Geezers Of Gear - FutureTech Featuring ETC - Stage In Focus

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All right, welcome back to
Geezers of Gear Future Tech.

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I'm Chris, and as always, I'm
joined by Lacey.

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Today we're diving into
something that's honestly got me

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a bit excited.
ET CS new rig POV camera

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accessory.
Laci, have you seen this thing

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yet?
I mean, I've seen the press

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photos, but I haven't actually
played with one.

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But Chris, you were practically
buzzing about it before we hit

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record.
What's the big deal?

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Well, it's a bit of a game
changer honestly.

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So rig POV is this camera you
can attach directly to certain

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ETC fixtures like the Lone Star
Hyperstar and the Halcyon

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family.
What it does is stream a live

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NDI video feed straight from the
rig right into your EOS console

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or even third party control
systems so you get a real time

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view from the fixtures
perspective.

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No more climbing up into the
rafters just to check a follow

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spot angle or see if your
shutter cut is right.

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Wait, so you can literally see
what the light sees like from

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the ground?
Exactly, and not just for follow

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spot OPS.
Think about programming, being

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able to see the stage from up
there live while you're on the

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ground.
I mean, back in the day I spent

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more hours than I care to admit
crawling through dusty catwalks

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just to peek over a set piece or
check a focus.

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I remember this one time
actually.

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It was in Manchester and I was
halfway through a tech sweating

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buckets trying to get a look at
a shuttercut.

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Now with Rick POV you just pull
up the feed.

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No ladders, no drama.
That sounds honestly that sounds

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like magic, or at least like a
lot less back pain for everyone.

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And you said it works with EOS V
3.3 and other systems.

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Yeah, that's right.
It's NDI, so it's low latency

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and pretty reliable.
You can use it for remote follow

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spot operation programming, or
just to give the stage manager a

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new angle.
It's not just for the big

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concert halls either.
Schools, film sets, anywhere you

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need a better view.
It's all about making things

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safer and more accessible.
I love that, especially after

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all those stories we've heard.
Like, remember in our last

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episode we talked about how new
rigging tech is making things

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safer backstage?
This feels like another step in

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that direction.
Absolutely.

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It's all about keeping people
off ladders and out of harm's

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way.
And honestly, it just makes the

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whole process smoother.
But let's talk about how this

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actually changes things for
designers and stage managers.

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Yeah.
So if I'm a stage manager or

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let's be real, a teacher running
a school show, how does rig POV

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actually help me?
Like what's different about my

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day?
Well for starters, you can see

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above and behind set pieces
without ever leaving the ground.

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Imagine you're trying to check
if your shutter cuts are clean

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or if a prop is blocking a
light.

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Instead of sending someone up a
ladder, you just pull up the

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camera feed.
I heard about a school theatre

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that started using rig POV for
exactly that.

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They'd set up the camera and the
teacher could check all the

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lighting angles from the control
booth.

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No more running up and down
stairs, no more worrying about

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students on ladders.
It's just safer and honestly a

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lot more efficient.
That makes so much sense.

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I mean, I've worked in venues
where the only way to see the

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top of the set was to climb up
to the balcony, and half the

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time you forget your flashlight
or your notes.

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This just cuts all that out.
Exactly.

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And it's not just about
convenience, it's a real shift

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in workflow.
Crews can focus on the creative

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side rather than logistics.
And, you know, fewer people

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getting hurt or wasting time on
ladders is always a win plus for

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programming.
You can make decisions faster.

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You see the result instantly,
tweak it and move on.

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It's a bit like what we talked
about with remote monitoring in

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that site link episode.
Just more eyes on the stage from

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anywhere you need them.
And I guess for smaller venues

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or schools it's a big deal
because you might not have a big

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crew.
Anything that saves time and

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keeps people safe is huge.
Do you think this is going to

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become standard like in most
venues?

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I think so, yeah, especially as
more fixtures come with this as

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an option.
It's easy to install and it

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matches the fixtures warranty,
so there's not much downside.

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I mean, once people get used to
having that extra perspective, I

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can't see them wanting to go
back.

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I can see that, and honestly,
anything that means less time on

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ladders is a win in my book.
But Chris, you mentioned the

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fixtures themselves.
ET CS got a whole lineup, right?

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What's new there?
Yeah, so ET CS automated

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luminaires have really come a
long way.

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You've got the Lone Star and
Hyper Star, both compact but

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packed with features.
Then there's the Halcyon Family,

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Gold, Titanium, Platinum.
They're all about high output

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framing, shutters and advanced
colour mixing.

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And of course they're compatible
with RIG POV.

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But it's not just about the
camera.

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The tech inside these fixtures
is wild.

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Fanless operation for silent
venues, modular design so you

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can swap out parts easily, and
next Gen. color systems that let

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you dial in exactly what you
want.

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It's all about flexibility and
reliability.

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OK, so confession time.
I used to be totally intimidated

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by high end fixtures like all
those buttons and menus, but the

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last time I worked with an ETC
rig it was actually kind of

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intuitive.
I mean, I still needed help but

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it wasn't scary.
The colour mixing was super

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smooth and the thing was so
quiet I kept thinking it was

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off.
I guess that's the fanless

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thing.
Yeah, that's the solar Frame

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studio and theatre models,
Totally silent, which is

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brilliant for drama or classical
gigs.

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And the modularity means if
something goes wrong, you don't

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have to send the whole thing off
for repair, you just swap the

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module.
It's a bit like what we saw with

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the Prodigy balance rigging
system, designing for real world

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use, not just specs on paper.
And the support too, right?

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ET CS got that 24/7 365 days a
year thing.

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I remember someone telling me
you could call them on Christmas

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Eve and still get help.
Not that I want to test that,

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but it's good to know.
Yeah, they're legendary for

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that.
And the warranties are solid.

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Two years on the fixture, 5 on
the LED array.

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So you know you can trust the
gear to last.

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Honestly it's making high end
tech way more accessible even

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for folks who aren't gear heads.
Like you said, it's not

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intimidating anymore.
Yeah, and I think that's the

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real shift, making this stuff
usable for everyone, not just

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the techies.
All right, Chris, I think that's

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a good place to wrap.
Any last thoughts?

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Just that it's exciting to see
these innovations actually

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making a difference, safer,
smarter, and more creative.

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And as always, we'll keep an eye
on what's next.

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Thanks for listening everyone.
Yeah, thanks for hanging out

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with us.
We'll be back soon with more

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future tech.
Take care, Chris.

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Cheers Lacey, see you next
time.