T his year’s LDI was, we are told, the biggest and the busiest LDI Show to date, with more exhibitors than ever before and record-breaking attendance, topping 12,000 in the first two days alone. The show floor of the Sands Expo & Convention Center certainly seemed very busy for the most part - as did the rest of Vegas, mind-bogglingly over-booked and bursting at the seams.
One of the few really high-profile debuts at the show was from Vari-Lite in the form of the Virtuoso DX console; this brings the for sale option to the Virtuoso control platform family - the daddy of which was launched at PLASA last year. Using the same operating system, the Virtuoso DX supports up to 2,000 luminaires and contains eight built-in DMX universes in a smaller package. Added to this is a new offline programming software package - Visionary 3D - which allows the creation of Virtuoso show files without a console or a lighting system. Also from Vari-Lite were two new luminaire configurations. The VL2202 is the 700W version of the 2201 spot, boasting double the light output. The VL2402 wash luminaire, also 700W, comes in the same compact package as the 2200 series, and offers the same beam control technology as the other members of the 2400 washlight series.
Martin Professional added to its recent success in the PLASA Awards (for the new MAC 2000) by collecting the LDI Architecture Lighting Product of the Year Award for its Exterior 300 - an economical alternative to the Exterior 600. This is a CMY colour-changing unit in a weatherproof (IP65) housing. Its wide flood beam makes it suitable for short-throw use where space is limited. Features include built-in light sensor, memory presets and DMX control, as well as manual beam-shaping functions and the same full-range continuous dimming as the 600. Other items from Martin included the company’s first strobe product, the impressive Atomic (3000W, 5600K).
The other big lighting gong - the Entertainment Lighting Product of the Year Award - went to Coemar for the very impressive and much-praised CF7 HE, receiving its first major US showing, courtesy of US distributor Tracoman. There was also a world launch from Coemar, that of the mighty CF18, an 1800W automated spot. Features include 450° pan by 230° tilt; 16 gobos plus open on two superimposable wheels, four indexable prisms and full CMY colour-mixing.
LDI saw the official launch of a purposeful re-branding by the PRG Group. Now all lighting companies within the PRG organisation will not only operate under one banner - Fourth Phase - but will offer a fully-integrated service across the US. Wisely, PRG have determined that the LSD brand name was too valuable to lose, and have thus made them part of the new marque. Furthermore, it was also announced that the long-awaited Icon-M, with a new improved, high output source, will become available in 2001, and to underline the importance of the Fourth Phase re-branding, will be available from all US outlets.
Clay Paky, represented by US distributor Group One, was showing various new lighting effects, including the new Astroscan, which played an impressive part in Clay Paky and Pulsar’s award-winning stand at PLASA, and the latest additions to its sleek range of Display Line image projectors. These include the V.I.P. 150 PFC and PRO (both with the HQI-T 150W lamp); the V.I.P. 250 ALO ST, meanwhile, combines the features of the ALO model with the compact body of the S.I.P; the V.I.P. 300 PFC and the V.I.P. DIA PFC have the same features as the standard 300 and DIA models, but with significant energy conservation (400VA instead of 800VA) from an internal power-factor corrector condenser.
Also on the Group One stand was Pulsar, showing the Masterpiece 216, for which Pulsar is now offering all users the latest Chase Generator software free of charge. This allows the creation of complex chase sequences from just a single scene
