Quasar Tube

From Garage Innovation to Set Staple

Quasar Science, the company behind the eponymous tubes, has a history rooted in the practical realities of on-set lighting. Founded by a group of Hollywood gaffers and lighting technicians, the company’s first products were born out of a direct need for better, more efficient, and color-accurate light sources. They began by retrofitting existing fluorescent tube housings with their own custom LED technology, a process they called ‘re-lamping’. This solved many of the problems with traditional fluorescents, such as flicker, color inconsistency, and the need for bulky ballasts. This origin story—of tools designed by the very people who use them—is central to the brand’s identity and design philosophy. Their products are known for their ruggedness, simplicity, and, most importantly, their exceptional color science.

Product Lines and Features

Quasar Science offers a range of LED tube products tailored to different needs on set. While they now produce advanced pixel tubes, their reputation was built on simpler, incredibly effective lights:

• X-Crossfade Series: These were the workhorse bi-color tubes that established the brand. They allowed for smooth, flicker-free dimming and could ‘crossfade’ their color temperature anywhere between tungsten (~3200K) and daylight (~5600K) using a simple onboard dial. Their simplicity and reliability made them a favorite for gaffers.
• Q-Lion Series: A line of smaller, battery-powered bi-color tubes with integrated lithium-ion batteries. Their portability and magnetic backs make them perfect for rigging in tight spaces like car interiors or for quickly adding a touch of light exactly where it’s needed.
• Rainbow 2 & Double Rainbow: These are Quasar’s entries into the RGBX pixel tube market. The ‘X’ in their RGBX color engine signifies the inclusion of additional color diodes beyond the standard red, green, and blue, which work in tandem with high-quality white light emitters. This allows the tubes to produce a wider gamut of saturated colors while also creating spectrally-accurate white light, a critical factor for rendering skin tones faithfully. These tubes offer granular pixel control and advanced connectivity options like wireless DMX.

Across all their products, Quasar emphasizes color quality, consistently delivering high CRI (Color Rendering Index) and TLCI (Television Lighting Consistency Index) scores, ensuring that the colors seen by the camera are true to life.

Quasar vs. The Competition

In the professional lighting world, the primary competitor to Quasar Science is Astera, particularly in the pixel tube space. The choice between them often comes down to workflow preference and specific needs.

• Astera is widely praised for its highly integrated ecosystem, particularly its intuitive mobile app (AsteraApp) and its clever charging cases that double as programming hubs. Their emphasis on battery power and wireless control has made them a dominant force.
• Quasar, on the other hand, is often lauded by gaffers and cinematographers for its superior color science and the robustness of its fixtures. Many professionals feel that Quasar’s RGBX engine produces a more nuanced and accurate spectrum of color. Their system also provides more granular, industry-standard data ports for wired DMX and Ethernet control, appealing to technicians who require maximum reliability.

Ultimately, both brands produce top-tier, professional tools. The prevalence of both on film sets is a testament to their respective strengths, with many lighting packages containing a mix of tubes from both manufacturers.