From The Horse's Mouth

LEDs and video projection are two new technologies that are very popular with a lot of new products being released, almost seems  daily. Everybody is waiting for the ultimate fixture that is as bright and inexpensive as a standard incandescent fixture. It will happen someday but I think we are cheating ourselves a bit. Eventually, all theatre fixtures will be LED driven but that day is WAAAAAY off. Think about it, the development costs on the LED sourced fixtures have to be paid back somehow and a new LED fixture introduced today can be old technology within 6 months to a year at the speed of the developments. We should supplement our brighter incandescent fixtures with the dimmer LED versions to save setup times and create color mixing capabilities.

I saw an outdoor canopy covered performance space in Ft. Myers, Florida. They did a lot of community music group shows here.   The overhead lighting was done with LED fixtures permanently mounted in the rigging. They used Source Four ellipsoidals out front to add intensity to the shows. As I looked at the rig, I was impressed with how economical it was. Yes, they could replace those Source Fours with $2500 LED framing projectors but it was pretty easy to change the color on the Source Fours and drop patterns in them (Apollo, hopefully). I felt that this was very economical as LED washlights are very affordable nowadays and it gave the facility staff full color control and required very little prep time. Down the road, when LED framing spots are more affordable, they can upgrade that lighting position.
As you look to update the technology in your theatre’s lighting system, don’t think only LEDs regardless of cost. Think about what is available and affordable and finish the job as the technology becomes affordable. AND speaking of affordable, Apollo Design Technology offers two very affordable LED wash fixtures, the Multiform 1009 and the Multiform 1018. These are perfect for  indoor venues. Take a look at the at your local Apollo dealer!