Any thoughts on a new desk?

[Slacker1]

After many years of reliable service, my old friend the Strand 550 has started to die on me ;) . I had it refurbished by WL about a year and a half ago however even that didn't fix a few of its faults. I recon it is good for another year or so before I have to get a new one and thats the problem. What do I get to replace it?? Ideally I need the new one to read 500 series disks. I've looked at the Strand Sub Palette, but I wasn't that impressed with it. Then I looked at the Strand Light Palette Live and I quite liked that up until I started to read what everyone has to say about it. Am I barking up the wrong tree considering getting a Genlyte console or is there another solution to my problem?

[johnlinford]

I would suggest taking a look at the ETC Eos - I've heard generally good things, and having had a play at PLASA would definitely get one on demo before making any decisions.

[Slacker1]

I would suggest taking a look at the ETC Eos - I've heard generally good things, and having had a play at PLASA would definitely get one on demo before making any decisions.

 

I do like the sound of the Eos however I really need something with a few more subs to hand for those one nighters shows. Does the Eos have any kind of external sub wing? What ever desk is chosen it will definitely be demoed beforehand.

[strand600X]

Hi

I to am in the same position as you are. We are currently looking at three desks...

The congo, the EOS ant the palette VL.

 

I do like the congo but it doesn't seem to read 500 disks propely and the EOS seems good but I dont know enough about it yet. The palette VL seems to have everything I want from a desk and I understand there is a radical software change coming up in the next month or so will make it more like a 21st century 500. I am going to hang on for a short while to see the new software and the support that strand has to offer failing that it's back to the EOS..

 

Baz

Opera North ;)

[alan v]

I do like the sound of the Eos however I really need something with a few more subs to hand for those one nighters shows. Does the Eos have any kind of external sub wing?

 

According to the ETC website, they can do a 20 or a 40 fader wing. You can download an offline editor there too, and the instruction manual. It looks pretty good, but I guess you don't know til you've tried it...

 

Link: ETC Eos

 

Alan.

[Brent Smith]

Hi I to am in the same position as you are. We are currently looking at three desks...The congo, the EOS ant the palette VL.I do like the congo but it doesn't seem to read 500 disks propely and the EOS seems good but I dont know enough about it yet. The palette VL seems to have everything I want from a desk and I understand there is a radical software change coming up in the next month or so will make it more like a 21st century 500. I am going to hang on for a short while to see the new software and the support that strand has to offer failing that it's back to the EOS..BazOpera North :)

 

Hi Baz, Did Strand not demo the new Strandified software at PLASA? They were busting their humps to get it done in time.Slacker- Get a demo of the EOS, you'll be surprised at how seamless is to 550 logic.

 

After serious evaluation between the EOS and the Palettes, I am installing one of our new EOS consoles today. We will be adding the Sub Wing, but I really want to be able to get my head around the management of the ten Faders/Multi pages. They are motorized, so it starts off easier than most previous consoles.Do look at the Palettes, but wait until they finally have the new version out. It will look better at least.

 

If you are in theatre, and work with a lot of static fixtures, take a hard look at the Channel Windows. They have added the ability to view channels on the second monitor, but the second window doesn't work in conjuction with or in the same manner as the first, rendering one redundant. If you want to see as many channels as you might on the 550, you have to go to Control Panel and set the Display Resolution at "exceedingly tiny." This was a big gripe for me, being the bespectacled geek I am, and I hope it stays on their radar.

 

At any time on the EOS, you can Zoom the Channels Screens anywhere from a couple thousand to just four channels per screen.The biggest unique thing that strand is bragging about is that the Palettes will move a light between two points in a straight line. This is considerable in a theatrical setting where you might be using a mover as a special following an actor strolling from point A to point B.

 

That's all for now.Did anyone else see the Palettes at PLASA?

 

Cheers, Brent

 

Sorry for the edit, I can't seem to work anything today...Please let it be known that I fully wrote that post three times and was still unable to get the punctuation in correctly. Apologies all around.B

[Slacker1]

After serious evaluation between the EOS and the Palettes, I am installing one of our new EOS consoles today.

 

What made you chooses the Eos over the Palette in the end and how much did you get the Eos + sub wing for?

[jeremyaroberts]

Hi Slacker,

 

Drop me a mail and we'll bring the EOS and a 500 programmer to demo it for you.

 

jroberts@etceurope.com

 

cheers

 

Jeremy

[neilalexrose]

I looked at one of the Palette desks and the EOS at PLASA, and both could do a lot of good stuff that was very familiar to an ETC/Strand operator, however talking to both sets of demonstrators, they did say that neither of the software releases were quite up to scratch yet. The EOS is missing some of stuff at the moment - media server compatibility, and some of the shape generator stuff wasn't quite finished. The strand software isn't finished for UK use just yet, due for release early next year.

I personally like the EOS a bit better, the console layout is much more visual, the IFCB palettes were on touch screens with user defined labels, where as the strand had buttons labeled Alphabetically, in groups for each of the palette groups, no displays tho, so much white tape would still need to be used!

The EOS encoders had their own touchscreen display, which again showed what they controlled, and the fine and course resistance gears was a nice touch, let you know which mode you were in.

In answer to previous posts, they told me on the EOS stand that the faders wings that work with the congo, also work with the EOS too, available in 20 or 40 fader version (tho not motorised like the ones on the console obviously!)

Strand were also telling me that they had taken on board alot of the comments from UK users, from simple things down to the colour choices of channel layouts, to make them similar to the 500 series genius displays.

 

I'd be interested to know if either console supported older file types, I imagine that they wouldn't go cross platform without something like showport, (tho I haven't tried taking a strand show file with movers, converting it, and load it into an ETC desk to see if it works) Any one know if they plan to continue developing showport (or even a 3rd party conversion software?)

 

Speaking to a few other people in the business, their opinion (like mine) is to wait a little while longer, until the software has sorted itself out. Both consoles I'm sure have their good and bad points, but I think give it another 6 months to a year, and the software will have been sorted out. It'll be an interesting battle I think!

[gareth]

the strand had buttons labeled Alphabetically, in groups for each of the palette groups, no displays tho, so much white tape would still need to be used!

It's 2007, and you still have to use PVC tape and a Sharpie to label basic things like palettes on a desk that's supposed to be top-of-the-range. Something's not right there.

Strand were also telling me that they had taken on board alot of the comments from UK users, from simple things down to the colour choices of channel layouts, to make them similar to the 500 series genius displays.

There's something a bit wrong when you've got to make changes and improvements to a brand-new product to make it as good as something that's led the market for the last twelve years ... :)

 

As a long-time Strand man it saddens me to say this, but for anyone in the market for a new medium-to-large-scale theatre console at the moment, it's a no-brainer. ETC every time.

[Slacker1]

Well it sure does sound like its time for change. The days of shows turning up at my door with a Strand disk feels like there about to end! Think I’ll still demo the Strand to give it a chance however I'll be going into it ready to disappointed The more I read about the Eos the more it grows on me, I will have to get that nice Mr Jeremy to show me what its all about.

[Nick S]

I've just got into a new venue with an ETC install, in an organization that was previously Strand all the way. The Eos just makes....so much more sense compared to the Palette, in every way.

 

The hardware is spot on, integration with the rest of our gear is excellent, it's an intuitive desk...it's made what would be a fairly complex system very very simple (the Eos console itself acts as a backup processor, with two additional processors in the system, one purely acting as the primary unit, the other in the stage managers console with a sub-wing integrated into the SM control system. Video output from the console is then fed to four touch-screens around the stage running some custom software, which enable simple presets to be called up). Even if you forgo the software, I reckon the Eos hardware layout is infinitely more usable than a Palette, and far more versatile.