Currently, it works best with a rig featuring conventional fixtures, dimmers, and simple RGB-style LED fixtures. You should know out of the gate that QLab isn’t going to replace your high end lighting console or work well with a modern rig with hundreds of movers and complex fixtures (at least not yet). Art-Net nodes are currently the only type of interface recognized by QLab 4. For those of you hoping to use a USB to DMX converter, you’re out of luck here. This is either accomplished by directly “talking” to your lighting equipment through Art-Net, or sending the message through a node that translates Art-Net into a DMX signal. QLab 4 allows for the control of lighting instruments and devices by using the Art-Net protocol over a network. The addition of lighting control, though, is a game changer for how designers and technicians approach QLab as a tool. QLab 4 brings along all of the wonderful components that have made it an industry standard in media playback and show control – sound control, video playback and effects, and show control integration through MIDI and OSC networks.

While there are a lot of features to be excited about in this new release, the biggest new change is the addition of lighting control. If you look at the Company statement on their website, this pretty much sums up their business approach: “ We work on shows to be together for something special, and we love helping people do that in ways they couldn’t before.” This November, Figure 53 took a huge leap forward in the realm of helping people do shows in a way they couldn’t before with their highly anticipated new release of QLab 4. The last several years have been a period of exciting growth for the rapidly expanding team at Figure 53, the makers of QLab and other show solutions.

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