Moving iMage
Technologies, a premier manufacturer in the cinema exhibition industry
announced the release of a new 8” round downlight fixture that sets a new bar
for performance in this industry. The device is part of their energy-efficient
product line and is called the “ALF”, for Architectural LED Fixture. The
preeminent feature of the product is an unprecedented dimming range of over
1000 to 1 from full on to its dimmest stable light level.
This performance was achieved
through the development of a proprietary driver circuit design, specifically
optimized for use in cinema auditoriums. This is in contrast to the
off-the-shelf driver solutions used by other lighting manufacturers.
“About one year ago we launched a
new intelligent dimmer product aimed at LED fixtures called the A-LMS, but we
found out pretty quickly the state of LED fixtures really hadn't developed the
features needed for use in cinema theaters,” said David Richards, Sr. VP of
Engineering at MiT. “For use in a cinema auditorium you need very accurate,
stable dimming to extremely low levels,” he added.
“Many people are
trying to use fixtures in theaters that only dim to 10%, which is completely
inadequate in this application,” said Richards. “Several 1% dimming LED drivers
are available by special order but still aren’t really sufficient in this unique
application.”
The lack of adequate products for
cinema auditoriums led MiT to develop the ALF over the last several months.
Besides the industry-first 1000:1 dimming range, the other features of the
fixture are:
- 1.0-10V
DC control.
- Two
models available in the series, 70 Watts with 6000 lumens and 90 Watts
with 8000 lumens output.
- UL-rated
power supply may be located in the projection booth for easy service.
- All
interconnection wiring is low voltage
Every ALF fixture consists of
multiple LED modules for sufficient light output and also redundancy. Since
there are multiple elements the decision was made to keep them separate through
the driver circuitry to create even more variety in control options, and make
each fixture essentially two fixtures in one.
For example one channel can use a
warm color temperature LED that simulates the appearance of incandescent light,
and be dimmed over various levels while an audience is present. The other
channel of the fixture might use intense bright white LEDs and only used
between shows by the cleaning crew.
A characteristic of LED lighting
is that the color temperature remains constant as the fixture output is dimmed.
This is in contrast to incandescent lighting which gradually becomes warmer as
the light level is dimmed. Another version of the ALF simulates this effect by
using LED elements with a slight color temperature difference between the two
channels, and in conjunction with the A-LMS (or similar lighting controller), the
dim rates may be adjusted to make the color temperature of the light seem to
get warmer as it gets dimmer, emulating the appearance of an incandescent lamp.
Richards says, “we call this feature ‘Dim-Warm™.’”
Or the two lighting channels of
the ALF may be used for more extreme color differences for special lighting
effects. A variant of the ALF called the “Earth-light™” consists of a central
yellow LED module surrounded by bluish LED modules. The overall effect
simulates the yellow light of the sun with blue skylight filling in around it.
It's intended to give the sensation of being outdoors under natural sunlight.
Several of these configurations
of the product will be shown for the first time at this year's upcoming CinemaCon
exhibition and tradeshow later this month at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.