Following an introduction at LDI 2009, Synthe FX has officially announced Luminair 2.0, the next generation of the wireless multi-touch DMX control software for the iPhone and iPod touch. Luminair is a revolutionary wireless lighting control product, which uses the Art-Net protocol to control compatible lighting and media server equipment via the iPhone and iPod touch’s internal Wi-Fi hardware.
Among the new features in version 2.0 is “Stacks”, which is a cue-list playback system designed to make it very easy to put together shows for a variety of uses. Cues can be programmed directly within Luminair, and also recorded as snapshots from an external console or any other DMX control source using Luminair’s DMX input. “Stacks” has five different playback modes, and each cue has individual assignable timing information, making playback options extremely flexible. Standard playback life using the device’s internal battery has tested to be around 2.5-3 hours, and can be extended to 8-9 hours or even longer using a 3rd party external battery pack. When the device is plugged into a power source, playback can run indefinitely.
Another major new feature in Luminair 2.0 is the ability to assign images as visual references to cues, using the iPhone’s built-in camera, photo library, or transferred via the internal HTTP server. Users can browse and trigger Quick-Touch cues using a CoverFlow like user interface, which renders the assigned images in breathtaking OpenGL 3D.
Also dependent on the new image reference support in version 2.0, is the ability to export “Fixture POV” images and data directly from Cast Software’s next release of WYSIWYG. With this feature, WYSIWYG designers can transfer both a reference image and the necessary DMX data from a fixture POV directly into Luminair, so that a rigger can effortlessly work from the designer’s original vision when focusing that fixture.
Other new features in 2.0 include full group support, cut/copy/paste capabilities, accelerometer support for XY controls, plus extensive additions and refinements to existing features.
Company founder and lead product developer Ryan Hisey gave a presentation and demo of the new features at LDI 2009 in Orlando, where the response was overwhelmingly enthusiastic. “The original goal in creating Luminair was to make a tool that appeals to lighting and media professionals in all fields, whether for studio, architectural, rigging, media servers, testing, the possibilities are almost endless. The combination of the existing feature-set plus the new features and refinements in 2.0 finally solidify this quest to appeal to such a diverse range of customers.”
“The ability to program and playback shows directly from an iPhone or iPod, for periods lasting up to or longer than 8-9 hours on batteries is really amazing. Likewise, never before have lighting professionals had the option of designing looks on a master console, recording snapshots, and building a simple show that they can carry in their pocket.”
“In this release, we also wanted to take advantage of a lot of great features that are built-in to the iPhone and iPod touch, such as the accelerometer, camera, and sync-able photo library. The images in CoverFlow look absolutely amazing, and users can easily add their own custom images and icons via multiple convenient methods. Additionally, we are very excited to be working with Cast Software, who is a highly respected industry leader, on such a ground breaking new feature for lighting pros.”
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