Lighting desk

[Peter]

Hi guys,

Which one would you suggest and why? Grandma, Hog iPC, ...

Thanks,

Peter

[emilianomorgia]

if you want to use the DMX controller only to control the Catalyst , I suggest you to buy the follows :

1 Mac Pro with ATI xt1900
2 Cinema Display 23"
1 HES dp2000
1 HES programmer wing
1 HES playback wing
1 Microsoft Windows XP SP2
1 HES USB dedicated Wholehog keyboard
1 Hog Pc software .

By buying this you will have the best ever Whole Hog Set up , I use to work with this set up , ( wingless actually ) and it's a way much faster then the consolle it self . Mouse And Keyboard it's much easy to control then the physical consolle it self .

Why a Mac ? It's the perfect spare for your catalyst server .

Costs ?

15 .000 euros maybe less if you go for USB super widget instead of Dp2000 .

May be you want touch screens instead of cinema display .... well you can having as much as you want ( using TH2G ) .

this is what I suggest .


If you don't want to do this ....

If you need to control only the catalyst server I'll say whole hog iPc .

In my opinion it's better don't don't buy a Hog 3 my personal opinion it's that it will be discontinued .

Why I'm telling you this ?

Hog3 it's based on linux , iPc , Pc and Road are based on Windows .

Think how difficult it's for the HES team to make two different version of the software, I'm not a software programmer but it's logical to think that it's easier working on one platform then 2 .

The Hog software , I mean the software you get from Hog3 , iPc , Hog Pc , RoadHog , in my experience it's the best ever light controller software around the industry , it's clean easy and intuitive , there is nothing more you could ask .

I might be wrong saying that Hog3 will not survive as much the windows based product will do , but this is what I think .

Hog 3 it's the best software ever for controlling lights , does not metter if it run on a Pc iPc or what ever for my experience to answer your question directly buy a Hog iPc .

[SourceChild]

I have to support quite a few of the statements that Emil has made.

In USD, a Hog3 is about $25k compared to the MA which is almost twice that.

Many of the large companies who hire me have GrandMA desks so learn it. I however will always spec a Hog3 given the choice.

I love the speed at which I can program a Hog3 and yes it exceeds an MA. I would however say the MA is a better desk. It is better for running a big show if the team is concerned about having multiple interfaces and better multi-interface reliability.

If you're simply a user who has need to only program media servers, then hands down, Hog3 is better and for many of the reasons Emil mentioned.

One thing I will mention to reinforce what Emil said is to use Hog PC instead of the desk itself.

The DP2000 is literally a DMX processor. That little blue node is the heart and the critical part of the system but any computer can run it just as well as the SUSE based Wholehog Controller.

I implore you. It is worth the price to buy a DP2000 for a little less than twice the price of a superwidget.

Oh and, there was a fantastic gentleman from California who created keyboard button labels that show the Hog key configuration. Just check out the High End website and you'll find the link to download them.

Except for the lack of encoder wheels. I can program just as fast now using a regular keyboard as opposed to using a programming wing. Of course I've also had practice.

Oh and not to knock the Linux based Kernel but the average laptop or desktop computer is actually faster and more reliable than the Wholehog3 Controller simply because the motherboard in the Hog is more than a half decade old.

Now for specific reasons why a hog is better for media servers...
I have programmed literally a hundred Catalyst shows on a hog3. I have been very smart though. I started by creating programming templates for each of the different configurations I used the Catalyst.

Now when I show up on show site, 90% of the show is programmed already and all I have to do is use the magic little update button. Needless to say, this has virtually eliminated the need for having the programming wing interface.

So now when I do a Catalyst show, I get on the plane with one carry-on which has my clothes and tablet PC and I check one road case that weights less than 50lbs which has:
1 PC laptop
1 DP2000
1 Playback Wing
2 DMX Ethergates
1 8-port switch
3 Macbook Pros w Catalyst
3 Firewire 800 External Enclosures with Mtron Disks

The alternative with the smallest GrandMA is two roadcases and weight penalties.

[jasonrudolph]

Well, I guess I have to chime in for the GrandMA over the hog. Personally, I MUCH prefer the GrandMA to the Hog 3. I find it to be much faster to program Media Servers, utilizing the Smart Window, which customizes itself to what you are controlling. This coupled with the ease at which you can modify your profile to set up your controls how you feel comfortable from an operational standpoint.

The other console, which doesn't come up often, as you can only get it from PRG is the Virtuoso. The real strong point of this board is the media window on the console, which allows you to have a local copy of your library, and in the media window, you can view thumbnails of all your library, and when you mouse over them, they start to play, so you can preview the clips on the console before you select it. It really is an awesome feature, made possible because that console runs on a mac, so it was an easy add to the console application. Unfortunately, you can't get the console unless you are going through PRG.

[ryanww]

Actually I think you can get that console.. I just don't think many people have them.. I know a company here in Orange County, CA has one they rent out...

[Peter]

Thanks, guys. I forgot to say that i work in theatre, so i need a combination of programming lights (mostly conventional) and video. Any views on that?

[emilianomorgia]

Thanks, guys. I forgot to say that i work in theatre, so i need a combination of programming lights (mostly conventional) and video. Any views on that?

Where are you from ? Call local dealer and ask for a demo et

[Peter]

I'm demo-ing. But as always it's nice to hear other peoples opninions to get everything in perspective. I'm from Belgium.

Btw sourcechild : mtron in fw800 enclouseres, how do they deal with 1024x768 files photojpeg 50% or apple intermediate codec?

[emilianomorgia]

I'm demo-ing. But as always it's nice to hear other peoples opninions to get everything in perspective. I'm from Belgium.

Btw sourcechild : mtron in fw800 enclouseres, how do they deal with 1024x768 files photojpeg 50% or apple intermediate codec?

So what's are you think ? Where are you oriented ?

[Peter]

I still dont know because i only had a ADB Mentor to program 2 shows which works ok. Certainly for small shows. But i'm now going to use ma on pc and hog on pc to see how this works with my macbook pro - parallels - windows xp. As i do mainly theatre and events i'm perhaps leaning more towards the ma.

Do i need a DP2000 because if the lighting soft understands artnet and catalyst does i can use an ethernet connection like i do with the mentor and the mac?