ACT Entertainment has announced that its AC Power Distribution (ACPD) brand has introduced the LunchBoxPD SST series of innovative products which integrate power and data distribution needs in one device without compromising either. LunchBoxPD products are available in two versions, the LunchBoxPD Node and the LunchBoxPD DMX, with 18 different configurations offering a wide array of connector types (5x Edison Duplex, 6x Edison Duplex, 6x Power Con Duplex, 6x True 1 Duplex, 6x StagePin, 19 pin, 4x Twistlock). These options provide a real choice of power and data configurations, all inside the durable, compact and proven form factor of the LunchBox users are familiar with.
“LunchBoxPD boxes are the perfect blend of simplicity and technology that integrate easily into any rig,” says Tyler Childs, a co-owner of PowerLab Productions, one of the first companies to take delivery of LunchBoxPD Nodes. Atlanta-based PowerLab Productions, a full-service lighting and studio-rendering group dedicated to providing rigging and lighting needs for a variety of customizable environments, has already placed a second order for more LunchBoxPD Nodes.
“We sell thousands of our regular lunchbox products, but with the increase of data distribution to lighting we saw the need to combine power and data distribution in one product that offers a great deal of flexibility to users,” says James Davey, Vice President of ACPD. “There are other combination products on the market, but they tend to be either pieced together or very elaborate and confusing to use. Our unique design features our familiar LunchBox form factor and is robust, scaleable, affordable and easy to use. We have designed the LunchBoxPD products from the ground up to survive the rigors of the equipment rental market where they are typically stocked.”
ACPD’s new LunchBoxPD Nodes offer four DMX ports to break out from an ethernet data network while allowing it to pass through. It features Art-Net and sACN to DMX converter for four independent universes with network or ethernet passthrough plus four individually optically isolated DMX ports. The LunchBoxPD Node is the first product with a passthrough switch to allow units to be daisy chained to not only to flow power but also data through the network backbone. The LunchBoxPD DMX brings CRMX wireless DMX data directly to a traditional lunchbox power solution, providing robust DMX throughput as well as six individually optically isolated outputs.
With two different versions and 18 configurations, the LunchBoxPD products are truly “Legos for gaffers,” Davey says. “Our comprehensive product line featuring different configurations which work together in the same form factor permits gaffers to build the rigs they wish and make decisions on the fly.”
ACPD will contribute a portion of the profits from sales of LunchBoxPD to the Behind the Scenes (BTS) program, a charity that provides assistance to entertainment technology professionals and their immediate family for major medical and mental health needs. “We’re proud to support BTS with a portion of LunchBoxPD profits as well as signage on the products indicating that every sale promotes this important charity,” Davey says.
Davey reports receiving “a lot of positive feedback” on the LunchBoxPD products. “Lighting has become data-hungry over the last decade, and previous devices combining power and data distribution have been expensive, slow and cumbersome. LunchBoxPD is faster, more economical, scaleable and does not require technical support. We’re poised to sell!”
Both LunchBoxPD products are UL listed. 
