by
Steve Roudebush
| Dec 09, 2014
Good Afternoon All,
Hope the holiday season is treating you well so far! Here is part 2 of our 2014 LDI recap (check out part 1 in case you missed it...). We visited a crazy number of booths to check out the latest product offerings and to see what is coming in 2015! Three more manufacturer highlights appear below.
Let's get started!
Pathway Connectivity Cognito2
Pathway showed off their forthcoming Cognito2, the next iteration in their successful brand of compact and powerful lighting control consoles. Cognito2 features the same software set with a newer, more robust processor supported by a juicier power supply. The additional processing capacity allows for two (2) more universes of DMX along with support for an external monitor. Interestingly, while many have asked for the monitor capability, others love the fact that the existing onboard screen is all they need to get up and running. Now, both can have their way! All the original Cognito features are here - no command line to learn, programming groups, real-time feedback, comprehensive effects, unlimited memories, unlimited playlists, versatile cue timing options, and support for the neato iOS App for remote control and playback. Many more features, too plentiful to list here. The original Cognito will be shipping until late January at a reduced price point. Cognito2 should ship shortly thereafter.
Lex PCS Trio Power Control
Lex re-introduced their Power Control cabinet first revealed at LDI a couple years ago. It appears to be a quality entrant to the permanent installation market. A single rack can accommodate LEDs, incandescent fixtures, 220V moving lights, and more. Patent-pending 'plenum' cabinet design takes advantage of natural heat convection to minimize cooling fan needs (and thus reduce fan noise). Rack control processor supports DMX, RDM, sACN, and Artnet. The controller also stores a handful of presets locally for easy, basic control without a console. Modules come in a variety of flavors including 20A dimmers, 20A relays, double-pole relays, and more. Racks are available in 4-module, 8-module, and 16-module sizes (a module holds 3 single dimmers or single-pole relays).
Lex also celebrated their 25-year anniversary at LDI! Congratulations to them...
City Theatrical
City Theatrical's booth, as always, was packed with a vast lineup of their classic gear and assorted new items. Suffice to say they have been active over the past year! New products include Qolorflex NuNeon (an LED-based neon substitute), QolorPoint battery-powered uplights with built-in SHoW DMX, and myriad additions to the Qolorflex line of LED tape products & accessories. Software authors were on hand to show off the ever-popular Lightwright and more recent tool Moving Light Assistant. Of particular note is the upgrade to the SHoW DMX NEO family allowing the use of 2.4GHz bandwidth thus far untouched by wifi signals. This development will give SHoW DMX users additional flexibility in avoiding interference from problematic wifi signals.
Questions about other products at LDI? Feel free to
drop me a line... Have a great week!