# Colortran Innovator



## Inaki2 (Sep 17, 2005)

Does anyone have this console as part of their lighting inventory? Does anyone else think its a big copy of an ETC Express but with a moving lights section? I just saw this at a high school....funny!


----------



## cupcake (Sep 29, 2005)

sadly i've got one (24/48), it does it's job, and thats bout it.


----------



## LDSFX (Sep 29, 2005)

Unfortuantely, I design a show for a group that performs in a high school every summer, and they have a 48/96 Innovator...and it sucks!!! Being an express man myself, this console only deserves one word: tedious. It takes roughly 3 more keystrokes to do anything than it does on an Express. The interface is lousy and the moving light panel is just plain stupid. You might as well just put a piece of tape under the faders and label: X, Y, GOBO, COLOR, etc. If you are looking for moving lights from a conventional console, go Express, or Expression 3.


----------



## cupcake (Sep 30, 2005)

agreed, and we have noticed a glitch in the OS, that when it gets turned off one or more lights come on, and whats almost impossible is that sometimes they will power up to half, then 10 secs later go to full and back.
any guesses?


----------



## avkid (Sep 30, 2005)

Do you also lose data everytime you power off the desk?
If yes, then replace the internal batteries(rather have a professional do it for you)
If no, just unplug the DMX cable when you power down and see if that helps.


----------



## cupcake (Sep 30, 2005)

Nope i changed the batteries in september, as we started to lose data, but i was told once, that there was a "patch" if you would that could fix the OS problem.


----------



## avkid (Sep 30, 2005)

Where are you located?


----------



## cupcake (Sep 30, 2005)

i'm in fredericton, new brunswick (Canada)


----------



## avkid (Sep 30, 2005)

How far would that be from the border at Niagra Falls?(roughly)


----------



## cupcake (Sep 30, 2005)

a good days drive the way i drive, a day and a half with stops and so on.


----------



## avkid (Sep 30, 2005)

Hmm...Do you know of anywhere close to you(major university, advanced high school)with video conference capabilities?


----------



## cupcake (Sep 30, 2005)

i have video conference cap. i have a smart board with video option. aswell UNB is like 5 mins away.


----------



## avkid (Sep 30, 2005)

Wow, I am not thinking today! A good webcam from a major electronics store and a high speed internet connection should suffice.


----------



## cupcake (Sep 30, 2005)

i've got it right now, what are you thinking of?


----------



## avkid (Sep 30, 2005)

can you get it anywhere near the board? If so I can watch the commands and what happens when you do things that I prompt you to(via IM or phone)


----------



## cupcake (Sep 30, 2005)

what type of prompts? i'm just hoping that i don't have to upgrade the entire OS. if i have to do that then it's no problem as i sadly know that board too well. (i got clothes lined backstage during a power outage and the emerg. lights went out mind transport to the booth)


----------



## MircleWorker (Mar 2, 2006)

I have an Innovator 600 it is only good for holding down the cue sheets. The commands are harder than a ETC, takes a little more knowledge to get around inside the OS. The automated light controls are OK, even wrote definitions that worked inside and outside the console.


----------



## soundlight (Mar 2, 2006)

I recently got (was donated) an Encore 48/96, which is a big improvement over our old lightronics crapbox. I must say that it does have a slower learning curve than the express, but hey, it works. Instead of having two fader pairs, it's got four or five (don't remember right now, i'm not in front of it) seperate faders that you can load cues to (automatically or manually), and then fade them in manually or fire them off automatically. This is a good transition for our school from manual to preset control, and a good way to help the new techies learn.


----------



## Inaki (Mar 6, 2006)

Colortran has a hardware Upgrade kit for free available, and a new software version. That solved 99% of the issues at this High School I help out at. Check it out.


----------



## MircleWorker (Mar 17, 2006)

Not mine!!! I did install on my console, and still slow communication between Board and Dimmers about one second.


----------



## jyenish (Mar 20, 2006)

I've been working on an Innovator for about five years now, and this year I started learning ETC boards. In my opinion the Innovator is a poor excuse for a memory board. I find myself more often programing the 24 submasters and designing from there, that repatching. Maybe its just me but the repatching just takes way to much effort and its easier to leave it on a 1 to 1. The OS is hard to navigate and occasionally it desides it doesn't want to save info. I'm trying to get the board replaced with an ETC board, but who's got 12 grand lying around?


----------



## MircleWorker (Mar 21, 2006)

jyenish said:


> I've been working on an Innovator for about five years now, and this year I started learning ETC boards. In my opinion the Innovator is a poor excuse for a memory board. I find myself more often programing the 24 submasters and designing from there, that repatching. Maybe its just me but the repatching just takes way to much effort and its easier to leave it on a 1 to 1. The OS is hard to navigate and occasionally it desides it doesn't want to save info. I'm trying to get the board replaced with an ETC board, but who's got 12 grand lying around?




I totaly agree!!!

I program 3/4 of my conventional lighting from the subs. Keeping it on 1 to 1 is way easier.


----------



## soundop (Mar 21, 2006)

it does look like a cross between an etc express (what my school has) and the worlds crapiest computer,jeez does it really need a trackball?

?


----------



## alanhagg (Jun 3, 2011)

I know it's been a while since anyone posted to this. But I have this to say: if you have to do a show that uses moving lights, and conventional, the easiest way, with an Innovator, is to borrow a board that does movers. Even though you may need two operators, you don't have the frustration of trying to make the Innovator do it...


----------



## Nelson (Jun 3, 2011)

I also have a Colortran Innovator 48/96 (and i series dimmers, great dimmers by the way). Unfortunately, it is the only console we have. It is okay, but there are a few quirks that I don't like about it. First, I do like the general layout, feature set, and screens. I like how it has 96 manual faders. It seems like newer boards are moving away from having large numbers of dedicated faders. I also like having faders for submasters. Since most of our shows are one-offs or school events, I run most shows just with submasters. Its not usually practical to write cues.

However, I don't like how slow the board responds to commands. This is especially noticeable when typing in circuit numbers or the like. You can't type fast on the Innovator! The board is also unreliable. I've had it freeze too many times. I've also had it start sending zeros to the dimmers even though the screen still showed that channels are up, resulting in a blackout. Then I have to turn the board off and back on. The problems seem to be more frequent when writing and playing back cues or effects. More complicated actions result in more problems.

We also have Lumanet, and I'm not crazy about that either. During shows, we use the board exclusively to run all lights and avoid Lumanet all together.

The good news is that we are probably going to be able to buy a new console. Now we just need to decide what to buy!


----------



## Les (Jun 3, 2011)

Nelson said:


> I also have a Colortran Innovator 48/96 (and i series dimmers, great dimmers by the way). Unfortunately, it is the only console we have. It is okay, but there are a few quirks that I don't like about it. First, I do like the general layout, feature set, and screens. I like how it has 96 manual faders. It seems like newer boards are moving away from having large numbers of dedicated faders. I also like having faders for submasters. Since most of our shows are one-offs or school events, I run most shows just with submasters. Its not usually practical to write cues.
> 
> However, I don't like how slow the board responds to commands. This is especially noticeable when typing in circuit numbers or the like. You can't type fast on the Innovator! The board is also unreliable. I've had it freeze too many times. I've also had it start sending zeros to the dimmers even though the screen still showed that channels are up, resulting in a blackout. Then I have to turn the board off and back on. The problems seem to be more frequent when writing and playing back cues or effects. More complicated actions result in more problems.
> 
> ...


 
If you like faders, I'd get an ETC Element.


----------



## Nelson (Jun 4, 2011)

Les said:


> If you like faders, I'd get an ETC Element.


 
Thanks for the tip!


----------

