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Pharos Designer v1.8 now released

Friday, January 7th, 2011

Pharos Designer software version 1.8 is now available. This release is primarily intended for the revised LPC with support for its new features, such as Analog Input triggers and the onboard DMX-in option. This release also includes support for the forthcoming RIO Audio device.

What’s New in v1.8

  • Support for revised LPC hardware
    • Multi-function serial port: RS232/RS485 (including DMX in)
    • Multi-function digital/analog inputs
    • Explicit universe count selection for LPC X and LPC
    • Modules tab is now called Interfaces in Network view
  • Support for new remote device: RIO A
    • Remote audio triggering from up to 30 frequency bands per stereo channel
    • Remote timecode input
    • Remote MIDI triggering and MIDI timecode input
  • New Analog Input trigger (for the revised LPC hardware)
  • New Analog Input condition (for the revised LPC hardware)
  • New RIO Audio Input trigger
  • New RIO MIDI Input trigger
  • New RIO MIDI Output action
  • New Disable RIO Audio Input action
  • New RIO Analog Input condition
  • New RIO Digital Word condition
  • RIO Analog Input trigger can now fire on ‘Any’ input of ‘Any’ RIO
  • Fixture comments exported/imported to/from CSV files

We would very much welcome your comments and feedback as always.  Please get in touch with us at support@pharoscontrols.com.

We hope you enjoy what Designer version 1.8 has to offer you.

Happy programming!

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The LPC gets a make over!

Friday, January 7th, 2011

The same award winning product, with enhanced connectivity and improved performance.

Pharos is pleased to announce that we are now shipping an updated version of the LPC, incorporating newer technologies already available in our more recently released Controllers and Remote Devices.

The revised Pharos LPC, now shipping!

  • The 8 inputs can now be configured as contact closures, digital or analog inputs
  • Serial port updated to be a multi-protocol port supporting RS232, RS485 or DMX-in triggering, with an installation-friendly 3-pin connector
  • Colour-coded power connector to reduce risk of incorrect plugging
  • New output status LED to indicate both DMX and eDMX data
  • New indicator LEDs on Ethernet port for network diagnosis
  • SD card replaces CF card

Rest assured that the LPC will continue to operate in the same dependable way that you have come to rely on and with the same pricing. It is supported by the new v1.8 release of Pharos Designer software.

New RIOs on the way too!

Expansion Modules have been a great way to extend the capabilities of your LPC but they were not the answer for systems using the LPC X or AVC, which do not support the expansion bus. We are therefore expanding our range of Remote Devices, which currently includes the RIO 80, RIO 44, RIO 08 and BPS. These have been a great success with their more flexible design based around Ethernet and PoE. The updated LPC no longer supports the expansion bus and we will be offering two new RIOs:

  • RIO A – Remote Audio Device with stereo audio-in and support for up to 30-band spectrum analysis and enhanced timecode decoding, as well as MIDI in/out
  • RIO D – Remote DALI Device supporting both DALI Master and Slave modes

The RIO A will be available early this year, with the RIO D available soon after. Please contact us for more information and pricing on these exciting new remote devices. Note: there will be no direct replacement for the DMX-in module as all our Controllers are now capable of receiving DMX directly.

Lifetime support

Please be assured we will maintain original units for service and replacement needs, and of course will honour our 5 year warranty on all products. We are very excited about these enhancements to the LPC and the new RIOs. As always we welcome your feedback and comments, and please get in touch if you have any questions.

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Largest Pharos installation to date

Wednesday, December 1st, 2010

Control cabinet, Vegas Mall, Moscow

We are thrilled with every LPC 1 that goes out the door, but shipping eight LPC Xs to Russia for one installation was rather special!

This Phillips Lighting project required over 650 universes of control, distributed across a mixture of LPC70s, LPC80s and LPC100s.

The controllers output KiNet to 333,360 control channels of Philips Color Kinetics fixtures throughout the mall, lighting architectural features and 64 low-res screens. The installation takes advantage of the multi-output capability of the LPC X; the fixtures are patched to both the KiNet and DVI outputs of each controller, which operate simultaneously. The DVI outputs are connected to local DVI displays in the control room for monitoring the lighting in the facility.

The installation also used a couple of Pharos button panels, the Pharos PoE switch and an LPC 1 for master control purposes.

Bas Hoksbergen, Controls System Consultant for Philips Lighting, project managed and programmed the system.  He comments, “One of the great benefits of using Pharos is the reliability, another is the flexibility to map to different matrices. Some effects are specific to each screen, other effects use a multiple of screens acting as one, simply by programming on a different pixel map. This gave flexibility even mediaservers would struggle to provide”.

Bas also used our new Dynamic Media Manager utility (on general release soon!). Instead of programming media and effects directly onto timelines in Designer, Media Slots are programmed as placeholders.  The content is then created and edited in Dynamic Media Manager for upload to the controllers.  This allows graphical content to be changed by end-users without changing the overall Designer project file, and allows a programmer to quickly upload large amounts of content to the nine controllers via Pharos Installation Manager.

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Introducing Pharos Installation Manager

Friday, October 1st, 2010

Installation Manager v1.0 is now available.

Installation Manager is part of a new suite of utility applications. It is a market-leading tool for managing multiple lighting and AV installations remotely over the Internet. Consider a retail chain with 200 stores and technicians travelling to every store to make programming changes; instead Installation Manager can be scheduled to automatically upload while the stores are closed. This massively reduces the cost and carbon footprint of managing multiple lighting and AV installations. The tool can also monitor status, manage media content, send email alerts and, if the network connection fails during an upload, it retries and resumes where it left off.

Life made easier by Pharos!

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Pharos Designer v1.7 now released

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

Pharos Designer software version 1.7 is now available. This release includes support for 64 bit operating systems and Windows 7 and introduces discovery tools for KiNet and RDM. Designer v1.7 also integrates with our new Installation Manager software.

  • RDM discovery: LPCs can now discover, identify and address RDM-capable fixtures. You’ll find the RDM configuration tool in the Patch tab.
  • KiNet discovery: Designer can now discover and associate KiNet power supplies, streamlining KiNet setup for large installations.
  • Improved accuracy for LPC X clock: now accurate to one part per million, in line with the LPC 1 and 2 clocks.
  • Colour temperature support: all presets on the timeline now allow a colour temperature to be programmed. Fixtures with colour temperature channels and hot and cold channels are now supported.
  • DMX-in via Serial Port for AVC: yes, the AVC has a new DMX-in option! You can now select a new mode of operation for the AVC’s serial port and use the connection for DMX triggering. We think this opens up great opportunities for the AVC – particularly in theatrical applications when the lighting desk is cueing projection content provided by the AVC.
  • AVC brightness master: new action allowing mastering of video intensity from incoming realtime variables, such as DMX-in levels.
  • Offset function for 2D presets – for all those 3D array projects out there!
  • Timeline reports include hold/loop status.
  • Import fixture plan improved with additional new fields, including rotation angle & fixture dimensions.
  • Export fixture plan tool.
  • Saving in new versions prompts to archive in previous version.
  • XML controller status and feedback for custom web pages via HTTP requests.

A couple of housekeeping points to note:

  • AVC Firmware: please note that to upgrade an AVC to v1.7 you must run the AVC firmware upgrade tool. This is expected to be a one-off, one-way process; restoring an AVC to version 1.6 firmware is not straightforward. Please only upgrade your AVC to version 1.7 if you are certain it will not be required immediately for any version 1.6 installations. Please contact support@pharoscontrols.com for more details.
  • Mac OSX for PowerPC: from now on, we will be making separate installers for Intel and PowerPC Mac users.
  • As always, please ensure you have archived any active v1.6 projects and please remember to reinstall v1.6 to edit or work with them.

We would very much welcome your comments and feedback as always.  Please get in touch with us at support@pharoscontrols.com.

We hope you enjoy what Designer version 1.7 has to offer you.

Happy programming!

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Pharos at PLASA 2010

Tuesday, September 14th, 2010

Take a quick tour of the Pharos stand at PLASA 2010.

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PLASA is just around the corner!

Thursday, September 9th, 2010

Designer version 1.7 will be launched next week at the PLASA tradeshow. Along with a host of new features for both the AVCs and LPCs, we are also introducing a suite of new software applications. These utilities will simplify long term management of installations.

The Pharos Installation Manager provides advanced remote management for one or more controllers in multiple locations using standard network protocols over the Internet. For systems replicated over many sites, such as international retail chains, changes to project programming and AVC media need only be made once before an immediate or scheduled upload can be carried out.

The Pharos Dynamic Media Manager is a great new solution to allow users to inject new lighting media into their shows without needing Designer and the master project file. This is ideal for installations requiring frequent changes to lighting pixel matrix content for marketing campaigns, corporate colour schemes, etc. Marketing and graphics personnel do not need to be familiar with Designer and the original Designer project file remains intact on the LPCs, which automatically detect the newly uploaded media & effects.

PLASA runs in London from September 12th to 15th and we look forward to welcoming you to our stand in Earl’s Court 1 G43. Please stop by to say hello to the team, who will be happy to show you the new features and to discuss your projects – past, present & future!

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Fountain Simulation in Designer v1.6.6

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

Pharos Designer v1.6.6 is now available for download and contains a cool new feature for simulating fountain jets.

While Pharos has always been able to control DMX triggered fountain jets using intensity, this new fixture class lets you simulate your jets as a dynamic bar.  This is illustrated in the screen capture video below.

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Farewell PLASA 2009

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

Many thanks to all those who came to visit our stand at PLASA 2009; it was great to see so many people interested in Pharos and to catch up on the projects people have been working on. Thanks also for all the kind comments we received about the design of our stand. For those who couldn’t make it, here’s a sample of the video content we were playing on our AVCs.

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PLASA 2009 Breakfast Briefing

Sunday, September 13th, 2009
Pharos Stand at PLASA 2009: 1, G43

Pharos Stand at PLASA 2009: 1, G43

Greetings from our stand at PLASA 2009.  We’re in Earl’s Court 1, stand G43.

Hope you can stop by and say hello.

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