More Info Manufacturer: Innovate Show Controls Product: BlueLite X1 Website: Innovate Show Controls Price: £580 Score:

The Bluelite X1 is what every PC DMX interface should strive to be.

The X1 has been designed by somebody that understands the needs and requirements of technicians. For starters the X1 is rack mountable; whilst this seems fairly insignificant it makes a nice change from the usual oddly shaped interface that never really fits anywhere properly.

The X1 also comes with 4 universes as standard, most interfaces only come with one and sometimes they are not capable of ever 512 channels, the X1 breaks the mould in this respect with each universe providing 512 channels of control each. On the rear of the unit along side the 4 x 5pin outputs you will also find, a DMX in socket, a DMX through socket, 2 jack sockets for Sync out and also sync in. The uses for which will be discussed later in this review.

The X1 does require its own power source and can not just run from USB as many interfaces can. This does not limit the X1 in anyway; it is just another factor to consider when deciding on a USB-DMX unit.

It is an absolute breeze to set up and it was working on one of my computers within minutes. The included user manual makes for a pleasing addition in the day and age of everything being computerized. The included manual is a real bonus for X1 users as many other DMX interfaces only come with a computerized version. Whilst this may seem more convenient in the short run, it defiantly is not, when programming a relatively new desk I always like to have a manual in my hands that I can refer back to, no doubt this is the same with many other users.

Within 10 minutes I had a fully functional 4 universe DMX controller, and was ready to foray into the realms of the X1’s software interface. Continuing the trend of the X1’s mould breaking style, the X1 software interface is unlike any I have seen before. The program loads up within a couple of seconds and the user is present with what appears to be a desk with 24 submasters, a grand master fader and XY crossfaders. I was initially a bit disappointed with the interface as I was expecting a lot more from what appeared to be a superb controller. However the interface is a very well designed one, from what appears to be a very basic bit of software stems a very complex and powerful tool.

By the time it comes to assigning fixtures, I have usually well and truly made up my mind about weather said piece of software is useful. Many USB-DMX interfaces make the relatively simple process of patching fixtures to channels an absolute nightmare. Thankfully the X1 comes with a comprehensive database of fixture “profiles”. Patching fixtures is a very simple click and paste process, you select the fixture you want to patch from the fixture library and then click it into place on the channel list. Another nice change is the fact that generic fixtures and included in the fixture library, by this I mean that the X1 also caters for dimmer packs rather than just moving fixtures.

If your fixture profile is not available then it is very easy to create a fixture profile that suits your fixture, again the manual documents fixture creation very well and I had no problem creating my own imaginary fixture with rotating gobos and CMY colour mixing.

So the one thing everyone wants to do is program cues and get a show up and running cue programming is a tad tedious as it is on USB-DMX desks due to the lack of actual faders but the extra time spent here is made up for later on in the programming process. You assign each cue and number that you want to refer to it as from that point on, you can also give it a name and description which also helps later on in the programming process.

Creating cues is, like using the X1 very simple, it’s as simple as clicking insert cue, entering details and then setting faders to their required levels. This is where I have found one of my own gripes with the X1, you can select all of the fixtures and get them to do the same thing for the cue, but if you are working with generics a lot as many of us are then this is where a problem arises. There is no way to get the X1 software to display the generic faders all on one page, instead you have to click the name of the generic and then set its value and so on until you are finished. If you were able to have all of the values / faders on one page just for generic lanterns then it would make the programming aspect of using the X1 and absolute breeze.

So once you have all of your states set up and ready to go then we move on to the events list. The events list defines the order and fade up / down times of all of the cues, this is where the X1 comes into a league of its own. There are 3 different modes for defining how the events list plays back. You can set the events list to play back according to the internal clock, for example at 00:00:04 cue 4. That it to say 4 seconds after pressing the play button cue 4 will be played back.

The second mode is via time code from an external source, this is where the sync input and output on the rear of the X1 come into play. The X1 does not generate time code and instead takes it from an external source and syncs with it. The sync out function does not produce time code from the X1 to another source it merely mirrors the sync input so that you sync more than one thing without having to split the cable.

The third mode is the one that I personally like best as it gives me the most amount of control. This is step mode, the events list on moves on an event if you press the space bar, much like the go button on many lighting desks.

Entering the events in step mode can be slightly tedious and therefore, I found it best to program the events list in internal clock mode and then after programming changing to step mode. This allows me to assign all of my cues to keyboard keys, and hence q = blackout cue and t= cue 1. I could then when plotting my lighting, go into internal clock mode, press the record button and then press keys until my show was programmed. After programming my show in this fashion ignoring the fact that all of my events were being recorded with a time I could then go back into step mode and play the events back at my own leisure.

This resulted in me being able to program a whole show in less than an hour, rather than the usual 3-4 hours that it took me on a lighting desk.

Overall the X1 is a superb product more suited to the theatrical industry rather than mobile DJ as many USB-DMX products are. Everything has been thought about and covered with the X1 leaving almost no room for improvement. The only problem that I found was with programming generics but that aside this is the best USB-DMX controller that I have tried to date. There are many more features that I have not even begun to cover with the X1, I have run a total of 4 shows from the demo unit provided by innovate show controls and each time its features have surpassed the lighting desk and made for a much more enjoyable time programming.