Ask Alfred
The Future is Bright with COB LEDs

More power, less space, in-depth creative control – Alfred looks at the advantages of COB technology, giving you an insight into ADJ’s extensive range of COB LED fixtures, while also clearing up any confusion surrounding the technology that is changing LED lighting forever. Plus, Alfred talks about two new COB wash fixtures: the Dotz Par 100 and COB Cannon Wash.

COB technology is revolutionizing lighting. It’s touching every corner of the industry. But, most importantly, it is changing the way that many ADJ products are designed. In fact, we’ve been at the forefront of lighting technology for 30 years, and COB LEDs are just the latest innovation – something that I’m incredibly proud of. As LED technology has progressed, so too have our products; becoming more intense and more powerful, allowing us to retain compactness, where necessary, while still providing high-output lighting solutions.

Those of you less familiar with COB may be wondering just what the heck I’m talking about… So, to put it simply, I can tell you that COB stands for Chip On Board, which involves lots of LEDs being mounted close together, directly onto a single chip. This means using up less space and providing a huge amount of light output from one single source. COB technology also allows for smoother color mixing without RGB shadows as well as the recreation of highly saturated colors and massive wash coverage so you can reach new levels of pure lighting excitement.

By now, our range of COB fixtures is pretty substantial. We have various solutions designed to be installed in clubs or taken on the road by mobile DJs. Elsewhere in the series, products like the Dotz Par and Dotz TPar System are perfect for staging and portable entertainment applications.

One of our most compact COB offerings is the Dotz Bar 1.4, which is ideal if you’re a mobile entertainer or lighting designer working in smaller venues. The unit’s four 9W tri-color COB LEDs and 25-degree beam angle make far-reaching washes of smoothly mixed RGB color easily achievable, while you can also pixel-map the unit to achieve distinctive visual effects. An added bonus is that the DMX-Controlled mode allows individual pixels to be manipulated, so if you want to get really creative, you can.

Offering similar results, but utilizing four extra tri-color COB LEDs in a 2 x 4 layout, the Dotz Panel 2.4 works incredibly well as a wash or blinder effect. Again, you can control individual pixels using DMX, for in-depth control, while the 25° beam angle keeps your washes wide enough to offer awesome coverage of a stage or dance-floor. With barn doors included, you can also decrease the beam angle for a more concentrated, intense effect – perfect when you’re using the Dotz Panel 2.4 to light up something specific.

Elsewhere in the range we have the Dotz Brick 3.3 and Dotz Matrix panel fixtures, which utilize COB LEDs (mounted in 3 x 3 and 4 x 4 matrixes, respectively) for powerful results. Where the two differ is in their size and power. Our Dotz Brick 3.3 provides you with 9W tri-color LEDs and a beam angle of 25°, whereas the Dotz Matrix offers sixteen 30W tri-color LEDs and the vital extra scope of a 60° beam angle. Despite these differences, both fixtures are incredibly effective when used as wash units and can also be pixel-mapped for impressive visuals or video effects.

If you want to bring stages and venues to life using potent color washes, the highly adaptable Dotz Par is a COB LED par can that utilizes a single 36W tri-color LED, while boasting an impressive 60-degree beam angle and five selectable dimming curves. Distinct effects can also be achieved through pixel-mapping, while pulse and strobe effects, a choice of color macros and various control modes offer you further creative freedom.

Meanwhile, packing four 30W par fixtures into one portable package to provide the ideal stage washing solution, there is our Dotz TPar System. Wherever you are, its powerful tri-color COB LEDs and wide 90-degree beam angle ensure that you can generate far-reaching washes of color. What I love about this particular product is that you have the four par cans mounted onto a single bar, giving you the convenience of quick setup/teardown and easy transport. It can also be easily mounted directly onto a T-bar, allowing you to send powerful washes down across a stage or dance-floor to submerge your performers or audiences in vibrant, smoothly mixed color.

As if you didn’t have enough stage-orientated products to choose from, I’m pleased to say that we have now furthered the range with two brand new COB LED solutions: the Dotz Par 100 and COB Cannon Wash.

The brand new Dotz Par 100 is a compact par fixture that offers incredible light output from a single, ultra-bright 100W tri-color (RGB) COB LED source. With this COB light source at hand, you can produce vast washes of colored lighting in any hue and at unbelievably potent levels, while avoiding RGB shadowing for a distinct, professional finish. So, whether you’re a lighting designer, installer or venue operator, the Dotz Par 100 will create intense effects in an array of colors, even if the space you’re working with is limited or the ceiling is low. What about those large venues? Well, the unit’s 80-degree beam angle, along with ensures far-reaching washes and expansive coverage for when you’re lighting dance-floors, stages and church auditoriums.

As with all of our products, versatility is a key element of the Dotz Par 100. And, with the added bonus of an included lens kit, you can reduce the unit’s beam angle to a more concentrated 25-degree, making it interchangeable as a wash, par or up-lighting fixture (the latter of which is made easier thanks to a unique lie-flat design). We’ve also ensured access to pixel-mapping, so you’ll have the creative means to produce animated visuals across multiple fixtures that will leave your audiences astounded.

When it comes down to control, you may want to trigger Sound Active or Auto Run mode and leave the Dotz Par 100 to work its magic. Or, you may want to create something specially tailored using DMX-Controlled mode. Either way, the unit’s various operational modes allow you to control the Dotz Par 100 however you need. Our optional ADJ Par RF remote can also be used to control basic features wirelessly.

Joining the Dotz Par 100 in furthering the range is our COB Cannon Wash – a compact par that provides you with extreme power. Equipped with a single 150W quad-color COB LED, the fixture lets you generate seriously potent washes in distinctive hues. With professional features like 0-100% electronic dimming and strobe effects at hand too, the COB Cannon Wash lets you take your lightshow to the next level whenever you need to. These effects can be used to inject energy into your events – something that’s crucial when young clientele seeking a club-style atmosphere make up the majority of your crowd..

If it’s flexibility you’re after, the COB Cannon Wash boasts an 80-degree beam angle that can be reduced to 50-degree or 40-degree for use in a range of situations, while its dual yoke allows it to double as an up-light to produce vibrant wall washes. So, whatever the event or occasion, you aren’t limited in what your lightshow can achieve.

Much like the Dotz Par 100, the COB Cannon Wash gives you a range of operational modes to pick from. If it’s true programming flexibility you’re after, you have a DMX-Controlled mode that provides seven DMX channel options. The unit can also run in Sound Active or Stand-Alone mode; two simplified control options that make the most of some highly effective built-in programs.

Hopefully I’ve improved your knowledge of the ADJ range of COB products, while also clearing up some of the confusion surrounding this revolutionary technology! The power, versatility, compactness and creative freedom that it offers really does make our COB LED series ideal for lighting stages, dance-floors, seating areas, church halls and entertainment complexes. No matter what line of work you’re in, this means you can achieve professional quality lighting with unbeatable end results.

My advice? Embrace COB! You’ll find that this useful technology can keep your lightshow compact and affordable, while the extra power and improved color mixing that it allows make for heightened levels of pure lighting excitement.

To learn more about the ADJ Dotz Par 100, visit: http://www.adj.com/dotz-par-100

To learn more about the ADJ COB Cannon Wash, visit: http://www.adj.com/cob-cannon-wash

- Alfred Gonzales is the ADJ National Sales Manager  

For more information Contact ADJ:
U.S. Office - Tel: 800-322-6337/+1-323-582-2650 • Web: www.adj.com