City Theatrical at USITT 2019

City Theatrical will be demonstrating new technology in Booth 1413 at the USITT Conference & Stage Expo at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, Kentucky from March 20 – 23, 2019.

Live demonstrations by City Theatrical will include revolutionary wireless DMX technology with the award-winning Multiverse® family of wireless DMX/RDM products, troubleshooting with the multi award-winning DMXcat® Multi Function Test Tool, incredibly bright and flexible linear LED lighting with QolorFLEX® NuNeon™, plug and play pixel control with QolorPIX®, ultimate color blending and control with QolorFLEX 5-in-1 LED Tape and QolorFLEX 5x8A Dimmers, and more. Each product demo will showcase how the product can be used for professional and academic theatre, television and film projects.

Multiverse marks the fifth generation of City Theatrical's engineering development for wireless DMX technology. The Multiverse system can deliver more data while reducing the amount of radio energy required for wireless DMX by as much as 90%, enabling scalability never possible before. Every product in the Multiverse system is built around a tiny radio, the Multiverse Module, which can carry up to five universes of data, depending on the frequency used. Due to their low cost, increased data transport, and ease of design integration, the Multiverse Module marks the first time that the implementation of a wireless DMX chip in every DMX device is possible.

The Multiverse SHoW Baby is the fourth generation of the original plug and play wireless DMX transceiver system by City Theatrical. With tens of thousands of units sold since their introduction in 2011, SHoW Baby plug and play transceivers set the standard for ease of use and reliability at an affordable price point. The addition of Multiverse radio technology enhances the performance even more, as a wireless DMX transceiver that delivers breakthrough plug and play wireless DMX and RDM transmission. In its default mode, Multiverse SHoW Baby works like all other SHoW Baby Transceivers with six user selectable SHoW DMX Neo SHoW IDs. By connecting an RDM controller, like DMXcat® Multi Function Test Tool, all of the revolutionary new 2.4GHz Multiverse SHoW IDs are accessible as well as all 70 SHoW DMX Neo SHoW IDs. Users can add to their existing SHoW DMX SHoW Baby® systems, build new single universe Multiverse systems, or use Multiverse SHoW Baby as a receiver on multiple universe systems with a Multiverse Transmitter.

The Multiverse Node offers single universe plug and play simplicity as a transceiver. As a single universe transmitter, it functions in a similar plug and play manner to our SHoW DMX SHoW Baby but contains two radios and a full user interface, with four buttons and a backlit LED display. As a receiver, the Multiverse Node is the primary single universe standalone receiver in the Multiverse system and can be part of a larger multi-universe setup.

The Multiverse Transmitter delivers multiple universe control that opens a new world in wireless DMX/RDM. Its Ethernet input allows it to take in Streaming ACN (sACN) or Art-Net and to transmit between eight and 10 user-selectable universes of DMX/RDM, depending on the type of Multiverse Transmitter product used, with the ability to use less radio energy than a present-day single universe wireless DMX transmitter. The Multiverse Transmitter also has a Bluetooth radio receiver built in that allows it to communicate with the DMXcat app from the user’s smartphone. This gives the user smartphone control of any lighting fixture that is part of the Multiverse setup, whether it is a lighting fixture with a Multiverse Module inside, a lighting fixture receiving its data from a Multiverse Node, or any wired fixture downstream of those devices.

The Multiverse Gateway is a transceiver that works with up to eight wired plus 10 wireless universes of wireless DMX data, providing the fullest use of the Multiverse system. Like the Multiverse Transmitter, the Multiverse Gateway utilizes four radios (Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for inputs, 900MHz and 2.4GHz for wireless DMX/RDM output) and accepts Streaming ACN or Art-Net input. The user can choose which of the between eight and 10 universes they would like to broadcast wirelessly, depending on the type of Multiverse Gateway product used, and can choose another eight universes to output locally as wired DMX/RDM. Receivers on the Multiverse Gateway system can either be individual Multiverse Nodes for single wired DMX/RDM output, or additional Multiverse Gateways. When used as receivers, the Multiverse Gateway can output any of the wireless DMX universes received on any of the eight wired DMX outputs, as well as passing along up to 10 universes on the Streaming ACN or Art-Net output.

DMXcat makes it easy for anyone to control, analyze, or test any DMX lighting fixture, whether it’s a simple LED PAR or a complex moving light, including QolorFLEX products. DMXcat consists of a small hardware dongle and a suite of mobile applications that bring wireless DMX and RDM control plus several other useful functions to the user’s smartphone. DMXcat solves the problem faced by all users of modern lighting equipment: How to turn on and test DMX lighting gear without using a complicated lighting console. DMXcat is available for iPhone, Android, and Amazon Fire in English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Korean, and Japanese. DMXcat works seamlessly with the entire QolorFLEX line of LED tape, dimmers, and accessories.

The QolorFLEX LED Tape line includes 40+ high quality tape options that help designers put light in places that were once thought impossible and create lighting fixtures and effects in a new and inexpensive wayFor ultimate color control, QolorFLEX 5-in-1 LED Tape offers designers a high output brightness and adjustable dual white to create a wide spectrum of finely tuned colors when used with a DMX color control system. All QolorFLEX LED Tapes are ETL listed, sold in 5m reels, and include six-inch long soldered-on pigtails on both ends, enabling easy connections to QolorFLEX Dimmers for ultra-smooth, flicker-free dimming.

QolorFLEX NuNeon is an incredibly flexible and bright sealed LED linear lighting product that can be used to replace traditional neon lighting. Up to 80% more flexible than similar products, QolorFLEX NuNeon was carefully developed to provide lighting and scenic designers with the ability to add bold and bright accents throughout entertainment and architectural projects. It operates on 24VDC, can be cut to length in 50mm (2”) increments, and includes 200mm (8”) flat cables on both ends for easy connections. QolorFLEX NuNeon is available in RGB in 5m reels, and seven distinctive colors in 10m reels.

QolorPIX plug and play pixel control products make it easy to create thousands of professional dynamic lighting effects - chases, fades, scrolls, bursts, and more - in minutes. Sold in 5m reels with 48 individually controlled LEDs per meter and compliant with CE, ETL, and RoHS, QolorPIX Pixel Controlled LED Tape is designed for the most demanding professional applications. Each reel includes a soldered-on four-pin XLR connector to create a plug and play connection to any one of the eight ports on the QolorPIX Tape Controller. The controller’s user-friendly interface allows users to change mode, pixel length, dimmer, personality start address, and direction, and uses Multiverse wireless DMX/RDM technology.

City Theatrical will also be demonstrating its LED Event Lighting at USITT 2019, including QolorPoint® Wireless LED Uplighters, which deliver beautiful lighting effects for indoor or outdoor events quickly and easily, with no wires at all.

John McKernon will be joining City Theatrical at the show to showcase his multi award-winning Lightwright® 6 software, which helps designers and electricians manage and document up to 45,000 universes of data to support their entertainment lighting. Lighting users can also find out more about Moving Light Assistant™, an application that was designed to document both the physical setup and programming information for moving light rigs commonly used in the entertainment industry.