ETC
continues
Avab
product development
New Avab
Safari upgrade available free!
Lighting
Product News Published: 19 September 2004
If you are a user of Avab lighting control systems you may have
been waiting to learn how ETC's acquisition of the Avab console
brands would affect you. ETC is pleased to announce new additions
and new expectations for this product line in the near future.
“When we acquired transtechnik Lichtsysteme
we were pleased to gain the Avab product line as a part of the
transaction,” says Fred Foster, ETC Chief Executive Officer.
“We have now dedicated additional product development
resources to the Avab console effort in Europe. We will continue
to support the development of Avab systems while also providing
ETC’s worldwide technical service and quality control.”
Desiring to build on the strong heritage of the
Avab control product line, ETC has retained most of the original
Avab product development team members and added new members
as well. A couple of names will sound familiar - Ulf Sandstrom
and Anders Ekvall who have been working together on Avab control
products for over 20 years. According to Sandstrom: “We
are steadily improving our approaches to product development
and look forward to a lot of exciting collaborations with ETC.”
Ekvall adds: “We are happy to have the entire ETC company
behind our new projects and it’s been great working with
the ETC R&D staff.”
Newer members of the Avab development team include
Bullen Lagerbielke, well known lighting designer and programmer.
Lagerbielke provides excellent guidance and direct feedback
as he works with Avab control products in the field on live
productions. His input in developing the moving light feature
set of the Avab Pronto! console has allowed it to run prestigious
events such as the Eurovision Song Contest, powering hundreds
of moving lights and multiple Catalyst systems. Lagerbielke
says: “We have focused on making the Pronto not only a
great theatre console but a world class moving light interface.”
Also new to the ETC Avab team is Ingo Bernert.
Previously a Field Project Manager for ETC Europe, Bernert has
been appointed Product Manager for the Avab console range as
well as the newly acquired IES dimming range. Bernert works
closely with the development team helping to direct the commercial
focus of the various projects. He says: “The Avab development
team is tight, with an emphasis on constant dialogue with the
user. My role is to expand that user base. We are looking for
an exciting future with the Avab line of products from ETC.”
At PLASA, the Pronto! Team, which will remain
intact for future upgrade work, is releasing Congo, an exciting
new generation of lighting controls that merge a classical theatre
control system with a state of the art moving light system.
Congo combines the full experience and innovation of earlier
Avab systems with the quality control, service and support of
the worldwide ETC sales organisation.
ETC has retained other respected Avab names to
work as consultants on current projects. In cooperation with
ETC and transtechnik Lichtsysteme, Yngve Sandboe, well known
for his work at Avab and his SandNet networking system, has
just completed work on a new version of Safari software, Version
3.5. This is the first of several releases of Safari within
the next year. A great deal of effort has been put into improving
the handling of moving lights to allow for simple editing of
sequence attribute links and attribute times. Also, many popular
Pronto! features have been integrated, such as the Channel Layout
tool and the storage of Palettes by moving device or device
type, allowing you to save and reuse colour palettes in many
time saving ways. The new 3.5 version of Safari operates in
the Jaguar console and all other existing VLC systems, such
as Viking, Panther, Lynx and Tiger.
As a Safari user, for a limited time only, you
can take advantage of this free Safari v3.5 upgrade offer by
simply registering your name and system details at a special
new Avab web site administered by ETC: www.avabcontrol.com.
Simply by indicating which Avab system you have, you will be
sent this Safari upgrade, free of charge, until the end of the
year. Avab will then also notify you directly whenever a new
version is finished and available for purchase (more are currently
in the works!), keeping you and other Safari devotees in the
loop on all future developments and advances. The free download
runs in systems with a minimum processing power of 800MHz and
64 MB RAM. If you have a system running Safari v2.0 or older,
contact your dealer for a hardware upgrade.
So, for all of you Avab customers who have been
wondering what’s up… the answer is a lot.