Germany - Robe lighting held its fourth International Distributor's Conference (IDC) in Frankfurt at the Kempinski Hotel in Gravenbruch. This was attended by nearly 200 people from over 60 companies representing 80 countries, and a major segment of Robe's International distributor and dealer network.

The timing was chosen to coincide with the 2011 Prolight+Sound Exhibition in Frankfurt, at which Robe launched five new products - the Robin 600 PureWhite, the Robin 300 LED Wash, the Robin MMX Spot - the first of a new generation of 1200 Series luminaires, the DigitalSpot 3500DT and the versatile CityFlex 48.

The fast moving format of the 2011 IDC included a full presentation and overview of all the new feature-packed products, giving the distributors a preview ahead of the exhibition.

Robe's sales director Harry von den Stemmen kicked off the Conference, updating everyone with

Germany - Following a successful launch of new fixtures at this year's Prolight + Sound, ETC has introduced another new control desk - Congo Kid.

Designed to offer Congo software to small and budget conscious venues with conventionals, LEDs, moving lights and media servers, Congo Kid provides the same controls as a Congo jr, while also supporting up to two external displays.

However, where it differs from Congo jr is that it has a maximum count of 512 control channels, and up to 1,024 outputs on two universes of DMX. It also doesn't allow the connection of external fader wings or modules.

As with any other Congo system, the 40 built-in Master Playback faders can be used for control of channels, groups, presets, sequences, effects, palettes, channel layouts, console key functions and parameter controls. And as with any other Congo system, Congo Kid supports 999 master pages,

UK - Claire House (Cooper Controls), Philip Norfolk (MA Lighting) & Simon Allan (Martin Professional) have joined forces to participate in 'Hell Rider' this June to raise money for Light Relief.

Light Relief is a charity established by and for the entertainment lighting industry, to help in times of extreme hardship. Formed specifically to help theatre lighting designers and those working in the field who are not in regular full time employment, Light Relief can provide either practical support or financial help, depending on the individual need.

The Hell Rider course comprises separate run (5km) and bike (8km) loops and the team has eight hours in which to complete as many laps as possible. Over the eight hours Claire, Philip and Simon will each be completing over 30km of hilly, off road terrain in this tough challenge.

Whilst the team members are keen runners and bikers an

Australia - Nitro Circus Live, which has just toured Australia, is based on the popular MTV extreme sports show led by Travis Pastrana. The show features sport stunts from free style motor cross and skateboards to a wheelchair bound guy flinging himself off the 50ft high Gigantor Ramp.

Global Action Sports, who have the worldwide rights to create the Nitro Circus show, had already worked with George Gorga when he was sound designer for Crusty Demons. For this show, they commissioned him to create a soundtrack as well as design and operate the audio system.

"With Nitro Circus we were able to build the show from scratch, trying to retain elements from the television show whilst creating an exciting live show," said Gorga. "It's sort of scripted but can be very unpredictable."

For the outdoor Nitro Circus Live shows Gorga opted for a JBL VerTec PA system gro

UK - City of Westminster College has recently moved into its newly built Paddington Green Campus complete with multifunction theatre space - into which were installed industry-standard PixelPars, from PixelRange, by LSI Projects.

LSI Projects responded successfully to a system design inclusive of all lighting, audio and AV integration, by theatre consultants, Drama by Design, who designed and specified all the technical systems for the theatre, worth half-a-million pounds.

Drama by Design's Andrew Stone comments, "The requirement of the College was to have a professional standard performance theatre - and that's why we opted for the PixelPars because they are professional standard, as opposed to some of the cheap alternatives. They offer bright, even light output. They are durable and they last. It is essential for technical theatre students to get experience of what they

UK Cliff Richard tribute artist Jimmy Jemain has boosted his live sound with the purchase of an HK Audio L.U.C.A.S Alpha PA system. Jemain, who is also known as The Shadow Of Cliff has been performing the hits of Sir Cliff and The Shadows for more than 20 years.

Featuring a 1200-Watt subwoofer and two 400-watt satellites, L.U.C.A.S Alpha weighs in at a comparatively light 96kg but has all the power of a big rig setup. This is suitable for Jemain's act, as he performs variously with a band and as a solo singer to backing tracks.

"The power and clarity from the L.U.C.A.S Alpha is incredible - a real step up from the system we were using and, amazingly, in a much more manageable package," says Jemain. The system was supplied by HK Audio 'Concert Sound Partner' Arranpaul Audio. in Blackpool.

(Jim Evans)

Germany - Wireless Solution Sweden was hard to miss at Prolight + Sound 2011 in Frankfurt. Besides a prominent stand as part of Lightpower Village, W-DMX could be found at a plethora of OEM partners displaying products offering W-DMX as either standard or option.

One of the newest OEM partners displaying W-DMX enabled products was Philips Vari*Lite, which offers optional W-DMX on the VL440, VL770, VL880, VL400 and the VLX3. The fixtures offer various lighting options with flexibility and "green" options in these new wireless products.

In addition, Antari was showing its W-Series of W-515, W-530 and X310 Pro Series professional fog machines. Laserworld showed its SwissLas, Purelight, Purelight Blue Beam, Moving Head and Revolution product series, which offer W-DMX as standard.

Other OEM partners exhibiting included A & O, Chroma-Q, DTS, JB Lighting, Pulsar, PR Light

UK - The 600-capacity Under The Bridge, situated at Chelsea FC's Stamford Bridge ground, has been built on the site of the former Purple Nightclub. Close attention to detail and an extremely high specification were the goals of the creative team, headed by concept designer Jim Cafarelli (of House of Blues fame), Ian Woodall (of XL Video) and Andrew Frengley (Matrix Nine).

Both Woodall and Frengley have worked closely together in the past and it was the latter's extensive experience of touring EAW systems for many years (while a director of premier rental company, Canegreen) that drove them to the brand.

But they weren't looking for an off-the-peg solution for the main PA system, as Ian Woodall confirms. "What we really needed was a KF730 on steroids," he quipped, referring to the company's small format line array. Such was their enthusiasm that they headed to Frankfu

USA - The digital and networked audio specialist, Digigram, has announced that their Aqonda EtherSound stageboxes are now remotely controllable via Soundcraft and Studer digital consoles, as well as Innovason and Yamaha.

Building on the success of Digigram's original EtherSound audio bridges, these 'latest generation' devices are capable of converting up to 16 analogue signals into as many EtherSound channels and vice versa (extracting EtherSound channel to analogue outputs). Furthermore, both Aqonda units (8-in/8-out or 16-in/16-out) offer high end switchable mic/line inputs, Neutrik connectors and state-of-the-art preamps for uncompromised Digigram audio quality throughout.

In addition to their remote control capabilities, Aqonda devices are the first in the world to be ES-Giga ready (EtherSound 2 x 256 channel count plus additional network and control capabilities). Time an

UK - The Arena Group provided 60 temporary tower structures and 1,450 temporary tiered seats overlooking the finish-line in front of Buckingham Palace for the capitals' largest sporting event, the Virgin London Marathon, 17 April 2011.

Arena supplied all of the mile and kilometre marker towers along the 26.2mile route, which the 36,000 runners passed by from Blackheath to the finish line in St James Park. Arena Group built the markers that signified distance achieved, from the first mile to '800m To Go' on the main and Red Route, totalling approximately 60 individual constructions.

Owing to the busy location, only six of these towers were built on the Friday prior to the race, with the remaining markers being constructed the Saturday before, complete with sponsors' branding.

Arena's project manager, Martin Clark comments,"As the marathon route runs straight through the

UK - Prolyte Group's creative division, Litestructures, was recently commissioned by marketing agency Momentum to create an installation for the exclusive My Live Story event. The competition, sponsored by American Express, aimed to uncover the most interesting and best-presented (in photo and video format) personal music experiences, celebrating the power to entertain, inspire and create lasting memories.

A star-studded, red-carpet event was held at London's Abbey Road Studios, where guests watched the premiere of Epic- a film featuring the pictorial music memoires of the 21 finalists - and saw Mark Ronson and the Business Intl. perform live.

Litestructures was commissioned to design, produce, install and implement a structure for the event that comprised a series of physical and digital components creating a large scale AV 'photo-wall'. The brief called for a v

Italy - In early June, at a seminar hosted by TC Electronic, some of the most respected audio authorities - including George Massenburg and Bob Katz - gather in Rome, Italy, to share their thoughts and experiences regarding mixing, mastering and broadcasting.

The first day of the seminar will focus on post-production, while the second day will concentrate on professional broadcasting and particularly the radical changes happening in production and distribution of broadcast, film and music as a consequence of new ITU and EBU standards.

For example, the groundbreaking and comprehensive EBU R128 loudness recommendation is investigated from a multitude of angles, while only a few weeks earlier, ITU's loudness standard, BS.1770, will have been updated. The consequences of BS.1770-2 will also be evaluated and put into practical perspective.

TC Electronic Audio Seminar takes place

Czech Republic - The next Showlight - the international conference organised by and for lighting professionals - is to be held in the Czech Republic town of ?eský Krumlov on 18-21 May 2013.

The town's 13th century Gothic castle with its connected theatre and conference centre will be the main venue for the presentations and exhibition. All delegates are able to stay within the pedestrianised town; vehicle access is deliberately restricted in order to retain the medieval feel of the UNESCO Heritage site.

Showlight's organising committee chairman, Ian Dow, says, "The decision to take the four day event to the town was taken after visiting a number of different potential areas, and it was the intimate feel and stunning backdrop of ?eský Krumlov that won us over.

"Showlight offers a unique opportunity to listen to and consider the experiences of lighting professional

UK - Entec Sound moved into London's Royal Albert Hall for the seven-day run of 2011 Teenage Cancer Trust (TCT) shows, which kicked off with a comedy night on the Monday, followed by a mix of music for the rest of the week, headlined by Squeeze, Biffy Clyro, Roger Daltrey, Beady Eye, The Editors and Tiny Tempah.

The event is now in its 11th year, and Entec has serviced it right from the start. For the last four years, they have used a similar d&b sound system, which is designed by systems tech Liam Halpin, and refined, fine-tuned and tweaked slightly each time they work in the venue.

Halpin was also crew chief, and worked alongside a core Entec crew of four engineers - Matt Butcher (looking after FOH), Mark Ellis-Cope (monitors), Adam Draper (patch) and James Kerridge (stage technician), with the event project managed in the office by Entec's head of sound, Dick Hayes.

The '

Show Business - Sir Elton John is returning to Las Vegas for a three-year residency at Caesars Palace with his new Million Dollar Piano show. His return to the hotel's Colosseum in September follows his five-year run at the hotel with The Red Piano show which ended in April 2009. Sir Elton said the venue was the "perfect, idyllic place to play" and promised "a gargantuan feast of music". He said the show, which begins on 28 September, was named after a "fabulous piano" he would be using that instrument designers had been working on for four years.

Olympic Countdown - The London Philharmonic Orchestra is to record the national anthems of all 205 countries participating in the 2012 Olympics. Composer, conductor and cellist Philip Sheppard will take charge of the recordings, which will be played at the medal and welcoming ceremonie

Germany - Palmer has introduced Grand Audition billed as "an innovative and unprecedented unit for comparing different active and passive speakers and subwoofers at the push of a button".

One unit allows you to switch between 10 pairs of speakers and four subwoofers, and has the ability to mix active and passive speakers. The units can be cascaded to enable switching between up to 40 pairs of speakers and 16 subwoofers.

The remote control offers a switchable low pass filter for the subwoofers as well as dim and mute functions. All outputs are galvanically isolated and balanced and each output level can be adjusted by ± 12dB. In addition the unit provides connectors on the rear for optional display LEDs which can be placed on top of or next to the speakers to indicate which one is selected. All inputs and outputs are equipped with XLR connectors, the passive speaker

USA - SGM has further boosted its overseas distribution network with the appointment of Italo Trading. The company will take responsibility for sales in Central America and the following countries for South America: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay.

"Due to its great knowledge of the local markets, Italo Trading will substantially reduce the distance between our factory in Italy and the Latin American market," stated SGM's area manager, Antonio Parise. "It is a pleasure to welcome a firm with that experience on board."

Italo Trading owner and founder Daniel Costa Salomao started in the pro audio industry in September 1997 working with Selenium Loudspeakers in Brazil.

He then moved to USA to open and manage the company subsidiary and build the Selenium brand. In late 2005 he joined the B-52 Professional family company in Lo

Denmark - SGM has added two experienced personnel to its sales force as it seeks to increase its profile in the key export markets. The company has announced that Troels V°lver has taken on the role of new export manager, North America and Asia Pacific, based in Denmark.

V°lver built up a large distributor network during his time in the industry and was CEO of Martin Professional Inc before leaving in 2005 to take up an export role with another Danish company.

At the same time SGM has announced that Steen V. Geertsen will operate in a similar area manager capacity, focusing on sales and business development of the SGM brand in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Russia and part of the Arab regions.

The move coincides with the company reaching a milestone in its product timeline - with the addition of a new series designed by the new R&D facility to complement the current pr

USA - Mojo Barriers launched two new crowd safety innovations into the American live events market at Live Event Expo on 12 April 2011.

Gatekeeper and Barrier Load Monitoring System (BLMS) have been created by Mojo Barriers to address the changing needs of the live event industry and ensure the safest event for both the audience and artists.

Gatekeeper is a temporary event turnstile system which allows people to be counted in and out of an event space with numbers recorded in real time. Equipped with proprietary software and designed to improve crowd safety at events, the Gatekeeper works by monitoring the amount of people passing through entrance and exit Gatekeeper systems, which have been manufactured to be compatible with Mojo Barriers aluminium crowd barriers.

Barrier Load Monitoring System (BLMS) measures the pressure exerted on barriers by an audience using innovative

UK - Mojo Barriers' new Northern office opens this month, introducing a more affordable, professional stage barriers service to the North of England. The announcement of the new Mojo Barriers facility, located near York was made at PLASA Focus in Leeds yesterday (stand RA-A12).

Mojo Barriers has moved a significant stock of the company's stage barriers and crowd control systems into the new premises. After over a decade of operating across the country from a southern base Mojo Barriers can now make its internationally renowned products and services more accessible and affordable for customers in the North, says the company.

Jim Gaffney, UK director states, "We offer a trustworthy product you can rely on, with installation by trained, experienced barrier professionals, backed up with high levels of logistical support and liability insurance.

"I will be spending much

UK - MSL Professional has been appointed as exclusive distributor of TL Audio products in the UK and Ireland. The West London-based company adds TL Audio's Ivory, Classic and Ebony series of valve processors in addition to the professional VTC, M4 and M1-F valve mixing consoles to its developing distribution portfolio.

During its 21-year history, the TL Audio brand has become associated with quality valve technology and the classic British sound. TL Audio products are currently in use with many high-profile artists, producers and engineers working in a wide range of genres.

"We are delighted to have the opportunity of working with TL Audio" says MSL company director Simon Lowther. "Many people are finding that true valve technology adds back that missing something to the recording chain, and TL Audio is a fantastic brand with a range of great products."

T

Martin Professional is exhibiting at PLASA Focus: Leeds 2011 where the latest Martin LED lighting fixtures, video screens and processors, lighting consoles and media server products are set to provide an inspirational look at the ongoing convergence in lighting and video. Among the raft of products to be seen at the Royal Armouries, Leeds from 19-20 April are . . .

EC-10: The EC-10 is a high performance, true 10 mm pixel pitch LED display panel that teams with Martin's EC-20 to form a fully compatible EC family of LED displays that can be mixed and matched for ultimate design creativity. Featuring the same award-winning, lightweight and cable-free design for rapid deployment, the EC-10 is 100% compatible with the EC-20 in terms of brightness, color, setup, curving, control and processing, even accessories, allowing for seamless, mixed resolution visuals in one system.

MAC 1

UK - Putting the focus squarely on the past, present and future of radio microphone frequency wavebands, Trantec comes to PLASA Focus: Leeds 2011 this week with their new Channel 38 dedicated UHF radio product range.

This includes the new and more affordable S5 series which is packed with a powerful feature-set allowing up to 24-channels to operate simultaneously. The S4.16 will also be demonstrated as an entry level 8-channel system.

"Trantec has been manufacturing wireless systems for over 20 years and we were the first UK company to have a Channel 38 product available on the market. It's only natural that we show our latest innovation at PLASA Focus: 2011," says Mark Parkhouse, head of sales and marketing at Trantec. "These products underline Trantec's commitment to ensuring customers have a future-proof solution once Ofcom phases out Channel 69 for wireless

UK At PLASA Focus Leeds, John Hornby Skewes & Co (S-C12) is showing the new HK Audio Soundcaddy One, billed as "the world's fastest PA system". With integrated handles, built in wheels, and edge guards for fast, safe transport, Soundcaddy One is easy to move from home to the venue, and setup is even simpler: just extend the mid-/high-unit pneumatically, connect the signal sources to the integrated four-channel mixing console, and the system is ready to go, says the company.

Featuring six custom broad band speakers in vertical array, Soundcaddy One offers "all the superior benefits of a line array". Its 70° horizontal coverage pattern spreads sound evenly throughout the audience area.

The on-board subwoofer is loaded with three 6" woofers that provide the underpinning for the lower frequency range. And with all that, Soundcaddy One renders speech an

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