Lighting

Details
>At PLASA for the second time, e:cue had a host of products and was having a great show with a well attended stand. e:cue programmer is the central programming interface for almost all products produced by the company: this is a PC-based software which offers all the opportunities of an advanced lighting controller. The e:node 512 Ethernet DMX interface is now offered with a choice of stylish colour fascias aimed at the architectural market.

Details
>The Clay Paky stand highlighted the new Point range of miniature colour changing fixtures. Point is a fixed bracket mounting unit; Point IN is a flush-mount version with adjustable angle and rotation, while Point MH adds full moving-body facilities. A lens kit for gobo projection is also available. For the outdoor market, the Rain Spot 575 effects projector offers four interchangeable lenses, rotating and fixed gobos, four rotating prisms and eight colour capability. Further innovative new products are promised from Clay Paky at LDI in Orlando this autumn.

Details
>With improvements and additions coming on a monthly basis to users of Stardraw, to list them all would be problematic. The new online symbol libraries feature allows users to build their own 'favourites' library, making the enormous and growing range of adopted symbols far more manageable, whilst retaining easy access to updates. Another new addition gaining much attention at the show was automatic cable labelling. It sounds simple, but think about all the spadework it saves with complex wiring layouts. Also, Shure and Middle Atlantic Products now endorse Stardraw Weblink, the program that allows manufacturers to embed custom data within the symbols that represent their products in Stardraw design and document applications.

Details
>LightProcessor showed its Zip desks as well as new models in its Dimension range of installation dimmers, available as D610 (6 x 10A) wall-mount, truss-mount or portable versions, plus the D1210 (12 x 10A) and D1810 (18 x 10A) commercial versions. LightProcessor's other popular products include the Paradime digital dimmer - a six-channel dimming module and the DMX-tools range - of DMX signal processing products, including the DMuX, store, Merge and Buffer - the latter available in both truss and 19" rack-mounting version.

Details
>Stepping into Abstract AVR's marquee, where colour exploded from the floors and walls, was an impressive assault on the senses. From the new Ledion range, the modular LED dance floor was attracting attention. The new VRX Powerled 1.8m bar creates fascinating light patterns using high powered, super-bright LED technology.

Details
>Further developments to the Matrix sine wave dimming system, were shown on the I.E.S. stand. Client requests have led to I.E.S. increasing its range of products and specifications of the system. A double processor unit per cabinet is now a standard option and with Ethernet data connections for dimmers proving popular, I.E.S. launched interfaces equipped for ANC (Advanced Network Control) and RDM (Remote Device Management). Recent installations for the company include 1,600 channels at Het Muziektheater, home of Amsterdam Opera.

Details
>The Stadium Hazer from Le Maitre is a new concept in the cost-effective manufacture and delivery of vast volumes of non-toxic haze, without the problems of oily deposits. The patented delivery system is designed for easy maintenance and is programmed to self-clean on start-up and shut-down. The delivery arm can be angled through 120° and has a variable speed booster fan to project the haze to where it's required. Le Maitre's Rick Wilson said the pyrotechnics demonstrations, run on the Top Deck, were well attended - as always!

Details
>Lots of new products from High End Systems. Highest in profile was the Catalyst DL1 digital lighting engine, winning the PLASA Award in the AV category. The DL1 sees the boundaries between lighting and digital video blur, with moving images deliverable via the moving head fixture and V3 of the Catalyst software. Also on stand was ColorCommand, a fixed incandescent washlight with CMY colour mixing, while ColorMerge is designed as an alternative to gel scrollers for ETC Source Four luminaires and uses CMY dichroic glass mixing. For the club market, Trackspot 2 is a moving mirror fixture with 12-position colour and effects wheels. On the control front, version 1.3 of Flying Pig Systems' Wholehog III software was on show, as was Wholehog PC. Designed to give users the facilities of a Wholehog II console within a Windows-compatible PC, the Wholehog PC software is free. Complementary hardware

Details
>In addition to the audio lines mentioned earlier, MilTec also distributes Italian lighting manufacturer Fal which has has taken the logical step and achieved IP65 for its Ground Colour and Mini-Painter architectural fixtures.

Details
>A new architectural dimming system, Anylight from Anytronics comprises an interface card housed in standard wall-mount dimmer packs, that uses standard DMX to communicate with up to 50 outstations (Anytronics provides a range of five outstation panels with varying degrees of presets, single toggles and simple up/down buttons). Outstations can be connected star or daisy chain-style, getting power and comms from the interface card via a two-wire connection in parallel. Simple to set up, the Anytronics system provides a relatively sophisticated level of control without resort to a PC and programming.

Details
>Star of the ETC stand, and the first product launch of the PLASA Show (the press conference took place before the doors had even opened), was the Source Four Revolution, the new moving head version of the renowned profile. Using the same optics as the Source Four Zoom, but with increased light output, Revolution has been designed to operate extremely quietly for the theatre market. The base unit offers 570º pan, 270º tilt, beam-edge change, zoom, internal media frame and on-board dimming. An in-built colour scroller is provided, plus a new lamp base which features a quick-exchange incandescent light source. Two bays are provided for optional modules which give additional functions, including an 18-leaf iris, colour wheel, rotating gobo and shutter modules.

Details
>Jack Exell, general mnager of Cerebrum Lighting was well pleased with the show, adding that the stand had been kept busy by high quality visitors. For the first time Cerebrum was showing the full Xenonspot range of Xenon followspots, in collaboration with Japanese manufacturer San-ei Electric Co. The range is available in 1, 2, 3, and 4kW models.

Details
>Barry Abrams, the product development manager for lighting effects company Chauvet, commented that the company always aims to find a little niche and create something innovative to fill it. This year it was showing the first samples of the new LED Colortube, a cutting-edge, eco-friendly tube equipped with 144 high intensity LEDs. The system is intended to go into production in January 2004.

Details
>There were five main products from concert lighting's best-known desk manufacturer, Avolites. Diamond 4 Elite features 96+14 playbacks and eight DMX universes in a remarkably small format console that still gives easy hands-on access, not least clear short-cuts in configuration, which is arguably easier than a touch-screen type operation. The D4 Vision has even more playbacks (156) and a greater number of hands-on channel controls, making it more suited to large dimmer shows. Both desks have Visualizer on-board.

Link Avolites' Simulator desktop to the new E2DMX and you have a virtual desk panel on-screen with outputs to eight universes of DMX. Add D4 Pilot (it acts as a USB hub) and you have a simple hands-on operating panel for Simulator with recognizable controls from a D4 desk and eight motorized faders. Also on stand were the company's new ART3000 dimmers - based on the familiar A

Details
>A contemporary-looking ice bucket, pre-programmed to change colour, was one of the latest, stylish offerings from Special EFX. The company is the exclusive UK importer of Mood-Light, a range of LED lighting panels and objects. New products in the range include the frame-less, flat fronted Tile, which enables multi-panel displays without seams and the Reflector panel, which acts as a mirror when not illuminated. The panels can be utilized in installations for walls, ceiling and floors.

Details
>Ivano Burato of recently-formed Paris-based company Ayrton, was having a busy show, reporting that all items on the stand were sold, plus orders taken. Ayrton launched EyeColor, an LED moving head fixture, which has been in production since June. A forerunner in the professional LED moving-head fixture arena, its 18 high-power LEDs have a 10-year life span and offer users an infinite palette of rich saturated colours. Maintenance of the fixture is extremely easy as its has no lamps or colour mixing systems. Its low IR emission and non-existent UV radiation enables it to be used close to the objects it illuminates without any risk of damage.

Details
>Rubber Box had a very busy and productive show this year, which they say was greatly assisted by the new floor plan making it easier for visitors to find them! New products included the Type 420 Box, designed as a baby brother to the Type 550 Box which was launched at last year's show. The 420 fills a size gap in the company's products and would usually be fitted with 63A to 400A incomers and any type or size of sockets. Endless configurations are possible. Rubber Box's Paul bates told L&SI: "We believe the increase in orders during September and continuing into October was a direct result of exhibiting at PLASA and we look forward to next year's show when we hope to be launching two more new products. Watch this space!"

Details
>Swefog showed prototypes of its new Live X-Power series smoke machine. The Live foggers will be available in two versions - the Live 22 with an 1800W capacity and the Live 26 which can produce an impressive fog curtain with its 2600W heater. Further standard features involve timer control, precise fog output control - from a light, hazy effect to dense smoke, short warm-up time, powerful output, DMX 512 control, advanced LED display and overheating protection system.

Details
>Wybron launched the Nexera range of lighting fixtures. This range of profiles and fresnels is equipped with Wybron's new dichroic CMY colour mixing facility. With no fans, the luminaires are very quiet, and will be shipping in December. Wybron also showed the Watchdog III Control System for Remote Device Management (RDM), the new open standard for status monitoring and configuration. The System consists of a gateway, controller software, and unique converter modules (called 'DogBones'). Placing one DogBone into each device's DMX line receiver socket makes non-RDM equipment RDM-compatible.

Details
>One of the smallest USB-to-DMX512 interfaces in the world was the new attraction on the VXCO Lighting Systems stand. The DMXCreator 512Basic contains all its electronics in the plug, and connects directly to the USB port on computers, requiring no external power supply. It is designed to work with the DMXCreator software.

Details
>A testimony to the durability of Rainbow Colour Changers comes in the fact that the same scroller units have been in place on the show Starlight Express for 15 years with very few replacement units. There have been no recent changes to the technology (no need to fix what ain't broke), but Rainbow has introduced a new string service to ensure a custom service to suit the needs of the client.

Details
>No new products this year to add to MDG Fog Generators' impressive range of products, but plenty of projects on the go. Commercial manager Martin Michaud told us they've been extremely busy working on a number of high profile projects from Celine Dion in Las Vegas to LegoLand in Germany and the new Cirque du Soleil show, Zumanity.

Details
>Jack Schmidt said Strong Entertainment Lighting was having a great show, with a very busy Sunday. Eight of the company's new Gladiator IV 4kW Xenon followspots, designed for fixed use in large venues or for touring, have recently been sold to Spot Rental BV in Europe.

Details
>An unusual visitor to PLASA, and a new one, Specialz provide PAT tested, CE marked solutions to set designers (TV, concert, wherever) who wish to place lights and other electrical devices into scenic elements. "We also provide low-tech solutions to complicated problems," said co-director Dave Smith. Two good examples were on the stand; a dimmable ballast for fluorescent tubes, flicker and 'plasming' free between 2%-100% fade; and a delightful pair of roving headlamps built for the Weasley family's Ford Anglia, as used for the recent Harry Potter launch at the Royal Albert Hall.
  1. Element Labs
  2. Roscolab
  3. Cirro Lite (Europe)
  4. Mushroom Event Services
  5. Projected Image UK
  6. Awards for Product Excellence - Lighting
Page 573 of 1201

Latest Issue. . .