What Product Categories and Markets Does ETC Organize Its Lighting Solutions Into?

ETC (Electronic Theatre Controls) organizes its catalog into product families that separate fixtures from controls, power, networking, rigging, and specialty systems, then maps those products to markets such as theatre, film and TV studios, architectural spaces, and entertainment. If you are trying to locate the right product line for a project, start with the market (theatre, studio, architecture) and then narrow to the product family (fixtures, controls, distribution, networking, rigging).

Product Categories on etcconnect.com

The site's product navigation groups offerings into these families:

The distinction between fixture categories is functional: Entertainment Fixtures are aimed at stage and production lighting, Architectural Fixtures at permanent installation in buildings, and Automated Fixtures at motorized or programmable luminaires that can be repositioned or re-aimed. On the control side, Entertainment Controls serve live production (consoles and show control), while Architectural Systems and Commercial Lighting Systems serve installed, day-to-day building lighting.

The remaining categories are supporting infrastructure rather than lighting output: Power Controls and Distribution handle dimming and power delivery, Networking handles data transport between control and devices, Rigging Systems covers physical suspension, and Horticultural Systems and Atmospherics are specialty lines outside general stage and architectural work.

Markets the Site Is Organized Around

ETC frames its products by the environments they serve: theatre, film and TV studios, architectural spaces, and the entertainment industry broadly. The site's own description names theatre, film and TV studios, architectural spaces, and entertainment industries as its focus areas, and the product navigation reflects that split — entertainment-oriented fixtures and controls sit alongside architectural fixtures and systems.

This market-first structure is useful when your project type is clear but your product knowledge is not. A theatre or studio project points toward entertainment fixtures, automated fixtures, and entertainment controls; a building or commercial project points toward architectural fixtures, architectural systems, and commercial lighting systems. Power, networking, distribution, and rigging apply across both.

How to Use This Structure to Find a Product

1. Identify the market. Decide whether the project is live production (theatre, film/TV, entertainment) or installed architectural/commercial lighting.
2. Pick the product family. For output, choose among entertainment, architectural, or automated fixtures. For control, choose entertainment controls versus architectural or commercial systems.
3. Add infrastructure as needed. Check power controls, distribution, networking, and rigging for the supporting equipment the fixtures and controls require.
4. Confirm the specific product. Use the product pages, manuals, and datasheets for model-level details before specifying.

A practical example: a community theatre upgrading its stage lighting would look under entertainment fixtures and automated fixtures for the luminaires, entertainment controls for the console, and then power controls, distribution, and networking for what connects them. A commercial building lobby would instead start from architectural fixtures and architectural or commercial lighting systems.

Where to Go Next

If you already know the product name, the site's support and training section provides product manuals, datasheets, software, and forums for model-specific information. If you are still choosing between categories, use the market split above to eliminate families that do not fit your project before comparing individual products.