USA - High End Systems (HES) is now shipping the fourth version of its Catalyst software and Media Server. Catalyst software, which was first introduced in 2001, fuses lighting with digital media, allowing the user to create virtual scenery and unlimited visual effects for markets ranging from tours and corporate events to cruise ships and houses of worship.

The new Catalyst v4 is enhanced with support for additional input/output devices as well as complementary products. This support includes cue lists and pixelMAD functionality, expanding the possibilities for users, say HES. Version 4 also enables Catalyst to be controlled by video- and music-industry standard controllers such as Mackie and MIDI controllers. This is the first version of Catalyst to not require a DMX controller. The Pro version of Catalyst features four independent on-screen output mixes and 10 independent ass

UK - The Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA) will host its 2006 AGM and Members Lunch on Tuesday 6 June at the Hurlingham Club in West London.

The event has developed beyond an AGM in recent years, and is now much more of an active discussion forum for members who feedback on the work PLASA is doing and contribute to the future direction of the Association. The Members Lunch, which follows, grows in popularity each year, and in 2006 it is anticipated that 200 member companies will be represented. This year's speaker is business troubleshooter Alasdair Jeffrey who will talk to members about the challenges of growing and running a business. He was 'discovered' by the award-winning BBC series Trouble at the Top in 2004 and, as the subject of the 2006 BBC series The Ferocious Mr Fixit, he has built a formidable reputation over the years as a man who mak

USA - Theatre designer David Taylor recently previewed plans for the Internet 2 facility being designed for the New World Symphony by Frank Gehry. Taylor has been involved with the New World Symphony, developing the new performance, rehearsal, broadcast and distance-learning facility in South Beach, Miami, in conjunction with the Symphony leadership including maestro Michael Tilson Thomas, since 2003.

Making the presentation on behalf of New World Symphony at the 2006 Internet 2 Performance and Master Class Production Workshop in Miami Beach, Florida, Taylor was joined by Richard Bunn, systems consultant from the London office of Theatre Projects Consultants (TPC). The two are close collaborators on the project, which will occupy two adjacent city blocks and which will enable high definition video and audio to be sent to and from a remote site at speeds thousands of times faster

USA - Biamp today announced that Matthew Packer will serve as the new regional manager for the North Asia/Pacific region, which includes Mainland China, Hong Kong & Macao, Taiwan, Japan and Korea. Effective immediately, Matthew Packer assumes responsibility for the coordination and support of regional distributors and channel partners, as well as the maintenance and development of successful integrator relations throughout the region. Based in Beijing, Packer will report to Graeme Harrison, Biamp Systems' vice president of international sales.

Commenting on the announcement, Harrison said: "The size and scope of the installations that Biamp is specified for in the North Asia/Pacific region demand that our sales team has a solid understanding of the region, the industry and the people who make these projects successful. Matthew's technical expertise and real-world experience

USA - Production Resource Group, LLC (PRG) has been honoured by the U.S. Department of Defense for supporting its employees who participate in the National Guard and Reserve Force. The award was presented on behalf of the Office of the Secretary of Defense by the New York Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR).

Recognizing PRG's above and beyond commitment to the Nation's Reserve Component personnel, ESGR presented the company with its 5 Star Statement of Support Certificate. PRG also is listed on the National ESGR website as a 5 Star Level Supporter.

"We are grateful for the sacrifices made by our employees and all men and women in our nations military," says Jere Harris, chairman and founder of PRG. "We are glad to do what we can to support them while they serve."

"Employers can support their personnel by holding jobs open a

USA - Electronic Stockroom, a leading West Coast consumer electronics distributor specializing in high-end audio and video electronics, today announced they will open a branch serving the Pacific Northwest territory of the United States.

"We are very excited to bring our experience and expertise to this new market," said Glen O'Brien, president of Electronic Stockroom. "We have developed a strong presence in California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii and look forward to providing our first-class service to the Pacific Northwest."

Part of the Edge Group of distributors, Electronic Stockroom serves the custom installation and custom home integration markets, addressing the professional integrators' need for 'just-in-time' inventory management by offering on-site and next-day availability of virtually all products they distribute. Some of the premium product lines

USA - Color Kinetics have announced its growing presence in the European market with the appointment of two new distribution partners in the UK. In addition, the company will support the local lighting industry as a new member of the European Lighting Designers Association (ELDA).

Color Kinetics' Q4 2005 revenues from European sales increased 102% year over year, including contributions from the UK market. Color Kinetics' lighting systems are applied in many notable local installations. Most recently they were used to light the beacon atop a 22-story residential tower in London's Tabard Square - allowing it to change colour according to barometric conditions. As the atmospheric pressure changes, the colour of the beacon changes, providing a measurement of weather conditions that is visible for many miles across the city.

Other installations include Plantation Place, Great Ormo

France - GearSourceEurope and Martin Professional France, have officially announced that they have reached agreement to work together, marketing and selling used equipment, which is available from Martin's customer base in France and the Maghreb

Bruno Garros, general director of MPF had realised for some time that he needed to find a partner company to handle an increasing number of requests from clients to assist in selling their used equipment, freeing up vital capital, and allowing them to invest in brand new Martin equipment.

Garros says: "We looked at the market and knew if we were going to refer our customers to someone, we needed to find a partner who could represent us with a high degree of quality and professionalism. GearSourceEurope with their partner in the US, GearSource Inc. have almost four years experience selling used equipment from their highly developed

USA - Building upon the success of its theatrical and entertainment lighting design software, Chicago Stage Equipment, DBA Design and Drafting, released CAD Content, the first ever Visual Shareable Library.

Using Autodesk's advanced i-drop technology CAD Content delivers unbelievable power in an easy to use Visual Library. CAD Content's Visual Library can be shared over a local server or on-line. This advanced power library comes with predefined content, user defined content and online content capabilities. CAD content's on-line path can be modified to control the location that a designer can browse.

CAD Content is a stand-a-lone product and works with AutoCAD, AutoCAD LT or LD Assistant. It speeds up the design process and shortens the overall design times. It is designed for companies and individuals to quickly set up and share design content with their team using on-line an

UK - Video Europe, one of the UK's broadcast hire companies specialising in sporting events, has recently invested in an INNOVASON Sy48 digital mixing console complete with stagebox and several I/O cards supplied by SSE Hire.

SSE's digital systems manager, Richard Willis, stated that Video Europe was delighted with its latest addition to their inventory. "They specifically wanted a small footprint, high performance console capable of handling a full mix for live TV yet that remained compact and lightweight enough for easy transport around the globe. One of their engineers mentioned that INNOVASON might be a good choice, so they approached us for a demo. Once they saw for themselves the amount of processing power housed in such a stripped-down and accessible format, they didn't need any further convincing."

The Sy48's first job was live international cricket coverage

USA - TMB is pleased to announce Lisa Kerwath's promotion to sales manager. Lisa will coordinate global sales with TMB's European general manager, Paul Hartley, and oversee TMB sales operations in the western hemisphere and Asia. Lisa will also help implement a restructuring to accommodate the company's OEM and new architectural divisions.

Kerwath joined TMB in 2001 and is based at the headquarters in Los Angeles. Having worked in TMB's LA, NY and UK offices, Kerwath will help the continued strengthening of TMB's global reach. A native of Georgia, Kerwath represents a tradition of southern hospitality and integrity, qualities that compliment TMB's commitment to friendly and reliable service.

"I am looking ahead," says Kerwath, "TMB's business is more than transactional; it is relationship driven. I intend to maximize our ability to foster and maintain relations

UK - Before the Source Four became the de facto standard fixed-angle profile spotlight, before Selecon discovered that spotlights looked more interesting with an angled back end, there was the Strand Patt 264.

Designed by Fred Bentham, introduced in 1962 and making its first appearance in Richard Pilbrow's lighting design for Lionel Bart's Blitz!, the Patt 264 was a 1kW profile spotlight with a 17° beam angle focused - exactly as with the Source Four - by loosening a focus knob and sliding the lens assembly backwards and forwards. The entire lens tube was mounted with a hinge to the lamphouse, so could be swung open for access to the reflector or lens.

From the outside, the 264's defining feature was the angled lamphouse that pre-tilted the lamp by 30° as it entered the faceted ellipsoidal reflector. Over time, the 264 so established itself in British theatre that the

USA - Eat to the Beat was delighted to work alongside AEG on the inaugural AMGEN Tour of California in February. 16 teams comprising of 127 riders from around the world competed over an eight-day, 700-mile race on a route that passed through the California redwoods, wine country and the Pacific Coast.

Eat to the Beat provided corporate hospitality for the sponsors, press and VIP guests at the start and finish of the race each day. During this period, two teams, one for the 'start' locations and one for the 'finish' locations, the 56 staff prepared and served over 70,000 items of food to more than 9,300 guests in 10 cities at 13 separate events.

Logistically this was a challenging project which involved liaising with different suppliers in each city from San Francisco on day one to Redondo Beach in Los Angeles at the end of the race on day eight. Everything had to be packed up

UK - The people behind the Blue Room online discussion forums have announced the launch of a new service for the entertainment industry. The Blue Room Wiki, it is hoped, will provide the backstage community with an ever-growing knowledge-base of technical know-how. Building on the success of the Blue Room forums, the Wiki will enable forum members to contribute their knowledge in article form to an online encyclopaedia.

The Blue Room now boasts almost 4,000 members, with over 110,000 messages posted since its official launch in January 2003. With over 4.5 million hits each month, the Blue Room has proved very popular. "The introduction of a Wiki is something which we've been working on for a while. We saw that the Blue Room was becoming, in part, a repository for a vast assortment of technical knowledge and advice, and an online encyclopaedia seemed like the next logical st

UK - March 2006 saw the Stardraw.com website deliver more than 100GB of data in a single month for the first time. Marketing director Rob Robinson explains: "We have seen steady growth in the distribution of data relating to all Stardraw products for some time, but it is remarkable that downloads from www.stardraw.com have almost tripled since this time last year. Breaking the 100GB/month mark so soon frankly caught us by surprise - charting the month-on-month trend in 2005 suggested that we wouldn't reach this point until next year."

Stardraw.com has delivered all its products exclusively through its website since January 2002. In addition to the initial installation of long-established design/documentation tools like Stardraw A/V and Stardraw Lighting 2D, users employ the website to download program updates and to access libraries of more than 50,000 high-quality sym

USA - Cirque du Soleil has announced that review performances begin at The Mirage in Las Vegas on 2 June for The Beatles LOVE, the company's latest production, which celebrates the musical legacy of The Beatles. The Gala Premiere will be held Friday, 30 June, 2006. This joint artistic venture, born out of a personal friendship and mutual admiration between the late George Harrison and Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté, marks the first time that The Beatles company, Apple Corps Ltd, has agreed to a major theatrical partnership.

Sir George Martin, The Beatles original producer, and his son Giles Martin have been working with the entire archive of Beatles recordings to create the musical component for LOVE. The result is an unprecedented approach to the music for a stage production. "After spending more than 40 years of my life working with The Beatle

Hungary - Eleven audio professionals gathered in Budapest early this year for Hungary's first Meyer Sound training seminar on source independent measurement and the SIM 3 audio analyzer system. The intensive five-day course was taught by Mauricio "Magu" Ramirez, Meyer Sound's senior technical seminar instructor, with logistical support of the event entrusted to Makkay Imre of Chromatica, Meyer Sound's Hungarian distributor.

"After finishing this seminar, I felt like the proverbial blind man who has his sight restored," says Komjáthy Árpád, chief engineer for Expander 2000 Ltd., one of Hungary's largest rental companies. "Now I can see what I hear!"

Imre adds: "Attending a seminar led by Mauricio is always a great pleasure. He has an exceptional talent for helping his students learn quickly and in a practical manner."

The course mate

Esca-3000, distributed by Profi Trade in Germany is basically a steerable tallescope. "Mobility in every height, without a motor!" says the brochure. As we observed from the ground, a volunteer was tasked with the mission of driving himself around in the dark haze of the lighting hall, at height . . . check it out for yourself.

USA - BSR E.19, Recommended Practice for the use of Class A Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs) intended for personnel protection in the Entertainment Industry, is available for public review. The draft standard gives advice on where, when, and how to use GFCIs rated for 100A and less in the entertainment industry. These devices are used for personnel protection in entertainment applications encompassing places of assembly, the production of film, video and broadcast, theatrical productions, carnivals, circuses, fairs and similar events in North America. The official ANSI 45-day public review period starts on May 26, but the draft standard is available now at http://www.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php. The public review runs through until the end of 10 July 2006.

Reviewer

UK - Three innovative products, 11 stand-out projects and a UK lighting designer were the outstanding winners at the Lighting Design Awards at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London, on 30 March.

PLASA and the PLASA Show played a key role in the evening, sponsoring the new Entertainment Lighting Award, designed to give lighting designers recognition for their creative work. Following a rigorous judging process, the Award went to the Old Man of Storr in Trotternish on the Isle of Skye, which became the centrepiece for an extraordinary night-time event as an average of 200 people nightly took the midnight walk to the spectacular rock pinnacle. The Storr forest, cliffs and corrie provided the backdrop for a subtle and imaginative light and sound installation by Dave Bryant.

Peterborough Cathedral, which dates to 1118, won the Heritage Lighting Award for a scheme,

The Netherlands - With the delivery of a complete Alcons LR16 pro-ribbon line-array system, Amsterdam-based Focus Showequipment has chosen Alcons as main sound system brand for their rental inventory. The system consists of 18 pcs. LR16 ribbon line-array modules, 6 pcs. LR16B line-array bass complete with accompanying ALC4 2x 2kW controller-amplifiers and processing.

The choice for Alcons was made on basis of a number of comparison tests and on basis of their experience with a large number of brands from Focus' own rental inventory. Most important decision criteria were performance, logistics, but also a wide acceptance of the brand throughout the different application areas.

Paul Lassooij, co-owner, and responsible for the rental equipment, says: "Important for a large organisation as Focus, is to serve a largest possible range of applications with a smallest number of d

Hungary - DiGiCo's ongoing worldwide sales expansion has recently enjoyed a significant boost with the appointment of Chromatica as the brand's distributor in Hungary.

Chromatica is a relatively young but fast-growing company, with founder Makkay Imre setting himself the challenge of bringing the very best audio brands to the eastern European country.

"The company has been established for four years and our aim is to provide superb audio quality and the world's best support to our customers," says Imre . "And with brands like Meyer Sound, Audix, Furman and Avalon already in our inventory, we knew that we needed to be able to supply very high class digital mixing consoles.

"The truth is that it didn't take long to find the best choice," he continues. "We had so much good feedback about DiGiCo consoles from system techs and sound engineers from ri

UK - In celebration of the Betapack's 16th birthday Zero 88 are launching an updated version at ABTT this year.

All the best features of the Betapack have been retained so users can be assured that the Betapack 3 will offer the same reliability and durability as the current version. A number of new features have been added to improve the dimmers functionality. These have all been added with no extra cost, ensuring the Betapack 3 continues to offer fantastic value for money.

The new features include: MCB protection as standard; isolated DMX input; patchable per channel; preheat, topset and dimmer law selectable per channel; 12 programmable backup memories; three programmable 99-step sequences with adjustable times; auto DMX termination when loop-through plug is removed; temperature monitoring and progressive overheat shutdown.

The versatility of the Betapack means it can be i

USA - Just in case you couldn't be on the scene for NAB 2006, the videohounds at b-roll.net have got you covered. As one of the web's leading resources for TV news photographers, b-roll.net expert shooters made the leap this year from writing about NAB tocapturing the highlights on video. To make sure the sound was as crisp as the images and editing, they hit the Las Vegas Convention Centre equipped with Lectrosonics wireless microphones.

"NAB 2006 was the ultimate test for a wireless system," reports Kevin Johnson, founder of b-roll.net. "Even with so much RF running around the building, we never had a problem with losing the signal from our Lectrosonics mics. In all my experiences with Lectrosonics they've been a solid performer, and that held true in the challenging environment that ashow the size of NAB presents." The b-roll team set out with highly porta

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