PRG Shows off Their Moves With the Commander

I am a lighting geek/nerd by nature, but love all technical aspects of our business.  Watching a moving light spin and whorl is one thing, but to see the truss it is attached to along with video walls move in harmony, now that is amazing stuff! I will not pretend to know the motion control side of the business, but after seeing what PRG has come up with, I defiantly want to learn.

PRG showed off their Commander motion control console off the show floor and in their meeting room at LDI.  I was floored when I saw two video screens moving across their stage in perfect unison. All the while, the video on the screens was standing still as if being projected onto the screens.  The power of genius minds is astounding!

Take a closer look at the PRG Commander, control is power!

Richard Belliveau Tears into the XT-1 at LDI 2010

Check it out, The master mind behind Barco/High Ends Systems, Mr. Richard Belliveau was front and center at the Barco/High End booth at LDI tearing a Intellaspot XT-1 fixture apart! I really have to hand it to Mr. Belliveua and Barco/High End on this.  Not only is the fixture super easy to take apart and service, but the developer and genius behind the mover was right there giving them demo him self!

Thanks Mr. Belliveua!

Apollo Design Previews midLED at LDI 2010

Apollo announced two new products at LDI this year, the first one is from Spotlight from Italy, the midiLED Zoom LED fixture. The midiLED is a compact 100w fixtures the utilizes high density RGBW LEDs that allows for a smooth zoom range of 12 to 50 degree.

The combination of RGB and W provides a wider mix of color than a regular RGB fixture. the fixtures has predefined color temperature settings from 2900k to 6000k making it possible to match the midiLED color temperature to your current stock of fixtures.

The fixture comes in at 11.4″ x 9.3″ x 11.1″ and weighting in at just 13.1lbs. It uses 7 channels of DMX and has a lumen output of 123 at 12′ in spot.

To learn more about the miniLED, head over to the US distributors website, Apollo Design at www.apollodesign.net.

UPDATE:

Apollo has a great video explaining the new midiLED fixture, check it out!

iSquint Podcast: Episode 12 – LDI 2010 Post Show Podcast

In this, the 12th episode of the iSquint Podcast, I am joined by some heavy hitters in the industry to follow up and talk about the 2010 LDI Show in Las Vegas Nevada.  Joining me on the LDI 2010 Post Show Podcast is Mr. Michael Eddy from Eddy Marketing and Consulting, Mr. Richard Cadena, The Electron Wizard and Editor of PLSN Magazine, Mr. David Schraffenberger, General Manager of Production Advantage and finally, but certainly not least in any way, Mr. Jacob Coakley, Editor of Stage Directions Magazine.

We ditched the last hour of the show and headed over to the PRG meeting room to sit down and have an open discussion about all of the latest and greatest products that we viewed on the show floor.  We lingered on the subject of LEDs for a while.  We had to put that subject to rest as we could have been there for 3 days just talking about LEDs.  We also covered some of the new control, rigging, video and motion control products.  There was just not enough time to cover everything, but was certainly nice to get other opinions and gather together to see what each of us missed.

Couple of HUGE thanks to give out.  Of course, thank you to you gentleman for joining me on the podcast!  It is always a pleasure to be in your company.  Thank you to Production Resource Group, (PRG) for allowing us to take over a small corner of your meeting room to record the podcast. And last, thank you to The Swingin Johnson’s Band for allowing me to use part of their song, Playthang in the podcast. I love you guys!

[podcast]http://isquint.net/wp-content/uploads/podcast/iSquint.net_Podcast-Episode_12.mp3[/podcast]

The Martin Booth at LDI 2010 & Programmer Matthias Hinrichs

If you attended LDI 2010, you had to stop by or at least heard the Martin booth from any where on the trade show floor.  Every hour, the Martin booth came alive and put on a three minute show demonstrating what their fixtures can do.  I of course shot a quick video of the entire demo as well as snagged a quick interview of programing genius Matthias Hinrichs, Controls Product Manager for Martin Professional.

Matthias talks about what is in the booth, and just how much fun and easy it was to program the booth in just 12 hours on the brand new Martin M1 Console with time code.  Take a look at both videos, they are mind blowing!

Thanks Matthias, great job!

Pixel Range Introduces Q12 & Pixel Smart LED Fixtures

Brad White from Pixel Range is such a super nice guy.  He took some time out of his busy, BUSY booth to walk me through his two new fixtures, the Q12 and the Pixel Smart fixture.  Both fixtures are coming on line and getting ready to ship from Pixel Range before the end of the year.  I love Brad’s description of the Smart Pixel… “It’s Eye Candy”.  Boy was he right!

Now, I have to warn you.  My Flip camera is not the best for filming right into fixtures.  With the dark hall and then the bright fixtures, the camera iris went crazy so don’t judge the output by the video.  You really have to see these things in person, they are BLINDING!

Thanks Brad!

Chauvet Introduced Over a Dozen New Fixtures at LDI 2010

Here is one of the things I regret about LDI this year, not stopping by the Chauvet booth.  With all of the things going on, meetings, sessions and just the shear size of the show floor, I ran out of time to see every single thing on the floor.  You might think three days would be enough, well, it wasn’t for me.

Chauvet, I am so sorry I didn’t get a chance to stop by.  I really wanted to see everything up close and personal.  Here are some of the new things that Chauvet was showing off in their booth this year.

COLORado Series

COLORado series is born from our extensive experience with outdoor events and installations combined with the evolution of technology. They are designed for the harshest environments, and are ready to take on any installation from cruise ships to festival lighting, washing building exteriors to outdoor signage.

COLORado 1 IP features a total of 42 bright and powerful RGBW LEDs and an IP66 rating. COLORado 1-Tri IP encompasses all the COLORado™ 1 IP offers, but uses 14 tri-color LEDs and its smooth color mixing is perfect for front light applications. COLORado Range IP is a true LED powerhouse with a combined total of 180 5W, RGBWA LEDs and two independently adjustable heads covering anything from a cyc, to an entire stage, or a building with just one fixture. COLORado Ridge IP packs a major punch and consists of a single panel with 90 5W, RGBWA LEDs packed in a tough and sturdy frame. COLORado 1 VW Tour has a combination of 42 warm and cool LEDs creating a range of color temperatures from 2,700 K to 7,000 K for applications ranging from high-definition video and television to big-punch white light effects. COLORado Batten 144 Tour offers the same wide spectrum of RGBWA color mixing from the massively successful COLORado Batten 72 Tour, a Parnelli Awards nominee, with twice the LED output—featuring 144 1W RGBWA LEDs. With 10 and 30 degree optics, it offers an even wash of color—over a 10-meter surface—and the unit’s low profile and low heat emission give you the versatility to squeeze it into the tightest spaces for powerful and surprising effects.

COLORdash Series
COLORdash series are small on size, but big on performance. They’re perfect for retail displays, museums, restaurants—the possibilities are nearly endless. Plus, the on-board driver and dipswitches allow plug-and- play applications without the need for programming.
COLORdash Par-Tri uses seven 3W combined tri-color LEDs to create a solid-color output that nearly eliminates multicolored shadows. It comes with a set of barn doors to help control light spill and provide excellent warming for Euro-style truss. COLORdash Batten-Tri not only provides flawless solid colors for uplighting surfaces it’s also highly effective as a striking effect light. The pixel mode personality allows control over each of the eight high-powered, tri-colored LEDs. COLORdash Accent UV can be used as a single blacklight effect and as an effective complement to any RGB or RGBW light source where a little more of the spectrum is needed for better color rendering. COLORdash Accent VW is a rugged variable white fixture creating shades of white from 2,700 K up to 7,000 K with smooth, flicker-free operation.

Q- Series

Q- Series has always stood for quality and value. Now it also stands for groundbreaking LED technology as two new members join the very popular Q-Spot 260 LED and Q-Spot 160 LED to further enhance this game changing series.

Q-Beam 260-LED provides a tight, 6-degree, super-bright beam. Complete with an 8-position color wheel, a 7-position interchangeable rotating gobo wheel, and a 3-facet prism, this light cuts through haze with lightning-fast speed, creating a brilliant shaft of light and defined aerial effects. Q-Wash 360Z LED is a lightweight, LED powered moving yoke wash with a variable zoom (eight to 40 degrees) and RGBW color mixing. It boasts a whopping 91 3W, RGBW LEDs and incredible pan and tilt speed.
WELL, or Wireless Event LED Luminaire, is designed specifically to be a self-contained uplight for any event. Inside each WELL wash light are 12 3W tri-color LEDS, similar to the 14 found in our COLORado 1-TRI Tour, giving it great color mixing without any multi-colored shadows. It’s powered by a 12 volt battery offering up to 12 hours of life to the fixture and fits neatly inside a piece of truss. For control, standard DMX ports are available, as well as a pre-installed Wireless Solution WDMX receiver. Focusing is easily accomplished two different ways; the split LED plane can be precisely angled using the adjustment screws on the outside of the fixture, or for more dramatic adjustments, a ratcheting foot can be extend to tip the fixture several degrees without compromising stability. Also available is a six-slot road case which doubles as a gang charger for all the units.

Strong Entertainment Shows of the Neeva LED Profile Fixture

Couple of weeks before LDI, I mentioned something about the latest LED product from Strong Entertainment, the Neeva.  This is one of the things that I was dieing to see at LDI and I was some what impressed.

What is neat about the Neeva is that it is the same size as our beloved tungsten fixture that we use day in and day out, but it uses LEDs.  More specifically, it uses RGBA or RGBW depending on which fixture you decide to go with.

What really floored me about the fixture… the price.  The retail price of the fixture is $895.  895 USD DOLLARS!!!  Talk about a mind trip! Here is the quick video I shot of the Neeva on the show floor.

Thanks Paul!

#LDI2010: Prism Projection RevEAL Profile LED Fixture

It seems like Prism Projection is working them selves to the bone out there in the fly over states.  Just last year the RevEAL Color Wash fixture was announced at LDI.  Then the RevEAL Studio Wash fixture at NAB earlier this year. And now the RevEAL Profile?! Amazing, keep up the great work guys!

Garrett Young, President of Prism Projection is back to tell us a little bit about their latest fixture, the RevEAL Profile LED Fixture.  Take a look at the fixture and let me know what you think.  9,000 lumens is nothing to sneeze at!

Thanks Garrett!

Contest Time: Win a Flat Ultimate Focus Tool

Rob Junk from Stagejunk.com is an awesome guy.  Not only does he make some damn fine tools, but he just so nice and friendly.  So nice in fact that he gave me two of his brand new tool, the Flat Ultimate Focus Tool to give away.   Yes, he gave me two, but I am only giving ONE out right now as I still have to write a review of it.

So lets make this contest interesting.  You have till noon on Friday October 29th to submit your entry into the contest.  All you have to provide is a photo of yourself with the tool that you plan on replacing the Flat Ultimate Focus Tool with.  Make it interesting, show your frustration, show why you NEED the Flat Ultimate Focus Tool. One one photo per person is allowed, so make it a good one! Email that photo with you name to info@isquint.net with the Subject: I Want to WIN.

I’ll be selecting the best photo from the bunch and announcing the winner on Saturday, October 30th.  Get those Camera’s fired up and good

#LDI2010: Novella Smith Shows Off the ETC Selador Pearl LED Fixture

I love Novella Smith.  She has such a love for lighting and color!  It really shows when she is talking about her products, the Selador series of LED products from ETC.  Every time I see Novella, she has a HUGE smile on and can not wait to talk about color.  Her passion behind it really shows when she starts talking about mixing colors and using the Selador fixtures.  She mesmerizes you and gets you just as excited as she goes along.

This year at LDI was just as exciting.  Novella took a couple minutes out of her busy demo schedule to show me the latest Selador fixture, the Pearl.  It is an all white LED fixture with 3200k and 5600k LEDs in the same form factor as the rest of the 11″ Selador fixtures.  I’ll let Novella take it from here as she gives the best demo!

Thanks Novella, I miss you already!

#LDI2010: StageJunk.com Releases Flat Ultimate Focus Tool

Rob Junk from StageJunk.com is at it again.  First it was the Ultimate Focus Tool, then the Ratcheting Ultimate Focus Tool and now, the Flat Ultimate Focus Tool!  How many different designs of a tool can Rob come up with?!?  I though he had it right at the original Ultimate Focus Tool! Again and again he is proving me wrong!

This year at LDI, StageJunk.com showed off the Flat Ultimate Focus Tool.  It does a lot of what the other UFT’s do, but comes in far less expensive then it’s big brothers.  Hold on to your pants… the Flat Ultimate Focus Tool goes for just $20 USD!!!  Check out the quick video of Rob demoing the Flat Ultimate Focus Tool.