USA - The roots of the North American International Auto Show, which is held annually in Detroit, Michigan, go back to 1907 when it was strictly a regional venue for America's nascent auto manufacturers to parade their latest inventions. Flash forward over a century and the event has become one of the largest auto shows in the world, attracting press and enthusiasts from around the globe to the North American auto-making capital, and bringing an approximate $500m annual boost to the local economy.

As attendance numbers continue to grow, Cobo Centre, which hosts the event, recently renovated the underused 12,000-seat Cobo Arena to convert it into a ballroom better suited to the show. Danley Sound Labs SM-60F full-range loudspeakers, supported by Danley TH-115 subwoofers, fire down

Brazil - When Brazilian Latin Grammy Award-winner Ivete Sangalo recently celebrated her 20th anniversary in the business, she did so by recording a DVD called IS20. This took place at the large Arena Fonte Nova stadium in Brazil's first capital of Salvador, which with its capacity of 52,048 will also be hosting some of the FIFA World Cup matches later this year.

Spectrun Design e Iluminacao was in charge of the design concept and execution, and to fulfil the task of illuminating the grand stadium, they selected a large-scale package of SGM lighting equipment, including 200 X-5 white LED strobes, 66 P-5 RGB wash lights, 40 SixPack blinders and 24 Giotto Synthesis 700 Wash.

Accommodating Ms Sangalo's audience of 40,000 people, while at the same time illuminating the stadium, was the challenge facing Marcos Olivio from Spectrun Design e Iluminacao when developing his desig

UK - MilTec (UK) Ltd recently began production of their new Mini-Map miniature LED screen. The Mini-Map is just 155mm square and has 36 tricolour pixels, controlled via DMX512. Manufactured at MilTec's HQ in Kent, England, each tile has been designed to be deployed quickly and efficiently with Powercon and XLR5 inputs & outputs. A central M10 mounting point provides a wide range of rigging options when combined with Miltec's custom mounting bracket.

The first batch was purchased by Light Fantastic Production Services Ltd, based in London. Rob Myer, managing director of Light Fantastic commented, "The Mini-Maps are so versatile and compact, the applications are endless. They're perfect for building into stage fascias & set pieces as well as using as eye candy on stage or around a room. They're also great to use in large numbers as a low res video display - The viewer's brain

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LD Systems ICOA PRO series – high-performance coaxial PA speakers for professional demands

The popular ICOA PA systems have been further developed to include two active full-range coaxial speakers – ICOA PRO 12 A and ICOA PRO 15 A – as well as the active 21″ bass-reflex PA subwoofer ICOA PRO SUB 21 A. With its professional features and high output power, the ICOA PRO series is aimed at ambitious bands, musicians and DJs as well as hire companies and commercial customers looking for a compact, robust and powerful PA sound system. The ICOA PRO series is rounded off with modern connection and control options via Bluetooth 5.1 and the specially developed ICOA PRO app, for use on smartphones and tablets.

ld-systems.com/icoapro

Germany - Ayrton continues to focus on the development of fixtures that provide lighting designers with powerful and exciting new tools, creating products that expand the possibilities of Light in Action.

Prolight + Sound 2014 will prove no exception as Ayrton chooses the show as a forum to launch three new products. The first of these products is NandoBeam S6 which will be on show on the Ayrton stand, Hall 9.0, Booth E70.

Twice as powerful as its little brother, NandoBeam S3, Ayrton NandoBeam S6 is a very compact, ultra-fast moving head. Equipped with 37 RGBW LED emitters, NandoBeam S6 shares the S3's same lightweight optical system and ultra-fast 5:1 zoom.

Designed primarily for use on concert stages and in television production, NandoBeam S6 exhibits quick, dynamic movement along with Ayrton's fabulous saturated colour palette and a powerful 8° to 40° beam spread.

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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. 

For more information visit us at www.etcconnect.com

UK - Broadcast Video Expo will see the debut of the new Roland VR-3EX AV Mixer to the UK market, adding to the expanding VR Series of AV mixers for live production, web streaming and recording from Roland. The recently launched Roland VR-50HD HD Multi Format AV Mixer will also be exhibited, demonstrating a complete HD AV studio in one single unit and adding full HD/multi-format capability to the VR Series for an unbeatable professional production. Showcasing integrated audio and video solutions, visitors to the Roland Systems Group booth (D03) will be able to see the VR Series in operation alongside a full range of digital mixing consoles, switchers, recorders and digital snake products.

The innovative design of the VR-3EX incorporates a video switcher, audio mixer, touchscreen preview monitor and streaming-ready USB output all in a single unit. Boasting 4 HDMI inputs, 2 HDMI ou

Germany - Pan Acoustics will introduce a new product line the Pan Powerline at ProLight+Sound in Frankfurt next month.

The Pan Acoustics Pan Powerline technology offers the possibility to install the active digital Pan Beam loudspeaker systems using only two wires (I.e. YSTI wired existing old 100V-systems) providing audio, steering data and power.

The advantage of the system is the use of the old existing wiring, being there for decades, together with the advantages of a modern digital DSP Beam-steering speaker incl. filtering and delay instead of conventional speakers can be used.

There will only be the Central Control Unit and the corresponding Pan Beam PPL loudspeaker(s) to install install the system to the existing 2-wire cable.

(Jim Evans)

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Create new traditions – Cameo P6 - High Output Full-Spectrum Ellipsoidal

Cameo's P6 is a future-proof LED profiler with a powerful 600 W RGBACL engine and 16,000 lumens. It’s an energy-efficient replacement for 2.5 kW halogen profile lights in theatres and venues. With excellent light quality and natural colour rendering, it fits perfectly in theatres, musicals, TV studios, congresses, and live events.

With an LED life of 50,000 hours and low power use, the P6 cuts energy costs and supports the EU’s ‘Green Deal’ goals for climate neutrality by 2050. It also meets updated eco-design rules for lighting.

www.cameolight.com/p6profile

USA - Robert Juliat Tibo 533 75w LED Profile lighting fixtures have been installed in a new newsroom at KTMD-TV by project lighting designer/director Bruce Aleksander. KTMD-TV is the Telemundo owned-and-operated station serving Houston.

Aleksander did a complete digital solid-state lighting installation for a new studio layout he designed that's dedicated to news programming. "Everything was predicated on energy-efficient lighting from the start," he explains. "Since it was new, we were able to build out the studio without the traditional heavy support for cooling down the lights and the full dimming load normally necessary for an incandescent approach. We used all fluorescent and LED lighting."

Aleksander evaluated a number of fixtures then concluded that "for hard-edge, profile fixtures, the best bang for the buck came from the Robert Juliat Tibos.&q

Germany - ETC is offering lighting designers, operators and students the chance to win a Nomad controller at this year's ProLight+Sound show, 12-15 March in Frankfurt.

The Nomad dongle gives you access to the powerful features of ETC's lighting control consoles on your computer, so you can take it with you anywhere. You can program and play back your show at the computer, or use it as a backup to any of ETC's lighting desks.

To enter, simply go to the ETC website at www.etcconnect.com/Prolight2014 and register; entrants can choose one of four one-minute music tracks. The site charges a small fee - less than 1€ or £1 - to download a song, but it is free to listen to, with no obligation to purchase. Using the free (Windows-only) visualisation software on the ETC website, you can simply program a one minute light show to go with the music.

Everyone who enters will get a

Vietnam - Alliances Integrated Systems has completed the design and installation of an Audica Professional audio system for the first McDonald's restaurant in Vietnam.

"Our team proposed a solution providing the coverage, zoning and functionality the restaurant required, but the decision was only made after we gave a demonstration to show the system's capability and audio quality," explained Vu Viet Tung, business development manager of Alliances Integrated Systems. "Not only were we able to exceed expectations, but also meet the required budget."

The system is controlled by an Audica MICROzone amplifier/controller, which provides the three inputs for a CD player with USB reader, an MP3 player and a PC. Two Audica MICROplus four-channel amplifiers provide the power for the six zones of the system.

Three of the indoor zones use four Audica MICROdot ceiling

USA - Over 80,000 fans became animated pixels at the Super Bowl XLVIII Halftime Show featuring Bruno Mars. Five outputs from four Hippo HD Genlock machines controlled the wireless audience LED 'display', plus 220 LED Ayrton MagicPanel 602s on the stage. PixMob technology made the audience participation possible, alternatively managed by the lighting desk and Hippotizer control.

"The biggest challenge of the show was handling 80 universes of DMX," says programmer Jason Rudolph. "But everything went according to plan. We chose the Hippotizer HDs with Genlock because of their pixel-mapping capabilities, as well as their live inputs and broadcast compatibility. TMB and Green Hippo are always a big help with their 24/7 tech support." Bob Barnhart of Los Angeles based Full Flood was the show's LD.

(Jim Evans)

Russia - The new 5 star Radisson Blu Resort & Congress Centre in Sochi relies on Bosch when it comes to security. The luxury resort, which celebrated its grand opening in time for the biggest event ever held in Sochi, is equipped with Bosch fire alarm systems, public address and evacuation technology and a comprehensive video surveillance system, all being integrated and centrally managed via the Bosch Building Integration System (BIS).

Being located close to the Black Sea coast, the Radisson Blu Resort & Congress Centre features more than 500 guest rooms, three restaurants, a health club & SPA and other amenities. With eleven conference rooms including the 1,500 m2 Premier Hall, the Radisson Blu also features one of the largest hotel-attached convention centres in southern Russia.

As the different parts of the building also have different safety requirements, Krasnoda based i

UK - Fisher Productions has hired two new heads of departments to help further the company's continued growth.

Fisher's relationships with venues form a key part of their business and the expanding event production company have built a new Venues Team dedicated to planning and delivering events for this sector.

Rebecca Harris joins Fisher as general manager for venues, bringing 18 years events industry experience with her. Rebecca's career spans across agencies, catering and venues and her previous roles include positions at Hospitality Line, Concerto Live, Harbour & Jones, The Hempel and The Royal Society.

On joining Fisher Productions Rebecca says, 'Having admired Fisher throughout my career I am thrilled to now be part of the Fisher team and look forward to working with all of Fisher's 70 plus accredited venues."

Graham Winn joins Fisher as head of technical servic

UK - James Thomas Engineering has announced the imminent departure of its sales manager, Andy Walters, after a career spanning 21 years with the company.

Walters, son of the company's co-founder John Walters, has chosen to take up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join specialist UK model makers, Amalgam.

Walters' passion for cars is legendary having collected model cars for his entire life and been instrumental in establishing James Thomas Engineering as a sponsor of Jack Goff, the industry's adopted racing driver and BTCC champion.

"Amalgam is a very well-respected, highly-specialised UK manufacturer of scale model cars for top end clients," says Walters. "Hard though it will be to leave JTE, I am very excited by the prospect of new horizons that this move gives."

"Andy is an irreplaceable member of the JTE team, both in terms of his character

Germany - K-array has announced the expansion of the company's product management team with the addition of Klaus Hausherr as product specialist for its concert series.

Klaus brings over 30 years of experience in the professional live audio sector to his new role, most recently serving as a sound engineer for important large scale live events throughout the Italian peninsula and beyond.

In his new role, Klaus is responsible for K-array's concert series by identifying key customer needs, and analysing market trends. "I'm very excited about hiring Klaus to further strengthen our product management team," said Alex Tatini, president of K-array. "Clearly, his strong background will be an advantage for us, and his understanding of touring systems and the particularities of large scale live events will enable us to continue to better serve our customers' growing and e

USA - Lime, the newest addition to the widely renowned Luxeon colour portfolio of LEDs from Philips Lumileds, enables lighting designers to take the next step in delivering the highest quality, tunable white light in bulbs and fixtures.

Luxeon Rebel ES Lime is the proprietary LED technology in the revolutionary Philips hue bulb, where it combines with Luxeon Rebel Red-Orange and Rebel Royal Blue emitters to deliver over 16m colour options -- all controlled from an iOS device. Philips hue can use colour tunable Light Recipes to help set mood and energy level in the home, office, retail, classroom and hospital environments.

"This really represents a new frontier in lighting, because Luxeon Rebel ES Lime emitters can be combined with other Rebel colour and white emitters to achieve higher CRI and R9 combinations than any previous generation emitters or arrays," said Rah

Germany - Allen & Heath (Hall 8.0, Stand C22) will be launching a new addition to its Xone DJ range at Pro Light & Sound in Frankfurt this March, as well as showing the recently launched Qu-24 compact digital mixer and Xone:23 DJ mixer.

Also on display will be the ME personal monitoring system, Qu-16 rackmount digital mixer, GLD and iLive digital systems and analogue mixers from the MixWizard4 and ZED series.

(Jim Evans)

UK - London based lighting specialist White Light is showcasing new products on Stand D36 at the Broadcast Video Expo later this month. Hosted at ExCel London on 25-27 February, BVE brings together creative and technical professionals along with manufacturers and distributors from across the video production industry.

At this year's expo, White Light will display products from leading manufacturers including ADB Lighting, Altman Lighting, Chromlech, CORE Lighting, Doughty Engineering, Galaxia Electronics, Lee Filters, Look Solutions, Rosco, and Wireless Solution.

For the first time at BVE, White Light will also be showcasing products from Photon Beard, which specialises in manufacturing lighting for film and television. On display will be the company's popular fluorescent soft light - the Square One, as well as more traditional tungsten fixtures: the Minibeam 300w Fresnel, Pho

UK - VUE Audiotechnik's i-Class i-2x4.5 loudspeakers have been installed as sound-reinforcement for the world premiere of video artist Isaac Julien's seven-screen installation Playtime.

Installed by ArtAV, this ambitious new body of work at the Victoria Miro Gallery in London employs a special mix of sound and vision to create and sustain atmosphere in keeping with the work.

ArtAV have been working full-time with Isaac Julien for the past six years, creating sympathetic AV environments worldwide to house Julien's video pieces. They are only too aware of the precise nature of AV technology within visual and sonic art: choices play a significant role in the impact of the work. Lez Barker is confident that VUE have what it takes: "We have been searching for several years to find an alternative to the most premium loudspeaker brands, at a cost point that more of our customers

UK - Twelve years after their last concert tour, popular Scottish alt rockers Del Amitri reunited and hit the road for the first time in 12 years with lighting, sound and expertise supplied by Liverpool based rental specialist Adlib.

Adlib were "extremely proud" to be working with the band again for the hugely successful tour which played three weeks around the UK and Ireland, including an acclaimed sell out show at the new 8000 capacity Hydro Arena in their hometown of Glasgow.

Adlib's FOH engineer Dave Kay also mixed the last gigs they did back in 2002, and in the meantime he's stayed in touch with lead singer / bassist Justin Currie and worked on several of his solo projects. Kay was absolutely delighted to be asked back, "Great people, great music and it's been a lot of fun, " he comments.

The tour encompassed a wide mix of venues - starting in a pub

South Africa - The late afternoon sun casts a magical amber glow across the surrounding hills, the air is filled with pulsing rhythms; you can taste the fecund African soil on the breeze. At the end of a dusty farm track somewhere in northern South Africa a large group of people are ululating rhythmically to the beat.

"Most of the crowd are in their twenties," said Evert De Munnik. "And about all of them are metal heads." Not what you were expecting? No, but then Oppikoppi is not your run of the mill festival.

Oppikoppi, staged a few miles outside Northam close by the border with Botswana, is after 20 years, part of the South African music establishment. De Munnik works for Mango Groove, a big band full of voices, brass and laughter.

"Despite six separate stages, twenty thousand out of a total twenty five thousand attending Oppikoppi were at the Mang

UK - With less than three weeks to go until the ISCE (Institute of Sound and Communications Engineers) ISCEx2014 Exhibition and Networking Dinner in Birmingham, interest is running at a near unprecedented high.

According to the Institute's secretariat manager, Ros Wigmore, members have sensed the enormous networking value of the occasion as well as the opportunity to both see and exhibit next-generation communications systems in the era of EN54 compliance.

"We have had an amazing response to our networking dinner bookings," Ros confirms. "It seems that everyone prefers to meet up in a more informal setting before the serious business gets started."

The two-day event itself takes place on March 4-5 at the Holiday Inn in Birmingham City Centre, kicking off with the dinner on the opening night.

Accompanying a full programme of technical seminars will be th

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