INDIANAPOLIS – Dodd Technologies installed Elation Professional’s Platinum Beam 5R units in Bankers Life Fieldhouse as part of a project to upgrade lighting effects at the arena. After trying out a quantity of the fixtures for their season opener in December, Pacers Sports and Entertainment purchased 10 units for permanent installation for the Indiana Pacers’ 2012 run to the NBA playoffs.
More details from Elation Professional (www.elationlighting.com) & Dodd Technologies, Inc (www.doddtechnologies.com)
INDIANAPOLIS — Basketballs weren’t the only things bouncing around Bankers Life Fieldhouse during the Indiana Pacers’ 2012 run to the NBA playoffs. Fans in the stands couldn’t help but notice intensely bright aircraft-like beams of light that came shooting out from the scoreboard, bouncing and ricocheting off the 18,000-seat arena’s floor, walls and ceiling, during time outs and halftime.
The bright searchlight-like beams, which were also seen by millions of TV viewers in and out of commercial breaks, were created by the Platinum Beam 5R, a DMX moving head ACL effect from Elation Professional. Dodd Technologies, Inc. (Pendleton, IN) installed the Platinum Beam 5R units in Bakers Life Fieldhouse as part of a project to upgrade lighting effects at the award-winning arena, which was ranked the nation’s number one NBA venue by Sports Business Journal/Sports Business Daily readers in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
“The team at Pacers Sports and Entertainment fell in love with the Platinum Beam 5R when we used about 50 of them to open the Pacers’ season in December 2011,” said Scott Renick of Dodd Technologies, who with Jason Greene handled the installation. “Their current arena effect fixture inventory is dated, and can barely outshoot the arena wash lighting. The (Platinum) Beams, with their impressive output and prism, offered the perfect balance of form-factor, performance and affordability.”
Powered by the new, advanced Philips MSD Platinum 5R lamp, the Platinum Beam 5R emits a bright, tight 2.5-degree beam that can “shoot through” powerful wash lights in large arena spaces. Yet the unit itself is compact (14.1” x ’13.2” x 18.5”), and its 2,000-hour lamp runs on just 189 watts, despite producing brightness comparable to much higher-wattage moving heads.
Additionally, the Platinum Beam 5R “Pro” model used at Bankers Life Fieldhouse comes equipped with a built-in wireless DMX receiver which, when used with an Elation EWDMXT wireless transmitter, can receive DMX signals wirelessly from up to 3,000 feet away.
Pacers Sports and Entertainment purchased 10 Platinum Beam 5R units, eight of which were installed on the bottom corners of the scoreboard structure. The remaining two units currently serve as spares, but may eventually be used on each goal structure.
“Brightness, speed, WDMX built-in and affordability were the top reasons this fixture fit the project perfectly,” said Renick. “The form-factor of the fixture and ability to run off of existing standard power on the scoreboard were both significant factors.”
As for the wireless DMX, it has proven extremely reliable, even in such a challenging environment, Renick rsaid. “We used the WDMX system in our fixtures on opening night, and even with a sold-out house and all of the RF associated with personal cell phones, RF in the building, etc., everything worked really well! It made it so much easier to use the wireless system than to run cable, and it’s much more flexible should they choose to move the fixtures around the venue.”
All in all, the Platinum Beam 5Rs have turned out to be a slam-dunk for the Pacers’ arena, their management and their fans. Once they saw how the fixtures performed at the opener, said Renick, “They couldn’t wait to get their permanent system installed.”
