ETC Releases iRFR Preview iPhone/iPad App
Check it out, ETC has a NEW iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch app, the iRFR Preview App! The Preview iRFR application for the Eos family of products – Eos, Ion and Element – provides a view-only Cue List display of the active cue list. Ideal for lighting designers and stage managers who need to only see current and pending cues, this application works on the iPhone, iPad Touch and iPad products. On the iPad, this application makes it possible for designers to take notes on cues, copy those notes to a text file and email them as needed.
iRFR Preview Features:
- iRFR Preview is playback monitoring only – there are no console control features in the software.
- Follow the cue list – Preview will allow you to monitor the cue playback status live. You will see the cue number, the label, and the time remaining as the cue counts down. Follow the fade in real time.
- See the current cue, as well as 3 pending cues and 3 completed cues.
- Page up and down through the cue list. Single button touch to return to Live cue on stage.
- Navigate to any cue list using the [list][/][cue] syntax.
- Store console connection profiles, just like in regular iRFR and with the same credentials.
- On iPad, touch the cue and type notes. These are aggregated in a separate viewing area, and can be copied to the clipboard for easy pasting in word processors or email.
What are you waiting for… if own or operate an ETC Eos family console, head over to the iTunes App Store on your iOS device and download a copy of the iRFR Preview app FOR FREE! Also, you might want to check out the ETC WIKI page on how to setup an access point with your ETC console, as well as how to connect the iRFR app to the console.
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ETC to Preview Source Four HID Exterior Fixture at #LDI2010
The ETC Source Four fixture family is welcoming a highly-anticipated new member, the HID-lamp-powered Source Four exterior fixture, with 15° to 30° zoom optics in an IP65-rated enclosure for all-weather use. ETC’s new outdoor fixture projects logos or subtle texture with gobo patterns, and it shutter-cuts to highlight architectural detail and frame building features without unwanted light pollution. With its 12,000-hour high-efficiency 150W HID source, the outdoor Source Four ensures long-term low-maintenance use.
Be sure to stop by the ETC stand, #1200 in Center Hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center during LDI to check out the new Source Four HID Exterior Fixture along with all the other products available from ETC.
ETC Adds to the Selador Series of LEDs: The Pearl
Where you at PLASA this year? If you stopped by the ETC booth, you should have seen their latest Selador LED product, the Pearl. ETC has added a white mixing unit to their popular Selador Series of LED products to help round out their offerings.
The Pearl takes advantage of the best traits of the newest white LED offerings. Combining simplicity of use and the powerful output of white LEDs, Pearl provides a bright white light for studio and stage. Pearl provides a carefully chosen mix of warm white (3200K) and cool white (5700K) LEDs that can be variably adjusted to provide just the right color temperature of white light – for the eye or the camera.
Pearl’s uses the same lens system as all the other Selador fixtures, giving the user incredible control over the field size – from a narrow, soft-edge 17° spot — to an extremely wide 80° field of light. Pearl produces 3460 lumens from less than 125 watts of power, so the power at your video location goes a whole lot further.
ETC will be rolling out an “official” press release in the near future and be showing the new Pearl at LDI next month in Las Vegas. Read more about the Pearl by visiting the super secret hidden page about the Pearl on their webite, www.etcconnect.com.
ETC Has HUGE News For PLASA 2010
PLASA attendees will be the first to see the latest in Source Four® technology. The hugely popular family of luminaires is welcoming a new, long-awaited member – the Source Four HID Zoom eX – ETC’s 15° to 30° zoom optics in an IP65-rated enclosure for outdoor use. Solid, user-friendly industrial design coupled with the 12,000-hour high-efficiency 150W HID source make the Zoom eX ideal for exterior lighting where shutter cuts or pattern projection are required.
The PLASA-Award-winning Selador® LED line-up will also be on display at the ETC stand, including the new Fire™ and Ice™ and the Vivid™-R. Fire and Ice offer bold color palettes that meet or exceed the saturation of gelled light. The Vivid-R produces 50% more light than the previous Vivid — while consuming 10% less power. Selador fixtures are all energy-saving powerhouses with a light and color quality that other LED fixtures cannot duplicate.
Also at PLASA, ETC will show Eos®, Congo® and SmartFade&erg; control desk models, with impressive software updates. Eos V1.95 software includes the new Virtual Media Server for Eos and Ion — a tool for easy programming of LED arrays or arrays of fixtures to create large-scale graphic images or effects. Congo V6.1 provides an improved color engine –the Color Picker known from Eos — as well as enhanced support for calibrated fixture templates.
An exciting update for the super-compact SmartFade lighting-control desks proves that smaller, budget-conscious venues can access sophisticated control: With V3.0, SmartFade ML will now be able to utilize the full feature set of LED fixtures with up to seven color parameters.
New V1.2 software for ETC’s Unison Paradigm building-control systems includes ETC Color Picker functionality and improved timed-event editing tools. Paradigm systems bring sophisticated and green-minded technologies to theater-house and foyer lighting control, as well as to rehearsal spaces, offices, and even the external lighting of facilities. Paradigm activates sophisticated house-light looks at the touch of a button, running moving lights and LED effects as well as conventionals.
ETC’s PLASA stand, #1-G39, is located by the bar and business lounge in the center of Hall 1.
Rumor Mill: ETC to Release TWO New Consoles in 2011
Rumors hints of a new console from ETC, (Electronic Theatre Controls) have been dropped a couple of times starting late 2009 at LDI when I intereviewed Anne Valentino about the future of controls. Not much was said other then expect something sometime. Pretty vague if you ask me.
Fast forward five months to March 2010 at USITT in Kansas City, Anne did a quick video for me on the history of lighting consoles that were on display at the USITT Lighting Museum. Towards the end of the video, Anne mentioned this rumored fourth console addition to the Eos family of consoles. Again, not much was mentioned other then be on the look out in early 2011 for the new console.
Today, I can confirm that not just one console will be released in early 2011, but TWO consoles will be released! It is a safe bet that one will be added to the Eos family of consoles as previous hints have mentioned, but a second one? I’m not sure where it will fall into ETC’s console lineup, but none the less, be on the look out.
Where do you think this second console will be added to ETC’s lineup? Could it be an entirely new series of consoles? What do you think? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section.
ETC Updates iRFR iPhone App to v1.1.33 with iPad Support
Mid last week, ETC’s, (Electronic Theatre Controls), iRFR iPhone App was approved through the Apple iTunes App store for release of version 1.1.33. The most significant change from pervious versions of the iRFR app is the support to run the app natively on the iPad. ETC has taken full use of the larger screen and added more functions to the app. Some of the new features found in version 1.1.33 are thus:
- View the active cue list
- interact with the active cue list, in a separate screen
- Access to a pan/tilt encoder display
- Console connect list
- iPad specific – create full encoder controls page, add cue notes
The iRFR app can be used with version 1.6 or higher of the Eos Family of consoles and version 5.1.0 or higher of Congo consoles. There is a little bit of networking and wireless access point setup that needs to be completed before the iRFR app can connect to any of the afore mentioned consoles. ETC has written up some how-tos and step by step guide to connect the iRFR to your console which can be found on their WiKi pages.
The app is a free update to current owners of the app and works both on the iPhone and the iPad. For new users, the iRFR app cost $49.99 USD. There are still to versions of the iRFR app in the iTunes app store, the iRFR-BTS and the iRFR-LR. They are the same exact app, just that the procedes from the iRFR-BTS goes to ESTA Foundations Behind the Scenes and the procedes from iRFR-LR goes to Light Relief, both industry charities that support our fallen or disabled brothers and sisters.
Helpful hint, if you do not have a console to connect your iRFR app to, no worries, you can connect the app to the offline editor of either console family and get up running to get use to the new update.
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Behind the Design of ETC’s Town Square
We have all heard the legend of Town Square in ETC’s Middleton Wisconsin Headquarters. Only a chosen few very get to see it. Well, actually, anyone can come to visit and see town square, you just have to make it to Middleton. After checking out the video of ETC’s latest YouTube star, Anne Valentino talking about Eos software 1.9, I saw a related video about ETC’s Town Square.
I have always wanted to visit ETC and see Town Square as it just looks so amazing from photos and now the video! Take a look at the video and learn about the design concept behind ETC’s Town Square and the layout of the factory from the Architect, Peter B.H. Tan and from Fred Foster, CEO of ETC.
Fred Foster and the History of ETC Consoles at USITT
The history lessons just don’t stop when you are on a roll! During USITT in Kansas City, Fred Foster, CEO of Electronic Theatre Controls happen to be wondering around the 50 years of Lighting Display by the USITT Lighting Commission. Mr. Foster was kind enough to take some time out and walk us through a little bit of ETC’s console history.
These are the times that I really love what I am doing here. How often do you get a chance to hear about how something was developed or the history of a company directly from the source? Rather then hogging this memory to myself, I cranked out the Flip and got him on camera to share with you. I have to do it… Thank you again to the USITT Lighting Commission. A most EXCELLENT job!
UPDATE:
Thanks everyone for letting me know about the video not playing. I just fixed it so enjoy Mr. Foster’s history lesson!
ETC Releases Eos Family OS/Client/Offline Software V1.9
I was looking to download some client software from ETC’s web site, www.etcconnect.com, today to work offline on a show when low and behold, Eos Family Software 1.9 is up and available for download! That’s right everyone, head over to the Eos Family download page to update your Eos/Ion/Elemnt OS along with you RPU, RVI, Client and Offline editor software.
REMEMBER, all network devices on the network HAVE to be on the same version of software to connect properly. So just download them all to be safe!
One of the HUGE key enhancements of version 1.9 is that the client software on a Mac now runs NATIVE as a client to the consoles. YEAH, no more boot camp for that! Also, on the Ion, the swap button is now known as the tab button. Just like it’s big brother/sister, the Ion has tabs. Also included in the Ion, query and snapshots work. There are plenty of other updates and bug fixes which you can read from the release notes. Also included across the entire family of consoles, ETC has updated the fixture library with over 730 new fixture templates.
So what are you waiting for, update those consoles people!
ETC “Officially” Introduce the Fire & Ice LED Fixtures
This was a little expected as ETC showed the Fire & Ice LED fixture back in November at LDI. You may remember the YouTube video that was posted here on iSquint back at LDI of Novella Smith from ETC explaining the new fixtures. But here is the “Official” announcement from ETC on the Fire & Ice LED fixtures. Here is more from the Press Release.
Responding to demand for more of its Selador™ LED lighting fixtures, ETC is introducing two bold color-spectrum-specific versions: Fire and Ice. Fire features a warm wash of saturated reds, oranges and ambers never before seen from LEDs or gels. Ice provides, in one powerhouse fixture, a palette of brilliant deep indigo, blue, cyan, green (and a touch of red) — the gamut of blue washes that designers seek for their light plots. Integral to the new Selador Vivid™ line-up, Fire and Ice offer these rich, lush colors while equaling or exceeding the brightness performance of conventional tungsten PAR fixtures and saving dramatically on electricity.
In a typical color application, Fire and Ice fixtures produce more light and can consume less than 70 watts of power compared to their gelled tungsten counterparts at 575 watts. Going beyond theater or broadcast-production use, Fire and Ice are smart green choices for any specialty lighting application. By replacing high-powered single-color warm and cool conventional fixtures in houses of worship or themed environments (amusement parks, restaurants, retail, casinos, etc.), facilities can reap bankable power and maintenance savings. Fire and Ice can be used for dramatic accent lighting as well, lowering power consumption in any installation.
You can download the photometrics and learn more about the new Fire & Ice LED Fixtures by visiting ETC’s web site at www.etcconnect.com.
ETC Training to Become First ETCP-Recognized Electrical Training Program
If you are an certified technician through ESTA ETCP, there is good news for you. You have another way to earn credits towards your certification as well as increase your knowladge from ETC.
The non-profit trade association ESTA is the steward for the entertainment services and technology industry in North America, setting technical standards and protocols. One of ESTA’s initiatives, the Entertainment Technician Certification Program (ETCP) created a program that provides rigorous assessments for professional riggers and entertainment electricians.
Once certified, technicians maintain their standing by accumulating 40 renewal credits or retaking the ETCP exam every five years. At least ten of these renewal credits must include training or professional development. Now, electrical and rigging courses are available through ETC (Electronic Theatre Controls, Inc.), the first lighting manufacturer whose electrical training program has qualified as an ETCP Recognized Training Program for continuing education credit.
On January 11th of this year, the ETCP Certification Council announced that ETC’s application had been approved, confirming ETC as the first lighting manufacturer, and one of a handful of rigging manufacturers, to have courses recognized by ETCP.
For more information, visit ESTA ETCP webpage at etcp.esta.org.
ETC Announces More Ion Training Sessions
Are you looking to get more intimate with the ETC Ion console? ETC just announced more training session around the country through March and April. The training sessions are broken down into two days. The first dealing with Ion Fundamentals with an introduction to programming on the Ion. The second day is for intermediate users looking for more advanced programming skills.
Each session is limited to 16 participants. There will be 2 participants per one console for hands-on training. The cost of these sessions is $199.00 per day, which includes lunch and refreshments.
Training dates and Locations
Washington, DC – March 2-3 – Register Here
Houston, TX – March 16-17 – Register Here
Toronto, ON – April 13-14 – Register Here