Blizzard Rocklite/ WDMX Review

[LavaASU]

Hey CB!

I've seen a few posts on here in the past asking about Blizzard units so I thought a review might be helpful.

LAVA has the 3W RGBA Rocklite version. This version is special order (RGBAW is stock) so you might have to wait a little while if you order it. MAP is $359.99... you will likely get it for less if you call a dealer (Mike and Bill on CB come to mind).

We played with them in the shop a couple of times and used them on the first actual show last night. We are amazed with these units! These are BRIGHT. They are about at bright as a 300W par56 in white and a LOT brighter in colors.

Saturated colors are good-- I think Seladors are the only LEDs I've seen with better saturated colors. I expected good saturated colors, but what is truly surprising is that we can get descent pastels and whites. I was able to mix a n/c pink and n/c purple with these (haven't tried n/c blue). We use them for live events (bands mostly) and they work well for front wash for that type of show. I wouldn't suggest using them for front wash for theatre or talking heads, but I think they would work well for a back/down wash for either of the above.

On the show yesterday we used 4 of them from about 25' to wash a 16' wide stage for a band. The band and promoter were both happy with them (well I'm not sure how happy the band was about being blinded, but they were happy with how the show looked!). They were so bright that we ran them at 40-50% for a lot of the show in a room with the overhead lights on.

Our other new toy from Blizzard is the wicicle WDMX. We used it for about 40' (line of sight other than when audience got in the way) during the show and had no noticeable issues or drop outs. For this application it was totally plug and play. We also tested ranges and were able to get at least 200' line of sight, a floor above, and about 100' without line of sight. Not sure if there would be drop outs in these situations as we tested quickly. These work on 2.4Ghz (wifi) bandwidth and up to 7 systems can be operated simultaneously.

 

[Amishplumber]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I've hoping for a post like this for about a year. Seriously thinking about getting the RGBAW stock version.

Did you guys get to play around with any of the optional lenses? Hard to switch out the optics?

 

[sk8rsdad]

Could you comment on the dimming curve? Smooth to zero? Steppy?

 

[LavaASU]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Did you guys get to play around with any of the optional lenses? Hard to switch out the optics?

Nope-- we were going to get the lenses, but swapping out 36 individual lenses on a regular basis was a turn off. Instead we are adding diffusion when we need a wider angle.

Dimming curve isn't too great from about 5% to 0. But there aren't really any LEDs that are....

 

[soundlight]

Dimming curve isn't too great from about 5% to 0. But there aren't really any LEDs that are....

It's a case of you get what you pay for - there are a whole lot of LED fixtures with phenomenal dimming curves at the bottom - specifically I have been very impressed with the newer Chauvet products in the Professional range and some of the Elation stuff as well, not to mention the newer stuff from all of the higher-end manufacturers of LED products. You have to put it on like a 30 second fade to make anything step at all, and even then it's barely noticeable if it's even there.

That said, I love the Blizzard stuff, it's great for small event groups and bands, and I will continue to recommend them to people who cannot afford the higher end stuff. Blizzard puts thought in to their products, and they've got a great variety of stuff that all sorts of people are getting their hands on, and I've heard back from numerous people that love the stuff. So huzzah for inexpensive LED lighting that has the right colors to mix and a good output! I'm pretty sure that Blizzard led the way in the quad color options - ie RGBA vs. RGBW instead of just one or the other for quad color solutions.

 

[godd2]

just to chime in....i am not using these lights yet but in our up coming production on tommy i will be using some pucks and stormchasers. so far i really like these units for small space or specials. they are much much cheaper than other brands and seem to have nice functions. i realize they may not be the same "quality" as the big brands but if i can get 3-5 years out of them, a 200 dollar stormchaser strip light for special things and footlight is well worth it.
i will definately look into these rocklite units. thanx

 

[Esoteric]

I sell tons of Blizzard gear (just sold 35 Rocklites and waiting for the okay to ship 30 more next week, then shipping out an order of the FlurryQ7 and Ice 30 units at the end of this week, a dozen of each), and for the price you just can't beat them.

I will be upfront, first the negatives. The falloff from 3%-0% is noticeable. But it is the same as any unit without a Selecon or Seldor tag. You do get the multishadow effect (unless you are using the tri or quadra units) but a little diffusion fixes that right up. Make sure you plan 4-6 weeks for delivery.

Then the good. They have about the same build quality as any other PAR64 unit. They are sturdy, but not bulletproof. The plugs are good quality, but I bet will wear out in 5-7 years (get loose and not hold the cable in) They are not available in white (the moving lights are in custom order, but Rocklites are black and chrome only). The power cables are cheap molded plastic (but so are everyone elses).

Then the great. They are BRIGHT. Wow. When compared to comparably priced units, they will blow them out of the water. They color mix VERY well compared to units not name Selecon or Seledor. Their dimming curve from 100%-5% is brilliant (you will notice steps if you are doing fade times in the minutes though). They have optional beamspreads which actually work! They are CHEAP (I can't post my prices, but the Rocklite RGBAW can be had for $340 each). And their support is good (although if they are out of stock you might have to wait 4-6 weeks for a replacement unit, if it is a warranty issue you will get a replacement).

The unknowns.... They have not been around a long time so there is no real data on how long the units last in the real world. The oldest units I have out there are only a year old (but they are in a heavy use rental environment and still going strong). But I have hundreds (maybe getting to thousands) of Blizzard products out there, and only had a handful of units die so far.

I recommend them as the step below Selecon or Seledor.

We sell tons and tons of Will's stuff, and if you can't afford the S Brands, these are great units.

 

[shiben]

I sell tons of Blizzard gear (just sold 35 Rocklites and waiting for the okay to ship 30 more next week, then shipping out an order of the FlurryQ7 and Ice 30 units at the end of this week, a dozen of each), and for the price you just can't beat them.

I will be upfront, first the negatives. The falloff from 3%-0% is noticeable. But it is the same as any unit without a Selecon or Seldor tag. You do get the multishadow effect (unless you are using the tri or quadra units) but a little diffusion fixes that right up. Make sure you plan 4-6 weeks for delivery.

Then the good. They have about the same build quality as any other PAR64 unit. They are sturdy, but not bulletproof. The plugs are good quality, but I bet will wear out in 5-7 years (get loose and not hold the cable in) They are not available in white (the moving lights are in custom order, but Rocklites are black and chrome only). The power cables are cheap molded plastic (but so are everyone elses).

Then the great. They are BRIGHT. Wow. When compared to comparably priced units, they will blow them out of the water. They color mix VERY well compared to units not name Selecon or Seledor. Their dimming curve from 100%-5% is brilliant (you will notice steps if you are doing fade times in the minutes though). They have optional beamspreads which actually work! They are CHEAP (I can't post my prices, but the Rocklite RGBAW can be had for $340 each). And their support is good (although if they are out of stock you might have to wait 4-6 weeks for a replacement unit, if it is a warranty issue you will get a replacement).

The unknowns.... They have not been around a long time so there is no real data on how long the units last in the real world. The oldest units I have out there are only a year old (but they are in a heavy use rental environment and still going strong). But I have hundreds (maybe getting to thousands) of Blizzard products out there, and only had a handful of units die so far.

I recommend them as the step below Selecon or Seledor.

We sell tons and tons of Will's stuff, and if you can't afford the S Brands, these are great units.

I have worked on several touring industrials lately that are using Blizzard gear as truss warmers and flashy lights for their booths. Apparently they hold up really well on tour.

 

[derekleffew]

And to further their legitimacy, Blizzard now has its own User Forums: Blizzard Forums • Index page .
Ask all the really hard questions there.

 

[BillESC]

I also move a ton of the Blizzard gear. Very few warranty issues and those that do arise are quickly dealt with. You'll be amazed at the pricing available.

 

[BryanKerr]

How are you adding diffusion to those fixtures, since they don't come with brackets?

 

[LavaASU]

How are you adding diffusion to those fixtures, since they don't come with brackets?

Gaff tape

 

[BryanKerr]

LOL. Should've guessed . Our electrics are only 11' above the floor. Do you think the those ROCKLITEs will still be too focussed, even with diffusion?

 

[LavaASU]

LOL. Should've guessed . Our electrics are only 11' above the floor. Do you think the those ROCKLITEs will still be too focussed, even with diffusion?

They can be ordered in a 45 degree version. That might work better for your situation...

 

[soundlight]

I will be upfront, first the negatives. The falloff from 3%-0% is noticeable. But it is the same as any unit without a Selecon or Seldor tag.

Just to clear this up - there are loads of fixtures out there now that are good down to zero. I've seen ETC Selador, Selecon/Philips/VL, ChromaQ Color Force, Altman Spectra Series, Martin, ColorBlaze TRX, Chauvet units (yes, Chauvet!) in the professional lines (including the COLORado Batten 144 among a few others that I've seen), Some of the newer Elation fixtures, and probably several others that I can't remember are all capable of a very good dimming curve. Are all of these expensive brands? Yes. But I'd just like to point out that most of the professional manufacturers have fixed their problems with the initial dimming curves that they had (other than Coemar in the Parlite LED) and even companies like Chauvet and Elation are figuring it out.

Do most of the "DJ" manufacturers still have a dropoff at the end of the curve on comparable products? Yes. I just wanted to clear up that there's more than two brands with a good dimming curve.

Again, I love the blizzard stuff and have recommended it to countless bands and other folks looking for inexpensive LED lighting, and have heard nothing but rave reviews given the price. I love that they're making LEDs & moving lights affordable to people, and they've also got some really great products. The Flurry Wash series is what the Chauvet MiNwash should have been! Blizzard also does a great job of listening to their customers and resolving any issues with their product. Again, I've heard nothing but good when it comes to Will (and anyone else who he's employing at this point in time). They're also the first company that I saw offer QW and QA versions of their quad fixtures, with Elation following them in that idea on one fixture. The fact that you can order the fixtures with the LEDs that you want is great, and the fact that they use the Cree and Luminus LEDs in a lot of their fixtures is awesome.

 

[AhClem]

I recently created a fixture template for a BlueLite X1 customer who is getting the RGBAW and was confused by the "32-Bit Dimming" on the DMX '10 ch. Mode' chart.

After discussing it with the support dept at Blizzard, they appear to offer 4 custom dimming modes (plus normal 8 bit mode) where the fixture 'subdivides' each DMX step into 16 million 'sub-steps' internally, providing an extermely smooth dimming curve. The modes let you select which 'range' of the dimmer uses the 32-bit dimming. Mode 1 (0-25%) should dim normally until it reaches 25% then the 32-bit kicks in to "smooth" the final fade. Mode 2 uses the 0-50% range, Mode 3 uses 0-75% and Mode 4 uses 32-bit dimming across the entire 0-100% range which can cause the fixture to take up to 2.5(-ish) seconds to completely dim. Mode 1 or 2 were suggested to most closely mimic an incandesant fixture's behavior.

It sounds like that would work well for the more theatrical uses while the normal response time would be suitable for a band/DJ style performance. The virtual version of the fixture in Capture Sweden's visualization software look like it creates some awsome color blends.

I'd like to begin offering my cuetomers 'pre-bundled' lighting packages along with our BlueLite X1 controller and I've been looking (with only minor drooling) at the Blizzard Lighting product line. I could use any feedback from actual ROCKLITE owners with suggestions (or cautions) how they are working for them and what's the best venue is to showcase them.

 

[kylevclark]

I'm considering purchasing 4 rocklite rgbaw for front lighting my music lesson studio's student shows. Looking at the blizzard website, the colors and output look much better than other lights in this price range. My local dealer does not stock them so I can't test drive them.

Can anyone chime in on video compatibility? I've seen video of the blizzard q12a flickering big time and so I'm considering the "flicker free" chauvet slimpro par rgba also. I want to have trouble free video capture. Video zipfile of q12a and slimparpro attached to bottom of first post:
Chauvet SlimPar Pro RGBA Review

The lux @1m (20k rocklite, 10k slimpar) and form factor of the 2 fixtures are pretty different with a similar price and beam angle. Anyone with experience with both lights have a preference for my situation?

Thanks, -kyle

 

[mstone133]

We recently installed 8 rocklites as rear color at our church in the adult worship area along with Flurry Tri's and ICE-30's in the youth and kid areas. These fixtures have exceeded our expectations so far (especially the rocklites), but the manuals can be improved. The rocklites came set to 32-bit dimming mode 4, but there was no mention of this feature in the manual, how it impacted dimming times, or how to change it. The fixture took about a second from full on to full off in 32-but mode 4. The online manual for the ICE-30's (and the manual in the box) did not have the correct channel assignments, so the personality created for the fixture had to be redone. We haven't filmed with the fixtures on, so I can't comment on flicker.

I owe Esoteric pictures...don't let him know I posted on yet another forum without them.

 

[bigtim]

I'm late to this thread, but I've got several Rocklites (RGBAW) and have recommended them to many other folks. A great instrument for the money! Changing the optics requires removing the face plate (6 machine screws) and pulling off/pushing on the lenses - about 15 minutes total. And to AhClem, I agree about BlueLite and Capture Sweden. I've got about 10 venues using BlueLite in my area now and I also use Capture. BlueLite handles everything well and has templates available (free) for the Rocklites. There is a drop off, but I can live with that. Well worth at least trying out.