Morpheus Lights, of Redding, CA and Las Vegas, introduced the XR2+™ and ColorFader3™EX at LDI 2006. The XR2+™ is a higher performance version of the company’s PanaBeam™XR2 automated wash luminaire, with peak output increased more than 80% over its predecessor. The ColorFader3™EX is an improvement to the patented ColorFader™ CYM color-mixing system that adds one, user-selectable, custom color frame to each of the three ColorFader™ filter scrolls. With its new Las Vegas office focused on serving the industrial and special event markets, Morpheus also unveiled a new, highly flexible fixture mounting system for its road proven 24” FlipBox™ truss, which will permit hanging up to six automated luminaires per 10’ section and greatly simplify pre-show preparation to improve on-site productivity.

“XR2+™ and ColorFader3™EX are evolutionary refinements of two of the best products in the industry,” says Paul Weller, managing partner of Morpheus. “Morpheus is committed to offering designers versatility and expanded control capability while incorporating easy-to-use functionality and proven reliability for technicians in the field.”

The improvement to the 24” FlipBox™ truss system was initiated by Morpheus’ COO, Mark Fetto, whose previous experience in both production management and rigging systems was invaluable. “FlipBox™ has long been the most efficient lighting truss in the touring market–loading in and out of venues faster than any other system,” says Fetto. “The improved mounting system reduces prep time in the shop and provides greater flexibility to adjust to changing requirements in the field–a critical capability for one-off production that the previous mounting system did not provide.”

The XR2+™ features the new MSR Gold 1200 FastFit lamp from Philips. The precision reflector system in the XR2+™ and smaller arc gap of the FastFit lamp combine to increase optical efficiency and dramatically improve fixture output–80% increase at peak and 60% on average across the field. The superior saturates produced by Morpheus’ patented dichroic CYM color-mixing technology become even more vibrant with the improved output.

“With this big increase in overall brightness and the extraordinary combination of extended range color mixing, beam shaping and unique motion control capabilities, the XR2+™ is clearly the premium 1200 wash luminaire on the market,” says Weller.

The new ColorFader3™EX version of Morpheus’ popular SFader3™ and MFader3™ units are enhanced by providing designers up to three frames of custom color per unit–one added to each standard ColorFader™ scroll. ColorFader3™EX units automatically detect the presence of the extended scroll during calibration and “compress” control of the standard ColorFader™ CYM scroll to allow positioning the custom frame at either the “head” or “tail” of the scroll.

Morpheus also demonstrated the ColorFader3™EX in a specialized application for fixtures that utilize non-dimmable Ceramic sources, such as the ARRI Studio Ceramic 250, DeSisti C.S.T. 250 F or ETC Source Four® HID PAR. Here the ColorFader3™EX was configured with a multiple dimming frames that could “dowse” the output of the Ceramic fixture while also providing full CYM color mixing.

24” FlipBox truss is now configured to mount up to six moving lights per 10’ section. This enables 120’ of truss and 72 automated luminaires to be shipped in just 10’ of truck space – with FlipBox™ truss stacked three high and four across. On site, 24” FlipBox™ is unmatched for quick and efficient set-up, eliminating the time and labor necessary to first assemble and float truss and then unpack and hang individual fixtures. FlipBox™ packaging also eliminates the need to store and retrieve empty fixture cases at show site and simplifies load-out with equivalent time and labor efficiencies.