EOS and Cobalt Family

Question

Hi, 
 
 I had some hands-on experience with some ETC consoles from the EOS family, mainly Element and ION. 
 However, I have not experienced any consoles from the Cobalt family. 
 I would like to ask, what is the main differences between the EOS and Cobalt family, and which situation is more suited for a EOS console, or Cobalt console? 
 Thanks! 
 Isaac

JasonPerry · Accepted Answer

A good reference is here: 
 
http://www.etcconnect.com/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=10737461850 
 
In a nutshell the two desks think very differently. On the surface EOS is a very structured syntax command line based programming experience whereas Cobalt is designed to be quicker shorthand. EOS is a tracking console so it is well suited for chronological playback based productions whereas Cobalt is a Preset console so its more suited for asynchronous playback and live production. 
 
Cobalts Presets and Masters make it really fast and easy to jump between different looks, effects, cuelists on the fly. Its very customizable to quickly get access to the controls you need quickly. That being said it is not as easy to use in a traditional theatrical production. Theatrical editing in Cobalt can be a little more difficult, while it has tools to do tracking, its not native to the board and requires some additional thought. 
 
Both consoles can do the same things for the most part, its just a matter of both finding the best tool for the job. For example, if I was a High School theatre, EOS is probably my tool. If I am a event space or a church maybe Cobalt is the way to go.