This week, TVOne released a truly opaque press release. But, when I went to learn more, I discovered a fascinating advance in coordinating the production of live event elements such as lighting, video playback, pyro, scenic automation, lasers, and audience systems like LED wristbands.
First, as an example of how not to write a press release, here’s the first paragraph.
tvONE, an ACT Entertainment brand, announces a significant firmware and software update for CALICO PRO video processors, introducing DMX control via sACN and a new EDID Manager in CALICO Studio v1.5 ― capabilities that bring video processing directly into the lighting workflow and give production teams unified command of every pixel on the rig.
For the acronym averse, here are some translations:
My background – though it was a while ago – is in live productions. So I reached out to Bob Bonniol, ACT Entertainment Chief Innovation Officer, to help me understand this.
Larry: Bob, is this release saying that this new protocol / software / hardware replaces a video switcher for live productions?
Bob Bonniol: It does what a video switcher does — and then some. CALICO PRO v1.5 with DMX control via sACN means a lighting programmer can trigger seamless video transitions, matrix routing, massive pixel canvas management, and multiview configuration — all at near-zero latency. So yes, it absolutely functions as a screens switcher in live production. But calling it a video switcher replacement is like calling a smartphone a calculator replacement — technically true, dramatically underselling it. CALICO PRO handles source routing, layout transitions, canvas management, effects, and processing in a unified workflow. For productions that want tight creative synchronization between light and picture, this is the tool that puts both in the same hands.
Larry: When I execute a lighting change, does that switch a camera?
Bob Bonniol: It can. But the real insight here is about workflow convergence. Major concert and broadcast productions have already voted with their rigs — the lighting console, most often the grandMA3, is already firing cues for lighting, video playback, pyro, scenic automation, lasers, and audience systems like LED wristbands. The console has become the conductor’s podium for the entire show. So with CALICO PRO’s DMX control, a single cue can trigger a lighting look change, a video transition, a screen layout shift — or any combination. You can switch a camera with a lighting change. You can also do one without the other. The point is that the creative timing of the show no longer depends on separate operators hitting “go” at the same moment and hoping for the best.
Larry: Is there an example of where this might be used?
Bob Bonniol: The most immediate example is live concert touring. A lighting programmer triggers a single cue that simultaneously changes the stage lighting look, transitions LED wall content, and adjusts screen layouts or effects via CALICO PRO — all authored in one timeline, all executed from one console. But the applications go well beyond concerts. Any production where video content needs to be tightly synchronized to music, event rhythm, or scenic automation benefits from this. There’s also a growing trend of pixel-mapping large lighting arrays with video content, which blurs the line between what’s “lighting” and what’s “video” entirely. The grandMA3’s recipes, phaser engine, and massive ecosystem of productivity plugins make it the dominant integrated control platform — and CALICO PRO v1.5 now speaks its language natively.
Larry, again. Thanks for sharing your time, Bob.
TVOne will be showing this at the upcoming NAB 2026. It fascinates me how it is becoming easier than ever to precisely trigger so many complex events.
Here’s a link to learn more: https://tvone.com/
