amBX UK Ltd Preps Debut of amBIENT XC Lighting Controller

If you plan on attending PLASA Show next month in London, be sure to stop by the amBX UK Ltd. booth to preview their latest lighting control system, the amBIENT XC. The one line that has peaked our interest from the press release is…

The product is billed as a radically changing the way in which light and space are designed to create immersive entertainment experiences using light, video and sound.

We are not quite sure how this is a radical change of how lighting and video systems are controlled as it does not mention more then the amBient XC is a stand-alone DMX512 controller powered by amBX technology. The company, amBX is claiming that this new technology is going to be the new standard in creating and delivery an immersive entertainment experience.

The amBIENT XC has a variety of AMbx modes pre built into the box for some “standard” LED effects such as Fire Flame, Pacific Tide, (personally, we would like to see an ATLANTIC tide), Warm Breeze and others that are also customizable.  All of these modes can be executed and changed or modified by touchscreen on the front of the box.  There is also some downloadable PC design tools for greater control options and configuration.

From what we have read and seen on the website, the amBIENT XC is a pretty cool, self contained DMX playback unit.  It can be a great option for night clubs, restaurants and other architectural spaces that have LED lighting and want to have “effects” running with the tap of a screen.

The amBIENT XC is being distributed in the US by TMB.  Since the amBIENT XC has not be “offically” announed yet, we can’t find a retail price.  For more information on the amBIENT XC, visit amBX’s web site at www.ambx.com.

Review: Enttec E-Streamer

The Enttec E-Streamer is a rack mountable show server for entertainment and the architectural world. One huge draw to the E-Streamer is that it can handle up to 64 universes. It is recommended that if you are using fully populated universes, you limit yourself to 40 per unit if you are running on a 100Mbit network. While the E-Streamer has no problem sending 64 universes of data out on 100Mbit network, there can be bottle necks and packet loses due to less expensive routers.  It is recommended to have a professional network administrator setup a high-end router to handle this amount of data through unicasting rather then broadcasting. Additionally, it has a swappable hard drive so if you have multiple units in multiple locations running the same show you can just copy all of the files to a hard drive, take them with you, upload them to the new unit and be on your way. It also boasts a processor beefy enough to allow you to run up to 100 simultaneous shows using any or all of the universes (any channels that are affected by multiple shows simultaneously are treated in an HTP manner). Events or start of shows can be triggered via the internal time clock, buttons on the face of the unit, RS232 commands, or network triggers, and is perfectly content sitting in a network rack running the same shows for years on end.

There are some caveats to this powerful machine. The biggest one is that the only way to get data in or out of the machine is through its Ethernet port, so you have to figure out some way to turn your 5 Pin DMX into an Ethernet based protocol. Conveniently enough, Enttec makes several boxes that can help you do this. The simplest is the ODE (Open DMX over Ethernet) which has male and female 5 pin XLR connectors on one side and a female Ethernet jack on the other. This tends to work out well for large architectural installations, if you have several sites that are separated from your control point it’s easier and cheaper for your Electrical Contractor to convert your DMX to Ethernet at each site and run Ethernet back to a switch near your E-Streamer (keeping in mind of course that the run limit for Ethernet is 100m before it has to be boosted). If, on the other hand, running the DMX makes more sense, Enttec also makes a Datagate which is a fully configurable Ethernet to DMX Splitter/Switch which has 8, 5 pin XLR connectors and an RJ45 jack on its face.

The E-Streamer is exclusively a streamer and not well suited for programing directly within. There is no way to program your shows using it as a standalone unit. An external console is necessary to program the lights, and once you have everything looking the way you want it just run the DMX through the streamer and record your cue stacks as shows. For large jobs, this is probably the preferred method for using the E-Streamer. If you are programming an E-Streamer project that is actually using anywhere near 64 universes you can have multiple programmers working on different sections with different consoles simultaneously because of the networked nature of the beast. Just don’t forget, you’re going to need some way to get the DMX out from the console into the E-Streamer.

Enttec is coming up with a lot of interesting control solutions that could be very helpful in the architectural and architainment markets. The E-Streamer is one of a number of powerful tools they have in their arsenal. For the right situation this box can be a life saver.  For more information on the Enttec E-Streamer, visit their website at www.enttec.com.  Contact your local Enttec dealer for pricing.

Enttect will be demonstrating the E-Streamer and other control products they offer this week at USITT in a shared booth with Stage Research, #1040.