The LDI Show returned to the Las Vegas Convention Center after a busy year of live event productions across North America in our new post-shutdown (if not entirely post-Covid) era. The aisles were busy with production pros seeking to gear up for another busy year ahead, with exhibitors unveiling as many new products as steadily improving supply chain conditions would permit.
The event, which filled LVCC’s North Hall, presented conference session starting Nov. 14 and opened the expo show floor Nov. 18-20, with most of the booths continuously engaged with potential buyers. As in years past, those on the manufacturing side responded to the needs of their customers with a full array of clever, problem-solving solutions, including products designed for use in outdoor environments. And as production needs ramp up for everything from live stage performances to new realms of immersive entertainment, there were also more booths featuring products for film, television and XR production.
Here are some booth visuals and product highlights.
Absen, a Germany-based LED display manufacturer with a U.S. subsidiary in Orlando, featured new Polaris Series products for outdoor use. The outdoor products had featured resolutions in the 3.9mm to 4.8mm pixel pitch ranges, but the company is also going to be offering a PL 2.9 display for outdoor use. The Polaris Series also includes indoor products in the 1.9mm to 3.9mm range. The company’s VN Series, designed for touring, has a pixel pitch range of 4.9mm to 8.3mm and features wind bracing for outdoor use along with a protection mechanism for pixels at the bottom of the panels. Absen is also offering a 4.8mm display for stage flooring (the MR Series) and the AX Pro Series for XR studios, including the AX1.2 Pro and AX1.5 Pro with 1.27mm and 1.58mm pixel pitch, respectively.
A.C. Lighting distributes brands including Chroma-Q, Prolights, Luminex, Follow-Me, LumenRadio, Avenger, Manfrotto, and Prolyte. Along with Chroma-Q LED products and Vista by Chroma-Q, the booth this year featured the North American debut of Follow-Me Track-iT, a scalable remote manual follow-spot and performer auto-tracking system designed for the entertainment industry.
ACT Entertainment was back showcasing products from the pro AV brands it distributes and sells, including MA Lighting, Ayrton, Robert Juliat, MDG, AC Power Distro, Zactrack, Luxibel, Roxx Light, RapcoHorizon, and ProCo. One of the newer offerings, Just Networking, is continuing its year-and-a-half long mission to provide LDs with ways to do their work remotely, which began with the introduction of a product launched last year, theBRIDGE. Since its launch, lighting pros have relied on theBRIDGE to sit in and play a role, virtually, on lighting sessions around the world, said product developer Matt Geasey. He added, “we’ve been on every continent minus Africa and Antarctica.”
ADJ put its IP65-rated Hydro Series center-stage, including the Hydro Profile, a 660W LED fixture that emits 25,000-plus lumens; the Hydro Spot 2, with a 320 watt LED engine; the 200W Hydro Spot 1, and the Hydro Beam X12, powered by a 260W Philips Platinum 12R LL MSD discharge lamp.
All Access is taking its expertise in putting together the technologies that make moments memorable on top concert tours and marketing these as turnkey staging solutions. A case in point, visible at the LDI show, was their Versa Dually Lift, which is approved for hoisting scenery, props and even the concert performers themselves skyward. The zip lift makes use of RibbonLift’s electric-powered Nucleus product, guided by All Access’ own control element. All Access also demonstrated a smaller lift that made use of a single ribbon lift element.
Antari’s featured products at LDI included their S-600 Snow Machine, HZ-1000 haze machine and more. Along with a comprehensive selection of fog, haze, snow and bubble machines, Antari offers a fill line of UV LED lighting fixtures and paints.
AOTO showcased an xR studio setup that was done in collaboration with xitelabs and STYPE camera tracking/XR software. Michael Huang and Erico Li were also on hand to discuss a separate setup specifically for filmmaking projects. On the exterior of the booth, the company set up its weather-protected outdoor LED display. Other displays showed how AOTO products could be features indoors, on either walls (RM2.3E) or floors (AE2.3E).
Armando Custom Cases’ Oscar Puentes, Armando Puentes and Rene Cervantes were on hand to step up for any booth visitor’s custom-case needs. They operate a large shop located just off I-15 along the route from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.
AV Stumpfl unveiled its new PIXERA four media server for 4K and 8K playback. Designed for real-time graphics applications and broadcast setups, features include 12G-SDI I/O support, a 10 GB/s default data read rate and five configurable PCI 4.0 slots. AV Stumpfl also showcased its Monolyte unibody screen system.
Avolites’ new Prism Zero promises to simplify the incorporation of video visuals within a lighting design. It builds on the feature set of Avolites’ Prizm Player 1.1, making it easier for LDs to preview, crop, play back and integrate video content into a visual design. Users of Avolites Titan lighting consoles can connect directly to Prism Zero via an NDI connection. The software then responds to the Synergy settings in both platforms, letting programmers mesh video content with lighting looks.
Barbizon stocks more than 20,000 products in its 10 shop locations for production pros involved in or the performing arts, themed environments, live productions, and film & TV.
Brompton Technology marked its 10-year milestone by displaying the company’s very first LED processor, which was first shipped on Nov. 19, 2012 and put to use on the Super Bowl XLVII on Feb. 3, 2013. Despite a decade of use, the LED processing unit was apparently pulled out of use so it could be displayed at the show. The company also offered a full range of brand-new units that LDI visitors could order, including the Brompton Tessera SX40 4K LED processor with HDR, the XD data distribution unit, the S8 mid-range 4K processor with HDR, the S4 LED processor for HD video walls and the T1, designed for smaller creative shows.
Calzone Cases debuted “our new version of the Cadillac trunk,” said Joseph Calzone, the company’s president. “We made many thousands of the ¾ inch Cadillac trunks,” he added, noting the difficulty and expense of obtaining the case materials previously used. “This is similar to our regular road case—our ATA case. We’ve got a unique hinge on it for lift and balance.” The name for the product is still somewhat pending, but one possibility might be the “Slam Lid Cadillac Trunk.”
Cameo, a brand of the Adam Hall Group, featured their AZOR S2 moving head. It’s got an 11,000-lumen output. Cameo also launched the OTOS H5, an IP65 moving head. Along with 19K lumen output, this hybrid fixture can zoom down to a very narrow beam of 4.5°, yet it can also serve as a beam or wash fixture. It also uses CMY flags and a color wheel and comes with two prisms and an animation wheel. The booth also featured Cameo’s S4 IP softlight.
Chauvet Professional unveiled new IP65-rated additions to its Maverick Storm line of products, including the Maverick Storm 4 Profile and Storm 2 Profile. These new movers are also loaded with features like variable CMY and CTP color mixing, a 4-blade framing shutter system with rotation (as well as full black out), a color wheel, 10:1 zoom and dual prisms—two rotating for the Storm 4, one rotating and one static for the Storm 2. Also featured: two new Rogue Outcasts (the weather-protected 1L Beam and 2X Wash, weighing in at just 35 and 23 lbs., respectively), and the Ovation Rêve E-3 IP ellipsoidal. On the ChamSys lighting console side, featured products included the new MagicQ MQ250M Stadium, a powerful yet portable desk with a new folding HD Multi Touch display design.
City Theatrical featured their QolorFLEX 5-in-1 HiQ high CRI LED tape, their QolorFLEX NuNeon tunable white HiQ high CRI LED tape, their Multiverse wireless DMX/RDM system and more.
Claypaky’s booth included the premiere of the company’s new Volero Wave LED bar, which incorporates eight small moving heads for synchronized spectacles. The company also highlighted their Sinfonya Profile 600, a quiet-operating LED fixture particularly well suited to the theater market. Also featured were the company’s Xtylos family of fixtures, the Volero Batten Aqua and the Tambora Linear and Tambora Flash.
De Sisti/Coemar’s booth prominently displayed the De Sisti Aurea Small from the Muses of Lights series, a line of fixtures co-designed by the company’s R&D department and famed cinematographer Vittorio Storaro. “They range in sizes from as little as 14 inches up to five feet,” said Paul Distefano from De Sisti USA. “We’re showing a couple of the smaller ones here today. The larger version is 2,000 watts and five feet in diameter. All of the lights are named after the mythological muses of Greek mythology.” On the Coemar side, the booth displayed MiniLEDko fixtures including Profile, Fresnel and an IP65-rated variation, the LEDko EXTM.
Doug Fleenor Design, a prominent manufacturer of DMX512 distribution and interface equipment for the entertainment industry, showed off their range of solutions, including the new Preset 12. Their standard products are supplemented by a custom design service which solves unique problems.
Eilon Engineering’s “Safety Above All” Ron StageMaster system has been used by clients ranging from PRG, Cirque du Soleil, Orlando’s OCCC convention center and more. Ron StageMaster’s 10t load cells were used by Boeing for NASA’s Starliner CST-100 reusable spacecraft capsule project. At LDI, the focus was on 5t, 3t, 2t and 1t units, with options including Eilon’s classic 6000 G5 wireless load cells, 6000 G5 wireless shackle pin load cells and a 5000 G5 wired load cell option.
Elation Professional expanded the company’s IP65 Proteus line with the 70,000-lumen Proteus Brutus moving head and Proteus Rayzor Blade linear wash/effect. Also featured: the company’s Fuze MAX LED moving head. In the broadcast-optimized KL series, Elation introduced the compact KL Profile FC ellipsoidal framing fixture and KL Panel XL soft light. The Artiste series was also featured, along with the NX1 lighting console from Obsidian Control Systems and Magmatic atmospheric effects, including the Prisma series.
Environmental Lights displayed a variety of LED tape options including vertical bend neon—“great for wrap-around,” says Michael Krupinsky, along with more traditional neon “that’s more standard when you wrap shapes on walls.” Other options include ultra-thin, four-in-one (RGBW), flattop or dome top variations, and choices for rear wire or side wire exit designs. The company also has a range of pixel products and an LED wall wash unit.
ETC debuted the High End Systems Halcyon line of moving lights with automated framing, including the Gold (31K lumen), Titanium (40K lumen), and Platinum (55K lumen—with 75K in “boost mode”) options. Other featured products included ETC’s Color Source Spot VXT (an IP65-version of the Color Source Spot V) and the High End Systems SolaPix 19 XT (a weather-ready version of the SolaPix 19).
FOR-A was back at LDI with SOAR-A line of software solutions and FA-1616 multi-channel signal processor line with three models. They include the FA-1616HB-12G (32 HD BNCs and 12G-SDI with 16 inputs/outputs), the FA-1616B-12G (16 BNCs and 12G-SDI with 16 inputs/outputs) and FA-1616HB-3G (32 HD BNCs and 3G-SDI with 32 inputs/outputs).
Froggy’s Fog unleashed their Fobbles F8 Pro bubble machine and also let loose with their Poseidon Aqua 2 low-lying fog machine and more.
Gamma LED Vision is a company with more than 20 years experience, and they serve as a distributor for Spain-based Equipson, which makes Light Shark lighting controllers, WorkPro lifters and truss and more. “We’re not just a lighting brand, we’re trussing, we’re distributors for Light Shark controllers, we have Work Pro lifters,” says Christian Madrigal, CEO of Gamma LED Vision.
Gloshine’s MV Pro Series is touted for high resolution (1.27mm to 2.6mm), a reliable lock system and XR Studio applications. Also featured: the flexible CF Series, a 2.6mm product that can curve up to 30° along the length of a single panel. The CF Series screens easily connect with Gloshine’s MV Pro/PL Series displays. Gloshine’s AR X 3.91 cabinets, meanwhile, can lock together to serve as a matte floor LED display. And the company’s lightweight 3.91mm CB Series are designed to serve as ceiling panels.
GLP showcased its impression X5, which features 19 40W RGBL LEDs, and X5 Compact, which dispenses with the X5’s outermost ring, leaving just seven LED modules. (The “L” in RGBL is Lime). Features include GLP’s iQ.Gamut calibration algorithm and the promise of super-fast fixture movement and zoom. Other featured products include the Fusion and LED tape from GLP’s Scenex Lighting brand.
Harlequin Floors used LDI 2022 to debut its new multi-use floor system, Harlequin Liberty Switch. The new flooring solution can go from Dance Mode to Transformation Mode to Theatre Mode, transforming from a sprung dance floor to a rigid theater floor at the touch of a button.
hazebase’s LDI offerings included the FAB haze machine, a haze unit compressed into a two-rack-high package, allowing it to fit within an Amptown road case. Along with a warm-up time of just five seconds, features include a 180° rotating touchscreen display and remote control options via Art-Net, sCAN, DMX512, and RDM.
INFiLED exhibited at both LDI this year and the co-located Digital Signage Experience (DSE) show in the Las Vegas Convention Center’s Central Hall. The LDI booth included the company’s rugged Titan-X series panels, which are a good choice for rental and staging applications, along with the X II Series panels, which are optimized for XR virtual production with smooth curves, wide viewing angles and the ability to be seamlessly paired with INFiLED’s DB product series.
IntelliEvent welcomed its industry friends to the booth, many of whom participated in the Parnelli golf tournament on Nov. 17. The company offers cloud-based rental and event management software including scalable rental, labor, inventory, routing, and customer management software that customers can rely on from anywhere, using any device. At LDI, its project managers were ready to configure IntelliEvent to individual company needs. They also offer free ongoing training webinars three days a week to keep everyone up to speed.
Inner Circle Distribution featured products from lines they distribute, including Astera, Madrix, Portman Custom Lights and SelbyGuard Lighting Rain Protection. Astera recently launched its compact, modular, battery-powered, wireless and water-tight HydraPanel, which users can mount anywhere and light anything thanks to the FlexBase accessory’s design. Mounting options include the Foldable Foot for flat surface setup, the Cold Shoe for third-party accessories and to attach to cameras and an included Babypin for mounting on stands and via SuperClamp. Astera’s HydraPanel also features the full-spectrum Titan LED engine, generating 1,300-lumen output from battery power for up to an hour and 45 minutes. And users can combine units to build bigger panels.
IWEISS showed off its Paragon Hoist, a multi-line winch designed within ANSI standards that uses two gearmotors with brakes and redundant load path drive chains. The hoist also has the ability to stay within 12-inch lift line centers—or even eight inches if the winches are on opposing sides. “It’s got a nice, tight form factor and outstanding lift capacity—2,000 pounds, 45 feet of lift travel, and six or seven-line lift capacity,” said IWEISS’ Jeff Parvin.
LEX Products presented its weather-protected Outdoor Rack. Also at the show: LEX Products’ EnerRACK, which can store energy via utility, power or solar sources to provide silent, exhaust-free power to challenging event locations.
Look Solutions launched the OctaJet. As Look Solution’s Tyler Mickley explains it, “it’s basically a simulated CO2 fogger for an upjet, without using the CO2. It’s just using magnets and fog pressure.” Although the name for another product was “pending” during the show, Mickley added, “we call this our IP64 machine for now,” and as the temporary name suggests, it’s designed for outdoor use.
Martin by HARMAN’s Exterior Linear Pro Graze Quad has an IP66 rating for outdoor wall washing applications. Other new products include the company’s MAC Aura XIP, a full featured and weatherized LED wash moving head; and the ELP PAR IP, a 3,500-lumen RGBW LED fixture also suited for outdoor use.
MEGA-LITE grabbed notice from passers-by with the angled placement of its Pan-T-Bot fixtures, which feature 80 controllable LEDs sandwiching a white strobe bar and the ability to pan and tilt. Also at the booth, the company’s new Outerbot IP-rated beam and wash fixtures, Stinger Scan-150, the new E-Series’ EB1 combining LED beam output with aperture ring control were on display, along with their Packer truss and Deco vintage scoop.
Minuit Une featured its IVL Photon fixture on the show floor and invited booth visitors to check it out in action in one of LDI’s demo rooms.
Mod Scenes’ ProScene panels could be seen around the show floor—not just at the company’s booth, but also framing some of the show floor session areas. The panels are designed to attract the eye and are quick to set up and tear down.
ModTruss’ Patrick Santini was camping out on the show floor with a new weld-less truss design. With no welding, “this product has no heat-affected zone. This is mechanically fastened, which means it’s machine, then screwed together. So we get 100 percent of the material’s strength.” The first of these ModTruss products is “six inches by six inches square, and it comes in six inch increments up to 10 to 20 feet,” Santini said. “All the edges are polished edges, so they’re very smooth. It doesn’t require any weld inspections, because there’s no welding.” By LDI 2023, there will probably be a 12-inch version as well.
Muxwave made an impression with a transparent scrim like, seamless LED screen that offers stunning 3D effects. Content running on the front of the screen is not seen from the back, rather from the back the screen appears transparent.
Neutrik showcased their Halo and Fiberfox innovations at LDI 2022. The Halo series of XLR A-series connectors feature an illuminated light ring to indicate signal transmission and an asymmetrical and non-metallic ESD latch to prevent electrostatic discharge. The Fiberfox four-channel cable connector, meanwhile, uses a unique connection to guard against mud, dust and liquids.
NovaStar’s booth featured the company’s flagship MX40 Pro video processor. Along with rich video input connectors (HDMI 2.0, DP 1.2 and 12G-SDI), the MX40 Pro has 20 Ethernet output ports and can work with NovaStar’s new Vision Management Platform (VMP) screen configuration software, with speedy configuration for regular and irregular screen shapes. Another NovaStar highlight at LDI was the company’s COEX Control System CX80 Pro 8K processor.
Pangolin’s laser systems featured the company’s laser control software and hardware along with laser projectors from Kvant, Unity Lasers, and Scanner Max.
Pathway Connectivity, which started out with a focus on data communications and conversion, has added light controls to its product family since the company was acquired by Acuity Brands in 2011. At LDI 2022, the company also gave booth visitors a peek at products being developed for 2023, including an emergency DMX solution called the DMeXit and a 24-port addition to the company’s VIA Ethernet Switch family.
PixMob’s Jean-Olivier “J-O” Dalphond was on hand at the booth to talk about the company’s latest products. “We have new LED wristbands that are controlled with radio frequency,” Dalphond said. “And this is a rechargeable pixel—the first rechargeable pixel that we’ve done.” Of these portable and rechargeable Nova pixels, Dalphond added, “people can wear it around their neck, or it can be reused for multiple sales.” Pointing to a compact processing unit, Dalphond noted that, “with the little box that’s over there, we can light up an entire stadium. And the other thing is that for venue lighting and stage lighting, we can install this into the seats,” he says, gesturing to the company’s Nova Pro units.
PLSN had a busy booth at the show with many attendees renewing their subscriptions and new readers signing up to get the magazine.
Robe made a big splash in the desert with new IP65-rated moving lights at LDI 2022, with lighting and rain effects co-mingling on the booth’s main stage. The star of the show was Robe’s iFORTE, modeled on the company’s high-powered FORTE, along with the iFORTE FS followspot. Other featured IP65 fixtures include the iSpiider LED wash beam and iBeam 250. Other featured products include Robe’s TX1 PosiProfile, PAINTE and TetraX. Behind the main stage, Robe also presented its new collection of Anolis architectural lighting products, the Calumma range.
Rose Brand featured the ADC Axis One pendant controller, offering users touchscreen control for up to 10 motors or devices. Users can also store up to 32 multi-axis scenes on the device. Other new products included the ADC ConTour Winch, ADC Simplici-T Drive, ReVive eco-friendly velour, GoBox DMX/Relay Controller, plus Triple E track systems.
ROE Visual, known for its lightweight frames, cinema-grade quality, rich colors and user-friendly design, featured its Black Pearl BP2V2 for for in-camera jobs as well as live events, its Carbon MarkII (CB MKII), a lightweight outdoor display with a stronger structure, its Graphite GP2.6, a lightweight display for indoor spaces; and the Ruby RB1.5, with an optimized black body and advanced driver ICs and LEDs that add superb color depth and grayscales to visuals. Also on display: the Black Marble BM2 & BM4, ROE’s versatile LED floor panel; the Vanish V8S, with a transparency of 62%; and the Vanish V8T, a 50% transparent transparent LED solution well suited for touring events.
SGM Light featured its Video Pixel Line, which can emit more than 200 lumens per foot and work with a 200+ foot continuous run. With direct power and data, no external processing is required. SGM’s G-7 BeaSt (Beam-Strobe) and Spot were also featured.
Stageline’s SL100 portable stage was featured on the LDI show floor, and Stageline’s brand new ST100 LED screen trailer appeared at the co-located DSE show for digital signage in LVCC’s Central Hall. This 34-foot trailer houses a screen support structure and mast that can extend up to a top height of more than 32 feet, presenting screen sizes that can measure more than 23’ x 13’.
Swisson, which makes a wide range of DMX, RDM and Ethernet based products as well as sine wave dimming/power management solutions, highlighted recent developments including its XND – Ethernet Node series and the XES – Ethernet Switch series.
TMB’s Solaris Flare XL 120, billed as the “biggest, baddest, brightest, heavy-duty RGBW LED wash/blinder/strobe ever” with 4,800 watts and more than 100,000 peak lumens, was a highlight at the show. The company also welcomed booth visitors with a “TMB” sign created from the warm tungsten glow of its modular and smooth-dimming Clone fixtures, sold in sets of six.
TMB also featured its ProPlex FloppyDrive BuckBoost system. It uses its proprietary BuckBoost power unit and drive signal near the power source and BuckBoxes to solve any issues that cable lengths might pose to low-voltage LED lighting, particularly LED tape and neon products used in architectural installations. TMB’s ProTester Opto, meanwhile, is a compact DMX signal and cable diagnostic tool.
Tyler Truss featured new gear including its flyable Tyler LT (Lighting Tower) and LR (Lighting Rack) products, its Multi-Access Hinge design, its new Threaded Fork Ends and its GT Compact Legs. Also featured were the company’s GT Plus PRT products and related accessories and truck pack-reducing Centerline truss options, which are designed to serve as a 16” x 16” truss option that promises to be just as strong as space-gobbling 20.5” x 20.5” box truss sections. Also featured: Tyler Truss’ Video Truss, which is designed to hide LED headers.
Ultratec Special Effects’ Polar Vortex snow machine was in the spotlight at this year’s LDI show. Company president Adrian Segeren was on hand to discuss how the snow nozzle can remain hidden in the scenery as the main unit, with a 220V/13A industrial blower, can push artificial snow from up to 50 feet away from a backstage location. Also featured: Ultratec’s Radiance Hazer Touring System, Arena System and Stadium System packages.
Unilumin used the LDI booth to promote the light, thin, ultra-high def and efficient characteristics of their various LED displays, noting their promise in applications ranging from broadcasting to concerts and live events along with virtual productions. The company also promoted the ease of use with their products, noting easy disassembly, low maintenance and touring-friendly features of developments such as their URMIII touring cart.
Vari-Lite introduced its new flagship NEO X15 console, with “100 DMX universes, straight out of the box,” noted Vari-Lite Product Specialist Edward Smith. “It’s running our brand-new NEO V4 software, which allows for a fully customized screen layout and provides full effects engines and cues windows, integrated keyboard and balanced audio outputs. Also on display was the Vari-Lite VL3600 Profile IP. The company worked on adding IP protection against inclement weather without adding too much to the 45,000-lumen fixture’s weight and size.
Vectorworks unveiled the 2023 edition of Spotlight, the English version of which was first released in September. Along with Robe and MA Lighting, Vectorworks is a founding partner of the General Device Type Format (GDTF) open standard for lighting fixtures, media servers and trusses, and the three companies even chipped in for a small booth dedicated to GDTF this year. When PLSN stopped by the Vectorworks booth, the company was hosting a session led by Epic Games’ Patrick Wambold. His talk was about using GDTF and MVR to power Vectorworks, Unreal Engine, and MA Lighting workflows.
Wenger’s Jim Crooks noted that Wenger has been working to keep pace with the shift toward LED lighting and the many changes it’s having on energy codes and “what you’ve got to do to build a building. It used to be that all the systems were pretty much freestanding. Now they’re all linked together.” He added, “We’re also rolling out some new products. And a notable one for this show is a product family called StageLink.” This distributed power control system is designed so that… the power control devices go right where the fixtures are. That saves a lot of conduit—and a lot of time and money. This is designed to fit within a structural I-Beam. Which means you can put it on a grid, or a catwalk, and have it be out of the way. And feed it power and run the load wiring to the devices that it’s controlling—50 feet away rather than 300 feet away.”
