You’ve heard me complain about the length of time it takes to update Astera fixtures.  None worse than the Nyx bulbs, which are both the most resistant and don’t have battery power.  I used to take a series of A lamp Y adapters and run them together to power as many at one time as I could, but I recently became aware of a better way.  The Astera D-tap Splitcable. 

Available on B and H for barely over $60, this thing is totally worth it because it powers 8 Nyx bulbs at a time.  The d-tap plugs into a V-mount or Gold-mount battery easily and will keep them powered for hours and hours.  Which, of course, you might actually need to get all eight updated.

I honestly have no idea if I’m the last person to know about this item.  Since I’ve only been in film for four years now and I have very limited interactions with the fixtures themselves, I find I’m clueless about accessories and things like this.  I write this in case I’m not the only one who didn’t know!

Not much else I can say.  Definitely a time saver and worth the money.  Of course, it would be better if I could buy an accessory that would make the Astera fixtures take an update the first time.  But apparently, that isn’t available at any price.

What’s your favorite “help me prep faster” accessories?  I’d LOVE to know, since I still have a lot to learn.

***

Mark LaPierre is a programmer in film and television based out of Albuquerque.  He grew up in live entertainment and has been a designer/programmer for musicals, concert dance, live music, circus and corporate.  Mark is a proud member of IATSE, an ETC Eos trainer and an enthusiastic trainer of many other platforms and subjects.  If you enjoy his content, please consider commenting on his posts on the website to appease the Algorithm.