This month, we take a closer look at the Compulite Dlite range of consoles. Compulite, with headquarters in Israel, has been designing and building consoles for a number of years now. One of the barriers to wider acceptance of the Compulite range of consoles has been its US distribution, which has changed a lot over the years but it now has a supportive home. This past spring Creative Stage Lighting became the exclusive Compulite distributor in North America, carrying and supporting the full line of Compulite Dlite and Vector consoles. Not only do they have technical support in the form of service technicians, but they also have a product manager, Michael Nevitt, who has years of experience as a programmer and product manager.
The Compulite Dlite is a low to mid-range console that is the perfect choice for a facility that is moving into automated lighting. It is a nicely scaled-down version of the Compulite Vector consoles. If you have a mix of conventional lights and automated lights, this is a serious contender. The Dlite range includes five variations—a PC version; Compact; 48; 72; or 96 playbacks depending on the size of your lighting system. The PC version works with Compulite's ePort, an Ethernet-to-DMX converter. (The ePort will also expand the DMX outputs on the standard consoles as well.) The Dlite PC, a free program, also works as an offline editor for the Dlite product range.
I took a look at the Dlite 48 console. All of the consoles are the same; it is just the number of playbacks that change between the models. The construction materials and the overall feel of console gives me confidence that it should hold up well in normal use. The faders and buttons are solid. The console is laid out in a thoughtful manner and mixes manual control along with the ability for fully programmed playbacks. This accommodates a wide variety of operators with different skill levels. The console is a very good fit if you have around 48 conventionals and 12 – 24 moving lights. If you are going to have more automated units then you should look at other consoles.
The Dlite is intuitive and easy to figure out. Compulite has a basic tutorial that you can run on a Windows PC that walks you through the console's features all the way through getting lights on; recording cues; working with moving lights, libraries, etc. It gives you plenty of information to get started and feel comfortable with the console.
The console has a built-in 320x240 LCD touchscreen for accessing a variety of controls. It does have the ability to have an external XVGA monitor added on as well, which is a good option to include in your budgeting. The on-board monitor is nice, but having the additional information will make keeping track of the console operations that much easier.
Key features include a device library that can accommodate custom profiles; an effects engine; and a variety of ways to handle playback. You can use the go button with a single cue list for theatrical style playback or you can run it more rock n' roll style. You have a lot of flexibility with this console; the moving light controls mix nicely with the conventional controls. It isn't one or the other.
The Dlite 48 console controls four DMX universes—two are internal and two are via Ethernet with the ePort; one DMX input port; Ethernet, SMPTE input, MIDI in/thru and audio inputs for sound to light functions; internal 128MB flash disk; 20 playbacks with flash keys for scenes, chases and Qlists; 48 faders with flash keys and operation in three modes; one crossfader for QList playback; an effects editor with pre-programmed, editable effects; automatic groups and automatic libraries; support for a USB mouse and keyboard; and three USB 2.0 ports for saving and loading shows and fixture profiles.
The capacities are across the DLite range; it is the number of faders that changes between consoles.
The three fader operation modes are: wide mode for direct channel control; a two-preset mode for manual two-scene preset operation; and context mode for object selection and programming. There are three banked encoder wheels for parameter control along with a trackball for pan and tilt control. You can edit in live or blind. There are built-in focus, beam and color libraries.
The limit capacities on the Dlite include: 36 fixture types can be used simultaneously; 240 scenes; 72 chases with up to 48 steps each; 72 QLists with up to 999.9 cues each; 96 selection groups including automatic groups; and 72 effects including pre-programmed effects. You can store 360 show files and 360 fixture profiles on the internal flash disk.
The MSRPs for the Dlites are as follows—Dlite Compact is $6,500.00; Dlite 48 is $8,200.00; Dlite 72 is $8,900.00; Dlite 96 is $10,500.00; and the ePort is $1,995.
If you are adding moving lights to your services or want to train your technical team on their first real dual-purpose (conventional and moving lights) console, the Compulite Dlite is a console that you should be added to your list to consider.
