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EVENT FOCUS<br />
EQUIPSON OPEN DAY<br />
<strong>TPi</strong>’s Stew Hume was invited to Equipson to take a closer look at some of the latest products at its<br />
Valencia HQ, and what’s in store for <strong>2018</strong>...<br />
<strong>TPi</strong>’s guide for the day was Juan José Vila, COO and CMO of Equipson.<br />
Joining his father’s business back in 2002, Vila has been focussed on<br />
the company’s R&D department, while his father, José Luis Vila, still<br />
oversees the direction of the company as CEO. “In the early days, when<br />
my father started Equipson, we were very much a distributor,” began<br />
the younger Vila. “I then joined the company 6 or 7 years later and began<br />
to create a team to focus on the R&D department. We were already a<br />
leading distribution company so we had the client base and the industry<br />
knowledge to start producing our own products.”<br />
Following a few years of research, the company released its first line<br />
of products including the Digiline Series, BlueLine Digital and the IC 6 PRO<br />
under the company’s WORK PRO banner. Although Equipson’s range of<br />
products are usually associated with the install market, some of its latest<br />
offerings seem to signal a change for the Spanish company.<br />
Enter the LightShark, a new range of hardware lighting consoles. “About<br />
2.5 years ago, the Equipson team gathered around the table to discuss<br />
the possibility of creating a lighting control surface,” said Vila. “We wanted<br />
to design a system that would combine the versatility of the software<br />
solutions with the ergonomics, built-in interfacing, and physical usability<br />
of a hardware console. On the whole you can split lighting consoles into 3<br />
categories - a classic console, a wing and computer set up, and the dongle<br />
and computer combo. Each of these options has their advantages and<br />
disadvantages. A console may be too expensive for a particular project and<br />
using a computer puts you at the mercy of software updates.” It’s here that<br />
Equipson hopes its new solution will offer a fourth option for the market.<br />
The LightShark is the first ever DMX-based hardware lighting console<br />
range to offer wireless, browser-based control from a multi-touch<br />
smartphone or tablet, with support for up to 3 connected devices<br />
simultaneously. The range sets a new standard for features and usability at<br />
its price point. The LightShark range comprises of 2 independent products,<br />
the LS-Core and the LS-1 console, both developed and designed entirely<br />
within WORK PRO’s lighting division. The LS-1 brings together the best<br />
features from the world of innovative software-only lighting control and<br />
marries them to an intuitive, ergonomic hardware control surface. The LS-<br />
Core omits the LS-1’s hardware control surface but offers exactly the same<br />
lighting control software, processing power, and smartphone or tabletbased<br />
software control interface.<br />
Alongside all of the features users expect from a modern, fully featured<br />
lighting control system, LightShark offers intuitive control over a total of<br />
8 512-channel DMX Universes, plus built-in support for an ever-growing<br />
library of lighting fixtures. Because the LightShark control software runs on<br />
the console itself, and the Wi-Fi-connected tablet or smartphone is merely<br />
controlling it via a simple web browser, the control software is fast and<br />
responsive, as well as offering the benefits of real-time, multi-touch control.<br />
The console was first shown last year in Las Vegas at LDI and certainly<br />
made an impression. “We were really pleased with the feedback we had<br />
from the trade show last year,” stated Vila. “Since then we have been<br />
inundated with interest and hopefully will see the LightShark in various<br />
places throughout <strong>2018</strong>. We have also got more plans for the console, which<br />
we will showcase at this year’s Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt.”<br />
During <strong>TPi</strong>’s Equipson visit, Vila also demonstrated another new<br />
release for the company. “Audio has always been an important side to our<br />
business,” commented Vila. “Last year we employed Joan La Roda who<br />
now heads up our electro acoustic department. Since joining he completed<br />
our first line array, Arion Series, and control system - a project we have had<br />
in the pipeline for some time.”<br />
The SL 210 A is the latest addition to WORK PRO’s Arion Series. A new,<br />
self-powered 2-way line array, the SL 210 A features remote monitoring,<br />
fully developed by WORK PRO’s in-house audio engineering department.<br />
The system features 2 10-inch FAITAL transducers and an 11.46-inch<br />
voicecoil in a bass reflex enclosure. The 2 low pass cut-off frequencies in<br />
the loudspeakers contribute to an even horizontal directivity. The high<br />
frequencies are reproduced by a 1.4-inch exit BEYMA compression driver<br />
that features a polymer PM-4 membrane, which brings a more natural<br />
sound when compared to other materials commonly used on the market.<br />
The SL 210 A can suit the requirements of different configurations<br />
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