NEW WINDSOR, NY — Production Resource Group LLC (PRG) has officially launched the version 6.0 software upgrade for the Virtuoso control console. The Virtuoso console as well as the v6.0 upgrade will be highlighted at the company's LDI 2007 booth, #1517, in Orlando, Fla, Nov. 16–18.
Of particular note are two features that have been added in v6.0 after input from users. The first is a wave-based effects engine that was added to the existing Virtuoso effects engine. Virtuoso already has an extensive effects engine, but it was not previously a wave-based effects engine that many programmers used. The second added feature is multiple cue lists. Virtuoso had in the past operated on a single cue list, but with the Virtuoso v6.0 upgrade it now supports 1,000 cue lists and still has the master cue list as well.
Another upgrade in v6.0 is expansion of the number of parameters that the console supports to make working with media servers more seamless. PRG has seen that many in the industry are using the Virtuoso to control a wide variety of media servers, so controls have been added in the upgrade that were designed expressly for media servers and also allows for a lot more room to expand with the future of control.
Lighting Director Harry F. Sangmeister, who has been using the Beta-version of the Virtuoso v6.0 software on numerous productions including The 2007 ESPYS award show, Paris By Night 81 in Long Beach, BET Hip Hop Awards 2007 and the American Music Awards, has found much that he likes about the new software.
“There are many small features which make this upgrade an amazing addition to the console, but actually this is a very sweeping upgrade,” Sangmeister says. “The obvious big bells are the addition of multiple cue stacks and the completion of the dynamic states [effects engine]. And I must say that in the dynamic states, the developers have bettered the status quo. I did not think that I would use this feature much, both because I am a creature of habit and because I am used to building my own effects, but this engine is so easy to use that I have found myself using it a lot, particularly on shows where I am controlling a large amount of LED fixtures.”
Other features that Sangmeister is happy to see in this upgrade include “expanded fanning capabilities and rearranging selection order to enable the most common selections to always appear first. This upgrade was developed in a very responsive way to user input, and it is reflected in all of the new features.”
“For my applications, the Virtuoso combines the ability to work quickly, adlib easily and most importantly, edit quickly and efficiently,” says Sangmeister. “Television productions — which are the majority of my work — are never finished until the wrap is called. We are continually amending and editing the lighting, even as we tape. So it is important that the console of choice can remain fluid and keep up with all of the changes, yet still be entirely predictable and consistent on playback. The Virtuoso is the only console that I am able to be this confident in.”
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