UK - Ambersphere's regional tour of the UK continues in March and April with two headline appearances - at the Black Light Open day in Scotland, and at PLASA Focus in Leeds.

These showcase exhibitions follow hot on the heels of the South-East roadshow that Ambersphere held recently in Brighton.

The Black Light Open Day, which is Scotland's largest gathering of lighting industry professionals, is taking place at Black Light's HQ in Edinburgh on Friday 30 and Saturday 31 March, and will be the first opportunity for those North of the Border to get a close up look at the new products o

UK - Following news last week of record visitor registrations of over 1,000 in just two days, it seems that exhibitors are equally eager to confirm their places before space runs out. Although the available exhibition space is the same 3,000sq.m as the three rooms at the Royal Horticultural Halls, the new venue is a single exhibition area on two levels with all facilities together in the same space.

Show director Roger Fox said, "I am so pleased that the exhibitors have responded so positively to our determination to make the ABTT 2012 Theatre Show an immediate success in its new

UK - More than 2000 professionals from the North of England's entertainment and installation technology communities have registered to attend PLASA Focus: Leeds 2012, taking place at the Royal Armouries in Leeds, on Tuesday 17 & Wednesday 18 April. Organisers PLASA Events are attributing this year's stronger-than-ever pre-show figures to the record number of new products on show, a flurry of first-time exhibitors, and the event's well-loved, friendly format.

Joining 130 exhibitors across two sold-out halls will be 20 new exhibitors, including audio, video and lighting installers TMC L

UK - Rigging Services will be conducting live demonstrations of the features, benefits and changes to its online shop RSDirect from its stand RA-C14 at PLASA Focus.

Rigging Services was one of the first companies in the event industry to offer online services from the mid 1990s. Re-branded as RSDirect, the shop site does far more than just allow an online transaction.

"Offering the option to buy online is essential for an industry that is nomadic and working 24 hours a day 7 days a week," states Paul Fulcher, director of Rigging Services. "However we feel that the cli

Frankfurt Figures - Musikmesse and Prolight + Sound attracted a total of 2,388 exhibitors from 55 countries (2011: 2,380 exhibitors from 54 countries) and around 110,000 visitors from 120 countries (2011: 109,002 visitors from 124 countries).

"Musikmesse and Prolight + Sound 2012 have further strengthened their position. Both, visitors and exhibitors highly appreciated and rated Musikmesse and Prolight + Sound and are in confident mood for orders and business", said Detlef Braun, member of the executive board Messe Frankfurt.

Blowin' In The Wind - Bob Dylan, Peter G

UK - Leisuretec are excited to be exhibiting at PLASA Focus: Leeds for the second year running following on from the company's success last year.

"Established for 22 years and with our strong foundation, we have the distribution power to ensure we are sourcing the best products in commercial sound, lighting, visual and special effects at the best prices, which translates to greater value for our trade customers," says the company.

The Leisuretec name is synonymous with quality products and at this year's PLASA Focus the company will represent over 70 prestigious brands spa

UK - Stage Electrics will be exhibiting on stand RA-18 at this year's PLASA Focus which is taking place on 17-18 April in the Royal Armouries, Leeds.

Stage Electrics will be showing an array of audio products from EM Acoustics. The company has recently become the UK dealer for this leading independent British loudspeakers manufacturer. EM Acoustics loudspeakers are often found in West End productions and on shows on Broadway. Installation versions can be found in venues as diverse as The National Theatre, Westfield Shopping Centre and The Eisenhower Hall (USA).

Other products being

UK - Rigging Services has announced its latest growth plans; these include a new location in west London and a re-location of its Birmingham branch to a new site "four times its previous size".

The latest and fourth location of Rigging Services is based at Pinewood Studios. Although supplying its services across the entire event industry, not only within TV & Film, there is a good synergy with Rigging Services and other complimentary services also operating from Pinewood.

"We are really pleased to be a part of the Pinewood community and look forward to working amongst

Germany - Innovason has reported a highly successful PL+S show 2012. The focus this year was the revelation of the latest box of tricks that has been integrated into Innovason's flagship Eclipse GT digital console: named for the 'all-gifted' figure of Greek mythology, Pandora is a new way of panning that provides audibly better results across the listening field than traditional stereo panning, says the company.

Tonmeister and renowned classical sound engineer, Carsten Kummel, explains, "The problem with traditional panning is the loss of signal on one side when you pan to the ot

UK - The Schools' Theatre Support Group (STSG) held their third, and largest to date, conference last month, sponsored by White Light and Charcoalblue. The successful event was attended by technicians and managers from several schools around the country.

Starting with a backstage visit to the new Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford, the conference, held at Rugby School in Warwickshire, included workshops by White Light, Stage Electrics and Charcoalblue Theatre Consultants. Other exhibitors included AC Entertainment Technologies, Theatre-in-a-Box, and Tophex TheatreCom.

The STSG i

Germany - Last week's ProLight+Sound show was the busiest ever for Doughty Engineering, reports sales director Julian Chiverton. "It was the first time we'd had our own, rather than a shared, stand and the response was tremendous. We were incredibly busy the whole exhibition, with visitors from as far afield as Japan and Russia, and a lot of new contacts to follow up."

Doughty also reports that a lot of interest was shown in its new Baby Quick Trigger clamp. Intended for use on smaller truss sizes, this clamp is adjustable to diameters from 25mm up to 38mm and will be on sho

UK - JoeCo and UK distributor MSL Professional head to PLASA Focus for the first time showing the latest additions to the BlackBox range of 1U multi-channel recorders and players, including the new BBR64-Dante Recorder which was unveiled at the recent Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt.

The BBR64-Dante is the result of JoeCo's collaboration with Audinate, creators of the award-winning Dante digital media networking solution. The original BBR-Dante system was released in 2011 and was able to record up to 32 channels of audio from a Dante network. The new BBR64-Dante now doubles that track c

UK - PLASA Focus Leeds will be the launching point for several new in-house developments from ShowTex.

The Acoustic Baffle from ShowTex proves ecology and noise level control can go hand in hand. The new acoustic fabric panels are made from 100% recycled material compressed together to optimize sound conditions. The Acoustic Baffle comes in two sizes and can be installed modularly for extra flexibility. By combining the two standard formats, nearly any height or area can be covered. The Acoustic Baffle can be installed as a ceiling lining or around curves and corners. Custom formats a

UK - WirelessLED has chosen PLASA Focus to launch the full production model of SMARTe, its revolutionary compact wireless LED system.

It has been six months of hard work since the pre-production model was shown at PLASA last September but it has been worth the wait. Concentrating on feedback from individuals and companies across the entertainment industry WirelessLED has refined the original design.

A switch from Lithium Polymer to Lithium Ion battery technology has not only increased life but also shortened recharge time. New Osram OSLON LED emitters have increased brightness by ar

UK - Avolites will be accompanied by Avolites Media at PLASA Focus: Leeds on stand RA-B10 to offer visitors a selection of lighting and video solutions. On show will be the Sapphire Touch with a preview of Titan Version 6 as well as Avolites Media's introduction of the Sapphire Media control surface and Ai Infinity Server.

The Sapphire Touch, Avolites top-of-the-range stage lighting control console, integrates Avolites comprehensive Titan V6 operating system as well as offering dual touch screen monitors for an enhanced workflow. Designed for large scale arena tours the Sapphire Touch

UK - Ambersphere Solutions, the exclusive distributor for MA Lighting products into the UK, reports that it has been overwhelmed by demand for the recently launched MA onPC command wing.

The MA onPC command wing is the latest addition to the MA Lighting family and offers a powerful, efficient mobile option to operating the grandMA2 control system in even the most challenging environments.

"When we first saw the MA onPC command wing we knew it was going to be a hit, and we were thrilled by the opportunities it was going to open up for us' says Philip Norfolk, sales director for

UK - PLASA Focus Leeds will be a first for the d&b GB office, who will be at the show to introduce the E4 and E5,the latest teenyweeny additions to the time honoured E-Series, from their Black range.

Alongside these elegant little loudspeakers will be a selection of products picked from the White range. The4S and 5S are equally small loudspeakers, designed for visual and acoustical integration into fixed applications.

Oran Burns and Steve Jones from the d&b GB Education and Application Support team will be offering visitors the chance to attend two seminars as part of the show's fre

UK - Belgium's ADB Lighting will exhibit at PLASA Focus: Leeds, for the first time in its own right, on on Stand S-D1.

ADB will show some of its latest lighting and lighting control systems, including the UK preview of its new LED Powered Profile Spotlight.

Based on the proven concept of the Europe 1kW Condenser Profile, the new LED Profile was first shown at JTSE, SIEL and ProLight+Sound. With final design enhancements and extensive road testing in progress, the full product range launch is planned for September 2012. The first two products in the LED range will be a Theatre Fresne

UK - PLASA Focus Leeds will see Philips Vari-Lite show-off its latest forward-looking developments in automated lighting technology.

A warm welcome is promised to entertainment professionals visiting Stand S-C15, where they can shoot the lighting breeze while familiarizing themselves with the recently launched, compact, efficient and cost effective range of luminaires: the VL440, VL770 and VL880. In addition Vari-Lite will be showing off the VLX3 LED moving head.

Conceived from the union of Vari-Lite creative engineering vision and the company's understanding of lighting designer's

UK - Artistic Licence Engineering will be using PLASA Focus as a platform from which to launch a plethora of new products. Two new product ranges (Rack Pack and Zone Control) have been developed for release at the show alongside a new splitter and a modular advancement in the Multichrome Range.

The latest addition to Artistic Licence's Rack Pack range, dVnet is a digital video to network converter housed in a 19-inch rack case. It is aimed at retail and architectural applications where a media facade or any pixilated display is to be controlled by video without the complexity of a med

UK - Italian acoustic specialist dBTechnologies will present its new UK sales team at the forthcoming PLASA Focus in Leeds. Products to be exhibited are the highlights of the DVA series, including its largest line array module DVA T12 and the active subwoofer DVA S30N, alongside the three Flexsys FM stage monitors and the brand new Cromo 15+ from the recently launched Cromo+ range.

The dBTechnologies team will be welcoming visitors at S-D29 this year with the help of newest recruits, David Finlay and Reuben McCartney. Finlay is responsible for the north of England having gained many y

USA - J.R. Clancy was honoured at USITT's 2012 Annual Conference in Long Beach, CA, with the USITT Award for a lifetime of contributions to the performing arts. J. R. Clancy president Mike Murphy received the award on behalf of the company.

The USITT Award recognises a lifetime of distinguished contribution to the performing arts or entertainment communities in any capacity. The nomination notes that, in the case of J.R. Clancy, "the USITT Award recognises not just a lifetime but several generations of distinguished contributions to the performing arts and entertainment community

UK - Hall Stage will be exhibiting at PLASA Focus: Leeds 2012 with the innovative Chaindrive system for T60 & T70 track systems amongst the products on show. This new system enables heavy curtain motorisation through tight & complex curves, even in 'rearfold' format - without the need for additional & expensive 'off-stage' storage space.

Also on the stand will be samples of Skydeck wire grid floor systems (Hall Stage has recently completed a 1,200 square metre Skydeck installation in the UK) and the acoustically tested and analysed range of acouStac acoustic banners and rollers.

(Cl

UK - 25 years after introducing its first digital mixing console, Yamaha is showcasing its latest generation of digital consoles at PLASA Focus: Leeds 2012.

Retaining essential features and functionality that have become standards over the past quarter of a century, Yamaha's new CL Series of digital mixing consoles offers "an evolved experience in accessible mixing", the company says. "Combined with sonic purity and advanced sound shaping capabilities, the CL Series gives the most imaginative artists and engineers unprecedented creative freedom".

Three models wil

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