UK - Two of Redbridge Drama Centre's much-loved venues, the Lovegrove Theatre and Telford Studios, have recently received a delivery of over 50 new Philips Selecon PL range luminaires as a means to reduce the Drama Centre's energy consumption.

The shift to LED came as a result of a £192,000 grant given to RDC by Arts Council England to improve the building and to implement energy saving measures, in part by replacing the traditional stage lighting with LED luminaires. The Drama Centre's technical drama officers Chris Bocking and Ben Ward along with Mick Cocker of Lighting Logic, who supplied and installed the units, spent months researching the best possible luminaires for the re-fit and selected the Selecon PLfresnel1 and Selecon PLcyc1 for their project.

The Philips Sele

Belarus - Prime Hall is a new 2,000-seat, multi tiered concert hall located inside Zamok, the biggest shopping mall in Minsk.

In the three months since it opened in the Belarus capital it has quickly become the city's leading concert venue - thanks in part to its 120kW of dynamic lighting, and the large number of premium discharge and LED fixtures taken from the PR Lighting catalogue.

In total over 130 pieces have been installed, largely drawn from the manufacturer's popular XS1200 portfolio. The complete inventory comprises 34 XS 1200 Spot, 13 XS 1200 Wash, 20 XS 1200 Beam and six XL1200 Framing spots. Also specified were 12 of PR Lighting's XLED 3108 Zoom and 28 of the popular XR300 Beam, and finally 18 of the economical Solo 575P Spot (575W discharge) fixtures provide further beam movement options.

The flexibility offered by PR Lighting's fixtures had been one of the key

UK - The London Eye has never looked better! The company behind one of the capital's top tourist attractions recently called upon the expertise of Unusual Rigging to help with a thorough clean of the London Eye's 90 steel cables in order to prevent failure and increase the expected lifespan of the cables.

Under cover of darkness, Unusual's Robin Elias and a team of riggers, headed by crew chief Phil Dickinson, worked every night over a period of 10 weeks, whilst ensuring the London Eye kept turning and attracting hordes of visitors during the day.

Mark Robinson, technical operations manager at the London Eye said, "We knew right away that Unusual was the right company for this complex job. In 2012, Unusual worked here with STREB, for an event which saw acrobats perform on the steel cables. I found them to be a very professional company and had no doubt that they had the r

Back on Song - The Liverpool Philharmonic Hall has reopened to visitors and live music performances after completion of part of a £14m refurbishment. Originally designed by Liverpool architect Herbert Rowse, the Grade II-listed building first welcomed audiences in 1939 but was closed in May for a revamp of the main concert hall and auditorium. Changes to the concert hall are the first part of the overhaul of the interior, due for completion next summer.

Wembley Bound - Ed Sheeran has announced plans for his biggest solo concert to date at Wembley Stadium on 10 July 2015. He said: "I've made no secret recently of my ambition to play Wembley Stadium on my own in front of 80,000 people. I am absolutely over the moon to be able to announce it's going to happen next summer. It's going to be amazing, I just can't wait." The show will be part of his Multiply

Germany - HK Audio has announced that EASE Focus 2 GLL data is now available for its Linear 5 tops. The Linear 5 range joins HK Audio's Elements, ConTour Array, Cadis, Cohedra and Cohedra Compact systems in the EASE Focus 2 database.

EASE Focus 2 is a three-dimensional acoustic simulation software for the configuration and modelling of line array systems, digitally steered columns and conventional loudspeakers.

The software allows users to calculate levels, time and frequency responses for one or more systems simultaneously, giving them the possibility to plan out the best possible system configurations for every need and venue ahead of time.

Free for the end user, EASE Focus 2 - along with all the dedicated HK Audio GLL data - can be downloaded from a dedicated page on the HK Audio website: http://hkaudio.com/products.php?id=371

For new users, an EASE Focus 2 tutorial vid

Germany - The M10 is a lightweight monitor speaker that is only 29 cm wide and tips the scales at just 13 kg. Despite its compact size and low weight the M10 is designed to convince even the most demanding monitor techs and musicians with high levels and sound fidelity, says the manufacturer.

The required performance is achieved using a heavy-duty 10" cone driver and a high-resolution 1" HF driver which are both operated with virtually no distortions on system amplifiers via a very linear passive crossover. Together with the Linear Phase Technology an acoustic performance is achieved that is known from active 2-way monitor speakers at most. The directivity pattern of the rotatable horn is 60 x 90 degrees or 90 x 60 degrees respectively.

The electric impedance of 16 ohms allows to connect four to eight M10 Monitors to one channel of the 8.4-DSP or 6.2-DSP and 14.4-DSP

UK - Pulsar moved into its present Cambridgeshire premises in the latter part of 2002. It was also at this point they installed LED lighting on the front of the building, confident in its reliability, longevity, and durability. Twelve ChromaPanels were installed on the South-facing front of the factory building in May 2003 and have been running 24/7 ever since, with an additional 21m of ChromaStrip 2 installed the following year.

Fast forward to today and the original ChromaPanels printed with the Pulsar name have clocked an impressive 11 years 5 months of continuous activity - actually surpassing 100,000 hours! This real-world industry first is proof of LED's amazing longevity and also of Pulsar's dedication to making the highest quality LED lighting fixtures on the market, says the company.

Braving all that the Great British weather has to throw at them, the fixtures have en

Puerto Rico - "We chose the Audient ASP4816 because of the audio quality, versatility and size. It really sounds great," says El Liceo de Arte y Tecnologia's head engineer and instructor of music and post programmes, Hilton Colon who was instrumental in setting up the new Studio C at the school.

"The console is easy to use and it is especially good to teach the students signal flow," explains Colon when asked about the Audient desk's advantages. "The mic pre sounds great and so does the EQ. We also appreciate that it has a small footprint."

Specifically used by students of the 16-month long Audio Engineering and Music Production course, the compact console is now at the centre of this, the newest analogue recording studio at the Liceo.

Comprising two HD ProTools systems, compressors by dbx and Avalon, a Lexicon reverb/effects processor and two p

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ETC Halcyon Silent

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USA - City Theatrical will be launching a number of new products at LDI 2014 in Las Vegas this month.

A new feature to the multi award-winning SHoW DMX Neo product line is the addition of Maximum Bandwidth Technology which allows SHoW DMX to change from Frequency Hopping to Wide Band Digital Modulation, which allows it to narrow its output to smaller areas of the 2.4GHz spectrum, such as Wi-Fi channels 13-14, where in the United States, no Wi-Fi broadcast takes place.

This allows SHoW DMX to avoid all Wi-Fi interference in an otherwise saturated spectrum. This is accomplished simply by selecting a SHoW ID on the user interface or via RDM. This feature will be available as an upgrade for all present SHoW DMX Neo users and will be a standard feature of all new SHoW DMX Neo sales.

CTI is expanding their line of professional QolorFLEX brand LED tapes with the addition of 23 new

UK - UK wireless LED lighting manufacturer CORE Lighting is exhibiting at the 2014 LDI expo in Las Vegas for the second consecutive year ... reflecting increased business and a strong interest across its product range in the US and central America.

Two new products are presented in the US for the first time - the PinPoint and the ColourPoint Mk2.

CORE's Phil Ion comments, "Following a great reception for the new products at PLASA, we are hoping for further positive feedback at LDI. We will also be making some important announcements after the show as we focus attention on developing our markets in Canada and the Americas."

As for the new products, the PinPoint - launched at PLASA in London - is a new highly dynamic product - fully designed and made in the UK as with all CORE's technology. Already in production, the tiny IP65 rated wireless pin-spot / birdie weighs

USA - Martin Professional has announced the immediate availability of the Rush MH 5 Profile.

The Rush MH 5 Profile is a compact and bright LED profile moving head with efficient optics to punch out a variety of effects and colours. With two colour wheels, two gobo wheels and rotating prism the MH 5 Profile offers full effects in a super compact housing, making it perfect for DJs, bands, clubs, bars, cruise ships and installations where small footprint and low weight is critical.

"This highly anticipated fixture is fully CE and ETL compliant, which is a strong differentiator to non-certified products," said Mark Buss, product manager for Rush by Martin. "The Rush MH 5 Profile has suffered a slight delay in reaching the market, as we wanted to ensure that all the necessary third party certifications were in place before shipping."

(Jim Evans)

Switzerland - The new Diode Series laser systems from Laserworld has only been on the market a few weeks, but is already experiencing massive demand.

"Many of the big sound & light retailers in Europe listed the products quickly after the product release and the demand from the customers was great," says Norbert Stangl, sales & marketing director at Laserworld. "We set this product line to provide a semi-professional laser show system at significantly low pricing, but with professional features like the latest diode-only technology and analogue modulation."

The Diode Series RGB white light products are available in three different power levels with up to 800mW, 1,800mW and 3,300mW: The DS-900RGB, the DS-1800RGB and the DS-3300RGB. All Diode Series units have automatic mode, sound-to-light mode, DMX512 capability and an ILDA (computer control) interface. The

Europe - Roland has introduced two HDBaseT products to compliment the Roland professional video product lineup that includes the XS Series of Matrix Switchers.

The two new models, the HT-TX01 HDBaseT Transmitter and HT-RX01 HDBaseT Receiver, convert HDBaseT signals to and from an HDMI signal. Designed to transmit or receive audio, video and RS-232 control information up to 100 meters over Cat5/6e cable, the TX/RX pair is ideal for extending HDMI signals over long distances in both live productions and fixed applications.

The HT-RX01 is suited as the receiver for an HDBaseT output coming from any Roland XS Series multi-format matrix switcher - a series designed for fixed installations requiring high-quality integrated video and audio conversion and switching. Using the RS-232 signal transmission function of the XS series allows the user to transmit RS-232 signals from the XS Se

UK - Ofcom has revealed plans to make radio spectrum in the 700MHz band available for mobile data use, as operators of mobile services predict a major increase in mobile data use in the coming years. Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) services and the PMSE (Programme Making & Special Events) sector, which currently use parts of the 700MHz band, will be moved to other frequencies. The changes are expected to be implemented by 2022, but could be could be in place up to two years earlier.

The implication for PMSE users is that equipment which operates exclusively in the 700MHz band will become obsolete and will have to be replaced, as will "a proportion of equipment that has a tuning range which extends both above and below 694MHz" (i.e. within and immediately below the 700MHz band) because the reduction in the equipment's usable tuning range may be sufficient to render

UK - UK-based event safety consultancy Stagesafe reports the Health and Safety Executive's announcement that CDM Regulations will be enforced on the events and entertainment industry from April 2015.

The news was confirmed at last week's meeting of the Joint Advisory Committee on Entertainment (JACE) at the HSE in Westminster. The following report was produced by Michael Anderson and Lee Holloway, members of SAGE (Safety Advisors Group in Entertainment):

"This was an unexpected turn of events as it had appeared earlier this year that a "BEA" (Business Engagement Assessment) industry impact assessment process engaging with the event industry trade associations may have led to a decision not to enforce. But HSE stated that they had since received legal advice that not enforcing would breach European law and expose the government to international prosecution.

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USA - Over 1,000 students gathered 9-11 October at the Willamette Christian Centre in Eugene, Oregon, for the Oregon Ministry Network Youth Convention. Apropos for a youth event, lighting direction and design was handled by one of the youngest lighting designers around, 16-year-old Caleb Franke of Illuminate Production Services. Caleb, who already has a number of lighting designs under his belt, had a large variety of Elation lighting gear at his disposal from discharge-based Platinum Series moving heads to LED-based moving heads, strip lights, Pars, blinders and video panels.

This was Illuminate Production Services seventh year handling lighting for the event, an annual gathering of local youth that features guest speakers, performances and special parties. "When I was designing the rig we needed to transform the room from its church look to a special event conference styl

USA - After being launched to great acclaim at the recent PLASA London international tradeshow, Chroma-Q will be showcasing PLASA Members Choice Awards Finalist, the new Color One 100 LED Par, at LDI 2014 in Las Vegas.

The Color One 100 features an innovative fully homogenised beam, virtually eliminating the colour separation and shadows synonymous with LED lighting - delivering above Par performance from one source.

The unit's optical design provides a smooth, uniform and defined 20° beam. This makes it suitable for use as a front and backlight with clean shadows, and an uplighter with a smooth, even beam.

An extensive RGBA colour-mixing palette delivers outstanding colour blend across the spectrum - including deep-cold blues, red-hot lava looks and super-soft pastels, as well as a complete range of whites. In addition, the high CRI of 93 ensures extremely accurate colo

USA - With its new Meyer Sound system featuring IntelligentDC technology, Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota is fully equipped to provide exceptional audio coverage for every function in its 1,500-capacity Lund Arena. These events range from hockey games to national programmes such as the Nobel Conference, the first ongoing educational conference in the United States to have the official authorization of the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden.

"With the Meyer Sound system, we have controlled and uniform sound everywhere, with ample full-bandwidth power and exceptional speech intelligibility," says Matt Dobosenki, the college's event technical services coordinator. "With the old system, the sound would build up, overexcite the room and lose coherence. Now it's clean and has plenty of punch, but it's never overbearing."

The solution selected for the ar

UK - GMG Network has announced the launch of its new website. An updated design and more detailed information offer visitors to www.GMGNetwork.co.uk a better user experience.

The website demonstrates a sleeker design and greater information on GMG's services and the team's background and experience.

The update is all part of GMG's belief that the company will continue to grow and develop, always listening to their clients and investing in constant improvement.

"It is important to us that when clients visit our website they get an understanding not only of the services GMG can offer but also of GMG's personality" said Jayne McFahn, director. McFahn goes on to say, "Our diary page is a great example of this, weekly updates on everything from how we got started to sharing of thoughts and ideas."

(Jim Evans)

Europe - November 2014 sees the birth of "a new era in live sound mixing", as Yamaha launches the Rivage PM10.

Yamaha's PM1D and PM5D digital mixers have been a mainstay of large scale live productions throughout the world for more than a decade - be they touring live music, festivals, theatre, musicals, dance, municipal or corporate events. Joining the PM series, the Rivage PM10 is a new flagship which, says the company, will again redefine the direction of the digital audio mixing industry.

Rivage PM10 features "many exceptional Yamaha innovations, delivering a true industry milestone for large format digital mixers".

At the core of the Rivage PM10 is Yamaha's quest to deliver the very best possible sound. This is achieved with the newly-developed RY16-ML-SILK Hybrid Microphone Preamplifier.

This design features an analogue section which delivers cons

USA - Robe Lighting Inc. will once again exhibit at LDI on 21-23 November at the Las Vegas Convention Centre. With an elegant booth design and exciting new products including the recently-launched BMFL Spot, the LDI exhibition is the grand finale of Robe's 20th anniversary celebrations.

The Czech Republic-based manufacturer is also sponsoring the recharge lounge. Recharge stations and seating will be available for all LDI guests. The area will highlight the BMFL Spot, a new mega-bright long-throw signature fixture that needs a large environment in order to be shown most effectively.

Numerous products will be introduced by Robe at LDI, including the miniPointe together with all the current product range luminaires on this spectacular booth, which will also feature one of Robe's dazzling lightshows.

Anolis, the architectural division of Robe, will be integrated into the lounge

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