iRFR

Hi guys -

I understand your unhappiness with this situation, however either way 1/2 of our users would end up upset and/or confused. It's really not about one platform taking precedence over another. Unfortunately, you all have a wait a little bit before you pay for your iRFR application, instead of having an equal number of you upset that you had paid for the app and could not get it to run with your Eos/Ion without v1.5. Either way, it was going to be bad for someone. For this I apologize. In the mean time, we (ETC) have learned a lot about Apple's not-too-convenient method of getting software posted to the iTunes store and we have taken the opportunity to make some additional small improvements in the iRFR software. So please, bear with us.

Thanks very much for your patience -

Sarah

Sara,

Respectfully...the only people this change effects is the congo users.  The Eos/Ion users can't get it either way until you release their new version of the software.  However the congo users could be testing and working out bugs for you right now.  So I guess what I hear you saying is that it's better to have everyone upset instead of half of your users.  The reality is the reason the Congo users are upset is that the software is "ready" but we can't use it because you want to wait for another set of users to be able to use it right when released.

This is frustrating...not just because of the timing of this being pushed back.  First we got the spotlight update via email talking about the product...I and several Houston area LD's immediately went online to look up the software at the app store.  Nothing was mentioned about "coming soon" or anything like that.  So then we looked at your website where there was info on how to get this etc.  Still no software...very confusing.  Our next step was to go to forums and check on when the software would be released.  We had been waiting and waiting...and then got the update that the software was sent to apple for review and would be out when released.  

After all this now your telling us you are going to wait at minimum another month to appease the Eos/Ion customers.  Does it really make Eos/ion customers mad that Congo users will get this available to them first.  I have to say the marketing has not just been confusing on this item...but very, very poor. 

This has been a really poorly handled process by ETC.

Matt

LD, Houston TX

Sara,

Respectfully...the only people this change effects is the congo users.  The Eos/Ion users can't get it either way until you release their new version of the software.  However the congo users could be testing and working out bugs for you right now.  So I guess what I hear you saying is that it's better to have everyone upset instead of half of your users.  The reality is the reason the Congo users are upset is that the software is "ready" but we can't use it because you want to wait for another set of users to be able to use it right when released.

This is frustrating...not just because of the timing of this being pushed back.  First we got the spotlight update via email talking about the product...I and several Houston area LD's immediately went online to look up the software at the app store.  Nothing was mentioned about "coming soon" or anything like that.  So then we looked at your website where there was info on how to get this etc.  Still no software...very confusing.  Our next step was to go to forums and check on when the software would be released.  We had been waiting and waiting...and then got the update that the software was sent to apple for review and would be out when released.  

After all this now your telling us you are going to wait at minimum another month to appease the Eos/Ion customers.  Does it really make Eos/ion customers mad that Congo users will get this available to them first.  I have to say the marketing has not just been confusing on this item...but very, very poor. 

This has been a really poorly handled process by ETC.

Matt

LD, Houston TX

Dear Matt and all,

Matt's last point is the one that really is correct. It has been badly handled by ETC.I am the one this should reflect on and I apologize to you all.

First of all we should not have promoted this until it was ready. That is really the core issue. Iphone apps are a new area for us and we are amazed by the response. We are accustomed to taking our dear sweet time and testing things to death. That is our way and NOT the way of the App store.

Secondly we should not have said it was sent to the app store for review by Apple - since to date it has not been sent even now. We had ETC people reporting hear-say that was simply not accurate.

Thirdly the report that we were delaying to reduce confusion on behalf of Eos/Ion users should not have been reported here since the fact is that the software is simply still not ready! The fact that it would have produced confusion is really true. This is a fact that we at ETC have to take in to account for ourselves and you people as the user group should not have to understand these issues or be informed of them. They should never have been presented to you. I apologize for that.

But fear not. We will eventually release the app and you will no doubt enjoy using it. We have learned a little about what we should not do. And I apologize our bad handling of this.

David Lincecum

Marketing Manager - ETC

David,

Thank you for your candor about this issue.  It seems the misinformation was giving us Congo users a "second-class citizen" complex, and I appreciate your honesty. 

Something is troubling me, however.  On the wiki pages for setups on the iRFR (which I have also been following for some sort of release) they mention on the EOS information page that the encoders and color picker aren't functional for the Congo system.  Is this a temporary thing, hopefully fulfilled in v6 or soon after, or is this just how the RFR talks to Congo?  I assume one would still be able to use the wheels to play with attributes, just not have the pretty interface, right?  One of the reasons I'm excited about this product is that when I purchased my Congo several years ago, the RFR was not available, and I got a cRRFU.  While it works great for some things, it doesn't do everything the RFR does (attributes, patch, etc.) and I don't want to be all excited about getting the app and find out it just does exactly what my cRRFU does, without all the improvements the RFR came with (unfortunately, not a justifiable expense since I have the other remote, but I already have an iPod touch and would gladly shell out $50 for the additional conveniences).

The iRFR does not emulate the cRRFU and it's limited feature set. It is a full RFR emulator. Congo has supported encoder control of parameters since the initial launch of the RFR using the physical encoders on the sides. The iRFR also emulates those encoders.

The RFR is a universal piece of hardware that gets it features from the console its connected to. The iRFR is similar to this. The available features with Eos and Congo are therefore slightly different as the two platforms are developed independently.

Thanks for the information, I thought that was the case and it did what the RFR does, but wanted to make sure.  The only screenshots I've seen have apparently been for the Eos (they all have Sneak on them) so I wanted to make sure it did all the RFR stuff that is outlined in the Congo manual.

Now, the waiting continues.....

Sara,

I have to say that after I downloaded the irfr last night I was especially excited...then I noticed that we wouldn't have access to the parameter and color picker in congo.

What in the world...after all the wait and we get the basic features of the remote sent with the machine.  I am extremely disappointed.

K

Operation of the RFR and iRFR is dependant on the host console - the Eos and Congo families have slightly different feature sets and very different methods of operation due to the differing style of programming on these consoles.

The Eos pages do not apply to Congo - Congo users should ignore these completely.
Equally, the Congo pages do not apply to Eos.

When hosted by Congo, you'll find two Attribute encoders when in the Device mode, and can use the 'softkeys' to choose which attributes are assigned to them in the same way you change the attributes assigned to the four encoders on the Congo console.

ok...fair enough...why when I click the attribute encoders does it not operate correctly for pan/tilt and colors etc.

So when I click the wheel when on zero it doesn't go to full it goes to "-0"   or if at 50 for pan/tilt and i press it...it goes to "-50"  I think this is a bug...it should go to either 0 or full shouldn't it.

The functionality on the RFR is slightly different to the real console as it has a much smaller number of keys and 'clicky' encoders.

Clicking the encoders on a Congo-hosted RFR changes the sensitivity of the wheel, similar to "Coarse/Fine Mode" on the console.
The "-" indicates that the encoder is in Fine mode.

There is a User Guide to the iRFR functionality in the Wiki, and the Online Help under Accessories > Remote Control, or by searching Online Help for "RFR"

I am loving the iRFR, thank you for getting it out.  I used it last night during an archive photo shoot, and it worked great.  Nice interface, and once I get used to it, I'm sure it will be much faster to work with than my cRRFU. 

My only question is in the patch section.  I played with it a bit and got it to patch, which is great (can't wait for my next focus session), but I couldn't get it to bring up intensities on outputs.  I punched in 55 Output 100 @, expecting Output 55 to come up, but nothing came up, although it showed that the output was full on the iRFR display.  Am I doing something wrong?

You are probably doing it correctly. However, in v5.1 there is a problem with some output related operations together with the iRFR.

This is fixed in the upcoming v6.

Thanks, Anders, I'll wait for "later this summer"....

Hello

There is 2 versions for iRFR : BTS and LR and it is only for Congo family or for EOS and Congo ? what is the different ?

40 € just for software, it is not cheap...

Pilou

From the Product Overview Page found here

"ETC is donating all proceeds from the sale of the iRFR application to Behind the Scenes or Light Relief. There are two separate applications available, the iRFR – BTS and iRFR – LR, supporting these two charities respectively.

Click here (http://community.etcconnect.com/wikis/products/irfr-documentation.aspx) for setting up your network and using your iPhone app.

To download the iRFR - BTS application and donate to Behind the Scenes, visit:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=318210456&mt=8

To download the iRFR – LR application and donate to Light Relief, visit:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=318217989&mt=8"

As for EOS / Ion compatibility... The product overview currently states that it is only for Congo, but from the Wiki and other discussions on the boards, the same iRFR (or an update) will be compatible with Eos/Ion Version 1.5 when that is released.

Also, if you haven't read, here is the news article of the iRFR release.

http://www.etcconnect.com/news.aspx?id=20266