Designed to meet the needs of installation and AV systems integrators, this new console offered up to eight universes and full compatibility with other integration systems.
The Spanish manufacturer Equipson addressed the needs of AV systems integrators at PLASA 2024 by showcasing its popular LIGHTSHARK range of DMX-based hardware lighting consoles.
Making its UK debut at stand C17, we found the LIGHTSHARK Core iO, a lighting console that supported most protocols (DMX512, ArtNet, sACN, MIDI, UDP, OSC, and HTTP) and was compatible with integration systems such as CRESTON, AMX, or Control 4. This latest addition to the LIGHTSHARK range integrated GPIO ports and implemented RS-232 and RS-485 protocols. It also featured a real-time clock that maintained accurate timekeeping for up to five years, as well as a dedicated Alarm Port that allowed users to prioritize a specific state over the scenes being played at that moment.
As an independent brand, LIGHTSHARK products had already revolutionized the world of traditional lighting control systems by offering users a hardware console with a web-based interface that was affordable and accessible from any smart device such as Smartphones, Tablets, and Computers.
The LIGHTSHARK range included the LS-1 hardware console with assignable faders and rotary controls; the more affordable LS-Core; the OSC-based LS-Wing hardware controller, and three multiprotocol DMX streaming devices, each compatible with a different number of DMX universes, collectively known as LS-NODE. These products were aimed at all types of venues, from small theaters to large stadiums, and offered lighting engineers the ability to control up to eight DMX universes and over 4000 DMX channels, all fully integrated through smartphones and tablets. Furthermore, the range was fully compatible with other manufacturers' equipment, as the products operated with industry-standard DMX and ArtNet lighting protocols, as well as any operating system (Android, Linux, Windows, and macOS).
At PLASA 2024, Equipson also showcased the LS W1 remote control, which completed the LIGHTSHARK systems by providing a wall-mounted touch device with eight programmable buttons to control scenes and trigger any other action from the LIGHTSHARK console. With this device, easily configurable from the console, end-users did not have to access the software interface to execute common scenes and commands.
In addition to these new products, LIGHTSHARK also showcased its latest software update (version 1.5.25), which applied to all products in the LIGHTSHARK range.
Among the improvements offered by this software were a responsive user interface that automatically adjusted to fit any screen, regardless of its shape or size, as well as new functions like "HighLight/LowLight" and Fixture Grouping. There were also new time-saving features such as Record Merge and Record Remove, which allowed programmers to quickly include or remove their information in the selected Cue or all Cues of a playback, without having to use the EDIT+UPDATE function.
Other key features of the new software included the implementation of ArtNet v4, which increased the number of available ArtNet universes from four to eight; the inclusion of Digital Patch, which allowed any console universe to be assigned to any network universe, even if they had different protocols; the introduction of Unicast, which defined the specific IP of the node or device to which the universe information should be sent, and the inclusion of a WEB user manual within LIGHTSHARK, giving users access to many step-by-step video tutorials and different screenshots so they could learn new and exciting ways to control and enhance their lighting shows.
The extensive LIGHTSHARK range was already known for offering cost-effective hardware consoles with easy-to-access web-based interfaces. Now, with the addition of these new products and software improvements, LIGHTSHARK significantly enhanced workflows and gave users greater control over their events, allowing them to create even more spectacular lighting shows.
