Specifications

Controlling LED Lighting26
Stand-alone DMX network
In the example control system pictured
on the facing page, a single iPlayer 3
DMX controller from Philips Color
Kinetics controls two runs of 12
ColorBlast Powercore fixtures, which
display a set of eight color-changing
light shows on a schedule stored on the
iPlayer 3 controller.
The iPlayer 3 controller is wall-mounted
in a secure location to ensure that only
trained users can access the controller’s
on-board scheduling and triggering
functions. The show designer can easily
connect her laptop computer to the
iPlayer 3, using the included USB 2.0
cable, to download new light shows and
triggers.
While the eight light shows run
continuously according to the schedule
managed by the controller, users can
override the sequence by manually
selecting light shows with a Controller
Keypad triggering device mounted on the
wall at the entrance to the space. Users
can also use the Controller Keypad to
adjust the brightness of the ColorBlast
Powercore fixtures, and to turn them on
and off.
xed color effect. Students can trigger
the light shows using a Controller
Keypad device mounted in the room.
Students can also design their own
ColorPlay 3 light shows, upload them
to the controller, and trigger them with
the two remaining Controller Keypad
buttons.
Smith Campus Center, Pomona
College, Claremont, California, USA
As part of a major renovation of the
Smith Campus Center at Pomona
College, SmithGroup design principal
Mark McVay selected iColor Cove
xtures from Philips Color Kinetics
to dynamically illuminate an 8 ft x 23
ft light wall. According to McVay, the
goal of the project was “to transform a
windowless basement-level room into
a nighttime social space for students to
dance and enjoy music. We’d found a
translucent polypropylene material that
was attractive by itself, but we wanted
to go a step further and experiment
with backlighting it. The result was
stunning — almost biomorphic in its
transformation.”
A total of 290 iColor Cove xtures
were installed behind the translucent
wall for a smooth, diffused effect.
“We used LEDs in this application for
their programmability, color range,
low power consumption and ease of
installation,” said McVay.
The installation is controlled by a single
iPlayer 3, a compact DMX controller
from Philips Color Kinetics. The design
team used ColorPlay 3, the light show
authoring software component of
iPlayer 3, to create a set of effects that
bring the wall to life. They created ve
dynamic lighting sequences, including
complex cross fades, vertically oriented
columns of changing light, concentric
circles that move from the center of
the light wall to its edges, and one
Example control systems