FutureTech - ETC SiteLink - Always-On Monitoring: The Future of Lighting and Rigging Control

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All right, welcome to Future
Tech.

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Let's jump right in.
ETC just announced their site

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link solution.
It's this cloud based monitoring

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tool for lighting and rigging.
Think about it, literally all

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your critical systems monitored
from anywhere in the world,

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right from your phone or laptop.
They launched it just last week

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and honestly, it's going to be a
game changer.

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Cloud based monitoring.
That sounds fancy, but what does

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it actually mean for, like, the
people on the ground, you know,

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the stagehands or facility
managers of the world?

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Oh, it means no more waking up
in a cold sweat wondering if a

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hoist is failing mid show.
Seriously though.

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And with this you've got instant
alerts, real time system updates

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for everything from lights to
rigging.

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Say goodbye to those frantic pre
show system resets.

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Right.
I can think of so many times

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when something broke down and it
was this scramble to figure out

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what went wrong before doors
opened.

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Exactly.
For example, I had this incident

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back in the day.
It was the final show on a

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European pop tour.
Everything's running smooth

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until Wham rigging failure.
We didn't know till part of the

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lighting rig went dark during
the opener.

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You're lucky to even identify
the problem, let alone fix it in

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time.
Like I would have killed for

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something like Site Link back
then.

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You could have diagnosed half
those issues even before

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stepping foot on stage.
So what?

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It monitors everything, rigging,
lights, the whole setup.

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Yep, everything ETC touches And
the genius part.

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It lets you group systems how
you like.

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You've got the traditional
setup, like separating by

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physical location, say
proscenium versus backstage.

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Or you can organize by function,
like fixture power or house

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lights.
There's just this whole new

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level of visibility.
That's pretty wild to think

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about.
It's almost like having a behind

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the scenes tech supervisor
watching it all for you.

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Exactly.
It's like having that behind the

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scenes tech supervisor but with
even more control.

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Customization is where ETC.
Site Link really shines.

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Not only can you group your
systems however you want, but

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you can also set up custom
alerts for, well, pretty much

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anything.
That could mean getting a

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warning if, say, one specific
winch on a rigging system looks

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off, or even narrowing it down
to something like house lights

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not responding.
Whatever you need.

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Wow that's that's pretty next
level.

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I mean think about venues like
No2.

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Setups are exactly the same but
everyone has to deal with that.

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Oh no what's wrong?
Panic during pre show checks,

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right?
Exactly.

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And here's where it gets even
better.

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You can tailor what specific
team members see.

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So let's say you're the crew
chief.

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You only want to know if like a
major part of the system goes

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down.
But your techs, they need every

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single alert because they're
troubleshooting in real time.

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With site link that's totally
doable.

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OK.
Yeah, because I've seen like,

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facility managers who have to
manage all these different

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departments, they're walking
that tightrope, trying to keep

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everyone informed without
overwhelming themselves or the

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crew with too much information.
Yep, and there's no

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one-size-fits-all either.
Every user can fine tune their

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account, text alerts, daily
digests, whatever works best.

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And let's say the touring crew
pulls into a new venue.

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They can set up Site Link in a
way that only monitors the

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system critical parts for that
location.

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It's modular, you know.
So much better than the old way.

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I remember this one venue I
worked at.

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It was kind of cobbled together
and geez, troubleshooting was

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like trying to read a map with
missing pieces.

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Half the time we didn't even
know where to start looking when

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something failed.
That's the beauty of this

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system.
You're not just reacting to

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problems, you're ahead of them.
And Laci imagine the education

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space, right?
Schools and universities can use

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this to keep their
administrators and facilities

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managers In Sync without bogging
them down with every little

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issue.
Oh yeah, schools could really

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use something like that, a
safety net for their

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performances or assemblies.
Kids don't exactly wait

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patiently while you fix the
spotlight, do they?

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Ha, ha, ha.
Not a chance.

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But yeah, whether it's a
Performing Arts Center or a

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stadium, this level of control
is a game changer.

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You can focus on, I don't know,
the actual event instead of

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losing your mind over last
minute hiccups.

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And that's just scratching the
surface.

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Here's the real game changer.
Global access.

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Let's say you're running a tour.
Whether you are in Altoona or

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Zurich, Site Link keeps you in
the loop.

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You can see it all in real time
before you even step off the

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bus.
So you're solving issues before

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they ever become problems.
Yeah, And touring is so

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unpredictable.
Like, even when you've got the

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best crew on the planet, things
can still, you know, fall apart.

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A tool like this would make such
a difference.

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Like you could put out fires
before they become, well, actual

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fires.
Exactly, and site Link is built

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for it.
Whether you're dealing with

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rigging, stress or electrical
quirks, you've got a complete

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heads up.
And let's say the venue's got, I

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don't know, some funky old setup
site link helps you stay ahead

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of it so you don't walk into a
complete blind spot.

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Totally sounds a bit like having
an extra pair of eyes on

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everything, even when you're,
what, a bunch of time zones

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away?
Yeah, and you're not just

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reacting to issues anymore,
you're proactive.

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Like no more scrambling after
something breaks mid show, you

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can pinpoint the problem and
send instructions to the crew

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all in real time.
You know, hearing you talk about

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this makes me really think back
to all those moments where we

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needed something, anything like
this.

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I mean, how much stress could we
have saved?

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Oh tons, no doubt about it.
In the live events world, speed

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and mobility are everything.
Site link not only gives you

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flexibility, but it really
elevates how you handle your

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entire operation.
Yeah, I feel like every

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production team out there is
going to want to give this a

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shot.
I mean, it's just one of those

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things that makes sense, you
know?

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Exactly.
Whether it's a tour, a big

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campus system, or even just one
busy theatre, that kind of

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insight and control goes a long
way.

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And honestly, staying connected
has never been this easy.

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Well on that note, I think we
can both agree ETC site link

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could really change the game.
Thanks for breaking it all down,

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Chris.
My pleasure as always, and to

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all the geezers and Gizettes out
there, thanks for tuning in to

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hear us geek out about site
monitoring on today's future

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tech.
Stay safe, stay lit, and we'll

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catch you next time.
Future tech is here.

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Come on man, you make the spec
so clear.

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Oh La La with music to your
ears.

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Hey, hey.
Yeah, let's go.

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New gear vibes, new tech.