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May 2012

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Lighting Consoles: CPM Readers Speak Up

Ease of use is important, but what about reliability and cost of ownership? Recent survey reveals long-term trends.

by Jim Kumorek

This past September, we surveyed the Church Production Magazine readership, asking a range of questions about your church's lighting system, control console, and how both the console and the manufacturer have supported your needs.

The survey was emailed to approximately 26,000 Church Production subscribers, with completed responses of nearly 1.5%. A wide range of variables like church size, budget, age of equipment, technical knowledge, etc., expands the margin of error in
our results. Still, the results, while not scientifically accurate, illustrate valuable information coming from a portion of our audience.

On to Some Analysis
Eighty percent of our survey respondents stated that they have a lighting console installed in their sanctuary. The remainder has an architectural control system, or merely rheostats or on-off switches on the wall.

As one might expect, 16% report that their system is operated by a staff person; 71% by a volunteer; and 12% state that no one is needed to operate the lighting system during a service.

Programming was a different story, and much more balanced than anticipated. Thirty-four percent report that a staff person programs their lighting system for services; 38% report that a volunteer does that work; and 27% report that they do not program their lighting specifically for services.

Not surprisingly, as you get into the more sophisticated models, such as those from ETC, Jands, Martin Professional and Leprecon, far more are programmed by a staff person than the simpler two-scene preset type consoles-getting up to 50% of the respondents reporting that the console is programmed by a staff person.

Our survey respondents/readers are using 33 different brands of equipment in the churches where they work. ETC, Jands, NSI, Leprecon, High End Systems, Leviton, Elation, Martin Professional, Strand and Zero 88 taking the top 10 spots.

How well do these consoles meet the church's needs? The top-rated brands are High End Systems with 100% responding positively (answering Very Well or Acceptable); Jands at 97%; Zero 88 at 89%; Martin Professional at 82%; and ETC at 80%.

Looking at the same question for specific models of consoles, the strong leaders are the Jands Vista with 97% users pleased; ETC Ion and the High End Systems Hog iPC software-based controller with 100% of survey users pleased.

Not surprisingly, those models that did not fair so well were mostly aging products that may now be asked to operate fixtures and technologies that did not exist or were much less common (LEDs and moving heads) when the boards were designed.

Ease of use is always an important feature for churches. Brands that that did well in this category include LSC, with 100% of owners pleased with their console's ease of use. Jands (97%) and Martin Professional (91%) also fared well.

So what are the easiest models to use? With a score of 100% pleased with ease of use are the ETC Express; ETC Expression; High End Systems Hog iPC; and the Martin Professional LightJockey. Coming in close at 96% pleased is the Jands Vista.

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Jim Kumorek is the owner of Spreading Flames Media, providing video/media production and writing services to the A/V/L, technology, architectural and hospitality industries. He has led audio, video and lighting teams in churches as both staff and a volunteer for over 10 years. He can be contacted at james@spreadingflamesmedia.com.