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I expect I am one of the older (age) members of the Forum doing my first stage lighting in January 1975 when I was 19. In the 50 years since I have hired and owned many types of lighting desks including those from Zero 88. For 12 years I was using an American computer based desk which was fine untill the company was taken over and things started to change. Support staff left and software development slowed to a crawl. At this time I knew I had to change and along came the FLX S48 which a school I was working in had just bought. Afterwards I went to one of the Zero 88 roadshows at Exeter University and shortly afterwards bought my own because I liked it so much. Fast forward 6 years and I am sorry to see the main support team change so much. I wish everyone well in their new ventures. I hope this is not the thin edge of the wedge. Best wishes to everyone for their productions for 2025. I hope you all enjoy things as much as I do for many years to come. With kind regards Trevor Steer

I'd hope by the end of September we'd have a beta for you. However, the roadmap has changed a little bit to enable us to fix some high priority bugs. Instead of being "ZerOS 7.15", this will now be: ZerOS 7.14.4 will be a bug fix release for all consoles ZerOS 8 will be for FLX & FLX S only, and will include the free of charge capacity increases We see these two releases being very close together - it's even possible (not guaranteed) that ZerOS 8 starts testing before ZerOS 7.14.4 is released. We're doing this to split the bug fixes across all consoles, and the new features / increased capacity on FLX & FLX S.

Hi all, To ensure Vari-Lite can provide the best possible support, I’d like to quickly remind everyone of the three active support routes: Emailing entertainment.service@signify.com or calling +1 214 647 7880 (While the legacy Zero 88 contact methods are still monitored by the UK-based support team, the above contact details are the “official” routes which are monitored by the global support team). This “Vari-Lite Controls Support Forum” (Over the years this has become a fantastic resource of data and is home to some very knowledgeable users. The Vari-Lite team regularly monitor the forum (your forum admins are Darren - @DMH and Ryan - @RJP from the UK-based support team). However, if you require immediate direct support from Vari-Lite, the contact details above are the correct method). “Vari-Lite Console Programmers” Facebook Group Lastly, I’d like to take a moment to say farewell, as I’m stepping down from the team. I’m so proud of the products we’ve launched over my time - FLX, ZerOS Wing, FLX S24 & S48, ZerOS Server, RigSwitch, AlphaPack 3, BetaPack 4, Splitter 8, Gateway 4, Gateway 8, Neo X15, Neo X5, Neo X Server and RigSwitch+. And I’m delighted to have finally released ZerOS 8! Here’s a couple of ZerOS screenshots comparing when I started (ZerOS 5.4), to now (ZerOS 8): But it’s not all about the products - there’s been so much more too. Three (1, 2, 3) PLASA Awards for Innovation, several patents, our industry’s best RDM implementation with RigSync, the first console to implement Art-Net 4, Zero 88’s 40th Anniversary and the “Me and My Zero 88” competition, being ahead of the curve on natively supporting GDTF, the Simplifying Jargon videos, “Live at the Congress” Events and #WeMakeEvents campaigns over COVID, updating the Zero 88 website, our yearly Advent Calendars, our April Fools Day posts (anyone remember FLX switching to Roman Numerals or the new ZerOS Wing SD?) and the High Altitude Balloon into near space competition. So many great memories, fun, experience, knowledge and friendships have been made during this time which are, and will continue to be, very, very special to me. The Vari-Lite team are committed to continuing this good work – with plans to develop and support both ZerOS & FLX S, along with RigSwitch+, Neo X and VisionNet. I wish them all continued success with those projects. So, from me, it’s Time to Say Goodbye. And thank you.

Vari-Lite has announced the ZerOS 8 software update for FLX, FLX S and ZerOS Server. The update doubles the capacity of Vari-Lite’s FLX S Series consoles, removing the need for paid universe upgrades, and further increases the integration between Vari-Lite’s FLX S consoles and new RigSwitch+ power platform. With ZerOS 8, FLX S24 & FLX S48 now support 96 & 192 fixtures respectively, both now across 2,048 DMX channels (equivalent to 4 full DMX universes). Not content with doubling the fixture count and channel license, ZerOS 8 also doubles the number of playbacks, groups and palettes available on all FLX S consoles. The full size FLX and ZerOS Server also receives an upgrade to 4,096 channels (equivalent to 8 full DMX universes). With ZerOS 8, users can add relay circuits to every fixture on their console without further eating into their fixture count. These relays can be manually controlled or users can allow ZerOS to automatically control the relays - switching each individual circuit on when the fixture plugged into it is needed, and switching it off when they’re not. Vari-Lite has also simultaneously released ZerOS 7.14.4 specifically for legacy ZerOS consoles, improving both performance and stability to these consoles. Download the latest version of ZerOS free of charge from the Vari-Lite website: https://www.vari-lite.com/global/products/zeros-software

Dear All, After over seven years, and over 3,000 forum posts, it is time for me to say farewell to my time at Zero 88 (now Vari-Lite). Working for Zero 88 has been a pleasure, and I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of this active group of forum members. We were on ZerOS version 7.9.2 when I joined, and FLX S wasn't even around yet. Since then, ZerOS has come a long way, and is now more stable and feature-rich than ever. The ZerOS online manual, plus all the ZerOS training videos, mean that all aspects of ZerOS are now documented to enable users to get the most out of their consoles. I want to say a massive public thank you to @Jon Hole. Over these years he has been a brilliant mentor and friend (and my manager for a period of time!), and was instrumental in me getting into my role at Zero 88 in the first place. Jon and I will of course keep in touch, and hopefully work together again some time in the future. So, I'll type ENTER ENTER @ . RECORD ENTER, and record a fade to black on this chapter. Thanks again to everyone. I really have enjoyed my role. Edward

Hi all, I've been reading your replies and they've really meant a lot to me, thank you. I've deliberately waited a few weeks before replying. All the very best for the future and, if you're at a trade show in the future, please come and say hello - this LinkedIn post shows where I've headed to, if you're interested! Jon

Good luck Jon but I'm not surprised. TBH since the Varilight take over it's felt like the beginning of the end. The issue of the latest software will probably be the last so I hope we all got our wish list items sorted.

My sentiments exactly. Keith, Edward and now you. My disappointment knows no bounds.

I notice the two support personnel Jon quotes above have a combined contribution of posts on this forum of exactly zero (since Sept/Nov 2024 when they joined). Looks like we're on our own folks, or they've got some work to do to establish their credibility and start making an active contribution - which I guess is part of what they are paid to do (unlike us). A 'hello' and a short resume would be a start…

@DMH @RJP To be fair, some good answers there and, if delivered, could help the situation but... How it looks is important. In the absence of a published plan and feedback on progress, its all we have. We used to have trust but that has to be earned so, come on Vari-lite, start looking better. You've bought the rights to good hardware and software with an established customer base - many of whom have been using Z88 products for years, decades even @pcollins666. An unpaid sales force that was more than happy to sing the praises of a company that looked after them, had a solid track record of supporting them and of steady innovation. What do you think those established customers are saying to your potential customers now? It's clear the full FLX had to be discontinued but there's no talk of a replacement. The in-person training has stopped. Cwmbran is no longer a service centre and there are none listed on the Vari-Lite Web site in the UK (the two "dealers" listed are a 2nd hand equipment seller and a hire company). Plus, to return to the origin of this thread, there is now a charge for fixing the (inevitable) gaps in the fixture library. These things are probably not Vari-Lite's fault but what is being done to address them? How could I, in all conscience, reccomend a Z88 product today?

As a Zero88 stalwart user and supporter for more than 30 years, I asked a few questions just about what we might expect in the way of support following Edward & Jon’s departures. I did receive a prompt reply in red below. It at least gives their intent and maybe a base for us to push from…. With my two good friends, Jon Hole & Edward Smith departing in quick succession, can you describe the changes to the support services that we are likely to see going forward. I understand how this must look but I would like to reassure you the software development team that are in the background are still very much here and as will has a dedicated support department. The support department is manned in the UK and US so we can offer better global coverage. Up to this point I’ve had personal FLX Support response to emails usually within one working day. We do still try to respond withing 24/48 hours to direct emails, however this will also depend on workload as we also cover on site visits. Instant phone call response for show critical issues. Are there still FLX console experts available to take technical enquiries? We have and have always had an out of hours emergency response number, this is available from the Vari-lite website. Please find below the link. https://www.vari-lite.com/global/support/technical-support Daily monitoring and responding to forum posts, usually within one working day. No spam posts. The forum appears already to be out of control. The forum has slipped behind as we have been dealing with direct customer support, we are currently working on a solution to this. Fixture Library addition requests created and emailed back usually within one working day. We are creating fixture files for customers but as the workload has increased we have had to increase the estimated turn around time to up to a possible 21 days. We understand this is a big difference and we do endeavour to do them ASAP which is usually between 1 and 3 days. If the file is urgent, we recommend the customer creates the file themselves as this is a very easy process within the ZerOS Software, please see the link below. https://www.zero88.com/manuals/zeros/patching/add-fixtures/fixture-creator Ongoing ZerOS development with bug fixes and new features. Are there still dedicated ZerOS software developers actively in post? As I mention above, the software develop team has not changed this has in fact increased with developers in the UK, US and New Zealand. A roadmap for ZerOS progression, shared with users. A monitored ‘What would you like to see in ZerOS’ poll. Regular beta testing releases with feedback being acknowledged and logged. Updates and improvements to training manuals and YouTube content following ZerOS releases. Thank you for your suggestions, I will forward them to the product management team. As you can see from the above, Zero88 provided a truly comprehensive service to its users, at no extra cost. I would like to hope that a similar service will continue to be provided from the company that has the iconic and industry respected name of Vari-Lite. Thank you for your questions and I hope you find our response reassuring. We are constantly looking at our processes and internal procedures to improve the customer experience.

The answer to that lies in this forum over the last few months. As a 30 year user/buyer myself, it’s spelled out in big fat letters. It’s the end of the line folks I’m afraid, they’re not interested. Jon managed to get in a last gasp with ZerOS 8 before he left. That will be the last, I’m sure of it. Zero88 and its beloved products and employees are no more.

@Jon Hole I wish you future success in your forthcoming move. I think Zero88 now have their work cut out to maintain the support levels we have enjoyed in recent times.

I'm my red mist I've so far failed to acknowledge @Jon Hole. My apologies. Thanks for so much Jon over the years - great products, accurate and timely support, recruiting some other great team members, and putting up with some quite strong feedback and comments from us on here. You will be missed as will all of the legacy Z88 team. Good Luck!

I took "forum admins" to mean they sort out the forum when it dies and deal with inappropriate posts. So, yes, my assumption has been that the prompt and helpful days of Edward and Jon are over and we are, as you say, "on our own". I, for one, would be delighted to have this cynical and depressing assumption proved wrong. The newish thread - 16 bit intensity really 8 bit - is one that seems to require their attention (even though you have tried to help).

Que dire de plus, sinon la même chose qu'à Edward : Merci Jon pour ta pédagogie, ta patience, la pertinence de tes réponses, cela a toujours été un plaisirs d'échanger avec toi, un grand professionnel qui m'a toujours bien aidé ... bonne continuation à toi

What? No! I only just discovered Edward had gone. Pantos will never be the same again. Many thanks for your above-and-beyond support for a little minnow. Simon in Wargrave.

Wow, is really the end of almost an era and of those I knew in Cymbran. Thank you for all your help and guidance over the years. Will miss catching up with you when I was driving by and also at the trade shows 😢 @Jon Hole all the best for the future

You always knocked up a fixture profile so quick, and your advice was worth its weight in gold. I sincerely hope Veri Lite realize what they are losing. I hope you remain in the industry, you are too good to lose. Thank you so much for all the support you have given me and ultimately the theatre group and audiences who benefited from it. All the best Edward. Rob McDonald

Smart tag... Great at what it's meant for (recording cues in a stack for playback "on the button") confusing and a nuisance under other circumstances, especially for setting up a desk for busking (IMHO). Tracking similar. Default values, again great at making sure something happens when you raise intensity but default colour of white seems to throw a lot of people. Personally, I set R=G=B=0 as default for all RGB fixtures as a matter of course (and then get confused when I raise intensity and get full on black before remembering that was what I asked for 😁). Whilst having a mini rant... social media may not be the best place to look for help @kgallen and I and a few others watch this forum regularly and there's a lot of expertise here.

Hear hear... Where's the downvote button when you need one ⬇️ I wonder how long until the FLX S is canned - I had slight optimism at the ZerOS 8 launch that it sounded like FLX S would be hanging around for a while (https://www.vari-lite.com/global/news/releases/zeros-8-0) - perhaps not much longer with the 'core' Z88 team all gone now. Still wonder if we'll ever hear from our new Vari-Lite admins on this forum? (it's not too late to introduce yourselves, we don't bite! Would be great to get some of your insights on the future of FLX to allay our concerns!) Signed - a loyal Z88 user

@Davidmk I suspect you are pretty much bang on with all you say. I don't think Vari-Lite are interested in the console business, or any of Zero88's products. I think Zero88 was just a tiny operation that came along with their bigger purchase of Signify (or whatever transient companies bought the stable that included Zero88 on the way). Zero88's Cwmbran manufacturing operation is (/was, if it still exists) pretty much over to subcontract electronics build. They'll make a few Zero88 product batches as and when demand requires it. I suspect that will dwindle and drop off as demand drops and the lack of successor products means the Zero88 brand disappears. This forum will be funded until someone high up in VL realises they are spending money on it and/or the traffic drops off to a level they think there is no need for it any more. We've probably missed the boat but it would be desirable to get the schematics, Bills-of-Materials and if possible software source code out of the remaining Z88 databases and into the "public" domain before VL type "rm -rf /*" on it all and forget it ever existed. The software source code might be tricky as it might contain sub-licensed IP such that it doesn't have a GPL type license, I don't know, this is not my area. I've not heard anything about any new products with the Z88 brand and there is no evidence to date on the beta forum of ZerOS development work post 8.0 (although JonH did suggest there was an ongoing development plan on his leaving speech). But I don't think there is "anyone" left from Z88 to do this. I think Simon, the key software guy, was probably a sub-contractor [I could be wrong], so will have moved on to other ventures to keep paying his mortgage. If he is about, he's been very quiet and hasn't posted on here at all to say "don't panic guys, we're still here (just)". Time will tell. But I'm not holding my breath.

If Vari-lite aren't interested in ZerOS, it would be good if they could put the source code in the public domain so it could be turned onto an open-source project.

Spam seems to be getting worse on the daily! Perhaps some sort of user verification is required?

Hey, so I tested the show file during the final rehearsals on Friday and on two shows today. They work perfectly. Without you, those fixtures wouldn't have been used in this production. Thank you SOOOOOO much, you're the best! ♥ ♥ ♥ All the best from Leipzig Lena

Update as promised: Using the personality in the desk, and when viewing the DMX Output charts under the Z Key, the values corresponding to CMY remained on '0' even after changing colour parameters, or running colour effects etc. Definitely confirmed it was a personality error at this point. So using the inbuilt fixture editor, I took a copy of the existing personality and amended the CMY control channels to be 'Other Colour' control parameters. This worked and enabled the encoders to control the CMY parameters, however colour palettes or picker didn't work as the desk didn't know what colour they actually were. So I then edited the 'copied' personality, changed the 'Other Colour' parameters back to CMY, which then worked as it should have done so in the first place. I now have full control of CMY, using colour palettes or the colour picker! No idea what was going on, but quite the oddity and an annoying time sponge trying to resolve! Either related or unrelated, I also had the desk crash four times throughout plotting, so will forward on the crash reports to the team after the show is done. Thanks again all for suggestions, research, and the created fixture profile @kgallen

Hi @Lena Here you go, all three modes (phew!). Everything is in there including all channel "details". You will find lots of channels under Colour and Beam(shape) so you'll have to rotate through the "pages" of them on your S24. However there is a limitation in what I've created. The FLX S24 will support multi-cell fixtures and the TMH-W555 looks like it could benefit with being defined as a multi-cell fixture for the 36 and 48 channel modes. However the Windows Fixture Editor does not support this (as it's a new console feature). You would need to request such an enhanced fixture definition from Vari-lite (or write one using GDTF which I'm not capable of!!!). I'm not sure if the colour palettes will work in the 36 and 48 channel modes as I've not picked any of the RGBW 1/2/3/4/5/6/7 as "primary". But they should work fine in the 24 channel mode. You'll have to see how you go on in 36/48 channel mode and come back to me if it's a little unworkable - I would need you to tell me which segment 1-7 you want to be "primary". Just put this file on a USB stick and use Load on the console. When you patch it, it will show in red text as a "non-library fixture". Enjoy! (ps there is a lot of info I've had to enter so if you see an error or spelling mistake, let me know) eurolite_tmh-w555.ift

Raise lower effectively emulates moving the faders, which are limited to 8bit. All other calculations for fades etc, are 16bit. I have raised this as issue ZOS-12581 for future consideration.

Thanks guys, saving a group with intensity is a great help. Confirmed it doesn't link the group level into the cue, so unlike a palette, changes to the Group levels don't affect existing cues. I also found the trick to turn off Smart Tag so I can save lights into the Group with zero intensity. Allowed me to clean up existing cues that were a bit randomly balanced so they're all identical. S

Wasn't expecting to see this, thank you for all of your support @Jon Hole, hopefully the other support reps will be able to match your knowledge and activity. I wish you all of the best in the future, you'll be sorely missed!

denks @kgallen and @Davidmk for taking the time to answer. Just to complete if anyone is interessted; to get different fade in times for different lamps i did following (with the exemple my post above): Programming channels 1 thru 6 with fade time 10sec on MasterPlayback. Programming an empty cue on PB1 and a second cue with channel 7 and 8 with fade-time 3sec. with the cue on MasterPlayback it auto-trigger a macro (recoded as -go PB1-) befor i trigger the cue on MasterPlayback, raised the Fader on PB1 manually so the empty cue is active. (did this even befor the show started, so i didn't had to worried about anymore) easy. good evening

@Jon Hole just announced a ZerOS 8.0 'Release Candidate' in the beta-release testing forum yesterday. (7.15 is no longer a thing..!) I should imagine a couple more weeks with final testing and it'll be published.

Yes it does and yes it works. RGB now!

I think the issue is that DMX values can run to a lot more digits than percentages. Allowing for all those digits in the screen layout would require less information visible and/or smaller fonts. Also if it was displaying 128 (for example) how would you know if that was 128 (50%) out of 255 or out of 65536 (20%). There is method in this particular bit of madness. The wheels show the DMX value by default. I have a feeling you can change that to % but I suspect most people change it back pretty quickly.

@kgallen @Charlie Newman Hmm. A DMX value of 5 (out of 255) is pretty much 2 and I think the fixture profile works in DMX value while the display works in %. If in doubt check the manual and/or the DMX output window.

The school has a new lighting desk so there is a working Jester going free to anyone who wants to collect it, Aylesbury area. Just message me if interested

These two beta's are now available though our beta forum (I said by the end of September!) I wasn't expecting both together, but it's great that we've managed to!

Apologies on picking up on this so late. Ed was such a great tutor and producer of fantastic reference material I hardly visit the forum now. None the less I would also like to say a huge and genuine thanks to Ed. He even put time aside in the evenings for Skype calls to help me understand and run ZEROs. Good luck Ed in your chosen new direction and thanks again. It was folks like you who fuelled my loyal support for and in Zero 88. All the Best.... Mac

Thank you for your precious help, you will be sorely missed! You set the bar pretty high, whoever comes next is going to have some really big shoes to fill! Best wishes for the future!

Oh... 😞 But congratulations! You chaps have had admirable sticking power over the years and many changes at what "was" Zero88. I thank you for your support, help and professional friendship over these years and wish you all the best for the future! Hopefully you are staying in the wider industry so might still "see you around"? I do seriously fear for the brand now though. It would be quite understandable that Jon might consider his future with the loss of several of the core "team". I would but hope he choses to stick around but it must weigh on his mind. Kindest, Kevin

Hello Edward All looks good. Many thanks for your reply.

I have been experimenting a bit with OSC and faced the issue of the software being recommended for windows being Show Cue Systems. While I have no doubt it's brilliant, for my limited requirements, it's a little pricey. All I needed was to start some music and be able to have a desk change cues at set points of the music. I came across Multiplay software and found that it has all the features I require. So far I've only run it with the Phantom software, looping back via 127.0.0.1 localhost, but I see no reason it won't run with the actual desk when I get a chance to run it, long as the IP address is updated. I've done a screen recording which should show all the required information to get you going quickly, but I'll type the main points. Going to File > Production Properties > Network, you can add a network patch. Patch name isn't important, as long as the destination IP is your desk, the port for OSC is 8830 (or whatever your non factory setting is changed to on your own desk) and the encoding is OSC. Next you need to select a Network Cue (little icon that looks like an RJ45 connection). Description is the only important part of the Common tab, then in the network messages tab, you need to select the Zero88 network patch (or whatever you named it above) and create an ASCII command with the form /zeros/cue/go/<cue number>. In the video I have created a cue 0.1 which sets everything to black each time everything is run, so the lights come on with the music. For the Cue 0.1 alone, I also change the Cue Advance options to Action: End Play and Target: Next Cue and the Post Wait option to 1.00 seconds, so that when it is played, as soon as it does its 1 second to make sure the desk has time to move everything back to black, it then advanced to the next cue. All the other cues are just duplicates of this with the description changed and the cue number changed in the ASCII command. You can just add as many of these as you require. None of these have the above options for Waiting and going to the next cue of course. I then insert an Audio file just below the Cue 0.1 cue, which is played once Cue 0.1 has done its 1 second wait. You can obviously select whatever audio file you need to run in the Audio tab. The important bit for this is the Cue Points tab. I add a list of New Cue Points for each of the cues from 1 onwards. Time is changed for each one to be the time in the audio playing that I want the desired cue to be run on the desk. The target option is the name of the Cue I want to run, based on the description of the cue. As such, you could imagine making a standard file with a large number of cues and cue points, then putting in the times for the ones you need and deleting any after that point you don't need. Just a note also that the OSC command I have used runs a cue in the current playback, so make sure you have the correct playback active. You can use cues that run a given cue in a specific playback if you need to. For more information on the possible OSC commands, you can check this link: https://www.zero88.com/manuals/zeros/setup/triggers/osc-examples Not saying this is the best way to do it, but it's a way I've got it working and it's free to try. Hope it proves useful to someone. You can find the screen recording here:

Darren @DMH, Ryan @RJP any thoughts on the matter, is this a bug? I also cross posted to the Facebook group, someone called Bobby who also appears to work at Vari-lite left me with no solution either. Disappointed at the new 'service' level!

Have fixed.. full update tonight. Thanks both!

@Davidmk Thank you for your response. I'm not back in the theatre until Tuesday evening but will check out the Event Monitor then to see if anything is reaching the desk. All network connections are wired and the PC doesn't have WIFI so shouldn't be a network issue but you never know with networking.

@kgallen Yep, seen it but busy ATM. @saitekx830 Settings both ends look good will give it some thought later.

The default "snap" behaviour of colour is probably the designer's intended answer to this conundrum, especially in the situation where we're not starting from black and something else had control. But the snap looks awful and I really want to avoid that, and hence I would indeed normally configure fader-controls-colour. That's really what I want, it's just the default colour that's the issue. From a philosophical point of view, I should probably reconfigure all the LED fixtures so their default colour is black rather than white. Then if I bring up the intensity and nothing happens it's simply my fault for not telling the board what colour I want yet. Typically my very next step would be to adjust the colour anyway so it might not be too bad. I think I'll try that when I next get access (if I have time). My memory is that the board wouldn't accept that but I'd settle for a dim grey. From a practical point of view it's yet another thing that can stop a light coming on unexpectedly, and there are already enough of those. And other users of the board might object to such a change. I'll see how it goes.

Ah that’s a shame - I must have missed you. I was there all day Monday too in a personal capacity.

I will try if I can get my hands on such a device. I'll keep you posted if it happens. Thanks for the support, great as always !