About

History

The Digistar Users Group began in the mid 1980's as an informal gathering of planetarians. This first gathering took place in St. Louis, Missouri (USA). At the time there were only five Digistar systems world-wide. Today there are more than 300 Digistar equipped planetaria on six continents. The current Digistar product line includes Digistar II through Digistar 7 systems in various configurations appropriate for domes of nearly any size.

Digistar Facilities

Today there are Digistar systems in a wide variety of venues. Planetariums, Colleges, Universities, Schools, Science Centers, Museums, Entertainment destinations and other locations have all chosen Digistar for its unique features.

Membership

While Evans & Sutherland is the manufacturer of Digistar systems, it does not operate the Digistar Users Group. Membership in the Digistar Users Group is voluntary - the organization is member driven, and member governed. Membership runs on an annual basis, and most members choose to pay their DUG dues at the time of the annual DUG meeting. E&S is the "Manufacturer Member" as indicated in the DUG charter, and participates fully in the organization.

Membership in DUG is required in order to access the DUG show/model library, past newsletters, meeting notes, standards documents, our charter and standing rules, and other content. Membership is currently $40(US) per year, payable to the DUG Treasurer. Evans & Sutherland pays the first year dues of all new Digistar installations. After that time, it is the site's responsibility to maintain in contact with the organization and keep their membership active.

Activities

One of the primary activities of the Digistar Users Group is its annual meeting. This is a unique opportunity to exchange production techniques, planetarium operations concerns, Evans & Sutherland service and support, system maintenance, and ideas for new Digistar features. Other activities include participation in IPS technology and standards efforts, ongoing member communication and peer assistance, and content sharing.

During the annual meeting DUG also acknowledges content sharing efforts via a collection of awards. These awards are given for useful, interesting, and entertaining content shared with all DUG members. DUG also honors an individual member for outstanding service. This award is called the Jim Hashimoto Award.

Digistar Users Group Library

The Digistar Users Group maintains a members-only library of Digistar objects, scripts, and shows. Since 1990, the DUG Library has collected more than 87,000 files and over a terabyte of data that is available for use by current members of the Digistar Users Group. Members are asked to credit Digistar Users Group and the creator of the content when using DUG Library materials on their domes.

The primary library is hosted on a secure server at Evans & Sutherland, and a copy of the Library is accessible to DUG members via a secure URL. Members should use an up-to-date Internet browser, such as Chrome, Safari, or Edge, to access the DUG Library. Internet Explorer will not be supported after 30 September 2020.

DUG members can find the DUG Library links in the Members section of this website. The DUG Treasurer, treasurer@digistardomes.org, provides a password to sites that have paid current dues.

Questions about the DUG Library should be submitted to the DUG Librarian: librarian@cosm.com.

Current Organization