THE HISTORY OF FORECAST CONSOLES
The Beginning
THE EARLIEST CATALOG IN OUR "ARCHIVE"
Forecast Consoles is a family business created in 1978 by Bill and Janet Haberman out of their garage in Sea Cliff, NY. Todd Rundgren was Forecast's first customer, and in this catalog you can see the original sketch that Bill used to sell the project, as well as the original company name - Forecast Installations. This is the only remaining copy, and was discovered in a box of their son Ryan's childhood artwork that Janet had been saving. Ryan was clearly inspired by this early exposure to the business, and after years of serving in many different roles, took over as CEO in 2016. He has also learned to spell his own name, although his handwriting has not drastically improved.
Early Control Rooms
THE TRANSITION TO NON-LINEAR EDITING
Technological "advancements" in production equipment led to an explosion of new production companies, and in turn an increased demand for purpose built, ergonomic console furniture. To keep up with demand Forecast moved into its first true production facility in 1979.
"Modern" Control Rooms
BIGGER, BETTER, BRINGING TEAMS TOGETHER
Having established a reputation as the go-to solutions provider for custom built console furniture, Forecast continued to push the limits of console design and equipment integration. The advent of early monitor walls required the creation of custom structures capable of supporting thousands of pounds of CRT monitors. The precision needed to create these structures was incredible, especially given that they predate the CNC machines we use today.
The Revolution
THE ADVENT OF MASTERail
In 2001 Forecast introduced the fully modular console system, MASTERail. Quickly becoming our flagship product line, MASTERail's modularity allows users to stay ahead of rapidly changing technology and control room design. MASTERail has evolved extensively in the almost two decades since its inception, and is still a mainstay in broadcast and production control rooms.
The Bleeding Edge
WHAT COMES NEXT
Forecast continues to push the boundaries of control room design. As technology progresses, so does the way we interact with it. It is imperative that console furniture keep pace with the ever changing control room environment, and Forecast strives to be at the forefront of that change.
