The final panel discussion at the PERG NAB meeting took on the question of how advances on technology are going to affect lighting rental houses. For this discussion PERG turned to four experts whose companies are leading the industry with their LED products: Al DeMayo, CEO and President at LiteGear; Chuck Edwards, Chief Technology Officer at Cineo; Rich Rosen, Director of Engineering at Litepanels; and Michael Wagner, Senior Product Manager at ARRI. John Cini of High Output moderated the panel.
The panel answered probing questions about how manufacturers are promoting their products to distinguish them from lower cost knock-offs; how manufacturers are ensuring the longevity of their products, what that life cycle can be expected to look like, and the need for training along with these technological advances.
Surprisingly, ARRI has not seen the demand for their tungsten products diminish as LEDs have taken off. So far, ARRI sees their LED products as an addition, more than a replacement. All members of the panel admitted that they see their products used in all kinds of ways that they did not expect. The product engineers pointed out that cooling systems and careful control of the way the LED emitters are chosen and driven help product longevity. With all the products using a blend of colors to create adjustable white light, it is very important that all the emitters age at the same rate, otherwise some colors will start to fall off in brightness before others, skewing the color balance. That said, the manufacturers agreed that the first parts to burn out are going to be the power supplies, which should therefore be replaceable and user serviceable.
LiteGear’s Lite Ribbon, is a favorite with gaffers because it enables them to use the light engine in any number of gags that lighting technicians invent for themselves. DeMayo pointed out that the central benefit of these products is their light weight and adaptability. Sometimes having a light engine that can be mounted where no other fixture can be is more important than other features.
The panel discussion, which lasted about 25 minutes, enabled some in-depth discussion of the issues that face rental houses as they gear up with new LED products.
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