Sept. 23, 2025

FUTURETECH Featuring ETC - Brighter Ideas in Architectural Lighting

FUTURETECH Featuring ETC - Brighter Ideas in Architectural Lighting

Chris and Lacy discuss ETC's latest additions to their architectural lighting portfolio, three high-output display luminaires redefining how spaces are illuminated. They explore key features, new mounting and control options, and where these fixtures shine in real-world applications.

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Welcome back to Geezers of Gear,
Future Tech Chris here, and of

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course, Lacey's with me.
As always, we've got a good one

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today, especially for you folks
who are into architectural

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lighting.
Though honestly, who isn't?

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At least a little bit?
So Lacey ETC's rolled out not

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one, but three new display
fixtures for their architectural

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range.
We've got the Iridium FPZ Plus,

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WLZ Plus, and the ever iconic
source for Mini LED Plus.

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All three just dropped and
apparently they're much, much

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brighter than the originals.
Yeah, I feel like ETC has really

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leaned into the whole brighter
is better philosophy, which,

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honestly, when you're lighting a
massive lobby or those cavernous

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museum spaces, is kind of
exactly what you want.

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But Chris, I have to ask, when
they say dramatic boost and

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output, are we talking like a
little boost or are these going

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to burn retinas if you point
them the wrong way?

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Ha, thankfully no one's getting
blinded just walking past a

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painting, but these are
substantial jumps.

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Take the Iridium FPZ Plus.
It cranks out 1600 lumens, which

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is properly brighter than the
standard version.

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The WLZ Plus is even more up to
2600 lumens.

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So if you're after punchy beams
or a really soft wash in a space

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that needs it, they've got you
covered.

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And all three fits straight onto
235 E track using one track by U

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track.
Now, finally, which is big for

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installs in Europe or anywhere
with that voltage.

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That's super useful and I
noticed the source 4 mini LED

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plus is only like 9 inches long
now.

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That's tiny.
You could pretty much tuck it

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into any corner way easier when
you're fighting with weird

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ceiling lines or those display
cabinets that just do not play

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nice with bigger fixtures.
Yeah, the mini's always been a

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favorite for that reason, but
now it's been completely

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reworked for architectural use,
better optics, and even brighter

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field.
Genuinely, I remember lighting

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this tiny museum exhibit way
back.

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Had to wrangle a mini onto one
of those ancient tracks.

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The old ones struggled in high
ambient spaces.

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These plus versions would have
given us so much more

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flexibility, Brighter, prettier
images and choices for how you

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hang them.
Makes me a little jealous of

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folks doing installs now, not
going to lie.

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And it's not just about sticking
them on the track and calling it

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a day.
These come with what, both DMX

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and daily control options,
right?

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I saw the mention about F Drive
2 for people like me, to be

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honest, who always mixed up
control systems, why does that

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matter so much?
And Chris, can you walk me

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through this whole daylight
thing?

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Because I always hear designers
getting way too excited about

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remote drivers in these
projects.

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Sure.
Yeah.

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So DMX is kind of the industry
workhorse, stage events,

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installations, basically
everywhere we came up in the

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live world.
But Dali's a bit more tailored

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to architectural settings.
It's sort of think addressable

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smart building stuff.
You can control loads of

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fixtures individually, dim them,
automate scenes all via a single

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two wire bus instead of those
massive DMX universes.

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A lot more granular now with
these fixtures.

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Daily support means you can drop
them right into an architectural

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ecosystem with all the bells and
whistles.

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And with F Drive, that's ET CS
centralized remote driver

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system, you've got even more
flexibility.

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Stick your drivers in a rack
somewhere accessible, run low

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voltage lines, and managing or
servicing the installs is much

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easier.
Building on what we talked about

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back in the F Drive RX episode,
you can see how this streamlines

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things for big, complex
buildings.

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I get it.
So the fixers talk to the track

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and driver with whatever
protocol matches the job.

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Makes sense.
And color wise you're still

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getting the big picks. 2700 K up
to 5000 K and both 80 and 90

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CRI.
So like if you're in a gallery

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and colour pop is everything, or
you're doing a hotel bar and

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want that warmer white.
It's flexible.

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Precisely.
If you're in a gallery and need

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true colour accuracy, say
showing paintings or textiles,

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the high CRI, especially the
Gallery 90 option, is what you

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want.
It's almost mandatory for a

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proper art reveal, and in retail
or hospitality you can still go

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for the softer ambient vibes or
crank it up for high visibility,

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all with just the right fixture.
Everything's modular control

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color track, and it really means
designers aren't boxed in.

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And that flexibility kind of
leads us straight into where

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these actually shine, pun fully
intended.

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These three from what ET CS
putting out, seem aimed straight

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at museums, fancy lobbies, maybe
high end retail.

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Like, where do you see them
doing their thing, Chris?

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Absolutely all the above museums
for sure, especially with that

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beam control from the FPZ Plus.
You can frame artwork precisely,

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keep spill off the floor or
adjust the spread for changing

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exhibits.
The WLZ Plus is brilliant for

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filling large lobby areas with
soft, welcoming light.

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Think washes but more refined.
And the Mini LED Plus it's

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genuinely perfect for tight
spaces.

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Those display nooks tricky
angles in a window display or

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little alcoves where a big
fixture just won't go, but you

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still get proper even
illumination and sharp

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projection if you need it.
Yeah so I had this hotel grand

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opening gig a while ago and the
lobby had these awkward little

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overhangs everywhere.
Never enough room for real

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fixtures and the last thing you
want is a light just blinding

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someone at the check in desk.
I remember chasing the

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maintenance guy trying to figure
out track adapters, praying we

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didn't fry the system.
I'm just thinking having those

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mini LED pluses, especially with
the right mounting and real nice

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field would have made my life a
heck of a lot easier.

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Drop them in, pick the colour
temp you want and control it how

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the architect wants done.
It's that exact pick your

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adventure approach, right?
So many mounting colour and

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control possibilities without
compromising on the actual light

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quality.
If you're retrofitting new

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build, museum or boutique hotel,
there's something here for you.

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ETC's really just made these
tools a whole lot more

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adaptable.
We're going to see these pop up

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everywhere, I think.
And honestly, every time these

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companies make it a bit easier
for us, it's one less thing to

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lose sleep over.
I'm all for it.

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All right, that's a wrap for
this week's brighter ideas and

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architectural lighting.
Thanks for hanging with us,

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Chris, and thanks to everyone
listening.

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Next time maybe we'll dive into
some eye popping outdoor kit.

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Sounds good to me Laci, can't
wait.

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Cheers and see you all next time
on Geezers of Gear Future Tech

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take care.
Bye everyone.

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Future tech is here.
Come on man, you make the specs

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so clear.
Oh La La with music to your

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ears.
Hey, hey.

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Yeah, let's go.
New gear vibes, new tech jive

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gear hits you night.
We keep it live.

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Oh yeah, the latest gear.