Vari-Lite, a Signify entertainment lighting brand, is providing lighting designers, programmers, technicians and students with a “free lighting console on your laptop” with the Neo 4.2 software update, launched last December.

Neo software, which can be freely downloaded and installed on a Windows PC, is now licensed for 4 Universes (2048 channels), free of charge, for 24 hours at a time with access to all features. At any point, restart Neo PC and the 24-hour counter will restart. This brings the features of professional lighting control in a free-to-use software.

“There’s a magnitude of ways this will be helpful in opening new opportunities for our whole range of different users,” explains Ken Wilson, Vari-Lite Research and Development Leader at Signify. “For example, our education customers can encourage every student to run their own instance of Neo software, our rental customers can run Neo at their workbench for quick and easy testing of rental stock, our professional programmers can pre-vis their show or create a multi-user environment, and our live operators can have an affordable automatic tracking backup system alongside their physical Neo X console.”

Other enhancements built into Neo 4.2 include a redesigned Cue List window and “Side Bar” designed to be cleaner, consistent and more useful, a new “Messaging & Tasks” windows allowing operators to communicate and share “To-Do” lists across their lighting network, and a new WebSocket interface to support the new Vari-Lite Remote which is available to download from the Apple App Store or Google Play. There are also over 100 other enhancements and bug fixes.

“Neo 4.2 update is a great way of investing in the next generation of lighting designers,” concludes Martin Palmer, Vari-Lite Marketing and Product Management Leader at Signify, “and demonstrates our continued investment in the Neo console platform.”