Software based lighting console

Conventional lighting consoles typically have a lot of faders and not much else on the control surface. These faders are used to bring up individual lights and groups of lights.

Some may be programmable, called submasters. Conventional lighting consoles may also have cue stacks, allowing lighting looks to be programmed into a cue, which then can be played back in a list of cues on a special playback fader.

At the time of this writing, conventional-style consoles are quickly becoming obsolete, but. Moving light consoles, on the other hand, put the focus on touchscreens, buttons, wheels and a fewer faders.

The software, which is much more advanced, is able to playback many cues at once and program effects movements easily.

A conventional lighting rig is actually a little slower to control compared to a conventional console. In addition, many consoles are now available in a PC version- running off of a computer with a small, or even no control surface. There are many, many different programs out there to do this, and also many different options for outputting to DMX. Software-based consoles are available in both moving light and conventional style consoles, though the majority are ML consoles.

Are you looking for your first or next lighting console? Read my guide here to learn how to choose the right one for YOUR needs! Before making a decision you want to consider what capabilities you want to have over your lighting console.

Please log in again. The login page will open in a new tab. After logging in you can close it and return to this page. Share 0. Tweet 0. Pin 0. Related Posts. I would agree with the above. If you really are serious about expanding your rig, the ML may quickly run out of "headroom" in terms of efficient fixture count.

The console will deal with a fairly high number of fixtures at 24, but it gets kind of hard to operate them quickly when programming. My general rule-of-thumb is that if you have a background in theatrical controls operation, you will likely have a difficult time adapting to a wholly software-based system.

If you have no console "habits" many software-based make make perfect sense to you, but it will depend on your level of "computer intimidation". The biggest problem is selecting a software package that actually does the things that you need it to efficiently.

There are a lot of software systems that claim they work well with X-Y-Z , but when you get into programming they are difficult to navigate. Ask around other churches in the area and see if they have the kind of setup you need to run, or ask a local dealer if they can demo a console for you ideally at your facility. Get off-line version of software both hardware consoles and software. Most of these will have full operability, they just won't be able to actually control lights. Site Search User.

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