Live Design has an article about Zero 88 (aka ACT Lighting)’s new console, the ORB.  ORB has been engineered to be a theatrical desk that’s powerful with LEDs, media servers, and automated fixtures.

Some stats:

2,048 channels
200 Subs
1,000 “memories”
1,000 each:  Color, Beam, Position, and FX Palettes
1,000 user-defined macros
4 onboard USB ports
2 XGA monitor outs

There is also an offline editor, free, for the ORB.

Check it out - and check out the review at Live Design.

MA Lighting had one of the more visually stunning booths this year, in my very humble opinion.  Big viz screen and ads, lots of people, and the new Grand MA 2.  What a desk - what a pre-viz built in, too!  I was looking at it with Mike Zinman of ZInmanCo, and the comment about how fanf&%$*tastic that console was came up a few times.

I took a bunch of pics of the MA Lighting booth - check them out:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

ETC had a lot of really friendly people at their booth this year!  The EOS console was something that I am very interested in learning more about, especially after Mike Zinman told me about all of his excellent escapades with it.  Check out images I took of ETC’s space below.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

I had a chance to check out the V676 console from PRG at LDI last week.  My favorite thing said about this console by the rep who was showing me the ins and outs was “budget was not an issue since it’s a rental item, so we spared no expense to make this desk great.”

Well, bravo, PRG.  What a great desk!

From the press release on the PRG site:

The V676™ console is an elegant programming and control solution. Offering extraordinary speed, both in programming and responsiveness, as well as innovative interface advancements both in hardware layout and software design. V676, built on a legacy of proven reliability and cutting edge console development, expands the possibilities offered to designers and programmers alike. Intuitive features that quickly and easily handle the ever expanding scope of equipment to be controlled while acknowledging the ever decreasing time to program it all. V676 is designed with attention to detail and an insightful understanding of the practical demands of programming.

I got some pictures of this as well.  It sort of resembles an iPhone!  I really want to learn this desk.  I really want to learn this desk.