Work Pro, the international manufacturer of innovative equipment for the entertainment industry, has announced the release of LightShark, a cutting-edge new range of hardware lighting consoles, at Live Design International (LDI) in Las Vegas.
The first ever DMX-based hardware lighting console range to offer wireless, browser-based control from a multi-touch smartphone or tablet, with support for up to 3 connected devices simultaneously, LightShark sets a new standard for features and usability at its price point.
The LightShark range comprises 2 independent products, the LS-Core and the LS-1 console, both developed and designed entirely within Work Pro’s lighting division. The LS-1, brings together the best features from the world of innovative software-only lighting control and marries them to an intuitive, ergonomic assignable hardware control surface.
While the LS-Core omits the LS-1’s hardware control surface but offers exactly the same lighting control software, processing power, and smartphone/tablet-based software control interface.
“The LS-1 console was designed to fill what we perceived to be a significant gap in the lighting control market,” explained Work Pro’s Chief Sales Officer Juan Jose Vila. “At the top end, you have traditional hardware lighting consoles costing many thousands of Euros — even the smallest of these still retail for at least 1500 Euros. At the opposite end of the market, there are many software-only control systems or apps, some with innovative automation and control features, which are very popular with lighting professionals.
“These are available for maybe just a few hundred Euros at most — but you have to have a computer and DMX interfacing hardware to complete the system, plus a hardware controller if you prefer not to work with a mouse. Such a setup is less of an elegant system; more a collection of loosely related hardware, and it’s not very portable or hardwearing when it comes to rigorous use at live events or in theatres. We thought we could do better, partly inspired by some of the excellent software user interfaces that have been developed for consoles in the pro audio market recently.
“What we wanted was to design a lighting control system that would combine the versatility of the software solutions with the ergonomics, built-in interfacing, and physical usability of a hardware console — but to keep the price as close to 1000 Euros as possible. Utilising the readily available advanced graphical capabilities of modern smartphones and tablets for our control interface has meant that we didn’t have to reinvent the wheel for LightShark, which has helped to keep the price down. The LS-1 is the result, and we’re very proud of it. The LS-Core is an even more affordable option for installations where real-time control via a physical interface is less important,” Villa concluded.
