If you’re looking to give your worship services more visual pop and color, there’s no better place to see the latest lighting and visual technologies than the LDI Show. Held each year in November, the 2022 edition was held in Las Vegas, November 14-20, with the exhibit hall open the last three days.
LDI offers the church tech every sort of production tool imaginable. But don’t be confused, this is not just about eye candy. It’s about engagement.
LDI is a completely different kind of experience compared to the NAB Show or InfoComm. Like most modern worship experiences, the first thing you notice is the show floor is dark, which emphasizes the bright colors and special effects on display. You’ll see lighting fixtures in every possible form factor, LED video displays, trussing, staging, and every sort of theatrical support structure available.
LDI offers the church tech every sort of production tool imaginable. But don’t be confused, this is not just about eye candy. It’s about engagement. While the tools are on-hand to do every sort of “flash and trash” visual effect imaginable, for church tech and creative teams, it’s about production excellence.
For many, this was the first LDI Show in nearly three years. The 2020 event was canceled due to the Covid-19 outbreak. 2021 was drastically smaller than in previous years, as most exhibitors and attendees chose to stay home. This year’s event was healthy, with over 225 exhibitors and strong attendance, though exact attendance figures were not released. A slew of new products were released in advance of the 2022 edition of LDI, as manufacturers showed products designed during the Covid shutdown, and offered in spite of the subsequent (and ongoing), supply chain crisis that still plagues many.
Church Production was on the show floor for the first two days of the three-day expo scouring the expo floor looking for high-value equipment for the church tech and creative community. Here’s the 2022 edition of “the Top 5 Products from LDI” in alphabetical order, based on the criteria of innovation, quality, and affordability.
ADJ Focus Hybrid
Versatility is the goal for the new Focus Hybrid moving head from ADJ. It’s designed to deliver everything from sharp-edged beams to soft washes in an affordable package. It can even accept DMX control wirelessly. “I’m sure this new luminaire will also appeal to those looking for a single moving head capable of fulfilling multiple roles,” says ADJ USA’s National Sales Manager, Alfred Gonzales.
Elation Fuze Max
Just across from the ADJ booth, you could find its sister company Elation Professional. Seen for the first time at LDI 2022, the Fuze Max moving head was one of Elation’s highlights. With the addition of mint and amber emitters, the fixture is capable of a wider range of colors, including very precise and rich saturations. It also offers pure dynamic whites that are tunable from 2400-8500K – very important for applications that are being captured on video.
Elektralite Mini Family
The average church in America is designed to seat about 200 people. So why use lighting fixtures that are designed for much larger facilities? Enter the Elektralite Mini family of lighting fixtures. At the LDI Show 2022, the 60-watt, DMX-controllable Stingray Mini and Fresnel Mini were added to the Mini series. The Stingray Mini is a profile spot, and the Fresnel Mini is a wash.
The Stingray Mini is available in Warm White (WW, 3200K), Cool White (CW, “daylight” 5600K), and Variable White (VW, 3000K-6000K) versions, and an RGBW model is available for color mixing applications.
The Fresnel Mini offers an RGBW pallet that can deliver a full range of colors, including variable white, cool white, warm white, and more.
ETC ColorSource V
The V in the name points towards the five-color emitter array offered in the new ColorSource V lineup from ETC. With red, green, blue, indigo, and lime, the fixtures are capable of a wide range of colors, including soft pastels that are not possible with basic RGB LED light sources.
The three new models include the ColorSource Spot V, ColorSource Fresnel V, and an outdoor version called the ColorSource Spot VXT.
The new ColorSource V fixtures include Multiverse wireless DMX/RDM, NFC for remote fixture configuration when used in collaboration with ETC’s free Set Light app, and offer increased brightness compared to previous ColorSource versions.
Cue Audio FanSee
Don’t let the name fool you. Cue Audio is all about visuals and engagement. The company offers a number of products that churches will love, including their Smartphone Light Show. Imagine every cell phone screen in your venue lighting up and becoming part of a vibrant, immersive visual experience. Add this to your youth events, and the place will come alive.
But the item that really caught our attention in the Cue Audio booth at LDI 2022 is called FanSee. Designed for concerts and large sporting events, this scalable program can connect your cell phone camera to your church’s video switcher so you can put live selfie videos on your IMAG screens. It’s an engagement machine. With FanSee, it’s no longer only about what’s happening on stage. Adding video captured in the audience is about creating a shared immersive, visual experience. We found it irresistible. Your congregation, and especially your youth ministry, will too.
