# MA Lighting Launches dot2 Series of Consoles



## isquint

I thought everyone might like to see this...
The essence of lighting control: dot2 range introduced
MA Lighting is well known for its approach towards professional lighting control and enjoys a distinguished reputation for quality and reliability. Now MA presents a new range of compact lighting control solutions – the dot2.

Learn more about the dot2 series at http://www.actlighting.com/MA/products/dot2/


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## chawalang

I checked it out on the convention floor at USITT today and I have to say, for the price this console is amazing. If i was ETC I would be kinda worried right now. I do think competition is healthy, it keeps everyone on their toes.


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## techwiz24

I didn't see a price published on the website. Is it in the Ion range? More? Less?


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## ScottT

I think I saw 14k somewhere, which puts it in the Gio range.


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## JohnD

ACT lighting now has an updated price list in the MA Lighting area, both US and Canada. 
The dot2 website has links to more vids and this brochure:
http://www.ma-dot2.com/fileadmin/user_upload/dot2/flip-book/en/index.html
I find the case options rather nice, there is a smaller case which will hold a core or 2 wings and the larger case holds an XL or 3 wings.


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## soundlight

Looks like MA really did a good job on this. I do wish the inbuilt screens were a little bit bigger, but I don't think it'll be that much of an issue given the software that they've put in it. I'm looking forward to downloading and checking out the .2 onPC software when it becomes available. I do like that they've added a button wing/XL-B option, for a lot of shows with lots of movers these days you're looking at a few group masters but then access to dozens of cues at a moment's notice. I also really like the fact that it has 4096 parameters right out of the box. That's great for lots of LED fixtures via ArtNet.

Remember that the prices published in the price lists are "List Prices". A good relationship with your A.C.T. Lighting dealer can go a long way when it comes to getting a good price on something like this.


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## chawalang

I was told by their reps that this version is $19k, there are two more versions, one of which is $14k.


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## dvsDave

We shot a demo video, it will be posted next week.


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## MikeJ

It supposed to be a less powerful, but more streamlined operating system. The .2 is not compatible with the MA2 line of consoles, but it is also targeted at different market. I think this is squarely aimed at theaters, churches, and school, where the MA2 line is too expensive, and too complex and time consuming to learn.

It looks interesting.


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## Judge

This is also squarely aimed at ChamSys and Avolites and will probably do very well. It will also get people on-board the MA train who previously were put off by price and complexity. It will be interesting to find out the limitations of the new OS and whether there can be any compatibility at all between the two lines. Its clearly simplified, but are any of the modes of operations the same, such as syntax and key sequence? It is a bold move that they have gone this route. Avolites is the same across the range - a Tiger Touch is just smaller than a Sapphire, and a ChamSys MQ40 is just smaller than an MQ200 for instance - not lacking in anything except connectivity.
Are they aiming at ETC as well do you think? Thats going to be a tough one for sure. This will be an intriguing development to keep an eye on.


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## Footer

The fact that it still has playbacks makes me think this is still a programmer based desk, right? That right there is the one put-off that most people have with it... but it is also the most powerful feature of the desk. 

It is still too expensive for the small club market. To me not being compatible with the larger desks might be its biggest weaknesses. Though it would easily replace the again Hog3's that are out there.


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## Judge

It is a programmer based desk yes. However, very easy to program. According to the UK distributors the price for us Brits is really good:
Dot2 Core is £6600 list and the larger ones £8600. That is really great value. It would be good if the show files could work on the bigger desks.


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## Judge

Okay, apparently they do:
dot2 into gMA2: Yes, but Software Versions must fit.
gMA2 into dot2: No.

That makes sense.


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## MikeJ

I don't think MA intends anyone who already uses the MA2 to switch to the dot2. I think they figured out that for a lot of people, the only cost effective MA option was the Command wing, and with LED and moving lights now available to a much wider market, that many of those users really need powerful moving light controls, with a less complex operating system.

Now we will have to wait and see is it still feel like a full featured desk. There is a delicate balance that they must play between making a useful desk for its market, but not powerful enough that it competes with its Big brothers.


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## MikeJ

Also, its interesting that they are using Channel count for the dot2, rather than parameter count.


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## SteveB

Judge said:


> Okay, apparently they do:
> dot2 into gMA2: Yes, but Software Versions must fit.
> gMA2 into dot2: No.
> 
> That makes sense.



Well they're not going to capture the Broadway market that way. Lots of shows get programmed on multiple Eos/Gio desks with the master show files dumped to an single Ion for the show run. Having Ion with the same channel count and OS as the larger desks makes it work and is very cost effective.

Granted it's a smallish market of 40 theaters and not everyone's using that OS, so not a huge market, but still...


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## MikeJ

SteveB said:


> Well they're not going to capture the Broadway market that way. Lots of shows get programmed on multiple Eos/Gio desks with the master show files dumped to an single Ion for the show run. Having Ion with the same channel count and OS as the larger desks makes it work and is very cost effective.
> 
> Granted it's a smallish market of 40 theaters and not everyone's using that OS, so not a huge market, but still...



The MA2 would be much more appropriate for Broadway shows, but I don't think that MA cares about Broadway at all. 

I am not affiliated with MA and I dont have any insider knowledge other than experience in the industry, so these are the conclusions I have drawn. The future will either prove or disprove my thoughts here.

People also need to understand that there are already 3 consoles in the MA2 line, plus the onPC wings, all of which have identical functionality(albeit different sizes obviously), with the exception of parameter count.(all can backup a full 65,536 parameters and that parameters not channels).

The dot2 is for a lower end market, that have the need for intuitive moving light control, without the learning curve of MA2, and is not intended to compete with the MA2, and I doubt they could not care less that 40 theaters on one street in NYC have ETC desks; It's the 4 million other other theaters across the globe that have aging ETC desks that they want.


But until we get our hands on these, this is all just conjecture.


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## MikeJ

Footer said:


> The fact that it still has playbacks makes me think this is still a programmer based desk, right? That right there is the one put-off that most people have with it... but it is also the most powerful feature of the desk.
> 
> It is still too expensive for the small club market. To me not being compatible with the larger desks might be its biggest weaknesses. Though it would easily replace the again Hog3's that are out there.


Genuine question here, what is a Non-programmer based desk? And what is the big difference(s) compared to a MA, HOG, or Vista for example?


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## techieman33

Still feels on the expensive side to me. For the price of one of these and a wing you could get into a pearl expert and a touch wing.

SteveB said:


> Well they're not going to capture the Broadway market that way. Lots of shows get programmed on multiple Eos/Gio desks with the master show files dumped to an single Ion for the show run. Having Ion with the same channel count and OS as the larger desks makes it work and is very cost effective.
> 
> Granted it's a smallish market of 40 theaters and not everyone's using that OS, so not a huge market, but still...



It's the same for the broadway tours as well. They're carrying ION's, or occasionally a MA1 light or ultralight. Shows that were all probably programmed on their big brothers.

MikeJ said:


> The MA2 would be much more appropriate for Broadway shows, but I don't think that MA cares about Broadway at all.
> 
> I am not affiliated with MA and I dont have any insider knowledge other than experience in the industry, so these are the conclusions I have drawn. The future will either prove or disprove my thoughts here.
> 
> People also need to understand that there are already 3 consoles in the MA2 line, plus the onPC wings, all of which have identical functionality(albeit different sizes obviously), with the exception of parameter count.(all can backup a full 65,536 parameters and that parameters not channels).
> 
> The dot2 is for a lower end market, that have the need for intuitive moving light control, without the learning curve of MA2, and is not intended to compete with the MA2, and I doubt they could not care less that 40 theaters on one street in NYC have ETC desks; It's the 4 million other other theaters across the globe that have aging ETC desks that they want.
> 
> 
> But until we get our hands on these, this is all just conjecture.



If they want ETC's market they priced themselves to high. Most theaters will maybe glance at it and then buy an ION or Element for less than half of the cost.


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## MikeJ

techieman33 said:


> If they want ETC's market they priced themselves to high. Most theaters will maybe glance at it and then buy an ION or Element for less than half of the cost.



This very well may turn out to be true. They certainly are shooting for a lower end market though, whether or not they actually balance features and price is TBD. Quite frankly, maybe they just don't want the lowest end market, just like I don't want to work with bar bands and wedding DJ. Plus, I simply could not afford to work in those markets.

Selling a Lot of low priced consoles also requires a lot more support, and a lot more investment in infrastructure.


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## gafftaper

Having seen the demo, the target market is colleges, big churches, and the rare crazy budgeted high school. It does up to 8 universes. It's not for a theater like mine with 4 revolutions and a few LED's. It's for a theater who doesn’t have quite enough gear to need a full size Ma and also doesn’t have a professional programmer running the console. It's not for Broadway. It's for the mid range market. It would be excellent in a college because it has all the power of a full MA, but is structured to be much easier to learn. Anyone with programming experience (but no Ma experience) could quickly learn to program a show without anything but the console guiding them through. It would be great in a large, but not mega, church. If I had 10 movers and a couple dozen LED's and not a lot of time to program, I would be seriously interested in it.


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## MikeJ

gafftaper said:


> Having seen the demo, the target market is colleges, big churches, and the rare crazy budgeted high school. It does up to 8 universes. It's not for a theater like mine with 4 revolutions and a few LED's. It's for a theater who doesn’t have quite enough gear to need a full size Ma and also doesn’t have a professional programmer running the console. It's not for Broadway. It's for the mid range market. It would be excellent in a college because it has all the power of a full MA, but is structured to be much easier to learn. Anyone with programming experience (but no Ma experience) could quickly learn to program a show without anything but the console guiding them through. It would be great in a large, but not mega, church. If I had 10 movers and a couple dozen LED's and not a lot of time to program, I would be seriously interested in it.



I think this is on the money. Trying to train church volunteers, coming from express/expression, to program on MA2 is very frustrating. There is not enough time to learn the basics when you don't have dedicated staff. This is going to be a better solution than a command wing in that situation. Same thing for colleges, where you have multiple students working on different productions and projects. They need to learn a lot of different things in limited time, a easy to use interface will be important. Learning to program a desk should not overshadow learning everything else.

I've been told its a great choice if you are running up to about 30 moving lights, some leds, dimmers, etc., after that the MA2(even a command wing) is a better choice.


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## gafftaper

@MikeJ I Don't think it's necessarily the jump from Express to Ma2. A rig with 15-20 movers can be run with a modern more conventional fixture focused board, but it gets harder when you start dealing with that many fixtures. Yet there's not really a need for a Ma2. Having a budget for 15-20 movers means you probably have one lighting expert on staff, but it also suggests that you may rely on students and volunteers. Dot2 makes sense right there in that midrange market. 

ETC and Strand have both made a run at the MA/HogI market in the last 10 years or so. Now MA is firing back at some of their mid range consoles. It'll be interesting to see if the market accepts it or gets snobby about it not being as good as a full MA. As I often rant about, don't bash it because it doesn't do what you need. Always use the right tool for the right job folks! There is a slice of the market that this product makes sense for. The hard part is going to be convincing those people to leave their current favorite programing language and brand loyalty behind.


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## soundlight

I think a lot of this boils down to the fact that MA2 is not an easy console to just step up to and run. It's true. It's basically a build-a-console. It will do whatever you want it to do, but if you don't know how to ask, you can't even get started. This even applies to screen vews - you have to put down all of your screen views manually. There are no prebuilt screens that pop up with these presets and those presets and a smart menu and some MAtricks. It's very necessary that you have a semi-working knowledge of the board before stepping up to it if you want to program a show.

The .2 appears to be the exact opposite. I'm not going to say for sure until I mess around with the .2 onPC software, but this seems like a great console for a lot of situations. I think limiting it to 30-40 movers is a bit under for this desk, especially given the 4096 output capability. I'd like to see the fanning and grouping tools, but if they're at least somewhat there, this could easily control more, and nicely. Definitely more static LEDs. I think this is going to be a board that will make it in to rental houses, and it'll be one that they can send out knowing that they don't have to give someone a class beforehand in order to send it out. The actual "street cost" on the Core will probably be around the 12k mark, and the XL will probably be in the 15-16k range "street price". I can't remember the time I paid MSRP/"List Price" for anything other than parts. In that price range, you're very close to a fully tricked-out ION - fader wing, touch monitors, pushed up parameter count.

And this console is designed to be able to busk movers very easily, with a set of (albeit limited compared to full on MA2) button functions like toggle and also faderless playbacks. The Programmer nature of this desk is also great for busking, because I can't remember a time when I was programming a busking show where the fact that I was using a programmer-based desk didn't make programming much, much faster. But at the same time, the default master cuelist and the "Store Look" functionality that the console has will mean that colleges and well-funded high schools will be able to use it as a theater desk. I'm seeing more and more high schools put in lots of LEDs and a few moving lights when they upgrade, and they aren't given a console that will tell them how to control them. This console actually tells you what to do. That is slick. It's also MA hardware, which means it's top-of-the-line components and will stand up to the abuse that kids will dish out.

The 3D functionality is also huge. This is fantastic for schools and colleges. This means that you can sit kids down in front of a nice, big rig of movers and let them have at it without owning that nice, big rig of movers or paying for a nice, expensive visualizer that wouldn't get approved anyway. It comes with the desk.


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## MikeJ

@soundlight From the demo videos I watched, it looks like, Align tools(fan) and MAtricks are there and easily accessible by default, where in MA2 usually its most convenient to create macros for different grouping selections alignments, and such. This is a place where advanced users thrive, with the unlimited configurations of MA2, but really throw average users for a loop. A lot of users would rather just have the most commonly used features readily available by default. Hopefully this will be the strong suit of the dot2. I'm sure running a large show on this desk will work fine, but it will probably feel more cramped, just as working on any smaller surface, so that is not unique to any particular desk. Any old external monitor goes a long way in making the works pace feel more useful;I almost always keep my fixture sheet on one screen. 

I do like the Button wing, It would be nice to have one to use with the Command wing.


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## MikeJ

MikeJ said:


> Genuine question here, what is a Non-programmer based desk? And what is the big difference(s) compared to a MA, HOG, or Vista for example?



So I'm guessing a non-programer desk, you don't build presets, groups/selections, etc, before creating cues? Or like some of the Frog desks, where you can make color presets, but updating a preset or effects, does not update the subsequently recorded cues?


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## soundlight

I'm pretty sure I've got the right answer here, someone correct me if I'm wrong on any of this. On a non-programmer based desk, there is not a difference between programmer and executor values. For instance, in an ION, when you record a cue, it records everything that's outputting from the console. If I have some cues up in the form of submasters, it records those. If I have a cue up in the main cuelist, and I'm recording to another list, it records that. You get the idea. On a programmer-based desk, such as MA, Hog, Martin M-Series, &c, the Programmer is what gets recorded, and any active cues are not recorded.


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## MikeJ

That make sense as well. Actually, on MA you can choose what values get recorded in your store options. Either Programmer, DMX output, or DMX input, then you have a further sub-filter to choose, active values, selected fixtures, etc. There are a lot of complicated store options in general, probably 40 different combination of store options, across presets, sequences, and cues. I would be surprised there a was not a much more simple approach to this in the dot2. Most people adopt one method for the majority of programming, and only change store options for specific tasks. I've met people who have used MA for years and still don't know how some of these features work, because they have never had the need for them(or did not know they needed them, until now!).

I would assume vasts number of sequence options will be streamlined, and the available functions of buttons will also be reduced. Some consoles on the market allow a button to have 3-4 functions, Go, pause, flash, etc. MA2 has 36 button functions that can be assigned, and 12 fader functions. Not to mention that 5 faders and 15 buttons can all be assigned run the same cue stack all with different functions. This can seem daunting to new users, and I suspect that most of these functions generally go unused the majority of the time. For the high end seasoned programmer, these are a killer feature that sets MA2 above the rest, but for some users it's, just over complicating the workflow, and overwhelming more casual users.

I suspect the core workflow of the desk, will remain similar, but with many less options, and less clutter, and unlike MA2 when starting a new show, you will probably start with something besides blank screens.


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## Judge

MikeJ said:


> I suspect the core workflow of the desk, will remain similar, but with many less options, and less clutter, and unlike MA2 when starting a new show, you will probably start with something besides blank screens.



Thats the thing isn't it? If that is the case then it acts as a good introduction the th MA workflow, which in a lot of instances will be good for users in the long run. Of course some may never graduate up to the big desks, but even so it looks like a desk that is very smart but also not intimidating, which will translate into good sales. Its a gamble for them but I think will pay off. Probably do very well in the US especially. Over here in England we just do not have the big church market thing going on, and this will fit there nicely. Heck, its not much more than a Zero88 Orb.


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## soundlight

I'll have hands on it this Wednesday morning and I'll get back with my thoughts then. Any particular questions anyone want answered about the desk from hands on?


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## dvsDave

Here's the demo video we shot of the dot2 at USITT.


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## MikeJ

Thank @dvsDave ! That basically confirms most of what I imagined the desk to be. And further more, the fact that he demonstrated creating cues using command line and hard keys, when you could just as easily do it with less key strokes by directly storing to a executor, tells me that they are defiantly shooting for the ETC market.


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## JohnD

soundlight said:


> I'll have hands on it this Wednesday morning and I'll get back with my thoughts then. Any particular questions anyone want answered about the desk from hands on?


One question that has come up is what is the timeline for a remote app, and in another forum, someone requested an app with more functionality, something like the one for the Cognito.


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## MikeJ

In a recent update of MA2, Store filter "look" was added. This allows users to set looks by playing back stored executors, plus active values from the programmer, to create new cues.
Essentially, this allows you to put each system or color on a handle, and lets use use them like "submaster" work on an Express, While at the same time you can also make programmer changes.

I would imagine this will also be available in the dot2. This should really speed things up when using a lot of conventionals, along with a handful of moving lights. Hopefully someone can confirm the "store Look" function on the new desk.


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## Pie4Weebl

So just for clarification, does this work sort of like storing all, or if I store a look which is comprised of like my mover list in the blue cue, LEDs in Red cue, Position at 2, would storing and then playing back the look trigger all of those cues? Kind of like an embeded link?


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## MikeJ

It stores all attributes of any fixture/channel with a dimmer values above zero, being played back from a sequence. Plus it stores active values from the programer.

So it is like a "store all for selected" with dimmer above zero, being the selection. Plus store active only for things that are only brought up in the programed.

This should give the ease of programming conventionals and leds like you would "all values", but not break all of your MIB capability.

I still need to try it, but this is a huge selling point especially fire those will a lot of conventionals, it should really speed up programming.


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## Will Murphy

Hey MikeJ,
Yep, StoreLook is about capturing the current look on the stage to your Cue without worrying about what's creating that look. 
This means I can create the look on stage by adjusting lights in my programmer, playing back some cues, and adjusting levels with my faders. Using StoreLook will store all values for a fixture if the dimmer is above 0%, and only store a dimmer value of 0 for any fixtures at 0%. We don't store all values for Fixtures at 0% because we want to allow for tracking data to go in to the Cue where your lights might be fading out to 0.


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## Pie4Weebl

Thanks for the clarification!


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## Will Murphy

p.s. StoreLook is in the dot2 and accessed by holding the [MA] key followed by tapping the [Store] key. Simply tapping the [Store] key is a normal store where it only stores what you've touched in your programmer (aka Store Active Values).


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## MikeJ

Will Murphy said:


> Hey MikeJ,
> Yep, StoreLook is about capturing the current look on the stage to your Cue without worrying about what's creating that look.
> This means I can create the look on stage by adjusting lights in my programmer, playing back some cues, and adjusting levels with my faders. Using StoreLook will store all values for a fixture if the dimmer is above 0%, and only store a dimmer value of 0 for any fixtures at 0%. We don't store all values for Fixtures at 0% because we want to allow for tracking data to go in to the Cue where your lights might be fading out to 0.



Can you confirm that this feature is available in the .2 series of consoles?


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## Will Murphy

MikeJ said:


> Can you confirm that this feature is available in the .2 series of consoles?


Yes StoreLook is in dot2


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## JohnD

Several online sellers now have some prices posted.
http://prolightingsupply.com/docoandac.html


http://www.solarisnetwork.com/manuf...orth+America&s=Model&brand=MA+Lighting&lpp=10


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