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500ML Lighting Control Console
BASIC CONCEPTS
1. Hybrid Console
The 500ML Lighting Control Console is a hybrid console. This means it is not limited to control of a specific fixture
type only. It treats dimmer channels and moving lights equally.
Fixtures vs. Channels
The 500ML Lighting Control Console does not distinguish between channels or fixtures. It only knows "Fixtures".
This allows more flexibility. As an example: You may easily replace any fixture with a different model of fixture or
even replicate fixtures while maintaining the values programmed previously.
To make fixture replacement and replication working, a conventional dimmer channel is also a "Fixture" and is
patched using a library file that contains one attribute only: A Dimmer.
This also applies to numbering. 500ML uses "Fixture Numbers" for numbering, not "Channel Numbers".
2. Priorities Concepts
What is LTP and HTP?
In this part of the manual you will get a basic understanding about the priority concept used in the console.
Depending on which consoles you have used in the past, these concepts may sound more or less familiar.
HTP (Highest Takes Precedence)
Generally, desks that are not designed to handle moving lights (like a simple 2 Preset Desk) and operate on a Highest
Takes Precedence (HTP) basis. This means that if a fixture's intensity is being controlled by two different parts of the
console, such as a Preset 1 and Preset 2 at the same time, the intensity will be at the higher of the two levels. For
example, if Fixture 1 is at 50% on the first Preset bank, and at 100% on the second Preset bank, the level output is
100%. If the value set on Preset bank 2 is reduced to 40%, the Output level will be at 50%, since the value set by the
first Preset bank is now the highest value, hence output.
Unlike other consoles, we have laid out the way the console decides which parameter of a moving light fixture should
be treated as a dimmable channel quite smartly - we let you decide when creating a library. The intensity faders will
also control everything that is set as dimmable in the library, and only those channels will be compared HTP, if cuelist
settings are set to HTP.
LTP (Latest Takes Precedence)
Highest takes precedence generally works well for non-moving light fixtures, but moving lights introduce a problem.
Parameters other than intensity do not have 'higher' or 'lower' values: A color of red is not higher or lower than green,
and Gobo 1 is not higher or lower than Gobo 2.
When working with moving lights, a better way to decide precedence, called Latest Takes Precedence (LTP) is
needed.
With this system, the fixture values will always be at the value they have most recently been set to. Taking our
example made previously, setting the value of the fixture on the second Preset bank to 40% would result in an output
level of 40%, since the level change has been the latest action and hence, takes precedence
Priority Stacks
The consoles maintains so called "Priority Stacks" which are used to figure out which values have been last set by
which playback to calculate output values accordingly. There is a "Regular Priority" stack, as well as a "High
Priority" stack. Think of it as two different stacks of paperwork, where the piece of paper on top of the stack is the
most recent one.
High Priority
The ML Series of consoles offers two priority levels for LTP channels - "Normal" and "High Priority". Cuelists set to
high priority will always take precedence over non-high priority cuelists.
Operation Guide
11
Hybrid Console
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