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Kling-Net: An Alternative to Merging DMX

With Kling-Net, you’ll need to run a second cable to each fixture (yellow). But for heavy-duty pixel-mapping, Kling-Net lets you bypass the need to patch all those LEDs individually and then use DMX Merge to combine RGB DMX values output from the media server back into the signal stream. In that respect, Kling-Net is a cleaner and more direct way of pixel mapping than using DMX.

Kling-Net: An Alternative to Merging DMX

Because some LED fixtures now allow each of the LEDs on the face of the unit to be controlled individually via DMX, they can also receive mapped RGB values from a video using a media server and can thus appear to display lo-res video images. LED fixtures are not small LED video panels, however, and typically they do not accept a video signal directly at the fixture. Instead, the RGB values for each pixel are usually sent from a media server using a DMX or Art-Net type connection. This presents a challenge, especially for fixtures that also have Pan/Tilt or other DMX channels that will be controlled via a lighting console.

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They Stand Their Ground, We Pay the Price

I don’t tackle politics, religion or race in this space very often — in fact, I don’t think I ever have. One rule I have stood by — which has evolved over the course of the last several years as our society has become increasingly polarized — is to never discuss politics or religion with strangers, especially if you’re going to be stuck sitting next to them on a five-hour flight. Even with friends, I’m cautious — I have no idea if someone has been surreptitiously radicalized by prolonged exposure to Glenn Beck or MSNBC while I wasn’t looking. These days, even your best friend might suddenly want to occupy something.

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Turning Virtual Lighting Into Reality

Our industry is very exciting as it is filled with many different types of technology. Automated lighting programmers are skilled at to not only operating high-tech consoles and new robotic lighting fixtures, but we also find ourselves playing with virtual simulations of the real world. Lighting visualizers have come a long way over the past 20 years and now provide nearly realistic looking emulations of the lighting and production on a stage. However, there are still challenges involved when working with a visualizer, and it is very important for a programmer to be aware of the pros and cons of the technology.

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Selena Gomez' Stars Dance tour

Lighting Selena, Million Second Quiz, Lightswitch at 20, KISS to the Crue, More…

One of the most enjoyable rehearsal processes I have ever experienced.” That’s how Seth Jackson describes the new Selena Gomez Stars Dance world tour, which kicked off Aug. 14 in Canada. “Taking on the role of creative director and production designer for the tour allowed me to call in a great team of people to put all of this together. Lighting designer Nathan W. Scheuer and video designer Brent Sandrock and I have all worked together in the past, and I really enjoy the energy that this team brings to any project I’m offered. Add in a great management team, a terrific lighting director (David Convertino), a great artist and an organization that is run brilliantly and you end up with a great tour.”

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Illustration by Andy Au

The Color Yellow

I believe most people have a favorite color. I’m partial to a deep blue myself. I asked around. Guys seem to like blues and purples. Girls like red and pinks. Some musical acts hate certain colors and have actually asked me to never light them in a certain color, while others only allow themselves to be lit in certain colors. But one thing I found is that nobody really digs yellow.

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Studio Hamburg Awards Ceremony Lit with Clay Paky Gear

Studio Hamburg Awards Lit with Clay Paky Gear

HAMBURG, Germany — LD Andreas Rinne once again relied upon Clay Paky fixtures for Studio Hamburg’s annual awards ceremony for filmmaking students at the Thalia Theatre here. Rinne used Clay Paky Sharpys and Alpha Spot QWO 800 STs to supplement the house rig and light Julia Bau’s updated set design. Sarah Wagner was the lighting operator, Hans Thutewohl and Ralf Scholz were chief lighting technicians and Blue Noise provided the fixtures.

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Viss Lighting FX3 LED Screens

Viss Lighting FX3 LED Screen

Viss Lighting’s FX3 LED screens, with a 3.9mm pixel pitch, pack a 128×128 pixel matrix within each 500mm by 500mm panel. The panels, with a thickness of 70mm, weigh 5.9kg each and draw a maximum of 300W. Offering viewing angles of 140°/110°, the panels have a fanless design, are noise-free and can be individually replaced. Setup and tear-down is tool-free, and with a plus or minus 15° angle of rotation, the flat panels can be assembled in a curved configuration. The IP54-rated panels offer 16 bit gray scale, a 2000:1 contrast ratio and a refresh rate of 800-5000Hz. Their work voltage is AC100-240V/50-60Hz, and they can be operated in temperatures ranging from -20°/+50° C (-4°/122° F).

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Maroon 5 Overexposed tour photo by Steve Jennings

Maroon 5’s “Overexposed” Tour: Focus on Video

Maroon 5’s Overexposed world tour, which ran through late April in the U.S. and is set to resume in the U.K. and Europe in Jan. 2014, has emerged as the largest production for the band to date and also marked the first time production designer and creative director Demfis Fyssicopulos worked with the Grammy winning group. The design for the tour’s latest incarnation starts with a large mainstage in the shape of the letter “M,” which works together with the Roman symbol for “5” (a “V”) that doubles as the downward-pointing angle for the “M.”

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IATSE Local 30, Indiana OSHA Announce Settlement

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s state deputy labor commissioner and IATSE Local 30’s business manager signed an agreement Sept. 9 that frees the union of the $11,500 penalty assessed by the state’s OSHA after the Aug. 13, 2011 stage structure collapse at the Indiana State Fair.

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Rock the Bells 2013, San Manuel Amphitheatre, San Bernardino, CA

More Rappers Return in Hologram Form for Rock the Bells Hip-Hop Series

SAN BERNARDINO, CA — AV Concepts, which helped bring Tupac Shakur back as a holographic illusion at Coachella 2012, is supporting the virtual performances of other late rappers for the 2013 Rock the Bells series of hip-hop shows this fall, including performing likenesses of Eazy-E and Ol’ Dirty Baster (ODB) for shows here (San Manuel Amphitheatre, Sept. 7-8), in San Francisco (Shoreline Amphitheatre, Sept. 14-15).

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Will Posey

William Posey Joins UsedAV.com

LAS VEGAS, NV — UsedAV.com, a division of 4Wall Entertainment and sister-site to UsedLighting.com, has added AV veteran William Posey as VP of National Sales. Posey’s focus will be the development of new business as well as working with production companies and clients to liquidate their unused audio and video equipment.

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