Martin Mac Viper XIP Launched

For over three decades, Martin Professional has been at the forefront of the lighting industry, consistently delivering high-quality professional lighting equipment that sets the standard for innovation and performance.  Martin has once again raised the bar and unveiled the groundbreaking MAC Viper XIP lighting fixture, a testament to their dedication to excellence.  The highly anticipated next generation Viper is finally here.   

As the entertainment lighting industry continues to evolve and expand product offerings at an exponential pace, it often becomes difficult to pick winners, and choice overload amongst a sea of products becomes a real thing.  The most successful products tend to be ones that are able to demonstrate a jump in technology ahead of competitors, and offer some clear advantage.  This was true for the original Mac Viper back in 2012.  The Mac Viper jumped ahead of it's toughest competition at the time, the VL3000, by offering 20 percent more output, at 20 percent less power consumption.  The smaller form factor and a universal switching power supply were added bonuses that cemented the Mac Viper as the industry standard workhorse for the next decade, and thus became one of Martin's most successful products ever. 

The new Mac Viper XIP is squarely aimed at replacing it's predecessor.  In order to do that, the Martin created one of the most feature packed fixtures to date focusing on higher output, crisper optics, lower noise, and a lighter weight outdoor rated construction.  

Light is created by the Viper XIP from a 760W (55 x 20W) LED engine with a luminous output of 56,000 lumens, and a 28,000 lumen fixture output.  The new engine has a native color temp of 5800K, and the fixture is able to output whites from 1500-12000K.  The crisp white light sits right on the black body curve, and eliminates the need for any magenta or green correction.  This engine technology is the same found in the Mac Ultra line.  In addition, Martin claims that the new LED engine was designed and built to have industry leading longevity, with only 3-4% output loss at 30,000 hours.  Martin states there should be no need to replace the engine ever, as this rating will likely out live the fixture itself.

The 1:9 zoom optic train provides a stellar 5 degree high contrast beam, and is able to zoom out to a gapping 51 degrees to fill your stage.  Clean and clear gobo projection through out the zoom range is thanks to the elimination of stray light.  That stray light mitigation creates a more high contrast image.   Additionally, Martin has employed ceramic based phosphor LED technology instead of the silicon based LEDs found in most fixtures.  The advantage to the ceramic based phosphor LEDs is the ability to absorb reflected light from the gobos, and allow for the phosphor in the LEDs to get further excited and actually increase output.  Martin calls this "light recycling technology" and increases luminosity 20-25%. Traditional silicon LED engines are forced to reduce output while using gobos to prevent thermal damage.  This gives the Viper XIP a clear advantage in gobo projection, and delivers stunning bright patterns that pop, and can be zoomed out with exceptional output. 

Weight is a word that comes up during every lighting design discussion, which enviably results in designs getting compromised. The new Viper XIP is an arrow in the lighting designers quiver, coming in at a modest 81.1 lbs (36.8 kg), which is 4 lbs less that the Viper is replaces.  This is incredible considering the Viper XIP is an outdoor rated unit, with an IP54 rating.  The IP54 design philosophy was taken from the Aura XIP, which enables any weather outdoor protection, while keeping weight to an absolute minimum.  The head is not vacuum sealed, but rather takes in 5% of the overall fan airflow to eliminate condensation in the fixture. The remaining 95% is used to cool the engine.  Condensation, particularly in the optics train, is a common problem in vacuum sealed IP65 units.  By allowing flow, those worries are now gone.  In addition, the absence of a vacuum sealed head means that gobos are field replaceable, with no need to use specialized vacuum tools, or worrying about contaminating the internals.

Quiet on Set!  The new Mac Viper XIP delivers industry leading sound suppression at only 37.7 dB(A) in normal mode.  In fact, sound levels are in line with that of the super quiet Mac Encore, which is one the quietest in it's class.  Martin has always put sound suppression at a priority, which makes the Viper XIP use cases that much more diverse.  Martin has always done a great job at designing ported and ducted air flow channels to delivery air only to components that need it, instead of blowing vast volume across the whole unit. Users are also able to moderate output to achieve the desired sound levels as well for extreme cases. 

To further flex on is peers, the Mac Viper XIP houses the fastest color mixing system ever observed.  Color mix snaps are instantaneous, and almost imperceivable.  Color mixing has been modeled after the Mac Ultra line as well, so combining Viper XIP in with those units will be seamless.  A heavy frost is available throughout the zoom range, and when used with the shutters can handle any situation with the upmost control over the soft light.  We also get super smooth dimming down to zero, which is perfect for theatrical applications.  Pan and tilt is also class leading, and makes the Viper XIP worthy of considering for follow spot systems.  Also, Martin as announced the implementation of NFC technology which will enable fixtures settings to be read, altered, and then sent via Martin's new upcoming NFC app.  

It's obvious that Martin achieved all of the objectives they set out for.  A singular unit to demonstrate a leap in technology in order to secure a foothold as the next workhorse of the entertainment industry.  The Mac Viper XIP is born from a philosophy of excellence, innovation, quality, and remarkable execution.  Suddenly analysis paralysis subsides, the confused fog of product overload clears, and the winner is right in front of you.