Jon Hole

Hi Rob, Thanks for taking the time to post here, glad you're getting on with the basics "with ease"! I've added these two requests as new software issues and below I've included our reference for each of these: ZOS-6982 ZOS-6983 All the best, Jon

At least the battery in FLX is only used for the clock, not showfile information :-)

That one's up for discussion. Currently we're on ZerOS 7.8.5 (FLX) and ZerOS 7.8.2.36 (X86 consoles). The current plan is for this to become ZerOS 7.9, because we've already publically defined ZerOS 8 as including a Matrix Engine / Pixel Mapper and RDM functionality. Yes, definitely.

It will indeed!

Hi Andy, Certainly sounds like the battery to me. All the infromation you should need is here: http://zero88.com/support/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/546/31/replacement-battery-information

A few duplicated ideas here: - Try trying different USB ports. If a USB device tries pulling too much power, FLX cuts off that USB port for protection. However, it does this in pairs. So it might be that the keyboard is causing FLX to cut off a pair of USB ports, which is why the monitor stops working. - Your post doesn't specifically say you've had the keyboard working on it's own without the touch screen... does it? - What USB Keyboard are you using? Is it super basic and simple, or does it have things like lots of extra Media Keys, a built in trackpad, backlit keys, extra USB ports on the back/side to plug other devices in etc etc?

Hi All, We're continuously working to make ZerOS more intuitive and quicker to programme, yet even more powerful, with regular new features and updates. In the next release of ZerOS, we're proposing retiring "Submasters" so that everything becomes a "Playback", just like on FLX. We'd like your feedback on this idea! Why would we want to do that?! Well, ZerOS is a bit of a mess at the moment! Each console has different terminology and slightly different features: ORB & ORB XF: Submasters, Cues, Cue Stacks, Playbacks (Cue Stacks can be chases, Submasters can't be) Solution, Solution XL, LF48 & LF96: Submasters, Memories, Memory Stack (Submasters and Memories can have chases directly within them) FLX: Cus, Playbacks (Playbacks can be chases) FROG 2: User Definable Faders, Cue Stacks, Playbacks (Cue Stacks can be chases, User Definable Faders can't be) There are many reasons this isn't good. For you, it means that you're probably missing basic functionality which is already available on another ZerOS consoles, it means there's a significant learning curve when moving from one ZerOS console to another, and it means that showfiles aren't as fully cross-compatible as they should be. For us, it means development and testing is slower and more complicated, technical support is more difficult, and training / documents are more confusing. So, what exactly are "Playbacks"? Currently, on ORB, ORB XF and FROG 2, "Playbacks" relate to the physical fader, which can then have different "Cue Stacks" on them (using pages). So, for example, ORB has 10 "Playbacks", but 1000 "Cue Stacks". This means you can access 10 of the 1000 "Cue Stacks" at any one time. ORB XF can have 20 "Playbacks", meaning you can access 20 of the 1000 "Cue Stacks" at any one time. However... on FLX we ignore all this, and "Playbacks" are the new name for a more advanced, yet simplified, "Cue Stack". These new "Playbacks" can have a single cue on them (like a Submaster), they can have multiple cues on them (like a Cue Stack), and they can have a chase on them. It are these Playbacks that we propose to roll out for all consoles. How will this affect me? It depends on which console(s) you use: ORB: All the features of Submasters and Cue Stacks get combined, so you no longer have to switch between them on the 10 faders. Any Playback can be loaded onto the "Master Playback" (but a new "Playback 0" would become available for those users who'd like the Master Playback to be completely independent). ORB XF: All 60 faders could be Playbacks, rather than just the bottom 20, meaning chases can be put anywhere. The "Fader Function" button instantly switches between "Channels" and "Playbacks" with a single button push, rather than the longer syntax currently required. Any Playback can be loaded onto the "Master Playback" (but a new "Playback 0" would become available for those users who'd like the Master Playback to be completely independent). Solution, Solution XL, LF48 & LF96: Each of the current submasters would become Playbacks, allowing you to store multiple cues to each of these faders, just like on the "Master Playback". Chases would no longer be stored directly within individual memories, but instead they'd be stored onto a separate Playback. This would then be programmed to automatically be included within whichever cues you decide (so you still only press the main GO button). This is advantageous compared to the current chase method for three main reasons: 1) Chases can very easily run on top of multiple sequential cues, rather than just one 2) It becomes very easy to update the "base" lighting state and then put the chase on top of this, rather than having to update every step of the chase 3) A Chase can be used multiple times, even when the "base" lighting state is different FLX: Nothing changes FROG 2: Both sets of 10 faders become Playbacks. These can be paged independently of each other (so the top set could be "Page 1", and the bottom set could be "Page 2"). Will old showfiles be compatible? We are working on code that will convert old showfiles to the new format automatically. However, these are significant changes, so you'd be required to carefully check through the whole showfile before you use it on a live performance (you should do this anyway when updating software!). There are also some specifics to think about on certain consoles: ORB, ORB XF and FROG2 - Submasters (UDFs on FROG2) might be renumbered. This is because there might be a "Cue Stack 1" and a "Submaster 1", and they can't both become "Playback 1". Therefor, Cue Stacks would "take precedence", and Submasters would be automatically moved if required. This could be avoided by reorganising Submasters before upgrading the software. ORB XF - Currently Playbacks 1 - 20 appear on the bottom 20 faders, but with all 60 faders being Playbacks, these would appear on the top 20 faders. How will Zero 88 communicate these changes? We are convinced there are enough significant advantages (for everyone's benefit) to make this worth while, but we also understand these are significant changes to how some consoles work. We have plans to provide written documents, updated manuals and new YouTube videos detailing the changes and training on how the new Playbacks work. Training courses will also be updated to reflect these changes. I have questions and ideas, how can I feedback to Zero 88? That's exactly what this forum post is for - please put your feedback, comments, questions and ideas below and we'll reply to each one.

Yes please!

Hi, probably a little late to answer this one (always use our official support lines - email or phone - for urgent help). I always patch sunstrips as 10 separate dimmer channels. It makes it way easier to control, and it means you can use the "offset" encoder in the effects window (hold down SHIFT whilst moving the offset encoder to "fan" the offset across the fixtures)

You can't have it on both, but you can match ANY fixture onto the 48 (or 96) channel faders, not just dimmers. You do this during the patch wizard - when it asks you to select location, press the channel buttons rather than the MFKs. The fader works as the intensity. To select the fixture, you press SHIFT and the channel button together, which then allows you to control it's other parameters in the normal way. If you press SPECIAL, there's a button that says "Flash Mode Flash". Pressing this allows you to choose a different action. One of the options is "Off / Select". This means you don't need to hold down SHIFT when selecting the fixtures (just like FLX), but you loose the flash functionality.

Hi Vincent, I've just tried this, and it works fine. Deleting submasters using "thru", where not all submasters exist within the range, works fine. Please could you send me your showfile, and exact instructions on how to recreate the problem, and I'll give it a go. Thanks Jon

Hi Vincent, Please can you send me the showfile, and exact instructions on how I can recreate the issue. Thanks Jon

Hi, Which Mouse and Keyboard are you using? Please can you give me the make and model? Also, what do you define as "crashes" and "freezes"? Can you explain exactly what you see please? Regarding changing fixtures - there's a difference between moving fixtures to a new location (which currently only takes effect on a restart) and soft patching. So, in your example, instead of changing DMX address 34 to Channel 4, you change Channel 4 to DMX Address 34 - it's a subtle difference! There's two ways to do this. One is via Syntax. Go into SETUP (so you're viewing the "Patch Overview" screen), and then use the syntax "4 @ 1.34" to change Channel 4 to Universe 1, Address 34. The second way is to go into "Edit Fixtures" and choose "Patch". Here you'll see all the fixtures, with their DMX addresses. You can choose any of these, touch the DMX Address button, and then change the address.

Hi Vincent, I think it's probably getting confusing because you're using the faders as both channel faders and submasters. It's not a problem, we just need to make sure you're doing the right process: Just to confirm, are you doing exactly the following: 1) Press "Fader Function", choose "Channels", choose "1-60" 2) Push up the first 10 faders 3) Press "Record Sub 1 Enter" 4) Pull down the first 10 faders 5) Press "CLEAR" twice 6) Press "Fader Function", choose "Submasters" 7) Push up the first fader - you should see Channels 1 - 10 come on to full

Kind of, but we try not to look at it like this because you may be jumping into Cue X from a different previous cue. The better way to think about it, is when you go into Cue X, some channels will get brighter, and other channels will get dimmer. Those getting brighter will do so over the "Fade Up" time, and those getting dimmer will do so over the "Fade Down" time.

Hi kgallen, Thank you for making this - I've added it to our library ready for the next release. I made a few minor changes: - On the "long name", I've put a colon ":" instead of a dash "-"... ZerOS uses this colon to split between fixture name and the different modes. If the text before the colon is identical, it groups them together. - I've defaulted CMY to 0 instead of 255... because CMY is subtractive, rather than additive, CMY defaults to 0 to achieve white, whereas RGB defaults to 255 to achieve white. - I've defaulted Zoom to 127... this is personal preference really - I've defaulted Hue to 0 rather than 255. Both of these values are "red", so I use 0 so you can turn the encoder clockwise, rather than anti-clockwise Spotlight Fresneled 150 RWBW.ift

Hi, please could you drop me an email with a short video of this? My email address is jonhole@eaton.com

Afraid not, no

Here you go Ian :-) Prolights Studio COB FC.ift

Hi Kevin, This would work naturally. You just go into channels, "catch" the channel (take the fader to the current intensity of that channel) and you now have control of it on the fader. To release this, you can either use the "clear" button (but that will clear EVERYTHING within the programmer), or alternatively one of the options on the UDKs (hold SETUP and press an empty UDK) is "Clear Fixture", which will just clear the currently selected fixtures. Another option on the UDKs is "park", which is useful in the situation of a lantern getting knocked (as per your example). When you press "Park", the selected fixtures will get locked onto that value. Even the grandmaster / blackout won't affect those channels. So you can merge these two features, to catch the intensity, bring it to 0%, and then "Park" it at that value.

Sure, no problem, give me a call on +44 (0)1633 833133 a bit later

Hi Luke, If you can drop me a showfile over on email (email address in signature below) I'll take a look. Let me know cue numbers, fixture numbers etc. Jon

Hi Stefan, We're solving this in a different way... allowing you to update groups (which would be the "correct" way to do this) Each software update we release we're trying to improving upon this. When you next see it's slow, please could you save the show and drop it to me in an email please? (email address in signature below) We're working on a few various things for the effects engine :-)

Hi Vincent, I've added a comment into ZOS-5598 and this has been scheduled for ZerOS 7.9

So ZerOS 7.8.2.36?