FRANKFURT, Germany — Prolight + Sound 2013, which rejoined Musikmesse in Frankfurt from April 10-13, 2013, once again drew crowds from around the world with new and improved lighting, video and staging products. The combined exhibitions set an all-time attendance record of more than 113,000 visitors from 142 countries. Here are some lighting and video highlights.
ADJ featured their Mega Go Flood Par, a battery-powered RGB color wash; the Mega TRI38 Sys, a pack-and-go complete LED wash system; and the Inno Color Beam 12, a compact, lightweight RGBW beam effect fixture.
ArKaos announced the formation of the new ArKaos Pro division. The company also launched its ArKaos Stadium Server, which features 6+1 EDID managed full HD outputs, full SSD storage allowing up to 900 MB/s from the disc, multiple AMD FirePro GPUs and up to 8K width videos. ArKaos also introduced Version 2 of its Video Mapper software.
Ayrton launched three new products: the NandoBeam 302, a compact 300W LED moving head with individually controllable concentric circles for special effects; the MagicPanel 602 moving head, designed for continuous double rotation in pan and tilt mode; and the DreamPanel Floor HD18, said to be the first screen floor to be both HD and IP65 rated.
Barco LiveDots, a Barco company, extended its C-series of LED displays with its fifth product, the C8, which is “typhoon tested” for outdoor use. The screens offer a pixel pitch of 8.33mm and 5,000 nits brightness, and have been designed to withstand exposure to vibration, varying temperatures and UV rays as well as water and dirt.
ChamSys displayed its new 64 Universe, 32768 parameter Pro 2014 console and the company’s new PC Wing Compact.
Chauvet featured its Nexus 4×4 pixel-mapping wash light, Legend 230SR Beam moving yoke, Ovation series of theatrical luminaires, Q-Wash 436Z-LED zooming LED wash light and COLORado 4 IP pixel-mapping batten, among other recent product developments. The company’s Iluminarc division featured its Ilumipanel 40 IP, Ilumipanel 180 IP, Ilumipod 18g2 IP, Ilumiline 36 IP, Ilumiline Inground Tri 12 IP, Ilumiline Logic 12, Ilumipod Logic Tri 4 and other products designed for architectural use.
Christie displayed its Roadster J and M Series 3-chip DLP projectors along with Christie Nitro Solutions integrated moving yokes and digital projector systems and Christie MicroTiles in various shapes and formats.
City Theatrical presented its latest SHoW DMX wireless DMX products including the SHoW DMX D4 and SHoW DMX D2 dimmers — the size of a credit card and 14mm thick — which are designed for dimming LED tape. The company also featured the compact Cognito lighting controller from Pathway Connectivity.
Chroma-Q unveiled their Inspire LED house light, which is designed to enable venues to color-change the house lighting from whites to pastels and saturated hues. The fixture combines DMX-512 control, homogenized color mixing and a CRI of 90 with 4,000 hot lumens output and adjustable CCT. Chroma-Q also launched its AutoLED II 6500K CCT daylight white LED moving head fixture. Sharing DMX control and other technologies with the Chroma-Q Studio Force D XT 12, the AutoLED II can provide 16,430 hot lumens output to yield daylight illumination for auto shows and other events.
Clay Paky product highlights included the Sharpy Wash, with a new 330W light source, CMY color system, mechanical dimmer, beam-shaping filter, motorized top-hat and 6.5°-48° zoom. Also featured: the Alpha Profile 800 ST, a moving beam-shaper designed for use in theatres and studios that features a miniaturized four-blade framing system and 7.6°-55° zoom; and the Glow-Up Strip 100, a new battery-operated, wireless LED batten that can operate at 10-hour intervals.
Clear-Com featured Tempest digital wireless intercom enhancements including a Remote Line Extender for RF-rich environments. Clear-Com also emphasized its fiber network partnerships by using Optocore and BroaMan products to transport HD video, audio-playback and talkback via fiber optic cable from Optocore’s stand to a kiosk within the Clear-Com stand.
Coemar celebrated 80 years with five new products. Within the company’s LiteLed series, Coemar offers the MoonLite LED VW 3000/6500 K panel designed for broadcasting and photography; the ParLite Led Strobe, with seven individually controllable LED rings; and the C4 Led Strobe, designed as a substitute for conventional 1500W strobes. Coemar also added two new products to its Infinity series: the compact, 330W Infinity ACL XS and the Infinity Spot L, with a 1000W lamp.
coolux presented the capabilities of Pandoras Box Version 5.5, including a 3-D object calibration feature for 3-D warping applications and a new Playlist feature, which helps users make professional media slide shows.
d3 Technologies featured Release 11 software, designed to support complex, multi-projector shows. R11 updates include QuickCal, a new way to get projectors lined up on site. d3 R11’s video playback engine is also more powerful — a single 4U machine now plays up to 12 layers of HD video, twice that of R10, and handles video files up to 8K pixels wide. d3 R11’s LiveUpdate helps users manage large master/slave networks, with automated editing updates across slaved systems. Other R11 upgrades include native LTC support, lower-latency video capture, lightweight recordable tutorials with audio and easier network configuration.
D.T.S. unveiled the new Max high-power compact moving head and Raptor compact beam moving head at the show.
Elation featured its Razor Q7, made with seven 15W Osram Quad Color RGBW LEDs; its Razor Q12, with 12 LEDs; its Platinum Beam 5R Extreme, which accelerates the beam movements of the original Platinum Beam; and the Volt Q3 and Volt Q5, with three and five 15W LEDs, respectively. The battery-powered Volt fixtures are housed in IP65 rated enclosures, making them well suited for indoor or outdoor use.
GLP launched the Impression X4S, the “small” (12 inches high/12 lbs.) version of the Impression X4 (with seven 15W RGBW LEDs instead of 19). The company also previewed the Impression X2, a fixed-beam version of the X4S; and featured the Impression V, a version of the X4S with an LED video engine based around a DLP projector – users can adjust the RGB elements of the DLP system via DMX. GLP also featured the Volkslicht Spot, a scaled down, fixed beam angle (13 degrees) version of the Impression Spot One. GLP also featured a new iPad app for the Impression X4; it lets users create lens patterns by simply clicking them on and off. The screen then displays the DMX levels needed for console input to get the same image.
GUIL marked 30 years with more than 30 lifting tower models and five different types of stage platforms, along with a wide variety of other products featured at the show.
High End Systems, which launched its HOG4 range of lighting consoles at LDI 2012, debuted the new Master Wing 4 at PL+S 2013 along with the new SolaWash range of LED fixtures, including the SolaWash 19 and SolaWash 37, designed to complement HES’ existing SolaSpot LED and Trackspot Bolt fixtures. Both of the new fixtures feature 15W RGBW LEDs and HES’ Indigo Highlighter.
Le Maitre featured its Salamander canisters for flame effects and HazeMaster haze machine at the show, alternately drawing attention to the booth with flames from the top truss and low-lying freeze fog.
Litec introduced six new end-plated truss products: the QX30SA, QX40SA, QH30SA, QH40SA, QH30SL and QH40SL, which replace existing square section aluminum truss products with upgrades that include higher load-bearing and twisting strength features. Litec also introduced ALI4251, ALI4851, ALI6063, LIC3851 and LIC4851 truss clamps and Italy-made EXE Rise electric chain hoists.
Litepanels introduced three LS Series lighting kits. They include the LS Traveler Duo Kit (with one 1×1 LS Mono Flood with a 50° beam angle and one 1×1 LS Mono Spot with a 30° beam angle), the LS Traveler Trio Kit (with a second LS Mono Flood); and the LS Traveler Trio Plus Kit (one LS Mono Flood and two Mono daylight/tungsten Bi-Colors.
LSC Lighting Systems’ latest Clarity LX consoles, the LX600 and LX900, could be found at two booths: LMP Lichttechnik and Pro Systems Group.
Inoage featured its Madrix 3 LED control software, which includes a new pixel-mapper for real-time 3D effects.
Martin, now part of Harman, launched the Rush line of LED fixtures, including the Rush MH 1 Profile, MH 2 Wash, MH 3 Beam, Pin 1 CW, PAR 1 RGBW and Strobe 1 5×5 fixtures. Martin also extended the MAC Viper family to include the MAC Viper Profile, shutter blade-equipped Performance, hard edge/wash combo AirFX and Wash/Wash DX variants. The 1500W MAC III AirFX and MAC III Wash were also featured, along with the new M6 lighting controller, M-PC Free software and VC-Strip family of narrow LED video strip fixtures.
Osram introduced a new LED fixture, the Osram Kreios SL, along with an expansion of the Sirius-HRI products and the Lok-it range in the discharge lamp category.
Philips’ Selecon, Vari-Lite and Strand Lighting brands were all represented at PL+S 2012. So was the company’s Showline brand of RGBW LED fixtures, including the Showline SL BAR 640 and 660, the SL BAR 520, SL PAR 150 ZOOM and the new SL BAND 310. Also grabbing attention at PL+S 2013: the SL NITRO 510 LED strobe luminaire. Selecon’s PLCyc 2 and PL1 family of profile, Fresnel and cyc fixtures were on display, as were Strand Lighting’s Palette VL console, Vision.net and N21 ShowNet Nodes and Vari-Lite’s VL3015, VL3015LT and VL3515, the latter with framing shutters. Vari-Lite also featured new software for the VLX Wash that allows users to independently control the LEDs. Philips also introduced the Platinum MSD 16 R reflector lamp, a brighter version of its 15 R lamp, which is used by both Clay Paky (for the Sharpy Wash 330) and DTS (for the Max).
Pixled featured its LED strips and spheres, including the FS-2425 24mm pixel pitch strips and FX-200 spheres. The spheres, with a 360° viewing angle, are mounted on a string and hang 20cm apart. Pixled also featured its Linx-9 MC rigid modules, Linx-18 flexible curtain and a 4mm screen installed within the center of the company’s booth.
PR Lighting products, featured by German distributor Focon Showtechnic, included the LED Studio 3300 and other LED Studio products and the XR800, which uses an MSR Platinum 35 lamp and features a zoom range of 7.5 to 50 degrees. PR Lighting fixtures animating the stand included 72 XLED 336 fixtures on the back wall and XR-200, XR-300 and PR-5000 Beam fixtures overhead. Also featured: the XLED 250.
Prolyte Group’s featured products included DOCKStage, Hinged ARCStage, StageDex dollies and ballast frames, plus the latest LiteConsole models. Brilliant Stages and Litestructures, Prolyte Group’s special projects divisions, also had details relating to their involvement in the Muse 2nd Law Tour and the exhibition stand concept for the Nissan Halo. Visitors could also get a look at the ProLyft AETOS, a new hoist.
RED Lighting, a startup launched at Prolight+Sound 2012, used the 2013 show to feature its S400 moving lights and EYE followspot, each with Philips’ MSD Platinum 15R technology as the light source. RED Lighting also featured its Pixel family of LED COB (Chip on Board) fixtures, including the newest arrival: the Pixel Cube, which uses 25 30W LEDs. As with other Pixel products, the LEDs can be controlled individually.
Riedel Communications featured the MediorNet MN-GV-2 card, which lets users network Grass Valley 3G camera systems (LDK and LDX) and their base stations via the MediorNet fiber infrastructure.
Robe expanded its ROBIN range with the Pointe, a beam, spot and wash fixture incorporating a 280W Osram discharge light source; the MiniMe, an effects lighting luminaire with the addition of full video output; the MMX Blade, featuring a framing shutter system; the CycFX, a one meter linear strip that can be tilted 270°, allowing for “wave”-like effects along a line of fixtures; and the Cyclone, with an integrated fan designed for special effects looks when used with fog and haze machines. Robe also launched the latest in its DigitalSpot series – the DigitalSpot 7100DT.
Robert Juliat extended its “mix and match” Tibo range with two new profiles and a Fresnel (and optional LED, tungsten, halogen and discharge light sources). RJ also featured its 150W ZEP 340LF LED Fresnel, designed to complement the ZEP 640 profile spot, and Le Cin’k, a fixture now with interchangeable lamp bases that is designed for use in studios or on theatre or film sets.
SGM featured the IP65-rated LED G-Spot. Throughout the show, one of the fixtures was placed in a large fish tank at the SGM booth, and visitors could do their own hands-on IP65 test by pouring water on the moving head. On the last day of the show, German fountain specialists Oase Living Water invited SGM to test the G-Spot in the middle of a fountain sprinkling 2,000 liters of water per minute. The fixture passed the test.
Steinigke Showtechnic featured the Futurelight PLB-230, which combines a 230W Osram Sirius light source with a ring of 12 3W LEDs and has a built-in WDMX receiver for control. The Futurelight range also expands with the DMH-60 (with a 60 W LED) and DMH-150 (with a 150 W LED); they join the existing DMH-40 and DMH-90 fixtures.
Swisson featured the XMT-350, which updates the company’s XMT-120 DMX measurement tool with an RDM controller. Swisson also introduced the XSH, a hybrid splitter for power and DMS distribution.
Think Abele’s Movecat expanded with a new FLT series spring-loaded cable drum, load-measuring eyelets (LMEs) for the Movecat chain hoists, the new Network Master Box (NMB-12), NTB (Network Transmission Box) fiber-optic system, Movecat Touring Racks vII, the Movecat V-Motion E series and VMK-S II chain hoists.
White Light, which represents Altman, CITC, CORE Lighting, Galaxia, Interactive Technologies and James Thomas Trussing Systems throughout the U.K. and Europe, featured JT40 truss systems, Altman’s Spectra Cyc 100 and 200 fixtures and CORE Lighting’s new ColorPoint uplighter, among other new products.
XLNT presented the latest additions to the CyberMotion range of products, including the CyberHoist II and C-Trolley.
