoles before deciding which one to check out. Cross-promotional bits below the product links call out other important news and and product features. An Architectural Control Systems version of this page was launched, too, with a separate navigation item under "Products", which resolves nicely one of three main problems outlined at the start of this post.

New Entertainment Controls "Product Family" page

Improvements to this page included, from the top down, the addition of a breadcrumb navigation; a rotating series of images highlighting the consoles that make up the selected family; a slick new series of tabs that instantly reveal more new content - a useful pop-up intra-family comparison chart, testimonials from actual product owners and users, and links to installation stories that previously had no linked connection whatsoever to the products they featured. Family consoles are obviously featured in a vertical list, with focused, meaningful and easily-digestible descriptions. All content is geared toward helping a buyer figure out if a family feels right, and if so, which of the offerings feels most right for them. Architectural version of this page is currently available for our new Mosaic Show Control family of products.

New Entertainment Controls Product page

With this template, many of the same elements are carried over from the old design, with some usability improvements made along the way. From the top down, again, you see the breadcrumb navigation to allow for easy browsing back to the family - or all the way back to the category page should a user decide to explore a different family; the new product photo gallery auto-rotates, and also offers more obvious buttons to manually do the same thing; a repeat of the positioning headline is followed by small icons that detail some of the core operational concepts associated with each console (we have more in store for these); a row of new links below the hero image links a user for the first time from a product page to the forum for that product on our Online Community; new tab design makes the full extent of product-related content much more obvious - and includes a new "Tech Specs" tab to give buyers a quick look at key facts and figures from our downloadable datasheets; and the potential is now there for really enhancing the description of each console's features.

Reactions?

Of course we're already monitoring our web traffic reports to see how and how often the new pages are being used, and will be continuing to fill in and enhance content (web projects seem to rarely reach a point of being totally "complete", especially when our products are always evolving). For instance, the new Tech Specs and Testimonials pages have been utilized by hundreds of site visitors already, and we expect that we'll be helping more current and potential ETC console operators than ever find our user forums - which would be a huge benefit for everyone.

Quantitative results aside, what are your reactions to these changes?

A rejection letter from Apple . . . more iPhone app fun

Actually it was just a simple red dot followed by the word Rejected. The image below is a screenshot from our account on the app store.

It seems that Apple does not allow any use of a charity as an enticement to buy an App. No references to charity website or logos may exist.We can still offer the two versions and we will tell you about the charities on our own website. The charities will not be named on the App store. Either way, they are both great causes to support.

On a secondary note Apple says we must prove that the app works with our product!  (The Irony is that is does not actually work with many of our products!! See previous post!) We must submit a video of the App working with the product.

First I am struck by the Apple organization. They are really organized around this App business. Walk in to the Apple store and see App logos everywhere. They are really controlling the content on the phones and the quality of the content. I guess I should say "Kudos to Apple!"  But I am somehow left feeling resentful. Like Apple is the front running lemming, leading us all off a cliff!

Ironically this rejection comes on June 4. This morning I noticed this on my Facebook newsfeed. David Neuser (the only person on Facebook still going by Hussein) posted this tribute to the Apple II.

Maybe your asking yourself how the iRFR app developer, Chris Mizerak, took the news?

In his email explaining the situation he pointed out that making a video to prove that the App works only presented the challenge of deciding which finger would be shown setting the levels.

:-)

Life in the fast lane of software . . .

Subtitle ----  What happens when you throw out all process and just do it

A while back we decided that in order to be a cool company we needed an iPhone app.

It was obvious what the app should do - remotely control our consoles of course. But how would we do it? While many may look at ETC from the outside and say "You guys can get that done. Look at all the people you have. Come on - just knock it out quickly and move on," Experience at ETC has shown that these things are much harder to fit in than they appear. Our company president has a saying; "The farther you are from the actual problem, the easier the solution looks." It is very true.

Anyway - a software developer at ETC emerged who would author this little app in his "spare time." He was and is still a hero in his valiant work at "keeping us cool."

It was decided that we would set this up so all the money gets diverted to lighting charities - so it it goes for the good of all our industry. Another great idea and great cool factor.

Next steps - We began to see prototypes and "kind of working" models and then next thing you know us folks in marketing (the root of all public mistakes!) decide to demo the thing at USITT and then we write about it in a newsletter and then a few salespeople with iPhones begin to show it to others and then a banner ad appears.  And then customers want this thing. I mean they really want it. And we don't have it.

Then we start saying things like:

"When is this iPhone app thing done?" 

"Well - there have been some delays and complications."

"But, I heard it was almost done. And what about those complications? What are they?"

"Well it does not work on Eos unless you have this software version which is not released." 

"Wow, bummer. I guess a lot of people are going to download and then be really confused and ultimately PO'd. What else?"

"Well on Congo these things work now - but these things don't and won't until this summer with V6."

"OK - more confusion. We are accustomed to that. Anything else?"

"A few things: We need some written documentation on how to use this thing. Who is doing that?"

"Have we set up our account with the App store?"

"Has our attorney reviewed the Apple contract?"

"How does the money get to the charities?"

"When is this thing finished again?"

"I heard it was almost done"

Well, in the meantime we are getting hammered to produce this thing. If you browse our forums you see a number of threads - some with very unhappy customers because they don't have this app. (It's amazing how indispensable this little app has become prior to its release) There are some complaints because we delayed the release due to [all above mentioned issues.] Complaints because we are charging $49 for the software (which is a giant sum of money in App store dollars.) The app-confusion even resulted in one group of customers feeling "less than" another one! Wow! This is going well for our cool factor!

Welcome to the new software world created by Apple. We had no idea what we were getting in to. The iPhone has changed many things - how people get software - how people value software - how many people use the software. There are a host of articles out recently about people making millions of dollars in the iPhone software industry that has sprung up. At ETC we are accustomed to slowly building apps and then testing the hell out of them and then taking a long time to release them and then watching them slowly trickle out into the market over months. Welcome to the fast lane, ETC! one thing for sure about iPhone apps - people want it and they want it now.

I'll quote one of our forum users who said it best "This has been a really poorly handled process by ETC."  I'll second that motion. We are learning a lot by doing this and we appreciate everyone bearing with us. I knew we were at critical mass when the product managers who work for me started asking things like "Who is product managing this thing?" Answer: "Nobody - and it is showing!"

One thing I have learned - and many of you can learn too. When you are going to develop an iPhone app, DON'T TELL ANYONE UNTIL IT IS REALLY DONE.

David

PS - Latest update ----  I hear that the iRFR is "almost done"

I need some affirmation.

Loyal readers, I - along with others here at ETC - have been working so long on trying to find ways to improve the search capabilities of etcconnect.com, without anything really tangible to show for it. If you've dealt with ETC at all, you know how much we emphasize service, and when we're getting dozens of emails a week from customers and end users who can't find this or that document or piece of software, I feel like we are letting you all down - badly.

I post this today to ask for your continued patience, and if you feel compelled, to also remind me that our search is really as bad as I think and is therefore worth the ongoing setbacks. Or, if you'd rather, point out to me that it's NOT nearly as bad as I think and share your opinion on what other opportunity you see for further improvement of the online ETC experience. You have my attention.

Your second stop at NAB 2009, after ETC

ETC is going to have plenty of sweet new gear to show at NAB 2009 (Selador Series, Element to name a few), but after you stop in at our booth, it might be worth checking out the eye candy at the I-MOVIX stand - if jaw-dropping, hihg-definition, 1000fps video of rugby, fire, cheerleaders and Jell-O interests you at all:

http://vimeo.com/4167288?pg=embed&sec=&hd=1

Energy management via Force

John K sent me this link today that i find really intriguing.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/

It shows a prototype of a switch or dimmer for household use that becomes harder to turn on when another switch is on. The slider has increased resistance based on power usage.

The concept is that you go to turn on a light in your bedroom and it gently reminds you that you have on lights all over the house. I like the idea. I struggle to get my family to manage electrical use in our home. I have even installed timers on switches that often get left on downstairs in the basement. The kids confound me by overriding the timers!

I like the idea presented of setting energy goals for the home and having the very devices that you deal with all the time remind you of the goals. It's not that you can't turn the lights on - but it is harder to do so. A gentle reminder.

I also would like to request the option of making the TV not come on if the lights in my kids rooms are on!  What do you think of these options? The comments from readers on the link above are not too kind. Take a look at a few.

The last guy really takes the cake. "When faced with the choice to save 20 bucks or half a tree ... I'll choose the Jackson everyday."  Why is it that we are not willing to invest in saving energy? Always chasing the dollar.

I wonder if his grandkids will feel the same way? If there are any "half trees" left that is.