Show Networks and Control Systems: Formerly "Control Systems for Live Entertainment"

If you're the kind of person who wants more info than he likely will need, just to understand what's going on under the hood or how to design or troubleshoot efficiently, this is the book for you. I work in TV and the most complex stage rigs we do are nothing compared to the scope of this book. It has been very helpful, though, in understanding the nuts and bolts of how the network is built. As DMX is giving way to artnet and sACN, knowledge of this kind is getting more and more important. You have to be very interested in the subject to wade through it all, but I'm glad I bought the book.

starting with the negatives... well, owning the ebook makes me want to buy the physical book, which is good for Mr. Huntington, not so good for my wallet. Other than that I find it to be quite complete (as of today!), and really clearly written. I don't know that you could read this if you knew nothing about networking, but I think he frames things in such a way that you do not need years of experience. All the major topics are covered, as well as some interesting side-trips. I recommend this book to anyone working in theatre, entertainment, and even production.

I chose the high rating because in today's high-fi computer world the entertainment industry is being pushed harder than ever to deliver more spectacular and involved shows. This has resulted in a complete cross plat form need to control the back end of the equipment like never before. The detail of this book is perfect for most technicians. It take the level of knowledge just beyond the average comfort level. While not getting as technical as the electrical engineers and computer engineers making the equipment themselves. I would recommend this book to every entertainment technician from theater to corporate that is either in charge of system engineering or would like to be someday.

John literally "wrote the book" on Show Control. From beginners to seasoned experts - everyone can take something away from this book. I recommend it to everyone in the field of Show Control/Automation (and it's limited to these disciplines because that's where my talents rest). Great read.

Covers everything about fast ethernet for shows

This is the source for information about networking and other show control protocols in the entertainment industry. You definitely won't be sorry if you pick this up.

I'm a freelance lighting tech and programmer, I have a comprehensive knowledge of DMX but didn't know much about IP addresses or networking which is why I purchased this book. I found this book fascinating, it was exactly what I was looking for as it explains computer networking using examples I can relate to in my field of work. I feel I now have the knowledge to take forward and use some of these systems on a show with some confidence. I can see myself referring to this book in the future as my knowledge and experience grows. My only criticisms are: For kindle users about half of the images were an un usable resolution which was quite annoying as some of the images are very important. (I was using kindle on an iPad mini) As always with reference books on kindle it was tricky to navigate compared to a normal book and had a massive TOC which almost needed its own table of contents for.

This will serve me as a reference work of the highest order! It has a prominent place on my e-shelf.

A really good read which gives a very good overview of all the parts of a show network. I found that I wanted more detail in certain areas, but this gives you a good basic understanding from where you can continue your experiments to a higher level

I recommend this book to show technicians that want to see behind protocols, networks to get an overall understanding of what they are doing

An excellent resource for the entertainment technician who is faced with increasingly more advanced and complicated control systems and networks. Gone are the days where you can just plug it in and it works, now advanced troubleshooting requires knowledge of ethernet systems and international standards. This is THE book for control in entertainment.

Thus gift was much appreciated by a student as it was a required book for his course and has been very worthwhile.

Very useful and not just for show programming! It is excellent and in depth coverage of ethernet technologies and is keeping pace with rapid developments in show control. Definitely recommended...