Quick View of the Zero88 ORB Desk

I had a chance to stop by the Cooper Controls booth at the LDI booth and talk with Grant Bales-Smith, the Sales Manager for Zero88.  Grant gave me a quick overview of their latest lighting desk, the ORB consoles. The 2048 DMX control channels offered by the Orb allows users to control multiple LED fittings, intelligent lights or media servers controlling video, as well as the standard generic dimming systems common to theatres and television. All of these devices are programmed through intuitive user interfaces incorporating custom designed encoder wheels, multiple playback stacks, user definable keys and optional touch screens.

To learn more about the ORB console from Zero88, visit the ORB’s website at www.orbdesk.com.

Even More Goodness on the Wybron Cygnus LED Wash Fixture

We received word from our Washington contact with more information on the Wybron Cygnus LED Wash fixture.  Not only did we get more info, but some photos and a nice little video.

The Cygnus is expected to begin to ship late in December or first part of January 2010 with an expected retail price of $2,500 USD. As we mentioned earlier, the Cygnus uses 23 Cree LEDs at 5 watts apiece with an 8 degree lens. In the production model of the Cygnus, there will be an additional channel that will control the color temperature of the White LED while adding the necessary color LEDs on the fixture to mix any where from 3400k to 9000k.

We confirmed that the Cygnus does run off a standard 120v power supply and does not require the 4-pin power supply like most of Wybron’s other products.

More Photos of the Wybron Cygnus from within the Wybron Mobile Showroom

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And a short video featuring Dusty Hudgins from Wybron giving us a brief demo of the Cygnus.

Lightwright 5 New Features YouTube Video

At the release of Lightwright 5 at the beginning of September, John Mckernon, the developer of the software put together a YouTube video of some of the new features found in the update.

Be sure to check out the video. John does a great job explain some of the key differences between LW4 and LW5 as well as some of the neat features only found in LW5.

Martin Introduces FlexDot S1

Straight from the Press Release on this one:

Martin Professional’s new FlexDOT S1™, LED video displays break free from the flat, rectangular format. Fully customizable and DMX512 controllable, these bright and lightweight strings of LED pixels allow for the creation of customized video solutions with maximum artistic flexibility and a minimum of effort.

FlexDOT is a perfect solution for integrating LED video technology in stage sets, clubs, retail, even outdoor environments, enabling unique display solutions to be realized without the long lead times or costs associated with a ‘from scratch’ design.

The FlexDOT concept is simple – individually controlled, intelligent, full color pixels mounted on a flexible cable that allows designers/architects to create unique and customized LED video displays. Each pixel (dot) consists of a bright RGB LED driven by its own processor and individually addressable for independent control of color, special effects, and animation. Pixels can be arranged as needed and later mapped to the image using pixelmapping software. FlexDOT can be controlled from any DMX512 source such as Martin’s Maxedia™ media server.

At 2.5 candela per pixel, FlexDOT is twice as bright as competitive products and provides an image quality and level of performance on par with the best conventional LED screens. This flexible, lightweight solution is also efficient and long-lasting and can be arranged into nearly any form to provide designers unlimited options to enhance interior and exterior spaces.

For more information on the Martin FlexDot, visit their website at www.martin.com.

Green Hippo Announces Hippo Critter Media Server

At LDI this year in Las Vegas, the makers of the Hippotizer Media Server announced the up coming release of the Hippo Critter Media Server.  Hippo Critter is the smallest addition to the Hippotizer family.  The Hippo Citter is a full working version of it’s big brother, the Hippotizer Media Server, just in a much smaller package weighing in at 6lbs. and rough measurements of 8″ x 6″ x 10″.

The Hippo Critter is ideal for fixed installations , architectural applications where space matters.  With such a small package, the Hippo Critter is able to be mounted directly to the back of a flat screen or hidden in a set out of the way.

Here is a listing of the Preliminary Features:

• Class leading video playback and rel-time rendering
• 2 FX engines per later, 100+ effects per FX engine
• Frame accurate synchronization across multiple servers
• Media Manager with live media updating
• Timeline scheduling against the clock for standalone operation
• Keystone and ScreenWrap for non-linear projection surfaces
• Soft-Edge Blending
• 4 layers (720 x 576_ or 2 layers (1280×720)
• Unlimited universes of PixelMapper for LED fixtures
• Control of external devices via RS232 or TCPIP
• Remote management, upoad and configuration via HippoNet
• External Control from DMX/MIDI/TCP-IP/RS232
• Automation component for use with moving staging, truss, etc.
• External ‘CritterPlate available for flexible mounting options.

All of Green Hippo products are distrobuted throguh TMB.  The Hippo Critter is expected to start shipping early in 2009 with a retail price under $10,000.  For more information on Green Hippo products, visit their website at www.greenhippo.com.  To find a dealer or to purchase Green Hippo products, visit TMB’s website at www.tmb.com.