On 1/20/2014 10:14 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 1/20/2014 9:39 AM, KC wrote:

On 1/20/2014 9:27 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:


Believe it or not, one of the reasons I decided to investigate them was
a result of searching for stage lighting for the new performance venue I
was in involved with. The old PAR-64 type stage lights with mylar color
filters are quickly becoming a thing of the past, replaced with very
powerful and bright LED array lights that can be programmed to generate
any color imaginable by controlling and mixing the LED output colors.
These are very high powered LEDs, arranged in a pod and are every bit as
bright as the 300 or 500 watt single incandescent bulbs they are
replacing. They also draw a tiny fraction of the power and generate
very little heat compared to the bulbs they are replacing.

Residential, multi-color LED lighting in homes is a growing industry as
well. You can change colors, even program sequences, within a room or
rooms.





I am not sure if it's the same technology but in the mid eighties I saw
Hall and Oates. They had some brand new, super top secret color changing
spots by SoundCo if I remember correctly. At the time they were the talk
of the lighting industry...

It's doubtful that whatever they used was like what is now available.
There have been tremendous strides made with solid state, light emitting
diodes in the past few years.

One of my music friends owns the largest backstage equipment rental
company in New England and supplies stage lighting equipment along with
sound systems, amps, guitars, keyboards and B-3 organs to all the major
performance venues in the Boston and surrounding areas.

I was at his warehouse last year because he was donating some equipment
for the performance venue I was building. He showed me all the newer
stage lighting, wall wash and spotlight systems he uses. All are LED
based systems. These are big, industrial systems but use the same basic
technology as the systems available for general consumer use.

Again, the driver is the fractional power they require while still
generating the same level of lighting. The fact that they are
individually programmable is also a huge advancement. One fixture can
generate any color you want and can be controlled by midi or other
programing techniques to generate a light show that compliments a
performance by a band or musician.




Look into "SoundCo" in the Eighties, or ask your friend. Whatever those
lights were they may have been early led's.... I know the company was
very secretive about them and at the time a company rep accompanied the
systems and "you" were really not allowed to work on one or dis-assemble
them. At the time "the talk" was that if you tried to take one apart,
they were designed to emplode to mask the technology but that was
probably just rock and roll, smoke and mirrors...