Latest upgrade gives Lightshark more bite

The LightShark range of DMX-based hardware lighting consoles has received a software boost which the manufacturer says provides the ability to interface with other pieces of equipment. The upgrade also includes improvements to Autosave, Go To Cue/Preload Cue and Channel/Fixture Parking features, as well as being able to assign custom icons to palettes.

Designed for use in environments from small theatres to large stadia, the LightShark range includes the LS-1 hardware console, the LS-Core, the LS-Wing Open Sound Control (OSC) hardware controller and three multiprotocol DMX streaming devices collectively referred to as LS-NODE.

Upgrades mean that LightShark can now send out OSC and UDP messages at the same time as playing different cues, giving users the opportunity to control other equipment directly from LightShark. It includes the devices’ personalities already developed for the LS-Wing controller, which the company says makes LightShark the first lighting controller that has OSC and UDP control personalities for other devices such as audio controllers and media servers.

The software also adds OSC messages including TAP button command of a Playback and adjustment of its tempo; commands to reset aspects of the speed master and the Chase speed master, and messages to give users fine control of the Go To Cue button including the ability to preload it. It is also now possible to send OSC commands from a Cue and to deploy a keyboard to control LightShark using a variety of shortcuts.

AutoSave is improved by making it possible to exclude fixtures from a show without having to unpatch them; freeze a fixture or specific channel with an existing value in the programmer; automatically scroll the CueList to show Active Cue and exclude a playback from being controlled by the Grand Master.

Lighting engineers can now also Go To Cue in the next Go, renumber a cue as 0.x, change the fixture ID in the patch window and set the value of both Playbacks and the programme window in percentage or decimal.