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September 21, 2007 - Draft DMX512 Cabling Standard Available for Review

BSR E1.27-2, Entertainment Technology - Standard for Permanently Installed Control Cables for Use with ANSI E1.11 (DMX512-A) and USITT DMX512/1990 Products, is available for public review through November 19, 2007. The draft standard describes the types of cable to be used in permanent installations to interconnect lighting equipment that comply with ANSI E1.11-2004 (DMX512-A) or with USITT DMX512/1990. The description includes definitions of acceptable cable and connector types and the ways in which they may be used. The draft standard and its supporting public review materials are available at http://www.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php.

August 16, 2007 - New Powered Rigging Standard Project: Electric Chain Hoist Control
The BSR E1.6 project to develop an American National Standard for powered theatrical rigging systems has a new project and part to the standard: E1.6-4, Control of Serially Manufactured Electric Chain Hoists Used in the Entertainment Industry. The E1.6 document has been broken into parts to facilitate its development and to better match the expertise of the people writing it. This newest part is an offshoot of the BSR E1.6-3 project, Selection and Use of Serially Manufactured Electric Chain Hoists in the Entertainment Industry. That project is to specify how chain hoists can be used safely in entertainment applications, which are very different from the applications for chain hoists in factories and materials handling situations. It has became clear that chain hoist control system safety is a complex topic, so the Rigging Working Group, at its meeting on 13 July 2007, voted to give control systems their own E1.6 part and development project.

August 16, 2007 - ANSI E1.11-2004 Revision Project Started
The Controls Protocols Working Group has started work to revise ANSI E1.11-2004, Entertainment Technology--USITT DMX512-A, Asynchronous Serial Digital Data Transmission Standard for Controlling Lighting Equipment and Accessories. The work at this time is focused on correcting errors in the published standard and rewriting difficult sections of text that have been shown to be confusing to readers who do not have American English as their native language. Most of the errors are clearly typographical or cut and paste errors, but correcting them may be considered making substantive changes to the document.

July 10, 2007 - BSR E1.6-2, Chain Hoist Standard, Available for Review
BSR E1.6-2, ESTA's draft standard for electric chain hoists used in the entertainment industry, is available for public review. Check it out at http://www.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php.

June 03, 2007 - Two Draft Electrical Safety Standards Available for Review Through July 30
Two draft electrical safety standards are available for public review on the ESTA website through July 30. The draft standards offer guidance on the use of GFCIs and the inspection for maintenance of stage and studio luminaires. The documents can be accessed at http://www.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php.

January 26, 2007 - A New Old Project Started for Ballast Cables
At its meeting on Friday morning, 19 January 2007, the Electrical Power Working Group voted to start the process of reaffirming ANSI E1.16 - 2002, Entertainment Technology – Configuration Standard for Metal-Halide Ballast Power Cables. The document describes a standardized grounding contact assignment for detachable power cables on 6kW, 12kW and 18kW metal-halide lamp ballasts for portable studio luminaires that use the MIL-C-5015 connector with #28-6 insert configuration on the ballast end of the power cable. In a nutshell, it says that contact A shall be used for the protective grounding contact. This advice, if followed, avoids the problems that can result when a power cord that uses A for power is plugged into a ballast that uses A for ground. (It's been done.) The standard is available on the ESTA website for free at http://www.esta.org/tsp/documents/published_docs.php.

December 06, 2006 - ANSI E1.17 - 2006, ACN, Is Now Available
ANSI E1.17 - 2006, Entertainment Technology - Architecture for Control Networks, better known as ACN, is now available for sale on The ESTA Foundation website. ACN is a suite of documents that specifies an architecture, including protocols and language, which may be configured and combined with other standard protocols to form flexible, networked audio, lighting, or other control systems. It can be implemented on networks that support UDP, IP, and related protocols. It is not bound to Ethernet as a transport medium, but Ethernet is an obvious choice.

November 09, 2006 - Draft Control Cabling and Hoist Standards Available for Review Through Christmas
BSR E1.27-2, Entertainment Technology—Standard for Permanently Installed Control Cables for Use with ANSI E1.11 (DMX512-A) and USITT DMX512/1990 Products, is available for public review through 25 December 2006. The draft standard describes the types of cable to be used to interconnect products that comply with ANSI E1.11-2004 (DMX512-A) or with USITT DMX512/1990 in permanent installations. The description includes definitions of acceptable cable and connector types and the ways in which they may be used. The draft standard and its supporting public review materials are available at http://www.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php.

October 31, 2006 - E1.3 Analog Reaffirmed, E1.17 ACN Approved
On Friday the Thirteenth of October 2006, the ANSI Board of Standards Review approved the reaffirmation of ANSI E1.3-2001, Entertainment Technology—Lighting Control Systems—0 to 10V Analog Control, making it the R2006 version of this control scheme. Six days later, on October 19, the Board of Standards Review approved ANSI E1.17-2006, Entertainment Technology - Multipurpose Network Control Protocol Suite, better known as ACN: Architecture for Control Networks. Both will be published in the next few weeks. The new ANSI E1.3, being a reaffirmation, has no substantive changes, so the new version will only differ from the 2001 version in its note that it is a reaffirmation and in the listing of working group members. ANSI E1.17 is a new standard that is a suite of more than a score of documents, some of which are hyperlinked to each other. It will take more work to prepare for publication, but absolutely minimal formatting changes are expected to be made to the documents that were offered to the public in the last review, which should shorten the preparation time. The biggest change and most pervasive change to the E1.17 documents will be adding the approval date on which it became an American National Standard to each of the documents in the suite.

October 19, 2006 - New Powered Rigging Project
The Rigging Working Group voted to start another powered rigging project at its meeting on 18 October 2006 at the Las Vegas Hilton. BSR E1.6-3, Safe Use of Serial Manufactured Electric Chain Hoists in the Entertainment Industry, is intended to give guidance (as the title suggests) on the operation and safe use of serial manufactured electric link chain hoists having capacities of two tons or less and used in the entertainment industry. This document will not cover the hoists themselves, but only how to use them in a manner that limits risk to an acceptable level.

August 14, 2006 - ANSI E1.20-2006 Remote Device Management (RDM) Is Here
ANSI E1.20-2006 Remote Device Management (RDM) for DMX512 has recently been published and is available for immediate purchase as a PDF or hardcopy. The PDF and hardcopy are available from ANSI's Electronic Standards Store or The ESTA Foundation . The list price is $40; member and quantity discounts are available. Members of the new ESTA Technical Standards Program Subscription Service automatically receive this new standard as well as copies of all published documents as part of their subscription.

August 14, 2006 - Four New Standards-Drafting Projects
Four new projects were started at the Technical Standards Program's working group meetings held by ESTA on July 13 through 15, 2006 at the Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport Marriott South in Ft. Worth Texas. BSR E1.33-200x, Extensions to E1.31 (DMX512 Streaming Protocol) for Transport of ANSI E1.20 (RDM); BSR E1.34-200x, Entertainment Technology-Measuring and Specifying the Slipperiness of Floors Used in Live Performance Venues; E1.35-200x, Standard for Lens Quality Measurements for Pattern Projecting Luminaires Intended for Entertainment Use; and E1.36-200x, Model Procedure for Permitting the Use of Tungsten-Halogen Incandescent Lamps and Stage and Studio Luminaires in Vendor Exhibit Booths in Convention and Trade Show Exhibition Halls. Anyone interested in joining a working group to work on these projects is invited to join. Information about joining a working group can be found at http://www.esta.org/tsp/working_groups/index.html. Anyone objecting to one of these projects because it is unnecessary or conflicts with an existing standard is invited to send his or her objections to standards@esta.org.

December 09, 2005 - Six New ESTA Technical Standards Program Projects
The working groups meeting at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando during the week of the LDI trade show, from the 9th through the 12th of November 2005, approved the initiation of six standards projects. ANSI requires that the initiation of projects be announced far and wide to affected parties so that people can be aware of the projects and can participate if they wish or can argue against the projects being undertaken if they are not needed or conflict with existing standards. People interested in working on a project (besides simply commenting during public review, which also is helpful) need to join the working group for the project. Information about joining working groups and about the need for voting members in under-represented interest categories in the groups is available at http://www.esta.org/tsp/news/newsdetails.php?newsID=153. People wanting to argue against a project being undertaken can write to standards@esta.org to express their concerns.

October 20, 2005 - ESTA announces the publication of the Camera Crane Operator’s Handbook
The Camera Crane Operator’s Handbook is an illustrated booklet that outlines safe practices and good advice for a variety of camera cranes in a variety of situations. The recommendations, coupled with common sense, good judgment, and proper evaluation of each situation, greatly reduce the risk of accidents with camera cranes.

October 12, 2005 - BSR E1.23, Entertainment Technology--Design and Execution of Theatrical Fog Effects, is available for public review
BSR E1.23, Entertainment Technology — Design and Execution of Theatrical Fog Effects, is available for public review through 27 December 2005 at http://www.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php. (The review will be over at midnight UTC when 28 December starts.) It is designed to offer atmospheric effects creators and operators guidance in the planning and execution of theatrical fog effects so that the health and comfort of workers and spectators shall not be compromised by excessive exposure to chemicals or by the obscuration of hazards or safe paths of egress. In addition, the draft standard is intended to help avoid nuisance triggering of fire detection systems, while preserving adequate functioning of the systems.

October 06, 2005 - 4th Edition Published of The Introduction to Modern Atmospheric Effects
ESTA announces the publication of a 4th edition of The Introduction to Modern Atmospheric Effects.

September 27, 2005 - Revision to ANSI E1.1-1999 Wire Rope Ladder Standard is Available for Public Review
A revised version of the existing ANSI E1.1-1999, Entertainment Technology - Construction and Use of Wire Rope Ladders, is available for public review through 13 December 2005. The document is available on the ESTA website at http://www.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php.

September 21, 2005 - Draft Floors Standard Available for Review
BSR E1.26, Entertainment Technology – Recommended Testing Methods and Values for Shock Absorption of Floors Used in Live Performance Venues, is available for public review until 7 December 2005. At this time, there is no recognized standard for measuring the energy absorption of theatre stage and rehearsal room floors, which can lead to disagreements about whether floors are too stiff or too flexible and difficulties in resolving these disagreements. Floors that are either can lead to performer injuries or excessive effort in performing dance or gymnastic movements. This draft standard is intended to ameliorate this lack of a recognized standard.

August 11, 2005 - Followspot Positions: Perfecting perfect perches
Interested in discussing followspot positions? If so, plan to attend ''Followspot Positions: Perfecting perfect perches'' scheduled to be held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday, November 12, 2005 from 11:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., as part of the ESTA Conference Track at the Entertainment Technology Show-LDI. Members of the Followspot Position Working Group present their work on a draft American National Standard BSR E1.28, Guidance on planning followspot positions in places of public assembly. Members of the audience will have opportunities to comment on the work, to offer suggestions, and to air complaints, and thus help the standards-drafting process. The moderators for the session will be Robin Crews of Wrightson, Johnson, Haddon & Williams, Inc. and Jack Schmidt of Special Lighting Solutions.

August 09, 2005 - BSR E1.24 Pin Connector Standard Is Available for Public Review
BSR E1.24, Entertainment Technology - Dimensional Requirements for Stage Pin Connectors, is available for review through 18 October 2005. The draft standard is a configuration standard covering the dimensional requirements and mechanical requirements related to intermateability for a series of split-pin and sleeve wiring devices known as Pin Connectors or Stage Pin Connectors that are used predominately in the theatre, television and motion picture industries in North America. It is not a safety standard. The public review materials are available at http://www.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php.

August 08, 2005 - BSR E1.20, RDM, Is Available for Public Review
BSR E1.20, Entertainment Technology - Remote Device Management over USITT DMX512, is available for public review through 11 October 2005. The standard describes a method of bi-directional communications over a USITT DMX512/1990 data link between an entertainment lighting controller and one or more remotely controlled lighting devices. The protocol also is intended to work with the ANSI E1.11-2004 control protocol. The public review materials are available at http://www.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php.

July 21, 2005 - GFCI Recommended Practice Available for Review
BSR E.19, Recommended Practice for the use of Class A Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs) intended for personnel protection in the Entertainment Industry, is available for public review. The draft standard gives advice on where, when, and how to use GFCIs in the entertainment industry. The official ANSI 60-day public review period starts on August 5, but the draft standard is available now at http://www.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php. The public review runs through October 4, and the links on the website will disappear at the beginning of October 5, the ending date noted.

July 18, 2005 - Working Group Members Needed
We need more people representing particular interest categories as voting members in some of the TSP's working groups. People from these interest categories who might be affected by the work of the groups and who are willing to attend meetings are invited to join. The general purpose working group membership application is available from http://www.esta.org/tsp/about/workgroups.html. Links on this page will also lead you to information about current working group projects.

May 13, 2005 - Fire Curtain and Fog Standards in Public Review
Two draft standards for fire safety curtain systems and fog effects, BSR E1.22 and BSR E1.23 respectively, have joined the two documents already available for public review on the ESTA website at http://www.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php.

April 13, 2005 - Draft Manual Counterweight Rigging and Temporary Stage Roof Standards Available For Review
Two draft rigging standards have been posted on the ESTA website for public review. BSR E1.4, Entertainment Technology—Manual Counterweight Rigging Systems, and BSR E1.21, Entertainment Technology - Temporary Ground-Supported Overhead Structures Used to Cover the Stage Areas and Support Equipment in the Production of Outdoor Entertainment Events, will be available on the ESTA website until the end of the day, midnight GMT, on 28 June 2005. They can be accessed at the Public Review Documents page.

March 14, 2005 - Errata Issued on ANSI E1.11
An errata has been issued to correct errors in Table 4 on page 15 of the published version of ANSI E1.11-2004. A corrected version of the document has been sent to ANSI for sale on its website, and errata pages have been sent to the hard-copy vendors.

February 09, 2005 - Five Draft Standards in Public Review
Five draft standards are now in public review and will be through April 26. The standards deal with wire rope ladders, theatrical boom & base assemblies (lighting trees), the ACN protocol, pin connectors, and flat-wall photometry. The documents are accessible on the ESTA website at http://www.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php. The date noted on the website of April 27 is when they will disappear and will no longer be accessible.

January 27, 2005 - Garl Takes the Helm of the TSC
Michael Garl, President of James Thomas Engineering, Inc. and current Chair of the Rigging Working Group, is assuming the Chair of the Technical Standards Committee and leaving the leadership of the Rigging Working group in the hands of Bill Sapsis, the current Co-Chair and President of Sapsis Rigging. The Technical Standards Committee will appoint a new Co-Chair to serve with Bill on the Rigging Working Group. Mike's first meeting as TSC Chair will be the meeting at the USITT Conference in Toronto on March 16.

January 27, 2005 - ANSI E1.11-2004 Is Now Available
ANSI E1.11-2004, Entertainment Technology — USITT DMX512-A — Asynchronous Serial Digital Data Transmission Standard for Controlling Lighting Equipment and Accessories, is available for purchase as a PDF or as a hardcopy. The PDF is available from ANSI's Electronic Standards Store. A hardcopy version is available from USITT and soon will be available from PLASA. The list price is $40; member and quantity discounts are available with the sales of the hardcopy version.

March 24, 2004 - Project Launched for a Standard on Permanent Followspot Positions
The Followspot Positon Working Group, part of ESTA's ANSI-accredited Technical Standards Program, has announced its first formal standards-drafting project. The project, BSR E1.28, Guidance on planning followspot positions in places of public assembly, is to address the problem of poorly designed followspot positions.

October 14, 2003 - Project Launched for a Stage and Studio Floors Standard
The Floors Working Group, part of ESTA's ANSI-accredited Technical Standards Program, has announced its first formal standards-drafting project. The project, BSR E1.26, Entertainment Technology - Recommended testing methods and values for shock absorption of floors used in live performance venues, will determine recommended ways of measuring the shock absorption of floors and will give recommended values for various types of live performance activities on the floors.

May 12, 2003 - ANSI Approves Glycol and Glycerin Fog Standard
On 12 May 2003, ANSI's Board of Standards Review approved ANSI E1.5-2003, Entertainment Technology - Theatrical Fog made with Aqueous Solutions of Di- and Trihydric Alcohols.

March 22, 2003 - New Photometry Project: BSR E1.25-200x
BSR E1.25-200x, Recommended Basic Conditions for Measuring the Photometric Output of Stage and Studio Luminaires by Measuring Illumination Levels Produced on a Planar Surface, is a new standards-drafting project intended to help manufacturers collect the data that is required to be reported in ANSI E1.9 - 2001, Reporting Photometric Performance Data for Luminaires Used in Entertainment Lighting.

February 04, 2003 - ESTA Announces a New Standard-Drafting Project for Stage Pin Connector Compatibility
The Electrical Power Working Group, part of ESTA's Technical Standards Program, has started a project to create an American National Standard E1.24-200x, Dimensional Requirements for Stage Pin Connectors.

February 03, 2003 - ESTA Announces a New Standard-Drafting Project for Theatrical Fog
The Fog & Smoke Working Group, part of ESTA's Technical Standards Program, is starting work on a new standards project, BSR E1.23, Entertainment Technology -- Design and Execution of Theatrical Fog Effects.

August 02, 2002 - Free ANSI E1.16-2002! Entertainment Technology - Configuration Standard for Metal-Halide Ballast Power Cables
The American National Standards Institute approved E1.16 as an American National Standard on 8 August 2002. The new standard, ANSI E1.16-2002, Entertainment Technology - Configuration Standard for Metal-Halide Ballast Power Cables, is available for free as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file.

May 17, 2002 - Two New Rigging Projects: BSR E1.21, portable stage roofs and BSR E1.22, fire curtain systems
The Rigging Working Group, part of the Entertainment Services and Technology Association's Technical Standards Program, has approved new standards projects BSR E1.21 and BSR E1.22 and notified the American National Standards Institute of their initiation.

August 01, 2001 - ESTA Launches Three New Standards Projects
The Entertainment Services and Technology Association has launched projects to draft three new American National Standards: BSR E1.18, BSR E1.19 and BSR E1.20.

July 02, 2001 - ESTA Publishes E1.3 Application Guide
The ESTA Board has approved the publication of an Application Guide for E1.3, Entertainment Technology -- Lighting Control Systems -- 0 to 10V Analog Control Specification.

May 08, 2001 - Standard for Fog Equipment Manuals Approved
On May 8, 2001, the Board of Standards Review of the American National Standards Institute approved ESTA's "Entertainment Technology - Recommendations for Inclusions in Fog Equipment Manuals."

March 21, 2001 - New Photometrics Standard Approved
The American National Standards Institute's Board of Standards Review approved E1.9-2001, Reporting Photometric Performance Data for Luminaires Used in Entertainment Lighting, as American National Standards on 21 March 2001.

March 21, 2001 - ANSI E1.3-2001, A New Standard for an Old Protocol
The American National Standards Institute's Board of Standards Review approved E1.3-2001, Entertainment Technology - Lighting Control Systems - 0 to 10V Analog Control Specification, on 21 March 2001. It is a standard for using DC voltages from zero to 10V to control lighting devices.

February 08, 2001 - Advanced Control Network Project to Draft a New American National Standard
The Advanced Control Network (ACN) project, which formally had been a feasibility study, is now officially a project to draft a new American National Standard. In keeping with the ANSI nomenclature for standards, the project is BSR E1.17, Entertainment Technology - Multipurpose Network Control Protocol Suite.

August 02, 2000 - ANSI Accepts E1.2 as an American National Standard
The American National Standards Institute has accepted the ESTA Technical Standards Program's standard for aluminum trusses and towers as an American National Standard. ANSI E1.2-2000, Entertainment Technology - Design, Manufacture and Use of Aluminum Trusses and Towers, was accepted by ANSI's Board of Standards Review on August 2, 2000.

April 11, 2000 - ESTA Announces the Start of a Standards-Drafting Project for Theatrical Boom & Base Assemblies
ESTA announces the start of the BSR E1.15 project to draft an American National Standard for the manufacture, assembly, and use of variable and fixed-height luminaire support devices, commonly referred to as "boom and base assemblies."