LAS VEGAS – Building on the success of its easy-to-use, affordable ÉPIX 2.0 video/pixel mapping system, CHAUVET Professional will be unveiling a new version of the system at LDI, the ÉPIX Tour Series. As its name suggests, the new series is targeted toward touring applications and features a number of upgrades designed specifically for this market. Among these are a tighter pixel pitch of 20mm for sharper, more detailed images, and a brighter output for an enhanced viewing experience under all types of ambient conditions.

Perhaps the most significant improvement is the ability to use the ÉPIX Tour Series with standard 4-pin scroller cable, which many rental houses already own, and which is more robust and can carry more power. This provides the huge advantage of allowing the system to be configured over much longer distances. For example, using standard scroller cable, the maximum distance from the ÉPIX Drive 900 processor to the last ÉPIX Tour fixture in the system can extend up to 210 feet (64M), while the first fixture can be located as far as 65 feet (20M) from the drive unit. This gives users the flexibility to position the Drive 900 in a convenient area, such as backstage or in a rack with other control gear, as opposed to flying it in the rig, making setup and wiring of the system much easier.

There are 3 products in the new ÉPIX Tour Series:

ÉPIX Drive 900 – The processing and power center for the system, the ÉPIX Drive 900 can control any combination of ÉPIX Tour fixtures up to 900 LEDs total. This means a single Drive 900 unit can control 18 ÉPIX Strip Tours, or 6 ÉPIX Bar Tours, or even 9 Strips and 3 Bars. The ÉPIX Drive 900 offers versatile control options, including Art-Net, Kling-Net and sACN (streaming ACN), providing the flexibility to be used in touring, rental or installation applications. A built-in OLED display allows for quick and easy configuring of the system, featuring an auto-address function that will easily detect and arrange devices, regardless of fixture order or type (e.g. bar or strip). The Drive 900 can either be rack-mounted with the included rack ear kit, or hung with a clamp up in the rig.

ÉPIX Strip Tour – a 1-meter pixel-mapping LED strip containing 50 Tri-Color (RGB) SMD LEDs. With a 125° viewing angle, it is ideal for building creative structures to display video and motion graphics. An optional dome accessory is available to increase the viewing angle to 180°.

ÉPIX Bar Tour – a 1-meter pixel-mapping LED bar containing 150 Tri-Color (RGB) SMD LEDs, which are arranged in 3 rows of 50. Like the ÉPIX Strip Tour, the ÉPIX Bar Tour features a 125° viewing angle.

Both the ÉPIX Strip Tour and ÉPIX Bar Tour come with a black stealth filter installed to increase contrast, which also functions to keep the units discreetly out of view when not in use. A white frosted filter is also included with both fixtures for applications where higher output is required.

Although they’ve been given new upgrades aimed at the touring market, the ÉPIX Strip Tour and ÉPIX Bar Tour still offer the same quick setup and near-effortless creation of pixel mapping displays that made the original ÉPIX Series so popular. For example, they utilize the same interlocking system pioneered by the initial ÉPIX Series that designers and installers have come to rely on for fast, easy building of displays. Plus, both fixtures and the ÉPIX Drive 900 will also work with ArKaos Media Master Express for a plug-n-play system that requires almost no training to operate, making them ideal for users who are new to pixel mapping.

See the new ÉPIX Tour Series in action at CHAUVET Professional’s LDI Booth #539.