FUTURETECH Featuring ACME Lighting - ACME Hyperzone Redefines the Wash-Beam

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All right, welcome back to
Geezers of Gear, Future Tech

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Chris here as always.
And today, Lacey and I are

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diving right into something
that's definitely stirring the

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pot on the show floor, the Acme
Hyperzone.

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It's, well, it's genuinely got
folks talking in the wash beam

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crowd.
Lacey, when you see seven X 150

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WRGBLLED S, does that number
actually mean anything to you?

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Or does it just feel like, I
don't know, tech gobbledygook?

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Yeah.
You know, I looked at that and

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sort of thought, wow, is that
good?

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But then you mentioned it's
pushing out 19.500 lumens, so

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now I know that's a whole lot of
light.

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It's really bright.
But seriously, RGBL is red,

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green, blue and lime, right?
What's the lime for?

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Yes.
Spot on.

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The L is lime.
It gets you better color,

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rendering A richer palette, and
it honestly fills in gaps where

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traditional RGB falls a little
flat.

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So at 90 to 500 lumens you've
got proper punch for big stages,

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even in a festival setup.
Midday direct sunlight sort of

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thing, and the LED lifespans
rated at 20,000 hours, which,

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you know, honestly, that'll
outlast most pop bands these

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days.
Well, perhaps I shouldn't say

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that, but you get the point.
It's solid.

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Yeah, And I was watching a demo.
This fixture does that whole

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variable beam and field angle
thing, like 3° up to 32 or a

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field angle pushing what, 45°?
Is that the tightest and widest

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range you've seen for a light
like this?

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It's actually really impressive.
Yeah, with three degrees on the

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tight end, it's a beam.
Think razor focused, proper

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aerial effects or cutting
through all the haze.

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But open it to 45 and you're
into full washed territory.

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You can do big field covers or
soft backgrounds, all with the

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same unit.
That's the kind of versatility

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that designers drool over.
Honestly.

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You don't have to swap out half
your rig for a totally different

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look.
And let's talk about the weather

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proofing IP66, right?
With IP66 like the hyperzone

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that's sealed up tight, you just
keep going.

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Minimal maintenance.
I think at this point weather

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resistance is non negotiable.
If you're not building for rain,

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you're building for disaster.
I mean, you'd think everyone

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would have learned by now, but
some companies are still selling

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stuff that's basically allergic
to drizzle.

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So is this the new standard
then?

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IP66, quick pan, tilt, all those
robust specs.

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Yeah, honestly, anyone not doing
this is getting left behind.

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Fast, precise movement.
This thing's got 540° pan and

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210° tilt.
Automatic correction if someone

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bumps it.
It's engineered for modern shows

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where it might live outdoors for
weeks on end.

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But it's not just brute force
hardware.

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The bit that as a programmer
gets me excited.

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This thing supports DMX 52 RDM,
Artnet, SACN 4, DMX protocol

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modes.
That's flexibility right there.

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If you're running a big house
system or jumping onto someone

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else's control setup, you can
talk to just about anything.

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See, this is where I get a
little lost.

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Like all those acronyms.
What's the point of having so

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many ways to control the light?
Isn't DMX enough?

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Great question actually.
DMX is classic, but the other

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protocols are net SACN.
They're network based, faster,

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can handle more fixtures, more
complex data.

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When you're pixel mapping or
pulling tricks with hundreds of

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heads you don't want
bottlenecks.

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Plus with RDM your desk can
query the fixture.

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Hey you alive, what's your
address?

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Makes troubleshooting so so much
easier, especially on festival

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builds when time's tight.
OK, that helps me a lot.

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Each LED can be individually
controlled.

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You can run chases, sweep
colours, whatever you want right

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across the fixture without
having to move anything.

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Built in macros mean designers
can drop a look in, tweak it a

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bit and move on.
It's a huge time saver.

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So what about those firmware
updates and dimming curves?

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You can upgrade the hyperzone
via DMX or USB and I think it's

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got 4 user selectable dimming
curves.

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Why do those matter in the grind
of a real show?

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Honestly that's massive on a
modern gig.

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If you want to change the dimmer
response, maybe you're matching

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old tungsten rigs, maybe you
want a sharper snap for EDM.

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Pick your dimming curve and
quick firmware updates means

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bugs can be fixed on site or new
features dropped in without.

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Packing it up for a week save so
much headache.

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But you do have to balance all
this cool tech with rehearsal

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time.
If the tools are too

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complicated, you might not get
to use them all.

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Ease of use counts.
There are times you want simple

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straight up control.
Just fade in, fade out.

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Queues hit every time.
As we talked about in some of

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those rental episodes,
reliability is as important as

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features.
Yeah, totally.

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I mean, quick rehearsal always
wins.

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Cool features are useless if
nobody can figure them out

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before doors.
So I guess it's about

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flexibility without
overcomplicating things, right?

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Absolutely.
If you want the tech to fade

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into the background and just let
the show run smooth, you need

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both power and simplicity.
Balance is key.

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Now here's the real question for
Cruise How beastly is this thing

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to load in and move?
It weighs in at 26.4 kilos,

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which OK, not feather light, but
I guess that's because it's

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built solid, right?
Yeah, so 26 point 4K is

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definitely chunky, but it's the
kind of sturdy you've got to

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have for outdoor tours.
Waterproof everything, power

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data.
The lot is such a game changer,

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and the included flight case
options are well thought out.

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You've got a 2 pack standard and
a three pack for North American

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tours.
Rolled up, locked down,

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protected.
Job done.

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And accessories.
I actually looked through the

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list this time.
Omega brackets, clamps, safety

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cables, even special waterproof
XLR cables which honestly is a

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lifesaver if you've ever tried
to find a dry connection during

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a rain load in.
You'd be amazed how many times

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people forget waterproof cables
even matter and then wonder why

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they're chasing intermittent
signal failures all night.

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I remember this one fest maybe
reading.

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We were all ready to go except
someone had nicked 1 signal

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cable from the truck.
Just one.

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And it was the waterproof one we
needed for the rigs only outdoor

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run.
Panic everywhere.

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Rummaging through every kit box.
Almost missed the downbeat

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moral.
Always carry a spare of the

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weird stuff, not just the usual
3 pin XLR.

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Oh for sure, I always say don't
just toss your cables in a bin

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and hope for the best.
Little zippered pouches man.

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Label them, color, codem,
whatever works.

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It's the difference between a
relaxed crew and that frantic

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pre show meltdown.
And half the time you're dealing

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with flight cases that could
double as fridges.

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They're massive, but if it keeps
the gear kicking after 8 cities

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I'll take it.
That's it.

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The bottom line Hyperzone's
thought about build quality and

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touring needs not just show off
specs for crews.

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That's everything.
Good prep, right accessories,

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and you're golden.
Absolutely.

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All right.
That's the rundown on the Acme

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Hyperzone, why it stands out and
how it fits with what crews

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actually need out there.
Chris, thanks for nerding out

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with me as usual.
My pleasure, Lacey, always fun

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to unpack what's under the hood.
And thanks to everyone for

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joining us yet again on Geezers
of Gear Future Tech Keep those

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questions and stories coming and
don't forget there's always more

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gear just around the corner.
See you next episode take.

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Care, Chris, see you next time.