>From Celco came the DMX512-A Buffer: a bi-directional communicator for the new protocol, it protects both sides against mains failure. Also new from Celco was the the MkII version of the DMX recorder, which can manage up to 32 linked DMX devices for install show playback - no batteries or external cards are required for holding programme data.
>HK Audio's Cohedra is a so-called 'small' line array system, but with aspirations to large venues, having debuted at Hull stadium just days before PLASA. A mid/high and floor-only sub, the system uses a pair of 8" and a single 1.5" compression driver in each high pack, utilizing an acoustic lens to form the necessary coherent wave for the highs. To optimize the acoustic gap between the stacked enclosures, two different housings are required to produce the classic J-shaped hang and hence even coverage across a stadium.
>It's been a busy year for Adam Hall as it has taken on the UK distribution of SKB products. General sales manager Rob Fricker said demand for the cases and 19" racks has been high since selling began in April through a network of UK dealers.
>The UK arm of Penton, the manufacturer of loudspeakers and microphones for the public address, background sound and voice evacuation markets, reports that 2003 has been a bumper year and that business continues to thrive - not something you hear every day in the current economic climate, but perhaps other aspects of today's climate are driving the demand for life safety and emergency systems installations.
>In addition to its new LED lighting systems, James Thomas Engineering also had on stand a new Minitower ground support system. Designed to work with JTE's Superlite and Squarelite truss, its 2 mm wall thickness is strengthened with robust diagonal plates whilst the tower features the same, reliable fork connecting system as Squarelite and Superlite. The external dimensions are only 19cm, making it extremely expedient in size and ideal for trade shows, conferences and retail applications.
>Matrix is one of the largest UK manufacturers of pro audio power amplifiers serving the whole market. The range starts at 200W with the ACT Series, through the UKP with outputs from 500W to 2100W, to the STR series with class H outputs up to 3000W. New at the show was a 150W x 4-channel amplifier.
>Corporate bedfellows, and sharing a stand at PLASA, Marantz & Denon both had new niche products of interest to our industry. The Marantz PMD 670 is the offspring of earlier solid-state audio recorders originally developed for radio newsgathering. More robust than its predecessors (it recently withstood a vibration test by Jaguar Racing for use as an in-car recorder), the advent of massive Compact Flash cards and IBM Microdrives (used to store the recordings) means this device is no longer limited, in practical terms, to just making compressed recordings. Four gigabytes of storage make MP3 unnecessary - even recording a full-length concert would be possible. Denon showed two new combination CD/cassette drives, the DN T645 and T625, the 45 featuring mic inputs with both having RS232 inputs for remote control.
>An array of Pixelline LED battens ensured the James Thomas Engineering stand had a bright presence. Controlling the battens was the company's new PixelDrive RADlite-based software system. Several more new products were on show, including the Pixelpar 90L with beam-shaping adaptors; Barlite, an LED edge-lit perspex panel; Pixelline 1044-A, designed for the architectural market and the Highlight 60 edge-lit extrusion. Three new Par 36-sized products were the Pixelpar 12 replacement white light source, Pixelsphere and Pixelsphere-S.
>New company Scene Change Imaging, sister company to DHA Lighting Services, was created to fill the gap between traditional, professional lighting tools and the need for video solutions in projection. The company provides both video content and hardware, and new products on show for its PLASA debut included 'The Mean Green Video Machine' from Hippotizer and the BeaMover video projector.
>A new professional DJ mixing console approved by Carl Cox doesn't come along every day. Vestax drew many an admiring glance from aspiring spinners with the PMC-CX - easily recognizable from the many competitors in this market for its large control knobs and well-spaced layout. Main features include notch filters, three-band EQ isolators and fully balanced outputs. Also from Vestax was the PMC 007, a new scratch mixer with a special mute for cross-fade tucked out of harm's way. The 007 has easy clip-in replacement faders, quickly accessed by a neat pop-up top cover.
>Taking a projector's appearance away from a black square box with a lens is a difficult task, but the curves of Barco's new RLM G5 Performer make it surprisingly pleasing to the eye. Featuring sealed optics, 4000 ANSI lumens output, digital zoom and a maximum resolution of 1600x1200, a range of lenses is available. The SLite large format outdoor LED screen system was displayed, available in visual resolutions of 9.3mm and 14mm. Barco was also demonstrating its Events Controller system, designed to integrate lighting, projection, LED screens, smoke machines and mechanics under one control system.
>At the start of July, Penn Fabrication renamed to Penn/Elcom having acquired Elcom, its biggest competitor in the USA. New products on show this year included Cablesafe, which comes in 700mm sections and has slots for four cables up to 50mm in diameter. Also on show was the 'N' case system and 19" rack-mountable products.
>Martin Professional launched the first in a new range of lighting fixtures for the DJ market. Described by the company's Larry Beck as "a return to our roots," the Mania range is intended to be low-cost yet eye-catching and will be manufactured in Martin's new Chinese facility. First in the series, the EF-1, is a dynamic flower effect featuring six coloured patterns which can either be triggered by sound or operate automatically. The range will ultimately include effect lights, colour changers, strobes, deco effects, scanners and smoke machines. Also for the club market was Atomic Colors, an add-on to the Atomic 3000 strobe which features a gel string of 10 colours, plus the Xciter and Fingers light jockey control surfaces. For live music, Martin Pro's MAC 550 profile was being debuted, along with the new MAC 250 Entour and Krypton versions. The Maxxyz lighting console was als
>Wembley Loudspeaker was again in evidence at PLASA, and took a surprise order which was a fine testimonial to the audio quality of the company's speakers. Eight of its B-Line 28-20 sub bass cabinets have been sold to a new reggae club opening in Kingston, Jamaica. The boxes are being shipped this month ready for the club's opening. Apparently, the club owners first heard Wembley's B-Line 28-20 cabinets at this summer's Notting Hill Carnival in London. They subsequently visited the PLASA show where they agreed the order with Wembley MD Paul MacCallum. His only regret is that they're so easy to use, he won't need to fly over and install them personally!
>At PLASA to meet with customers and discuss its practical design solutions was Gala Theatrical Equipment, worldwide specialist in modular lift systems for a wide range of venues and applications. The company has now notched up more than 500 successful installations worldwide.
>An abundance of new products was launched by Zero 88, including a new member for the Spice family of dimmers - a professional touring 'Spice Rack'. There are four models available, 24- and 48-way, each with Socapex or Harting output options. Popular with educational users is the Phantom Frog, a PC-based emulation programme that allows users to edit shows, record patches and preview cues from a PC. The good news is that it's free.
>Behringer unveiled 13 new products. These included three new 31-band equalizers - the Ultragraph digital DEQ1024, Ultragraph pro FBQ6200 and Ultragraph pro FBQ3102 - and a 15-band stereo-graphic equalizer, the Ultragraph pro FBQ1502. For DJs, there was the VMX1000 - a 7-channel, 19" DJ mixer and a new desktop DJ effects machine - the Tweakalizer. On the speaker side, the company launched the MS16 - a new compact stereo speaker system, and also extended its line of professional reference studio monitors with the launch of three new active and passive models - the Truth B2030A, Truth B2030P, and Truth B2031P.
>The Denon stand featured the DNS-3000, a new, cut-down version of its DNS-5000 table top CD player. A motor-driven 'active platter' provides the turntable 'feel' for scratching and cueing CDs. The D4000 rackmount CD player was also enjoying its first show outing.
>New from Robert Juliat (to be found on the White Light stand) is the Manon 1.2kW MSR followspot. It offers 12.5-22° zoom, cold restrike, 100% closing iris and 100% closing mechanical dimmer. Also new was the Lolita mini-profile -aimed at the theatrical and puppet theatre markets and offering 100W tungsten lamp, full opticals, four shutters and available in either a black or white casing. Francois Juliat reported the company was having a great show, meeting very interested customers.
>Crest showed its new budget console, the HP Eight - a well-featured 32-channel desk with 10 auxes and 8 groups. For the DJ market come two new mixers - the CP6210 and CP6220 - both six input mixers with all rotary controls. The latter model includes three-band EQ, level meters and cross-fader.
>Attracting attention on the Batmink stand was the impressive, high output Bubble Machine, which was filling the area around the stand with the kind of bubbles childhood dreams are made of. Featuring booster fans and remote timers, the machine is new and exclusive to Batmink. Also new, and available from December, are Spectrabank LED strips, which have a total of 912 ultra-high brightness LEDs providing high light output with minimal heat, arranged in 12 individually-controlled clusters.
>ChromaDeck is based on the Pulsar LED Chroma Panel but ruggedized and repackaged to fit into LiteStructures' existing staging system. The polycarbonate top, though not completely scratch-proof, is both strong and light, making this ideal for illuminated dance platforms. LiteStructures also took the opportunity at PLASA to reveal its updated company logo and launch a new website.
>XTBA seems to have the solution to most of the world's DMX requirements. At PLASA, further new products were added to the company's growing portfolio. Amongst these was the new Smart Splitter View - a one in, five out (with loop through) data splitter. It is available in single isolation version, as in the Smart Splitter, as a fully isolated version, as in the Smart Splitter 5i, or as a case version for hanging in the rig. In addition to being the splitter the Smart Splitter View can show (via an easy to read display) the received channel levels and data parameters allowing for easy fault finding and checking of data. In receive mode the viewed channels can be scrolled left and right and displayed in decimal or percent.
>A little 128Mb USB memory stick, the USB Key is all it takes to enable your laptop (Mac/PC or Linux platform) to access displays and control of Strand Lighting's 300 or 500 series consoles (connect via wired or wireless Ethernet). The Designer Remote software only occupies approximately 30% of the stick's capacity, leaving space for offline editing and saving. Also from Strand, the LD24 is a greatly simplified variant of the successful LD90 install panel dimmers. Still a high quality, digital 24-channel 2.5kW dimmer, the LD24 hits a much lower price bracket by removing the more sophisticated architectural and analogue controls. Strand also chose PLASA to launch V2.6.10 - the latest software for Strand consoles featuring a 'host of enhancements'.
