Definition May 2020 WEB

FEATURE | NAB SPEC I AL

RICH PIERCEALL , CEO, CINEO

R ich Pierceall is the CEO of Cineo, an NBC Universal company. Having gradually expanded its presence in the UK and Europe in the past years, Cineo’s lighting solutions have become far more accessible for the film, television and broadcast industries. Its latest solution, the Reflex R15 LED light, is a big LED PAR, with an emphasis on the big . We spoke to Pierceall, who explains some of its features further. DEFINITION: What was your concept for the light? RICH PIERCEALL: The challenge we tackled was how to build a large, digital light source that could not only replace a traditional 10K in the production lighting market, but also provide a suitable HMI replacement within the same instrument. The creation of the Reflex R15 has accomplished these tasks and has opened up a new creative toolkit that offers additional features, like digital beam shaping. DEF: How is the light powered? RP: One of our goals was to be able to power the fixture on a 15A, 110V circuit, typical of US household power, eliminating the need for generators in many location settings. We accomplished this by designing a new high-density, high-output LED array that actually applies the LED directly on a thermally conductive dielectric substrate without the use of the typical LED package. This gives us incredible lumen density and bicolour capability.

RP: A typical incandescent light source generates 2% of light and 98% heat. Reflex, on average, generates 20-25% light efficiency for the same amount of electricity. Additionally, both incandescent and HMI sources burn out and require a bulb change after a few hundred hours of operation. After 30,000 hours, the Reflex light tower has a reduction in output of less than half a stop and sees no degradation in colour quality or colour temperature and doesn’t burn out! DEF: Is liquid cooling a newmethod of reducing heat in LEDs? What other methods were considered and how does this impact the design of the Reflex? RP: Thermal density is a primary design element when working with LEDs. In hard lights, the size of the light source is directly proportional to the size of the reflector. So, 1500 watts of power needed to be concentrated in as small an area as possible. There were many traditional methods of removing heat from the illumination source, but none of these methods allowed us to make the thermal transfer in a fixture as bright as the Reflex. What’s unique about the way we harnessed liquid cooling is that we worked with a chemical company to develop an electrically non-conductive fluid that we could immerse the emitters into, allowing the coolant to completely surround the LEDs, moving the heat off in an incredibly efficient manner. The added benefit of this method is that the LEDs are never exposed to air, which further extends their life. Taking this approach also allowed us to reduce the weight and size of the fixture. This is now our patented technology.

DEF: What would you use the Reflex for and is its use flexible? Could you AR: The Reflex has an obvious role as a large, digitally focusable light source that can do a much better job on both stage and location than traditional sources. The flexibility of the fixture also extends to describe a typical set up for its use? operating as a 125,000 lumen soft source. The reflector can be easily removed and replaced with a Snapbag, lantern, space light bag or simply operated as a ‘bare bulb’. This dual identity makes Reflex perfect for nearly any lighting situation that requires a large amount of photo-accurate white light at any CCT. DEF: Why did you decide to add capabilities for sACN/Art-Net in the control protocol? RP: Typical remote lighting control in our industry has relied on an eighties protocol, DMX, which is experiencing challenges as technology moves forward. By adopting modern networking topologies, we have much more capability for remote operation of lighting, including diagnostics, metadata collection, in-situ software updates etc. Of course, the Reflex supports traditional DMX control as well, and also adds Wi-Fi, CRMX and Bluetooth to its control options. DEF: What’s next for Cineo? Are there any new products in the pipeline? RP: Cineo is planning a full range of Reflex fixtures in the future, both smaller and larger fixtures. Watch this space! ABOVE The Cineo Reflex R15 is a liquid-cooled LED with a high-density, high-output array This dual identity makes Reflex perfect for nearly any situation

DEF: Is the Reflex more energy/cost efficient than other solid-state lights?

22 DEF I N I T ION | MAY 2020

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