ETC Rigging, which can be seen in Hall 2.2, stand number 208, is another layer to the company's extensive lighting and power control portfolio. By working with local dealers to provide complete wire rope winch packages, ETC Rigging is among the easiest to install and most versatile available. This is the first time the product has been available outside the US.
Sold as complete packages, each winch is easily customised for non standard layouts, and can lift up to 900kg. To ensure its integrity, every hoist is individually tested under heavy load at ETC's factory in Wisconsin, USA, and each electrical component examined and checked.
To go with the new rigging packages are QuickTouch, QuickTouch+, and Foundation controllers, designed to provide simple direct control of up to 24 individual hoists or comprehensive timed control of up to 48 hoists at a time.
In Hall 1.2, stand number 210, ETC's Source Four LED Series 2 system is the star of their lighting and control stand. The system is made up of Lustr, Tungsten HD and Daylight HD light engines: Lustr is the full colour powerhouse of the three, emitting a powerful beam which, with its seven-colour mixing system, rivals any gelled tungsten luminaire in terms of brightness and colour balance.
Tungsten HD and Daylight HD both produce the kind of high quality white light which LEDs were previously unable to achieve. The high frequency output means flicker free performance for high definition cameras; the user gets tuneable bright white light indistinguishable from traditional fixtures, but using a fraction of the power - and without heating the room.
To go with the light engines are a range of accessories to create a complete lighting system, including Fresnel and CYC adaptors, nine angles of fixed focus lenses, and two zoom lenses.
Also on ETC's main stand, demonstrations are available on the renowned ETC Eos Ti system, which has quickly become standard equipment at theatres across Europe. The powerful Eos operating system, which is also used on Gio, Ion and Element desks, was specifically designed to be user friendly to both designers and programmers. Its direct programming syntax allows people to get to the information they need quickly, and allows them to use Magic Sheets or straightforward command sequences.
The Cobalt 20 lighting control desk previews new features from the upcoming v7.2 software release, including cue sequences for those who prefer to work that way, targeted recording to a selected master playback, increased action macro commands and the ability to place action macros on the direct selects for direct triggering of actions.
The EchoDIN power control system, which will begin shipping soon, is on display alongside Paradigm and Mosaic.
EchoDIN is a companion to ETC's popular Sensor3 and Unison DRd products, and has today's and tomorrow's lighting needs for theatres, conference centres and more in mind. Its built in software allows recording and playback of presets based on manual control, timed events and occupancy or photo sensor control. A network connection also allows for monitoring of energy usage.
Paradigm is designed to easily control lighting states across an entire building or campus, enabling energy efficiency by making use of external switches, as well as daylight and occupancy sensors. Mosaic, meanwhile, provides control for complex lighting and AV effects - effectively a complete, automated, lighting show.
(Jim Evans)
