In the digital age, lighting consoles abound. While there may have only been a few go-to names in the past, there are now a plethora of options available in many price ranges to meet the needs of any budget. However, selecting a console is not always a matter of price point. Support is important, as is features, flexibility and longevity. So, why do lighting professionals choose the consoles they do?

Martin Professional is a big name in the lighting business. The Aarhus, Denmark-based intelligent lighting fixture and control systems manufacturer has been around since the early 80s and has remained a massive player in the market worldwide ever since. Indeed, despite many competitors in the ever changing world of event tech you would be hard pressed to find an event, both internationally and locally, that is without any of their products.

Martin, of course, is famous primarily for their MAC range. The Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics saw Martin take on the role of the main lighting provider with over 1100 fixtures being employed for the opening ceremony. Moreover, their luminaires are used by some of the world’s top touring artists and major festivals. But Martin doesn’t stop there because in addition to their lighting fixtures they also manufacture a wide range of lighting controllers which have seen great success over the past few years and have amassed quite a following.

About the Martin M-Series software

The Martin M-Series range consists of a set of controllers that run the M-Series software platform. This has the obvious advantage of allowing users the freedom to migrate from controller to controller seamlessly and without the worry of having to learn a new platform. There is also an offline version of the software that you can download off of the Martin controller support website for PC or Mac that allows the user to create show files before ever stepping into a venue. The M-Series includes the M1, the M2GO, M2PC, the M-PC and the newly released flagship M6 controllers.

Martin M-Series Tech Specs

• Support for 64 DMX universes on Pro Edition and 8 on Basic Edition

• Offline and online programming

• 1024 channels in Demo mode using Martin USB Duo DMX or Martin Universal USB DMX interface

• Mx Manager Software for programming and triggering via time and calendar schedules

• Customizable Graphical User Interface with context sensitive toolbars and integrated help menu

• Powerful effects engines

• Keyboard shortcuts

• Parallel execution of multiple cuelists

• Full compatibility across M-Series consoles

• On-the-fly global timing adjustments

• Networking with Maxedia media server CITP protocol

• Controls up to 32768 fixtures in Pro Edition (4096 in Basic Edition)

• 1000 cuelists with motorized fader control

• 1000 cuelists with playback control buttons

• 12 customizable function keys

• 3D visualizer integrated

• Submaster, groupmaster and override functionality

• Fanning functionality

• Auto update for presets and cues, including “track backwards’