UK - MTFX has just invested in some new 5 way Firedance units. "MTFX's Firedance flames have been so popular with our customersthat I wanted to take them to their next level, which are these new 5 way compact units," says managing director Mark Turner.

"Each unit is light weight, compact and gives you a fantastic spread from such a small footprint. They are ideal for use on pitches and other sports arena and literally add a new dimension to flame effects. The other advantage is that the flames can now be coloured green, red, blue as well as the standard orange."

UK - Two Catalyst digital media servers are being used to great effect on the Kings of Leon Only By The Night tour in an integrated visuals show created by live visuals director Phil Haynes, lighting co-designer/director Ali Bale, creative designer & co-LD Paul Normandale and live video director Phil Woodhead.

The Catalysts - running a pre-release version of the latest V4.2 software which gives 10 submixes on 16 layers - are outputting the nine-camera IMAG mix and assorted playback content to 1000 tiles of Barco MiTrix screen and 270 Element Labs VersaTube HDs.

These latest s

UK - Set up by the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), the Digital Lab is a new £50 million facility at the University of Warwick in Coventry, designed as a high-quality research environment.

Its mission is to become the world's first multi-disciplinary centre, enabling leading digital experts to come together and deliver research, which can impact on all sectors of the economy. The Lab will initially focus on Digital Healthcare, Digital Manufacturing and Service, promoting innovation and boosting research opportunities between academics and user organisations.

The facility pro

France - The town of Asnières sur Seine just outside Paris has decided upon a new Innovason Sy80 digital mixing console to complete its AV inventory.

Thierry Plenier, who runs the AV department with department head William Baruch, comments: "I was fascinated by the Muxipaire (digital snake) when it first came out, and when we bought our first digital console in 2002, if I'd had the budget, I'd have bought a Compact Live. As it was, we went for another solution, which has served us well until now, but we are reaching the ceiling of its limitations in terms of mix capacity, and ou

Canada - Ross Video has announced the appointment of Jan Mills, as director, marketing communications. He enters his new position after 31 years with Ross, spending the last 10 years as media marketing manager.

"This promotion recognises the significant impact that Jan has made over the past 31 years with Ross. Jan has been instrumental in building and promoting our brand and communicating the innovation and integrity that it stands for." said Jeff Moore, executive vice president, sales &marketing. "

(Jim Evans)

UK - The Production, Operations and Artistic teams of Cirque du Soleil are currently looking for passionate individuals of all levels of experience to fill upcoming positions in a wide range of theatre-related technical fields, including automation, rigging, sound, lighting, carpentry, props, wardrobe, video/projection, stage management, artistic direction, technical direction and project/production management.

In an effort to attract the right people to fill these many roles, the company is hosting a recruitment event in London on Tuesday, 3 February 2009. This 'Red Curtain Recruitme

UK - dnp has announced the release of a new Ceiling Cassette for discreet installation of the retractable dnp Supernova Flex Screen. This will be available in the UK through distributors, Paradigm AV.

"Eight out of 10 installations with retractable front projection screens are currently ceiling-mounted, so we anticipate a dramatic increase in sales as a result of the introduction of the Ceiling Cassette for the Supernova Flex. This new installation option will undoubtedly drive new business for installers who work with the Supernova Flex Screens," says general manager of dnp

Spain - Design consultants Equipo 63 from Madrid approached Czech-based trussing manufacturers Milos to custom build a large stand for their client at London's World Travel Market exhibition, staged at the ExCel Centre.

Equipo 63 are known for their innovative approach to design and build projects of all types, and are always keen to incorporate cutting edge technology in the process.

They have worked with Milos and used their products on many previous projects. On this occasion, the Equipo 63 team designed the stand, which included a 12 x 12sq.m 'crown' flown above, holding a 10m d

Norway -projectiondesign will use Integrated Systems Europe 2009 to showcase a completely updated range of professional projectors, as well as the range of high-end home theatre products, and the latest in 3D stereographic projection systems.

Anders L°kke, international marketing and communications manager, notes the irony of projectiondesign this year choosing to showcase its products inside a 'blackbox'. "Given that many of our projectors are used in research applications which, for political, scientific, or commercial reasons are top-secret, it seems rather appropriate for

Belgium - Arkaos has released its latest media server software, Media Master. First announced at the PLASA show in London, the software is now, after months of final development and testing, shipping with immediate effect. Media Master has been designed specifically with show and lighting market in mind.

Built on ArKaos' latest generation of technology, Media Master runs perfectly and reliably on standard laptops or can play up to eight full frames-per-second HD movies on an octo-core server, says the company.

Media Master's new interface has been designed to give lighting designers

UK - Following the launch of Animotion Live, AV solutions company PSP has introduced another new concept to the market - 3D-holocube. PSP is working closely with the UK distributor, activ8-3D, which also delivers the 3D projection platform for the Animotion Live system.

3D-holocube provides an alternative advertising medium and offers a new way of enhancing brand experience. Ideal for point of sale applications within the retail market, product launches and live events and exhibitions, 3D-Holocube is a fully integrated, mini 3D holographic system that creates 3D video holograms to del

Norway - Succeeding the F30 series of DLP projectors, the new F32 series from projectiondesign is now shipping in SXGA+, 1080p and WUXGA image resolutions.

Like all of the company's new wave of product platforms, the F32 features Philips' latest VIDI lamp technology, along with completely revised colour management and configuration options. To these, the F32 adds active cooling, which enhances reliability and prolongs useful product life for a lower total cost of ownership, says the company.

The F32 offers projectiondesign's DuArch dual illumination architecture with 'hot swappable'

UK - Live event and audiovisual hire specialist First Network is the first UK company to add the new Panasonic PT-DZ12000 projectors to its product portfolio.

Dennis Georgiou of First Network reports: "We have been very pleased with the performance and popularity of the Panasonic range of projectors and have maintained a good stock, so investing in the PT-DZ 12000 was a natural progression. The features guaranteed from Panasonic, such as high resolution, clarity and brightness, along with Panasonic's sales and technical support, have often convinced our purchasing decisions their

UK - Exhibiting at The ARC Show for the first time, G-LEC UK will be showing its newest architectural LED lighting product, Chimera. Suitable for museums, interior design, themed spaces and hotel and corporate reception areas, the first installation is in the BMW Museum in Munich, where 700m² form an impressive media façade for BMW Square, the heart of the museum.

Combining two existing products - LEDs and printed circuit boards - G-LEC's Chimera is one of the first products to offer absolute flexibility of shape without compromising control over individual LEDs, offering designers

UK - Plasma wall manufacturer Orion is launching a UK based website www.infiniteplasma.co.uk for integrators and end users of the Infinite Plasmas, to offer a comprehensive technical resource for the current range of screens.

The Orion Infinite Plasma range, which launched in summer 2008 features both installation and rental version of the bezel-less plasma screens, which are joined together to create video walls or any size or shape. This technology is at the forefront of corporate and commercial installation projects in the UK and Europe, with a flagship 240 screen Infinite Plasma d

Europe - D&M Installation (DMi) and Hawking Technology have signed an exclusive agreement for the distribution of the US manufacturer's CI networking products in Europe by DMi, with immediate effect. With the agreement, DMi now offers a professional range of network products to partner the new generation of AV signal source components from Denon, Marantz and Escient.

The Californian based company's product range includes Wireless Access Points, Gigabit switches and wireless security cameras. With the addition of selected Hawking Technology products and systems to the DMi portfolio, D&

Poland - Eight F30 sx+ DLP projectors from projectiondesign were used to create two high-resolution animated panoramic displays directly on to the historic walls of Sanguszko Fortress in Poland's capital Warsaw for the 10th birthday event of Polish company, AT Media.

Polish live events specialist Moov More Video used the eight F30 sx+ projectors which were combined with Dataton WATCHOUT4 software to geometrically blend and correct images on to two 24m diameter cylindrical 120-degree panoramic surfaces. Each panoramic display produced a resolution of more than 5 Megapixels and formed p

UK - Peacocks feathers, the twisted branches of trees and other non-traditional Christmas images have been projected onto the Grand Theatre in Blackpool over the past fourteen weeks by EMF Technology.

Stuart Roberts, of EMF confirms that it was a challenging brief, including the installation of a fully automated 7kw Hardware Xenon projector with slide changing system. The client, Blackpool City Council, required the projection to run for six hours per night, automatically switch on and off and reset without a live operator being present.

Drawings were completed for a custom made cab

UK - Maurice Brill Lighting Design called upon Artistic Licence to provide the control solution for the permanent lighting installation and for the Opening Night ceremony of Ballymore Properties' landmark residential building, the Pan Peninsula, at Mill Harbour near London's Canary Wharf.

One of Europe's tallest residential buildings at 509ft, this 50-storey building consists of two towers, the top of which are illuminated by external LED feature lighting. The LEDs form a series of asymmetrical patterns of intersecting horizontal and vertical strips across the top 5 storeys of each to

UK - Glasgow City Chambers became a giant 75m wide by 25m high projection surface for Burns Illuminated, a show specially created to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, Scotland's most famous poet.

E/T/C London supplied projection equipment and expertise for the event, which was staged by Glasgow City Council. The artwork was produced by Ross Ashton, whose work was already known to the Council.

Burns Illuminated's project manager, John Toffolo, commissioned Ashton to create a projection show for the George Square site telling the story and mas

Snow Business - Heavy snowfall caused several West End theatres to cancel their Monday evening performances. The newly-opened Oliver!, Avenue Q, Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, Mamma Mia! and Jersey Boys were all called off. The Royal Opera House performance of Die tote Stadt was also cancelled. Promoters said the weather meant that they could not guarantee the performers and crew would be able to make it into central London.

Eurovision Countdown - Jade Ewen has been chosen to sing Andrew Lloyd Webber's Eurovision Song

UK - The festive period saw AV solutions specialist PSP service two very different Christmas events in Birmingham. Despite being very different in content, however, they were united in the large scale, high production values that PSP were required to deliver.

Hall 3 at Birmingham's International Convention Centre saw large format print business SP Group hold its annual Christmas party, with 800 attendees enjoying an event featuring a performance by classical girl band Escala, followed by after-dinner entertainment comprising a set by psychological illusionist Derren Brown and a game s

Norway - With the release of the F22 sx+ , projectiondesign has completed the rollout of its new platform DLP projectors for professional applications. Like the other models in the new line-up, the F22 sx+ is already shipping, in advance of its public debut at the Integrated Systems Europe 2009.

Anders L°kke, international marketing & communications manager, projectiondesign, comments, "The F22 is a compact single-chip DLP projector platform that continues to offer the installation flexibility and performance options of its predecessor, the F20 sx+. The F22, however, benefits

UK - XL Video UK is supplying MiTrix screens, 290 HD VersaTUBES, cameras/PPU, Catalyst digital media servers and crew to the Kings of Leon Only By The Night tour.

The show features an inventive and original IMAG mix directed by Phil Woodhead, who is working closely with Catalyst operator Phil Haynes, lighting co-designer Ali Bale and creative director Paul Normandale on the show's visual big picture.

It follows XL's work with the band throughout 2006 and 2007, and is project managed for XL by Des Fallon. He comments, "Once again the Kings of Leon's show pushes all the cr

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