USA - Theatre Projects' founder Richard Pilbrow and senior consultant Steve Rust will speak during several panel discussions at the upcoming LDI Conference, 18-24 November in Las Vegas. The conference is the largest annual gathering of entertainment technology professionals in the country. LDI is also home to the PLASA Cocktail & Awards Reception which will feature the PLASA Rock Our World Awards, of which Theatre Projects is one of eight finalists in the projects category for its work on the Royal Opera House Muscat in Oman.
The Rock Our World awards were created to honour groundbreaking achievement by PLASA members and to acknowledge the genius of both the creator of technology and the designer or integrator who applies the technology in a real world environment.
UK - A two minute silence was staged at Trafalgar Square on Monday 11 November giving visitors the chance to unite in remembrance. The event marked the 95 year anniversary of the World War One (WWI) armistice, paying respects to members of the armed forces who had fallen in that war and in all conflicts since.
Star Event Group were contracted by SW19 to provide a front of house structure along with their 10m x 8m mobile stage which played host to live performances from actor Adrian Lester, X Factor group Next of Kin, tenor Paul Potts as well as The Poppy Girls, whose fathers are all servicemen.
The 10m x 8m mobile stage built in just three hours offered maximum time to load in and the quick de-rig of the stage ensured the Square was clear within a few hours of the event finishing.
Charles Ellery from SW19 said, "It's the right tool for the job. We only get from 6pm the
UK - With an emphasis on increasing its presence within the UK AV marketplace, Vivitek UK's dealer showcase day brought its dealers, distributors and potential customers together to display its extensive range of projectors and display equipment.
Hosted at the Brooklands Museum in Surrey, the day saw a steady stream of industry professionals pass through the doors, keen to learn about some of the 40 Vivitek projector models now available in the UK.
Speaking at the event, Brian Grogan, regional sales manager at Vivitek Corporation said, "Vivitek has grown as a company extensively since it was founded five years ago as a subsidiary brand of Delta Electronics. With a range of products that cater not only commercial and office applications, but that now stretch through educational establishments, large venues, home cinemas and out 'on the road' with portable offerings, the Vi
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ETC Halcyon Silent
High End Systems Halcyon Silent builds on ETC’s legacy of fanless automated fixtures by incorporating features from the highly sought-after Halcyon family. Halcyon Silent perfectly balances silent operation with brilliant output of 18,400 lumens and high-impact features.
UK - Burton Town Hall has recently upgraded the sound in the main hall of its Civic Function Suite with a Community loudspeaker system, designed and installed by PAS Sound Engineering.
Centrally situated in the heart of the UK's Midlands, Burton Town Hall is an elegant Victorian hall built in 1894. A multi-purpose venue, Burton Town Hall plays host to a variety of events and provides an eye-catching backdrop for exhibitions, festivals, trade fairs, shows, parties and weddings. Excellent acoustics also make it an ideal concert hall with a seating capacity of 557. The main hall, with its stage and balcony, forms the heart of the Civic Function Suite, which also consists of the Dove Room, Lingen Room, Trent and Rangemore Bars, Green Room and a catering kitchen.
Bernie Boardman, PAS Sound's installations manager, met with Ian Boam, facilities manager and Lynne Allman, venue manage
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New Touring Series by Gravity – Every Scratch Has A Story
When the stage heats up, you need equipment that can keep up without compromise. The Gravity Touring Series has been specifically designed to meet the highest demands – for rental companies, professional musicians, concert organizers, and large event venues. Premium materials, exceptional durability, and impressive longevity make these products stand out. Whether on tour, in constant use, or under the toughest conditions: the Touring Series delivers maximum reliability and performance – every day, on every stage. FIND OUT MORE >>>
South Africa - Christie reports that Gearhouse, the largest rental staging company in Africa, have extended their relationship with Christie through their purchase of eight Christie Roadster HD20K-J 3-chip DLP projectors.
As well as their impressive rental staging credentials, Gearhouse are also the leading technical supplier to the live event industry in the region. They are specialists in all aspects of event staging - design, projection, lighting, audio, screens, rigging, power, sets and structures. Vision, passion and service excellence are key drivers for them. The company's head office is in Johannesburg with branch offices in Cape Town and Durban.
Christie and Gearhouse have a close relationship which spans almost 10 years. Over that time Gearhouse have built up a substantial inventory of Christie products, including Roadster HD10K-M, S+16K and HD18K digital projectors,
USA - After a very successful PLASA Show in late October, LumenRadio now sets course for the upcoming LDI Show in Las Vegas. LumenRadio will showcase the award-winning SuperNova 3 software as well as the entire CRMX wireless product lineup in distributor TMB's LDI village - booth 1578.
SuperNova 3 had its debut at PLASA London 2013 and received intense interest from a steady stream of visitors. "We have received tons of positive feedback on the Art-Net functionality we made for SuperNova 3. We are of course very honored that SuperNova 3 won the PLASA Award for Innovation, our third Innovation award so far", explains Marcus Bengtsson, senior developer of SuperNova.
LumenRadio is also very proud of the recent announcement of the new OEM partner, SGM. The wireless CRMX technology will now be offered for all wireless enabled SGM products going forward.
"The CRMX t
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AZOR® SP2 IP - Compact IP65 Spot Profile Moving Head
Compact design and IP65 protection for indoor and outdoor applications: the new AZOR® SP2 IP is the ideal solution for open-air events and outdoor theatres that require a powerful, weatherproof lighting system. An optimal partner for lighting designers and event service providers looking for a versatile LED show light in a compact housing.
AZOR® SP2 IP – the next generation of robust, weatherproof, and compact lighting for maximum creative freedom, both indoors and outdoors.
USA - Community Professional Loudspeakers has expanded its Distributed Design series of ceiling, surface mount and pendant loudspeakers with the new DP8 Pendant.
Available in paintable white or black, the DP8 is a high-performance, 8-inch coaxial loudspeaker with an attractive tapered style that complements the design of modern open-architecture environments and provides highly-intelligible voice and great musical sound quality for restaurants, lounges, hotels, ballrooms, meeting rooms, retail and commercial establishments, and casinos, hotels and convention centers. With its weather-resistant enclosure, grille and components, the DP8 may also be used outdoors in covered locations, says the company.
For system designers and installers, the DP8 is ETL listed to comply with UL1480. It includes a 120-watt autoformer with easy-access tap switch for 70-volt/100-volt distributed sys
UK - Audio visual company Saville Audio Visual has announced the appointment of Rob Morrison as head of sales (south) for the Conference & Live Events division.
Morrison has been successfully involved in the creative live events and communications industry for over 12 years during which time he has been involved in some major events including a position as the corporate hospitality manager where he led the hospitality sales for the FIFA World Cup in 2006.
Based primarily with the team in Guildford, he will build on the foundations he has established from working alongside Saville for the last six years, to develop the company's' solid reputation within the industry and explore new market opportunities and deliver growth across multiple sectors.
Head of events for the south, Adam Pike said, " Rob is a vital stepping stone in pushing forward our brand values and extending
Switzerland - IP audio and control specialist Barix has promoted Frank Frederiksen to COO following a successful 15 months as vice president of product marketing and strategy. His promotion, effective immediately, represents part of the strategic process at Barix to build a strong management team that will lead the company to new growth. He reports directly to Barix CEO Ronni Guggenheim.
Since coming to Barix, Frederiksen has focused on enhancing the user experience for customers through streamlined solutions that simplify ease of use and installation. He oversaw the development and rollout of Barix's recently-introduced IP Paging ecosystem, which eliminates complex configuration processes in favour of a plug-and-play solution where Barix devices self-configure automatically.
"IP streaming has entered the mainstream, and many of our customers need more than capable hardwa
The Netherlands - From 13 to 15 January 2014, CUE2014 will be held in Ahoy Rotterdam. The biannual exhibition for event, installation and entertainment technology will have more on offer this time, say the organizers. Whereas the main exhibitors were previously suppliers of theatre technology, around 90 exhibitors are now offering a total overview of technical facilities for indoor and outdoor stage presentations - from audio-visual equipment, lighting and sound technology to (temporary) stages, furniture, scenery and hoisting and lifting technology.
This means that CUE2014 is no longer only of interest to the theatre sector, but also to all technicians, producers and board members of locations with a stage.
Enrico Daamen, chairman of the CUE Board comments, "It's been a long time since theatres were the only places to see performing arts and where stage technology plays
UK - It all started when a story about Norman Cook aka Fatboy Slim and production partner Riva Starr were out record shopping in Brooklyn earlier in the year when they ran into a dude who was ranting about some three-day bender he had been on (and possibly still was....). We were told he was hooked into their Serato and chopped up into a tune. Upon release, we find out that very dude happens to be world famous beat boxer Beardyman. And so the favourite phrase of club goers was born; Eat Sleep Rave Repeat.
Cut to November of 2013 and the track crashed into the UK charts at No. 3, seeing off One Direction in the process, and a triumphant return to the charts for Mr. Cook.
Norman has always been renowned for his groundbreaking videos and became one of the forerunners of dance producers to embrace the format, so there would need to be something special for this one.
Spain - Over the summer there was one story dominating the Ibiza headlines: the launch of the island's hi spec new superclub, BOOOM!, featuring a custom made Pioneer Sound System and visuals powered by Avolites Media's ultra high spec Ai Media Server.
The Ai Media Server is being used to feed multiple surface projections and LED screens around the club, providing an integral part of the BOOOM!'s 'world class clubbing experience'. Production Manager for the BOOOM! project was Dave Singleton from The Shop Ibiza.
"I specifically asked Steve Warren from Avolites Media to get involved as I'd worked with him and the Ai Media Server before," explains Singleton. "I knew it was the only piece of kit that could provide us with the flexibility and sheer power to meet our demanding visual needs. Our single Ai is running an incredible amount of information from under its
UK - Robe's latest technologies - including the PLASA Innovation Award winning MiniMe LED and digital effects luminaire plus DLS Profile, DLX Spot, MMX Spot, LEDBeam 100s and LEDWash 600 moving lights - were specified by lighting designer Steve Sinclair for the special presentation show at the 2013 Gadget Show Live @ Christmas expo.
The show was staged in the 2500 capacity Super Theatre auditorium at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London and presented by three of the regular Channel 5 TV show anchors Jon Bentley, Jason Bradbury and Pollyanna Woodward, who were joined on screen by the fourth member of their team, Rachael Riley.
Three pacey 75 minute shows were staged each day, based around the 12 days of Christmas theme and showcasing some of the best, most interesting, inventive and fun currently available consumer technology.
Australia - JoeCo has appointed Professional Audio Technology Pty Ltd (PAT) to distribute the BlackBox range of multi-channel live audio recorders and players in Australia. Based in Hornsby, New South Wales, PAT adds JoeCo to a comprehensive portfolio of pro audio brands that cover a range of markets including broadcast, live sound, conferencing and hire.
Since launching the first BlackBox Recorder in 2009, JoeCo has established an award-winning series of computer-free 24- and 64-channel 1U recording and playback systems that are compatible with virtually all analogue and digital consoles and other equipment. Various I/O options are available including MADI, DANTE, AES, Lightpipe and analogue. Audio is recorded directly to an external USB2 drive in Broadcast WAV format and can be instantly re-purposed for archiving, re-mixing or post production applications.
UK - Doughty Engineering has announced a restructuring of the company as the business continues to flourish year on year.
Laurence Dyer, previously UK sales representative, is now sales and customer services manager, having inherited the title from Julian Chiverton. Julian remains sales director at Doughty but the change enables him to take a back seat in the main office and focus on growing the business, as well as building and maintaining customer relations both in the UK and overseas.
Dan Phillips continues in his role as project sales co-ordinator while Mike Guglielmi, previously UK sales, now heads up the export department, where Vickie Thake, Jenny Ambrose and Julie Eady have recently taken up new positions. Finally Samantha Hawkins has joined the sales team to look after UK sales and administration, following the retirement of long-standing staff member Christine Drinna
Australia - PR Lighting has announced that, with effect from 1 November Jands will be distributing its product portfolio in Australia.
Founded in 1984, in Guangzhou, China, PR Lighting Ltd. has been dedicated to the development and manufacture of professional fixed and moving luminaires, architectural lighting and performance LED products. With 29 years of successful operation behind it PR has not only been a pioneer in the Chinese lighting industry but has earned a solid reputation for quality, performance and innovation throughout the industry worldwide.
"We are very excited to have PR Lighting on board as part of the Jands professional lighting range," said Tim Kennard, lighting sales manager of Jands. "PR has been around for over 29 years as a manufacturer of professional lighting products and I think it's fair to say that so far they have exceeded our expec
China - Milos Structural Systems conducted a two-day workshop at its factory in Guangzhou, China, on 25 and 26 October for a select group of Milos customers from Indonesia, India, Singapore and China.
The goal of the meeting was to present Milos Structural Systems, as well as its factory, products, and manufacturing processes. Educational sections of the workshop also served to inform Milos customers about using and working safely with Milos products.
Although the workshop was held for only two days, many subjects were presented. On the first day, a detailed overview of the company, brand strategy and growth in 2013 was given, which was followed by a presentation of rigging and rigging hardware.
An interesting and fact-filled tour of the extensive Guanghou factory came next. While touring the factory, Milos sales and technical representatives showed participants Milos weldin
UK - Iron Maiden's current tour production includes a DiGiCo SD7 at Front of House. Engineer Martin Walker has a long history of working with hard rock bands, including Judas Priest, Slash, Whitesnake and Californian thrashers Testament. He began working with Iron Maiden last year, bringing his console of choice, a DiGiCo SD7, with him.
"I really like DiGiCo consoles and was using an SD8 with Judas Priest," he says. "The first time I was involved with the SD7 was when I sat with Lars Brogaard on the first Rod Stewart residency at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. I moved up to one with Judas Priest two years ago and I haven't looked back."
Maiden generate about 40 inputs, plus another dozen from various outboard units and playback at FoH. Outputs comprise main left and right, with subs on an aux and vocal fills. Martin also does a multi-track recording of most
USA - Digital Audio Labs has entered into a license agreement with Audinate to license its Dante media networking solution. The first Digital Audio Labs product to integrate Dante will be the Livemix personal monitoring system, slated to launch 14 January.
"This year, we announced the Livemix personal monitoring system with features like studio quality audio, signal processing on each of the 24 channels, custom channel naming, stereo ambient microphones, and MirrorMix remote mixing," remarks Andy Swanson, Digital Audio Lab's marketing director. "Livemix is a personal monitoring system that helps musicians give their very best to every performance." Swanson finishes by saying, "When looking at the available digital options, Audinate's Dante media networking was the clear stand out. Adding Dante will enable the Livemix personal monitoring system to easily
Sri Lanka - Sri Lankan QSC distributor Dynamic AV technologies has installed QSC KLA and K Series loudspeakers in a refurbishment of the auditoriums at the Columbo-based Sri Lankan Foundation Institute (SLFI), one of the Sri Lankan Republic's largest and oldest adult education centres. The SLFI, which celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2014, specialises in vocational training for the Sri Lankan people in a variety of career disciplines, including psychology, sociology, business and language studies.
The sound reinforcement systems in the Institute's main auditorium and four associated smaller lecture halls were all recently refurbished, receiving new loudspeakers, microphones, and sound mixers. Dynamic AV Technologies suggested QSC KLA and K series loudspeakers for the PA systems. The main auditorium was the recipient of four QSC KLA12 line array units (two per channel) with a p
UK - Shure Distribution UK (SDUK) has announced the end of its distribution contract with US based case manufacturer SKB, by mutual agreement.
Shure Distribution will continue to supply SKB products until the New Year, and customers can be assured that they will continue to receive the same high levels of service and support until then. From the 1st January 2014 SKB Europe, based in the Netherlands, will take over distribution.
"SKB make cases for a plethora of applications, many of them outside our core focus of music, pro audio and broadcast. With the continued expansion of their range we have decided that the interests of both of our companies are best served by alternative distribution arrangements," commented Peter James, SDUK managing director. "This decision allows us to concentrate our efforts solely on professional audio electronics from our portfolio o