Zero88 Orb design choices

[Keeper of the Keys]

I noticed that the final design of the Orb has dropped the "frog paw" in favour of three of the more "traditional" rotary encoders, while the frog paw did appear in early sneak preview pictures etc.

Tough I have never used the "frog paw" in real life it always seemed to be something that made more sense than normal rotaries and was probably easier to use...

As there are a bunch of Zero88 people on this forum I was hoping someone could shed some light on this decision...

[HobitLight]

I've always found the "frog paw" a lot easier to handle P/T on MLs (unless there is a trackball of course). However, for any other attribute, I don't really mind which I use. They both do the job well enough. However, for intensity I prefer a wheel to a rotary encoder and I also like the fact that you can use the "frog paw" at any position, not just where the dip is.

 

But, as I say, I don't mind either way.

[sirrus]

I noticed that the final design of the Orb has dropped the "frog paw" in favour of three of the more "traditional" rotary encoders, while the frog paw did appear in early sneak preview pictures etc.

Tough I have never used the "frog paw" in real life it always seemed to be something that made more sense than normal rotaries and was probably easier to use...

As there are a bunch of Zero88 people on this forum I was hoping someone could shed some light on this decision...

 

Love the 'Frog Paw' :P .. Yes, it’s a fairly easy interface to use, takes a little bit of getting used to; just to point out, the Orb does also have a trackball which could be used, I imagine for pan and tilt amongst other things.. Meaning that the encoders jobs would be to control colour wheels & shutters and gobos and the likes. Indeed the paw was always a little irritating if you only wanted to change something very slightly, often you would be going back and forward a few percentages till you got what you wanted.

 

Cheers,

[HobitLight]

Indeed the paw was always a little irritating if you only wanted to change something very slightly, often you would be going back and forward a few percentages till you got what you wanted.

When ever I use it if I move the "paw" slowly the value changes by a small amount, especially if it is a 16bit attribute, where by moving it slowly only the 16bit attribute moves at first.

[paul the paranoid lampy]

I remeber when it was "4 wheel Drive" and had 4 wheels in that configuration.

I would hazard a guess its due to the target customers being used to the more coventinal set up. ie Strand 520 users.

[smalljoshua]

I agree with the above assumption with regards to target market.

 

However, I still think moving away from the wheels is a step in the wrong direction. The Thumb & Finger config of the paw is a lot more natural than the 3 wheels and while I'm aware the trackball is now there and able to control Pan and Tilt I hope. I still think the paw might be missed slightly by some.

 

Josh

[tokm]

However, I still think moving away from the wheels is a step in the wrong direction. The Thumb & Finger config of the paw is a lot more natural than the 3 wheels and while I'm aware the trackball is now there and able to control Pan and Tilt I hope.

I beg to differ.. I always found the Frog paw a lot less accurate and a general pain compared to using wheels. I program shows on mostly hogs & avo's and must say using wheels to manipulate attributes has always felt better.. i.e. quicker, more accurately, more sensitive.

 

That's my view, but, from speaking to other people, seems to also be to be the general consensus from operators and programmers, thus why I suspect most console manufacturers seem to have gone with wheels as opposed to anything else.

 

T

[niclights]

A limitation of the 'paw' system is you cannot continually increment or decrement a value without removing and replacing your finger. Whereas rotary encoders can be spun forever. This is not just awkward but also prevents smooth adjustment if this sort of control is required live, for whatever reason.

 

Personally I've never liked them. Certainly it's the only way you could gain control of more than two attributes by hand simultaneously (excepting colour picker systems), but does this work in reality? I'm not convinced. I honestly thought it a joke from the first time I saw it.

 

However, I might consider thumb + finger a more logical solution for positional though, where wheels aren't particularly intuitive and trackball is too inaccurate.

[indyld]

Nobody left-handed here? I would have thought that would have come up already.

[Strand77]

Does anyone know when there will be some Orb Demo desks available ?

[Keeper of the Keys]

I think it's supposed to start being available now....

[neild]

Its still in beta testing at the moment.

 

I'm sure Peter will give more information, but I guess its a few months away from general sales yet.

[Light Console]

Nobody left-handed here? I would have thought that would have come up already.

 

Yes, and I find some desks to be very right handed, even some 1 channel dimmer packs!

I used a Frog everyday for 2 six month seasons, and like the "Frog Paw". I use my right hand for it, but would have bought a left handed version for myself. I actually found the lack of a keypad to jump to cues more annoying, the shift key could have changed the buttons in that area to a numeric keypad.

[Graham NZ]

Hi

 

The Orbs are now starting to ship at the end of a long beta testing process. If anyone would like to get a demo of the Orb or have it in their venue to try please PM Peter and he will book it in. We are making several desks available to allow people to get an extended hands on trial.

 

Graham

[Strand77]

does anyone know what the price is going to be ?