Cyc light and uplighting wash hire — Chauvet COLORband PiX-M
A metre-long LED batten with a motorised tilt, so you can re-aim it from the lighting desk instead of the ladder. Twelve tri-colour RGB cells run individually, which gives you a flat wash of colour when you want one and a pixel chase when you don't. Useful for uplighting the sides of a hall, washing a backdrop from the floor, or toning a set. Hire is £14 per day, dry or with a technician.
The Chauvet COLORband PiX-M is a 1,040 mm LED batten with a motorised tilt head, built around twelve 3 W tri-colour RGB cells that can be driven individually. Run it in one of the low-channel modes and it behaves like a straightforward colour wash. Switch to 42-channel mode and every cell becomes its own pixel, which opens up chases, sweeps and simple animation along the length of the bar.
That tilt is the part that earns its keep in a hall or a studio. Once the fixture is rigged, or standing on its rubber feet, the head swings through 270 degrees from the desk: floor to backdrop, backdrop to audience, no ladder involved. Tilt speed is a DMX parameter as well, so a slow move stays slow.
Cooling is by convection, which means no fan and nothing humming through a quiet scene. Power draw is 117 W at 230 V, and the IEC in and out lets you link fixtures along one run, up to fifteen units at 230 V on an 8 A supply. DMX arrives on 3- or 5-pin XLR with personalities of 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14, 20, 38 or 42 channels, so it will sit on anything from a basic desk to a full console.
Working without a desk, you still have the built-in auto programs, a sound-active mode and master/slave linking, which is enough to get colour and movement on their own.
Typical uses include uplighting the walls of a school or village hall, washing a cyclorama or backdrop from the floor, toning a set or a truss, and adding pixel effects behind a dance number.
What you get
The COLORband PiX-M fixture with its hanging and mounting bracket
IEC mains lead
Not included, and worth telling us about when you book: DMX cable (3- or 5-pin XLR), a clamp and safety bond if you are flying it, and a lighting desk if you want cue-by-cue control
No desk on the day is not a problem, as the auto programs, sound-active mode and master/slave linking need nothing extra
Good for
Uplighting the side walls of a school or village hall so the room reads as a venue rather than a hall
Washing a cyclorama, backdrop or drape from the floor on a dance show
Toning a set, rostra or a truss on a musical without eating up your front-of-house rig
Pixel chases and colour sweeps behind a dance number
Footlight or toe wash along the front edge of the stage
A first proper colour fixture for a youth theatre building a small rig a bit at a time
What you need to know
What it does
A metre-long bar of colour on a head that tilts, so you can re-aim it from the lighting desk instead of going up a ladder between scenes.
Power
117 watts from a normal socket, and a power-out on the back so several can run from one cable.
Control
DMX from any lighting desk. The simplest mode is five channels; the fullest opens all twelve cells separately for chases.
No lighting desk?
It also runs on its own, with built-in programs or a sound-active mode that changes with the music.
Where it goes
Floor, bar or truss. At 4.7 kg one person can rig it.
Check availability
See whether this is free for your dates. This is an indication from our current bookings, not a reservation.
Alternatives
LEDJ Pixel Storm 12 Quad Batten MKII — Twelve addressable cells in the same metre-long bar, in RGBW rather than tri-colour RGB, and mappable pixel by pixel across 54 channels. Fixed angle, so it is aimed on the rig rather than from the desk.
Full technical specification (25)
Led Configuration
12 x 3 W tri-colour RGB LEDs, each individually controllable
Led Lifespan
50,000 hours rated
Beam Angle
20 degrees
Field Angle
34 degrees
Illuminance
2,321 lux at 2 m
Tilt Range
0 to 270 degrees, motorised, with DMX-controlled tilt speed
DMX, master/slave, 14 built-in auto programs, sound-active
Dimmer Modes
Dimmer channel plus four selectable dimmer curve settings
Weight
4.7 kg (10.2 lb)
Dimensions
1,040 x 67 x 188 mm (L x W x H)
Power draw
117 W at 230 V, 50 Hz (113 W at 120 V, 60 Hz)
Operating Current
0.5 A at 230 V (1.0 A at 120 V)
Input Voltage
100 to 240 V AC, 50/60 Hz, auto-ranging (internal switching supply)
Power Connectors
IEC input and IEC output (UK/Europe)
Power Linking
Up to 15 units at 230 V on an 8 A supply
Fuse
T 2 A, 250 V
Cooling
Convection, no fan
Max Ambient Temperature
40 C (104 F)
Ip Rating
IP20, indoor use only
Pwm Frequency
1,200 Hz
Dimming Note
Not for use on a dimmer circuit
Approvals
CE
Manufacturer Item Code
03030665
Common questions
No. The fixture has fourteen built-in chase programs, a sound-active mode that responds to the music, and master/slave linking so one unit can drive the others. That will cover a disco or a social evening. For a show with cues, you want it on DMX from a desk, where you get proper control of colour, dimmer, strobe and tilt.
Each unit draws 117 W at 230 V and has an IEC output for power linking. Chauvet rates that at up to fifteen units on an 8 A supply. In practice you are usually limited by what the building gives you, so tell us the venue and we will talk it through before you book.
It depends on your desk and what you want from it. Five- and six-channel modes treat the whole bar as one colour, which is simple to patch and easy to busk. The 42-channel mode gives you all twelve cells separately plus dimmer, strobe, tilt and tilt speed, which is what you need for pixel work. Modes in between trade detail for channel count.
Either. The bracket doubles as a floor stand and the fixture has rubber feet, so it will sit on the deck behind a set piece or along the front of a stage quite happily. Rigged on a bar or truss, use a clamp rated for the weight and a safety bond. The fixture is 4.7 kg. It is IP20 and indoor use only, so keep it dry.
