ETC is making sure that great professional moving light control is available to any production - no matter how small or budget-challenged. ETC's SmartFade ML - ML for moving lights - brings ETC-quality control to the smallest venues and events, within a super compact, portable and easy to use board. The latest addition to ETC's Smart Solutions line of basic lighting gear - which includes portable control consoles, dimmers, luminaires and stands - the SmartFade ML will be a smart choice for small touring acts, schools, product launches, corporate events and countless other applications.

SmartFade ML brings professional features like palettes, parameter "fan" and built-in dynamic effects to novice and experienced users alike. Its direct access style of operation means that students, volunteers and non-technical staff can be lighting memorable shows in minutes.

With a capacity for up to 24 moving lights and an additional 48 intensity channels (dimmers), plus the ability to patch to two complete universes of DMX512A (1,024 outputs), SmartFade ML provides a solid range of control for smaller lighting rigs.

ETC engineered the SmartFade ML with innovative colour-coded backlit keys to make it easy to operate in the dark without requiring additional worklights. The keys and built-in LCD displays also provide status feedback for the rig without the need for an external monitor.

ETC Controls Product Manager Sarah Clausen says: "We designed this to be a take-it-out-of-the-box and plug-it-in device - handling lights in minutes. We wanted moving-light control to be accessible to any user."

SmartFade ML will make its European debut at ProLight + Sound from 28 March at two dealer stands - Amptown Lichttechnik (Stand 60, Hall 8) and Fischer Vertriebsgesellschaft (Stand 28, Hall 9) - and then move to AC Lighting North, ABTT and Showtech. Shipping is set to begin in June.