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LightBlade LB800 RGBW LED

NBCUniversal and Cineo Lighting lit up Cine Gear 2018 with a new 24" x 48" RGBW panel

David Alexander Willis

NBCUniversal and Cineo lit up Cine Gear 2018 with this 24" x 48" panel.

NBCUniversal has continued their partnership with Cineo Lighting, showcasing the new LightBlade LB800 for the first time at the recent Cine Gear Expo. The newest LED in their line, it follows the recent 1 Blade, 2 Blade and 4 Blade linear light sources, which themselves arrived on the heels of the 14' LightBlade Ladder Light system.


The 14’ LightBlade Ladder Light RGBW backdrop and effects lighting system from NBCUniversal and Cineo.

At a weight of 55lbs (25kg) and a depth of only 5.25", the 2' x 4' LightBlade LB800 panel has full RGB spectrum in addition to a range of white light from 2700°K to 6500°K. Cineo uses five-channel drivers to blend the two white chips with the RGB diodes as additive. This allows saturation adjustment, which reduces white light while increasing RGB, as well as hue adjustments. 


Controlling can be performed in either HSI + CCT or RGB + CCT colorspaces. The red channel measures at above CRI 95, optimized for skin tone, while typical ratings in the light all achieve ratings of above CRI 90. These settings are accessible via the back panel and local knob adjustments or through wired DMX. Changes can also be made wirelessly through onboard LumenRadio CRMX in DMX/RDM protocol, which gives bi-directional communication that will not be interrupted by interference. 


The LB800 effects and control menu on displayed during Cine Gear.

With 100-0% dimming, light levels are tied to camera f-stops alongside intensity, so that precise output levels can be set by iris through the Master control on the rear, or via the first DMX channel. The LightBlade LB800 uses PAD dimming, which will reduce the log curve by one f-stop for every 50 DMX units. 255 provides 100%, while 205 reduces to 50% linear intensity, 155 drops to 25%, 105 to 12.5%, and 55 to 6.26%. 


Featuring sophisticated functionality with support of 8-bit and, new to their lines,16-bit modes, the first four channels of DMX are reserved for dimming of master intensity, CCT, color saturation, and hue, respectively. 16-bit extends the channels from four to eight, with two channels available per control.


Cineo’s built-in Zone Control provides access to 10 seperate areas in the light that can be controlled homogenously or individually to create mixed lighting situations from the same panel. This can produce a number of effects, which can be shared and stored as presets, such as rainbows, cars passing, police lights, or the very cool Night Rider/Cylon — a red stripe that can move up and down the light similar to the famous Battlestar Galactica sequence.


In addition to wireless and wired operations, the rear of the LB800 also provides local access to settings.

Claiming identical thermal stability across the line for consistent performance and color quality, each model in the LightBlade line uses proprietary white light diodes with phosphor coating and phosphor-converted saturation color LEDs for spectrum. With color constancy and flicker-free operation for the lifetime of the product, SmartPower technology is also provided to ensure a consistent light output regardless of battery charge. Cooling is fanless for quiet operation.


Cineo and NBCUniversal released their first model together, the 1,000-Watt LightBlade LB1K only last year during the same Cine Gear Expo in Los Angeles. With up to 25,000 lumens of output, Cineo’s most recent proprietary light panel is the $4,995 2' x 1' Standard 410, announced at IBC in September of 2017. 


The Cineo Lighting Standard 410 RGBW LED panel.

NBCUniversal LightBlade is a unit from NBCUniversal, subsidiary of Comcast Corporation and a leading media and entertainment company. 


“NBCUniversal Set Lighting Department is a principal thought leader when it comes to new technologies in lighting, and the LightBlade LB800 is no exception," said Jamie Crosbie, Vice President of Studio Services at NBCUniversal, in the press release. “The LightBlade product line continues to provide content creators the necessary tools for developing cutting edge lighting techniques in an ever evolving industry." 


For rental and other inquiries, contact NBCUniversal LightBlade. Follow them on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.


Follow Cineo Lighting on FacebookInstagram and Twitter.


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