Rumor Mill: Vari-lite Working on an LED Wash Unit

It has been heard through the rumor mill that Vari-Lite is working on an LED wash unit. From un-named sources that attended LDI this year in Las Vegas, Vari-lite, one of the top producers of moving lights in the industry is researching and developing a moving yoke fixture that uses high intensity LEDs.  In the back rooms at the show, select persons were allowed demonostrations of this rumored LED fixture.  While details are few and far behind, the new LED fixture is said to out perform Vari-lites own VL5000 wash unit in inensity even when the LED fixture is running at half the capacity of the power supply to drive the LEDs. Once a power supply is ready to fully drive the LEDs correctly, the intersity can only increase.

No time frame has been overheard of when this fixture may be ready for market or even announced to the public.  One can only assume that hints will start to drop mid next year.

Robe: DigitalSpot 7000DT & 3000DT

Robe Lighting introduced two new lighting fixtures at LDI this year in Las Vegas, the DigialSpot 7000DT and the DigitalSpot 3000DT.  Both of these fixtures are Digital projection luminaries that not only project video images, but function as light instruments.  Robe jump head first into the digital projection market with these fixtures and touted at their booth at LDI that digital projection is the way of the future and is here and ready.

DigitalSpot 3000DT

Robe’s DigitalSpot 300DT is their first Digital Moving Light Projector that combines their REDWash (Robe Emitted Diodes) LED module and Digital Projector to create a fixture that is able not only to wash with a large amount of color choices, but also use projections.  The 3000DT emits 2.700 Ansi lumens from a single 200W projection lamp with a contrast ratio of 2,000:1.  The lamp is rated at 4,000 lamp hours and has an aspect ratio of 4:3 with an XGA resolution of 1,024×768 and can produce a full 16.7 million color palette. The DigitalSpot 3000DT in a single Road Case retails for $19,900. Learn more about the DigitalSpot 3000DT visit the product page at www.robelighting.com

DigitalSpot 7000DT

The DigitalSpot 7000DT is the second offering from Robe Lighting and offers a high output in lumens for digital projections.  The 7000DT uses a 330W lamp and emit 6,500 ANSI lumens with a contrast ratio of 2,000:1.  Each of the two LED modules use 48 Luxeon Rebel RDBW LED’s.

The 7000DT offers both DVI and SDI input/outputs to make getting video in and out of the fixture easy and efficiently with out having to worry about different connector or video signal requirements.

The 7000DT also offers web access through the fixture to provide total control and configuration of the fixture with user library management.  To learn more about the DigitalSpot 700DT, visit the product page at www.robelighting.com.

Both fixtures offer some of the standard features such as:

• 5″ TFT LCD display & Robe navigation system
• Communication with active RDM running ROBE RDMNet
• Pan movement range of 530°
• Tilt movement range of 280°
• 16 bit movement resolution
• DMX data in/out, locking 3-pin & 5-pin XLR
• 2 USB 2.0 connectors
• ArtNet: RJ45
• 4 Digital Gobo Layers for Image and Video Control
• Picture Merging effect in the field of up to 8×8 segments
• Projection onto spherical surfaces, cylindrical surfaces and angular screens
• Layer Media Control Modes (Copy, Add, Subtract, Multi, Minimum and Maximum)
• Framing Shutter Effect for creating action scripts for Images or Videos
• Digital Iris effect + 160 Masking effects
• Full digital keystone correction facilities
• Digital Strobe effect
• CMY Image and Video Colour Mixing, plus CTC (Colour Temperature Correction)
• PC or Laptop VGA or S-Video input for presentations
• Composite video or S-Video input for the onboard Graphics Engine
• DVI Input, SDI Input/output for professional Graphics Engine II
• 2 Effects Engines per Layer
• Effect synchronization
• Gobo (Image) Control Modes

Elektralite LXE 700 Wash and Profile

Elektralite was showing off some of their latest products at LDI this year in Las Vegas at the Group One Limited booth. The two newest products form Elekralite is the LXE 700 Wash and Profile units.  The LXE 700 series of moving lights from Elekrtalite are huge step for them as these are the largest fixtures that they have produced.

Both Wash and Profile offer these features:

• HSD 700 Lamp (7000ºK, 3000 hours)
• Pan/Tilt, 8 or 16 bit control
• Electronic ballast
• External Lamp Control
• Super quite cooling
• Strobe and shutter effects
• Programmed effects
• Electronic Display
• Sound Activation

LXE 700 Profile

• Stepped beam angles, 24º, 28º and 35º
• Zoom, between fixed angles
• Frost Filter
• Full Dimming (0 ~ 100%)
• 7 color + open White Wheel
• Full CMY Mixing
• 2 rotating bo-directional gobo wheels
• 12 total gobo’s
• 16 bit fine positioning
• 3 facet rotating prism
• Retail: $ 5,499.00
• Click Here for more information

LXE 700 Wash

• Beam Angles: Linear 7º ~ 28º
• Elecronic zoom with wide angle lens
• Full Dimming (0 ~ 100%)
• 1 rotating bi-directional color wheel
• 7 colors + open white
• Full CMY mixing
• Full beam effects
• Beam shaper
• Frost Filter
• Retail: $ 4,499.00
• Click here for more information

What sets these two fixtures apart from the rest of the field is their price point.  Similar fixtures are running almost double the retail price of either the wash or profile unit.  To learn more about either fixture or any other product made my elektralite, visit www.myelektralite.com.

To request mor einformation on their products, or to locate a dealer near you, click here.