LED S4 Series 2 profile & Gel picker, best profile/lamp setting?

Hi Ric - 

Try with Direct mode as this mode includes color calibration data in the library.

Thanks!

Sarah

You will want to update your library to at least 10.6.0, as the Source Four LED Series 2 Lustr calibration data in 10.5.3 and older libraries is noticeably off.

You can install the 10.6.0 library onto Cobalt 7.1.0. (But not older versions!)
- Do remember that updating to 7.1.1 will roll the library back to the 10.5.3 that ships with Cobalt 7.1.1

Thansk Sarah & Richard.

Just checking that I use the library file that's at  http://www.etcconnect.com/Products/Consoles/Cobalt-Family/Cobalt-20/Software.aspx

Cobalt v7.1.1 Library Update 10.6.0

Is there a release note for library updates? it'd be a great resource to know what's been changed/added/ improved in each version.

At present we don't have a release note as such, just the list of library contents which is automatically installed on Nomad systems by the library update.

I have just realised that we didn't include that as a separate download on the Cobalt pages, for the time being it can be downloaded from here: Cobalt_Library_Contents_10_6_0.zip

Hi Sarah, Our 50 S4 LEDS series 2 LUSTRs are due to arrive in the next few days.
I have a lot of configuring and setup to do to get this all working well with the Cobalt.

I've just been browsing the manual for DMX settings to map out my values, and found the following: "Operating in the Direct Control profile or with Plus 7 settings adjustments bypasses this calibration and multiple fixtures may produce slightly different outputs when controlled as a group."

As you suggested the Direct mode for best compatiblity with the Gel Picker, does this mean there will be slight variations in each fixture when i choose a specific colour?
i.e if I select all 50 fixtures, set in Direct mode, as LEE 201, will I see this variation?

Hi Sarah,

A further question on this; If I choose HSIC as the colour mode & template, are there likely to be colours that I cannot achieve, that I can only get on the Direct template? If there are, which colour ranges are they likely to be in?
On the Cobalt I can see the colour map with a range is outlined showing the range available when a Direct template is chosen; but this doesn't appear when a  HSIC template is chosen.

For DMX mapping, the smaller channel footprint of HSIC + Fan + Strobe, (7channels) versus the 10 channel count of  Direct + Fan + Strobe, will give us a smaller dmx channel count (150 less!) & ease of transition as it will allow us to keep all 50 s4 Series 2 Lustr devices on a single universe alonside our existing 144 dimmers.

This is a key part of our transition away from traditional tungsten lighting and I want to try and get this right the first time. :-)

Cheers,

Hi Ric -

Your questions are good ones and you are on the right track - here's what I know (but I"m also looking for advice from my developers to see if what I know is no longer correct, so I might come back with more info later).

HSI/C and RGB modes are calibrated by the factory. This calibration means that when using these modes, all the fixtures should produce the same color. This calibration will mean that not all possible colors may be created by the fixtures, because to guarantee that all fixtures perform the same we will probably have to have some headroom in the colors - how much on each is variable (thus the need for the calibration in the first place). 

Direct mode is not calibrated in the factory - a fixture set to direct mode and boost mode for power regulation will give each color it's full possible output, but since the output of the colors may be different from fixture to fixture, you might see some variation across fixtures in a batch. You will, however, have full control of the LEDs in each fixture and the maximum amount of output. We don't usually recommend Boost mode, though, because the Regulated mode will again introduce some headroom into the colors and will extend the useful life of the LEDs (keeping the colors truer over time). 

If you have the time I recommend doing some experimenting and where you can test the three main modes and see which one suits your uses best. Make some color palettes of the kinds of colors you really need to replicate, check out the deep colors you think you might want to have available to you now that you do have LEDs in the rig, and test some color crossfades that are typical for your venue.

My personal choice is to avoid the HSI modes because they crossfade from warm colors to cool colors and vice versa through the green range, meaning you might need to do some extra work in those cases where you need to do live color fades - however, if you really need the color temperature parameter, then HSIC is the only mode that supports that for color mixing applications. If you find that the fixture calibration is vital to your use, then the RGB mode might be the one to go with, with the plus seven option if you need to fiddle with the colors. The best thing I can recommend right now, though, is a bit of playing with the fixtures to see which mode feels the best to you. You can reconfigure the settings via RDM if you need to, so readdressing/re-moding and adjusting the other settings can all be done from the console.

I hope this helps - 

Sarah

Hi Sarah,
Thanks for the detailed reply.  I'll certainly be spending a lot of time trialling all sorts of options with this system!

Is the S4 Series 2 HSIC template for the Cobalt calibrated? Or is the  S4 Series 2 Direct mode  the only template that is calibrated to work with the Gel picker accurately?
If the HSIC template isn't calibrated, is it possible to get it done please?

According to the S4 Series 2 Lustr LED manual there are key features of HSIC mode that aren't available on Direct mode:
Calibrated colour consistency across units, dimming curves mimicing incandescent, red shift as they fade, white point adjustment.

I am transitioning from tungsten to LED product, I have to convince touring shows to accept the LED source as an acceptable substitute. If I can show the power & ease of them by having a unit that can provide an accurate representation of a known gel pallette (i.e LEE), and provide an easy change for that colour with a few button presses, then I am more than half way there.

The goal is to have a unit, fixed to a specific "gel" colour, with a fixed dimmer channel, that I can tell incoming shows "this is your fixture in Lee201, focused downstage, it's dimmer number is 55", and not have them be able to tell the difference from a traditional tungsten fixture with gel. In the short term this will be done via the Cobalt by DMX INPUT for intensity, and PARKing the colour attributes for the fixtures. Cross fading from one colour to another on the same fixture just won't happen with a touring show setup.

Any obvious colour variations or inconsistency in the output is an area that I'd like to remove as much as possible. If I am unable the achieve some deep saturated colours in HSIC then that is a limitation that I will probably be able to work around.

While for any shows designed in house we'll use the fixtures creatively to their fullest capabilities, touring shows are still very conservative and work with fixture per channel, in a colour, on their design, to make it easy to move from venue to venue.

Cheers,

Ric