Vari-Lite

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Vari*Lite is the brand name of one of the first automated variable-color lighting systems to be created. The lighting systems are generally based on dichroic glass color filters and metal halide bulbs and are used for theatre, concerts, television, and several other applications.

The Vari-Lite system was first used in a Genesis concert in Barcelona, Spain on September 25, 1981. Vari-Lite was owned by the principal owners of Showco, which had provided its concert lighting expertise to such bands as Led Zeppelin.

The Vari-Lite brand and manufacturing was owned by the Genlyte Group (November 21, 2002), however the Genlyte Group has since been bought by Royal Philips Lighting.^[1]

Vari-Lite developed and manufactured several system which for a long time were only available for rental with trained technicians.

The inventors of the Series 100 & Series 200 systems were Jim Bornhorst, Brooks Taylor, John Covington & Tom Walsh.

Contents 1 VL Zero 2 Series 100 3 Series 200 4 Series 300 5 Series 500 6 Series 1000 7 Series 2000 8 Series 3000 9 References

[edit] VL Zero

Prototype unit using a GE Marc 350 Metal Halide arc lamp. It featured a dichroic colour mixing system and motorised pan and tilt. It was controlled by a home made 16 memory controller.

[edit] Series 100

Launched 1981.
Proprietary console and communication protocol ( Digital Serial link ).
Later a DMX512 to Series 100 protocol interface was developed.

VL1 Spot Luminaire
Lamp : GE Marc 350 Metal Halide Arc Lamp. Later modified to use HTI250 lamp.
Colours : 3 Wheels of 8 Positions ( Open + 7 Dichroic filters ).
Beam/Gobo : 1 Wheel of 8 Positions ( Standard Open, 2 Gobos & 5 Apertures for beam size )
Pan & Tilt : DC Servo drive.
Intensity : Mechanical Iris ( DC Servo ).

[edit] Series 200

Launched 1986.
Artisan Control Console ( Proprietary bi-directional communication protocol ).
mini-Artisan & mini-Artisan 2 Control consoles launched later.
Eventually a DMX512 interface was produced to allow Series 200 luminaires to be run from any DMX512 console.

VL2 Spot Luminaire
Lamp : HTI-250 Metal Halide Arc Lamp.
Colours : 2 Wheels of 16 Positions ( Open + 15 Dichroic filters ).
Gobo : 1 Wheel of 10 Positions ( Standard Open, 9 Gobos )
Beam : Variable Iris.
Lens : Remote focusing.
Pan & Tilt : DC Servo drive.
Intensity : Mechanical Iris ( Stepper Motor ).

VL3 Wash Luminaire
Lamp : Custom 475watt 53volt tungsten halogen Lamp.
Colours : 3 Colour Mixing ( CMY ) Cyan, Magenta, Yellow ( DICHRO*TUNE Colour mixing ).
Beam : Variable Diffusion.
Pan & Tilt : DC Servo drive.
Intensity : Internal Electronic Dimmer.

VL2B Spot Luminaire As VL2 but with HTI-400SE lamp, addition of Colour correction filter (3200ºK) on colour wheel and improved iris motor resolution.

VL2C Spot Luminaire As VL2B with HTI-600SE lamp, Increased cooling for new lamp. ( Made them very loud )

VL4 Wash Luminaire
Lamp : HTI-400SE Metal Halide Arc lamp.
Colours : 3 Colour Mixing ( CMY ) Cyan, Magenta, Yellow.
Beam : Variable Diffusion & beam size.
Pan & Tilt : DC Servo drive.
Intensity : Internal Mechanical Dimmer.
Strobe : Mechanical shutter.

[edit] Series 300

Launched 1992–1993.
The Series 300 product line could run from the Artisan range of consoles, DMX512 and later on the Virtuoso range of consoles.
All Series 300 luminaires need to be connected to a Smart Repeater for data, power and lamp power distribution.

VL5 Wash Luminaire
Lamp : 1000/1200 watt, 100v, 110v, 230v Tungsten Halogen lamp.
Colours : 3 Colour Mixing ( CMY ) Cyan, Magenta, Yellow ( DICHRO*TUNE Colour mixing ).
Beam : Variable Diffusion & minimum beam size set by selection of 6 interchangeable lenses.
Pan & Tilt : DC Servo drive.
Intensity : External Electronic Dimmer.
6 Lens options - Clear, Stipple ( Standard lens ), 8 Row Lenticular, 10 Row Lenticular, 12 Row Lenticular & Buxom.

VL5Arc Wash Luminaire
Lamp : MSR575 Metal Halide Arc Lamp.
Colours : 3 Colour Mixing ( CMY ) Cyan, Magenta, Yellow ( DICHRO*TUNE Colour mixing ).
Beam : Originally fitted with a liquid lens for Variable beam size control ( 13º-34º Field Angle ).
Pan & Tilt : DC Servo drive.
Intensity : Internal Electronic Dimmer.

VL5B Wash Luminaire
Same as the VL5 luminaire but with an alternate "pastel" colour palette.

VL6 Spot Luminaire
Launched 1994.
Lamp : MSR-400SA Metal Halide Lamp.
Colours : 1 Wheels of 12 Positions ( Open + 11 removable Dichroic filters ).
Gobo : 1 Wheel of 12 Positions ( Open, 11 Gobos )
Beam : Variable Iris.
Lens : Remote focusing.
Pan & Tilt : DC Servo drive.
Intensity : Mechanical dimmer/strobe blade.
3 Lens options - NFOV ( 17º ), MFOV ( 24º ), WFOV ( 48º )

VL6B Spot Luminaire
Lamp : MSR-400SA Metal Halide Lamp.
Colours : 1 Wheels of 12 Positions ( Open + 11 removable Dichroic filters ).
Gobo : 1 Wheel of 12 Positions ( Open, 11 Gobos )
Rotating Gobos : 1 Wheel of 6 Positions ( Open, 5 Gobos ).
Beam : Variable Iris.
Lens : Remote focusing.
Zoom : 13º-35º.
Pan & Tilt : DC Servo drive.
Intensity : Mechanical dimmer/strobe blade.

VL6C Spot Luminaire
Lamp : MSR-700SA Metal Halide Lamp.
Colours : 1 Wheels of 12 Positions ( Open + 11 removable Dichroic filters ).
Gobo : 1 Wheel of 12 Positions ( Open, 11 Gobo )
Rotating Gobos : 1 Wheel of 6 Positions ( Open, 5 Gobos ).
Beam : Variable Iris.
Lens : Remote focusing.
Zoom : 19º-43º.
Pan & Tilt : DC Servo drive.
Intensity : Mechanical dimmer/strobe blade.

VL7 Spot Luminaire
Launched 1997.
Lamp : MSR-700SA Metal Halide Lamp.
Colours : CVF 2 Plate colour mixing system.
Gobo : 1 Wheel of 12 Positions ( Open, 11 Gobos )
Rotating Gobos : 1 Wheel of 6 Positions ( Open, 5 Gobos ).
Beam : Variable Iris.
Lens : Remote focusing.
Zoom : 5º-40º.
Pan & Tilt : DC Servo drive.
Intensity : Grey scale glass dimmer.
Strobe : Strobe blade.

VL7B Spot Luminaire
Lamp : MSR-700SA Metal Halide Lamp.
Colours : CVF 2 Plate colour mixing system.
Rotating Gobos : 1 Wheel of 6 Positions ( Open, 5 Gobos ).
Shutters : 4 blade rotatable shutter gate.
Lens : Remote focusing.
Zoom : 5º-40º.
Pan & Tilt : DC Servo drive.
Intensity : Grey scale glass dimmer.
Strobe : Strobe blade.

VLM Moving Mirror
A dual sided mirror mounted in a VL5 yoke. The mirror can spin on the tilt axis continuously.

[edit] Series 500

Launched 2005.
DMX512 Control Protocol only.

VL500 Wash Luminaire
Self contained for sale version of the popular VL5 Wash luminaire. No Smart Repeater Required.

Lamp Options : 1200 watt 110 volt or 1000 watt 230 volt. Colour Options : Standard colour palette ( i.e. VL5 colour set ) or Pastel colour palette ( i.e. VL5B colour set ).
Intensity : External dimmer.

VL500D Wash Luminaire
Self contained for sale version of the popular VL5 Wash luminaire. No Smart Repeater Required.

Lamp Options : 1200 watt 110 volt or 1000 watt 230 volt.
Colour Options : Standard colour palette ( i.e. VL5 colour set ) or Pastel colour palette ( i.e. VL5B colour set ).
Intensity : Internal IGBT dimmer.

VL500 80v Wash Luminaire
Self contained for sale version of the popular VL5 Wash luminaire. No Smart Repeater Required.

Lamp Options : 1200 watt 80 volt.
Colour Options : Standard colour palette ( i.e. VL5 colour set ) or Pastel colour palette ( i.e. VL5B colour set ).
Intensity : External Dimmer Module.

VL500A Wash Luminaire
Self contained for sale version of the popular VL5 Wash luminaire. No Smart Repeater Required.

Lamp Options : 575 watt or 700 watt Metal Halide Arc lamp.
Colour Options : Standard colour palette ( i.e. VL5 colour set ) or Pastel colour palette ( i.e. VL5B colour set ).
Intensity : Internal Mechanical Dimmer.

[edit] Series 1000

Launched 2001.
DMX512 Control Protocol only.

VL1000 ERS Tunsten
6 Models
VL1000T = Tungsten base model.
VL1000TD = Tungsten base model with dimmer.
VL1000TI = Tungsten base model with iris.
VL1000TDI = Tungsten base model with iris and dimmer.
VL1000TS = Tungsten base model with shutters.
VL1000TSD = Tungsten base model with shutters and dimmer.

Lamp : 1000 watt, 100, 115, 230 volt tungsten halogen lamp.
Rotating Gobos : 1 wheel of 6 positions ( Open, 5 Gobos ).
Shutters : (Option) 4 blade rotatable shutter gate.
Beam : (Option) Iris.
Frost : Variable.
Lens : Remote focusing.
Zoom : 19º-36º-70º Super Zoom.
Pan & Tilt : 540º Pan, 270º Tilt. Stepper motor drive.
Intensity : External dimmer or optional internal electronic dimmer.

VL1000 ERS Arc
3 Models
VL1000A = Arc Lamp model.
VL1000AI = Arc Lamp model with iris.
VL1000AS = Arc Lamp model with shutters.

Lamp : MSR 575HR or MSD 575HR 575 watt Metal halide arc lamp.
Rotating Gobos : 1 wheel of 6 positions ( Open, 5 Gobos ).
Shutters : (Option) 4 blade rotatable shutter gate.
Beam : (Option) Iris.
Frost : Variable.
Lens : Remote focusing.
Zoom : 19º-36º-70º Super Zoom.
Pan & Tilt : 540º Pan, 270º Tilt. Stepper motor drive.
Intensity : External electronic ballast pack.

[edit] Series 2000

Launched 2000.
DMX512 Control Protocol only ( Virtuoso Console native protocol no longer supported. ).

VL2201 Spot Luminaire
Lamp : MSR 400 SA 400 watt Metal Halide Lamp.
Colours : 1 Wheels of 12 Positions ( Open + 11 removable Dichroic filters ).
Gobo : 1 Wheel of 12 Positions ( Open, 11 removable Gobos )
Rotating Gobos : 1 Wheel of 6 Positions ( Open, 5 removable Gobos ).
Beam : Variable Iris.
Lens : Remote focusing.
Zoom : 13º-35º.
Pan & Tilt : 540º Pan, 270º Tilt. Stepper motor drive.
Intensity : Mechanical dimmer/strobe blade.

VL2202 , Renamed VL2000 Spot Luminaire
Lamp : MSR 700 SA 700 watt Metal Halide Lamp.
Colours : 1 Wheels of 12 Positions ( Open + 11 removable Dichroic filters ).
Gobo : 1 Wheel of 12 Positions ( Open, 11 removable Gobos )
Rotating Gobos : 1 Wheel of 6 Positions ( Open, 5 removable Gobos ).
Beam : Variable Iris.
Lens : Remote focusing.
Zoom : 19º-43º.
Pan & Tilt : 540º Pan, 270º Tilt. Stepper motor drive.
Intensity : Mechanical dimmer/strobe blade.

VL2402 Renamed VL2000 Wash Luminaire
Lamp : MSR-700SA Metal Halide Lamp.
Colours : CMY ( Cyan, Magenta & Yellow ) Colour mixing and 1 Wheels of 12 Positions ( Open + 11 removable Dichroic filters ).
Lens : Beam spreader range 12º-57º.
Pan & Tilt : 540º Pan, 270º Tilt. Stepper motor drive.
Intensity : Mechanical dimmer/strobe blade.

VL2416 Wash Luminaire
Lamp : MSR-1200SA Metal Halide Lamp.
Colours : CMY ( Cyan, Magenta & Yellow ) DICHRO*TUNE Colour mixing ( Same colours and mechanism as the VL5/VL500 ).
Beam : Beam spreader range 5º-55º ( Stipple Lens ). Beam size set by selection of 6 interchangeable lenses ( rotatable from console ).
Pan & Tilt : 540º Pan, 270º Tilt. Stepper motor drive.
Intensity : Mechanical dimmer/strobe blades ( mechanically the same as the colour mechanism ).
6 Lens options - Clear, Stipple ( Standard lens ), 8 Row Lenticular, 10 Row Lenticular, 12 Row Lenticular & Buxom.

VL2500 Spot Luminaire
Launched 2004.
VL2000 Spot with CMY ( Cyan, Magenta & Yellow ) colour mixing, separate strobe mechanism and improved dimmer.

VL2500 Wash Luminaire
Launched 2004.
VL2000 Wash with separate strobe mechanism and improved dimmer.

[edit] Series 3000

Launched 2002.
DMX512 Control Protocol only.

VL3000 Spot Luminaire
Lamp : HTI 1200W/D7/60 SharXS Metal Halide lamp.
Colours : CMY ( Cyan, Magenta & Yellow ) Colour mixing, Variable CTO colour correction and 1 Wheels of 7 Positions ( Open + 6 removable Dichroic filters ).
Rotating Gobos : 2 Wheels of 6 Positions ( Open, 5 removable Gobos )
Rotating Gobos : 1 additional Wheel of 5 Positions ( Open, 4 removable Gobos )
Beam : Variable Iris.
Lens : Remote focusing.
Zoom : 10º-60º.
Pan & Tilt : 540º Pan, 270º Tilt. Stepper motor drive ( 0.3 degree resolution ).
Intensity : Glass coated dimmer wheel + strobe blades.

VL3000Q Spot Luminaire
"Quiet" version.

VL3000 Wash Luminaire
Lamp : HTI 1200W/D7/60 SharXS Metal Halide lamp.
Colours : CMY ( Cyan, Magenta & Yellow ) Colour mixing, Variable CTO colour correction and 1 Wheels of 7 Positions ( Open + 6 removable Dichroic filters ).
Lens : Beam spreader range 10º-60º.
Pan & Tilt : 540º Pan, 270º Tilt. Stepper motor drive ( 0.3 degree resolution ).
Intensity : Glass coated dimmer wheel + strobe blades.

VL3000Q Wash Luminaire
"Quiet" version.

VL3500 Spot Luminaire
Launched 2004.
Lamp : HTI 1200W/D7/60 SharXS Metal Halide lamp.
Colours : CMY ( Cyan, Magenta & Yellow ) Colour mixing, Variable CTO colour correction and 1 Wheel of 7 Positions ( Open + 6 removable Dichroic filters ).
Gobo : 1 Wheel of 7 Positions ( Open, 6 removable Gobos )
Rotating Gobos : 1 Wheel of 6 Positions ( Open, 5 removable Gobos ).
Shutters : 4 blade rotatable shutter gate.
Lens : Remote focusing.
Zoom : 10º-60º.
Pan & Tilt : 540º Pan, 270º Tilt. Stepper motor drive ( 0.3 degree resolution ).
Intensity : Glass coated dimmer wheel + strobe blades.

VL3500Q Spot Luminaire
"Quiet" version.

VL3500 Wash Luminaire
Launched 2007. Lamp : 1200W or 1500w Metal Halide lamp.
Colours : CMY ( Cyan, Magenta & Yellow ) Colour mixing, Variable CTO colour correction and 2 Wheels of 6 Positions ( Open + 5 removable Dichroic filters ).
Lens : Vari*Brite beam control. Plano Convex Clear, Stipple, Fresnel and Buxom interchangeable lenses
Pan & Tilt : 540º Pan, 270º Tilt. Stepper motor drive ( 0.3 degree resolution ).
Intensity : Glass coated dimmer wheel + strobe blades.

[edit] References