Astera launches PixelBrick

Wireless LED lighting company Astera adds another dimension to its expanding portfolio of lighting products – the PixelBrick.  

This hugely flexible luminaire is a truly multi-functional light source with the power and finesse of Astera’s famous Titan LED engine coupled with the practicality of its popular AX3 LightDrop product, all in a completely new and fully adaptable housing. 

Perfect for concerts, events, filming, or broadcast scenarios, PixelBrick is compact, light (1.1kg) and exceptionally handy as an up-lighter like an AX3 – or it can be hung anywhere and become a universal light for accenting and texturing buildings or facades. For exterior use, it is IP65 rated and therefore resistant to rain and other elements. 

The PixelBrick has 450 Lumens and 1200 Lux at 2 metres – both at 3200K and can also be used like a PAR as a general-purpose fixture complete with a bracket.  

PixelBricks can be easily joined together and built into an impressive array of geometric shapes and clusters. With the help of adjustable connectors, shapes like circles, hearts, numbers, etc. plus other illuminated scenic pieces or signage can be created. These can be used in a plethora of contexts, like performance spaces, on live events, on location or in the studio for film projects and photo shoots. 

The lights can be arranged in matrix patterns or as numbers and letters spelling out a name, a word or a tag, and they can be pixel-mapped to produce yet more stunning effects. The combination of the punchy and infinitely usable LED light source and wireless control is a solution for many aspects of a stage or an event space.  

Diffuser Domes are available to switch the PixelBrick beams to softer eye-and-camera-candy effects and ‘pixel’ looks. 

PixelBricks are physically interconnected via a bespoke engineered track system on all four sides which gives maximum scope for creativity. These tracks can also be used to mount airline track accessories like TrackPin, Hangar, Handle, etc., and brackets can be mounted to the PixelBrick using the same track system. 

The Titan LED engine is robust and proven technology with great reliability, and the fixtures have an onboard battery pack offering five hours of full-brightness operation. Other major features include RGB Mint Amber for creating stunning colours – from the richest saturates to the most delicate pastels – authentic white tones from 1,750 – 20,000 K and an impressive CRI & TLCI of 96 or above.  

Several different beam options are available. The fixture’s native 13-degree angle can be customised with the use of a 17-degree diffuser for a soft-light effect or a 30-degree flood filter to enable smooth coverage of larger surfaces and areas. 

The PixelBricks can be wirelessly controlled via the inbuilt LumenRadio CRMX DMX receiver and the units can also be run via wired DMX through an Astera PowerBox. Up to four PixelBricks can be daisy-chained using a single power / data combination cable, and units are compatible with the Titan PowerBox.  

Additionally, the AsteraApp can be used for local control, either via the ART7 AsteraBox or by directly connecting the PixelBrick fixtures to the App when ART7 is not being used. 

The rear panel display has dedicated buttons for brightness and colour adjustment, just like the Titan Series tubes, for super fast tweaking when running in stand-alone mode. 

A handy PixelBrick set of 8 units is available from Astera, complete with filters, a PowerBox charging flightcase complete with cables and connectors. The PowerBox can be used for in-case charging and to wire the lights – power and data over a single cable – for longer installations. 

Astera sales director Sebastian Bückle stated, “We are really excited to bring this ultra-adaptable light that can be used for a zillion different occasions to the market. I think our customers will have plenty of fun with PixelBrick and use it imaginatively, discovering many previously impossible ways to light people, objects and environments!”