Yes, the photo is certainly off-putting, but it is possible to program the bars so that all of the 'balls' are of the same color. I need to do white, basically, of different hues, and also a small strobe effect. I contacted the fabriquant today, and they assure me that each unit has a 30° spread up/down but also east/west from each edge of the fixture. Looking at doing a very close downwash retro(probably) given my available positions. I figure that from an actual distance between the fixture and the point of attack of approx. 2'2" I need at least 10. No info however about the near vs far throw, no close/medium/long internal setup that I know about for the actual LED's diodes (as opposed to say, Dalis by Juliat .. (too expensive)). I will possibly frost/silk them anyway,but I'm worried about a severe 'hotspot' where they contact the cyc, and nothing down below... Thanks for your interest. I would love to hear from someone who has actually used them. Are they garbage, or decent? mrlee PS. 'Candid' cracked me up! Love this site. People are very rapid with their responses. Cheers* Please see my other response. I am washing a cyc 34' x 20' high, from a distance of about 2' away... No video, just a live show. I will try to attack the cyc above where the public can see it, so that the 'scallops', if there are, will be somewhat melded by the time they become visible. However, it certainly looks like some K-mart happy-time device, and the manual does not exactly reassure me. Cheers, mrlee