Controlling LED Lighting - Philips

Pharos LPC 1 / 2 / 4Light System ManagerPharos LPC XVideo SystemManager ProPharos AVC11/2/4882001,470—170170 / 340 / 68015,00034,000250,000—YesYesYesYes——up to 5001 show per zoneup to 500—up to 500YesYeswith Animation effectYesYesYes————Video inputAudio / VideoDesignerLight System ComposerDesigner—DesignerYesYesYes—Yesup to 1,000—up to 1,000—up to 1,000YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes—Yesth RIOYesYesYes—Yesth RIOYeswith AuxBoxwith RIO—YesArt-NetYes—Yes—YesYes————with RIO—with RIO—with RIOKiNET, Art-Net, sACNKiNETKiNET, Art-Net, sACNKiNETArt-Net, PathPortYesYesYes—Yesth RIOwith RIO—with RIO—with RIOth RIOYes—Yes—Yesos TPC*to 500esignerYeso 1,000—th RIOrt-Net, sACNYesPhilips Color Kinetics is committed to ongoing innovation and improvements. Please visit www.philipscolorkinetics.com for the latest products and product updates.Controlling LED Lighting9

Photography: James Field Photographywww.jame.com.auPhotography: Fred CharlesLighting Fixtures: eW Cove Powercore, eColor Cove PowercoreController: Standard dimmersLighting Fixtures: ColorGraze PowercoreController: Light System Manager, DynaliteFinding the right control solutionWith an extensive range of DMX- and Ethernet-based controllers, intuitive light show authoring software, keypads,triggering devices, converters, and commissioning tools, Philips Color Kinetics has the right control solution for you.Finding the right control solution depends on a number of factors.Control solutions for a white-light LED lighting installation in an officespace, an immersive retail experience integrating full-color dynamiclighting effects with sound and movement, and LED stage lighting for atouring rock band have very little in common.What is the design intent of your lighting system?One of the most important decision points is the design intent ofyour lighting installation, which can determine not only your controlsolution but also the type(s) of fixtures you plan to use: If you’re using solid white or solid color fixtures only, you likelyneed switching and dimming only.10Controlling LED Lighting If you’re using intelligent white or color-changing fixtures in anarchitectural or decorative installation, you need a DMX- orEthernet-based LED lighting controller. If you’re using theatrical fixtures in a stage or entertainmentenvironment, you likely need a professional lighting console andcontrol accessories for connecting the lighting console to your LEDlighting fixtures. If you’re integrating an LED lighting system with a buildingautomation system, you likely need a lighting controller withcontact closures or other interfaces to occupancy sensors, lightsensors, security systems, schedule-based automation systems, andother control equipment.

Photography: John ArrowsmithLighting Fixtures: ColorBlazeController: Third-party theatrical controlsDifferent lighting applications require different control solutions. Left: W Hotel, New York, New York, USA. Guests control the ambience in the luxurysuites by dimming and switching solid white and solid color LED cove lighting fixtures. Center: Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide, South Australia. A Light SystemManager controller, integrated with a Philips Dynalite control system, manages over 800 ColorGraze Powercore fixtures in the centre’s iconic entry structure. Right: Rushproduces a spectacular show with coordinated sound, animatronic, and lighting systems, including dozens of ColorBlaze LED wash lights mounted high above the stage.What protocol should you use for an intelligent lighting system?Whether DMX or Ethernet is appropriate for your intelligentlighting installation depends in part on the number of fixtures andthe complexity of the light shows and dynamic effects you intend todisplay. Because of wiring infrastructure and addressing limitations,DMX is appropriate for smaller installations, or for light shows inwhich large groups of fixtures operate in unison. On the other hand,Ethernet is the preferred environment for larger cable plans thatsupport intricate, color-changing light shows and video displays callingfor hundreds or thousands of individually controllable lighting nodes.How much automation do you need?You need to consider what degree of automation you require. Do youwant a set-and-forget system that runs according to a pre-definedtimeline or astronomical clock? Do you require local control throughwall-mounted keypads and other triggering devices, centralizedcontrol, or both? Are there electrical, building, or energy codesto which your lighting system must comply, or building automationsystems with which your system must integrate?What are you forgetting?The details of your control system are also influenced by physicalconcerns, such as the characteristics of the space(s) you’re lighting,the availability and rating of power and networking systems, the totalsystem load, and security requirements.Keep in mind that the lighting fixtures, controllers, and controlaccessories are only part of a complete system which may also includeany combination of power supplies, networking switches and cabling,server or hardware racks, watertight enclosures, protocol converters,and other accessories.How much does your control solution cost?Finding the right control solution means striking the right balancebetween performance and cost. Once you’ve determined whatkind of solution you need to support the goals of your lighting system,you must perform a cost-benefit analysis to achieve the right targetvalue level.Controlling LED Lighting11

Controlling intelligent LEDlighting fixturesThe most common communications networks for controlling intelligent LED lighting systems areDMX, Ethernet, and DALI. Ethernet is now the most widely used and effective network infrastructurefor medium to large architectural lighting installations, while DMX continues to be the standard forentertainment and stage lighting. DALI is a popular control protocol for lighting systems in buildingsand homes, especially in Europe. While DALI is primarily used for fluorescent ballast switching anddimming, LED lighting installations can be triggered by DALI systems using controllers with native DALIsupport, integration devices, or protocol converters.DMXUntil recently, the most generally accepted control formatfor intelligent architectural lighting was DMX512-A, orDMX for short. DMX was originally developed by theEngineering Commission of the United States Institutefor Theatre Technology (USITT), beginning in 1986, forcontrolling stage and theatrical lighting.Many theatrical lighting boards are DMX-based, but theytend to offer a wide array of manual control interfacesspecialized for live performances, making them tooexpensive for architectural use. Like other manufacturersof LED lighting fixtures, Philips Color Kinetics developsand markets its own DMX-based controllers forarchitectural lighting applications. These controllers arefar more compact and less expensive than full-fledgedtheatrical lighting boards, and they offer special features— such as pre-defined light shows and built-in effects —designed to simplify and automate LED lighting control forarchitectural applications.DMX-based controllers communicate with LED lightingfixtures using DMX addresses. Each lighting fixture orlighting node — an individually controllable segment of alighting fixture — is assigned a set of addresses. Theseaddresses allow individual lighting fixtures within theinstallation to identify the specific control signals intendedfor them so that the fixtures can display the correct lightoutput.Uniquely addressing and controlling color-changing LEDlighting nodes lets you display different light output —different colors and different brightnesses — on multiplenodes simultaneously. This level of control enables aninfinite variety and combination of dynamic effects, fromcolors that fade one into another or that seem to chaseeach other from node to node, to intricate light showsthat mimic the appearance of natural phenomena or thatdisplay abstract patterns for subtle or dramatic effect.DMX Controllers from Philips Color KineticsiColor PlayerA highly compact DMX generator, iColorPlayer is a simple, affordable solutionfor controlling multiple light fixturessimultaneously. iColor Player can control a full universe of DMXaddresses and can play a single show authored in ColorPlay 3, ourtimeline-based light show authoring software.12Controlling LED LightingiPlayer 3iPlayer 3 controller is a compact yet powerfulshow storage and playback device capable ofdelivering light shows to installations with up to1024 DMX addresses. iPlayer 3 is designed to add new levels ofsophistication to your installations while eliminating the need forexpensive lighting boards and technical programming expertise.

A DMX universe consists of 512 addresses. The majorityof intelligent LED fixtures use three addresses, one foreach LED channel used in the fixture — red, green, andblue in a color-changing fixture, or 2700 K, 4000 K, and6500 K in an intelligent white fixture, for example. Inpractice, a single-universe DMX controller, such as iColorPlayer, can manage a maximum of 170 uniquely addressedthree-channel fixtures (512 divided by 3 170, with twochannels left over), while a two-universe DMX controller,such as iPlayer 3 or Pharos LPC 2, can manage up to 340.LED lighting fixtures can consume more than threeFor light shows in which multiple light nodes act in unison,you can limit the number of DMX addresses requiredby assigning the sameset of addresses toRDM: Two-Way DMXmultiple nodes. If yourlighting installationRemote Data Management (RDM) is anrequires more than aenhancement to the DMX protocol thatfew hundred individuallycontrollable nodes,however — and lightingdesigns with video orexpansive and intricatedynamic effects almostcertainly will — youshould consider usingan Ethernet controlsolution.allows two-way communication betweencontrollers and RDM-enabled devices in yourlighting network. With RDM, you can performautomated discovery, configuration, andaddressing of RDM-enabled lighting fixturesand power / data supplies, much as you doover Ethernet. Pharos LPC 1 / 2 / 4 and bothiColor Player and SmartJack Pro from PhilipsColor Kinetics offer RDM. Pharos also offersan RDM-compatible DMX repeater.Photography: Alyssha Csükaddresses each. Five-channel RGBAW (red / green / blue/ amber / white) fixtures, such as ColorBlaze TRX andColorBlast TRX, consume five DMX addresses. Fixturesthat operate in 16-bit mode for smoother dimmingand more precise color control require two DMXaddresses per channel, doubling the number of addressesconsumed. Fixtures with multiple nodes, such as iColorFlex LMX, iColor Accent MX Powercore, and iW GrazePowercore, can consume multiples of three or six DMXchannels depending on configuration. For example, a4 ft iColor Accent MX Powercore fixture set to themaximum resolution of 40 1.2 in nodes consumes 120DMX addresses, while an iColor Flex LMX strand with 50individually controllable RGB nodes consumes 150 DMXaddresses.Sands Resort Casino, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA. Because many of its 350 color-changing ColorReach Powercore and ColorBlast Powercore fixturesare programmed with the same DMX addresses to operate in unison, the Sands Resort Casino can control the nightly lighting display at the historic BethlehemSteel plant with a single iPlayer 3 DMX controller.Controlling LED Lighting13

EthernetEthernet is the most popular computer communicationsprotocol standard and is used in most local area networksaround the world. Because they are inherently digitaldevices, intelligent LED lighting fixtures lend themselves toEthernet-based control.As a control solution for larger intelligent LED lightingsystems in architectural environments, Ethernet offers anumber of advantages: Ethernet structured cable plans are standardizedIT systems well understood by today’s electricalcontractors. With an Ethernet-based lighting solution,you can leverage this installation knowledge, avoiding theneed to install specialized cabling and affording the abilityto integrate the LED control system into the existingstructure of the building’s IT cable plan. Ethernet control solutions overcome the physicallimitations of DMX. In an Ethernet lighting network,lighting controllers can communicate with each Ethernetdevice in the network individually, allowing simultaneoustransmission of multiple DMX universes over a singleEthernet cable. For instance, Light System Manager canmanage up to about 88 universes, while Video SystemManager Pro can control almost 1,500 universes forlarge-scale video displays.Ethernet devices in a Philips Color Kineticslighting networkEthernet devices in a Philips Color Kineticsnetwork include Ethernet switches, controllers,and a wide range of power / data supplies forLED lighting fixtures. Some of our networkaware products, such as the Data Enabler Prodata integration device and iColor Accent MXPowercore linear LED lighting fixture, containan integrated Ethernet switch. You can connectthese devices in series on an Ethernet horizontalcable plan using CAT 5e cable or higher. Ethernetrules require a maximum of 328 ft (100 m)between any of these devices, affording greatflexibility and expansion options in lightingnetwork layouts.DataEnabler ProController328 ft (100 m) Max14Controlling LED LightingEthernet Lighting CommunicationsProtocolsEthernet lighting communications protocolsare standardized methods of delivering lightingdata over a network, and it is critical that thelighting controller and lighting fixture speak thesame language. KiNET is the Ethernet lightingprotocol from Philips Color Kinetics. OtherEthernet lighting protocols include Art-Net,ACN, Streaming ACN (sACN), Philips StrandShowNet, Pathway Pathport, and many others.Pharos controllers offer native support of ArtNet, sACN, and KiNET.Pharos LPC X can manage up to 200 universes ofEthernet DMX, and can be scaled for even larger lightingsystems. DMX communications are one-way only: controllerto lights. Ethernet, on the other hand, offers two-waycommunications to simplify and automate many aspectsof fixture configuration, addressing, and commissioning. Ethernet supports wireless communications today.You can manage your lighting network from a wi-fidevice, such as in Apple iPad or Apple iPhone, providingsuperior flexibility and convenience, especially ininstallations with multiple zones in different locations. Ethernet structured cable plans afford more flexibilitythan DMX cable plans in lighting system layouts. Theysupport longer cable runs, offer more installationconvenience in network layouts, and are extremely costeffective in medium and large installations. DMX cableplans, in contrast, support shorter cable runs and areextremely cost-effective in smaller installations. Ethernet network hardware, such as multi-port switchesand routers, are much less expensive than DMX multiport opto-splitters required to join multiple buildingwiring segments together. Power over Ethernet (PoE), used in a number ofEthernet controllers and triggering devices from PhilipsColor Kinetics, increases flexibility by transmittingelectrical power and data over a single twisted-pair CAT5e or better cable. PoE reduces controller installationcosts, decreases wiring costs, and affords freedomof placement by eliminating line-voltage wiring forcontrollers.

Ethernet Controllersfrom Philips Color Kineticsand PharosVideo SystemManager ProIntegrated hardware/ software solution that streams videoplayback and visual effects output toPhilips intelligent LED lighting systems.Can process output for up to 250,000individually controllable LED nodes.Light SystemManagerVersatile show authoringand control for large-scale lightinginstallations. Supports up to 15,000individually controllable LED nodesdepending on system configuration.ColorDial ProEthernet-based, stand-alonelighting controller and interfacefor color-changing LED lightingfixtures from Philips ColorKinetics. Features enhanced LCD screenfor configuring effects and simple dialand-button controls.Condé Nast Cafeteria, New York, New York, USAThe 12,000 square foot (1,115 square meter) corporate cafeteria within Condé Nast’s New Yorkheadquarters uses approximately 90,000 individual nodes of iColor Flex, which line the ceiling andwalls behind monolithic glass for a smooth, diffused effect. Video System Manager Pro manages themapping of each node in the installation.Photography: Courtesy of Arup LightingiColor KeypadPower-over-Ethernet keypadstores eight pre-programmedlight shows and controls a fulluniverse of DMX addresses.You can change light shows using thesimple push-button interface. Fits astandard US single-gang wall box.Pharos ControllersVersatile, scalablesolutions featuringadvanced playbackand show control engines, built-inastronomical and realtime clocks, andthird-party integration. TPC and LPC1 / 2 / 4 for small projects requiringcombinations of one and two DMXuniverses. LPC X for systems needingcontrol of tens and hundreds of eDMXuniverses.Controlling LED Lighting15

DALIDALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) is designedespecially for dimming and controlling fluorescent lamps in homesand office buildings. DALI is popular in Europe, where it’s oftenused for integrating with building management systems.Compared to DMX and Ethernet, the DALI data transfer rate isvery slow: 1,200 bits per second, compared with 256 kilobits persecond (kbps) for DMX, and 10 / 100 / 1000 megabits per second(Mbps) for Ethernet. A DALI “universe” consists of 64 addresses,as compared with 512 for DMX and virtually unlimited multiplesof 512 in Ethernet networks. Unlike DMX, which streams datacontinuously, DALI is command-driven (sends commands only).DALI is not appropriate for directly controlling LED lightingfixtures or delivering dynamic effects and light show content toconnected fixtures. However, controllers with DALI support,GHD Headquarters, Leeds, UK16Controlling LED LightingLighting Fixtures: iW Cove Powercoresuch as the Pharos LPC family, as well as DALI-to-DMX andDALI-to-Ethernet converters, allow you to bridge the gapbetween the simple ON / OFF and dimming functions of DALIand the more sophisticated control of decorative lighting effectsoffered by DMX and Ethernet controllers.For example, a DALI controller in an integrated buildingmanagement system receives information from motion detectors,light sensors, and automated scheduling systems to switch ordim fluorescent lights in offices, hallways, and meeting rooms asappropriate. The DALI controller in turn sends commands to aDMX or Ethernet LED controller to trigger pre-set scenes orlight shows on intelligent LED lighting fixtures installed in thebuilding’s lobby.Controller: ColorDial ProPhotography: Chris Gascoigne

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Nov 25, 2016 · Photography: Martine Doyon Lighting Fixtures iColor Cove MX Powercore Controller Custom solution. Controlling LED Lighting 3 As digital light sources, LED lighting fixtures can be precisely controlled with dimmers