Martin with no surprises.

After the distant release of the Mac Quantum, which was definitely a revolution in the market, the Danish manufacturer went into stagnation mode. Only after the pandemic did something seem to vibrate, and Martin started hitting jackpots again.

From my perspective, this year has been more about pumping up the Aura XIP and Mac ONE, rather than some shocking news. I won't lie - both devices were a hit, again, quality, price and capabilities conquered the market segment. However, that was two years ago, and this year in the mid-budget rentals, to put it mildly, it blows boring.

Mac Viper XIP

This is the first and only big setting we got this year from Martin. Quite pumped up and awaited with excitement. A fixture of the Profile type, which I would pick up in the TV/Theatre/Large productions category rather than rental, due to its size and weight.

Equipped with a 760W LED engine consisting of 55x20W white LEDs, it generates a luminous flux of 56,000 lumens. Of course, as befits a thoroughbred profile, we won't be short of clipping blades, two gobo disks, prism effects, soft and hard frost, or motorized zoom and focus operation.

What distinguishes it from its predecessor, in addition to the change of the source to an energy-efficient one, is certainly the use of Martin's "XIP" airtightness class. - which we all know very well by now and know that it performs well even in the worst weather.

In addition, I eyewitnessed how this marvel behaves in 10%-0 dimming and, as the classic says, "is impressive". We wrote a little more about it here.

Expansion of the VDO Sceptron series

This is a series of LED strips that are hard to classify into one group due to their flexibility of accessories. Pixel LED strips are available in two length variants - 320mm and 1000mm. An interchangeable front bezel, available in different shapes, provides a variable angle of illumination.

The XB version unveiled at LDI reportedly offers 3x the output of the now-discontinued "10" version, and there were several new accessories.

The strip is theoretically aimed at everyone. Due to its wide range of mounting accessories and IP65 water resistance rating, it is suitable for both permanent installations and everyday use as an effect strip.

The downside of the Sceptron series (including the XB) is the configuration for control. In its simplest configuration, it requires a P3 PowerPort and a computer with P3 or Companion software to run and configure the device. On the other hand, the signal and power are fed through a single dedicated cable.

Companion Mobile

All in all, such a curiosity for die-hard Martin users. That is, Companion software in the form of a smartphone application.

Through the NFC communication protocol, we can connect to our favorite devices from the Danish manufacturer. In this way we can easily diagnose or configure our device.

As I dropped the tedium at the beginning, one thing you have to give Martin credit for. It is betting very hard on the development of its media servers, and device communication systems. In terms of compatibility, they are second to none. As if you had only new fixtures from Martin in your company, you would easily do wonders with P3.

When will Quantum 2 be available? I don't know, I'm waiting too.