More Info Manufacturer: Avolites Product: Tiger Touch Website: Avolites.org.uk Score:

Following on from my review of the Chamsys MQ100, I was interested to hear that Avolites had recently released a console with a similar form-factor, the Tiger Touch or "TT".

I've never really used Avolites consoles - I had a try some years ago and found the operating method wasn't a good fit for me. Avolites is a well-respected and popular brand, and since this console seems to address many of the things I found challenging about the original Pearl and it's stablemates, it was time to revisit my first impression.

I had a small concert to light, which would be an ideal opportunity to 'road test' the console - just how easy would it be to learn the TT from scratch and use it in reality? Armed with an hour's training from the excellent Emma and Steve at Avolites, here's my experience of Avolite's Tiger Touch, running a preview of the latest software release (v3.0).

Set-Up and First Impressions

The TT was packed in a heavy (but sturdy) flightcase with room for accessories like a keyboard, mouse and gooseneck. A paper manual is available but wasn't included for this review.

It's a compact machine, and out of the flightcase it's quite portable; packed away it's a "luggable" 30kg but easily fitted into the boot of my car. Installation is straightforward; the DMX ports (4 universes, 5 pin only) are clearly labelled, and the connections for USB, external monitor, etc. should be familiar to anyone who's used a PC. There's also an ethernet socket providing a further 12 universes over Artnet, and MIDI and audio inputs.

The desk feels solidly built, with 3 well-made encoder wheels (a much-needed improvement on the Pearl's 2) and clearly engraved, old-school "clicky" switches. Avolites have opted for lightweight faders which don't lend themselves to very slow, smooth fades but do make 'snap' busking operations a breeze.

Controls are logically laid out with cue playbacks and faders under the screen, and to the top right a bank of 10 preset playbacks, a row of user programmable buttons, and then distinct blocks of keys for Attribute select (e.g. Colour), Function (e.g. Record Cue), Window selection, Chase functions and a numeric keypad.

The touch screen is set flush into the desk, and is a good quality, high resolution panel which displays an attractive and well-designed interface to good effect when viewed from directly above. For some operating positions this is fine, but (for example) when sat at a table or on a tall DJ booth, the display looked washed out - Avolites have advised me that a stand to correct this is in the pipeline.

Software / Operating System

TT runs embedded Windows, and Avolites' new software, Titan. There's no online simulator available at time of writing. Boot from cold took 1 min 34 seconds.

The strong legacy of the Pearl is clearly evident, and the original LCD interface and menu system will seem very familiar, with the traditional System/Run/Program menu options and prompts appearing on the right of the touchscreen which can be directly pressed as well as the traditional row of hard buttons along the side of the screen.

You can use some native Windows features from the Avolites-branded Start button (e.g. Control Panel) and there are a number of extra tools which are useful for managing show files, running diagnostics, changing screen resolution, etc. It also means that you can run or install additional Windows software from a USB drive, although this is not recommended!

Getting Started - Patching & Fixture Library

The desk is preloaded with a large library of fixture personalities. You hit [Patch], [Fixture], then choose a Manufacturer and Model/Version. Unlike the old Pearl, there is now an on-screen grid of buttons for the fixture to be placed on. Touch an empty square, and the fixture is patched at the next free address. You can override the DMX line or address, and you can select a range of squares to patch multiple fixtures.

The desk has the ability to automatically create palettes (pre-defined settings for colour, beam and position), based on the type of fixtures you add. I was using a rig which included quite a few Mac 250+ and 300s as well as some Eurolite Par 64 LEDs, and the automatic palette option did not work. The 250+ spots also didn't appear fully in the 'Attributes' window (of which more later) - 2 gobos were missing from the on-screen buttons, although it was possible to access them using the encoder wheels.

There is no method (in the desk) of creating a fixture that does not exist in TT's libary or modifying an existing one; it requires a call to Avolites who will build the fixture profile for you. This can then be downloaded over the internet onto a USB drive. I was assured by Avolites that this can be done very quickly.

Visualiser

I was looking forward to using the built-in visualiser, even though it can only render basic wireframe images. I hoped it would allow me to set up a 'virtual stage' which would mimic the behaviour of the real lights, allowing me program whole chunks of the show offline. Unfortunately while the generic dimmers and 250s appeared, neither the 300s nor the LEDs worked; this is related to the incomplete personality file for these lights. Popping up the visualiser window also left some of the buttons from the window underneath showing but inaccessible, which I found confusing.

In concept, the built-in visualiser is a great idea - I also liked the way it can be moved and resized across the touchscreen or the external monitor, making it an integral part of the workspace.

Programming and Plotting

Basic programming was fairly simple, once I had set up the missing groups, fixtures and palettes.

There's a clever and intuitive 'Attributes' window which displays all the features of a particular fixture. This has a neat slider adjustment option - for example, hold down [Focus] and a slider bar appears under your finger which you can drag to set the value. If the slider is already near maximum, and your finger is near the left of the screen, there's nowhere to slide to, but fortunately the attributes also appear on the encoder wheels at the same time. The window also has a colour picker (a full spectrum) for CMY/RGB fixtures. Fixtures with colour wheels are restricted to rows of grey buttons with the colour name on.

Hit [Record Cue], then choose a location. TT has 10 physical playbacks (with 99 pages), 10 physical "preset" playbacks, and 'virtual' playback buttons that can be selected on the touch screen. Each playback can contain a single cue, a chase, or a cue list. Each cue can contain specific attributes (just colours, for example), the complete state of selected fixtures, or the whole stage.

Plotting channel levels can be done using a command line, needing a couple of extra keystrokes (e.g. [Channel] 1 THRU 20 @ 55 [Enter]). In practice, this behaved strangely - sometimes selecting unexpected fixtures, and @, Thru etc. is written underneath the arrow keys rather than on dedicated buttons. Using the touch screen is perfectly practical and intuitive, but hardcore command-line addicts may be confused by the way TT handles this input, and the lack of a fully featured syntax.

Seeing what's going on

This is where the new Tiger Touch approach really scores for me over the more traditional Pearl; the channel view gives a clear and concise display of activity across all fixtures, and like any of the windows can fill part or all of the touchscreen or the external monitor. Touching the softkey above a playback gives easy access to cue parameters, and a direct way to view the contents of a cue as well as edit cue/step fade times. Highly intuitive to use and very clear. It's also easy to see what fixtures and attributes were selected or had changed (and would be recorded) .

When programming and running a show, the status of various functions is indicated by LEDs built into many of the keys. In line with the Avolites GUI these are not RGB LEDs and are all blue, relying on different brightness levels or flashing to indicate status.

Running a show

The TT is excellent for busking through a live performance. The limited number of physical faders could be seen as a disadvantage; however with a little thought and planning, pages of playbacks and softkeys can easily be arranged to suit moods, songs, scenes etc.

Cue lists/Chases can be set to use the traditional 'go button' as well as a manual crossfader. This theatre-style functionality is not fully rounded however, for example lacking the ability to take independant control of A & B fades, or modify the rate of a fade while a cue is running.

Support and Reliability

At the time of writing, there is no built-in or online help; a recently updated paper manual is supplied with all new TT consoles.

Inevitably with the move away from embedded hardware systems towards the more flexible and open Windows approach, it's now possible to crash the console deliberately - for example, by deleting critical Windows files. There is no mechanism (keyswitch or software) to 'lock' the console, and I feel the TT is vulnerable to unattended tampering causing a failure.

The console operated smoothly during the show. The system did crash once (the next day after I wiped the memory), a quick restart solved the problem and there were no further issues.

Avolites themselves were very helpful; Emma provided excellent friendly and informative training, with Steve and others providing detailed technical advice. Avolites have a well deserved reputation for the quality of their support in the UK and internationally, and I was left feeling there were a number of highly skilled and capable people I could call on for help if I needed it.

Overall Summary

I enjoyed my time with the Tiger Touch. It's a shame that the lights I was using didn't have fully rounded personalities in the library; having seen the desk demonstrated with more current fixtures I know that this aspect of the software works well.

The TT is a "work of art in progress"; some areas which I would expect to be addressed through real-world use and experience (like a more colourful/clear GUI and LEDs, desk lock, etc.) are not yet implemented. Given the rate at which Avolites is developing new software, and the time and sheer energy and enthusiasm they have for the Titan O/S, I have no doubt these will be fixed quickly.

I've come away from the experience with a much better understanding of Avo consoles, and a broadly positive impression of the TT and its capabilities. While not fully suited to a theatre environment, it is a fantastic console for live events and moving light control in general. Many more capabilities are already in development, and in the meantime the TT genuinely lives up to the "from Rock to Opera" tagline.

I recommend the Tiger Touch to anyone considering upgrading their old Pearl, or considering a move up to a fully featured professional console. The touch screen interface is a surprisingly effective replacement for large banks of faders, and the end result is a highly capable, intuitive and sophisticated lighting console which remains portable and affordable.