Retro Roto: the Reinvention of the classic Helicopter effect

With four heads, 360-degree rotation and a sleek white exterior, ADJ’s Rotobeam 4 is an all-in-one retro Helicopter effect with a modern LED twist.

Years ago, lighting effects were motorized, bulky and limited in color, but in recent years ADJ has created a number of old-school effects with LED enhancements and modern, fresh looks. A perfect example is the new Rotobeam 4, which made its debut last month at DJ Expo 2014. It’s a fixture that draws on the classic motorized helicopter effect but offers an LED twist and a modern ‘jelly’ opaque outer casing, giving you the nostalgia of the old-school but also being ideal for application in the modern day world. And, from the reactions we received at DJ Expo and BPM/PRO 2014 earlier this month in Birmingham, UK, the Rotobeam 4 was a show attendee favorite on both sides of the Atlantic.

With 360-degree continuous rotation and four heads fitted with 3-watt LEDs in red, blue, green and white, you can achieve incredible spinning color beam effects – great for mounting high above the dance-floor to entertain crowds. More specifically, due to its white jelly-style casing, the Rotobeam 4 is ideal for all-white weddings; contrasting the sleek, all-white look by offering four colors – ideal for lighting the dance-floor or stage – and even fitting in when the unit is switched off and static. The new fixture is also great for use in venues where smoke and fog is prohibited, offering more of a dispersed ‘glow’ effect alongside the four light beams. Alternatively, with smoke and haze, the beams will look vibrant and defined, creating a mesmerizing patchwork of color effects for increased dance-floor energy.

When the fixture is in use it couldn’t be simpler to operate: thanks to in-built non-user-controllable programs, the beams will rotate and strobe to the beat of your music – you just ‘plug and play’. With no duty cycle, you can run the fixture all day and all night, for as long as you need it – ideal for late night bars and venues or all day weddings and events. For something a little more spectacular, you can always incorporate multiple Rotobeam 4s into your setup; using three fixtures, for instance, will provide twelve sharp color beams for a truly room-filling lightshow (no matter what the venue size), especially when the beams are rotating and strobing.

The Rotobeam 4 can stand upright but also features a hanging bracket, so you can easily mount it to a wall or truss, or hang it from a ceiling. Once mounted, you can use the separately sold ADJ UC-IR remote to select colors, activate strobing, adjust dimming, activate sound active mode, and control stand-by and full on, all from a position of your choosing. If you’re a mobile DJ you can control the Rotobeam 4 from the DJ booth while you work, it’s also perfect for transporting and storing away, weighing just 7 lbs./3kg. If you’re a lighting technician or venue owner, the unit can be controlled from the stage, sound booth, or even from behind the bar; and for stage productions and other performances, the remote allows easy control from the wings of the stage. Even houses of worship, with their white color schemes, could benefit from the Rotobeam 4: easily controlled from the stage side or the back of the congregation during musical performances, younger worshippers will enjoy the color and excitement offered by the fixture in their youth rooms, while its white exterior means it won’t stick out like a sore thumb when it’s not in use.

With its old-school helicopter look, modern jelly casing and LED color beams, the Rotobeam 4 is the perfect coming together of nostalgia and practicality; ideal for crafting pure lighting excitement for dance-floor crowds in clubs and bars or for stage performance audiences, while also remaining sleek but eye-catching due to its white exterior, changing color effects and strobing. What’s more, thanks to the separately sold UC-IR remote you can easily control the fixture no matter what your role in its use and no matter where in the venue you need to be situated.

A fun fixture capable of adapting itself to any lightshow, the Rotobeam 4 is an all-in-one retro lightshow; a simple and effective way of bringing color and movement to your venue or performance at an affordable and attractive price point.

The Rotobeam 4 will be available mid October from ADJ USA; available late October from ADJ Europe.

Check out the product demo video of the ADJ Rotobeam 4 here:

For more information Contact ADJ:
U.S. Office - Tel: 800-322-6337/+1-323-582-2650 • Web: www.adj.com