Dimming

There are many schools of thought on dimming.  Some lighting designers use full power fixtures only, and add gel to control light.  This approach is often adopted in applications where very tight budget control is required, and the studio is used only infrequently.  Most of the equipment sold by KW/2 PrimeTime Lighting,however, utilizes dimming controls which provide much better lighting balance than the gel alternative.

KW/2 PrimeTime offers four dimming control styles: DIM, DAN, DNR and DMX.

• DIM fixtures offer standard line voltage dimming.This dimming style varies light output intensity in response to changes in power voltage.  120V is full intensity; 108V is 90% intensity, etc.  This dimming style is normally used only in older studio refits to match existing triac equipment.
  
  
• DMX fixtures utilize DMX, a digital language used by the entertainment industry, which is a serial digital signal that can be daisy chained from unit to unit. Each fixture is assigned an address.  DMX is frequently used in larger studios and sound stages to reduce the number of control wires.  Full DMX single channel control is relatively expensive.
  
  
• The most popular small studio dimming styles are DAN and DNR.  These styles control intensity in response to a 0-10VDC signal.  Typically, a DMX slider board is connected to a decoder.  The decoder provides 8 channels of 0-10VDC signal.  DAN and DNR are similar to this point, now let me explain the difference.
  
  
• DNR fixtures turn off at low signals, DAN units do not.  The DNR fixture is the most popular dimming style fixture we sell.  DNR allows “fade to black,” and conveniently allows your DMX slider board to dim the fixtures, as well as to turn them on and off.  DAN units will not “fade to black,” so the choice of one versus the other depends upon your client’s application.  The convenience of being able to “fade to black” carries a modest incremental cost ($125 to $225) for the DNR fixture in comparison to the DAN fixture.
  

The DAN (0-10V signal, turns off at switch on each fixture) or the DNR (0-10V, turns off at low slider position on a DMX dimmer OR at the fixture itself) fixtures are wired with a DMX cable run  between the slider board and the decoder.  One BNC cable per fixture (included in price) attaches to the decoder box.  This star control wiring (vs. daisy chain for DMX) does add a control cable to the equipment list ($75); however both the fixture and wiring costs are substantially less.  Both options include a 10ft BNC cable per fixture. 

We do not make sliders or decoders, but can supply Dove dimming equipment as a convenience for our customers and dealers if they prefer one-stop shopping.  The 8-channel decoder lists for $445, and a DMX slider board would list for $795.  A 25ft DMX cable to connect the two is the only other requirement, at a list price of $75.