Theater lighting control used to mean preprogrammed sequences of conventional lights, while concert lighting control meant moving lights and improvisation. Not any more. Theater, studio and concert lighting now have programming features in common. Moving lights are on every stage. Lighting operators control video animation systems and matrix screens and more.

New specifications call for a lighting control system that can control it all: Congo, the Avab board by ETC.

For thirty years Avab products have been known for a spirit of innovation in Europe. For 30 years ETC has been known for its revolutionary lighting control design in the US. Now those great minds have met, in Congo. Melding together the engineering brilliance and experience of ETC and Avab systems, Congo maintains the simplicity of classic systems with the feature-rich functionality of a dedicated moving lights console. Clean functions for everyday theater work with conventional lights, plus advanced control of hundreds of moving lights, without mouse operations or computer menus. Like today's sophisticated but deadline-driven productions, Congo is high energy -- with short commands for fast results.

With Congo, you can move independent channels such as worklights, conductor lights, followspot and smoke machine control to a special section that isn't affected by the rest of the system. You have somewhere to put your screens without blocking your view of the stage. You see the important information, at any time, on the screens or in the console displays. And you can even have remote control of your rig with your own wireless phone. Simple, intuitive and innovative lighting control with a big brain for complexity wherever it arises. Congo handles the future without forgetting the past.

Congo is designed for theater, broadcast, club systems, concert and special-event lighting. Recently used to control the lighting for the Eurovision Song Contest broadcast in Kyiv, Ukraine, Congo consoles controlled 300+ moving lights, 200+ conventionals and 16 media servers, among other devices. Complete with a theatrical-style main playback fader pair, 40 multipurpose Masters for group, submaster, effect and additional sequence control, 40 Direct Selects and a dedicated moving lights control section, Congo's hardware is suitable for any kind of playback situation. Over 200 moving-light templates and 30+ Dynamic Effects are provided within the console, with the ability to build and edit your own on the fly. Congo is the new state of the lighting control art.

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