If you are a console jockey, you’ll want to get familiar with GDTF if you haven’t already. General Device Type Format is a game changer in our work flow. From design, previz and stage, everything is contained in one place. GDTF was just validated as a DIN SPEC as an Open Standard for the entertainment industry worldwide. Here is more from the presser.

With fellow General Device Type Format (GDTF) founders MA Lighting and Robe lighting, global design and BIM software provider Vectorworks, Inc. touts that DIN SPEC 15800 officially recognizes GDTF as an open standard for the entertainment industry worldwide.

“With this latest accomplishment of DIN SPEC 15800, GDTF will continue its growth and see even greater success now that it is recognized as a standard way of communicating controllable characteristics of lighting fixtures,” said Vectorworks CEO Dr. Biplab Sarkar. “GDTF has covered a lot of ground in the two short years since inception. We already have 35 manufacturers signed on to support the open standard and are grateful for their contributions to help build a solid basis for a standardized format that will advance the industry in new ways. I look forward to seeing more manufacturers, as well as more entertainment professionals contributing to the wide-spread availability of GDTF files and benefiting from it in their workflows.”

DIN, the German Institute for Standardization, is the independent platform for standardization in Germany and worldwide. A DIN SPEC, is a document that specifies requirements for products, services and/or processes, and it’s a trusted strategic instrument for quickly and easily establishing and disseminating innovative solutions on the market. DIN’s job is to ensure that a DIN SPEC does not conflict with any existing standards or rules of procedure. 

Now, GDTF will be a standard for describing the hierarchical and logical structure and controls of any type of controllable device in the lighting and entertainment industry. GDTF will be used as a foundation for the exchange of device data between lighting consoles, as well as CAD and 3D pre-visualization applications. The purpose of an existing GDTF file is to reflect the real-world physical components of the devices and to provide control based on this information. A GDTF file contains and is derived from the device’s real-world geometry, attributes and abilities.

“At Robe we are thrilled by all the new development around GDTF because there are now great possibilities for providing detailed specifications of our moving head fixtures in a format not specific to a particular console manufacturer, but defined by a standard format – the new DIN SPEC 15800,” said Josef Valchar, CEO of Robe lighting. “This format covers DMX desk related use-cases and also includes data for visualization purposes, dedicated portions for media servers and for event-planning workflows. With DIN SPEC 15800 and the GDTF Builder to create the files online, there is absolutely no reason to remain locked to old, manufacturer-specific proprietary formats but rather use open standard fixture definition files.”

“The recognition by DIN that GDTF offers value to manufacturers and practitioners in the live production and events industry is a monumental moment in the maturity of the GDTF file format,” said Gerhard Krude, managing director of MA Lighting Technology. “This signifies that the industry is ready to embrace the benefits of using it to standardize the definitions of real-world controllable objects, which is just the start for GDTF. Looking ahead, future revisions to the DIN SPEC 15800 will extend the GDTF to all parts of the industry including media servers, rigging systems, laser systems and much more.”  

“DIN SPEC 15800 is a good example for what DIN wants to achieve with DIN SPECs: support those who improve the status-quo with an innovative idea,” said Michael Bahr, project manager at DIN. “GDTF can be one of those ideas for the entertainment industry. I’m happy that we could support this project and develop a standard with the GDTF group. In a short period of time, we were able to develop the document which will build trust in the GDTF format. DIN SPEC 15800 will make the GDTF format available and usable to everyone. That’s what DIN SPEC is made for: ‘Today’s idea. Tomorrow’s standard.’”

To learn more, visit gdtf-share.com or watch the on-demand webinar, Integrating GDTF & MVR into your Workflows.