xxx Preface able computer horsepower became available. So, I started gathering all the entertainment con- trol information I could find from a wide variety of sources. At the 1991 AES show here in New York, I ran into an editor from Focal Press, who was look- ing for manuscript reviewers. On completing the requisite information form, I encountered a question that asked on what subject would I write a book. I answered "Show Control." Filling out that simple form started a process thousands and thousands of hours long, which led up to the first edition of this book being released in 1994, the second edition in 2000, and now, in 2007, the third edition that you are now holding in your hands. W HO I S T HIS B OOK W RITTEN F OR ? I originally proposed to Focal Press a book on show control because it was what interested me most. However, when I began working through the process, I realized that what end users (my target readers) really needed was basic information on the fundamentals of the entertainment control systems used across all the various show departments and information in the "advanced" field of how to interconnect those systems: show control. So, in each edition of this book, I've attempted to provide a comprehensive survey of the field of entertainment con- trol systems while providing detailed information on show control. These areas go hand in hand, since show control is what I call a "general specialty"--to do it well, you need to be able to understand something about all the systems that are being connected.