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Quick Tip Tuesday: Parameters, Channels, Universes… Part 2

Cat — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:03:02 +0000

This is Part 2 of the series written by Michael Adenau of MA Lighting regarding parameter, channel and universe calculation on grandMA and grandMA2 consoles.

A grandMA1 session has a limitation of 64 patchable DMX universes. As mentioned before, this is handled separately from the parameter count. The user is welcome to patch instruments as desired to any of the 64 available universes. For another extreme example, imagine a show with only 64 standard dimmers patched, but with only one dimmer patched to each of the 64 universes. From a cabling standpoint, there will be 64 universes of data snaking around. But from the console’s perspective, this show only has 64 parameters; well within the 2048 parameter capability.

Once again, the grandMA2 goes a few steps farther by offering 256 patchable universes.

Adding NSP’s (Network Processing Units) to a grandMA1 session increases the parameter limit. There’s an upper limit of 16,384 parameters per session, which can’t be exceeded, no matter how many NSP’s are added. In addition to adding processing power, each NSP has four XLR ports on the back; each can be configured from the console to output any desired DMX universe. Also, any grandMA 2-Port Node added to the network provides two more XLR ports, which can also be configured from the console as any DMX universe output or input. 2-Port Nodes don’t add any parameter calculation, just ports.

The network communication in a grandMA2 session has advanced to the point where a NSP can no longer aid in parameter calculation. Instead, expansion is accomplished with the addition of NPU’s (Network Processing Unit). Each NPU adds 4,096 parameters and eight XLR ports to the network (twice the capability of a NSP at less than twice the price). The grandMA2 can also take advantage of 2-Port Nodes. And even though NSP’s can’t add parameter calculation, they can actually work as 4-Port Nodes in a grandMA2 session.

All of the above provides the user with the flexibility to patch a show however it best makes sense while maintaining reliably frame-synchronous DMX output. This frame-sync becomes ever more important with lots of LED fixtures running any snap change or quick chase.

Quick Tips are exactly what the name should imply. We’re adding these to our blog in an effort to help programmers and operators of all levels. If you’d like to suggest a Quick Tip, drop us a message on this blog, or on our Facebook page, or even via Twitter.

Quick Tip Tuesday: Parameters, Channels, Universes… Part 1

Cat — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:59:48 +0000

We’ve talked before about how the grandMA console series deals with parameters, channels and universes differently than any other console. Adding the grandMA2 series to the family expands this capability, so we felt that this was a topic we should revisit. Recently, Michael Adenau of MA Lighting wrote a piece explaining how the calculation works and we are presenting that information here in two parts. Part 2 will be available here in one week.

The grandMA and grandMA2 have a very flexible method for dealing with parameter and universe limitations. Essentially, these consoles see a pretty distinct difference between a “parameter” and a “DMX channel.” At the same time, the DMX universe limitation in the patch is not coupled to the parameter limit.

A parameter is something like ‘PAN’ or ‘COLOR1′ or ‘GOBO2′.

On a grandMA1, a parameter can be 8-bit (for 256 steps of resolution) or 16-bit (65,536 steps of resolution), depending on the resolution. 8-bit means it uses 1 DMX-channel; if it is 16-bit, it uses 2 DMX channels.

Most lights use two DMX channels (16-bit) each for Pan, Tilt, etc. Most dimmer racks only use one DMX-channel (8 bit) per dimmer.

A grandMA1 full-size can process 2048 parameters without any additional equipment. Because the internal CPU calculation of a grandMA1 is always 16-bit, we count parameters in grandMA, not channels. So in an extreme scenario, we could patch 2048 16-bit parameters. This would actually require 4096 DMX channels to output. More realistically, Patching something like a Clay Paky Alpha Beam 1500 requires 27 DMX channels of output, but since Pan, Tilt, and Dimmer are all 16-bit, it only counts at 24 parameters, leaving enough extra headroom in the parameter limitation to add one more RGB LED. On the surface, it may seem strange for the console to calculate 8-bit parameters at 16-bit, but it actually requires less internal conversion between resolutions and is therefore easier on the CPU and network.

As with all things, the grandMA2 ups the ante when it comes to parameter processing and limitations. Without any additional equipment, the full-size console can process 8192 parameters. On top of that, the grandMA2 software adds support for 24-bit parameters, using three DMX channels for the output of a parameter (for 16,777,216 steps of resolution). Admittedly, there are scant few instruments that currently take advantage of 24-bit parameter resolution, but it’s very possible we’ll see more in the future.

Quick Tips are exactly what the name should imply. We’re adding these to our blog in an effort to help programmers and operators of all levels. If you’d like to suggest a Quick Tip, drop us a message on this blog, or on our Facebook page, or even via Twitter.

Quick Tip Tuesday: Making Effects Using Presets in grandMA2

Cat — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 11:00:33 +0000

This week’s Quick Tip comes from Aron Altmark, aka “Aron the Intern.”

The grandMA2 incorporates a very powerful effects editor that allows the user to make effects of all shapes, sizes, and levels of complexity quickly and easily. You may have played with this effect editor already, but in this week’s quick tip we’re going to talk about using presets within effects. While you may be used to building effects using Value 1 and Value 2, we are going to build our effect using presets as the referenced values. This way, updating presets also updates your effects! Yay, easy!

You can open the Effects Editor by pressing Edit and then touching an effect space in the Effects Pool (or typing Edit Effect in the command line). You will add lines to your effect here—adjusting the quantity of fixtures affected, desired attribute, mode, rate, value ranges, phase, width, and modifiers.

While you can use presets with any attributes, for our purposes here let’s say we want to make a Pan/Tilt effect. It will bring our lights from a band wash up and out to the audience in a nice smooth bally. Add two lines to your effect, one using Pan and one using Tilt as attributes. Note: Be sure to have your desired fixtures selected while creating lines—you should see the desired number of fixtures in the “Quantity” column on the left. If not, make your fixtures active in the programmer and press “Take Selection”.

Once you’ve added lines for Pan and Tilt and given them an appropriate rate (for a starting rate with pan/tilt effects, try 0.2 Hz or 12-15 BPM)—tap Edit Effect Line on the right-hand side of the screen. Underneath the bars for Value 1 and Value 2, there are buttons that say “Value 1 Simple”. Tap these until they say “Value 1 Preset” & “Value 2 Preset”.

Now, when you tap in the empty bar for the value, you can select your starting and ending position presets for your effect values. From here, select your desired waveform, adjust phase & width, and you’re good to go! When you look at the lines of your effect now, you will see the presets being referenced as values. Start your effect by double tapping the name of the effect in the Effects Pool and look at your pretty swoopy effect.

Note: When making effects that reference presets using Pan/Tilt and ColorMix, be sure to add lines for all parts of that attribute. Pan/Tilt must have two lines, one for Pan and one for Tilt, while a ColorMix effect must have one line for each color (three total for CMY/RGB). In the case of ColorMix effects using presets, each line has to be identical in all aspects, and all lines must reference the same presets.

Protip: Use Joe’s favorite waveform, PWM (pulse-width modulator) for the most control over your effect. With this one, you can also play with attack and decay times, giving your effect some added punch—good for smacking ravers in the face with effects.

Quick Tips are exactly what the name should imply. We’re adding these to our blog in an effort to help programmers and operators of all levels. If you’d like to suggest a Quick Tip, drop us a message on this blog, or on our Facebook page, or even via Twitter.

Quick Tip Tuesday: Backups!

Cat — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 14:30:08 +0000

This week’s tip comes from Will Murphy: Technical Support in our NJ office, and it’s one of the most important things to know about the console.

It has probably happened to us all at least once; you sit down to work on your show and discover all, or some, of your show data is missing, and you scratch your head to wonder why. You also may have found yourself in a situation where all your shows and sequences were there, but none of your views or user defaults were available. Maybe I can clear up some confusing aspects of the backup menu and how show files are managed to help you avoid future troubles.

If you tap the Backup key you will be presented with the Backup Menu as follows:

You can use the five buttons on the right side of this menu to specify what location you would like to point to in relation to saving or loading a show.
• Internal Only: Points to the internal hard disk
• Demo Shows: Pertains to seven “Read Only” shows that are saved on the internal hard disk
• Internal & File Server: Points to an external FTP server where you can either save or load shows
• Internal & USB Device: Points to a USB device that is plugged in to the USB port
• Import Export: Points to either a USB device or a floppy disk

Most of the buttons in the backup menu are fairly straight forward, but what is confusing is how the console saves to a USB stick.

A show file by itself only contains show information; cues, sequences, presets, etc, but it does not contain views and default settings. Views and default settings are a part of user profiles, and these user profiles are saved in a different file than the show file.

If you choose the Internal and USB Device button, the console will essentially treat the USB device as an extension of the internal hard drive. When you choose Save under this menu, only the show file will save to the USB device, but it will not save any users or user profile information. Your show file will be saved on the USB stick in a folder called “GMASHOWS.” In this folder you will find two files associated with every show. One file will be title “nameofshow.sho” and the second file will be “nameofshow.tar.gz”

To save a copy of your show including user profiles and defaults, you should use the Import Export menu. This is also the menu you should use if you would like to transfer your show to another console, or to grandMA onPC. Exported shows will be saved to a folder titled “CompressedShows.” In this folder you will find another folder that is titled “nameofshow.sho” In your show folder you will find at least four files that will be titled as follows: “data_version#.bz2”
“nameofshow.sho”
“show.inf”
“show_.inf”

If you want to save your show for transferring, archiving, and backup purposes, the Import Export menu is the way to go.

Quick Tips are exactly what the name should imply. We’re adding these to our blog in an effort to help programmers and operators of all levels. If you’d like to suggest a Quick Tip, drop us a message on this blog, or on our Facebook page, or even via Twitter.

Quick Tip Tuesday: Page Key Page Changes

Cat — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:50:41 +0000

There are 3 types of Pages on the grandMA:
1- Dimmer Pages
2 – Executor Fader Pages
3 – Executor Button Pages

You’ve probably already been using the Page Up/Down hard key options on the console, but when you want to skip to a page that might be 40 pages away – this isn’t the most efficient. Sure, you could also open up the desired Pool of Pages and select there, but the quickest option might be to key it in using the PAGE key.

Pressing PAGE 2 ENTER would take you to Executor Fader Page 2 along with Executor Button Page 2. Obviously, replace the number 2 with your desired page. Then, let’s say that you’d like to changed the Executor Fader Page, but not the Button Page. For this, we want to be a bit more specific.

Typing PAGE 2.3 ENTER would take your Executor Faders to Page 3 but leave the Executor Buttons as they are. This syntax is more specific, and there’s a number associated with each different type of page:

PAGE 1.X ENTER changes your Dimmer Page
PAGE 2.X ENTER changes your Executor Fader Page
PAGE 3.X ENTER changes your Executor Button Page

Quick Tips are exactly what the name should imply. We’re adding these to our blog in an effort to help programmers and operators of all levels. If you’d like to suggest a Quick Tip, drop us a message on this blog, or on our Facebook page, or even via Twitter.

Quick Tip Tuesday: Oops Function Options

Cat — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:16:36 +0000

If you’re anything like me, then the OOPS key is probably your favorite key on the desk. Because the OOPS option is actually fairly processor intensive on the console, you might want to think about optimizing your settings.

Pressing the SETUP key will take you to the Setup menu, where you will want to locate the “Oops Settings” option on the right side of the screen under “Misc.” Here are your options:

GENERAL (Enabled vs. Disabled)
General Enabled: Allows you to use the OOPS functionality to undo errors you made in your Commandline.
General Disabled: Turns all OOPS functionality off.

Oops for Views: Lets say you hit the wrong View button, well if Oops for Views is Enabled, you can simply hit OOPS to go back to your old screens.
Oops for Programmer: Enabling this option extends your Oops functionality for fixture editing to include selections/deselections in the Fixture Sheet along with attribution activations.

Ever wonder what that whole note at the bottom regarding “loud environments” is all about? Well, it has to do with the line above it regarding permanent hard disk access. Having permanent hard disk access in an environment with a lot of vibrations is very very difficult to pull off because of the mechanics of your basic HDD. In some clubs, operators would find that the vibrations were causing so much trouble that the console’s speed would drop significantly. Turning off OOPS functionality releases the permanent access resulting in a much faster console. If you’re in a quiet theatre, this won’t be a problem for you. Also – if you have a grandMA2, this also won’t be a problem because you’re lucky enough to have a Solid State Hard Drive!

So, which options are best for you if vibrations are not an issue? It’s up to you, but I like to use General: Enabled and Oops for Programmer: Enabled leaving the Views option Disabled. This isn’t cause I never hit the wrong View button – believe me, if there’s a contest for hitting the wrong keys, I could probably go Pro. It’s just that it’s too easy to simply hit the correct View Button afterwards!

Quick Tips are exactly what the name should imply. We’re adding these to our blog in an effort to help programmers and operators of all levels. If you’d like to suggest a Quick Tip, drop us a message on this blog, or on our Facebook page, or even via Twitter.

Quick Tip Tuesday: Lowering your Showfile Size

Cat — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:47:17 +0000

This week’s tip comes from Joe Cabrera, Director of Software Support at ACT Lighting.

Lately, we’re seeing more and more show files of bigger and bigger size. It’s not unheard of when you have an extensive rig (especially a large number of LED’s and/or media servers) and a band with an extensive catalog of songs. At a certain point, multiplying lots of parameters by numerous cues starts to add up.

Building habits for effective data usage can help stop your file size from spiraling out of control. Two big keys (when used efficiently) that will help you to keep your show size down are the Tracking and User Profiles.

Unblocking any unnecessarily blocked cues (trusting tracking to maintain the correct stage picture) can remove quite a bit of excess data from the show file while maintaining all of the truly necessary values. Unblocking can be done directly within the Tracking Sheet (right-click on any value in the sheet) or with Commandline syntax (look for the Unblock key in the QuicKey Pool).

They may seem pretty innocent, but User Profiles (especially their Views) can take up quite a bit of space. If you imagine that the setting of every possible display option for any sheet on the screen must be saved within the view, and that you can have multiple sheets on a screen, and that a view can contain all of these settings for up to all five screens, you can see how this data starts to pile up. Deleting any unneeded views from within your profile, and of course any unused profiles altogether, can also save quite a bit of space.

Quick Tips are exactly what the name should imply. We’re adding these to our blog in an effort to help programmers and operators of all levels. If you’d like to suggest a Quick Tip, drop us a message on this blog, or on our Facebook page, or even via Twitter.

Video: MDG Atmosphere Haze Generator

Cat — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:59:54 +0000

Welcome to the MDG Atmosphere APS haze generator. This short video serves as an introduction to the product and shows how easy it is to change the CO2 canister. The MDG Atmosphere is used world wide in theatre, concert touring and in professional installations.

MDG Atmosphere from ACT Lighting from ACT Lighting on Vimeo.

New MA Lighting Software for June on ACTLighting.com

Cat — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 13:32:25 +0000

Today, you’ll find updated versions of software for the following products, along with Release Notes detailing the updates:

grandMA Series 1
grandMA Console Software Version 6.520
grandMA1 onPC Version 6.520

grandMA Series 2
grandMA2 Console Software Version 1.9
grandMA2 onPC Version 1.9

Visualizer
grandMA 3D Version [1.9.0][6.5] (compatible with today’s console software releases)

Video Processing Unit
grandMA VPU Software Version 4.5

Please visit our Downloads page to access these updates and the Release Notes.

Thanks!
The ACT Lighting Software Team

Quick Tip Tuesday: Temporary Windows

Cat — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:16:43 +0000

Temporary windows are those that can be called up independent of a View, and don’t require that you clear off the desktop to open them. Accessing them is easy. To do this, press and hold the LIST key and press any of the following keys to open the corresponding window:

CHANNEL opens the Channel Sheet
FIXTURE opens the Fixture Sheet
GROUP opens the Group Pool
SEQUENCE opens the Sequence Pool
EXECUTOR opens the Executor Sheet
MACRO opens the Macro Pool
VIEW opens the Views Pool
EFFECT opens the Effects Pool
PAGE opens Channel Pages*

Tip: Some of these keys are associated with multiple windows, which means that by holding the LIST key and hitting certain other keys twice, you’ll open other windows. The PRESET key is a great example of this. Each time you hit PRESET while holding down the LIST key, you’ll be given a new PRESET window (Dimmer, Pan/Tilt, Color, etc).

*Also try holding the LIST key and pressing keys like CHANNEL, FIXTURE, GROUP, EXECUTOR, PAGE and EFFECT more than once…

All temporary windows can be closed by pressing the ESCAPE key.

Quick Tips are exactly what the name should imply. We’re adding these to our blog in an effort to help programmers and operators of all levels. If you’d like to suggest a Quick Tip, drop us a message on this blog, or on our Facebook page, or even via Twitter.