PixelArc C (real world check)

[JD]

Just got back from Disney World, where I always take joy in seeing what they are doing. I was very impressed with how the PixelArc-C put out in a very difficult application. The show was on their outdoor stage in front of the castle. They have swapped out a lot of the par cans for these units. The show was late afternoon under partial sunlight.

The show was lit by 28 PixelArc's, 24 Par 64's (1k), 2 xenon troupers, and a few odd add ins. The PixelArc's were on the two double-Genie's they use. (About 50' throw, see photo.) They were competing with the pars which were all gelled with what looked like RL34 (flesh pink.) Highlight were picked up by the Troupers. I was really surprised that the LED units cut through the way they did! Although the facial and front angles were primarily lit by the pars, you could easily pick out the work being done by the LED units. I guess we really have hit a turning point.

[David Ashton]

The day we reach the turning point you can be sure the led industry will let us know, when you go to a led exhibition and they have leds sitting next to conventionals, that will be the turning point day, but whether or not you live to see it is a totally different question.

[avkid]

There are already LED replacements in various stages of development.
The most promising one looks to be light emitting semiconductors.

[Hughesie]

Yeah LED fixtures are currently just a great expense for "nice" ones but in the energy conserving world that we are moving slowly into, something will have to be done and LED's look like the future. but they still need development, and lots of it

[avkid]

The development is done, pure white LEDs have been developed by Japanese scientists already.
The $10,000 price tag is a bit much to swallow though.

[gafftaper]

Yeah the technology is here... the problem is price. Those pixelarc's are using 44 Luxeon K2's in a combination of 1 watt reds and 3 watt blues and greens. The 5 and 10 watt LED's are a reality being played with by the R&D guys. You swap those 44 LED's for 5's and 10's and you've got an instrument that can play with conventional gear any day. You also have yourself a $10,000 PAR... so they aren't available quite yet. The technology is done. It's a mater of the manufacturing process catching up and bringing the price down. They know how much money they can make when they get that price down, it won't be long.

[JD]

Yea, off the shelf I think the C's run for about $3600 each (A little too pricey for me!) but are RGBA units. I do think that the price will plummet as more come to market, so I would not recommend running out and buying any! (Disney has a ~~slighly~~ bigger budget.) But, it's nice to see that they have developed!

I love Disney, but it also makes my stomach churn when I see 27 Source Fours being used for general lighting for the food court at The Land. Geeezzz..

As for the "White" LED's, most of what I have seen involves a UV LED that contains phosphorous which converts the light to visible spectrum. As with CFL's, the phosphor balance is the trick to near "true" white output. I can't help but think that there will be a color shift as the phosphor ages.

Still... we are moving forward!

[avkid]

Originally Posted by JD

As for the "White" LED's, most of what I have seen involves a UV LED that contains phosphorous which converts the light to visible spectrum. As with CFL's, the phosphor balance is the trick to near "true" white output.

None of us here are going to be seeing the true white LED's anytime soon.

[gafftaper]

Originally Posted by avkid

None of us here are going to be seeing the true white LED's anytime soon.

While it may be a while until we get the big bad white LED that can power a Source 4, the mixing is getting good enough that it may not be a problem. Have you seen the Selador X7 xtra? Using seven colors of 3 watt Luxeon K2s, they can mix a very nice white in any color temperature. It's very impressive plus it has a much greater range of colors it can mix compared to RGB.

[David Ashton]

All you super optimists explain to me how to make a led fresnel or a led profile or a led cyc light?All our theatre light optics depend on a [near] point source of light so in addition to getting leds better and cheaper you also have to develop a completely new optical regime.I am deeply sceptical that this is achievable.