Martin LED Products Video Tracking

Martin Professional has built many great features into their lights, yet some go unnoticed or are misunderstood.  All Martin LED fixtures operate at a high refresh rate (generally >1200hz) and are designed for use with HD/high-speed video cameras.  However, there is also an additional user setting called "Video Tracking" that provides an optimization for dimming and color changing when using Martin LED fixtures with a video based control system.


The video tracking feature will change the internal methodology used to control the dimming of the LEDs.  This is important ONLY when using Martin LED products to display a video signal (pixel mapping).  In normal use, the fixture processes the DMX signal it receives, tracking (or smoothing out) changes in values in order to ensure smooth fading between colors and/or intensities. This signal processing takes fractions of a second and is normally invisible, but if the fixture is used to display video the processing can interfere with video response times.

In situations where a video image is controlling intensity and/or color it is advised to enable video tracking.  If you are using pixel mapping from a console or media server or even a Martin P3 Processor to convert a video file to DMX values then it is suggested that you utilize the video tracking feature.  When enabled, the fixture will not ‘smooth out’ DMX input but instead will snap instantly when a DMX value changes.  This leads to the best representation of the color changes coming from the video file as the DMX value changes correlate instantly without smoothing. 

For best results, Martin recommends that you enable video tracking during video display control and disable it (the default setting) during normal DMX control.  The video tracking feature is found on  MAC Quantum Wash, MAC Quantum Profile, MAC Aura XB, and Atomic 3000 LED fixtures.  The setting can be adjusted either via DMX (found in the control channel) or via the fixture's menu system.  Note: The video tracking feature is referred to as "video dimming" on the MAC Aura XB.

With a proper understanding of the internal software of Martin LED products, any programmer or designer can optimize the fixtures for control from video or DMX.

Wash the Stage with Color and Style

The Martin MAC Viper Wash and MAC Viper WASH DX are extraordinarily wonderful discharge sourced wash lights.  They both are very similar in terms of specifications and pricing with the difference being that the DX model includes an internal barndoor system.  Because the price is so similar, most designers and rental companies choose the DX model.

Using the same 1000w lamp as all Viper models, the MAC Viper WASH DX has a solid output of over 33,000 lumens and a high CRI. The fixture has a native color temperature of 6500K while a variable CTO filter allows the user to adjust the color temperature down to 3200K.  The color system is the same ultra smooth CMY system found in all Vipers.

Many theatrical and television designers prefer the MAC Viper Wash DX to other wash lights (including LED models) because of the output, light quality, smooth color mixing, and small size.  In addition, it has received high marks for how quiet the unit is.  Many shows on Broadway are using the MAC Viper Wash DX as they have found it to be near silent.  The fixture is also popular on major auto shows, corporate events and more.

The internal barndoor system (framing shutters) help to turn the output from round to various shapes.  This is great for washing banners or any unique area requiring a strong cut off of output.  Plus both versions include an iris for further beam size control.

If you have not had a chance to use the MAC Viper Wash or MAC Viper Wash DX yet, you should get your hands on one soon. 

Multiple Heads Better Than One!

The RUSH line of products from Martin includes an exciting fog/haze product called the RUSH Club Smoke Dual. 

The system can utilize fog and/or haze heads with the same fluid, thus the word "dual" in the product's name.  It is actually a fog/hazing system that allows users to remotely locate the fluid reservoir and connect up to six fog and/or haze heads. 




That's right, you can keep the pump unit (fluid reservoir) on the ground or at the DJ booth and have the heads located anyplace in the rig.  The pump unit has a 10 liter reservoir which is sure last quite along time in most environments.  Plus since it can be mounted on the ground, refilling is extremely simple.  In addition because the reservoir is remote, you can aim the heads in any direction including straight up or down!






The fog and/or haze heads connect to the pump unit via a small hose for the fluid and you can have up to three distinct zones of control.  Each zone can be controlled individually as the heads are also connected to the pump unit and to each other via standard RJ45 Ethernet cables.  In fact, you can even daisy chain the units that are on the same zone.  Configuration is simple as there are no network settings to worry about.



The entire RUSH Club Smoke Dual system is very versatile and extremely useful in permanent installations.  Imagine having the fluid located in one easy-to-replace location while having six different heads throughout the venue.  I love that one zone could be hazers, while another could be fog in the rig, and a third could be floor fog effects.

Control is very simple via DMX, direct controls on the pump unit, or a special wired remote.  With DMX you can easily trigger each of the three zones plus a fourth channel provides access to control functions.  The fog and haze heads have also been designed with forethought as the status LED's for Heat and Ready are on the side of the unit instead of the back.  This makes it easy to spot the status from the ground and ensure the heads are ready.



The RUSH Club Smoke Dual has been designed with longevity in mind and is a perfect choice for any installation.  With a very affordable price, there is no reason not to invest in the RUSH Club Smoke Dual and open up your designs to new possibilities.

The OTHER New LED Strobe from Martin

The Martin Atomic 3000 LED strobe is not the only new LED based strobe announced by Martin.  The RUSH line also now includes a LED strobe called the RUSH Strobe CWL.

The RUSH Strobe CWL is a white LED strobe consisting of 99 Cree 3W LED's in a linear configuration.  With the integrated reflector the unit produces over 17,000 lumens of bright white output. The beam angle is fixed at 87 degrees which is great for a wide strobe effect.  Plus the high color temperature near 7500K looks stunning.

The RUSH Strobe CWL can be operated via DMX using 1 or 4 channels (with the 4 channel mode matching the industry standard Atomic 3000 DMX layout).  The unit also includes stand-alone and sound activation modes.  The fixture has Powecon In and Thru connectors so it is ease to connect many to the same circuit.  An LCD display allows for quick configuration and setup.

In addition, there is an accessory that allows you to stack four units together and hang from a single bracket.  This really opens up some cool programming possibilities with a bank of Strobe CWL's. 
Expect to see the RUSH Strobe CWL used on stages, clubs, and in a variety of other situations where a high-output, low-cost LED strobe is desired.

Atomic 3000 LED Unique Abilities

 
The Martin Atomic 3000 LED is an incredible piece of technology.  It is an amazingly bright LED based version of the original Atomic 3000 DMX strobe.  But it goes far beyond what the original could do, and not just in terms of reduced power consumption.  You can even connect the Atomic Colors scroller to the new unit and plug it directly in without the need for an external power supply!  The Martin engineering team added many more unique abilities to provide designers with a large range of creative options.

The Atomic 3000 LED strobe includes an amazing Aura Backlight feature that not only allows the designer to glow the reflector in any color from the RGB LED's, but also provides a plethora of stunning animated effects.  The programmer has full control of the effect selection, speed, and color to create some wonderful never-before-seen looks.  Now the Atomic 3000 LED strobe can be used in ballads and more as it becomes a beautiful accent addition to the set or lighting rig.


One of my favorite software innovations in the Atomic 3000 LED is the ability to toggle between output modes called "LED" and "Xenon Emulation".  This setting changes the behavior of the primary LED's as they illuminate.  When set to LED mode, the LED's behave as expected from an LED source and simply turn on/off at a defined rate.  A crisp clean strobe or ON state is emitted from the unit.  However, when the Atomic 3000 LED is set to Xenon Emulation mode, the LEDs will rapidly pulse whenever activated (strobing or ON).  This behavior perfectly mimics the original Atomic 3000 DMX xenon lamp that could never achieve a true ON state.  Exciting cue building is easy with this simple DMX setting.

Martin engineers have also created another unique mode in the Atomic 3000 LED called House-light mode.  This too can be activated via DMX and it serves two purposes.  First, it reduces the total output thus allowing it to remain on for an unlimited timeframe.  During this state, strobing, continous on, dimming and more are all possible.  Furthermore, when set to House-light mode the Atomic 3000 LED will retain its last state when DMX is removed from the unit.  This allows operator to turn on the units (in a solid ON state) at the end of a performance and utilize them to illuminate the venue.  Then the lighting console can be turned off and the Atomic 3000 LED units will remain on.  They will only shut off when power is removed or DMX is reconnected and a new setting sent.  This is an extremely useful feature in many situations as it allows stand alone operation and bright white illumination.

The Martin Atomic 3000 LED is poised to be an industry workhorse much like the original Atomic 3000 DMX strobe.  The added creative and technical innovations delight designers, programmers, and technicians.  Take a look for yourself...

Making Moves with the Rush MH 6 Wash

Many people mistakenly believe that the Martin Rush line is primarily a DJ line of products, in fact most of the fixtures are ideal for any type of production.  For instance, the Rush MH3 Beam and  Rush PAR 2 RGBW Zoom have been extremely popular in all genres including concerts, theater, corporate events, houses of worship, clubs and more.


Following on the popularity of the Rush PAR 2 RGBW Zoom, the new Rush MH 6 Wash is basically the same unit, but on a moving head.  This means the stunning optics, zoom capability, and color mixing that everyone loves about the PAR 2 RGBW Zoom is now available with pan & tilt movement!  This gives Martin a full line of LED moving head wash units that range from 2,000 lumens to over 15,000 lumens!  Now every LD has choices no matter the fixture size and output requirements.




The Rush MH 6 Wash uses 12x 10W RGBW LEDs and a 10°–60° zoom to create a really nice beam or wash of light.  The movement can range from really fast to slow-and-smooth, and with a weight of only 15.7 lbs. (7.1 kg) it is easy to transport and rig.  The fixture includes the ability for pass thru power using Neutrik PowerCon connectors, and to round it all out the Rush MH 6 Wash is available at an incredibly reasonable price.



Don't just take my word for it, check out the video below to see the Rush MH 6 Wash in action!

Mighty M-Touch Modes

The Martin M-Touch controller for M-Series products can do many amazing things.  I detailed a bit of it in a previous post and now I want to highlight a specific function.

The M-Touch can be used for both programming and playback operations through its dedicated buttons and Force Touch faders.  Just right of center on the M-Touch you will find two rows of buttons that can easily change their function as needed.

Before explaining the functions in detail, lets look at how you can change the mode of these buttons.  At the top you will find a pad with four labels: Play, F-Key, Base, and FX.  A red LED will indicate which mode is currently active.  As you touch anywhere in this rectangular pad, the function (and LED) will toggle between two of the modes (Base/FX or Play/F-Key).  To change to the second pair of options, simply press and hold in the rectangle area for 2 seconds.

When this section of the M-Touch is set to Base, then the 10 buttons map directly to the fixture attributes displayed in the Fixture Parameters screen.  As you toggle between the various attributes, the four programming Force Touch faders will also change to control specific parameters of the selected light(s).

Note that in this mode the ten M-Touch buttons will only access attributes shown on the left row of the attributes in the Fixture Parameters screen.  This means fixture specific parameters only.  To access the attributes shown on the right side of the attributes section (FX, Grouping, Rate) you will have to toggle these M-Touch buttons to the FX mode.

Now the 10 buttons on the M-Touch are mapped to the FX attributes as shown in the Fixture Parameters screen.  As you change between the buttons, the screen and programming fader purposes will change accordingly.  Remember that in both the Base and FX modes, the M-Touch buttons are mapped to only one type (Base or FX) and are oriented from top-down left to right as if in one long list.

When these buttons are placed in the Play mode, they act as an additional 10 playbacks per page!  These are very similar to the Playback Pairs on the  M6 or the quick playbacks on the M1.  You can store, edit, modify and playback anything here.  Note that you can press and hold the Select button on the left side of the M-Touch and then press any of these 10 playback buttons to select as the main cuelist.

The F-Key functionality of the M-Touch allows these 10 buttons to map to the first 10 Programmable Buttons you have assigned.  This is great for changing views selecting groups, presets, banks or many other commands.  Just like with a console, you can press and hold Edit on the M-Touch and select a F-Key to edit its ability.

I love how quick and easy it is to change the mode of these 10 buttons.  You can easily assign them to many different purposes and toggle as needed during your workflow.  With these buttons and more, the Martin M-Touch is a very affordable and extremely useful controller.  And don't forget that it can be used with M-PC as well as any of the M-Series controllers.

Offline Prepping with P3-PC

The Martin P3-PC software is a wonderful tool that can be activated with a Martin One-Key to control up to 20,000 pixels of Martin LED products.  It is also usable as a free tool to prepare and pre-program systems that will use any of the P3 Controller products.  You can actually do quite a lot with the software without a One-Key and then simply load your configuration file into a P3 processor.

First, you need to download and install the free Windows based software from the Martin website.  Then start it up, select off-line use and start a new configuration.  The first step after naming your file is to select the minimum dot pitch that will be used in your display (you can also select a specific fixture/screen by name if you are unsure).

Next you will be asked to set the Maximum Workspace Area or the total number of pixels that will be within your control.  After making this selection and clicking Finish you will be presented with the main P3-PC screen.

I am not going to go into the full details of how to use P3-PC, for this you can follow the user manual, however it is important to know that it is very simple to use.  Basically you select your fixtures/screens from the list and drag them onto the workspace area.  You can move them about to match your set or desired layout.  There are many tools and wizards to help you add and manipulate your fixtures or screens.  In fact, you can even import an image to use in the background to help you match your desired layout.  In the image below you can see where I imported a basic DJ layout and started to layout my VDO Sceptron 10 units.

The power of being able to prepare and pre-program your video layouts on any PC is incredible!  The P3-PC system really makes the entire process easy.  In fact, when you arrive on site and connect to the actual rig, there is a simple process that lets you quickly highlight and select your fixtures so that they are instantly mapped correctly to your layout.

All the above mentioned features are available offline on the P3-PC system or directly from any P3 System Controller.  Plus remember that with the Martin One-Key you can use the P3-PC software as a full functioning controller too.  The P3 range of Video Processing Controllers are extremely powerful yet easy to use.  They work well with all previous, current, and future video products from Martin Professional.

MAC Viper Used as a Followspot

Quite often LD's find it handy to utilize a moving light in place of a truss spot.  This allows full DMX control of all the fixture's attributes while allowing an operator to manually position the unit.  Martin Professional patented a system for doing this with the Martin MAC III and some customers have asked about doing the same with the Martin MAC Viper Profile, MAC Viper Performance, and MAC Viper AirFX.




While a dedicated spotlight mode does not exist in the Viper range, there is an approved method for using the fixtures as followspots.  You simply have to place the fixture into Service Mode.  This will disable the pan/tilt motors and allow all the other functions to behave normally via DMX.

In order to do this, you simply need to press and hold both the Escape Button (C) and the Jog Wheel (B) when powering on the unit. 

Then the display will show a  "Service" warning.  At this point the power will be removed from the pan/tilt motors thus allowing you to move the head freely.

It is important to note that a power cycle will disable the Service Mode.  If you send the unit a Reset command from DMX, it will reset all the functions other than pan/tilt and remain in the Service Mode.


 
So now you know how to configure your Martin MAC Viper fixture for use as a followspot.  Have fun with this and be sure to wear gloves when manually moving the fixture head as some parts of it can be rather hot!

A Visit to Martin Headquarters

I recently had a chance to visit the Martin Professional headquarters in Aarhus Denmark.  It is quite a remarkable place with many interesting points and a wonderful staff.  If you are ever in Denmark, you should plan to make the short trip to the office to see the headquarters. 

Martin HQ on a Sunny Day

The Center Courtyard

Inside the building there is tons of things to see and do.  Many departments have offices here including R&D, Product Management, Sales, Support, Design & Application, Marketing, Management, Product Testing and much more.  The entire environment is built to emphasis innovation and cooperation.

The Front Lobby

Turn Left Here to Enter the R&D Department

An Inspirational Marketing Meeting Room

The Martin Evolution Gallery is an amazing showcase that provides the history of Martin through a grand display of products and an informational timeline.  It is fun and amazing to see all the products and particularly to remember the ones that you worked with and the past types of products Martin has created.

The Martin Evolution Gallery

The Starlight is Martin's First Moving Head

A Small Sampling of Some Great Products

 Also located within the headquarters are two areas to demonstrate all the current (and coming soon) products.  There is a Demo Room, which is a hands-on area where products can be shown as well as training and experimentation are possible.  Then there is a large Showroom that contains a very impressive rig and a large theatrical style seating area.  Here very creative demos are played that demonstrate the abilities of all the products working together.

The staff at the Martin headquarters is very accommodating and happy to provide tours of the massive 3+ story building.  There are many more surprises within the walls as well, some of which are only for employees, but anyone visiting the office will be thrilled by the experience.

Martin MAC 2000 #100.000