vinny baby Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 Hi all this is my first topic, and I just thought I would ask what your feelings are on LED based lighting. I have been offered to demo, some new LED products from Abstract, this include an LED pannel, and a LED 6ft battern. I have seen LED products being used on TV a few times, (pulsar chromas ect). and just wondered if you think they are worth the money, as the abstract batterns retail at just under a grand, each, and this doesnt include the power supply, and the DMX unit. vince Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P. Funk Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 havent used any myself, but the chromabanks are used to great effect on TV (graham norton is a great example). THough they used them at a concert I went to a few weeks ago (jools holland) as uplight from the front of the stage, and they were crap. that was probably just the design though. I think things like the JTS pixelpar are impressive.. has anyone used them? LED technology is increasing all the time.. so I think it wont b long before they're economical to use. though at £1500 each (atm) theres things I'd rather use... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuxlux Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 I've seen a set of 8-10 chroma pars used to good effect in a small venue, uplighting from all sides. I think they're great as a colour source, though not really suitable for illumination or full washes.Like you say, they're quite pricey though, but fun . - Most of the tech crew wanted to take them home! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROADIE Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 They were used to some great effect on BBC children in need programme. They had about 8 birdie size lanterns on the fron of the stage.....looked amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo The Wiz Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 I have heard talk of them not being very intense but I have had the opportunity to use some Cromo pannels both as wall mounted and a set of 4 as an ego riser and I must say I was very impressed by them. They had a very good brightness level and the number of colours you could achieve with them was increasable. I also got to see the get in of the most recent Radiohead tour where they used 72 batons with the catalyst x software to great effect. They had great effects with them and when at full intensity on white they were very bright and could be used as blinders. I am still not sure they are quite worth the money but when they come down in price a bit and the intensity is improved so they can be used as more general lights they will be the best sorts of fixture available. I mean who wouldnÃt want a fixture that never needed a gel, had a lamp lifetime that outlives the lifetime of the fixture and only uses a 10th of the power a normal fixture. Also could you imagine them in intelligent fixture? You would no longer need shutters, colour wheels or CYM mixing. There would be more room in them for more effect systems instead. Really LEDÃs will be the future of the industry. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 I'd say that LEDs are part of the future, but we're not there yet by any stretch of the imagination.The blue ones aren't bright enough yet, and are still far too expensive for general use. When it comes to a rig, generics are easier to connect up than having a stack of fixtures all requiring a DMX signal and power - power over DMX (in whatever form) would solve that problem - something similar to ASi would probably be suitable, but I doubt LEDs are efficient enough to allow a large rig powered like that. For use inside moving lights - not there, but getting closer.Ones with a similar price range and feature set to existing MACs and VLs will probably become available within a couple of years.Discharge lamps of one kind or another are still WAY brighter than any similar-size LED cluster yet produced, although a cluster has the great advantage of no dimmer, shutter or colour stuff being required, with extremely fast colour bumps.It'd use less channels as well, which is nice. With clever lenses you wouldn't need a gobo wheel either.... (ASi is a bidirectional industrial control protocol, using 2 conductors to provide data I/O and enough power to run small actuators. It's approved for safety critical things too, which DMX is not - although a new variation is required for emergency stop buttons) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuxlux Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 moving head leds would be good. never seen any with a lens though yet - would be interesting if you could get a properly defined beam out of them. they all seem quite blinding loooking at them on axis with the indivdual leds, but still don't seem to light things the way traditional lamps do. To equal a 1kW lamp would be an achievement! Another advantage would be that the colour changes of course could go from any colour to any other by any path. On the subject of digital gobos/projection, high end have a new fixture which loks interesting (and expensive) - the DL1. its basically a digiital projector on a moving yoke. - as you say, no need for gobo wheel, and you can have changing gobos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P. Funk Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 has anyone here used the DL1 - I saw it at PLASA but didnt see it actually in action. how bright is the beam? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryson Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 The DL1 is much discussed here. But it's not anything to do with LEDs. Well, I guess it has a couple on it somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinmonk Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 moving head leds would be good.I'd say that LEDs are part of the future, but we're not there yet by any stretch of the imagination. They do exist already!http://www.ivisionuk.com/images/T36.jpg LED Wash Light Moving Head, designed and produced by IVISIONUKSpecification can be seen here << Tech Spec >> or more on Ivision @www.ivisionuk.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 Although I applaud the recent advances in LED technology, I myself am not quite convinced on their uses quite yet. I think the Chroma Banks have just managed to get themselves everywhere and I still haven't really seen a nice ingenious use for them (in my opinion here of course!). However I think I'd use the Thomas PixelPars, but probably not for pointing into an audience - perhaps on the base of a Cyc for a rock gig, or in clusters around a drum kit... Anyway I think in a few years time when they become much brighter I'll become a much bigger fan Stu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparkySteve Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 I think the Chroma Banks .... (snip) ....still haven't really seen a nice ingenious use for them (in my opinion here of course!). I think the only way of them bein used was Andi Watson's use of them for the radiohead tour (LSI September 2003) Watson researched the LED products currently on the market before deciding on the James Thomas Pixelline 1044 Batten, of which 48 were rigged vertically, end-to-end on 24 Manfroto stands...... (snip snip snip).... The result sees the Catalyst treating each pixel like a video frame, with the Pixelline 'wall' run as one entity. I just think this is an ingenius way of adapting a product designed to do a completely different job and making Andi Watson's design to be so unique and quite amazing to watch. I think Radiohead have gone on to buy a further 24 battens, and although I haven't seen it first hand, a close friend did and he said he was absolutely astounded with the whole gig. Again this is only my opinion. but gigs like this and LED pioneers i.e. Andi Watson will eventually make LED's something amazing(er) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 There is a video clip of a similar use on the PixelPar website. It's from the Charlatans gig in Manchester, I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinny baby Posted January 9, 2004 Author Share Posted January 9, 2004 thanks for all the replys, I think I will be purchasing some form of LED lighting in the next few weeks, as I feel, its something that not many have, and I will be a first, in my area. vince Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 thanks for all the replys, I think I will be purchasing some form of LED lighting in the next few weeks, as I feel, its something that not many have, and I will be a first, in my area.Don't be under any illusions about there being a gap in the market ... there are a fair few places up north (which, IIRC, is where you are) with stocks of LED battens, etc. HSL, DBN and Lite Alternative are the ones that spring immediately to mind. Go further south and you get places like Richard Martin Lighting who have more LED stuff than you can shake a stick at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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