It was a good three days of walking the floor this year, with all of the 350 booths located in the same hall. Attendance seemed moderate this year, as there seemed to be more room to walk the aisles without bumping into people. Of course, there was still the usual logjam at the Blizzard Lighting/Mod Truss booth where the party never seemed to stop, especially when you have life-sized Rock’em Sock’em Robots for us full-sized children to play with! Rest assured, there was plenty of cool things to see this year, and we have compiled a list of the 100 companies we felt had something worthwhile on display.
Absen: These LED video tile manufacturers showed off their new 3mm outdoor product, the X3. The M series was also on display with its 5 degree internal curve. It takes just 30 seconds to swap out any component on one of their tiles. www.absen.com
A.C. Lighting: Chroma-Q was on hand to show off the new Color Force 2 Batten. Featuring the same physical size of its predecessor it has individual control of all the cells with a new lens made for smoother cyc washes. The new Space Force soft light was shown as well. www.aclighting.com
ACASS-Systems: Their proprietary interlocking ModLock LED display panels use frames to keep any system of video tiles perfectly straight and rigid. Designed for their own 7mm Blackface product, Acass will also build touring frames for anyone’s product. www.acass-systems.com
ACT Lighting: In a mammoth booth, they showed off their wide and diverse line of products from MA lighting consoles to Claypaky and Robert Juliat lighting fixtures. MDG smoke machines, Reel FX hazers and Chainmaster rigging hoists were also featured. www.actlighting.com
ADJ: One of the LED moving head fixtures that I previewed and loved was the Vizi BSW 300. With a 300W LED source, two color wheels, two gobo wheels and a zoom function that fits in a small package and is quite affordable. They also had a seven 15W RGBW waterproof LED par that zoomed. www.adj.com
Altman Lighting: Altman’s Gallery series includes LED-driven white lights with a CRI of 92. Different lens sizes (two of them zoomable) can be utilized. The 50W light engine can be run via DMX, 0-10V DC or simply through the main voltage input. www.altmanlighting.com
Astera: New this year is the AS1, an LED pixel tube (See “Road Test,” this issue, page 71). Designed for wireless use, and with the ability to be run from an app on your phone, this tube can stand on a small base or hang vertically from a hook on top. It can also be mounted to a truss. www.astera-led.com
Antari: This effects company showed off its FT-100 fogger, said to be the best smoke machine for fire training. They also had the IP-1500 model waterproof smoke machine as well as the DNG 200, a low smoke generator, on display. Snow and bubble machines also joined the hazers. www.antari.com
Avolites: They gave me a sneak preview to their v10 software on the Ai media server. It is designed with new timeline standards that promise to change the way the business looks and set the new standards. The upgrade also includes better networking between consoles and servers. www.avolites.com
Atmosphere 4K: Atmosphere displayed 4K ultra high definition entertainment plasma screens for luxury hotels, bars and cruise lines. The company provides a unique content library designed by specialists in the sound and vision industry. www.atmosphere4k.com
Barbizon Lighting: The country’s leader in theatrical tools and studio installs was back on the floor to show off its wide variety of flashlights, meters, stage attire, tape and every kind of expendable one can use. www.barbizon.com
Barco/High End Systems: The Quad is a theatrical fan light, an ACL beam-replicating mover with four individual LED cells that can pan and tilt in any direction. The Hex is a mover with six individual linear LEDs that can pan on the face of the light. They also unveiled a fixture with an adjustable CRI value. www.highend.com
Blizzard Lighting teamed up with ModTruss on another action-packed both this year. They showed off a dozen new products. What stood out for us was the Stiletto Beast, which contains seven 60W LEDs, and can do a B-Eye effect and zoom. The par can version (ProPar I7) is also great. www.blizzardlighting.com
BTG-Bulbtronics Group showed off FlexAray LED tape as well at the FlexAray Flexible Linear LEDs. Also new this year is the Theatrical Studio Work light prototype with four LED par 38 style lamps fitted into conventional light sockets.They also showed off their www.bulbtronics.com
Calzone Cases: The Godfather of all case companies was on hand to show why they have been around the longest. They represent Anvil and Ascot brands as well and can make anything from workbench-style work boxes to cases that can hold a six-foot mirrorball. www.calzonecase.com
Century Industries: They set up one of their mobile stages on the convention center floor to show how easy it is to set in place. They offer a line of mobile seating and platform elevated mobile stages as well as the large concert model and mid-sized Community stage. www.centuryindustries.com
Chauvet Professional presented products at two adjacent yet distinctly different booths. A refreshing booth of modern technology was used to show off the new Maverick Line of fixtures as well as Video and Rogue products. The theatrical booth featured fixtures from the Ovation and COLORado lines. www.chauvetlighting.com
Checkers Safety Group: These folks build all kinds of safety devices for cable management as well as ground protection services. The variety of cable ramps includes 90 degree corners and six-lane drive-over models. The ones with LED lights flickering around the edges are great for darkness. www.checkers-safety.com
Christie: These makers of projectors showed off their Pandoras Box media server and its pixel mapping abilities by projecting video content on to a 3D sculpture of a wolf’s head using an extremely bright Christie 4K30 projector. www.christiedigital.com
CITC: The makers of special FX showed off the Maniac II. This moving head on a yoke spits out fog that is lit by color mixing LEDs. A flame effect is easily replicated. The AquaMax MP, an organic water-base hazer and the SuperShot Max confetti blower were also on hand. www.citcfx.com
City Theatrical released their new B-Series of dimmers and RGBI QolorFLEX LED Tape. We saw the DMXCat, a great, small gadget that can control, analyze and test fixtures. The device bluetooths to your phone via an Android app. The DMXCat then plugs into a light and you choose and control your fixture. www.citytheatrical.com
Claypaky: The Hepikos wash light is their latest yoke light. With a 700W Osram bulb, it has a low power consumption. CMY + two color wheels are in play. It has 5-40 zoom as well. The Scenius Profile, with its’ framing system, was also shown. The SharBar moving batten with panning beams and the Mythos2 were also displayed. www.claypaky.it
Columbus McKinnon: CM Motors displayed their fine line of electrical chain hoists, from ¼ ton to single reeved 2-ton models for the entertainment business. New to me was the new ¾-ton hand crank, a ratcheted chain hoist. www.cmworks.com
Cosmic Truss: They hung the coolest truss product on the floor; the Skull. Imagination ran high as the company took different products ranging from curved trusses to U-Torms to special built pieces to make the skull seen here. They also offer truss accessories, clamps and furniture made of truss. www.cosmictruss.com
CreateLED: This company develops, manufactures and markets LED video solutions for multiple indoor and outdoor applications. On the floor showing their crystal clear LED wall products, they revealed their new AirMAG products, including a 2.6mm high-def screen. www.createled.com
Creative Conners displayed items designed to move stage scenery around effortlessly, including their Spotline, designed for vertical lifting; and Pushstick deck winch systems, which have a 700-pound test line and can move gear that weighs several tons on a stage. www.creativeconners.com
Creative Stage Lighting: Displayed SGM fixtures which are waterproof and their New UL Listed versions of DuraFlex cablesets. New as well were, UL Listed Power Meters (in their EPS PD Racks) and they have added Phase3 connectors to their Exclusive Distribution Partner Lines.www.creativestagelighting.com
Database Works: The folks behind the inventory tracking system for restocking your rental shelves are at it again. Their Rental Works software has been updated and can now use the new Zebra Android device to run the app. The phone can read barcodes from 10 feet away. www.dbworks.com
Doug Fleenor Design: The wacky world of Doctor DMX was in full glory again as the master of signal flow built a DMX controlled “Kegerator” to serve cold root beer to the masses. Cindy Fleenor would lift a fader on a small console, and the tap handle would move forward magically. www.dfd.com
Drape Kings: The leader in all things pipe and drape was on hand to show a variety of fabric materials and quick setup systems. Triple E curtain track, Eurotrack and kabuki reveal mechanisms were being shown. www.drapekings.com
Draper: The manufacturer of projection screens showed the world again why their gear is among the most sought after brands. From floor mounted stand-alone models to rolling screens to various stretched fabric that is snapped on to sturdy collapsible frames, they have it all. www.draperinc.com
DTS: This Italian manufacturer announced they are now part of Group One Unlimited. They showed us the Core, their latest moving yoke light. The lightweight, silent fixture is a true hybrid fixture with a 440W HRI arc lamp that boasts 24,000 lumens. www.dts-lighting.it
DuraTruss: This company makes all kinds of unique truss structures that are lightweight, yet strong. This booth included a ground support system used to lift up an LED wall made of heavy video tiles. www.duratruss.com
Eilon Engineering: Masters of the rigging load cell, this company celebrates 40 years in business by showing off their weighing systems. Ron Stagemaster wireless and wired load cells were available for all sized loads from ¼ to five tons. Loads can be easily read with a laptop. www.eilon-engineering.com
Elation: The big news is the Proteus series. Elation has two arc sourced fixtures housed in an IP65-rated waterproof housing. They have a Beam and a Hybrid fixture that set the bar high. The Artiste, an LED-driven series, was unveiled with a hard edge fixture that has a 300W source. www.elationlighting.com
elektraLite: The new ML-902 moving light was on the scene. The 120-watt LED sourced moving head features a crisp white beam as bright as any 250W arc sourced fixture. The popular range of LED wash lights call the eyeball were also on display. www.myelektralite.com
Enttec Americas: The Wave was on display. A custom-built set piece holds a bunch of the new one-meter-long Phero 30 Pixel Bars. Up to 90 DMX channels per bar can be controlled by the Pixelator. Different diffuser plates are available for the front. www.enttec.com
ETC: LED Color Source fixtures were a hit. People played with the new consoles, including the Gio @5, the latest in the EOS family. It is just below their top-of-the-line model. Shorter than the Ion with a fader wing, it has five motorized faders and two motorized masters. www.etcconnect.com
Flex Rental Solutions: The leading web based rental management software company was on site to explain to everyone why they are used by so many gear vendors in the entertainment business. Flex can work with most bar scanning devices. www.flexrentalsolutions.com
Gallagher Staging: Representatives were on hand to show what this fabrication and rental house is capable of doing. Plasma screens depicted live displays of the sets they have built for many performers. Their patented G-Block series of stand-alone truss blocks were used as well. www.gallagherstaging.com
Gator Cases showed off a wide range of travelling cases ranging from cases and bags for musical instruments to hard wheeled road cased to Plastic style foam inserted flight cases. They even make sporting cases for your guns to travel in. www.gatorcases.com
German Light Products: GLP launched the GT-1 moving head at the show. Like their impression line, this fixture has no large base, just a floor stand. The hard edge fixture has a 470W discharge lamp and lots of features. Also shown was the X4 Atom, a 30W version of the Atom fixture. www.germanlightproducts.com
Green Hippo: With a new location in Los Angeles, these fine makers of media servers were on hand to talk about their different sized lines of product and their latest software releases. With 4K playback and 3D shape-mapping, the program has a multipurpose previsualizing tool built in. www.green-hippo.com
Gtek: Their new 3.2mm flexible indoor LED wall product is called the Eco 3. It can link with their other flat tiles and curve up to 45° in convex or concave directions. They feature cableless tiles that link easily and can fit any touring cart. Rear serviceable magnetic modules are easy to service. www.gtek.hk/en
Harting: The world’s leader in electrical connectors offers flexible solutions for many applications. The PushPull XS is a new connector that the company sees as something that can easily replace transceivers. IP67-rated for fiber or copper applications. www.harting-usa.com
I.A.T.S.E. Local: The stagehands union reps were on hand to explain how their alliance of theatrical stage employees can benefit any show you are involved in. www.iatse-intl.org
Inner Circle Distribution: Madrix was in use at several places on the floor. New to the booth was the Shelby Guard line of protection gear for moving lights. This includes aerial shrouds for hanging lights and blown air plastic covers for large floor models. Hazebase smokers were available. http://innercircledistribution.wordpress.com
JW Winco: Just about every kind of fastener, clasp, specialty tools for metric and inch standard parts for the entertainment industry is in their catalogue. When in need of some specialty hardware for a stage item, I’d look here first, they probably have it. www.jwwinco.com
Kvant: The laser giant was here showing off a variety of their products as well as the Pangolin software that drives them. We got a close look at the Logolas 3000, a 650 mW RGB laser. Also in use were the Atom 20 LD RGB FB4, a full-color high end laser; and the Club Max 2W laser. www.kvantlasers.sk
LaserNet: On display they had several models of their Scanner Pro Series of laser projectors, including 1W, 3W, 7W and 23W models. They specialize in service/repair, installations, mobile applications, corporate events and touring. www.lasernet.com
LeMaitre unveiled the MVS Smart, an upgraded version of their already popular hazer. One can control and monitor various sensors through any mobile smart device. User friendly control and a few more diagnostic (i.e., “You’re running low on fuel”) features and smart sensors make it a great upgrade. www.lemaitreusa.com
Light Vector: The laser experts behind the Beam Composer Maestro programming system were demonstrating how simple it was for their laser products to be controlled via a grandMA2 lighting desk. 25W Light Vector LV25 lasers were also on display. www.lightvectorlasers.com
LightParts: The Austin Texas company wants to fix your gear. Offering a way to “Fix it, Don’t Nix It,” they can find any part needed to fix your moving light or console. They also sell some quality HES gear, including Hog 4 consoles, that have been slightly used for demo purposes. www.lightparts.com
Lightronics released new LED fixtures this year. The FXLD 127 FRP 5I4 is an indoor fixture with a 45-degree beam spread in a flat round par body. It has seven 12W RGBWA LED cells. The FXLD 157 FRP 6I4 model has RGBWA and UV color mixing ability. www.lightronics.com
Look Solutions: Makers of various smoke generators, they displayed four varieties of tiny smoke machines, including hand-held models. Also on board was the Viper S, a compact fogger made for clubs; and the Viper NT, which shoots high vertical plumes of smoke. www.looksolutionsusa.com
Luminex: They displayed a few of their high end products that deal with data including the LumiSplit, which comes in a rack mount or truss sized version. The 1.6 model has one input and six outs. The 2.10 model can take two universes in and spit out 10 assignable outputs. www.luminex.be
Martin: On the video side, Harman’s Martin introduced their VDO Face 5, an IP65-rated 5mm LED tile. The M2GO HD and M1 HD now come with new attached monitor that has four encoders. They both now ship with standard time code and midi output cards. www.martin.com
MDG: Celebrating the 35th anniversary at the ACT Lighting booth, they featured the Me8. This new member of the Me family is a fog generator that boasts eight separate nozzles for continuous high density applications. Capable of filling 800 square meters per minute, it’s their largest model yet. www.mdgfog.com
Mega-Lite: Reps from Mega-Lite were on hand to show off the Medusa, a four-headed fixture that’s made up of four equally spaced beam lights. Each light is mounted to a Lazy Susan of sorts that can spin in either direction. The user can change color, gobos and tilt each of the four heads. www.megasystemsinc.com
Milos/Litec: The European members of the Area Four Truss team showed off their DST (Dynamic Stacking Truss). A truss that can be fitted with a motorized Integrated track with trolleys. The EX3 Rise chain motors with their incorporated load cells could measure both pounds or kilograms through a digital display. www.milossystems.com
Morpheus Lights/Ayrton: The IntellipixXT with a bigger optic opening joined the new MagicDot SX, which zooms. The DreamPanel Twin has a MagicPanel on one side and a DreamPanel Shift on the other. A graphic moving strobe called the MagicBurst was also on site. www.ayrton.eu and www.morpheuslights.com
Mountain Productions: Along with rigging supplies and MTN BOX Spektrum road cases, this manufacturer and renter of staging systems has expanded. Besides the home office in Pennsylvania and their Fort Lauderdale, FL shop, they are expanded to the West Coast with a Las Vegas office set to open in January. www.mountainproductions.com
Nationwide Video: The wholesale sub rental company was on site to explain what they do: they rent pro AV gear to pro AV customers. From cameras to video walls, audio gear to full PA systems — even lighting. With seven different warehouses, all of their shipping is free. www.nationwidevideo.com
Omnisistem: The Dancing Balls were definitely a hit. DMX controlled spheres of color mixing lights were attached to individual winches. The winches were programmed to different choreographed looks. The power supplies for the LED drivers are in the overhead winch itself. www.omnisistem.com
Oracle LED Systems: They were on site with their Black Widow 5.9mm video tiles that have made them one of the world’s most popular LED manufacturers. This year they brought out the newest member of the Links system — the sleekly designed 2.9mm RR (Road Ready) Screen. www.oracleledsystems.com
Osram: Besides showing off their various light sources and bulbs for the entertainment business, they had perhaps the coolest architainment fixtures in their booth. The Phaser (short for phosphor and laser) has laser diodes combined and focused in a 2° beam. www.osram.com
Pathway Connectivity showed off a multitude of ways to get your signal buffered, extended, split and transformed through a variety of simple-to-use devices. Ethernet switches, Pathport DMX/Ethernet nodes, eDin modules, relay controls and Opto-splitters were displayed. www.pathwayconnect.com
Philips featured the SL LEDSpot 300. It contains a 270W LED engine capable of emitting 11,000 lumens of light and offers CMY, color mixing, iris and framing shutters with a full field wipe function. A prototype of the new high-powered Vari-Lite VL6000 Beam fixture was shown in a back room. www.vari-lite.com
PixelFLEX: This company partnered with 3D Live to show an augmented reality LED video experience. Attendees were given 3D glasses to view the show. AR-LED, the LumiFLEX LED basketball floor, plus 2.6mm and 1.25mm LED video technology were also shown. www.pixelflexled.com
PRG: The GroundControl Long Throw is an automated spotlight. With a 1640W HTI lamp, it has the same output as a 4K Gladiator, but with a yoke and all the standard attributes of the PRG Bad Boy inside. Designed for use with the GroundControl system it can zoom from 2 to 60 degrees. www.prg.com
RC4 Wireless: Their latest miniature device is the DMX-TR. It’s a box made to attach to a Eurotrack. The box gets AC from the track and feeds DMX out to another line inside the track. This then signals the lights mounted on the track. The box has in- and out five-pin DMX connectors. www.theatrewireless.com
Robe showed 3 LED fixtures. The Spikie (page 72) has a single 60W LED lamp, zooms from 4-50 and can rotate 360 continuously. The Spiider is a wash with individual control of small cells and a Spikie light source in the center. The Halo is an LED ring that can fit inside a Par 64 or dangle by itself. www.robe.cz
Rosco: The premier gel company showed off their cube family of LED lights. Fixtures made for working with gobos including the X24 Effects Projector, which makes a great water effect, and the Image Spot, an IP65-rated LED model. Also shown was their line of smoke machines. www.rosco.com
Rose Brand: The custom printed chain link curtain directed us to the stand for these manufacturers of all stage drapery. The exiting new Wahlberg Motion Design Products were unveiled. The winch 5, winch 10, etc.; as well as the Track Runner system, were cheered by the packed booth. www.rosebrand.com
SGM: They had an exciting wall of LED products in a rocking booth. As with their previous fixtures, they have now added a wash light to their G range of movers. The G-Wash LED has a Fresnel-style front lens with a color temp from 2K to 10K. It has a 9-73 zoom range. www.sgmlight.com
Show Distribution had a moving truss exhibit complete with a mirror ball. They displayed their line of electric, fixed and variable speed chain hoists, including the Tour Rig, Tour Lift, Tour Star and Tour Trolley. The movement was controlled by a Raynok motion control system. www.showdistribution.com
Spotrack: This new company is using cameras on moving lights (in this case, a Syncrolite AFS) to track performers automatically. The user can follow anyone walking the floor with a mouse and a monitor, adjusting beam size and intensity through a computer and a mouse. www.spotrack.com
Stagemaker showed the wide range of concert hoists that are designed specifically to sustain the rigors of touring life with rubber bumpers on the SR series. Selling points include low weight and fairly quiet operation along with the adjustable top and bottom magnetic limits. www.stagemaker.com
Swisson: New this year was the XND-4, a four-port Ethernet DMX node with RDM capabilities. They have a rack mount and truss box versions with four individual isolated outputs. The SXH hybrid splitter was also shown, as were Swisson’s lines of wireless DMX devices. www.swisson.com/us
Syncrolite: In addition to the SyncroMite model released last year, the company now has the AFS (automated follow spot) version of the fixture available. They replaced the gobo wheel with an iris and added a new smoother dimmer wheel. All Strong Spotlight PSU’s have been updated as well. www.syncrolite.com
Take1: This insurance company specializes in the entertainment sector and has been on the board of the Event Safety Alliance since ESA was founded. They insure every aspect of any live event in all 50 states. They have the ability to cover your gear all around the globe as well. www.take1insurance.com
Techni-Lux: Among the many brands they represent are the Showtec line of lights. On display were a range of LED pars as well as the Helix 4000 LED Blocks that throw a nice wash of color. They also represent ChamSys consoles, which were on display as well. www.techni-lux.com
TMB: A massive number of products to help both the LD and the tech were on display at TMB’s booth. The ProPlex series of data distribution devices were in use, as were a wide variety of LED products. The Solaris range has added their Flare Q+ to their line this year. www.tmb.com
Tomcat/James Thomas Engineering: The U.S. portion of Area Four Industries showed off their extensive line of truss and modern engineering with products such as the EVO truss. Almost every size, from lightweight 12-inch truss to extra heavy duty 24 x 36-inch truss is available. www.tomcatglobal.com
Tyler Truss: They have altered their spigot configuration on the GT truss so the user can now turn them. They showed off various hinges and ways to arch their truss. Also displayed was their underhung spot seat that allows for 360° movement with the spigot and seat rotating. www.tylertruss.com
Ultratec Special Effects: New this year was the turbo fan, a reversible-direction DMX-operated variable speed fan. It is electric but can be run wirelessly. It is able to work in stand-alone mode or attached to one of their snow machines for maximum throw. www.ultratecfx.com
Ushio showed the new Xebex LED spotlight. It has a nice white output CRI value of 93. Physically, the light is well-balanced on the yoke and will stay in any position the user leaves it in. Partner Zylight is now representing the LDDE line of theatrical and specialty lighting. www.ushio.com
Wenger/J.R. Clancy: At the booth, reps talked about their wide variety of seating and band shell options as well as orchestra and choral risers. This includes stage lifts, rigging solutions and theater equipment made for installation. Acoustic solutions such as audio baffling are also available. www.wengercorp.com and www.jrclancy.com
Whirlwind: The masters of portable power distribution were there to display their Power Link AC distros. Also shown were rack-mount motion control modules, socapex multi-cables, instrument connectors, direct boxes and splitters. www.whirlwindusa.com
More photos from the show:
