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Stranger Things – Netflix

Stranger Things – Netflix

With a title like Stranger Things, one might expect a world that’s intense, mysterious and dark. And one would be exactly right.

However, dark isn’t always metaphorical; the Netflix series often takes literal forays into the dead of night, darkened rooms, and ink black tunnels.  When it was time to shine a light into the void, the Stranger Things lighting team turned to RC4 Wireless.  “On Season 2, we were told a couple days into principal photography that there was going to be a lot more lighting effects than Season 1, especially involving flashlights and other custom-build fixtures. Not only that, but we were going to need to start to modify the flashlights not just to flicker and pulse on command, but to swell and get brighter during the scene.  And all of this had to happen in a much smaller package so it could easily be carried in a flashlight by multiple members of the cast,” explains Jeff Harkes, Lighting Console Programmer – Stranger Things 2.

To make those flashlights work, Harkes and his co-conspirator on set, Fixtures Foreman Antimo Ponticello, turned to the LumenDimM2micro from RC4 Wireless. “The LumenDimM2micro was a good choice for this project because it’s a Swiss Army knife for portable applications of this nature. Because of its size [2.9” x .77” x .4.3”], it is the obvious answer, but it’s also extremely responsive on a cue. The LumenDimM2micro’s CRMX integration through the LumenRadio transmitters and its ability to be remotely managed with RDM is unparalleled right now.  There isn’t anything like it on the market for portable handheld lighting control,” Harkes states. The LumenDimM2micro features two channels of dimming, includes multiple PWM frequencies, as well as the majority of the RC4Magic Harmonized Design features that RC4 Wireless users know and love.

For more on Stranger Things, read the entire article here. 

Katy Perry Witness: The Tour

Katy Perry Witness: The Tour

Katy Perry’s “Witness: The Tour” is more than just a concert production; it’s a kooky and creative journey that includes dancing eyeballs, giant insects, a massive inflatable hand and even a flight through space, courtesy of Saturn. It all reflects Perry’s personality, and it should, since Perry is directly involved in the design. “Katy’s productions are always amazing, and she invariably has something new and challenging to achieve.  ‘Witness: The Tour’ is using our new RC4Magic Series 3 SX software, which makes LEDs in props and costumes even more pleasing to the eye, thanks to our exclusive 19-bit per color wireless dimming,” says James David Smith, President and Chief Developer at RC4 Wireless, headquartered in Raleigh, NC. RC4 has been working with Perry since her California Dreams Tour in 2011.

Perry used a variety of RC4 Wireless infused props and costumes on the tour; the included an LED infused beret, a motorcycle and a stylized star that she used to enter the arena. All of the details are here. 

RC5 EASS by RC4 Wireless promises best-in-class wireless DMX range, performance, and data security

RC5 EASS by RC4 Wireless promises best-in-class wireless DMX range, performance, and data security

Download this RC5 EASS News Release as a Word Doc.
Download hi-res print-ready CMYK images in a zip file.

RC5 EASS by RC4 Wireless promises best-in-class wireless DMX range, performance, and data security

Raleigh, NC, March 2017 – Wireless lighting control in theme parks, ski resorts, arenas, convention centers, casinos, and other public areas requires special attention to many unique challenges.  RC4 Wireless has served this market almost exclusively for over a decade with their RC5 series of long-range wireless DMX systems.

RC5 was first introduced in 2007 for Harrah’s casinos, where best-in-class encryption-based data security is mandated for all digital technology deployed, from IT to HVAC to entertainment.

RC5 Series 2 has provided wireless DMX across Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, since 2009 (and was recently refurbished to ensure many more years of reliable wide-area performance).  The park utilizes the largest fleet of RC5 units at any single site, controlling lighting on characters, kiosks, exterior architectural lighting, and much more.

This year, at USITT Stage Expo 2017, RC4 Wireless introduced the latest incarnation of their high-performance RC5 series: RC5 EASS.  The acronym stands for “Extended Area Super Secure” and it meets those promises in spades.

“Data security for wireless DMX has been key to our design philosophy for a very long time,” explains James David Smith, founder and chief product designer at RC4. “It’s why RC4 900MHz wireless DMX equipment is used extensively to control lighting around Super Bowl arenas, and it’s why Disney uses RC4 systems time and time again.”

RC5 EASS achieves unparalleled security in three ways.  First, 256-bit AES encryption is widely accepted as unhackable by any means other than brute-force attack (simply trying every possible password).  Even that approach is foiled by adding RC4 Private System IDs (the key to enhanced security for all RC4 products including RC4Magic and RC4Magic-900). And finally, RC5 EASS allows user-selectable FHSS frequency-hopping channels.  Frequency hopping is used by many wireless DMX systems, and some systems offer a choice of hopping patterns.  RC5 EASS takes this a dramatic step further by allowing users to privately select any subset of 101 RF channels within the 900MHz band.  This, in effect, is yet another level of password-like security.

Reliable wide-area coverage is paramount for this product category.  RC4 Wireless has used a Patent-Pending 3-pronged approach to deliver maximum range: lower RF frequency, higher power, and optimized data rates.  Using the 900MHz band provides an inherent advantage, because longer wavelengths propagate further.  The highest RF power allowed by the FCC (1W, 30dBi) helps signals penetrate walls and other obstructions and eliminate the need for line-of-sight installation.  And – a little known fact – lower data rates travel further with fewer errors, so RC5 EASS uses brilliantly crafted RC4 data-compression to ensure 100% of show content is transferred using the fewest number of bits per second.

The result: RC5 EASS Extended Area Super Secure 900MHz Wireless DMX, with incredible range and perfect DMX performance.

 

ABOUT RC4 WIRELESS

From the gondola in The Phantom of the Opera, to wireless props and costumes in Cirque Du Soleil productions around the world, from the heart of Iron Man to illuminated color-changing guitars for Katy Perry, RC4 Wireless has been inside awe-inspiring entertainment since 1991.

Using batteries for power and wireless DMX for control, RC4 puts lighting in mobile untethered costumes, props, and set pieces. Controlled from your DMX console, seamlessly integrated into your scenes and cues, RC4 devices are as responsive and robust as any other fixture in your show, and transparent to the lighting designer.

RC4 Wireless won the PLASA London 2014 and 2015 Awards for Innovation, and LDI 2014 and 2015 New Product Honorable Mentions. Learn more about RC4 Wireless products at www.rc4wireless.com, and discover the many projects using RC4 Wireless at www.wirelessdimming.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Download this RC5 EASS News Release as a Word Doc.
Download hi-res print-ready CMYK images in a zip file.

RC4 Wireless Wins Second Consecutive PLASA Award for Innovation for Powerful, Portable, Pixel Technology.

The 2015 PLASA Award for Innovation for the RC4Magic DMXpix marks back-to-back innovation awards for the leader in wireless dimming technology.

“Throughout our history, RC4 has worked closely with Disney, Cirque du Soleil, and many others, to meet the ever changing needs of the most creative live entertainment artists of our time,” states James David Smith, president and chief product designer for the company. Like LED tape before it, intelligent pixel products have become the new product taking the industry by storm, and pixel control is something RC4 has been asked for many times.

“While developing our tiny, portable pixel driver, I encountered the very real challenges in dealing with long lengths of pixel tape: enormous numbers of DMX channels needed, unsightly variations in color, and numerous different and emerging data formats,” continues Smith.  “I have addressed all three in ways that are easy to use and future-friendly as new advances appear in this evolving field.  It is truly an honor to see these efforts recognized with our latest PLASA Award for Innovation.”

Patent-pending RC4 Custom Pixel Profiles conserve channels by letting designers create their own effect “key frames” using any desired length of pixels, group multiple LEDs into larger “virtual pixels” if desired, and then tailor how the key frame propagates down the pixel chain without needing additional DMX channels to do so.  The matchbox-sized RC4Magic DMXpix does all of this for two separate strings up to 500 pixels long — the equivalent of 3000 DMX channels — controlled with anywhere from 9 to 510 channels within a single DMX universe, rendering the same eye-catching effects and visuals that previously demanded complex consoles, media servers, and vastly more wiring.

Patent-pending RC4 ColorMatch allows lighting designers and console operators to visually adjust white-balance for individual strings, then save the corrective offsets in the pixel driver itself.  This allows multiple pixel strings of different types to be controlled with the same DMX channels and render nearly identical color for the most pleasing appearance possible.

And the icing on the cake: the RC4 CodeLoader, introduced with RC4Magic Series 3 in 2014 — and winner of a PLASA Award for Innovation in that year — makes it easy to add drivers for new string types as they appear, as well as update and add features.  “As is the case for all RC4 Series 3 Harmonized Design devices,” explains Smith, “The DMXpix is a stable, powerful hardware platform with an estimated production life of 5 to 7 years.  We are now focused on introducing new features over that time, ensuring every customer and user will get their money’s worth for years to come.”

PLASA London judges were wowed for the second year in a row, stating that, “Sometimes things are taken at face value because that’s ‘just the way it is’. This product, though, will make life much easier for many technicians as it solves the whole logistical problem in managing pixel control in long strings of LEDs. Regardless of the manufacturer of the LED string, this device will allow a significant reduction in channel count while still enabling individual LED control in all manner of applications, from architectural lighting to costumes.”

The award-winning RC4Magic DMXpix will debut in North America at the annual LDI Trade Show in Las Vegas. Come and see all the new innovations from RC4 in LDI booth 2211, October 23 – 25, 2015.

About RC4 Wireless

RC4 Wireless provides wireless lighting and motion technology for theatre, film, and television. From the gondola in The Phantom of the Opera, to wireless props and costumes in Cirque du Soleil productions around the world; from the heart of Iron Man, to illuminated color-changing guitars for Katy Perry; RC4 has been inside awe-inspiring entertainment for over 20 years.

RC4 Harmonized Design™ is at the core of the most versatile, reliable, small, and easy-to-use wireless dimmers in the world. With devices that are compatible with RC4Magic, Wireless Solution W-DMX, and LumenRadio CRMX, RC4 wireless dimmers fit and work wherever you need them, no matter what wireless system is on the job.

With customers large and small around the world — New York, Toronto, London, Sydney, Tokyo, and beyond — RC4Magic is affordable, effective, and sold with a Lifetime Warranty.

Live Life Untethered.

Learn more about RC4 products at dev.rc4wireless.com.  
Discover the world of projects using RC4 technology at www.wirelessdimming.com.

About the PLASA Awards for Innovation

Every year, PLASA recognizes products that demonstrate progress, through attributes like a new style of thinking, an improvement in technical practice, new technology, materials or techniques, or an improvement in safety. The Awards were assessed by a team of judges, which this year comprised of chairman James Eade, a long-time contributor to LSi magazine and an independent electrical safety consultant; Paul Franklin of theatre consultancy Charcoalblue; Steve Moles, another long-time LSi magazine contributor and a specialist in live entertainment production; lighting and set designer Ben Rogers; London-based visual designer Tupac Martir; Nick Read, an experienced lighting and electrical specialist from Howard Eaton Lighting; live sound engineer Jon Burton; Tapio Ilomaki, an acoustic consultant with Finland-based Akukon; EM CommunicationsEd Manwaring; and Scott Burges of video solutions supplier Creative Technology.

Katy Perry Witness: The Tour

Katy Perry’s “Witness: The Tour”

Katy Perry’s “Witness: The Tour” is more than just a concert production; it’s a kooky and creative journey that includes dancing eyeballs, giant insects, a massive inflatable hand and even a flight through space, courtesy of Saturn. It all reflects Perry’s personality, and it should, since Perry is directly involved in the design. “Katy’s productions are always amazing, and she invariably has something new and challenging to achieve.  ‘Witness: The Tour’ is using our new RC4Magic Series 3 SX software, which makes LEDs in props and costumes even more pleasing to the eye, thanks to our exclusive 19-bit per color wireless dimming,” says James David Smith, President and Chief Developer at RC4 Wireless, headquartered in Raleigh, NC. RC4 has been working with Perry since her California Dreams Tour in 2011.

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