ROBE Lighting

All eyes were on the new Avolites Diamond 7 (D7) lighting console at the recent Prolight+Sound expo in Frankfurt – a powerful, flexible, and highly portable control solution for lighting at shows, concerts, and live events.

The much-anticipated D7 was shown publicly for the first time with two variants on the stand – the D7-215 and the D7-330 – both running on Avolites latest Titan v17 software.

This initial product launch has enabled the Avolites team to gauge reactions and glean valuable feedback ahead of the full launch, planned for later in the summer.

The reactions were “overwhelmingly positive,” stated Avolites MD Paul Wong, delighted with the comments and enthusiasm he’d received from Avo users who rocked up from all over Europe as well as further afield like Asia, Australia, South Africa, and Latin America.

Avolites benefitted from additional footfall of people visiting the Robe stand, especially to catch the live “Power of Imagination” performance show which was also programmed and run from an AVO D9-215 console.

“The customers were genuinely amazed by the D7 range, they loved the portability, flexibility and touch and feel of the interface, especially the integrated illumination of the rear connection panel!

Furthermore, they think it’s great value and that we are hitting the right price point!”

In addition to all the interest and excellent feedback, the Avo sales team took multiple pre-orders on the stand which was “mind-blowing and completely exceeded our expectations!” stated Paul, such was the buzz and excitement generated by the product.

The D7 is designed and priced as a workhorse console that will unlock more creativity for designers, programmers, and operators. It sits above the Avolites Classic Range – the Tiger Touch II, Arena, Sapphire Touch & Quartz – and offers many of the larger D9’s most popular time-saving and handy features.

The compact D7-215 has two touch-sensitive screens, 15 motorised playback faders and 15 encoders. It is super-portable, fitting into a standard Peli Air 1650 case and coming within the checked baggage weight allowance of most airlines.

The slightly larger D7-330 features 3 x 14-inch screens and 30 motorised playback faders / 30 playback encoders, offering more control for even larger shows whilst maintaining portability.

The motorised faders have an RGB LED indicator along each one, and there is a single level RGB halo indicator for each encoder. There is in-built LED light at the top of the screen panel and along the rear of the console.

Rear ports include a 4-port network switch, 4 x DMX, LTC Input & loop, MIDI ports, 2 and 1 x external monitors for the D7-215 & D7-330 respectively, 1 x Secondary Ethernet, Trigger in, GP IO and both variants are showfile compatible with all Titan Avo consoles. The USB port is conveniently concealed from plain sight in the right-hand side handle recess!

Visitors at Frankfurt loved the cool clamshell screen panel / locking mechanism, and the general ergonomics that offer premium styling but are keenly priced so the D7 will be a rental company volume product and a favourite for concerts, music shows, touring productions, live events, and festivals.

“We believe D7 is an excellent investment, that will be an everyday go-to product appearing regularly on touring specs,” underlines Paul.

The latest processors and components give peak performance with inbuilt longevity. “Being future-ready was fundamental to the whole R ‘n’ D philosophy,” noted Paul. “We’ve made it powerful, quick to programme and easy to use which has always been an Avolites USP.

Anyone already able to operate an Avolites product will be able to run a D7 which currently runs on the just released Titan v17 software.”

All the vital programming tools are to hand via a touch screen for speed and efficiency, an enhanced back-lit keyboard located in a retractable drawer is optimised for assisting programming in dim or dark environments. The On / Off button is concealed under the keyboard drawer to reduce the chance of accidental activation!

Motorised faders were another big hit with visitors in Frankfurt, and these have also been well received on the D9.

The D7-215 can control up to 32 DMX universes out-of-the-box with expandable networking via TNPs (Titan Net Processors).

The reception and interest in Frankfurt has “reinforced our belief that D7 is the right product at the right time and that it will be a high-volume hit,” enthused Paul, advising anyone interested to “contact their Avolites distributor, get a demo and place an order!”

Avolites, proudly manufactured in the UK, is also buoyed by new energy generated with its recent acquisition by Czech moving light and LED manufacturer Robe s.r.o. in September last year.

Paul further reveals that several D7s will be in action over the summer on a selection of key and high-profile festivals and events … so watch the Avolites channels for more details!

Avolites showcases its new and latest technology at this year’s Prolight & Sound show in Frankfurt, Germany.

The main attraction for the Avolites stand (D28, Hall 12.1) at this year’s show will undoubtably be the new Diamond 7 (D7) console, the next in the line to our flagship Diamond 9 (D9) console. This initial product launch allows us to gain valuable feedback from lighting designers and operators, as well as extensive product testing over the festival season. The full product launch, with all the product variants is planned for end of this summer. On our stand you will see two variants, D7-330 and D7-215, the three and two screen variant with 30 and 15 faders respectively, and available for individual demonstration.

Key product features of the New D7 include a new clam shell screen panel and locking mechanism. The console control surface follows the Diamond 9 design language. The D9-215 fits into a standard Peli-Air case and is under European 23kg aircraft hold weight limit.

Titan version 17, the latest of our popular lighting control software, will be released on 19th March and running on all the consoles on the Avolites stand. The main focus of v17 has been to greatly enhance the user experience and to further optimise performance, which will allow for a greater experience on larger shows as well as during longer programming sessions. This will be followed closely with a new version of our remote app, for both Android and IOS.

As part of the enhanced UX users will notice improvements with colour picker, personality builder, cue list macro target console option, convert between hardware trigger and item trigger and much more. The full performance, feature updates and bug fixes can be found on Titan v17 Release Notes, available at Avolites.com/support/downloads.

Prism, our latest media software application, will also have its first licenced version Prism One, available for demonstration on our stand. This is a landmark moment for our fast-growing media software platform, designed to give Lighting Operators and Designers easy access to useful tools and powerful video features, and is complementary to our high end Ai specialist media application. In addition, this latest release further develops Synergy taking the integration of lighting and video a step further, allowing designers creative ambition to be realised.

We plan to fully release Prism One (licence level), in the Spring of 2024. The primary features of this important release include multiple layers, preview window, live inputs (capture cards and webcams) and NDI inputs. An updated UI includes bank table view and thumbnail view, adding surface page, adding output page and cross-fade on layer.

Updated Synergy control includes adding and removing layers, controlling layers. Secondary features include speed control on layer, added virtual returns, hardware decode for H.264/H.265.

This years show is all set to be our busiest and best yet, with so much new technology the company has been working hard to get to market, ensuring that every lighting and video professional has access to Avolites products and is inspired to create their greatest shows.

Robe Lighting s.r.o. has acquired LSC Control Systems PTY in Australia, a move that sees the Czech Republic lighting manufacturer further consolidate its portfolio of leading lighting and control brands.

Having LSC’s power distribution (PD) systems as a core element of the ‘Robe Business’ Team made perfect sense following the purchase of console manufacturer Avolites in September last year, explained Robe’s CEO Josef Valchar.

“We’re delighted that this opportunity arose – it is hugely exciting, and we look forward to a long and positive collaboration. It will allow us to offer the best complete lighting and control turnkey solutions to our customers and their clients and projects across all sectors.”

As well as diversification, it also gives Robe a manufacturing base in Australia in addition to its facilities in central Europe and the UK.

LSC’s founder and managing director Gary Pritchard is equally enthused, “LSC will gain access to greater investment and resources, and working through Robe’s renowned worldwide distribution network we can reach more global and diverse markets in turn stimulating greater opportunities for creativity, expertise, business and action for all of our team!”

LSC’s operation, which started over 40 years ago in Melbourne and has grown into a trusted and respected specialist brand well-known for inventive technology, will continue functioning exactly as it is now.

Gary sees the move as an affirmation of the company’s value. “An organisation of Robe’s stature wanting LSC onboard is a sign of confidence that also tells the world that LSC will continue doing what we do best … both now and well into the future!”

The plan underlines Robe’s commitment to being an industry leader in all areas of lighting technology, further empowering the imagination and choice of lighting professionals and offering an exceptional set of tools to assist in the production of shows, events, and memorable performance experiences for all to enjoy.

Robe Lighting, the world’s leading entertainment lighting manufacturer, has agreed to acquire Avolites, leaders in the design and manufacture of lighting and video control products. The agreement was reached in the UK yesterday.

“This is a great acquisition for Robe”, stated Josef Valchar, CEO of Robe lighting s.r.o.,

“Avolites has always been at the pinnacle of lighting control with products that complement our lighting fixtures; this will add significant value to sales made throughout the global distribution networks of both companies”.

The acquisition of the Avolites business is an important part of Robe’s strategic future growth plan.

Avolites will remain based in the UK and will continue under the existing leadership team.

“The Avolites leadership team wanted to ensure the best outcome for our employees, customers, suppliers and the brand” commented Avolites MD Paul Wong, “Robe is an ideal home that will enable us to achieve just that, whilst maintaining our core values. Robe is a great fit for everyone associated with Avolites”.

Robe has a wealth of resources that will assist Avolites to accelerate its ambitious innovation and product development programs.