Benelux - Vivitek has announced a new distribution agreement with Sanel for Belgium and Luxembourg.

"Sanel's reputation for excellence and their expertise in the audio visual market have been central to Vivitek in choosing Sanel," " says David Zrihen, sales manager Vivitek. "With the enthusiasm of the Sanel team, their market development skills and support for the dealer, we expect to see solid growth for Vivitek in the Belgian and Luxembourg market."

Sanel is a Benelux-oriented company that provides and advises AV integrators, AV rental companies and digital signage specialists. Sanel is known as a distributor of amongst others Panasonic, and Sanel's core products are projectors of all sizes , professional LCD and plasma monitors, digital signage solutions and video conferencing, as well as a whole range of peripheral products for AV integration.

Vi

UK/Germany - Mushroom Lighting Technology has added significantly to its portfolio of distributed brands by becoming a UK distributer for three European brands - Mobiled, LTH and CLS.

With a team that boasts over 40 years experience in the lighting industry, Northampton-based Mushroom is a distributor, consultant and installer (for both temporary and permanent installations) of high quality lighting, sound and pyrotechnics. The addition of three major new lighting brands to its distribution portfolio gives customers throughout the UK a considerably wider choice of lighting products, whether for entertainment, architectural, retail or industrial applications.

The wireless LED fixtures from France's Mobiled mean that LED lighting systems can be put together which are remarkably versatile. Battery power and cable-free DMX control mean that very flexible systems can be put togethe

USA - Imagine Dragons has exploded onto the music scene of late and LD Nook Schoenfeld has turned to Elation Professional's compact Rayzor Q7 LED moving head to paint the American alt rocker's current Into the Night arena tour in coats of saturated colour.

"I wanted a small light that I could use in bulk that had internal LED color mixing and the Rayzor Q7 fit the bill perfectly," stated Nook, who handles production design on the band's five-week stint across North America.

Imagine Dragons enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2013 with the album Night Visions and top hit Radioactive and more success has followed in 2014 with a recent Grammy award and the Into the Night tour.

Nook says he turned to the compact Rayzor Q7 LED for the current tour for three main reasons: size, colour quality and price. "I like to emulate the old PAR can 64s o

Canada - Located near Saint John, New Brunswick, the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station, which began operating in 1983, has been redesigned to meet all current nuclear facility standards. This included upgrades to its life safety systems and a plant-wide public address system completed by Backman Vidcom using Community loudspeakers for the outdoor and large indoor areas of the site.

Based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Backman Vidcom is a leading specialist in commercial audiovisual design, integration and service in the Atlantic Provinces. Backman Vidcom's audio division manager, Steve O'Rourke, commented, "Since 9/11 there has been a real focus on life safety systems. Along with security, fire protection and rescue systems, the PA system plays a vital role in plant safety. In an emergency situation, the ability to hear announcements and alerts clearly can be a matter of l

UK - Bristol-based lighting rental specialist Fineline Lighting is supplying all house lighting & rigging to Motion - one of the most popular multi-room clubbing experiences in the UK , located in a atmospherically significant collection of historic warehouses in central Bristol, and with a reputation for showcasing some of the best EDM sounds on the planet.

Hand-in-hand with this goes a big commitment to providing the very best in production values for Motion clients, explains head of lighting James Harrington, who asked Fineline onboard as the regular lighting and rigging supplier in 2011, having known the company for many years.

Fineline supplies a standard 'house' lighting rig to the venue which has a capacity for up to 2,500 people depending on how many of its multiple spaces are opened, and this is regularly augmented with extras and specials as and when needed.

"

Germany - Danley Sound Labs, manufacturer of innovative loudspeakers and subwoofers, will be at booth 8.0N60 (Hall 8.0, Booth N60) at Pro Light & Sound in Frankfurt. As Danley approaches its tenth year in business, its solid foundation in the house of worship and theatremarkets has expanded exponentially into the arena and stadium markets with the introduction of the Danley Genesis and Jericho horns, which deliver line array coverage from point-source designs.

To support and sustain that growth, Danley is seeking international dealers and distributors in several key locations to join its team. Interested parties should either contact Jonathan "J.P." Parker, director of sales, and Chad Edwardson, applications engineer, or meet them at Pro Light & Sound.

"Although we have many areas of the world covered, there are still numerous holes in Danley's global dealer and

USA - It was a night of glittering gowns, a red carpet and amazing lighting at The Trumpet Awards in Atlanta, Georgia. Bandit Lites provided the lighting for the event which works to celebrate and honour African American achievers and those who support the African American experience.

The Awards, which took place 25 January at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center, honour accomplishments in diverse fields including law, medicine, business, politics, the Arts, civil rights, sports, entrepreneurship, entertainment and other careers.

The honourees of this year's event were a distinguished crowd including DeVon Franklin, senior vice president of Columbia Tristar Pictures, The Honorable Kamala Harris, Attorney General of California, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, awarding winning producers and song writers, Golden Globe winning actress Alfre Woodard, and Harvard Law professor Charles

UK - PLASAtechnical announces that the RDM and sACN Developers Conference and Plugfest returns for 2014 and will take place on Thursday 24, Friday 25 and Saturday 26 April, in the UK, at Gatwick Manor, London Road at Lowfield Heath, just south of Gatwick Airport.

The Developers Conference provides a European forum for manufacturers, designers, consultants and prospective users; and aims to ensure that the adoption of these new standards achieves desired levels of interoperability and reliability.

Conference sessions will cover the understanding, implementation and use of the published E1.20 and E1.37 RDM standards as well as the E1.31 sACN standard. Other projects in the current PLASA Technical Standards Program such as"E1.33 : RDMnet" will also feature.

In all, three new Control Protocol projects were proposed at the recent PLASA meetings, held in January in Dalla

Europe - Swedish PA company, Parashoot, has been on a European tour with Norwegian singer songwriter, Ane Brun, using iLive and ME systems for FoH and Monitors.

Parashoot used an iLive-T112 system, mixing both FOH and monitors on the same console. xDR-16 I/O expander racks were positioned on stage, one left and one right, along with an iDR-16 MixRack.

Parashoot has worked with Ane Brun since 2007, and the lineup comprises two drum kits with open micing, an upright bass with FX pedals, various guitars, 2 keyboards, backing vocalists and Brun. All musicians bar one used in ear monitors, and Parashoot opted to use Allen & Heath's ME personal monitoring system, comprising five ME-1 personal mixers with a ME-U hub as the power and distribution system on stage.

"I took the ME-1s down to rehearsals and everyone was thrilled with them. The layout is easy, you can pan and it's a

UK - In support of his second album, Shangri-La, Jake Bugg set out on a UK tour, including headlining the first Albert Session of 2014 at Royal Albert Hall on 21 February. The sold out tour featured his home city at The Capital FM Arena Nottingham; Newcastle; London; Edinburgh and Manchester. At the Albert Hall he captivated his audience in two sets - one acoustic and one with his band.

PRG senior account manager Scottie Sanderson worked closely with Stuart Farrell, the lighting designer for Bugg's UK tour. The eclectic run of venues started as smaller club shows, building to the larger Nottingham Arena and Royal Albert Hall; back down to the Corn Exchange in Edinburgh. The prep was built around the larger shows, and allowed the crew to scale back with minimum impact on the production.

Facing a number of logistical challenges across the series of venues, Farrell talks a

USA - The Super Bowl Halftime Show always glitters, and Bruno Mars's stellar performance at Super Bowl XLVIII was no exception. This year 330 Clay Paky Sharpys and a dozen Clay Paky A.leda B-EYE K20s were on hand to illuminate the show.

Lighting designer Bob Barnhart opted to have "a more rock 'n roll vibe in the rig than the stylized, choreographed shows that we've seen in the past. Bruno wanted this to be more of a live rock show."

Barnhart was challenged to capture that rock 'n roll sensibility as well as prepare for winter weather conditions that might envelop the open-air MetLife stadium in New Jersey. "It was a question of what we could design that could survive severe weather," he says. "Another factor was the limitations of rigging positions in the building and how we could symmetrically lay out the rig. We had to cover as much of the full stad

France / UK - French loudspeaker systems manufacturer APG has announced the appointment of experienced pro audio professional Scott Fraser to head up APG's UK sales operation. "The fact of going direct will ensure that UK clients benefit from exactly the same support as customers in France, in addition to having access to a significant stock of demo equipment," say APG.

The move is indicative of APG's broader international strategy throughout the EMEA region. According to APG's VP global sales, Bruno Garros, the decision to go direct has been maturing for some time. "It is clearly the best solution for APG in the UK," he commented. "The traditional distribution model puts too many obstacles between us and the customer. We felt very strongly that the best way forward for us was to have a direct link into the UK with someone who is actually employed and tr

USA - Sacramento Production & Lighting (SPL) supplied both LED and discharge lighting gear from Elation Professional for Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson's State of the City address held at the historic Sacramento Memorial Auditorium on 12 February.

The 3800-seat multi-purpose venue is over 80 years old and after reopening in 1996 after a thorough renovation maintains all the charm of a building listed on the National Historic Register. SPL chose to light the historic stage, curtain and columns using Elation Platinum Wash ZFX Pro and Platinum Spot 15R Pro moving heads, as well as Elation Design LED Strips and Opti QA PAR lights.

"We are an Elation house primarily because of cost and road durability and used the Elation gear on the State of the City address to augment the venue's existing house lighting system that consisted of a front truss only," stated SPL's Dion Coo

USA - Audio-Technica microphones and headphones are used by SXSWfm, the dedicated online radio portal of the South By Southwest (SXSW) festival, which takes place each year in Austin, Texas.

This year's festival, which will be held 7-16 March, will encompass film, media, technology, and of course music, with over 1700 showcasing artists playing live. The channel is now live at www.sxswfm.com and currently features artists that have showcased during the SXSW's 27-year history and all other aspects of the festival.

"The goal of the channel is to reflect the wide spectrum of sounds you can hear when you attend the SXSW Music Festival," stated Kevin Connor, SXSWfm programming manager. "It's all kinds of music from all over the world. As the SXSW 2014 season progresses, we will be introducing you to the artists who will be joining us in Austin in March for five night

Mexico - Mexico City's Teatro Telcel is hosting the first Spanish adaptation of the musical Wicked, with a record-breaking 50,000 tickets sold in its first five weeks. As with eight other Wicked productions worldwide, renowned Broadway sound designer Tony Meola has chosen Meyer Sound as the audio foundation, this time including Mexico's first Constellation acoustic system.

"Constellation works amazingly well with amplified musicals in houses like Teatro Telcel," observes Meola. "Amplified sound in a dead acoustical environment makes it sound like the room doesn't have any dimension to it. But with Constellation, all of a sudden the sound is given dimension, and everything sounds much more real. I was surprised when I heard the effect, and I imagine it would be very welcome in many of the road houses where Wicked tours will play well into the future.&

The Netherlands - On the eve of the ISE in Amsterdam on 4 February, Bosch Communications Systems invited its international distribution partners to a distributors' meeting at which Kamil Swobodzinski, vice president sales communication EMEA, and his sales team were pleased to welcome to the Pakhuis de Zwijger more than 150 business partners from Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The agenda included an update on business developments, a look ahead to the coming year, and the unveiling of new products. An effective multimedia presentation was chosen this year as a means of introducing the latest innovations from Dynacord and Electro-Voice. Since the official launch of the new products is scheduled for the Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt in March, this part of the programme was followed with particularly keen attention.

Another highlight of the distributor meeting was the present

UK - Popular folk-punk singer Frank Turner has taken Europe by storm with an energetic arena tour featuring bold, atmospheric lighting controlled by Avolites' Sapphire Touch console.

Lighting designer Shaun Moore utilised the Sapphire Touch's dual wide screens and intuitive layout functionality to provide him with easy access to and integration of all the fixtures in the extensive rig.

"With the console giving the user full freedom to define the layout, I am able to create windows of fixture type, and then fixtures per song," says Moore. "This makes finding fixtures within the interface a breeze. Also, each song is programmed as a cue stack and there are no more than four faders per song, which is amazing as it makes running the show stress-free, allowing me to enjoy my work.

"I just love everything about the console. With each software update it makes my

Uk - Describing UEP's equipment inventory as both "quirky" and "eclectic", Steve Butcher, founder of the technical event production company, can draw on many years' experience providing top-level support across premium lighting, sound and staging components.

He regularly reviews his hire stock to ensure it remains at the cutting edge and this month invested substantially in SGM's new generation of LED lighting effects, ordering substantial quantities of SP-6 SixPack pixel blinders, XC-5 RGB colour strobes and P-5 wash lights from SGM UK. UEP had barely taken delivery of the low-profile strobes before they were requisitioned for The BRIT Awards 2014 at the O2 Arena.

Having set up Universal Event Productions (UEP) back in 1998 and watched it rapidly develop, Steve Butcher can reflect on many high-end corporate projects featuring not only leading multinational

UK - The eyes of the music world were on London in mid-February as the annual BRIT Awards brought together many of pop music's brightest stars at the O2 Arena. Sennheiser was much in evidence, the high quality of the company's equipment and support ensuring that the RF-heavy show enjoyed crystal clear sound throughout.

The company's 9000 series digital microphone system was used at a BRITS ceremony for the first time, with host James Corden and all awards presenters using SKM 9000 handhelds with Me 9004 heads.

Broadcast live on television, the show featured performances by an array of stellar names, all of whom used Sennheiser 2000 series/G3 in-ear monitors.

Most also used Sennheiser microphones - Beyoncé and Katy Perry using custom SKM 5200s with MD 5235 heads, Bruno Mars an SKM 5200 with 5235 head, Bastille SKM 2000s with 965 heads, Rudimental SKM 2000s with 935 hea

UK - Already owners of an MLA System 30, Manchester-based VME Ltd have extended their commitment to Martin Audio's premier platform by investing in a further 28 x MLA, six MLD down-fills and 12 MLX subs - bringing their inventory up to 76 enclosures.

This not only gives them a powerful and award-winning front-line system with which to pitch for new business but positions them as the second largest MLA rental company in Europe.

Managing director Dion Davie said the new round of investment just before the turn of the year was the result of meeting increased broadcast requirements for Sky Sports and the prospect of a busy summer season. Large amounts of their stock have already been requisitioned for use at outdoor events this summer, including their own stately home classical concerts.

"We had so many big boxes going out and we wanted to remain self-contained," he sa

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) Ltd. have been appointed as the exclusive UK distributor for James Thomas Engineering (JTE) Ltd's innovative, retro-styled Patt 2013 tungsten-source softlight.

JTE and lighting designer, Tim Routledge, collaborated on the new project to create a range of vintage-look lighting fixtures with a modern twist. Combining old school aesthetics with a modern output and build quality, the JTE Patt 2013 is the first of this range to be released.

The fixture is a 750W tungsten softlight housed in a beautifully sleek spun aluminium body which maximises its curves to look as good on stage as the performers it illuminates. Taking inspiration for its appearance from vintage broadcast lighting, the JTE Patt 2013 is designed around an easily available, reliable, HPL dimmable light source.

Featuring a 550mm OD spun parabolic aluminium reflector, th

UK - Blackout used its draping expertise to transform Earls Court Two, making it match ready for the World Tennis Day Showdown, 3 March 2014.

Launched by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) as part of its ongoing campaign to endorse the sport and increase participation, the second-ever World Tennis Day recreated history as iconic tennis pros including Andre Agassi vs. Pete Sampras and Novak Djokovic vs. Andy Murray, took to the court.

With sister events taking place simultaneously in New York and Hong Kong, this was the first time the event was held in the UK. The one day sporting spectacular also featured various interactive workshops and coaching sessions for guests to try out their tennis skills.

Working with long-term client Earls Court and event organisers Star Games, Blackout installed 2,500m2 of black wool serge drapes carefully shaped around the perimeter of th

Germany - Core Brands will showcase the latest innovations in its Furman line of power management products at Prolight+Sound. Exhibiting with Trius Vertrieb GmbH & Co. in Hall 8, Stand C40, Furman will display its new F1500-UPS E, PS-8R E III and an array of the company's 230V rackmountable Pro products.

As Furman's first BlueBOLT-compatible 220V-240V product, the F1500-UPS E uninterruptible power supply is specifically designed for A/V installations within EMEA countries. The battery backup and power conditioning device provides 1500VA of true sine wave battery backup to prevent data loss and allow the orderly shutdown of connected equipment in the event of a power outage.

Featuring Furman's advanced non-sacrificial SMP surge/spike protection circuit, Extreme Voltage Shutdown (EVS) and Linear Filtering Technology (LiFT), the F1500-UPS E provides professional-level protection,

The Netherlands - Lighting designer André Beekmans from Eindhoven, The Netherlands based creative lighting practice The Art of Light specified Robe Robin Pointes and Robin LEDBeam 100s to be a major visual feature of his stunning designs for the A State of Trance 650 (ASOT) event, staged at the Jaarbeurs, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Beekmans - who designs lighting for a number of superstar DJs including Armin van Buuren, Hardwell and Afrojack - is one of the best known designers in the Netherlands and has an imaginative and innovative approach to lighting EDM events and all the specialist aesthetics this genre requires. He has lit ASOT in multiple countries on every continent ... however, with Utrecht being on his own home turf, this required some extra special treatment!

Part of making the Utrecht show special for the 32,000 EDM fans who packed into the venue to i

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