TSP Press Archive

March 11, 2024 - Three newly published standards and seven drafts in public review
ESTA’s Technical Standard Program announces three newly-published standard reaffirmations, and seven documents now in public review: Three of ESTA’s existing standards were approved for reaffirmation recently, and have been published, now available for free. Seven documents – one reaffirmation, two new draft standards, and four revised draft standards – are now in public review until 08 April 2024.

November 06, 2023 - ESTA's Technical Standard Program Announces Ten Draft Standards Now in Public Review
ESTA’s Technical Standard program announces ten draft standards now in public review: Six plus a suite of four. Ten public review action items came out of the recent October Technical Standards Program working group meetings held in Westlake, TX, where over 180 attendees across 10 discreet working groups came together to move draft standards in development another step forward. All of these public reviews will end on 12 December.

October 10, 2023 - NATEAC 2024 Opens Request for Proposals
The North American Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference (NATEAC) is a quadrennial event with sessions on a variety of topics relevant to the design and construction of performance venues. The producer of the event, the Entertainment Services and Technology Association (ESTA), is now accepting proposals for sessions for the July 2024 conference, which will be held in Brooklyn, New York.

May 31, 2023 - ESTA 2023 Plugfest Expands to Four Days
The ESTA Control Protocols Plugfest, the event where manufacturers and developers test their lighting products for interoperability, is scheduled to take place from October 5 to October 8, 2023, at the Marriott Dallas/Fort Worth in Westlake, Texas. This is the 19th instance of this informal testing laboratory. Attendance is free for both ESTA members and non-members!

March 26, 2023 - The late March 2023 ESTA Standards Watch is here!
The late March issue of ESTA Standards Watch is now available. Check it out!

March 06, 2023 - Early March 2023 ESTA Standards Watch is here!
The early March 2023 issue of ESTA Standards Watch is now available.

February 24, 2023 - Late February 2023 Standards Watch
The late February 2023 issue of ESTA Standards Watch is now available.

February 21, 2023 - A Trio of ESTA Standards in Public Review
Three ESTA standards—two new and one reaffirmation—are available for public review and comment on the ESTA website at http://estalink.us/pr. The downloads are free. Comments on all are due before 4 April 2023.

February 10, 2023 - Early February Standards Watch published
The early February 2023 issue of ESTA Standards Watch is now available.

February 01, 2023 - Richard Nix is ESTA's Next Technical Standards Manager
ESTA is proud to announce that Richard Nix is the new Technical Standards Manager for the Technical Standards Program (TSP). His predecessor, Karl Ruling, will stay on in a supporting role.

January 14, 2023 - Three ESTA standards approved by ANSI

ESTA is please to announce approval of three standards by ANSI's Board of Standards Review, marking a successful close to our 2022 standards development year.

ANSI E1.37-1 - 2012 (R2022), Additional Message Sets for ANSI E1.20 (RDM) -- Part 1, is part of the E1.37 project, and provides additional get/set parameter messages (PIDs). Most of the messages in this document are intended for use with entertainment lighting dimming systems. These additional messages allow access to configuration parameters commonly found in many theatrical dimming systems.

February 14, 2022 - Six ESTA Document in Public Review
Half a dozen documents are available for public review on ESTA's TSP website. They are free to download.

November 10, 2021 - Theatre Safety: Assessing Risks in Working at Height
The TSP would like to share an article from the November 2021 issue of High School Today, authored by Dana Taylor. The article focuses on ANSI E1.46-2018--Standard for the Prevention of Falls from Theatrical Stages and Raised Performance Platforms, the TSP's fall-prevention standard published in 2018 and available at tsp.esta.org/freestandards.

October 14, 2021 - ESTA Announces Yet Another ANSI Standard for Event Safety
We've just published another ANSI standard, developed by the TSP's Event Safety Working Group, and would appreciate it if you will please help spread the news. The press release follows:

October 13, 2021 - Press Release Announcing TSP Public Reviews
ESTA’s Technical Standards Program currently has five draft standards in active public review. The reviews are open to anyone having a material interest in the subject matter. The review opportunities are as follows.

February 23, 2021 - Three New ANS Projects

Two original, one revision: new American National Standards projects

Three new projects have been filed with ANSI. Two are for new standards, while one is for the revision of an existing standard. The projects are;

February 10, 2021 - ESTA Announces the Technical Standards Program's Above & Beyond Award Recipients
The Entertainment Services and Technology Association's (ESTA's) Technical Standards Program (TSP) announces the 2020 recipients of the annual Above & Beyond Awards!

August 04, 2020 - New ESTA Event Safety Standard Published
ESTA has just published a new event safety standard, available on ESTA's TSP standards download page. Please help publicize this by announcing on your news site, and in your next publication run. A press release is included below.

June 20, 2020 - Two Revised Standards and One New Standard Now Published

Three ESTA Standards Approved by ANSI's Board of Standards Review

In June, ANSI's Board of Standards Review has approved three more ESTA standards. One is a new standard, and two are revisions to existing standards. All three are published, and are available for free download from the TSP website at tsp.esta.org/freestandards. They are also available for sale from ANSI and IHS.

March 24, 2020 - ESTA Becomes a NOAA Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador
ESTA has been accepted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as a Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador. ESTA will be working with NOAA to improve the USA's readiness to deal with extreme weather, water, and climate events. This alliance was suggested by NOAA staff commenting on the ESTA/ESA draft standard, BSR ES1.7-20xx, Event Safety Requirements - Weather Preparedness. The draft offered for public review late last year echoes many of the safety planning measures recommended by NOAA for our industry. Working together, we can help to ensure that events can be safe, no matter what the weather.

January 30, 2020 - ESTA Announces the Technical Standards Program's Above & Beyond Award Recipients
The Entertainment Services and Technology Association's (ESTA's) Technical Standards Program (TSP) announces the 2019 recipients of the annual Above & Beyond Awards! These awards are peer to peer, designed to allow Technical Standards Program volunteers to recognize other outstanding volunteers.

October 01, 2019 - Behind the Scenes Requests Industry Participation in Online Survey as First Step in Developing a Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Initiative
Behind the Scenes, in response to concerns about the rising number of suicides and the prevalence of alcohol/substance misuse within the entertainment industry, is beginning work on a Mental Health and Suicide Prevention initiative and wants to get a sense of how many people in the industry are experiencing anxiety, depression, thoughts of suicide, problems with alcohol/substance misuse, or reactions to traumatic events.

September 25, 2019 - Three ESTA standards reaffirmed and published
On September 9, ANSI's Board of Standards Review approved the reaffirmations of three ESTA standards. The new editions are now published and available at no cost from the tsp.esta.org website or for purchase from ANSI and IHS. The three standards are:

September 04, 2019 - ESTA Announces ANSI Approval of RDMnet!
On 27 August ANSI’s Board of Standards Review approved E1.33 RDMnet, as an American National Standard. It is now published and available on the ESTA website at tsp.esta.org/freestandards. The American National Standard designation is internationally recognized as a mark of technical diligence and commercial impartiality.

September 03, 2019 - RDMnet approved and published
On 27 August 2019, ANSI's Board of Standards Review approved ANSI E1.33 - 2019, Entertainment Technology -- (RDMnet) -- Message Transport and Device Management of ANSI E1.20 (RDM) compatible and similar devices over IP Networks. It is now published and available at no cost from the TSP's Published Documents page.

May 20, 2019 - ESTA Plugfest Announces Free RDMnet Webinar!
The ESTA Control Protocols Plugfest organizers announced today that an “Introduction to RDMnet” will be broadcast live on Sunday July 21 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 P.M., CDT. This event is being offered free of charge to both ESTA and non-ESTA members!

May 06, 2019 - FIve ESTA Standards in Public Review
Five standards and draft standards are posted for public review on the ESTA website at http://estalink.us/pr. People materially affected by these standards or proposed standards are invited to visit the website and to comment on them before the comment due dates noted. In order of due-date and then alpha-numeric designation, the documents are:

February 21, 2019 - Help change the future of entertainment control--a survey
The Control Protocol's Working Group's Next Generation Task Group has created an online, ten-minute survey to determine how the standards already in the field are performing for stakeholders. How do standards such as DMX512, RDM, and sACN work for you? Do they make your job easier? Do you use all the features they offer? What kind of systems are you building with them? The task group wants to know the answers to these questions, so we're inviting you to spend ten minutes or less responding to an online survey at http://estalink.us/survey. Please write to protocolsatisfaction@esta.org with any questions or concerns.

February 21, 2019 - Seven ESTA TSP Documents in Public Review
Seven documents--six draft standards and one informational book--are posted on the ESTA Technical Standards Program website for public review through 8 April 2019. All are available at no cost at http://estalink.us/pr. In alphanumeric order, they are:

February 21, 2019 - ESTA's Above & Beyond Award Recipients
The Entertainment Services and Technology Association’s (ESTA’s) Technical Standards Program (TSP) is pleased to announce the 2018 recipients of the annual Above & Beyond Awards! These awards are peer to peer, designed to allow Technical Standards Program volunteers to recognize other outstanding volunteers.

February 21, 2019 - ESTA's Control Protocols Satisfaction Survey-Help Define Control Systems Interoperability
The Entertainment Services and Technology Association (ESTA) Technical Standards Program (TSP) is pleased to announce a Control Protocols Satisfaction Survey project to gather public input from end users about their usage of control protocols in the entertainment industry. The survey may be accessed at http://estalink.us/survey.

February 04, 2019 - ESTA's 2019 Plugfest Dates Announced!
The ESTA Control Protocols Plugfest, the event where manufacturers and developers test their lighting products for network interoperability, is scheduled to take place from July 19 to July 21, 2019 at the D/FW Marriott Solana in Westlake, Texas. This is the 17th version of this informal testing laboratory, and it is offered free of charge to both ESTA and non-ESTA members!

November 30, 2018 - Four more ESTA Standards Approved
Since November 6, ANSI's Board of Standards Review has approved four more ESTA standards. One is a reaffirmation of an existing standard, two are revisions to an existing standard, and the other is a new standard. All four are published, and are available for free download from the TSP website at tsp.esta.org/freestandards, thanks to the sponsorship of Prosight Specialty Insurance. They are also available for sale from ANSI and IHS.

November 16, 2018 - Four ESTA Standards Approved
On November 6, ANSI's Board of Standards Review approved four ESTA standards. Three are new or revised standards and one is the reaffirmation without changes of an existing standard. All four are published, and are available for free download from the TSP website at tsp.esta.org/freestandards, thanks to the sponsorship of Prosight Specialty Insurance. They are also available for sale from ANSI and IHS for the retail price of $40. The four standards are:

November 14, 2018 - ESTA's Technical Standards Program Announces New Website
ESTA's Technical Standards Program now has a new website with greatly improved navigation at http://tsp.esta.org. The new site makes finding the information you need much easier. A simple array of large icons on the homepage help you get directly to your relevant pages. Within each area, simplified menus on the right-hand side offer quick-links to popular pages and allow visitors to hop from page to page without having to go back to the main menu. The hover-over, drop-down submenus are gone, making the new site easier to navigate on a mobile device. It's thumb-friendly!

October 18, 2018 - Revised Standard Published, Two Posted for Public Review
Three bits of news from ESTA's Technical Standards Program: one revised standard published, one revised standard available for public review, and one standard available for public review for reaffirmation (no changes planned).

September 25, 2018 - ESTA Publishes New Standard for Raked Stages
ANSI E1.60 – 2018, Guidelines for the Use of Raked Stages in Live Performance Environments, was approved by ANSI's Board of Standards Review on Friday, September 21, and published on Monday, September 24. It can be downloaded at no cost from the ESTA TSP website at http://tsp.esta.org/freestandards. The no-cost download is made possible by the sponsorship of ProSight Specialty Insurance. It may be purchased for $40 from ANSI and IHS at https://webstore.ansi.org/ and https://global.ihs.com/ respectively.

September 24, 2018 - ESTA Posts Revised Standard for Mounting Overhead Equipment for Public Review
BSR E1.53, a revision of ANSI E1.53-2016, Overhead mounting of luminaires, lighting accessories, and other portable devices: specification and practice, has been posted for public review on the ESTA website at http://estalink.us/pr. The standard covers specifications for the primary and secondary mounting devices for portable stage and studio luminaires and accessories (e.g., c-clamps and safety cables). It also covers their use. The existing standard is being revised to clarify marking requirements and environmental considerations. Comments are due before November 20.

August 28, 2018 - ESTA Posts Four Documents for Public Review
BSR E1.29 - 2009 (R2014), Product Safety Standard for Theatrical Fog Generators that Create Aerosols of Water, Aqueous Solutions of Glycol or Glycerin, or Aerosols of Highly Refined Alkane Mineral Oil 
This standard is being considered for reaffirmation. It's intended to help guide product safety testing laboratories in evaluating fog-making equipment for design or construction defects that might create unacceptable hazards. It is based on UL 998 - 2006, Humidifiers, with modifications. Products covered are theatrical fog generators intended for use in professional theatrical entertainment, film and video production, theme parks, and fire safety training.

August 08, 2018 - ESTA posts two documents for public review
E1.33 - 201x, Entertainment Technology -- (RDMnet) -- Message Transport and Device Management of ANSI E1.20 (RDM) over IP Networks: This standard defines a method for carrying E1.20 (RDM) messages over IP networks. It also defines a scalable architecture for RDM message transmission that allows multi-controller environments with tens of thousands of RDM Responders. Additionally, a minimal protocol is defined for carrying non-RDM data over the same architecture.

July 26, 2018 - ESTA Posts Three Standards for Review
Three documents have been posted for public review on the ESTA website at http://tsp.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php. People materially affected by the standards are invited to review them and to comment on them. Two of the documents are reaffirmations of existing standards; one is a proposed new standard. The reviews run through September 24; please comment before September 25 starts. The documents are:

July 13, 2018 - ANSI Approves Standard to Prevent Falls from Stages
On Friday the 13th, the ANSI Board of Standards Review approved a revised version of ANSI E1.46, Standard for the Prevention of Falls from Theatrical Stages and Raised Performance Platforms. The standard has been revised to address changes to the OSHA regulations for fall protection, while keeping the document's useful guidance for preventing falls from stages into the orchestra pit or the house.

July 09, 2018 - ESTA Plugfest sACN Round Table!
The ESTA Control Protocols Plugfest organizers announced that a live, informal round-table discussion will be made available to the public via a free WebEx video conference. A discussion of “sACN Universe Synchronization” will be broadcast live on Sunday July 22 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 P.M., CDT.

June 12, 2018 - ESTA Plugfest Announces RDMnet Prototypes!
The organizers of the ESTA Plugfest are pleased to announce that RDMnet prototypes constructed to the most current version of draft standard E1.33, Transport of ANSI E1.20 (RDM) in an E1.31 environment, will be available for Plugfest 2018 participants.

June 12, 2018 - ESTA Plugfest Announces RDMnet Prototypes!
The organizers of the ESTA Plugfest are pleased to announce that RDMnet prototypes constructed to the most current version of draft standard E1.33, Transport of ANSI E1.20 (RDM) in an E1.31 environment, will be available for Plugfest 2018 participants.

March 23, 2018 - ESTA Plugfest Returns!
The ESTA Control Protocols Plugfest, the event where manufacturers and developers test their lighting products for network interoperability is scheduled to take place from July 20 to July 23 at the D/FW Marriott Solana in Westlake, Texas. Both ESTA and non-ESTA members are welcome to attend the 16th version of this event.

November 03, 2017 - International Code of Practice for Entertainment Rigging Now Available
ESTA and PLASA announce the release of an International Code of Practice for Entertainment Rigging (ICOPER) which is available as a free download at www.esta.org/icoper or www.plasa.org/icoper.

September 06, 2017 - Columbus McKinnon Donates Online Training Seats to ESTA’s TSP
Columbus McKinnon Corp. (CMCO) has donated 100 seats to their popular Lodestar Maintenance Training Course with the full registration fee going to support ESTA’s Technical Standards Program (TSP). You can sign up for the course at tsp.esta.org/cmco.

August 14, 2017 - ANSI Approves E1.50-1 And It Is Published

ANSI approves E1.50-1 standard for supporting video displays
On August 14 ANSI's Board of Standards Review approved ANSI E1.50-1 -- 2017, Requirements for the Structural Support of Temporary LED, Video & Display Systems. It was published by ESTA on the same day.

August 04, 2017 - 60K+ Standards Downloaded Thanks to ProSight Specialty Insurance
Since April 15, 2013, ESTA, the Entertainment Services and Technology Association, has been able to offer all of its American National Standards and other published documents for download at no cost on their website at tsp.esta.org/freestandards. As of August 3, 2017, over 60,000 standards had been downloaded by over 10,000 users. This total for four years is more than an order of magnitude greater than the number of standards distributed in the 16 years the documents were only available for sale. These 60,000+ standards, if purchased, would have a retail value of over $1.8 million, but they have been distributed at no cost to the end-users in the entertainment industry, thanks to the sponsorship of ProSight Specialty Insurance.

August 04, 2017 - Six ESTA Standards in Public Review
Six standards are available for public review on the ESTA website at http://tsp.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php. Five have comment deadlines of 25 September 2017, but one is a week later, 2 October. People materially affected by these standards are invited to review them and to comment on them, saying they are acceptable as they are or are in need of changes.

June 27, 2017 - ESTA Plugfest V14.0 Round-Tables Available Via WebEx!
The ESTA Control Protocols Plugfest organizers just announced that two live, informal round-table discussions taking place in conjunction with the ESTA Control Protocols Plugfest in July at the D/FW Marriott Solana in Westlake, Texas will be made available to the general public via a free WebEx video conference.

May 08, 2017 - ESTA Publishes Rigging System Inspection Standard
Rigging system inspections are recommended as a component of theatrical workplace safety programs, but there are currently no industry-accepted guidelines for inspection frequency, who conducts the inspection, how the inspection is conducted, and what should be included in reports. The lack of industry-accepted guidelines exists both for owner-conducted and third-party inspections.

April 27, 2017 - ESTA Plugfest v14.0
The ESTA Control Protocols Plugfest, the event where manufacturers and developers test their products for interoperability, is scheduled to take place from July 21 to July 25 at the D/FW Marriott Solana in Westlake, Texas. Everyone is welcome to attend the 14th version of this event.

April 24, 2017 - BSR E1.58: First Public Review
BSR E1.58: First Public Review
The National Electrical Code (NFPA70) has a general requirement for all electrical equipment to be listed and used in accordance with its listing. This normally restricts or prohibits the outdoor use of equipment not identified for outdoor use, but, the Code contains an exception for Theatrical and Motion Picture Special Occupancies that permits this use provided the installation is supervised by qualified personnel. It offers no further guidance on this condition. The Electrical Power Working Group of ESTA's Technical Standards Program has written BSR E1.58 – 201X, Electrical Safety Standard for Portable Stage and Studio Equipment Used Outdoors, a new draft standard, in an effort to offer that guidance. It is being offered for public comment through 19 June 2017.

March 28, 2017 - Two ESTA Standards in Public Review
Two ESTA Standards in Public Review Two ESTA draft standards have been posted for public review at http://tsp.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php. Descriptions and deadlines for comments are as follows:

March 28, 2017 - The Full E1.6 Suite is Open for Revision
Two Rigging Working Group standards have been announced as open for revision: E1.6-3, Selection and Use of Serially Manufactured Chain Hoists in the Entertainment Industry, and E1.6-4, Portable Control of Fixed-Speed Electric Chain Hoists in the Entertainment Industry. The first two parts of the E1.6 suite for powered hoist systems, E1.6-1 and E1.6-2, were both opened for revision last year, so now all four parts are open for revision to address outdated references, correct errors, include new technologies, and stay coherent as a suite of standards.

February 06, 2017 - Open for Revision: E1.31, a.k.a. sACN
E1.31, Entertainment Technology—Lightweight streaming protocol for transport of DMX512 using ACN, describes a mechanism to transfer DMX512 A packets over a TCP/IP network using a subset of the ACN protocol suite. It covers data format, data protocol, data addressing, and network management. It also outlines a synchronization method to help ensure that multiple sinks can process this data concurrently when supervised by the same controller. E1.31 was last revised in 2016 to incorporate DMX512A universe synchronization. The Control Protocols Working Group is now opening the document for revision limited to the incorporation of IPv6 and to correct errors. Input on additional features is not being sought at this time.

February 06, 2017 - Public Comment Period Open for Five ESTA Draft Standards
Five Technical Standards Program draft standards are newly posted for public comment. These documents are all up for reaffirmation by their respective working groups, meaning they have been published for as long as five years and the consensus body is considering republishing them with no substantive changes. Comments on the draft standards will be accepted through the end of the day on 3 April 2017. Download the documents, review instructions, and review forms at http://tsp.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php.

January 10, 2017 - Industry Pledges to Save the TSP

51 Companies and Individuals Pledge to Save the TSP
Join Them Today

When ESTA learned it would be losing a long-term source of revenue, the association faced the loss of almost a third of its income in 2017. The immediate impact of this is to endanger the survival of ESTA’s ANSI-accredited Technical Standards Program (TSP). The ramifications of this would be enormous to the entertainment technology industry. Upon hearing of the situation, Ford Sellers, Senior Product Manager at Chauvet Lighting, commented “The work that is done by the TSP is indispensable. It is central to our industry…In fact, it is what makes us an industry, instead of just a bunch of individual projects.”

January 10, 2017 - Plugfest to Broadcast Round-Table Discussions via WebEx
The ESTA Control Protocols Plugfest organizers announced today that two live, informal round-table discussions will be made available to the general public via a free WebEx video conference.

January 09, 2017 - 51 Companies and Individuals Pledge to Save the TSP – Join Them Today
When ESTA learned it would be losing a long-term source of revenue, the association faced the loss of almost a third of its income in 2017. The immediate impact of this is to endanger the survival of ESTA’s ANSI-accredited Technical Standards Program (TSP). The ramifications of this would be enormous to the entertainment technology industry. Upon hearing of the situation, Ford Sellers, Senior Product Manager at Chauvet Lighting, commented “The work that is done by the TSP is indispensable. It is central to our industry…In fact, it is what makes us an industry, instead of just a bunch of individual projects.”

November 04, 2016 - ESTA Plugfest Adds Round Table Discussions
The ESTA Control Protocols Plugfest organizers announced today that informal round table discussions for product developers have been added to the event’s program. Subject matter experts from the Control Protocols Working Group will share their knowledge on RDM Proxy servers, RDM Queued Messages, RDM Status Messages and sACN IGMP support.

October 14, 2016 - Three More ESTA Standards Approved, Published
On Tuesday, October 11, the Secretary of ANSI's Board of Standards Review issued notices that three more ESTA standards had been approved as American National Standards. They are now published and available on the ESTA website. In alphanumeric order, the new standards are:

October 05, 2016 - US Navy Adopts ESTA's E1.6 for Entertainment Hoists
The June 2016 edition of NAVFAC P-307, a publication of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Navy Crane Center Weight Handling Program Management, has a new section 13 entitled “Entertainment Hoists.” The section calls out hoists systems identified in their equipment history files as being “entertainment hoists” and conforming to the design and manufacturing requirements in ANSI E1.6 as being different from hoists and cranes used for material handling and construction, and therefore being subject to different rules for their use and maintenance. Those rules include being maintained and operated in accordance with the ANSI E1.6 standards and the OEM recommendations.

NAVFAC P-307 can be downloaded from https://www.navfac.navy.mil/ncc. NAVFAC P-307 JUNE 2016 is at the top of the “USEFUL LINKS” list on the right. (The NAVFAC website's security certificate is invalid, so you may get a security warning from your browser. However, nothing malicious downloads when you click past the warning.)

September 14, 2016 - New Project: The Event Safety Guide, second edition

The Event Safety Alliance (ESA) and the Entertainment Services and Technology Association (ESTA) have agreed on a joint copyright that will allow a second edition of The Event Safety Guide to be developed as an American National Standard (ANS). To take on the project, a new working group is being created within ESTA's Technical Standards Program (TSP) called the Event Safety Working Group (ESWG). Leading the new group will be co-chairs Dr. Donald Cooper, Executive Director of the ESA, and Richard Nix, Director of Engineering & Standards for ZFX, Inc. Dr. Cooper brings a wealth of experience to the project as the Editor of the first edition of the Guide and former Ohio State Fire Marshal. Mr. Nix brings the experience of a long career in the entertainment technology field, is co-chair of the TSP's Stage Lifts Working Group, and has been heavily involved in writing standards with the TSP since 1996.

June 28, 2016 - ESTA Control Protocols Plugfest, January 2017!

A list of Plugfest FAQ, a complete schedule, and details about the round-table discussions may be found at the bottom of the page.  

To register, email plugfest@esta.org.

To download a Plugfest brochure, click here.

To download the full Plugfest schedule, click here.

April 15, 2016 - ETC Steps Up to Visionary TSP Investor in Innovation
ETC has been a major donor to, supporter of, and participant in ESTA’s Technical Standards Program since its inception. Now they’ve taken that support to an even higher level by becoming a Visionary Level Investor in Innovation with a pledge of $10,000 for each of the next five years.

February 08, 2016 - Technical Standards Program Volunteers Recognized for Service
ESTA’s Technical Standards Council is pleased to announce the recipients of the third annual Above & Beyond Awards designed to recognize outstanding Technical Standards Program volunteers. The awards celebrate those volunteers that have made a significant contribution or effort that advances the Technical Standards Program. The TSP exists because hundreds of individuals from across the industry volunteer their expertise and significant amounts of time throughout the year to write standards that increase safety, solve problems, and make life easier. These awards are particularly meaningful to the recipients because the nominations are made by their peers within the Technical Standards Program.

January 11, 2016 - Columbus McKinnon Corporation Becomes TSP Visionary

Columbus McKinnon Corporation (CMCO), one of the world’s leading manufacturers of electric chain hoist and rigging products, has pledged its support for ESTA’s Technical Standards Program by becoming a Visionary level “Investor in Innovation.” By making a five-year pledge of $10,000 per year, Columbus McKinnon is helping to ensure the survival of a program that they have long championed. 

January 06, 2016 - ESTA Plugfest Returns January 2016!
The ESTA Control Protocols Plugfest, the event where manufacturers and developers can test their products for interoperability with other manufacturers’ products, is scheduled to take place January 29 thru February 1 at the D/FW Marriott Solana in Westlake, Texas. Everyone is welcome to attend!

January 29, 2015 - ANSI Approves E1.39, Fall Arrest on Portable Structures

ANSI's Board of Standards Review approved E1.39 on January 28. It was published the same day. ANSI E1.39 – 2015, Entertainment Technology – Selection and Use of Personal Fall Arrest Systems on Portable Structures Used in the Entertainment Industry, is now available for free download at http://tsp.plasa.org/freestandards. The free download is made possible by the sponsorship of Prosight Specialty Insurance.

January 12, 2015 - Errata for ANSI E1.37-2 - 2014
Members of the E1.37-2 task group have found errors in the recently published ANSI E1.37-2 – 2014, Entertainment Technology – Additional Message Sets for ANSI E1.20 (RDM) – Part 2, IPv4 & DNS Configuration Messages, and have compiled an errata sheet. A formal revision project to correct the document will start soon.

November 26, 2014 - ANSI E1.23 Up for Reaffirmation
Check it out!  ANSI E1.23 - 2010, Entertainment Technology - Design and Execution of Theatrical Fog Effects, is up for reaffirmation. Does it still work? Then say Yes to reaffirmation. Does it need changing? Then say No to reaffirmation and report what needs to be changed and how it needs to be changed. 

October 22, 2014 - Another Extension to RDM Published
ANSI E1.37-2 – 2014, Entertainment Technology – Additional Message Sets for ANSI E1.20 (RDM) – Part 2, IPv4 & DNS Configuration Messages, was approved as an American National Standard by ANSI's Board of Standards Review on October 10. It is now available for free download on the PLASA website at http://tsp.plasa.org/tsp/documents/published_docs.php. The free download is made possible by the sponsorship of Prosight Specialty Insurance.

September 22, 2014 - Canadian Feeder Cable standard in public review

BSR E1.51 - 201x, The Selection, Installation, and Use of Single-Conductor Portable Power Feeder Cable Systems for Use at 600 Volts Nominal or Less for the Distribution of Electrical Energy in the Television, Film, Live Performance, and Event Industries in Canada, is available for public review through November 17, 2014. The draft standard is about what the title says! It is intended to offer guidance in accordance with existing applicable standards and regulations in Canada on how to select, install, use and maintain single-conductor portable feeder cables used to supply power for television, film, live performance, and special events in Canada. It is available for download at http://tsp.plasa.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php.

September 09, 2014 - Two Draft Rigging Standards Available for Public Review

Two draft standards have been posted to our Public Review page for comment. They are about fire safety curtain systems and personal fall arrest on portable structures. The reviews run through November 3, 2014. Check them out before November 4!

August 20, 2014 - Please Donate to the TSP!

PLASA's Technical Standards Program is the only program accredited by the American National Standards Institute to write standards specifically for the entertainment technology industry. Many of these standards have been adopted around the world and are referenced on a regular basis in the United States by Authorities Having Jurisdiction, including OSHA inspectors and fire marshals. It needs your help to continue.  

April 29, 2014 - E-Cigarettes Are Not Atmospheric Effects

E-cigarettes are gaining favor as substitutes on stage for real cigarettes. It could be argued that e-cigarettes are safer than real cigarettes, or even herbal cigarettes, in that the fire hazard is much less and there are no weird products of combustion. However, it is possible that an actor smoking an e-cigarette is exposed to glycol or glycerin levels that exceed the ceiling limits in ANSI E1.5 and Equity contracts. Research is needed on the health effects of short but concentrated exposures to glycol and glycerin fogs as a result of smoking e-cigarettes. Until that research is done and available for evaluation, PLASA neither recommends nor condemns the use of e-cigarettes on stage. At the Fog & Smoke Working Group's 28 March 2014 meeting, it was decided that e-cigarettes should be considered hand props, not atmospheric effects, and therefore are outside the scopes of PLASA's Fog & Smoke Working Group, the Fog Testing Program, and the Fog Stewardship Program.

March 28, 2014 - North American Plugfest in July
The PLASA Control Protocols Plugfest, the event where manufacturers and developers can test their products for interoperability with other manufacturer’s products, is scheduled to take place July 25 through 28, 2014, at the Marriott Solana in Westlake, Texas. The Plugfest was created originally to support the Remote Device Management protocol (ANSI E1.20) but it has expanded to cover all the PLASA Control Protocol Working Group's protocols, including the popular ANSI E1.31 Streaming DMX over ACN protocol, and now a draft version of RDMnet (BSR E1.33). In the past, Plugfest attendees from all over the world have brought controllers, dimmers, luminaires, analyzers, and various other tools and devices, and connected them all through a network to look for and to resolve problems; they will do the same this coming July. Complimentary coffee and snacks are served. There is no fee for participating in this North American Plugfest.

February 11, 2014 - PLASA Announces Publication of Two Rigging Safety Standards

Two of PLASA's standards related to theatrical rigging safety have been revised and approved by ANSI as American National Standards. ANSI E1.21 for temporary outdoor structures and ANSI E1.4 for manual counterweight rigging systems and are now published and available for free download at http://tsp.plasa.org/tsp/documents/published_docs.php.

December 05, 2013 - It's Back! North American Plugfest Returns.
The PLASA Control Protocols Plugfest, the event where manufacturers and developers can test their products for interoperability with other manufacturer’s products, is scheduled to take place January 17 through 20, 2014, at the Marriott Solana in Westlake, Texas. The Plugfest was created originally to support the Remote Device Management protocol (ANSI E1.20) but it has expanded to cover all the PLASA Control Protocol Working Group's protocols, including the popular ANSI E1.31 Streaming DMX over ACN protocol, and now a draft version of RDMnet (BSR E1.33). In the past, Plugfest attendees from all over the world have brought controllers, dimmers, luminaires, analyzers, and various other tools and devices, and connected them all through a network to look for and to resolve problems; they will do the same this coming January. Complimentary coffee and snacks are served. There is no fee for participating in this North American Plugfest.

June 10, 2013 - OVER 10,000 TECHNICAL STANDARDS DOWNLOADED
Over 10,000 standards have been downloaded since PLASA and ProSight Specialty Insurance announced their partnership to make PLASA’s American National Standards available to the industry free of charge just over six weeks ago. Among the most popular standards are ANSI E1.2 - Design, Manufacture and Use of Aluminum Trusses and Towers, ANSI E1.4 - Manual Counterweight Rigging Systems, ANSI E1.1 - Construction and Use of Wire Rope Ladders and ANSI E1.6-1 - Powered Hoist Systems.

April 14, 2013 - PLASA AND PROSIGHT SPECIALTY INSURANCE TEAM UP TO ADVANCE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY SAFETY AND TO DELIVER TECHNICAL STANDARDS FREE OF CHARGE
MORRISTOWN, NJ/NEW YORK, NY (April 15, 2013) – ProSight Specialty Insurance, a global specialty insurance carrier in the film and live events industry, today announced that it is partnering with PLASA, the global leader in developing technical standards for the entertainment industries. The organizations have collaborated to advance PLASA’s Technical Standards Program to increase safety throughout entertainment production. Together ProSight and PLASA are ensuring that every professional in the business has access to all PLASA Technical Standards by making them available to anyone free of charge.

February 04, 2013 - PLASA and Event Safety Alliance Work Together to Increase Safety
PLASA, the global leader in developing technical standards for the entertainment industry, and the Event Safety Alliance, the emerging voice of event production best practices, are formally announcing their mutual endorsement in the ongoing efforts to raise awareness and use of industry best practices and technical standards throughout live entertainment production.

August 06, 2012 - LDI 2012 PLASA Control Protocol Pavilion: A Call to Connect!

In keeping with tradition, PLASA announces the  PLASA Control Protocol Pavilion at the LDI 2012 Show, to be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, October 19 - 21. Formerly called the Connectivity Pavilion, this pavilion at booth 2041 provides a demonstration area for manufacturers' implementations of PLASA's ANSI standards used throughout the lighting control industry. By bringing together various pieces of equipment in a neutral area, we are able to show the public how various manufacturers' products can be integrated, and demonstrate that the protocols worked on by these member manufacturers are viable and available for use in today's applications and specifications.

July 26, 2012 - Portable Stage and Fall Arrest Draft Standards in Review

BSR E1.21 - 201x, Entertainment Technology — Temporary Ground-Supported Structures Used to Cover the Stage Areas and Support Equipment in the Production of Outdoor Entertainment Events, and BSR E1.39 - 201x, Entertainment Technology – Selection and Use of Personal Fall Arrest Systems on Portable Structures Used in the Entertainment Industry, are in review through 24 September 2012. See them at  http://tsp.plasa.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php

April 03, 2012 - BSR E1.46 Fall Protection Project Started
A new project has been filed with ANSI--BSR E1.46, Recommended Practice for the Prevention of Falls from Theatrical Stages and Raised Performance Platforms-- to develop a guidance document for planning fall protection to help prevent falls from stages, raised platforms, and into open traps. Fall protection is mandatory in the US for employees and good management for all others, but guidance is needed on how to provide this in a theatrical environment.

February 16, 2012 - ANSI Approves E1.41 for LED Luminaires
The ANSI Board of Standards Review today approved ANSI E1.41 - 2012, Recommendations for Measuring and Reporting Photometric Performance Data for Entertainment Luminaires Utilizing Solid State Light Sources. The standard will be published within the next few weeks, and will be sold by The ESTA Foundation.

February 16, 2012 - New Control Protocols Project to Support VLC Started
Official notice was filed with ANSI today starting the new standard project, E1.45 - 201x, Transport of IEEE 802 data frames over ANSI E1.11 (DMX512-A). The proposed standard will define a minimal method to transport IEEE 802 data frames over ANSI E1.11 physical links using an Alternate START Code. The primary motivation is to allow communication of 802 data to luminaires over a DMX512-A datalink for data transmission from those luminaires using Visible Light Communication, IEEE 802.15.7. However, this standard may be used to transport any 802 data for any purpose.

February 14, 2012 - ANSI E1.37-1 Published
ANSI E1.37-1 – 2012, Additional Message Sets for ANSI E1.20 (RDM) – Part 1, Dimmer Message Sets, is now published and available from The ESTA Foundation. PLASA member discounts are available.

February 09, 2012 - Indiana DOL References ANSI E1.21

On February 8, the Indiana Department of Labor announced the citations it has issued related to the Indiana State Fair stage collapse, which occurred on 13 August 2011. Links to the press release, the three safety citations, a recording of the press conference, and various other supporting documents are available on the Department of Labor website at http://www.in.gov/dol/2367.htm. Complete scans of the official "Safety Order and Notification of Penalty" documents issued against Mid-America Sound Corporation, IATSE Local 30, and the Indiana State Fair Commission are provided. Failure to follow the requirements of ANSI E1.21 is a major part of the findings. The efficacy of the consensus standard's inspection requirements is noted at about the 51-minute mark in the press conference audio recording.

January 31, 2012 - New PLASA Standards Published In January 2012
Four PLASA standards have been published in January 2012:

August 15, 2011 - PLASA Deeply Saddened by Sugarland Concert Accident
PLASA is deeply saddened by the accident in Indiana at the Sugarland Concert. We cannot comment on the specifics of what happened there. We simply do not know the details of what happened, and understand that there are ongoing investigations into what caused the collapse and the response to it.

December 30, 2010 - Two Control Protocols Standards in Review for Reaffirmation
ANSI E1.3, Entertainment Technology - Lighting Control Systems - 0 to 10V Analog Control Specification, and ANSI E1.27-1, Entertainment Technology-Standard for Portable Control Cables for Use with USITT DMX512/1990 and E1.11 (DMX512-A) Products, are announced as being in public review for reaffirmation from now through the end of February 2011. The intention of the Control Protocols Working Group at this time is to reaffirm the existing standards as they are, but this is, of course, contingent on any objections or comments that the public might offer. The public review forms are accessible at http://tsp.plasa.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php. The standards themselves are being sold by The ESTA Foundation at http://www.estafoundation.org/pubs.htm at their normal prices

December 09, 2010 - New Project to Draft a Safety Standard for Stage Lifts
ESTA has started work on a new project to write an American National Standard: BSR E1.42 – 201x, Entertainment Technology – Installed Stage Lift Safety Standard. Stage lifts, such as orchestra pit or theatre forestage lifts, are not the subject of any current national standard. As result, safety requirements and inspections of them are inconsistent. This project is to develop a standard for stage lifts that can be referenced by the International Code Council and the National Fire Protection Association. The scope is limited to safety and to lifts that are installed as a part of the building and that are not for a single theatrical production. Any person involved in the design, manufacture, use, or inspection of stage lifts and who is willing to actively work on the project is invited to join the new working group. A working group application form is available on the ESTA website at http://www.esta.org/tsp/documents/procedural_docs.html.

September 28, 2010 - One New, One Revised

On Monday, 20 September 2010, the ANSI Board of Standards Review approved ANSI E1.30-4 - 2010, EPI 26 Device Description Language (DDL) Extensions for DMX512 and E1.31 Devices, and ANSI E1.23 - 2010, Entertainment Technology - Design and Execution of Theatrical Fog Effects. ANSI E1.30-4 is a new standard, an EPI that recommends a way of controlling a DMX512 device using ACN. ANSI E1.23 - 2010 is a revision of the existing ANSI E1.23 - 2006 standard. The changes clarify the chemicals that may be in fog effects covered by the standard and who is responsible for planning and executing the effects. The two standards should be available before LDI 2010. ANSI E1.30-4 will be a free standard, available for download from the listing of standards on the ESTA website. ANSI E1.23 will be sold through The ESTA Foundation.  

June 23, 2010 - ACN Revisions to Review
BSR E1.17 - 201x, Entertainment Technology - Architecture for Control Networks, has been posted for review at http://www.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php. The draft standard is a suite of documents that revise sections of the existing ANSI E1.17 - 2006. The revisions include changes to the Device Description Language, the Session Data Transport protocol, the Device Management Protocol, and to various EPIs.The revisions are being done to correct errors and to add additional functionality to the standard. The official ANSI review runs from July 9 through August 23, but the documents are available now, and public review responses will be accepted if they are early—but not if they are late. The review is over when August 24 starts. Responses must be sumitted before then to be considered.

June 11, 2010 - Free Boilerplate_For_Specifiers Available
ESTA_Boilerplate_For_Specifiers.txt provides cut-and-paste text as a convenience for people writing specifications and wishing to reference in those specifications standards developed in ESTA's Technical Standards Program. Use of this text will reduce the probability of undesired equipment or installation practices being offered in response to a bid request or a call for proposals because a standard describing the equipment or installation practice was referenced imprecisely. This document of recommended cut-and-paste text will be revised as new standards are published and older ones are revised or reaffirmed, and as better text specifying the standards is written.

May 27, 2010 - Additional RDM Messages to Review

A new draft standard for public review has just been posted: BSR E1.37-1, Additional Message Sets for ANSI E1.20 (RDM) --Part 1, Dimmer Message Sets. The document is in public review at http://www.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php through 26 July 2010. The review is over when July 27 starts. 

April 20, 2010 - New Photometrics Working Group Project--LEDs
The Photometrics Working Group and the Technical Standards Committee have approved a new project: BSR E1.41 – 201x, Recommendations for the Measurement of Entertainment Luminaires Utilizing Solid State Light Sources. The project is needed because current methods for luminaire output measurement assume the use of broad-band emitters. The introduction of narrow-band emitters, such as LEDs, subverts this assumption. The entertainment industry needs measurement methods that are accurate and that take into consideration the industry's need for unusually precise color characterization. The proposed standard will have two parts: the first will be for measuring white light; the second will be for measuring colored light.

January 31, 2010 - New Dust Project
he Fog and Smoke Working Group has started work on a new project: BSR E1.40-201x, Recommendations for the Planning of Theatrical Dust Effects. A wide variety of products are used to create dust effects in entertainment productions. The effects are most commonly used in motion picture and television production, where, for example, a bag of fuller's earth might be placed on top of an explosive charge to enhance the smoke and debris from the blast. However, they are also used in theatrical productions and within theme parks. The use of dust as an aerosol raises concerns for hazards such as combustibility and health effects from inhalation or ingestion, which, although well known in some sectors of the industry, are poorly understood in others. This document would provide recommendations for how to assess the safety of such effects and to plan their use so that the risks are acceptably low.

October 27, 2009 - The Future of Entertainment Networked Control
The ESTA-sponsored Connectivity Pavilion will be on display at LDI 2009 in Orlando, FL in Booth #1349, with an expanded array this year of equipment running the latest in entertainment control protocols. The Pavilion offers a hands-on demonstration of devices interfacing under RDM (ANSI E1.20), ACN (ANSI E1.17), and Lightweight Streaming of DMX512 over ACN (ANSI E1.31). Members of the Controls Protocols Working Group and the task groups for these standards will be in the Connectivity Pavilion to demonstrate and discuss these ANSI protocols, which can be specified for new lighting systems or for upgrades of old ones. Anyone with an interest in lighting control is invited to stop by and see the reality of these protocols and how transparently they allow the operation of equipment from a variety of manufacturers.

October 16, 2009 - Five New ESTA Standards Now Available
On 14 September 2009, ANSI's Board of Standards Review approved four new ESTA standards and the revision of a fifth. ANSI E1.5, E1.27-2, E1.29, E1.30-3, and E1.30-7 are now available for purchase or free download on The ESTA Foundation publications sales website at http://www.estafoundation.org/pubs.htm.

September 23, 2009 - Revised Fog Effects Standard Available for Public Review

BSR E1.23 - 200x, Entertainment Technology - Design and Execution of Theatrical Fog Effects, is available for public review at http://www.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php through 9 November 2009. The BSR E1.23 project is a revision of the existing ANSI E1.23 - 2006 standard, which offers advice on the planning and execution of theatrical fog effects using glycol, glycerin, or white mineral oil fogs or mists in theatres, arenas, and other places of entertainment or public assembly. The revision project is (1) to change the list of fog chemicals in the scope to better match those chemicals normally used in theatrical fog effects, and (2) to better define the qualifications of those in charge of designing and executing the effects. 

August 25, 2009 - Two New Rigging Projects

At its July 18 meeting ESTA's Rigging Working Group approved the initiation of two new projects:

• BSR E1.38 - 20xx, Temporary Ground-Supported Structures Used to Support Equipment in the Production of Outdoor Entertainment Events, Excluding Stage Roofs

• BSR E1.39 - 20xx, Entertainment Technology – Recommendations for the Use of Fall Protection on Temporary Suspended and Ground-Supported Structures

August 21, 2009 - Revised RDM Available for Review

BSR E1.20 - 200x, a revision of the existing ANSI E1.20 - 2006, Entertainment Technology -- Remote Device Management over USITT DMX512, is available for public review on the ESTA website through October 19, 2009. The draft standard and its supporting public review materials are available at http://www.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php.

April 13, 2009 - Standard to Measure Floor Slipperiness Now Available
ANSI E1.34 - 2009, Entertainment Technology - Measuring and Specifying the Slipperiness of Floors Used in Live Performance Venues, is now available from The ESTA Foundation. The new standard describes a very simple drag-sled for measuring the slipperiness of a performance floor, and two procedures to use with the sled. One uses standardized stainless steel feet on the sled to give a coefficent of friction number that can be used to describe the floor in a general way. The second procedure measures the slipperiness with a performer's shoe sole materials.

January 20, 2009 - New Edition of DMX512-A Is Now Available
ANSI E1.11 - 2008, Entertainment Technology - USITT DMX512-A, Asynchronous Serial Digital Data Transmission Standard for Controlling Lighting Equipment and Accessories, is now available for purchase from The ESTA Foundation. The path to the document starts at http://www.estafoundation.org/pubs.htm. The list price is $40; member and quantity discounts are available.

May 23, 2008 - Banning the Incandescent Lamp: A Position Statement from the Technical Standards Committee of the Entertainment Services and Technology Association.
As the costs of fossil fuels have increased and the negative effects on the environment from extracting and burning these fuels have become obvious, there have been numerous proposals to ban the incandescent lamp. While ESTA appreciates the importance of saving energy and protecting the environment, we urge caution and suggest that broad bans of any technology only be enacted after careful consideration of the consequences. Incandescent lamps can be replaced in some applications by more efficacious sources. In those cases, people should be encouraged to use the more efficacious sources, thus reducing energy costs for them, and helping to protect the environment for all. However, for some applications, particularly some in stage, studio, and cultural event lighting, there are no suitable replacements for incandescent lamps. They will need to be part of the available lighting technology until such time as more efficacious sources that deliver the same benefits are available.

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."

ABOUT
About
Get Involved / Join
Staff Listing
Mission and Vision
How Standards are Written

TECHNICAL
STANDARDS COUNCIL
Council Members
TSC Meetings & Minutes

EVENTS
Events Gallery
Meeting Schedule
Plugfest

AWARDS
Above and Beyond

TSP NEWS
TSP Press
> TSP Press Archive
TSP Video Archive
Protocol Articles

RSS Feed

> ABOUT TSP

DOWNLOAD STANDARDS

PUBLIC REVIEW
DOCUMENTS

PROCEDURAL DOCUMENTS

INVESTORS
IN INNOVATION

WORKING GROUPS

PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP