Vari-Lite Goes Retro with the new VL800 Series

Vari-Lite/Signify have ventured away from their norm and have recently introduced a new series of LED was lights, the VL800 Series.  Yes, the series does include a moving head, but the one fixture that continues VL’s retro styling is the VL800 EventPar. Think Par Can, but modernized.

More from the Press Release:
Vari-Lite, the originators of the modern moving head lighting fixture and a Signify entertainment lighting brand, today announced the VL800 Series of fixed and moving head LED fixtures. These cost-effective event fixtures bring a feature set that is targeted specifically at mid-sized tours, productions, and entertainment lighting installations.

“Our goal with the VL800 Series was to bring event fixtures that have been built with the DNA of Vari-Lite,” says Martin Palmer, Senior Product Manager, Vari-Lite and Strand Luminaires at Signify. “This means introducing fixtures that look, move, and feel the way you would expect from us, but with a cost and feature set that are the right fit for installations and smaller rental applications. Our customers trust the Vari-Lite brand and the pre- and post-sale support behind it, and we take seriously our commitment to delivering on that promise.”

The new VL800 Series includes three exciting new fixtures, all of which have been designed to work together. The fixtures have been color matched so they are visually consistent, and the user experience and DMX mapping are consistent as well. This allows lighting designers and programmers the ability to easily use multiple fixtures together in a single application.

The VL800 Series includes:

• Vari-Lite VL800 PROPAR – An advanced, high output LED event PAR fixture that includes a quiet running motorized zoom. The fixture offers full RGBW color mixing and has gel-matched color presets to deliver the same visual results customers are accustomed to, with multi-mode fan control for use in quiet environments.
• Vari-Lite VL800 EVENTPAR – The VL800 EVENTPAR is an LED retro-style event PAR perfect for a modern replacement of classic tungsten PAR fixtures. Designed to bring back the vintage stylings of the original lamps and PAR cans, the VL800 EVENTPAR will be available in both RGBA and warm white (WW) varieties, with output and color reminiscent of tungsten PAR 64 lamps. With an outdoor rating of IP24 for protection against water spray from any direction, the fixture can withstand rainy conditions at an outdoor event or installation.
• Vari-Lite VL800 EVENTWASH – The VL800 EVENTWASH is mid-sized LED wash moving head fixture that is extremely compact and powerful. This fast-moving wash offers full RGBW color mixing and 7 individually controllable LEDs for easy split colors or pixel mapping applications. With controllable dimming and motorized zoom, this fixture moves and feels like a Vari-Lite, providing valuable features in a cost-effective mid-sized moving head.

Learn more about the VL800 Series by visiting www.vari-lite.com.

Vari-Lite Adds VL440 Spot and VLX3 LED Fixture

Vari-Lite just introduced two new fixtures to their line up.  The first being the baby brother to their LED wash fixture, the VLX3. The VLX3 is just like it’s big brother, only a bit smaller and has three of the LED engines compared to the seven found in the original VLX.

The VLX3 has three, replaceable custom 120 watt RGBW LED chipsets that provide output that offers three times the efficacy of comparable tungsten sources. The total system provides approximately greater than 6,000 lumens of white light output, and 10,000 hour source life of the chip. The luminaire offers 70% lumen intensity maintenance over that time. Head over to Vari-Lite’s website to learn more about the VLX3.

Vari-lite also introduced the VL440 Spot moving head fixture. It is small and lightweight with a 400-watt HTI P28 Lok-it! lamp, a zoom range from 15° to 35°, and a mechanical iris for continuous beam control. The VL440 Spot luminaire provides color mixing through its three-wheel CYM color assembly and eight standard colors on a fixed wheel. To learn more about the new VL440 Spot, visit www.vari-lite.com.

The Latest From Philips at LDI 2010

If you were at LDI this year, you had to have noticed the Philips booth.  It was kind of hard to miss it.  Philips was dead smack in the middle of the floor with a huge open layout with an awesome circle truss FILLED with all of their latest LED products from all of their brands, Vari-Lite, Strand and Selecon.

My good friend and funny man from Philips, Peta Borchetta gave me a walking tour of the booth going over all the latest and greatest products. Ignore the interruptions for the peanut gallery, Alan Kibbe for the Vari-Lite division wanted to throw us off and get his five seconds on camera. Maybe next time Alan! ;)

Thanks Pete for the tour!

Vari-Lite Shipping New VL550 Wash & VL1100 ERS Fixtures

I got super excited when I saw this email hit the inbox, Vari-Lite shipping new fixtures?!? What did I miss?!  Turns out Vari-Lite re-tooled and configured the VL500 Wash and VL100 ERS fixtures with design enhancements and eco-friendly technologies and gave them updated part numbers.  Here is more from the official press release:

Philips Vari-Lite is proud to announce that the new VL550 Wash and Vl1100 ERS luminaires are now shipping. Updating the current VL500 Wash and VL1000 ERS luminaire models, the new VL550 and VL1100 series have undergone design enhancements to provide a more quiet and smooth operation, while maintaining the same power and performance of their predecessors. Plus, each series now offers a 315W ceramic discharge lamp model, further demonstrating the Philips Vari-Lite commitment to being a market leader in eco-friendly lighting technology.

The VARI*LITE VL550 Wash luminaire is still based upon the Emmy® Award-winning VL5 Wash luminaire, but with significant design improvements, including a 50 kHz. drive system that quiets the operation of all two-phase motors in the fixture during movement
and while in static positions. This luminaire is now available in the VL550, VL550D, VL550CD, and VL550 80V models. The VL550CD model utilizes a 315W ceramic discharge lamp that offers the color temperature of tungsten, a high CRI, and an incredibly long-rated lamp life of 8,000 hours.

The current VL500A luminaire model is now being discontinued, but will continue to be serviced and supported by the Philips Vari-Lite customer support team.

As the next generation of the VL1000 ERS luminaire, all models of the VL1100 luminaire will also have a new 50 kHz. drive system that quiets the operation of all two-phase motors. Additional enhancements include new, three-phase, ultra quiet stepper motors that provide a smooth, timed continuous pan and tilt motion; and a new central bearing system in the gobo wheel reduces noise and ensures smooth operation. This luminaire is now available in the VL1100 Arc, VL1100 Tungsten, and VL1100CD models. As with the VL550CD, the VL1100CD model also utilizes a 315W ceramic discharge lamp for an 8,000 hour lamp life with more than 8,000 lumens of output, and a high CRI.

For more information on Vari-Lites new VL550 Wash and VL1100 ERS fixtures, visit their web site at www.vari-lite.com.

City Theatrical Announces Vari-Lite VLX Accessories

City Theatrical just put out their March Newsletter with a bit of interesting news.  Looks like City Theatrical is starting to make accessories for Vari-Lite’s VLX LED moving Light. In the announcement of the Vari-Lite accessories, City details why and how they come up with lighting accessories for different types of lights.  A pretty interesting read.

So what are these new accessories for the VLX?  The first one, pictured to the left is City Theatricals, VLX Louver, Part number 2661.  The louver helps stop light leak out the front of the fixture and helps focus the light beam.

The other VLX accessory is the VLX Top Hat, part number 2660.  The top hat is pretty easy to understand what it does. The two new Vari-Lite accessories have not made it to City Theatrical’s web site yet, or a price posted either.

Visit City Theatrical’s web site at www.citytheatrical.com to sign up for their newsletter at the bottom of the home page.

Rumor Mill: Vari*Lite to Introduce a New VLX Series LED Fixture?

We have heard from some friends in the industry talking about Vari*Lite and their next step in the LED market. Not to long ago, Vari*Lite introduced the VLX, an LED wash fixture. What is interesting is that on Vari*Lites own website, they have it listed as the VLX Series. This could only mean one thing, that the Original VLX is not the only one in the line up.

We have heard that Vari*Lite is getting ready to announce a new LED fixture at the LDI Show in Orlando this year.  What we have heard is that they are using one LED engine that would possibly be RGBW just like the VLX.

We have a lot of open ended questions that we ourselves wanted answered but are hitting a brick wall. The Vari*Lite booth, 927, is a must visit this year at LDI not only to see the VLX fixture as well as hopefully get more information and possibly see this new fixture.

JOL Found Inside Images of the Vari-Lite VLX

This is only one of 8 photos JimOnLight.com found of the Super Sexy Vari-Lite VLX! Not only are there great photos of the fixture, but the actual LED Engines and Chip Sets!

Great Find Jim!!!

Update: Vari-Lite VLX LED Light

Vari-Lite has released a preliminary spec sheet on their up coming VLX LED Wash Light. Some of the interesting points of from the Spec Sheet.

• Smooth, high resolution dimming control of R,G,B, and W LED’s.
• Seven x 90 watt RGBW CBM380 LED chipsets. Each chipset contains high density red, green, blue, and white LED emitters.
• Patented, 3:1 optical system with continuously variable field angle from approximately 22° to 60°.
• Color Temp. White: Variable between 3000 and 6500 degrees Kelvin. CRI: 93
• Manufacturer Rated Life: In excess of 50,000 hours. (L10 – 70%) Output: Exceeds 10,000 lumens.
• 62 lbs. (28 kg.) with included pair of hanging rails.

The luminaire offers five-pin DMX in and thru connectors, Ethernet input, and a backlit menu panel for easy installation and operation. Control is achieved through a variety of DMX consoles and output devices. Large, rugged handles  insure easy installation, and subdued style and understated lines allow for seamless integration into any lighting rig or stage setting. Pan and tilt transport/service locks and low fixture weight make moving the VLX as simple and efficient as it’s
operation.

To learn more about the VLX LED light from Vari-Light, visit their website at www.vari-lite.com.  Prices have not been released, but fixtures are expected to begin to ship towards the end of April, beginning of May.  For pricing, visit the dealer section of Vari-Lite’s website.

Selecon to Join Philips Entertainment Lighting Group

Selecon Lighting of New Zealand has decided to sell the company to Philips to become part of the Philips Global Entertainment Lighting Group.  Selecon will be joining such companies as Vari-Lite, Strand Lighting and Color Kinetics. Selecon will continue to operate as normal with no changes made to management.

To read more about the press release from Selecon, visit thier website at www.seleconlight.com.

Rumor CONFIRMED: Vari-Lite VLX LED Moving Light

While visiting the Vari-Lite booth here at SETC, we noticed an interesting banner in the booth.  Vari-lite has a blown up ad of their new VLX LED moving light that we hinted about a month ago.  Out contact says that this ad will be running in the March issue of Live Design.

What is interesting is the verbiage on the bottom.  It mentions that,

the VLX is equipped with 630 watts of LED’s yielding 3 times the lumen efficiency of equivalent tungsten sources.  It’s revolutionary modular design provides for easy swap out  of optical and mechanical components.  VLX has a removable zoom system giving users the freedom to configure the luminarie with a fixed focal length of 22 degrees or a variable 3:1 zoom.  The VLX produces perfect color mixing without any distracting color shadows.  The luminarie has an extensive color gambit that offers designers color choices not previously possible with other conventional subtractive or additive systems.  The color temperature is variable and can be seamlessly adjusted between 3200k and 6000k.  Color shifts and strobing are stunningly quick.

We were not able to find our when the VLX may start shipping, but it was hinted at sometime this summer. We were not able to find out much more then what the poster said, but well keep after it for more information.