PLASA 2012: Philips Entertainment positive response

25 September 2012

UK - The 2012 PLASA Show, Earls Court saw the teams from Philips Entertainment brands Vari-Lite, Strand Lighting and Selecon each introduce a number of new products to the industry. In addition Philips Entertainment launched Showline a range of dynamic feature rich, LED luminaires providing professional performance, exceptional feature sets and one common user interface.

"Showline is a range of super-efficient, professional entertainment LED fixtures created specifically for a broad spectrum of events from concert touring to Theatre and TV to corporate shows and cruise ships," explains David March, director of European Sales for Vari-Lite. "We had an excellent response at PLASA to Showline! The products were well received by designers and rental companies alike. Showline is destined to become a leader in entertainment LED Luminaires and will receive the same worldwide sales, service and support as our other luminaires ensuring that Showline products enable any production to be successful every time."

On show from Showline were the SL BAR 640 and 660, the SL BAR 520 and the SL PAR 150. Further additions to the range are expected before the end of the year.

PLASA also saw Vari-Lite celebrate 30 years since 50 of its first automated luminaires, the VL1, rolled onto the stage in a Barcelona bull ring for the Genesis Abacab tour. Tapas and Rioja were served on stand to PLASA show visitors, and a prize draw saw three lucky entrants receive a commemorative poster and bottle of Rioja from vice president of worldwide sales & marketing for Philips Vari-Lite, Bob Schacherl.

Elsewhere on the stand Selecon launched a new range of professional LED luminaires including the PLFRESNEL-1 and the PLPROFILE-1. The company also showed off the prototype PLPROFILE-4 and the new PLCYC-2, both of which received excellent feedback from professional lighting designers and technicians visiting the show.

"A key benefit of the PLFRESNEL-1 and PLPROFILE-1 is that it's no longer necessary to change lamps or colour filter," says Graham Eales, general manager for Selecon. "Both luminaires combine the superior control and light quality of a Philips Selecon Fresnel and Profile with the ability to seamlessly fade between colours. Lighting designers now have a new performance lighting tool while less power consumption and no dimmer circuits make the PLFRESNEL-1 and the PLPROFILE-1 an obvious choice for a range of applications."

The full breadth of Philips Entertainment luminaires were powered by a Strand Lighting Wall Rack and Relay Panels, and controlled through the intuitive Palette VL16 console. This enabled Strand Lighting to show off its dynamic, new iPad controls for the Palette lighting control consoles alongside the evolution of the popular Strand Series 200 console, the Strand ML250.

(Jim Evans)