The-Fun-Company celebrated the prototype preview of their E.GO show control system at the recent Frankfurt ProLight&Sound show. As their first product, The-Fun-Company believes E.GO will be the next hot item in integration and control of lighting, video, and audio.
Designed for maximum performance, flexibility, ease of operation, and providing an abundance of innovative features, the E.GO show control is made for the most demanding users in the professional entertainment industry.
The development team describes the system’s capacity and performance as "No limits, no restrictions, just more than enough." The concept behind the E.GO show control system sets no limits for the hardware configuration and performance, or the number of devices, parameters, groups, looks, and sequences. E.GO's modular concept currently offers three different modules that may be clustered into one or more control surface of any combination and quantity. The Modules–Designer, Performer, and Fader–contain a dedicated user interface and a processor unit. Therefore, each module is a self-contained control system, as there is a processor running the full E.GO software inside every module. If two or more modules are clustered together to work as one control surface or a system, each module can automatically takes on the task of a fully tracking backup.
"The modular solution allows every user to select the combination and arrangement of modules that is optimal for the current working situation, allowing very flexible and efficient operation even in the largest installations", explains company director Lennart Knauf.
Unique details like the backlit wheels with color rendering are among the features that made tradeshow visitors take notice. Together with the wheels, the patent-pending ColorTarget system allows for easy and fast navigation to any color with instant visual feedback from the wheels, removing guesswork from color mixing. "With the ColorTarget technology we have reinvented the wheel in a positive sense. Never before was it possible to work so intuitively with a console", says Oliver-M. Kläffling, spokesman for The-Fun-Company.
Other innovations include the ShowDrive unit in the Designer module, a 16:9 high-resolution touch screen in every module, and the extensive use of high-contrast OLED-display technology. "We are combining the best hardware components with ground breaking software to bring a totally new experience to the system operator," comments Hans Lau.
Another highlight of the system software is Reflect: a fully embedded 3D visualizer engine that goes far beyond what operators and designers are used to working with today. Reflect can visualize individual objects and allow control of the objects directly in their own 3D space or in relation to the rest of the system and the performance space. Users can also directly, and in real time, manipulate the 3D environment including scenery and trusses–a step closer the full integration experience that the E.GO show control system promises to deliver.
The E.GO is optimized to function in a network environment and it's graphical user interface supports Drag&Drop functionality across multiple modules and control of objects located on remote hardware, as well as Multi-User and Multi-Network operation. The E.GO show control is also the first system designed to take full advantage of the upcoming ACN standard.
"I am actively involved in the ACN standard development and have experienced first hand its powerful capabilities. ACN is more than just a successor to DMX; it is a true revolution in the way we design, operate, and interact with control systems and devices. I am proud to say that the E.GO show control system now has a chance to be at the forefront of this exciting new technology," comments software developer Yngve Sandboe.
After having shown the first prototype, the development team of The-Fun-Company will analyze the customer feedback, refine the design, and continue to work to bring the product to market later this year.