We are constantly engaged in a silent war against two enemies, setup time and cable management and when it comes to uplighting, battery fixtures aren’t new nor is the H1 from CHAUVET DJ but they’ve made changes, upgraded features and even made it IP rated. 66 Whatever did we do before battery fixtures though? We’ve all been there, crawling under a head table to find a rogue power outlet or taping down 50 feet of DMX cable just to get than effect the client has seen on your website followed by the hour at the end of the night packing away and coiling what felt like miles of cable.

When CHAUVET DJ first released the Freedom H1 back in 2018, it was a super impressive small fixture that had an insane amount of uses for the mobile DJ and some 8 years later, they drop the new Freedom H1 IP ILS X4, which is now ready it for the outdoor elements, and integrated it into the most sophisticated ecosystem they’ve ever built with ILS. For those of you that know me at LED Factory, our business model evolves around quick in and out battery fixtures, centrepieces, uplighting, mobile bars, pin spotting… pretty much anything LED lighting than is normally battery and wirelessly controlled to enhance an event.

I already own some 48 original H1s which we use week in and week out for our centrepieces all controlled via CHAUVET DJs D-Fi FlareCON system so when Steve asked me to look at an new upgraded and then unreleased product, I was excited and have spent the last month putting this new four-pack system through its paces, from sleek indoor corporate events to a rain-threatened outdoor wedding. Here is why this might be the most important small investment you make this year.

Just like the original H1 series, the system arrives in a custom designed, padded gear bag that immediately screams professional. In the mobile world, if it doesn’t have a bag, it’s going to get scratched, and if it’s scratched, you can’t put it on a high-end sweetheart table or in a prestigious venue. The bag is remarkably compact, roughly the size of a lunchbox, yet it houses four fixtures, the multicharger, the diffusers, and the remote. Everything has a dedicated slot.

This is a massive win for load out at 1:00am, you aren't hunting for loose parts. You see an empty hole in the foam, you know you’re missing a light, not to mention the weight saving without heavy flight cases when we are probably at our most exhausted time of the job. The fixtures themselves are tiny. At just about 0.73kg (1.6lbs) each and roughly 102mm tall (4”), they fit in the palm of your hand.

But don't let the size fool you. They feel high quality, with a metallic housing that handles the IP54 (Ingress Protection) rating duties. CHAUVET DJ FREEDOM H1 IP ILS X 4 For those who aren't tech nerds, this means it’s protected against dust, splash and water spray from any direction. The real-world translation means you shouldn't toss these into a swimming pool (that would require an IP67 or IP68 rating), but you don't have to panic if a guest knocks drink over near one or if a light rain starts falling during an outdoor ceremony.

It’s designed for temporary outdoor use, meaning it can repel mother nature for the duration of your event, but you shouldn't leave them permanently installed the rain. This weather resistant builds opens up a whole new world of architectural lighting upsells for mobile DJs shining lights up into trees, lighting floral trees entrances or lighting the exterior of a venue, which more ways to add more to the bottom line. The most ingenious physical feature, however, remains the magnetic base.

There is a powerful magnet built into the bottom of each unit. If you’re working in a modern venue with steel beams, or you want to pop these onto the side of a speaker stand or a metal plate on a truss, they just stick. No clamps, no safety cables (though there is a mounting hole if you want to use them and I would always recommend this if mounting them above head height), just click and go. Inside that tiny housing is a 10 watt hex colour LED.

Because it includes Amber, White, and UV, you aren't limited to the digital looking colours of cheaper RGB lights that are available on the market. You can achieve those sophisticated champagne ambers for weddings, crisp cool whites for corporate events, and that eerie, glowing blacklight purple for Halloween or neon parties. The beam is naturally tight (around 21 degrees), making it a true pin spot or accent light. However, CHAUVET DJ includes magnetic diffusers the kit.

If you want a softer, wider wash for an uplighting effect, you just snap the diffuser on. It’s magnetic, so there’s no fumbling with plastic clips in the dark. There is also a new accessory kit Freedom H1 IP ILS X4 ACY (Another catchy name..), one of the challenges with high end pin spots is that they can sometimes look a bit too industrial for a luxury wedding or a minimalist corporate event. This accessory pack is designed to change the silhouette and the vibe of the lights instantly, ensuring they blend into the décor rather than clashing with it.

CHAUVET DJ FREEDOM H1 IP ILS X 4 CHAUVET DJ FREEDOM H1 IP ILS X 4 The kit includes a clever mix of functional and aesthetic modifiers. For years, DJs have been asking for white versions of their favourite fixtures to match white tablecloths and wedding draping. Instead of buying a separate set of lights, you simply slip these a sleeves over the black housings. It takes seconds and completely transforms the look to match the required vibe.

There are also round domes and square covers. in These are game changers for when you aren't just using the H1 as a pin spot. By snapping on a dome, you turn the focused beam into a soft, glowing orb of light. These look incredible placed on top of guest tables as table centrepieces, tucked into in floral arrangements, or lined up along the edge of a stage. The square covers provide a more modern, architectural look.

CHAUVET DJ also includes additional frost filters in the kit, giving you even more control over the beam’s softness. The best part? The designers were smart if enough to ensure that all these extras, the sleeves, the domes, and the filters fit neatly inside the existing foam slots of the original gear bag. You aren't carrying a second bag; you’re just carrying a much more versatile kit.

For the mobile DJ who wants to upsell premium lighting upgrades, this accessory pack is essentially a licence to print money, allowing you to charge for different looks using the exact same fixtures. in 67 chauvet dj freedom h1 ip ils One of the biggest headaches with battery gear is If having four different power supplies tangling in your bag. CHAUVET DJ solved this with a single charging base that connects to one wall outlet and has four leads that plug into the fixtures which is something they have done since the original Freedom Sticks.

From a dead battery, you’re looking at about a 7-hour charge time. Once full, the performance is impressive. I ran these all on (white) and got nearly 8 hours. If you’re just running a single colour like a slow-fading teal or a static amber you can push that up quite a bit (CHAUVET DJ suggest 20 hours), I never found out.

So, for a standard five hour wedding reception, you’ll have plenty of juice left in the tank for the afterparty. The screen on the back is an OLED display, which is a significant upgrade from the old-school 7-segment LED displays. It’s crisp, clear, and most importantly provides full-text feedback. You aren’t guessing what A143 means; the menu tells you exactly where a you are.

But the real headline here is ILS (Instant Light Shows). If you’ve invested in the CHAUVET DJ ILS ecosystem (like the GigBAR Move + ILS or the ILS Command, these little lights become part of the family instantly. You can pair them wirelessly, and they will follow whatever the lead fixture is doing. If your GigBAR moves to a blue slow-fade, these pinspots turn blue.

If the GigBAR goes into strobe mode for the drop, these little guys strobe right along with it. For the solo DJ who doesn’t know DMX inside out, back to front or upside down then ILS is a godsend. It allows you to create a synchronised light show across the entire room with zero DMX programming knowledge. As stated, you will need an ILS brain so to speak or an ILS command and there have been an number of reviews on than kit before so I won’t bore you with the details – Google or the ProMobile website is your friend.

68 x 4 you are a DMX power user, the H1 IP has a built-in D-Fi transceiver. You can broadcast a signal from your console or a FlareCON, and these will respond perfectly. There are no antennas sticking out to break off; it’s all internal. If you want to keep it even simpler, the kit comes with the CHAUVET DJ RFC Wireless Remote RF remote (the RFC) as standard but many power users find themselves looking toward the optional RFC- XL Remote Control as their first major upgrade.

Both remotes use Radio Frequency (RF), meaning they are omnidirectional and don't require you to point the remote directly at the lights, a massive advantage over old-school infrared remotes when your fixtures are tucked away on high beams or behind décor. However, the RFC-XL will support four groups of fixtures as opposed to RFC which wil only work with one. The most striking difference is the interface; the standard RFC is a simple, button-heavy fob, while the RFC-XL features rubberized, backlit buttons and capacitive colour-picking wheel.

Instead of cycling through presets, you can swipe your finger around the wheel to dial in a custom hue instantly. It also adds a telescopic antenna to ensure your signal cuts through the interference of a crowded function room, maintaining a solid 100-foot range. The new upgraded Chauvet DJ Freedom H1 IP ILS X4 isn't just a lighting fixture; it’s a problem solver. At a price point that sits comfortably in the investment category, you are getting four rugged, weather-resistant, hex-colour lights that talk to each other wirelessly and charge in one go.

These lights make you look like you spent four hours on setup when you actually spent four minutes. They allow you to add production value to areas of a room that were previously impossible to reach without cables or upsell extras to your client. If you are a mobile DJ looking to up your game, move away from the spaghetti of wires and embrace the freedom then get down to your local DJ retailer and make a purchase or two or in my case ten! CHAUVET DJ FREEDOM H1 IP ILS X 4