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The Ovation E-260WW (warm white) ellipsoidal from Chauvet Professional, shown here with its companion cool white version, offers output that exceeds an HPL 750W lamp.
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ETC's ColorSource Linear strip light uses RGB-L LEDs. An optional Deep Blue version offers an expanded color palette.
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GLP's new GT-1 hybrid moving head features GLP’s trademark baseless chassis and is designed to function equally well as a spot, beam or wash light.
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Absen's new M-Series LED panels offer an interesting rigging system that allows concave or convex shaped video walls. The new units also offer easier servicing from the front or rear.
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The new Fuze Wash Z350 from Elation Professional is a 350W quad color RGBW featuring a COB single-source LED source. Single-source RGBW color mixing gives fully premixed color looks and an extremely flat field of light.
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With approximately 350 exhibitors, the event promoters were claiming projected attendance of nearly 12,000 for this year's LDI event.
Perhaps the most fun show we attend each year is the LDI Show. LDI is almost entirely about “visuals.” In light of that, the show should be an important event for church tech artists to attend, as well—especially since lighting and stage design are such critical elements of supporting churches' ever-changing rotation of sermon series.
At one time LDI was an acronym for Lighting Dimensions International. But as the show grew, along with the staging and rigging markets, and as lighting and video morphed and became even more prominent in contemporary worship, the show name evolved to Live Design International.
LDI used to bounce back and forth between Vegas and Orlando, so our East Coast friends, especially the massive number of churches in the Southeast, would have a better chance to explore LDI. Unfortunately for some, the show has been parked in Las Vegas for the past few years, and will return there next year. Show dates for next year's event are November 17-19, 2017, at the Las Vegas Convention Center
It's a reasonably large show with approximately 350 exhibitors and nearly 10,000 attendees. As you can imagine, exhibitors displayed thousands of products, many of which are perfectly appropriate for churches. Products were selected for recognition based on the following criteria: 1) must be a new product for 2016, 2) must offer a church-focused feature set, 3) and, must offer affordability, reliability and ease of use. With those criteria in in mind, we present the “Top 5 Products for Churches from LDI 2016.”
Absen M-Series Mobile Indoor LED Panels
Absen used the LDI 2016 event to launch the new M-Series LED panels. This new LED wall system is designed for indoor, mobile applications. In other words, unlike fixed-installation models, the M-Series offers the durability to be taken apart and reconfigured on a regular basis. The new panels, available in 2.3-, 2.9- and 3.4-mm pixel pitches, weigh just 16 pounds each can be serviced from both the front and rear. Absen's patented “One Action” locking mechanism offers a fast, secure “pull to lock, push to release” operation that can be set to a five-degree convex or concave shape. The M-Series can also be hung Eye-bolt of C-Clamp hanging bars, or built from an innovative ground support rigging system.
Chauvet Professional Ovation E-260WW Ellipsoidal
Officially introduced this past August, the new Ovation E-260WW had its first major public demonstration at LDI 2016. Chauvet Professional claims its output exceeds that of an HPL 750W lamp. While we have yet to put a meter on it, we did evaluate another member of the Ovation E- family, the E-910FC color-changing ellipsoidal earlier this year, so we have no doubt about the high-output assertion.
Aside from finding a ready market in theaters and churches, the Ovation E-260WW is designed for broadcast applications, because of its virtually silent operation and flicker-free output. Similar to the E-910FC that we reviewed earlier this year ( ), the new Ovation E-260WW has adjustable Pulse Width Modification (PWM) with five options (up to 25,000 Hz) for pulse width settings, designed for flicker-free operation regardless of the video camera used. In our tests with the E-910FC, PWM worked as advertised.
The Ovation E-260WW has been designed to produce a warm even field of light, with a slight center peak, for both crisp well-defined gobo projection, and for blending in stage wash applications. The fixture works with all Ovation lenses as well as all standard ellipsoidal lenses from other suppliers.
With 16-bit dimming, plus emulated dimming capabilities, the Ovation E-260WW is designed to integrate into rigs that have incandescent fixtures. With a color temperature of 3150K and a CRI over 90, it's designed to also match up well with tungsten units when rendering colors with gels.
Elation Professional Fuze Wash Z350 Moving Head
The latest addition to the Fuze Series from Elation Professional was introduced at LDI 2016: the Fuze Wash Z350, a PAR moving head luminaire featuring a 350W quad color RGBW COB single-source LED source. Single source RGBW color mixing gives fully premixed color looks and an extremely flat field of light. With a lens face that appears as one color instead of individual LED diodes, lighting designers will value it for its non-pixel look, as well as its ability to wash a surface or subject without the multi-shadows created from older LED wash fixtures. The Fuze Wash Z350 also offers useful design features including a wide zoom angle range for more precise beam control, full 100% electronic dimming, variable dimming curves and high-speed strobe.
The 10- to 55-degree motorized zoom and moving head yoke on the Fuze Wash Z350 is DMX controllable and RDM ready. It includes 3- and 5-pin DMX in/out and Powercon in/out connections and users can easily power and data link multiple fixtures together for quick installation and customizable setups. It also includes a 7-button control panel.
The Elation Fuze Wash Z350 is also designed to operate flicker-free for use in TV and other broadcast applications, and an auto-sensing power supply covers worldwide voltages and frequencies. It offers all the benefits of LED, like greater reliability and less maintenance, and consumes little power for a lower cost of ownership.
ETC ColorSource Linear Strip Light
As staging and lighting designs evolve in churches, the need for specialty fixtures increases. Striplights or color battens have multiple uses, including up lighting for presenters and wash lights on backgrounds and set pieces.
The new ColorSource Linear from Electronic Theatre Controls (ETC) uses a series of RGB-L (red, green, blue, lime) LEDs to create a broad range of colors. The addition of lime color broadens that palette and creates the impression of higher output than standard RGB lights.
Also, an available Deep Blue version offers a slightly deeper Royal Blue LED when compared to ETC's standard RGB-L version. The Deep Blue version offers an even wider range of indigo or deep blue color options that could add a special impact to night scenes, especially those in upcoming Christmas productions.
GLP GT-1 Hybrid Moving Head Lighting Fixture
While the international debut of the GLP GT-1 hybrid fixture happened earlier this year in Frankfurt, Germany, LDI 2016 was the first public demonstration of the new unit here in the States.
This new hybrid moving-head fixture is designed to work equally well as a spot, beam or wash light and uses a high-power 470-watt discharge fixture. The GT-1 features an enormous 22:1 ratio zoom range, from 2.5 to 55 degrees.
In spot mode, the fixture offers a wide range of effects, including CMY color mixing, eight rotating gobos, 14 fixed pattern gobos, additional beam reduction gobos and an interchangeable animation wheel. It also features three different rotating prisms, a fixed color wheel with CTO/CTB filters and a wash effect for softening the beam.
In beam mode, the GT-1 delivers a powerful parallel beam of light at 2.5 degrees through its large 145-degree diameter front lens, which remains bright and consistent over long distances.
Finally, the GT-1 features GLP's trademark baseless chassis, plus built-in wireless DMX control, built-in battery for fixture set-up, an auto-sensing power supply, full 16-bit pan and tilt movement, full-range dimming and shuttering capabilities, and a low total weight of just 55 pounds.
