again! LTP dimmers?

[dombleu]

On the avo website, regarding the pearl 2010. Here's a quote:

"Channels can be allocated as HTP or LTP for control of dimmers, colour changers or multi-channel fixtures, all of which can be patched with one button press."

Am I reading right if I understand you can 'allocate" dimmers of fixtures as LTP?

If so, how do you do that? In the fixture personnality? Or somehow in the fixture patch?

LTP really rocks. It should be the default mode for every parameter, inluding dimmer.

Dom

[niclights]

There's no difference between 2010 and other standard Pearls other than cosmetic. You would do this via personality file.

I disagree about dimmers being LTP by default. Most of the time you need to be able to have control of intensity by fader and this is not possible except by using mode2, which has numerous bugs and limitations. It would also be impossible to use on preset handles.

[dombleu]

well then...

let's say I change the personnality to have a LTP dimmer.

What are the know shortcomings?

How the add/swop buttons would behave?

But I guess you're right on the playback fader issue. I assumed maybe quickly that the fader would be linked to the dimmer, not to the HTP parameters... and definitely don't want to program every cue in mode 2...

Anybody used to switch the dimmer into LTP?

[niclights]

Firstly, as far as I am aware, you would have to define the dimmer on a different attribute other than 'dimmer', since this is always HTP and automatically linked to preset handle. So the biggest drawback is no preset fader/flash/swop option at all.

Secondly, once LTP, values and playbacks will act as such. So there can be no fading unless you use mode1 (timed) or mode2 (fader). In normal mode they will simply switch to the recorded value as soon as the fader reaches the on value and will not go off until you send a value of zero - either by another playback, by palette, or manually by wheel/numeric. The same is true of mode1, except it will change to the set value over the set time.

For flash/swop operation it is the same but, additionally, this is one of the bugs with mode2 and it will actually be treated as mode0 and the values will stick. Similarly, if you overlap two mode two playbacks, either by fader or flash button, the values will also stick on as mode0.

Conversely I would question how often it is actually useful to have intensity channels as LTP. I have some houselights set to this so that I can perform timed fades by palette and be certain the values will remain as set. But I can't think of many other examples other than this.

[dombleu]

Starting chase without bothering with what other faders might bring in is the most obvious one i might think of.

Or simply recall a whole look by raising a fader up, without having, say, 20 preset and playback faders to bring down first.

It's a very common thing to do on many desks.

MA lighting have this thing done very easily.

but I have bought a pearl, mostly to avoid the "changing views and pages hell" that is coming the MA desks...

Anyway, thanks for your answers!

dom

[pscandrett]

Conversely I would question how often it is actually useful to have intensity channels as LTP. I have some houselights set to this so that I can perform timed fades by palette and be certain the values will remain as set. But I can't think of many other examples other than this.

One situation that we used an LTP 'dimmer' personality for was in a church that had a hardwired switch and dimmer pack; their movers were powered from swtiched channels by DMX and their dimmers via, er, dimmer channels.

I had no problem running it all from my desk; I could patch the swithc channels through to one fixture handle out of the way and the movers would have hot power as a consequence. The only issue was when I wanted a blackout, taking the grand master down killed power to the movers (which then took 15 mins to restrike, potentially). Unhelpful.

Consequently we made an LTP dimmer channel; I effectively 'located' this LTP dimmer(s) (actually switched channels) at the beginning of the session, which turned the movers on. I could use the grand masters to my heart's content (which of course only affects HTP dimmers) leaving power to the switched movers unaffected.

It was a bit of a bodge but worked better than me not touching the grand master, either deliberately or by mistake!

HTH