For this 2019 Prolight+Sound edition in Frankfurt, the US brand comes to Europe with two new intelligent interfaces in its suitcase. The first one is dedicated to lift control for motors, and, last but not least, the second one is a touchscreen controller for architectural lighting.
QuickTouch Preset, is the birth name of this new intelligent box designed to control 24, or even 96 lifting points. This remote box can entirely be configured, and is unveiled as the most intuitve ever designed by ETC. It looks like a box with an integrated 7-inch touchscreen, an emergency button and a “Go” button.
The purpose of this interface is simple, making it easier for operators, especially those for whom lifting skills are limited. The multiple modes go from simple single motor control to the programming of complex movements via a bank of presets, editable at will in “administrator” mode. The so-called “administrator” can then create from scratch his own user interface and determine the possibilities which he wishes (or not!) to let the operators have access to.
This clever box thus integrates a lot of functions that can evolve via updates. Regarding the presets, there are 999 maximum, when the maximum number of 24 motor points can be increased to 96 by connecting one or more MCX nodes.
This new unit is halfway between computerized motorized pole controller and more “classic” lifting controller. Note that this remote control is only compatible with ETC lifting systems.
In the same way of thinking, let’s have a deep look into the EchoTouch, an interface presented as a single touchscreen dedicated to architectural lighting and the global control of small or mid size rooms or working spaces. This system comprises in its main functions the control of the ETC Echo range (contact closure, power rewlay, interactive control thru presence detector, etc), both in control and data feedback. The icing on the cake comes thru the total control of all kinds of intelligent lighting fixtures via DMX/RDM and sACN.
This unit integrates , like in a standard lighting console, a fixture library comprising almost all the lighting fixtures on the market. Nevertheless, there should be confusion between a lighting console and the EchoTouch.
The latter only has one DMX universe and 64 output channels, and its control features are more dedicated to Echo products and its EchoConnect protocol.
Its operation is very close to that of a small console: virtual buttons and faders, color picker, sequences editing… The graphical environment of the device is fully modifiable by the user who can thus determine and configure the functions he wants to display on the screen and, if he wishes, lock them.
More information on these new lifting control and architectural lighting on the ETC Website.
