Six years ago, Electronic Theatre Controls Inc. (ETC) introduced the Eos, its then latest-generation lighting control desk—and the first in what would be a family of consoles. The Eos made a very strong impression among lighting designers and programmers with its ability to seamlessly combine conventional and automated lighting control within an attractive, user-friendly control surface.
To bring the power of the Eos to more budget-minded users, ETC released the Ion, a year later. This diminutive lighting desk took the industry by storm. Essentially a “mini-Eos,” the Ion is presently used throughout the industry in smaller-scale venues like community theaters, schools, and houses of worship. Its compact hardware and limited number of universes make the Ion less suitable for very large lighting installations. However, for under $9,000, the Ion offers the lighting artist similar control power to the Eos. Indeed, it uses the same software.
ETC has now introduced a new lighting control desk that fits neatly between the Eos and Ion. Named the Gio, this lighting desk offers the same software as the Eos, with an expanded user interface that brings new definition to the term “user-friendly ergonomics.”
We tested a prototype of the Gio in our theaters at California State University Long Beach over a period of two months. One of my graduate lighting-design students used the Gio to program the lighting for the musical “Side Show.” This production had over 400 light cues, along with many other visual effects programmed on the desk. My graduate students also programmed the Gio for several lighting class projects. We must have logged over 500 hours of testing on this desk—and enjoyed many of the excellent design features incorporated by the innovative ETC engineers. Let's just say that we were left extremely impressed.
What we found
The Gio seems to be the natural result of years of testing and improvement of the Eos software, fit into a compact, intelligently designed hardware control surface. The layout of the control panel, the tactile feel of the backlit buttons, and the amazingly intelligent encoder wheels that almost magically change their tactile feedback, all set new paradigms for lighting control desks.
It is difficult to explain in an article, but suffice it to say that the buttons, dials, wheels, and faders just feel right. They are manufactured from high-quality plastics and do not feel cheap. The desk feels solid and powerful. The angle of the desk is perfect (unlike the steep angle of the Ion). The case is finished in a handsome, scratch-resistant material that looks and feels like it belongs in a BMW. The ETC designers got the ergonomics right: my students reported no hand, wrist, elbow, or eyestrain (even after many extremely long programming sessions).
There are many hardware features to talk about. The backlit keys make programming in the dark much easier, leading us to wonder why more control desks don't have this feature. Apparently ETC listened to its customers and added this feature to the Gio. Maybe we will soon see a hardware upgrade for the Eos?
Another great hardware feature is the encoder wheels with dynamic resistance. The software directs the level of resistance to the wheels depending on their function. For example, if the wheel is controlling the selection of gobos, there will be a distinctive click in the physical feedback of the dial. If the same wheel is assigned to control pan or tilt of a moving light, then the physical feedback is fluid and continuous. My lighting students loved this feature.
The Gio also has 10 motorized faders that can be assigned by the programmer. So, along with house light control, you can assign effects, submasters, cue lists, projector levels, chase rates, haze machines, and many other functions to these faders. This feature also allows the church lighting programmer to assign cue lists for services that can be easily run by a technical volunteer.
Between the two touchscreens, there are six assignable buttons that can also be programmed for almost any function. My student programmer assigned pre-show moving light and dimmer checks to these buttons. This made light-check very easy for our inexperienced acting students who run the shows.
ETC has designed the tilt of the two, very thin multi-touchscreens to be completely adjustable. The screens can lay flat so they are easy to see and manipulate. This permits the board operator to either sit or stand while programming. This also makes the desk more transportable and totally self-contained. All you have to do is flatten the screens, put the Gio in its case, and at its svelte 50 pounds, carry it to the next venue.
It was a wise decision to incorporate the Eos software into the Gio. This powerful software has been tested and de-bugged over several years. It features extremely robust lighting control and effects engines, including a very accurate color-picker and a fun and useful bit-mapping engine. The fixture library is complete, controlling our Vari-Lites, Elations, and LED fixtures easily without our having to create custom fixture personalities.
Using common software also makes transitioning a breeze. If your programmer knows the Ion, it will take very little effort to upgrade to the Gio. We also discovered that you could link an Ion to a Gio, and use the Ion as a real-time backup console (in the unlikely crash of the Gio). This is extremely handy when performing live shows for broadcast.
We loved the Gio's programming software. It is so simple to learn that most anyone with a little training could be programming the desk in no time. Referencing cue lists, part cues, effects, moving-light control, etc., was intuitive and easy to figure out. The Gio also has pre-programmed command buttons already configured into the hardware, including a home button for every moving-light attribute.
Student (and professional reviewer) feedback
My students had a very interesting suggestion regarding the software that drives the touchscreens. For its next generation of software, ETC should talk to the Apple engineers to see what it would take to make the dynamic control of windows more iPad-like. The students found the virtual buttons on the screens just a little too small, so you have to be very precise when touching and selecting a function. But if you could pinch the screen to expand the buttons—then the virtual buttons, color-picker, etc., could be instantly enlarged for easier access.
Over the many years of continual product testing in our theaters and laboratories, I can easily state that we have never been so impressed with a lighting control desk as we were with the Gio. My students raved about the software, power, and ease of programming. That final benefit cannot be overstated, especially in the worship market.
So who should purchase a Gio? I see many possibilities. If you belong to a large church and presently use an Eos as your main lighting console, then the Gio would make a wonderful backup for your critical live events. In addition, you could take the Gio on touring shows that you originally programmed on the Eos.
If you belong to a medium-sized church, then I would recommend purchasing the Gio as your everyday lighting control desk. For small churches and theaters, I would still highly recommend the Ion, as it is extremely cost-effective. However, for a few thousand dollars more, you can have a much more powerful desk with vastly superior programming hardware. In that case, it would be very difficult to resist upgrading to the Gio.
ETC has come a long way since its first lighting products developed in the late 1970s. The Gio is a good example of how a company who listens to its customer base alters the curve of technology through innovative product development.
