European RDM and sACN Developers Conference and Plugfest
April 2017
Information for Participants
The Conference
This Developers Conference and Plugfest, supported by PLASA Technical Resources, aims to
provide a European forum for manufacturers, designers, consultants and prospective users;
and to ensure that the adoption of these new standards achieves desired levels of
interoperability and reliability.
Who should attend?
The conference is designed to appeal to product development engineers, and will have
relevance to Lighting Designers, System Integrators, Theatre Consultants, Production
Electricians and Rental company technical staff who wish to keep up to date with the latest
trends in system interoperability. Wednesday sessions are designed to appeal to all categories
of participant. Thursday and Friday will be focus on product development engineers who are
either considering or actively implementing these standards. The Plugfest will run throughout.
Why should I attend?
As products using the ESTA RDM and ACN standards are now common in the market place,
ensuring that your products actually comply and deliver interoperability is important. The
Conference and Plugfest provides you access to a vast pool of industry knowledge and
expertise together with direct access to individuals who have helped create and define the
communication protocols relevant to the Entertainment Lighting community.
This year we will have special presentations on the latest in RDM Responder
conformance testing, recent public review developments of further extensions and
added functionality to RDM, and developments on ArtNET and RDM.
Schedule
The first day will comprise presentations on the current state of play with RDM, sACN and
RDMnet and the latest developments in testing and product evaluation whilst the following two
days will be more technically oriented, with emphasis on the hands on Plugfest format and
practical tests of interoperability and conformance.
Wednesday 26th April Conference/Plugfest
Registration will be from 09:00
Scheduled events will be from 09:30 till 17:30 with a break for lunch.
Thursday 27th April Plugfest
Scheduled events will be from 09:00 till 17:30 with a break for lunch.
Friday 28th April Plugfest
Scheduled events will be from 09:00 till 16:00 with a break for lunch.
The event will close at 16:00 and the venue will be vacated by 17:00
Please refer to the separate schedule of presentations for more details as they are published.
For those arriving on the Tuesday evening, before the event, and when scheduled events have
concluded on Wednesday and Thursday, there will be ample opportunity for informal
discussions to continue in the bar. For participants keen to continue debugging, informal
“plugfest for night-owls” sessions usually resume after dinner.
Registration and Attendance
Participation is by invitation, and limited to registered delegates.
A single registration fee of UK£110 per person (UK£85 to delegates from PLASA member
PLASA Technical Resources in Action
(About 2017 r1.1)
Gatwick Manor April 26-28 April 2017
European RDM and sACN Developers Conference and Plugfest
April 2017
companies) (UK£60 Full time Students), payable in advance. This covers participation and a
buffet lunch. Delegates may attend one or more days as they think appropriate. The
registration fee is fixed, regardless of the number of days you attend, but you are required to
indicate your proposed level of participation in advance, to allow for us to organise the
required level of catering!
Payment may be made on the PLASA website : https://www.plasa.org/rdm/pay.asp
Accommodation
Rooms are available at the ‘Gatwick Airport South’ Premier Inn, which is located in the grounds
of the Gatwick Manor where the Conference and Plugfest will be held.
Rooms MUST be booked directly with Premier Inn.
To contact the Hotel directly, follow the link
http://www.premierinn.com/en/hotel/GATGAT/gatwick-airport-south
Please note that there are several Premier Inns in the vicinity of Gatwick Airport, but it is the
Gatwick South, at London Road, Lowfield Heath, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 9ST that you
want.
There is also an Ibis Hotel nearby.
http://www.ibis.com/gb/hotel-1889-ibis-london-gatwick-airport/index.shtml
Room are ‘double rooms’ which usually means 1 bed for two people. For more details, please
contact the Hotel directly.
Directions
On arrival, the Premier Inn is behind the Gatwick Manor. If arriving by car, follow the road
around to the right of the Manor and you will find a large shared car park for both venues.
When standing in the car park, with the Premier Inn on your right, the back of the Gatwick
Manor is immediately in front of you, and the Loxwood Suite is on your left.
By Road
To Gatwick Manor, Post Code RH10 9GY
From M23 J10, follow the A2011 to Crawley.
At the 1st roundabout, take the 3rd exit following the A2011.
At the next roundabout take the 4th exit, following the A23. Go through 3 sets of traffic lights.
At the next roundabout take 2nd exit following the dual carriageway, passed the Gatwick
Manor, which will be on the opposite carriageway.
At the next roundabout take 3rd exit to return on the other side of the dual carriageway to the
Gatwick Manor. The Premier Inn Hotel is situated behind Gatwick Manor.
From Gatwick Airport
The G23 bus runs between the Airport and Gatwick Manor and the Hotel from Gatwick Airport
North (Bus stop 8) and South (Bus stop 9) terminal every 40 minutes, the cost is circa £3.50.
There is also a service bus [MetroBus Fastway Route 100] that runs from the airport to a stop
directly outside Gatwick Manor. It runs about every 20minutes, and is the cheapest option –
about £3. Exit the South Terminal building via the stairwell or lifts toward the North end of the
terminal. Follow the signs (or ASK!) to local Metro bus services. This will bring you out on the
A23 road that runs under the terminal building. Follow the signs and go under the road to the
bus stop for routes heading south towards Crawley. It is just two stops on route 100 to
Gatwick Manor.
http://www.metrobus.co.uk/travel-info/
PLASA Technical Resources in Action
(About 2017 r1.1)
Gatwick Manor April 26-28 April 2017
European RDM and sACN Developers Conference and Plugfest
April 2017
From Heathrow Airport
National Express operates the only direct link between Heathrow and Gatwick Airports, with up
to six services per hour. Tickets can be purchased online, from National Express ticket desks or
from the coach driver. The journey time is approximately 75 minutes and the single fare is
around £25. (Returns can be purchased in advance and may be slightly cheaper)
http://www.nationalexpress.com/coach/Airport/London-Heathrow-Airport.apx
Please note that taxis from Heathrow are the most expensive way to travel, and may exceed
the cost of your flight! Read these notes for the preferred options.
Equipment
Gatwick Manor will accept shipments of equipment from Monday 24th April. Please mark all
consignments “PLASA RDM EVENT”. Please contact us ahead of time if you need your
equipment collected on the Monday after the event.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a “Plugfest”?
The “Plugfest” is a hands- on opportunity for product developers to try their products and code
implementations with products from a variety of other manufacturers, with support from their
industry peers in an environment that encourages co-operation and improved understanding of
the standards, and with the aim of achieving high levels of interoperability. Typically,
engineers participate in these events with the ability to code and debug aspects of their
implementations on site, sometimes retreating to their hotel rooms to craft improvements
before returning to the Plugfest to continue testing.
The sessions, despite their apparent informality, can be a valuable opportunity to learn how
not to make the same mistakes or misguided assumption as others may have experienced.
Who is organising the Event?
This event is organised by Peter Willis (Howard Eaton Lighting) and Hamish Dumbreck (JESE
Ltd), in conjunction with Ron Bonner (PLASA Technical Resources).
Power
Standard UK power is 240VAC 50Hz. We will only have access to single phase supply using the
standard UK domestic 13A sockets. We are organising plenty of 13A distributions boards, 13A
extension cables and DMX cables, but if you need Schuko, 16A C-Form or other adaptions
please bring them along !!
Equipment
We aim to provide a selection of fixtures and an array of 128 responders for use by
participants. A full list of known device capability will be made available. We also plan to have
a work area setup for more formal responder analysis and review.
Should I book accommodation for Tuesday night?
If you are travelling from Europe, or are more than 2hours drive from the venue, it may be
advisable to book your accommodation from the Tuesday evening.
More questions?
All enquiries and registration requests should be sent to Ron Bonner [email protected]
PLASA Technical Resources in Action
(About 2017 r1.1)
Gatwick Manor April 26-28 April 2017