Thanks to the support of similar-minded sponsor companies, Artistic's formidable expertise will be complemented by a wide range of technical experts who are giving their time to make the event a success. Among those already signed up are Wayne Howell & Fraser Connolly (Artistic Licence), Hamish Dumbreck (JESE), Peter Willis (Howard Eaton Lighting), Bob Goddard (Goddard Design Co.), Jon Hole (Eaton - Zero 88 Series), Geoff Archenhold (ISTL), Iain Ruxton (Speirs and Major), Tapio Rosenius & Gorka Cortazar (LDC). AV support is to be provided by TSL Lighting.
As such, the Zone promises to be a hub of activity, with some of the industry's most highly regarded figures in ethernet and DMX/RDM lighting control on hand to provide one-on-one training, mini-seminars and practical product advice in an 'Art-Fest' session.
As the most widely supported ethernet lighting protocol in the industry, Art-Net has arguably come of age. This is particularly so with the release of version 4, which is timed to coincide with the PLASA show. Art-Net 4 provides a significant advance in lighting control because it incorporates management of the gateway data source; this allows users to choose Art-Net as the discovery, management and RDM tool, while using sACN for the live control data. Flexibility is further enhanced by the elimination of 'multi-homing', which means that Art-Net 4 does not require multiple ports to have different IP addresses.
Visitors are encouraged to drop by the stand throughout the show for face-time with the Art-Net experts. A programme of events is planned for Sunday and Monday, with 15-minute tech-briefings taking place on a range of relevant topics. Booking is not required, and a full programme will be released in the run-up to the show.
For the most hands-on technical enthusiasts, the final show day is saved for 'Art-Fest'. The format, which will be familiar to many product developers, is intended to allow visitors to test the inter-operability of devices from various manufacturers.
Given the ever-wider adoption of ethernet lighting protocols, an up-to-date technical reference that seeks to address real-world implementation issues is well overdue.
Visitors to Art-Net 4 Zone (R71) may therefore be interested to take a look at copies of Light Bytes: Inside Art-Net and sACN by Wayne Howell, the CEO of Artistic Licence and inventor of Art-Net. The book has just been published in preview edition, and a small number will be available for purchase.
(Jim Evans)
