Jon Hole

We're using it internally, but we're not quite ready to release it yet... less than a month though Out of interest, how/why/what for do you regularly use the DMX Output Window? This is something on my radar to update and add functionality to, so it would be good to take your comments into consideration while we do this. Unfortunately not. This is because their hardware is limited to 1024*768 output.

That's our list price for launch, yes. However, you should always talk to your local Zero 88 distributor regarding pricing. Not yet, no. Yes - we've started building the first batch already, and these have been mainly bought by our distributors for their demo stock. The second batch will be ready for shipping later this month. The Wing will be shipping in a few months. You can use the faders to control intensity, or syntax, or one of the encoders. We're also going to add the ability to use the scroll wheel on a mouse / trackball to control intensity in an upcoming software release. We've tried to include as much as possible. Obviously there are going to be things done in slightly different ways. For example, there's no "Move" button, but within the copy window, there's the option to Move rather than Copy. Eventually you'll be able to drop and drag things like palettes via the touch screen too - but that's a little further away. We've basically covered it all above already. There's no two-preset operation. Blind Mode will be added shortly, but not quite at launch. There's no SMPTE or DMX Input (These are upgrades to Solution anyway. Art-Net input is being worked on for ZerOS in general, so will also be available on FLX). Yes there is. It shows each playback, and the current cue, name and fade times of the current cue on each playback. Hold down VIEW and press the GO button of the playback you want to view the cues of. This appears in the bottom half of the external monitor, if it's plugged in, or on the internal monitor if it's not plugged in. Keep them coming!

Thanks for the email uli-s_kn - our software team are investigating what could be causing this for you. cucolino - I will reply to your personal message directly, but it's worth saying that as far as I'm aware Uli's issue is the first speed-related issue that's been reported since the new software, and so we're treating this as a one-off case at the moment while we investigate what could be causing it.

Hi Johnny - thanks for bringing this to our attention. I think this only applies to certain processors, but I will investigate further once the office reopens after Easter.

I'm guessing, as keredyelesob suggests, that this is because "0%" is in the programmer - and the "programmer always wins"! Pressing CLEAR twice will remove the 0's from the programmer, and the submaster's intensities will start working.

Hi keredyelesob and Lufferov, Let me try and answer your points.... however the best way is always going to be to get a FLX in front of you and decide for yourself. We're trying hard to get it in front of as many people as possible as quickly as possible! There's a comment on this link (a Facebook post) from someone who was shown the console today - it shows a few things that stood out to someone not working for Zero 88 !. https://www.facebook.com/Zero88/posts/947392855294293 We discussed in length where to place FLX in marketing material, and decided to place it where it is mainly based on size, speed and ease of use. The main issue with trying to "place" FLX either before / between / above Solution and ORB XF is that ORB / Solution work in very different ways to each other. They use different control methods (channel faders vs syntax), different programming methods (one you press RECORD in the middle of the syntax, the other you press Record at the end) and are aimed at different marketplaces. So to try and place FLX in relation to two products which don't really relate to each other in the first place, is quite hard! When looking at the specs... There are 240 of each palette, which is technically lower than Solution, but I have never seen a showfile with even half of the Solution palettes filled up. FLX also includes a fourth attribute (splitting Beam and Shape), so there's kind of the equivalent of 480 palettes in comparison to the 400 Beamshape palettes on Solution - which is easily the attribute which usually has the most palettes recorded. Recording palettes is also much quicker and easier (if using something like the colour picker, the tab automatically changes to "Palettes" when you press record, and then automatically switches back afterwards. We've also built auto-palettes directly within the window, rather than via setup etc). You can recall them using the touch screen (equivalent of the MFFs on Solution) or via syntax (equivalent of ORB XF). Things like this can't be highlighted on a simple comparision table. There are 241 playbacks on the FLX- that's significantly more than the Solution (technically an increase of 24000%!!!). We no longer use the idea of "submasters", as this functionality (and much much more) is included with the playbacks. There are 200 submasters available on Solution and 600 on Solution XL. ORB XF has 1000 cue stacks and 1000 submasters (but again, I'm almost certain no one has ever used them all!!!). There are up to 2048 channels across four universes, without any limitations. This is the same as ORB XF. Solution has 248 (or 296 on Solution XL) available channels/fixtures. FLX has been designed to not require the external screen at all. However, if you choose to use one, for launch we've decided to limit the Window Outputs as this is an area we've seen a lot of users get confused with in the past, and an area we wanted to make really really simple and quick. Because of this, we created the two layouts we see most often, and made everything else available through the internal touch screen. Effects appear on the internal touchscreen instantly when you press "effect". We've combined the "Effects Palettes Window" and "Effects Window" into a single window with two tabs, just like the P/T Grid in position and the Picker, Faders and Filters in Colour. DMX Output window will be coming soon... Yep - we have a quad core ARM processor in FLX - it's awesome. The touch screen is multitouch, and so ZerOS has been updated to start accepting Multi Touch gestures for the first time. The memory is a lot more reliable, no longer requiring a battery to back it up. We're using Neutrik etherCON and powerCON connectors (with internal PSU) - both much more reliable and robust connectors than we've used before. We also include the MIDI and Remote inputs, which is available via an upgrade on the Solution (remote now has 8 channels rather than the 6 we used to have). We can also now output more than just 1024*768 on the external monitor - so plugging in a higher resolution monitor will allow you to see "more" stuff, rather than just everything bigger. So for example, in the "quarter" views, on higher resolution monitors it's possible to see 10 palettes per row in each of the windows, rather than just 5. You can also see more rows at a time without scrolling. Let me know your other questions and I'll have a go at answering them!

Hi Both, keredyelesob - thanks for providing the support here, everything you say is what we would have said too! cucolino - i strongly suggest not using the Beta software. We've had loads of users tell us 7.8.2 is a great improvement. One forum member has said their console is slower than they would like - but we're treating that as a one off issue and waiting to receive showfiles so we can look into it further.

Hi Jens, I'm not sure of an easy and reliable method that's going to be much cheaper than the £108 I don't think

Hi Ziglight, There's a lot of options that we don't currently use, but are there so we can include the information within the personalities if we ever decide to make use of it in the future. I believe this was included to specify if the "detail" is something like a fixed gobo (rather than rotating), but to be honest we don't include this information within any fixtures we make. I have dropped our lead Software Engineer a message to get some more clarification, as this was added before I joined Zero 88!

Hi Nick, Please contact Keith in the office (01633 833101 or KeithRogers@Eaton.com) Best regards Jon

As keredyelesob says, check how the faders are displaying in the Event Monitor. It sounds like a hardware issue. Drop Keith an email (our Service Manager) who'll be able to help you further. (in the more recent versions of ZerOS, go to the Output Window, choose "other windows", choose "system settings" and then choose the "event monitor" tab along the top.

Hi Jimlad, I can't recreate this. What Operating System are you running? Please could you try changing the "local drive" path in "settings" to your desktop, save multiple files onto the desktop, and then see if you can load them back into Phantom. Let me know how you get on Best regards Jon

We've released full information now, and a longer video - more info can be found at zero88.com/flx To answer all your questions... Yes - but it's been rewritten and compiled to run on ARM Processors. 4 universes in total over Art-Net or sACN. There are two DMX Ports on the back, which can output any of the four universes. One monitor directly, over DVI-D. And ZerOS now supports multiple resolutions, so if you use a higher resolution monitor, you will see more stuff, rather than just bigger stuff! There are 241 playbacks in total. These can each have a single cue (and hence work like submasters - we've brought all the submaster settings across), or they can each have multiple cues. Up to 10,000 cues in total. Yes, the console has MIDI In and MIDI Out (currently MIDI Out is acting as MIDI Thru) and there is a D-Sub connector for up to 8 close contact remote triggers, all built in. There's a built in PSU ("medical grade"!) with a Neutrik PowerCON TRUE1 connector. 5 in total - two on the rear, one on the front panel and one on each side. 659mm x 342mm x 90mm

Yes, there will be. You'll find out the rest soon...

Hi Uli, Please can you send me your showfile? The DMX In could well be slowing you down, as you are using upto 3x more submasters than the console was originally designed for. We've made a lot of improvements to the speed in 7.8.2, and everyone I've spoken to so far have been much happier than the previous version. Best regards Jon

Until we officially launch, I can't answer too much - but I'll make sure I come back here and answer all of these questions as soon as I can! I can answer this one though... Yes - towards the end of the video above we list the shows we've currently confirmed:

I'm interested to know what the other ones are :-)

Hi Both, Yes - the "proper" way to do this is via MIDI Show Control (MSC) using our SMPTE/MIDI/Remote/CAN PCB Upgrade Kit. List price is £108 / €135, and it's part number 12-123-99. If SCS was to allow DMX Out (I'm not too familiar with the software), you could potentially use DMX to trigger the submaster, and then run a macro on that submaster to press GO - but that really is a workaround rather than a nice solution.

Done - make sure you read this first: http://zero88.com/forum/topic/6563-important-information-instructions-please-read/ Done :-)

Hi Stefan, Don't extract the file onto the USB stick, as then it will try and format itself. Unzip the file onto your desktop, run the software from the desktop, and then it should hopefully work. If that doesn't work, try following these instructions: http://zero88.com/support/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/489/

Hi Nick, Which version of software are you using? I think this might have been a bug in an old version of software. Regards Jon

Yep :-)

HI Nappaoh, Glad you got it working. Yes, we say "unbranded" stick, but that advice is also valid for Zero 88 USB sticks if people have formatted it via Windows etc in the past. Did you try it on Windows 8.1 and it worked? Thanks Jon