Barco/High End Readying to Release Wholehog V3.2.0

Hog users rejoice.  Barco/High End Systems is on the verge of releasing their latest version of the Wholehog 3 operating system.  Here is a blurb from the website:

Software version 3.2.0 for Wholehog products is on the verge of being released. Professionals in our Wholehog Beta-Testing Program are all abuzz about the new features and enhancements, whose main highlights include Network Tracking and Failover, Color Coding, Keystroke Macros and more. The new features – requested by programmers – have passed industry testing for stability and reliability.

The v3.2.0 software benefits those using our current product line of Wholehog 3, Road Hog, Road Hog Full Boar and Hog 3PC systems, as well as the discontinued Hog iPC.

Features and enhancements in version 3.2.0 include:

• Network Tracking and Failover
• Color Coding
• Keystroke Macros
• USB Saving for Wholehog 3 console
• Improved GUI Throughout
• Selective Show Merging
• Fixture Schedule Search
• Direct Value Entry on Encoder Toolbar

Version 3.2.0 is right around the corner.  Make sure to get instant gratification by signing up for release notification from Barco/High End by getting on the mailing list. Learn more about the up coming release by visiting their website at www.highend.com.

Luminair for iPad v1.4 and LCompanion v2.0 Updates Released

Synthe FX is pleased to announce the availability of Luminair for iPad v1.4 on the iTunes App Store, and LCompanion v2.0 on the Mac App Store.

Luminair for iPad is an advanced DMX lighting control app that transmits DMX using Art-Net and sACN E1.31 protocols over Wi-Fi, for wireless control of lighting fixtures, dimmers, media servers and more. New in version 1.4 is the ability to wirelessly output
DMX to Enttec DMX USB Pro interfaces connected to a Mac computer running LCompanion v2.0. Also among the new features in version 1.4 are usability enhancements, in the form of a new master fader control, and a new option to “lock” cues to prevent accidental changes to a user’s project.

LCompanion is a free Mac OS X utility app built for users running Luminair on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. It allows users to create Luminair compatible fixture files, and transfer project, fixture, image, and PDF files back and forth with their iOS devices. New in v2.0 is the ability to receive Art-Net and output DMX through Enttec DMX USB Pro interfaces connected to computers running Mac OS X 10.6.6 or greater. LCompanion is capable of receiving Art-Net DMX from Luminair on iOS, or any other Art-Net control source.

New in Luminair for iPad v1.4

• Now supports Enttec DMX USB Pro devices connected to a Mac running LCompanion v2.0 (available on Mac App Store)
• Added a new “lock” option for cues – Added a global master DMX output fader control
• Added support for downloading & restoring .zip archives of all Luminair files in file transfer mode
• Various other bug fixes and enhancements

New in LCompanion v2.0

• Adds native support for receiving Art-Net and outputting DMX via Enttec DMX USB Pro interfaces
• Simplified Luminair fixture profile creation
• Archive and restore options by right clicking device name (Luminair iPad v1.4+ ) – Adds support for changing selected channel with arrow keys in the fixture profile creator – Adds support for cycling through selected channel types with ‘T’ key on keyboard
• Various other bug fixes and enhancements

Learn more about Luminair and LCompanion from Synthe FX by visiting their website at www.synthe-fx.com.  You can get your update or new version of Luminair for iPad on the iTunes app Store and LCompanion from the Mac App Store.

Midiator to Preview V2.0 of the VisionOS at Prolight+Sound 2011

At the Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt, Midiator will present a preview of the upcoming V2.0 of the VisionOS, the core of the Vision Pro console. This new version will incorporate many new features developed in close collaboration with end-users and will be a major upgrade of the software as introduced on last year’s PLASA show. The 2.0 features give users the option to create complex shows ranging from live ‘busking’ widget interfaces to a complete programmed timeline show, in which the focus remains on the Awarded gesture-based interface environment.

The preview of this new version will include the following features: A new unified cue engine where cues can consist of up to 1000 devices and their variables, a grab ’n store functionality whereby settings on external devices can be stored with the press of one button and a new state engine which give users full real-time feedback of activity of the cue. All these features are also integrated in other upcoming features like timeline and scripting functionality.

Seen at #USITT: plotLight, Online Paperwork Management Software

Something new that shown at USITT 2011 in Charlotte was plotLight.  At it’s simplest form, plotLight is an online paperwork management softwork tool for the lighting professional.  At plotLight’s core is the plotLight BRAIN, a complex machine-learning application that combines data-mining with advanced Bayesian logic. Each plotLight project combines plotLight BRAIN components with your project’s specific lighting design, meaning that you can focus on creating your design while plotLight focuses on catching mistakes and simplifying your design process. Think of plotLight like a dedicated assistant, diligently working on the small stuff so you can worry about the big stuff.

There are three types of plotLight BRAIN components to help organize your paperwork:

Show Component —  The Show Component stores information about a specific show or event. This component manages general information about the show.

Venue Component —  The Venue Component manages information about a specific venue, theater, arena, room, or other type of performing space. From remembering a venue’s physical specifications to detailing the electrics capabilities of the space.

GearBox Component —  The largest of the plotLight BRAIN components, the Gearbox component stores information about the specific equipment available in a collection.

The basic monthly plan runs $15 USD.  Details on specifics on the plan have not yet been released as well as additional add-on options for more advanced control. plotLight was offering a one month FREE trial of the online tool at USITT.  If you want to try plotLight out for FREE for one month, head over to usitt.plotlight.com.  BUT HURRY, you must register for the free trial by March 16th.

You can learn more about plotLight by visiting their website at www.plotlight.com.

Chameleon Lighting Software Releases V1 RC8 with New Features

Back in November, I mentioned a new lighting software title out there for the Mac called Chameleon.  Looks like development of the software is coming along nicely with the release of Version 1.0 RC8.

This release fixes a few bugs, includes the new USB drivers from FTDI (fully compatible with the 10.6.5 release now), and adds a couple of cool new features.

You can now assign user buttons to ‘radio button’ groups so you can make sure only one scene in a group can be on at a time. This is useful for making sure that scenes and looks don’t overlap when they shouldn’t. When you put your mouse over a button, a popup window appears telling you which group it is in, and all other buttons in that group appear outlined in light grey.

For more advanced users, we’ve now added a comprehensive set of keypad command allowing you to patch, re-patch and unpatch channels to addresses. In record mode, just hit the p key and patch away. Once you’ve got the hang of it, it saves a huge amount of time in set up.

Head over to www.maclightingsoftware.com to download and try the software or to update your version.

Martin LightJockey 2 Gets Repackaged

From MartinPro.com:

Martin Professional’s PC-based lighting software, LightJockey 2, is now shipping with the new Martin One-Key™ protection device, one Martin USB DUO DMX™ and the MSD5™ MC Edition 3D Visualizer.

Martin also announces a LightJockey hardware replacement program. Through the program, old LightJockey hardware from an ISA PC card to a Universal USB device can be returned for exchange.

The replacement kit includes the Martin One-Key, either one or two Martin USB DUO DMX’s, and an MSD5 MC Edition 3D Visualizer. Further information on the exchange program can be found at www.martin.com.

DraftSight: A Free CAD Software for Your DWG Files

A college buddy sent me a note about DraftSight, a CAD software title for both the Mac and PC.  I have not downloaded or even touched the software as there are a number of things on my plate right now.  But the title on the DraftSight webpage struck me…

DraftSight: Free CAD Software * for Your DWG Files

Here is more from the website:

DraftSight is a professional-grade, open 2D CAD product for users who want a better way to create, edit and view DWG files. DraftSight is easy to use and is available for professional CAD users, students and educators to download and activate for free.*

Based on an advanced architecture, DraftSight has a small footprint, should take a few minutes to download, and supports Microsoft® Windows XP®, Windows Vista®, Windows® 7 and the Mac®. (Linux® coming soon).

*Standalone license. Activation required.

Head over to www.3d3.com to learn more and to try the software out. Thanks David!

MA Lighting Releases grandMA Software 2.2.0 [6.6]

MA Lighting just announced the release of their latest software update for the grandMA2 control surface.  The update is intended for the the entire range of MA Lighting products, the grandMA 2 desk, grandMA 3D and MA VPU hardware devices.

Some of the new features:

• New help functions.
• Backup menu, load only “userprofiles”
• Better work flow when using “at filter”
• DMX Tester has a new “unpark” button

There are a ton of updates and bug fixes in the software update.  Read all of the changes in the Release Notes.  You can download version 2.2.0 [6.6] of the software update from MA Lighting’s website www.malighting.com.

New iOS App On Its Way: FreeStyler DMX Remote

A new lighting app to hit the iTunes App Store in the next couple of weeks will be the FreeStyler DMX Remote App. You may have heard of the Windows based software title, FreeStyler. The upcoming iOS app will be a companion app to the Windows software and requires version 3.3.2 of FreeStyler.  Get ready for this… the FreeStyler Windows software.. FREE! You can download the FreeStyler Windows software from www.freestylerdmx.be, and yes, it is in English.

Max Bäumle, the developer of the upcoming iOS app sent me a quick video showing off how the new iOS app works. As you can see from the video below, you have full control of any fixture including the color picker and pan/tilt.  The app also allows you control of blackout, favorite, freeze, groups, sequences and flash buttons through the FreeStyler software.

The FreeStyler App is expected to hit the iTunes App Store in march 2011.  Look for an announcement here on iSquint.

ETC Releases Eos Family Software Update 1.9.6 – Critical Update From 1.9.5

Say What, I just updated my desk to Eos Family Software 1.9.5 just last week!  It happens from time to time, software goes out and has a glitch, but, ETC’s awesome users, programmers and tech services gurus caught the bugs. The offical statement about the update from ETC’s release notes:

The purpose of this release is to fix a critical effects bug along with a few other issues.
This software release is highly recommended for all users of the Eos Family platform (Eos, Ion®, and ElementTM).

From the key enhancements part of the release notes, it just list bug fixes.  ETC is highly recommending you either skip 1.9.5 all together or update to 1.9.6 if you already have updated your desk.  Get the console software and Client/off-line editor software all from the download section of ETC’s website, www.etcconnect.com.

The Student Design Competition is Officially OPEN

Yup, it is January 28th.  That means that the student design competition is open!  While the competition just started, I don’t expect many students to start submitting their design work right now.  I highly recommend taking your time, you have almost all of spring semester!  Heck, the competition doesn’t close until April 15th.  That doesn’t mean wait till the last minute either!

Head over to the Student Design Competition page and learn more about the competition and get the low down on the rules and requirements.  There are also plenty of links to get you to the right site to download the FREE student version of Vectorworks and the demo version of Lightwright.

Through out the competition, I’ll be posting updates, resources, tips, tricks, things to help you along your way.  So get your design started and have some fun with it! All of the judges and I are extremely excited to see what you come up with. Break-a-leg everyone!

ETC Announces Eos Family Software Update – v1.9.5

This morning ETC announced the long anticipated, and until 2.0 comes out, most significant update to the Eos family of consoles: software version 1.9.5.

The biggest update included in v1.9.5 is the addition of the Virtual Media Server. The VMS allows the creation of grids of fixture, to which static and animated images can be applied. It includes a variety of manipulation tools. Similar to an external media server, the desk maps channels as layers which can then be defined with content. A secondary software download, the Eos Family Pixel Mapping Installer, is required to add media content.

The second major improvement is the Color Picker has been updated so that it will correctly (or more so) assign colors to non-standard LED fixtures such as RGBA and RGBW. This will hopefully mean there are more third-party LED profiles in the software as well.

Another important feature worth noting is the change that Cue Releases now send channels back to their last active source. IE, if you had moving lights 10 thru 16 going in cue 5/5 running in the background and had to run cue list 10 for a keynote speaker, any fixtures in cue 5/5 will resume what they were doing previously.

In addition to the features mentioned above, a variety of other long asked for features have been included: Flash On/Off, Flexi-Encoder State, Shielded Submasters, Grand Master exempt channels, Non-Dim indicator, etc. For a full list, please see the release notes available at www.etcconnect.com.

As always, if you are not comfortable using your desk’s shell system, please call ETC’s tech support line before attempting to update the desk by yourself.