Strand Palette Networking

[notwhoyouthink]

My school's head of drama is interested in getting a PresetPalette for use in our new drama studio and in the main school hall. He has had the idea that he can use the off-line editor to get kids involved by designing the show on that and then loading this via network to the console. Can the desk actually do this? So far, I have found that is can:

Print on the network

Send video on the network

Control kit with it

Surf the internet on it (but it runs windows...)

... but not what he wants. Is this possible and if not, are there any others which can?

 

Cheers, notwhoyouthink

[Trunker]

Looking at the Strand website www.strandlighting.com , I don't think you can. I think it is meant for the more 'upmarket' desk like Classic Palette, Live Palette etc. I may be wrong though. Try and persude your teacher to go for the sub palette. You can use it exactly like the preset, but it has memory storage as well (on subs), so you have got the best of both worlds then at a not to dear price.

[paulears]

The control surface is the major difference - the preset pallette has this spec (from the new Strand site)

 

 

* Up to 2000 Cues per show

* Hard Disk Cue Storage

* Automated Lighting Control with Fixture Library

* Up to 12 Part Cues

* 12 Effects playbacks

* Tracking or Whole Cue operation

* Windows Off-line Editors

* 32/64 and 48/96 Hardware Versions

* Single (Wide mode) and Two Scene preset operation

* Memory and Manual Playbacks

* 16 or 32 Submasters with 10 pages

* 100 Control Channels

 

So the preset has the usual memory facilities, just a fader per channel operation style

[johnhuson]

Why is it essential that he can load the show into the console via a Network?? Surely it's just as easy (and probably simpler) to transfer the show from the OLE computer to the console via USB memory stick.

[andystone]

The Compulite Dlite can do this - you can learn the desk using the free off line editor and training video, then save the show on a PC and load it on to the console over a standard Ethernet network.

[notwhoyouthink]

Ok, thanks for the responses so far. Trouble is, we've only got around £4000 to play with, so the Dlite isn't really an option. I am still half-hoping for an alternative as a desk running on Windows doesn't really fill me with confidence... as an example, I was researching this very matter at school, thinking about it running windows, and then the pc crashed. Needless to say, that filled me with confidence. NOT.

 

So the Palette can't do this. Are there any others besides the Dlite (which I am going to properly investigate) which can do the networky thing or is it something that can't be got in a 4 grand desk?

 

Cheers for the help so far...

notwhoyouthink

 

edit: there is such a thing as paragraphing...

[iamchristuffin]

The Zero88 Frog range can, with PhantomFrog off the zero88 website, and all (except Frog2) cost less that £4000 new! admittedly, they only used floppy disks, but most desktops still have a floppy drive on them.

 

EDIT:Could not have been at all helpful, this post, looking back on it!

[johnhuson]

I am still half-hoping for an alternative as a desk running on Windows doesn't really fill me with confidence... as an example, I was researching this very matter at school, thinking about it running windows, and then the pc crashed. Needless to say, that filled me with confidence. NOT.

 

It's been covered here before so won't go into to much detail, but lighting consoles using Windows XP, are using the embeded version. This is significantly different to the Windows you use on your PC at home/school/work etc. and is in fact very stable.

[fredb]

The short answer is.... maybe :P

 

My first take on this is that the only network a lighting console (any, not just Palettes) should be connected to is the one for controlling dimmers and lights. It shouldn't be connected to the school network, and it certainly shouldn't be connected to the Internet. The best way to get show files from an off-line editor to the console is via USB memory stick.

 

Now, the maybe part. As had been said before, the Palette consoles run Embedded XP. If Strand has enabled Windows Networking in the OS (which I actually hope they haven't) then it might be possible to load a showfile from a Windows file server (or a workstation with filesharing enabled). I've got access to a Light Palette, if I get a chance, I'll see if I can determine if Windows Networking is enabled. (Even that may be difficult, as many of the normal tools that you would expect on a Desktop system are missing from the console... part of what is done to make Embedded XP stable.)

 

I will say one nice feature of the Palettes is that the off-line software can control the desk over the network. This came in handy today, as I was helping a friend of mine give a talk about lighting to a few Girl Scouts... To make controlling the instruments easy while talking about them, I just plugged my laptop into the lighting network on stage, and fired up the remote control software. Saved needing another body in the booth just to turn lights on and off.

 

-Fred

[Rowan]

I'm pretty sure you can do this on a Congo, set the fileserver path to a shared folder and then save all of your shows to it from the ole.

 

Also, the Congo Jr might be in or close to your price range.

[Trunker]

If you have got £4000 to play with and its for a school, have a look at the Zero 88 Fat Frog. You can control 12 intelligent fixtures off it and you can get one for under £2000. You might be able to persuade your teacher to then buy some new lanterns and some scrollers with the option of hiring in Moving Heads for future show. And as some said before there is the 'online' phantom frog which is similar to the program your on about.

[Rowan]

A quick look in the manual confirms that you can load files over the network to the palette. Although I have to echo certain points other people have made about putting your lighting desk on a school network. Having said that, our 530 sat on the theatre intranet so that we could use the xConnect as a remote monitoring station from the office PC.

Also, I would presume that if you do get a virus on the Palette then it won't be that difficult to clear out, It's not like you have to re-load hundreds of applications and files onto it. I'd be interested to hear if anybody's had a virus on one yet.

[notwhoyouthink]

Also, the Congo Jr might be in or close to your price range.

Stage LX have them for £4300 - I think these may be worth a serious look!

 

If you have got £4000 to play with and its for a school, have a look at the Zero 88 Fat Frog.

You might be able to persuade your teacher to then buy some new lanterns and some scrollers with the option of hiring in Moving Heads for future show.

We were conned into thinking that when we were sold ours - that the frogs were networkable, did ArtNet etc... They don't really fit the bill, as iamchristuffin adds as an edit to his point about frogs... It is a fair point, but not really relevant. :P

 

My first take on this is that the only network a lighting console (any, not just Palettes) should be connected to is the one for controlling dimmers and lights. It shouldn't be connected to the school network, and it certainly shouldn't be connected to the Internet. The best way to get show files from an off-line editor to the console is via USB memory stick.

My views exactly! However, if the palette was running linux or windows without IE or file sharing, I wouldn't think as much of it, but as it stands, I really wouldn't trust it.

Also, the palette way means letting the school network team on it to organise file sharing etc, which is not a good thing. Congo does it better - they would only need to install the OLE and not touch the console at all.

 

Thanks for all the help... the decision will be better informed already!

Cheers, notwhoyouthink

[fredb]

My views exactly! However, if the palette was running linux or windows without IE or file sharing, I wouldn't think as much of it, but as it stands, I really wouldn't trust it.

Also, the palette way means letting the school network team on it to organise file sharing etc, which is not a good thing. Congo does it better - they would only need to install the OLE and not touch the console at all.

I think that you missed my point. There is nothing that the school's nertwork team can do to the Palette! There is NO way that the Palette can be made to share it's disk space. That's the whole point of Embedded XP; it's locked down so that changes can't be made. (You can't even directly access the system dorectories... you can't even get to the directories where the Palette software is installed. Even the hard drive is locked down.)

 

What you should be able to do is to access a showfile on an external fileserver. Nothing needs to be modified in the Palette to do this. According to the manual, this should work:

If your lighting console can be hooked to the building's network you can leverage off of

standard networking capabilities such as mapped network drives, network printers and

Internet connection.

 

Note that I believe that the Congo also runs on Embedded XP; though they don't seem to openly advertise this fact. Also, looking at the manual, I don't see any mention of loading files from a networked OLE, it only talks about copying from a backup console. So, you should make sure of it's capabilities, before going that way.

 

Oh, and the main value of having IE on the console is to do things like configure dimmers and ethernet/DMX nodes... without needing another computer in the booth.

 

-Fred

 

Edit - changed comments on Congo after reading the manual.

[3pens]

I'm pretty sure you can do this on a Congo, set the fileserver path to a shared folder and then save all of your shows to it from the ole.

 

Also, the Congo Jr might be in or close to your price range.

 

I would like to second the above comment. ETC Desks are great!