Wireless LED lighting specialist Astera launches a new accessory – the RuntimeExtender – an invaluable ‘battery plate’ tool for lighting techs working with Astera products in all sectors including live shows and events.
RuntimeExtender is compatible with most Astera products – Titan, Helios & Hyperion Tubes, HydraPanel, PixelBrick, etc – and allows connection to an external battery so spare camera batteries can be used to power the Astera units in situations where the internal batteries might run out e.g., protracted shoots, longer running events where longer than standard run times are required for the lights. This could be on video shoots, live or streaming / hybrid events and conferences, and especially when some Astera fixtures might be positioned in inaccessible and challenging places.
When the connected lights are running at low level or switched off, the internal battery will also be recharging from this connection, allowing batteries to be swapped during the shoot so the lights can be used indefinitely.
The most common camera batteries are currently the V-Mount battery and in some regions, the Gold Mount battery, so Astera RuntimeExtender is offered in two versions for customers to choose either of these two options. V-Mount and Gold Mount batteries are available in different voltages, so the RuntimeExtender supports two popular battery types, 14.4V and 26V. Any Wh (Watt Hour) capacity battery works with Astera fixtures including units just below 100Wh which can be checked in to an airplane hold.
The batteries can be connected via the Astera power/data cable which most customers will already have, and Astera now has a 1.5m cable which is included in the RuntimeExtender kit.
All Astera’s 24 VDC lights are supported, and the RuntimeExtender is rated to 24V 100W shared between two DC outputs enabling one RuntimeExtender to power one Hyperion Tube and two Titan or Helios Tubes (each connected to one DC output) or four HydraPanels or four PixelBricks daisy-chained and connected to one or two DC outputs.
A third 3-pin XLR socket with an unregulated output that passes on the voltage of the battery makes it future-proof for products that Astera might yet launch potentially with a different voltage. While in the event world, the 3-pin XLR is sometimes used for data distribution, in the film industry it has become a standard to distribute power through this socket.
As always, Astera has put serious effort into making RuntimeExtender easy and straightforward to mount. It uses the same handy and highly practical AirlineTrack rail as PixelBrick on two sides for a swift slide-in of the included HexConnect accessory with integrated Babypin that allows mounting into a super-clamp whilst locking the rotation. BrickConnect can be used to connect 2 RuntimeExenders together back-to-back for larger setups, and utilizing AirlineTrack, many other mounting accessories from Astera can also be connected.
Astera offers one of their famous ‘Kit’ packages for Runtime Extender containing everything needed for site, venue, and stage. Included are four RuntimeExtenders, HexConnectors, BrickConnects and 1.5m DC cables plus four Clamps to mount with the HexConnect. Two Kit versions are currently available with four V-Mount or with four Gold Mount RuntimeExtenders, dovetailing perfectly with the industry standard 8-way Titan Tube kits that are in use and ubiquitous worldwide.
