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December 2017

Blackmagic Design ATEM Television Studio Pro HD Switcher

Blackmagic Design ATEM Television Studio Pro HD Switcher

Video switchers are not sexy. At least the smaller frames. Let’s face it, in terms of sheer eye candy, small event video switchers take a back seat to their audio and lighting cousins.

It’s a general rule that the larger the console, the more bells and whistles and consequently more blinky lights and buttons. The smaller fare is basic because they tend to be more utility than glam. There’s only so much you can fit in a frame anyway.

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PLSN's 2017 LDI Show Report

PLSN’s 2017 LDI Show Report

The LDI exhibition returned to the Las Vegas Convention Center Nov. 17-19, and with more than 350 exhibitors using the event for some of their most significant product launches of the year, there was plenty of innovation for the 16,000-plus attendees to check out.

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Martin MAC Encore Performance

Martin MAC Encore Performance

I recently got a chance to test the Martin MAC Encore Performance fixtures from Harman, which are available in two versions — the WRM, or “warm” version, and CLD, or “cold” version. (As of last month’s LDI, Martin added the MAC Encore Wash, also in warm and cool versions, but here, I’ll just focus on the two versions of the MAC Encore Performance.) After playing with the Performance, I concluded that it is perfect for working with cameras.

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2017 PLSN Gold Star Product Awards

2017 PLSN Gold Star Product Awards

Over the course of 2017, the staff at PLSN checks out every new product that has to do with the live event industry and beyond. Besides the wide variety of lighting categories we have these days for fixtures, there are great innovations in everything from touring video systems to clamps and gadgets that aid us in our pursuit of the perfect tools for our shows.

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Paging All Playbacks

Paging All Playbacks

Automated lighting consoles have many great programming and playback features that provide many useful functions. One of the more clever functions has to do with expanding playback capabilities. Instead of being limited by the number of physical buttons and faders on a console, most make use of pages (or banks) to increase the playbacks immensely. The page functionality can be used for much more, such as organizing songs or scenes, adjusting playback styles, expanding capabilities and more. It is important for lighting programmers to understand the paging functionality of their console.

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