Using the console hardware

Console layout

Vista consoles and control surfaces provide the faders, encoders, switches and displays you’ll need to control your lighting rig. The layout of each product is slightly different and the quantity of playback controls varies.

T4 Console

The T4 console features:

• LCD Pen/Tablet module that includes, the Grand Master & DBO, 12 Function buttons, 2 sets of modifier buttons, a keyboard & trackpad
• 4 Playback modules with faders
• 2 Playback modules without faders
• 2 Superplayback/Programming modules.

T2 Console

The T2 console features:

• LCD Pen/Tablet module that includes, the Grand Master & DBO, 12 Function buttons, 2 sets of modifier buttons, a keyboard & trackpad
• 2 Playback modules with faders
• 1 Playback modules without faders
• 1 Superplayback/Programming modules.

I3 Console

The I3 console features:

• 2 Playback modules with faders
• 2 Playback modules without faders
• 1 Superplayback/Programming modules.

L5 Console

The L5 console features:

• LCD Pen/Tablet module that includes, the Grand Master & DBO, 12 Function buttons, 2 sets of modifier buttons, a keyboard & trackpad
• 2 Playback modules with faders
• 2 Playback modules without faders
• 1 Superplayback/Programming modules.

S3 Control Surface

The S3 control surface features:

• 2 Playback modules with faders
• 2 Playback modules without faders
• 1 Superplayback/Programming modules.

S1 Control Surface

The S1 control surface features:

• 1 Playback modules with faders
• 1 Superplayback/Programming modules.

M1 Control surface

The M1 control surface features:

• 1 Playback modules with faders.

Grand Master and DBO

The rotary Grand Master control scales the intensity of all output from the Vista system.

The Dead Black Out (DBO) button takes all intensity to 0%, while it is held down.

Function keys

The function function buttons provide quick access to many commands and functions. The buttons are user configurable so you can assign functions you use frequently and have access to function at the press of a button rather than having to choose the option from a menu or icon.

The number and location of the function buttons varies from console to console:

• I-series consoles provide six function buttons located at the top centre of the unit
• S-series consoles provide five function buttons located at the top centre of the unit
• T4 and T2 consoles have 12 buttons located above the main display
• I3 consoles have 6 buttons located at the top centre of the console
• S3 control surfaces have 5 buttons located at the top centre of the console
• S1 control surfaces have 6 buttons located below the GM & DBO controls
• M1 control surfaces do not have function buttons.

Your keyboard Function keys ‘F1 – F12’ can be used in place of these buttons. On the Vista PC version, the Function keys ‘F1 – F5 or F1 – F12’ can be used in place of these buttons.

To assign a function to one of the buttons:

1. Click the Console button to display the Console screen. The function keys are at the top of the Console screen.
2. Right-click on a button and select a command from the popup menu.

The modifier keys

The LR key (T series consoles only)

The LR button changes a pen tablet tap to a right tap. To ‘right-click’ hold this button down then tap the pen.

The coloured modifier keys

The coloured (Red, Yellow, Green, Blue) modifier buttons provide alternate functions when you press a button on the console while programming and during playback.

You can also use keyboard equivalents in place of the modifiers:

• Shift is equivalent to the Red buttton
• Control (Command) is equivalent to the Yellow button
• Alt (Option) is the equivalent of the Green button
• Control + Alt is the equivalent of the Blue button.

The Super Playback / Programmer controls

These controls are used during programming and playback. To switch functions press the ‘Menu’ button and then select from the three options:

• IPCG – stands for Intensity, Position, Colour, Gobo, Beam and puts the controls into editing (aka programming) mode. In this mode the buttons and encoder wheels can be used to set Intensity levels, Pan Tilt and all the other features of your fixtures
• Play – puts the controls into playback mode . In this mode the controls and buttons provide quick access to the regular and advanced cuelist playback options.
• SFX – stands for Smart Effects . This mode let’s you use the buttons and encoders control the most frequently used effects settings.

Editor (aka Programmer) mode

When you select fixtures in the Chooser or Timeline window the hardware controls can be used instead or the on screen palettes to adjust setting for Intensity, Position, Colour, Gobo and Miscellaneous parameters

Programmer mode

If the controls are not already in Programming mode press the menu button then the button labelled ‘IPCG’ to switch into to programmer mode:

This button…	does this…
I /POS	Press this button to put the encoders and lower 6 buttons in Intensity plus Position mode. Pressing it again cycles the controls through any available parameters or alternate modes (Angular position and Strobe & Shutter).
Col	Press this button to put the encoders and lower 6 buttons in Colour mode (HSV). Pressing it again cycles the controls through any available parameters or alternate modes (CMY, RGB, Colour Wheel Colour )
Gobo	Press this button to put the encoders and lower 6 buttons in Gobo mode. Pressing it again cycles the controls through any available parameters or alternate modes.
Beam	Press this button to put the encoders and lower 6 buttons in Beam mode. Pressing it again cycles the controls through any available parameters or alternate modes.
Menu	Opens the Super Playback top level menu screen. Double tap the menu button to switch between Playback and Programming mode.
Home (Clear)	Sets the associated feature to its default (or home) value. Hold the yellow modifier (or Ctrl key) to clear the feature settings.
Full (Zero)	Sets the associated feature to its maximum values. I.E. this would set Intensity to 100. Hold the yellow modifier (or Ctrl key) to set the feature to its minimum value.
>>	For Gobo (or Colour) wheel features this button toggles between the fixtures wheels – i.e. Gobo wheel 1, Gobo wheel 2, etc
Mode	For Gobo wheels that have rotating gobos this button toggles the rotation encoder between Index and Spin mode.
< >	This button reverses the direction of a spinning colour or gobo wheel or individual gobo.
Encoders	Rotate to set the associated parameter to the required value.
<- Left arrow	Selects the previous Fixture
-> Right arrow	Selects the next fixture

Super Fine Mode

Hold down the Green modifier button or the Alt (Option) button, on your keyboard, to put the encoders into super-fine mode.

Fixture Selection buttons

The left and right arrow buttons located just above the encoder wheels can be used to select the Previous or Next fixture in a selection.

If there’s no fixtures selected pressing the buttons will cycle through all te patched fixtures.

Editor intensity

The overall intensity from the Editor is controlled by the fader located, on the left side, below the encoder wheels.

Editor ‘Live’ time

The fader located, on the right side, below the encoder wheels can be used to adjust the Live time. At the top (100%) position the Intensity, Position, Colour and other feature settings fade in over the ‘Live time’ set in the Editor window. At the bottom (o%) position the feature settings fade in over 0 seconds – i..e they snap to the new value.

Super Playback mode

In playback mode the Super Playback section controls and buttons automatically link to the selected playback. This means that when you press the ‘Select’ (*) button on any cuelist playback you can control that cuelist with the faders, buttons and encoders in this section.

Play controls

The faders and buttons, below the encoders provide quick access to all the cuelist play function.

This button…	does this…
	Jumps to the start of the Cuelist
	Cues backwards to the previous Cue marker of the selected Cuelist
	Cues forwards to the next Cue of the Cuelist
	Jumps to the end of the selected Cuelist.
	Not used
upper	Not used
	Pauses playback of the selected Cuelist(s)
lower	Commences (Go) Playback the selected cuelist(s)
(Left flash)	Flashes intensity of the super playback cuelist to the maximum value.
(Right) Crossfade	Not used

• You can configure these buttons in the Console window. See Assigning a component to the playback controls on page 11-13

Super Playback mode extended controls

If the controls are not already in Playback mode press the menu button then the button labelled ‘Play’ to switch into to Playback mode. The top row of buttons let you select from the playback control pages:

This button…	does this…
Control	Selects the normal cuelist play mode controls
Chase	Select the cuelist Chase controls
SmartFX	Selects the cuelist SmartFX controls
Load	Press Load then any key on a normal playback to load that cuelist into the Superplayback.
Lock	Locks the current cuelist onto the Superplayback. When lock is selected pressing Select (*) on another playback will not cjange the Superplayback cuelist.
Menu	Opens the Superplayback top level menu screen. Double tap the menu button to switch between Playback and Programming mode.

Cuelist Control (normal) mode

In the Cuelist ‘Control’ mode you can control the playback rate and select from several play options using the bottom row of buttons:

This button…	does this…
Rate	Enables the left encoder for rate control of playback. Turn the encoder to the left to slow the playback rate and to the right to speed it up.
100%	Resets the playback rate to normal. At 100% the cuelist plays back using the fade times set in the cues.
Jump	Opens the cuelist jump window on the main screen. Used to jump from one cue to another cue out of sequence. Select the Cue you want to jump to in the Jump window. See Using the Jump window on page 11-10 Press Go to fade to that cue.
Shuttle	Enables the middle encoder for manual control of playback. Move the encoder clockwise to advance and anti-clockwise to go backwards.
Release	Releases the cuelist. Fixtures return to the previous settings or to their defaults.
Select	Selects the cuelist on the SuperPlayback.

Cuelist Chase mode

In the Cuelist ‘Chase’ mode you can start a cuelist chasing. change the chase rate and select the chase direction:

This button…	does this…
Rate	Enables the left encoder for rate control of playback. Turn the encoder to the left to slow the playback rate and to the right to speed it up.
Sync	Synchronises the chase
Forward	Turns the chase mode on and runs forwards. If the cuelist is already chasing forward pressing the button will turn chase mode off.
Reverse	Turns the chase mode on and runs backwards. If the cuelist is already chasing backward pressing the button will turn chase mode off.
Bounce	Turns the chase mode on in bounce mode (i.e. run from first to last cue then last to first cue). If the cuelist is already bouncing pressing the button will turn chase mode off.
Random	Turns the chase mode on and runs in a random order. If the cuelist is already in random pressing the button will turn chase mode off.

Cuelist FX (effects) mode

In the Cuelist ‘FX’ mode you can control the size, rate and phase of effects that are running on the console:

This button…	does this…
Encoders	Enables the encoders. To avoid accidentally changing FX settings turn the encoders off.
Reset	Resets the effect(s) Size to it’s programmed settings
Reset	Resets the effect(s) Rate to it’s programmed settings
All /Cuelist / Active. (press to toggle)	All – selects all running effects for adjustment Cuelist – selects the effects in the selected cuelist for adjustment Active – selects the active effects for adjustment
Forward / Backward (press to toggle)	Changes the direction of the selected effect(s)
Sync	Re-synchronises the selected effects.

Using the Jump window

During playback you can use the jump window to quickly select a cue, out of the normal sequence, and fade it in.

To open the Jump window:

• press a Select button on any playback to bring that cuelist onto the super playback
• press the Jump button in the super playback

Vista displays the Jump to Cue window:

This option…	does this…
Cuelist	Selects the cuelist to jump to. This field is automatically set to the cuelist on the superplayback.
Cue	Selects the cue to jump to. To find the cue you want to jump to type the cue number or a part of the cue name in the search box, or select the cue from the list
Cue Timing	Crossfades using the new cues fade time
Live Timing	Crossfades using the Live time
Arm & Close	Closes the Jump window with the selected cue ready to play. Press the Play button to complete the jump.

To complete the Jump and fade in the selected cue, without using the Arm and Close option;

• press the keyboard Enter key, or
• use the Cuelist’s Go button, or
• click the OK button.

Playbacks with faders

Depending on your console type you will have one of more ‘Playback with fader’ sets consisting of 5 playbacks. On the M1 console the playback set does not include a display.

These playbacks consist of:

• a Select button – normally used to select the playback
• a display – used to display the name of the cuelist or other component that’s being controlled
• a Go button – normally used to play the the cuelist or other component
• a fader – used to control the intensity of a cuelist
• a flash button – normally used to momentarily flash the intensity of a cuelist to full.

Playbacks without faders

These button-only playback sets are available of the T4, T2, I3, and S3 consoles.

These playbacks consist of:

• a Select button – normally used to select the playback
• a display – used to display the name of the cuelist or other component that’s being controlled
• a Go button – normally used to play the cuelist or other component.

Page controls

Each playback module consists of 5 playbacks. Cuelists and other components can be assigned to these controls as pages. To change pages:

• press the Page Up button to advance to the next page number
• press the Page Down button to go back to the previous page number.

Configuring the console for Playback

Once you’ve stored a number of Cuelists, Presets, Extracts, etc, you can assign those components to the playback controls the way you want them using Console screen.

When you click the Console button on the toolbar Vista displays the Console screen:

On this window the Sidebar shows a quickpicker where you can display and filter the components you want to assign to the console. You can:

• choose a component type (Cuelists, Groups, Presets, Extracts, Smart FX, Snapshots) from the top dropdown
• filter the list by selecting a set from dropdown. For example you can filter the list to show just Presets that include Colour.

Assigning a component to the playback controls

Once you’ve selected the component type you want you can drag and drop it onto the label area corresponding to the console’s LCD windows:

• Tip: You can assign any combination of components to the playback controls – Cuelists, Groups, Presets, Extract, Effects, Favourites and Snapshots.

Splitting playback controls

When a component is assigned to a playback it uses all the controls that are available – the Go and Choose button plus the fader and flash button if available, but you can split a playback set to increase the number of components that can be placed on a page.

To do this, move the cursor to the top of the white label area. When the pointer changes to a split bar [=], click and drag down:

Playbacks with faders can be split three ways. To do this move the cursor to the middle of the label area. When the pointer changes to a split bar [=] click and drag down.

• Tip: You don’t have to split all the playbacks on a page the same way, you can split on two ways, another three ways and so on.

Expanding playbacks

Playbacks can also be extended to provide more physical button controls for playback of a cuelist. Up to five playbacks in the group can control a cuelist:

To expand a Playback move the cursor to the right side of the label area. When the pointer changes to a split bar [||] click and drag to the right.

• Tip: You can expand a Playback before or after a Cuelist has been assigned, but you can only expand into an area that is not occupied by another component.

Configuring the playback buttons and faders

Normal, split and expanded playbacks have their buttons and faders set up with the default configuration. To see how the buttons and faders are configured press the Help key [!] on T series consoles Ctrl + ? on a PC.

Vista displays the button and fader functions on the LCDs and in the Console window:

You can assign different actions to these buttons and faders to suit your requirements or playback style.

To assign an action:

1. Click the Console button to display the Console screen.
2. Click on the ‘Cuelist Buttons’ or ‘Cuelist Faders’ tab in sidebar.
3. Click on the required button or fader action and drag it on top of the button or fader you want to use for that function.

Some buttons and faders must be used together. For example if you make a fader a ‘Cross fader’ you should also assign a ‘Toggle Xfader’ button to the button below the fader. Likewise if you make a fader a ‘Rate fader’ you should also assign a ‘Toggle rate fader’ button to the button below the fader.

Cuelist buttons

The following button actions are available:

This button action …	does this…
Unassigned	The button has no action.
Play	Plays (starts playback of) a cuelist.
Jump	Opens the Jump window. See Using the keyboard to Jump on page xxx.
Inhibit	Stops the cuelist playback, Intensity is reduced to 0 and all other parameters revert to their previous setting. Press the button again to enable or re-assert the cuelist.
Flash	Sets the button to momentarily flash Intensity to full. This is the default assignment for the square buttons below the faders.
Flash Submaster	Sets the button to momentarily flash Intensity to full on a Submaster.
Pause	Pauses playback of a cuelist.
Edit	Opens a Cuelist, for editing, in the Editor window.
Skip Forward	Steps forwards to the next Cue of the cuelist.
Release	Releases a cuelist.
Skip Back	Steps backwards to the previous Cue marker of the selected cuelist.
Skip to End	Jumps to the end of the cuelist.
Select	Selects the cuelist. This is the default assignment for all * buttons.
Re-assert	Re-asserts a cuelist that has been overridden.
Chase Toggle	Toggles between Chase on and Chase off.
Chase Direction	Cycles between the available chase directions in this order: Forward, Backward, Bounce, Random.
Chase Forward	Sets the Chase direction to forwards (the normal setting). N.B. if the chase is already running forwards the button will toggle between chase off and chase forwards.
Chase Backward	Sets the Chase direction to backwards (or reverse). N.B. if the chase is already running backwards the button will toggle between chase off and chase backwards.
Chase Bounce	Sets the Chase direction to bounce. N.B. if the chase is already bouncing the button will toggle between chase off and chase bounce.
Chase Random	Sets the Chase direction to random. N.B. if the chase is already set to random the button will toggle between chase off and chase random.
Skip to Start	Jumps to the start of the cuelist.
Exit Loop	Stops a loop and goes to the next cue.
Sync FX	Re-synchronises running effects.
Sync Chase	Re-synchronises running chasess.
Play Toggle	Plays the next cue or releases the Cuelist if it is already playing.

Cuelist faders

The following fader actions are available:

This fader action …	does this…
Blank	fader has no action.
Intensity Fader	Sets the fader to control the Intensity of a cuelist. This is the default assignment for all faders.
Cross Fader	Sets the fader to manually crossfade between cues. Must be used in conjunction with a ‘Toggle Xfader’ button.
Rate Fader	Adjusts the playback rate.
FX Size	Controls the size of any effect in the cuelist.
FX rate	Controls the rate of any effect in the cuelist
FX phase	Controls the phase offset of any effect in the cuelist
Live Timing	Controls the ‘Live’ fade time – used for crossfades from the Editor etc.

• Tip: You can save the button / fader configuration as a default to be used whenever a cuelist is assigned to a playback. To do this right-click on a cuelist and choose the ‘Save as default cuelist configuration’ option.

Playback status indication

Flash Button

For Cuelists the LCD and LEDs inside the playback buttons indicate the current status of each playback as follows:

	Normal (2 Button Playback)			Split (1 Button Playback)
	Lower Button	Upper Button	LCD	Button
Current			Inverted
Active		Green
Paused	Green Flashing			Green Flashing
Running	Green			Green
Completed	Red			Red
Overridden		Red Flashing		Red Flashing

Playback popup menu

Flash Button

You can make changes to Cuelists Pages and other components using the Playback context menu. To open this menu right-click on the label area of any playback control. Vista displays the context menu:

This option…	does this…
Cuelist Properties	Opens the Cuelist properties window – see below.
Set as default cuelist configuration.	Sets the selected cuelist’s buttons and faders as the defaults for all new cuelists.
Lock item	Locks the selected component. Components that have be locked will not be altered or replaced when a new Page or Snapshot is loaded.
Clear item	Clears the selected playback – the assigned component is removed from the control.
Clear page	Clears all playbacks on the current page – the assigned components are removed and a blank page is left.
Delete page	Deletes the current page.
Set as default playback layout.	Sets the selected cuelist’s buttons and faders as the defaults for all new cuelists.
Snapshot enabled	Allows the selected playback to be included in a snapshot.
Set as default cuelist configuration	Sets the selected cuelist’s properties as the defaults for all new cuelists.
Adjust contrast	Adjusts the contrast of the selected LCD window

Setting cuelist properties

To set the cuelist properties, right click on the Cuelist name and the Properties option from the popup menu. For more information see Cuelist Properties on page 6-25

Group Masters

You can assign and Group to a playback. If you assign the group to a playback set, that includes a fader and flash button, you can use these controls as Group Master Intensity controls:

The intensity of the group can be controlled in three ways:

With this Group type	you can do this…
Scale ( – ) also known as an Inhibitive or Subtractive group master	Reduce the intensity of fixtures in the group. When a Scale(-) fader is pulled down, while a cuelist is being played, the intensity of fixtures in that group will be reduced. When a Scale(-) flash button is pressed the intensity of fixtures in that group will go to the level programmed in the active cuelist.
Scale ( + ) also known as an Additive group master	Increase the intensity of fixtures in the group. When a Scale(+) fader is pushed up, while a cuelist is being played, the intensity of fixtures in that group will be increased. When a Scale(+) flash button is pressed the intensity of fixtures in that group will go to 100%.
HTP Highest takes precedence	Control the the intensity of fixtures in the group on an HTP basis. If there’s no cuelist, containing the fixtures in the group, being played the fader will set the level of the fixtures between 0 and 100%. This is the default fader and flash button setting for groups.

You can assign different actions to these buttons and faders to suit your requirements or playback style.

To assign an action:

1. Click the Console button to display the Console screen.
2. Click on the ‘Group Faders’ or ‘Group Buttons’ tab in the sidebar.
3. Click on the required fader or button action and drag it on top of the button or fader you want to use for that function.

The following actions are available:

Group Buttons

The following fader actions are available:

This button action …	does this…
Blank	The button has no action.
Select	Selects the group.
Flash ( – )	When a Flash(-) flash button is pressed the intensity of fixtures in that group will go to the level programmed in the active cuelist.
Flash ( + )	When a Flash(+) flash button is pressed the intensity of fixtures in that group will go to 100%.
Flash HTP Highest takes precedence	Control the the intensity of fixtures in the group on an HTP basis. If there’s no cuelist, containing the fixtures in the group, being played the button will set the level of the fixtures between to 100%.

Group Fader

The following fader actions are available:

This button action …	does this…
Scale ( – ) also known as an Inhibitive or Subtractive group master	Reduce the intensity of fixtures in the group. When a Scale(-) fader is pulled down, while a cue is being played, the intensity of fixtures in that group will be reduced. When a Scale(-) flash button is pressed the intensity of fixtures in that group will go to the level programmed in the active cuelist.
Scale ( + ) also known as an Additive group master	Increase the intensity of fixtures in the group. When a Scale(+) fader is pushed up, while a cue is being played, the intensity of fixtures in that group will be increased. When a Scale(+) flash button is pressed the intensity of fixtures in that group will go to 100%.
HTP Highest takes precedence	Control the the intensity of fixtures in the group on an HTP basis. If there’s no cuelist, containing the fixtures in the group, being played the fader will set the level of the fixtures between 0 and 100%. This is the default fader and flash button setting for groups.

Pages

Each Playback Group can be paged independently of the others, allowing for a wide variety of console configurations. To change pages, press the Up or Down arrow buttons located to the right of each playback group. On the console screen you can also select a page from the popup page selector.

The Page Up and Down buttons work in three ways:

• press quickly to change the page immediately
• press and hold, for less than two seconds to display the current page number, without changing it
• press and hold, for more than two seconds to scroll the number.

Locking a playback to prevent changing

Playbacks can be Locked to prevent whatever is assigned to that location being changed when a new page or snapshot is selected.

Components can be locked, so that they are not affected by Page changes or Snapshots being loaded. To do this right-click on LCD, in the Console window, and choose the ‘Lock item’ option from the popup menu.

Page Holdover

If a cuelist is playing when you change page it is held and that playback does not load the contents of the new page. The playback that is held will join the new page when:

• The cuelist id released or fully over-ridden or
• You press the page up and down buttons simultaneously

Snapshots

Snapshots allow you to store and recall the exact state of the console’s output, buttons, faders and other controls. They can be used to quickly re-configure the controls for playback, programming or a mixture of both. For example, you may have a snapshot set up for each song or part of a show. You might also have a snapshot for programming with the playback buttons assigned to provide quick access to Groups, Presets Extracts and Effects.

Snapshots can not only recall Page and Cuelist settings but also the state of the Cuelist. For example if a Cuelist is active and in Cue 3 when the snapshot is recorded then the same state can be recalled.

To record a snapshot

1. Use the console window to assign components and configure the controls and pages the way you want them to be.
2. Click the Create Snapshot button (normally Green + F9 or Alt+F9) on the main toolbar. Or select the ‘New Snapshot option from the Components menu. Vista displays the Create Snapshot window:

This option…	does this…
Name	Sets the name for the snapshot
Record	Sets the options for the snapshot:
Playback State	The state of cuelists on the current pages will be included in the snapshot. For example if a Cuelist is active in Cue 2 when the snapshot is recorded it will also be active in Cue 2 when recalled.
Fader Levels	Includes the current fader levels in the snapshot.
Workspace state	Saves the contents (cuelists, groups and other components) of all playbacks.

• Locked components are protected from any changes by snapshots. If a cuelist is part of a snapshot and it is also running on a module that will not be affected by the snapshot there can be a conflict.

In this situation:

• if the cuelist is active on the unaffected module, it is not changed
• if the cuelist is inactive on the unaffected module, it is restored to the state stored in the incoming snapshot (i.e. activated or released).

Assigning a Snapshot to a Playback

You assign Snapshot to a playback button in the Console window.

Recalling a Snapshot

To recall a Snapshot, you can:

• use a playback button that has been set up as a snapshot, or
• right-click on a snapshot icon and select the ‘Apply’ option from the popup menu, or
• click on the snapshot in one of the Quick picker windows

Updating a Snapshot

To update a Snapshot:

1. Make sure the snapshot is active.
2. Change the assignment and state of components and pages as required.

Right-Click on the snapshot icon, in the Console sidebar or any QuickPicker and select the Update option from the popup menu. Vista displays the ‘Update snapshot’ window.