Design LEDs inside of hotel bars

[HairyAz]

Looking to defeat an age old dilemma for our company and come up with a better design. Need some help from the resident geniuses. We constantly get the request to have LED bars lit from within for corporate events (the hotels roll in there bar inside of our wooden structure that lights from within. We have custom printed bar fronts made usually from choroplast. We have tried a bunch of different style light-duty LED fixtures over the years that have lit up hot spots rather than a full wash across the front of the 4'h x 8'w bar front.

I know choro isn't the best material (especially when it isn't clear but white) to get the best punch for the buck, but at the price you pay per sheet, it was the best option. Any suggestions on a better LED fixture to use to get a full color wash, while at the same time not spending over $300-$500 per bar in fixtures?

LEDs are necessary due to heat. Bar tenders really don't like hot lights around all those frosty cold beverages, let alone their legs.

 

[sk8rsdad]

What about an LED light panel? It looks like there are a number of suppliers out there, with a variety of designs and price points.

For example:

 

[Van]

I saw some of Rosco's 'Cat walk' panels the other day. They looked super cool to me. and as a bar top or front there would simply be no comparing. Need a new logo for a new customer? Just program it into the bar top!

 

[SHARYNF]

Take a look at the led tape lights, they come in 16.8 foot lengths and you could do side/edge lighting as a possibility. Other approach is to add to the tape lights a rear cavity to the which you have mylar mirror added to increase the light reflected onto the panel
Sharyn

 

[gafftapegreenia]

What about the Chauvet COLORado Batten 72? At your throw distance I think a longer striplight style fixture is what you need.

 

[HairyAz]

What about the Chauvet COLORado Batten 72? At your throw distance I think a longer striplight style fixture is what you need.

Thank you for all the great replies. We tried a cheaper version of the Chavent fixture w 1w bulbs, didn't really get the punch we were looking for. Problem with the actual COLORado is that it's a $800 fixture, and it's tough to justify spending that when you are pricing out the bars for less than that ammount. Hmm... might have to think about that one more though long term.

I have to check out the tape and panels, those seem like really cool ideas.

I have attached what the bars have looked like in the past without a logo. But again, I am trying to do a full wash.

 

[shiben]

Thank you for all the great replies. We tried a cheaper version of the Chavent fixture w 1w bulbs, didn't really get the punch we were looking for. Problem with the actual COLORado is that it's a $800 fixture, and it's tough to justify spending that when you are pricing out the bars for less than that ammount. Hmm... might have to think about that one more though long term.


I have attached what the bars have looked like in the past without a logo. But again, I am trying to do a full wash.
View attachment 5978

LED screen or a gigantic plasma is going to be your friend. And personally, from an aesthetic standpoint, that looks cooler to have the bar front like that then anything solid... Now with a plasma or LED TV you could totally have some awesome morphing effects going like that... Would be sweet.
I have to check out the tape and panels, those seem like really cool ideas.

 

[esmphoto]

LED screen or a gigantic plasma is going to be your friend. And personally, from an aesthetic standpoint, that looks cooler to have the bar front like that then anything solid... Now with a plasma or LED TV you could totally have some awesome morphing effects going like that... Would be sweet.
I have to check out the tape and panels, those seem like really cool ideas.

are you semi-technically inclined? if so you could build your own plexiglass LED light panels? by mounting several RGB LEDS into the edges of sanded/painted white plexiglass so that they reflect internally, somewhat like lightpipes.

they would be very low profile and be both budget and power/temp. friendly.

 

[HairyAz]

are you semi-technically inclined? if so you could build your own plexiglass LED light panels? by mounting several RGB LEDS into the edges of sanded/painted white plexiglass so that they reflect internally, somewhat like lightpipes.

they would be very low profile and be both budget and power/temp. friendly.

I think TVs are out because we are talking bars here with liquids and idiots around them Also... remember the budget constraints here: $300-500 per bar.

Unless I found a chinese knockoff of the COLORado, those are probably out. The plexiglass idea is interesting, but sounds very labor intensive and would put the labor bill per bar up over the budget. The LED Panels idea sounds interesting. I might have to look more into that. Thanks again guys for all the help.

 

[gafftapegreenia]

Two other thoughts: Have you looked at the products from American DJ? They have some in the "mega bar" family that mite work.

Also contact BillESC on this board, he might have a suitable solution for sale.

 

[cbrandt]

Elation has some products that are just a little higher than your price range, but also offer some great extras. The Elar EX Tribar has homogenized beams, so you won't have to deal with multicolors from such a short throw.
I think you should be looking at batten/strip type fixtures more than par sorts. For long runs like that, you're going to get a lot more for your money AND get a much nicer wash, since they're designed for that sort of thing.
Do you do a lot of control for these, or are they generally setup in a single color and walk away? If you need to be able to program chases or effects, that becomes much more difficult the cheaper you go.

 

[Beans45601]

I saw some of Rosco's 'Cat walk' panels the other day.

More info please! I can't find any Rosco panel product that has individually controllable pixels. Sounds amazing though!

 

[Morte615]

Rainbow Wall Runner: Rainbow Wall Runner
and at $25 each really cheap! A bit rough looking (no housing) but if it is going inside the bar then that is probably not a big deal. More information about the lights and how they work: http://forums.lightorama.com/forum84/19381.html

I think you can run this without the brain and be able to just hook it up to a controller with pigtails, may want to check with the company about that though. If not then you just add the Brain for $70 and you can control it with any DMX controller! They also have other options that may work.