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NEW MARTIN M6 SETS THE BENCHMARK
On the 23rd of May I travelled to R&D International in
Belgium for an advance training course on the New Martin
M6 console.
The course was hosted by Paul Pelletier and Matthias Hinrichs who are the
Product Developer and Brand Manager respectively of the M-series of the
Martin Range of consoles. I joined the international team of distributors and
immediately got down to networking. It was interesting getting to know
our different regions of access and how previous versions of the M-series
have been used across our respective regions. The three-day course
covered the following aspects: hardware, software, programming technics,
business models and network connections. The course was very fruitful as it
introduced the improvements made to the new V3 Software, which increase
workflow and allow lighting designers to program and operate in a much
faster and smooth manner.
The first two days were spent opening up the M6 and getting an
understanding of the impressive developments that have gone into the new
console.
My third day was spent examining different connection pathways and the
introduction of Artnet. I also investigated a product call Luminex which
specialises in network hubs and systems. We looked at the plug and play
system, as well as how easy it is to connect to the M6.
Martin’s slogan: M6 – The ability to grow with your console as your company
grow, is a selling point that sets the M6 apart from competitors in terms of
prices range. The modular design of the console allows for customization,
and decreases shipping costs dramatically. However, Martin has not sacrificed
hardware quality as it feels that the ability to trust the lighting console in
volatile live event situations is of key importance to event producers and
production teams. This is the result of more than 12 years of research and
development that have been invested in this range.
We also had a look at the new MPC Software that has become such an
integral part of the M-series family. This new software has been developed
as an independent part of control and is no longer merely an introduction to
by Jesse Dullabh (Technical and Controller Support – Electrosonic SA)
a controlling platform. The integration of the touch and sweep technology
makes the MPC software an extremely powerful lighting control application.
The M-series is a ground-breaking development, and I look forward to
further developments and innovation, as Martin products continue to set
the benchmark in the lighting industry.
Some of the following hardware developments include:
• 15.6’ optical bonded industrial screens, customized for the Martin range
of M6 consoles
• Shatter proof Gorilla glass
• Industrial motherboard, Intel Core i7 Quad-Core processor
• SSD hard drive
• Dedicated graphics processor
• 44 playback buttons
• Modular design for customizing your console
• Design properties re accessories and attachments [Manfrotto range]
• Up to 64 DMX universes directly from the console network port
• 2 x Adjustable BriteTouch™ widescreens (sunlight readable, multi-touch)
• 2 x External DisplayPort touchscreens up to 1920x1080 per output
• FastTouch™ 3.5” touchscreens
• 1 x LiveBlender™ split T-Bar with 8 x FastBlend™ RGB buttons
• 4 x FastTrack™ linear encoders
• 12 x FastDial™ rotary encoders
• 1 x Dedicated dimmer wheel
• 10 x Motorized playbacks with LCD displays and 4 customizable buttons
• 10 x PlayPairs™ buttons with LCD displays
• 12 x Sub Playback faders and 12 x Sub Playback buttons
• 2 x Main Go sections
• 12 x F-Keys and 5 x FastKeys
• Low profile housing with adaptable module layout
• Show-ready boot-up in under a minute
Features of the new software:
• Windows 7 embedded
• OS installation by USB storage device
• Show backup on hard disk or USB storage device (not included)
• Support for ELO USB touchscreens
• 32000 channels from a single multi-thread processor
The Martin representatives, Paul Pelletier (far left), Matthias Hinrichs (seated third from left) and Peter Dahlin (far right)
PROMAG
– third quarter 2013
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