ArKaos Launches MediaMaster 5.2

ArKaos announces the release of MediaMaster 5.2, the latest software version for its powerful and flexible real-time video control software platform.

The key new features that 5.2 brings to MediaMaster users are:

*DMX Merge: To combine parameters like Pan and Tilt from a lighting console and video sources from MediaMaster

*Pixel Blending: Utilizing the Blend function, the color output of a lighting console can be blended -- via DMX from the lighting console with the video output of MediaMaster.

*Kling-Net Draft Devices: Allow a show to be prepared remotely -- disconnected from the physical devices

*Extended Fixture Creation: Supports complete DMX Devices like moving heads with Pan / Tilt

*64 Bit Support: for all applications -- enabling quicker and more responsive operation.

DMX Merge allows a sophisticated collaboration between video sources and individually pixel-mappable lighting devices, so a fixture -- for e.g. a 5x5 matrix-style unit or a light with LED rings -- can be panned or tilted into specific positions simultaneously to pre-defined pixel-mapping / effects playing.

This opens up a whole new creative avenue for lighting and visual designers, operators, and programmers, the company says.

The DMX Merge command enables the lighting console to generate an Art-Net stream to control the pan / tilt functionality.

MediaMaster receives that Art-Net stream and works on the LED color values, eventually replacing them as the lighting designer decides how the blending should specifically occur, and the merged result is sent to the lighting fixture defining the color output.

MediaMaster 5.2 makes this feature -- currently available only on top end consoles and control platforms -- more accessible, easier to use, as well as affordable to a greater range of users and scenarios.

Pixel Blending is a unique function also associated with the new Art-Net merging capacity and allows subtle and elegant effects to be triggered via the MediaMaster.

The LD may want to use -- for example -- a series of upstage LED battens in block colors which will be programmed via the lighting console. At another point in the show, they may want to display a cool kinetic texture across the front of the same LED battens.

MediaMaster 5.2 controls how this blending occurs. Two DMX channels define the operation and the colors mixed by the console and rendered by the MediaMaster.

The LD can have precision control over how the MediaMaster inserts the color values across the LEDs and how this - respectively -- affects any programming on the lighting console.

For fast moving, hi-energy EDM, trance and techno shows, it's possible to strobe the MediaMaster output from the lighting console...keeping visuals in sync and harmony with the beat and rhythm of the DJ.

Kling-Net Draft Devices allows offline mapping and the potential maximization of time that can be used efficiently and effectively - designed for show environments where minutes and seconds count.

Kling-Net enabled devices no longer need to be physically connected to a server running MediaMaster 5.2. The system's plug-and-play functionality means programming can continue quickly, presenting greater flexibility and more options for shows with multiple devices that need mapping.

The Art-Net DMX merge facility implemented in MediaMaster 5.2 unlocks the system's true potential to work with more complex lighting fixtures which have more than just LED channels.

The fully redesigned fixture creation dialogue in version 5.2's Art-Net mapper makes it quick and easy to support devices like LED panels, matrix-style units, and LED wash lights with individual ring and pixel control.

Every application in MediaMaster 5.2 is compiled in 64-bit mode.

This utilizes additional available memory, giving users more instant access to content, programming, and effects in real-time without latency or rendering lag.

MediaMaster has been designed to enhance the creative design experience in any show, event, or display scenario, the company says.