USA - CITC, creator of the Award-winning SnoBiz biodegradable snow and the original soundproofed snow machine, the Little Blizzard SP, has announced two new members of the Little Blizzard family, the Little Blizzard Junior and the Little Blizzard Basic.

The Junior measures just 13" x 8" x 6", weighs 10lbs, and has an on/off remote control. Stephany Crawford, the VP of CITC, says that the unit is an ideal snow effect for parties, school proms, and company celebrations. The Little Blizzard Basic is 20" x 11" x 9" and weighs 24lbs. It includes a bracket for hanging, has a two speed motor, and variable output. Both machines come in either 110V 60Hz or 230V 50Hz.

(Lee Baldock)

USA - ETC has announced the release of version 1.8.0 software for its Emphasis lighting control system. The release is part of the ETCNet2 Version 4 Suite, compatible and interoperable with other Net2 products. Emphasis v1.8.0 includes many new features, including added support for moving lights like ETC's Source Four Revolution.

This release boasts Dynamic Effects, allowing the user to quickly create complex effects such as ballyhoos, figure eights, colour and iris chases for moving lights, using a combination of fixture lists, dynamic templates and editable parameters. The new Source Four Revolution library files and dedicated encoder setup option will make Revolution set-up even easier, say ETC.

The new Emphasis Offline Editor (EOE) v.1.8.0 runs on a PC and provides the ability to edit show files offline. EOE does not require a Wysiwyg dongle, so anyone can use it. Wysiwyg

USA - US manufacturer Light Stream Controls (LSC) has announced that it is re-branding its lighting controllers under the name of its affiliated Elation Professional division. All LSC controllers will now bear the Elation brand name in every market where the products are sold.

The name change was implemented in light of the growing popularity its controllers have enjoyed in Europe, Australia and other areas of the world where the Elation brand is known, according to Scott Davies, general manager of the American DJ Group of Companies, the parent company of both LSC and Elation Professional.

LSC controllers are being marketed internationally by the same distributors, to the same customers, as our Elation lighting products, so it makes sense that they should have the same brand identity," commented Davies. "This is especially true because the Elation name has become so

UK - Olmec Advanced Materials, based in Sheffield, has introduced a new product to the lighting design world. Surelight Super Bright wire is an innovative new way of providing illumination for TV, Cinema, and the Theatre industry. Surelight Super Bright is a low voltage; flexible wire, providing a 360° light source available in all the colours of the rainbow including white.

Recent users include Scottish Opera for special effect lighting on its productions of Magic Flute, The Ring Cycle, Aida and Minotaur. Ian Irvine, lighting manager at Scottish Opera said: "Surelight was a phenomenal success, we would never have been able to illuminate the stage, costumes or props in the way intended without Surelight and we keep finding new ways to use it."

London's National Theatre used Surelight for its highly successful production of Philip Pullman's novel His

UK / Japan - Asahi Kasei Microsystems Co. Ltd. (AKM) a leading supplier of audio ICs for professional and consumer markets, recently introduced a new Class-D two-channel modulator generating 110dB signal-to-noise ratio. The AK4730 marks AKM's first entry into the high-power amplifier world and is aimed at both professional and consumer products.

AKM's AK4730 exceeds Class-AB performance with Class-D efficiency. The input to AK4730 is digital and supports two-channel, 192kHz sampling. The chip combines a two-channel PWM modulator with pre-driver circuitry for external MOSFETs. Unlike other solutions that use two voltage levels for modulation (H-Bridge), AKM's Class D products utilize an advanced multi-reference E-Bridge architecture that achieves higher linearity and SNR performance for audio playback with fidelity closer to the original sound.

With an integrated driver, the AK

USA - American DJ has introduced the new Reflex 300. An updated version of its popular Reflex dual moonflower effect, the Reflex 300 uses two high-powered 150W lamps to create significantly brighter, more vibrant colours as it bounces, bends and reflects an array of beams from its twin scanning mirrors, say American DJ.

A modern, high-tech case joins together the two moonflowers of the Reflex 300. Two rotating mirrors - one on each side of the unit - reflect light beams from the 150W lamps and project 'twin' multi-dichroic colour patterns over a wide area. The beams themselves rotate to the beat of the music, resulting in even wilder pulsating movement. Another major improvement in the Reflex 300, say the company, is that it has no duty cycle and can run continuously all night. A high-velocity fan whisks heat away from the unit, so there's never any need to shut down to cool.

USA - Production and lighting designer Nathan Wilson is making full use of one of the first NEV8 systems on tour with Blink-182. Diagonal Research's NEV8 System allows Wilson, an account manager for the ArtFag design partnership, to control true video hardware using lighting control technology, without the need for a computer-based media server. "It's the best way to control the video that we've found," said Wilson. "We can speed clips up, slow them down, take it to negative and a host of other effects. Best of all, we have direct access to the drives."

Without any rehearsal time before the first show in Mexico, pre-visualization of both lighting and video was essential to the success of the initial shows. In order to achieve this, Diagonal Research's own WYSIWYG studio in Newbury Park, California, was utilized. This allowed for the pre-visualization of lig

USA - Color Kinetics Incorporated (CKI), the US manufacturer of solid-state lighting systems, today introduced iColor MR g2 - an intelligent, colour-changing lamp that applies the latest high-power LEDs to generate saturated bursts of colour from most standard MR16 fixtures and sockets. A higher intensity evolution of Color Kinetics' iColor MR, the compact lamp facilitates both new and retrofit installations - bringing the benefits of solid-state light sources to existing installations.

iColor MR g2 is well suited for wide-ranging applications that call for highly efficient light sources that can generate saturated colour and customizable effects, including architectural, display and retail environments where MR16 fixtures and track lighting are commonly used. With its higher output and wider beam distribution, iColor MR g2 extends the design possibilities of its predecessor fro

USA - Lighthouse Technologies has announced the availability of Supervisor LH, a state-of-the-art display optimizer specifically designed to convert a wide range of input formats into resizable content to fit any shape of LED video display.

The first product of its kind to be offered in the LED display market, the Supervisor LH accepts both digital and analogue formats, including standard and high-definition television and computer graphics, to create digital content for LED display screens and panels. Ideal for rental, staging and fixed installations, the Supervisor LH features an intuitive user interface, illuminated display and front panel, easy access to connectors, convenient carrying handles and rear connector protection and a lightweight aluminum chassis.

"As the content platforms and technology evolves, Lighthouse has taken steps to offer a solution that would si

UK - Lighting Effects Distribution consolidate its new relationship with UK LED manufacturer, Solar, by announcing the release of nine new products. As UK distributors, L.E.D. showcased the new products at last month's Bar.04 Show at Earls Court in preparation for full-scale distribution to the club, bar and 'architainment' markets.

The new product range features an expanded series of architectural products, including light strips, IP68-rated M80's, MR16 lamps and uplighters, featuring the latest in intelligent driver systems and high-brightness Luxeon LED's. The range also includes a series of recessed up/downlighters, wall washers and in-ground walkover lights. Most of the Solar product range is available in both colour change and single colour options, and offer varying optical spreads.

Already with heavy penetration of the bar, nightclub and retail markets, L.E.D. sales ma

USA - Techni-Lux of Orlando recently announced that it is now able to offer the popular industry standard WYSIWYG software, Console Edition version, bundled with its SGM Regia consoles and the ShowCad Artist PC based lighting control system.

This Console edition version of WYSIWYG will allow an operator to fully visualize their lighting system through an Ethernet connected computer, using no additional hardware. ShowCad Artist also allows operation of the lights within the same computer as CE, giving a full visualizer, for all in one use. Also available is an upgrade price to those who would like to add further WYSIWYG functionality to their systems.

"We felt that it was important to offer a first class visualizer with our products and wanted one that could be common through all of our lines", states Alex Gonzalez, Techni-Lux's vice president. The SGM Regia consoles,

UK - Proel's NEXT range of speakers, launched earlier this year, has now arrived in the UK and is starting to cut a significant slice of the cake for portable PA speakers, Proel (International) recently reorted.

The NEXT series represents Proel's first move into the plastic enclosure market, using sturdy polypropylene boxes fitted with the sort of quality loudspeakers usually found in more expensive ply enclosures. The result, the company says, is an exceptionally clean and dynamic sound. The speakers used include a 12" neodymium custom-designed and manufactured LF unit, fitted with an aluminium diecast basket, which enables exceptional power delivery. High frequencies are handled by a 1" compression driver mated to a 900 x 600 horn.

Powered models in the NEXT range are fully bi-amped and fitted with custom crossovers and electronic protection. They also feature onbo

Canada - Adamson Systems Engineering has announced the release of the SpekTrix Sub, designed as a companion to the SpekTrix compact line array cabinet. This is the first Adamson enclosure to introduce 'Convertible Cardioid Technology', and is a single-sided box that can be arrayed conventionally (all facing the same way) or can be arrayed in back-to-front pairs for true cardioid performance.

The SpekTrix Sub provides high SPL extended bass and is equipped with two powerful AW18 Kevlar low frequency drivers mounted in a tuned, vented enclosure. The cabinet is fully braced to minimize LF resonance and maximize efficiency. Four NL8 connectors (two front, two back) enable easy cable loop-thru regardless of the sub's orientation.

The Adamson Integrated Rigging system makes set-up quick and easy, and is comprised of four sets of captured, precision-machined, spring-loaded rigging ha

UK - Kelsey Acoustics Ltd, having recently been appointed UK distributor for Furman Sound, has begun to actively market the company's new Series II SMP (Series Mode Protection) power conditioners.

The main focus will be on the upgraded Series II products and in particular, the PL-8E where LED lamps have now replaced the old filament bulbs. In addition to Furman's new SMP technology, the product also features Linear Filter Technology (LiFT), providing highly-advanced transient voltage surge suppression. Kelsey's marketing director, Michael Whiteside, commented: "This is a real wedge of sophisticated surge and noise protection. It uses a non-sacrificeable part which stores the energy and dissipates it as heat."

Another high priority for Kelsey is the AR2306 Line Volt Regulator, which can handle up to six amps in just 1U of rack space. Additional versions are the 15-am

Denmark - Martin Architectural's Exterior Inground 200 Series is a durable range of IP 65/67-rated inground luminaires that represents a breakthrough for its ability to integrate colour-changing technology into a standard uplight luminaire. Designed for all terrains and weather, the Inground 200 offers high-performance tools for dynamic uplight illumination of facades, columns, structures, trees and landscapes.

The series offers three different colour systems for applications of varying complexity: firstly, Single Colour - designed as a simple means to creating colourful lighting schemes, the single colour system lets you choose any colour from a collection of 40 dichroic filters. Custom colours are also available. The single-colour system also provides manual intensity control for fine-tuned illumination. Secondly, Six Colours - offers a programmable colour-changing system, wit

Australia - ARX Systems announces the release of the new ARX Compo compressor/limiter, designed for use in the most demanding professional audio dynamics control applications. The Compo can be used in two different and unique modes of operation: In two channel mode, it performs as two independent compressor/limiters, with 'industry standard' variable Threshold, Ratio and Output gain controls. In stereo mode, our New Adaptive Stereo Link circuitry provides increased stereo imaging accuracy when linking both channels as a stereo pair. In either mode, the Compo features true analog computer based Program Dependant attach and release time constants and switchable 'Enhance' function, which provides frequency restoration to preserve the spectral balance of the audio signal, compensating for the sagging Low and High frequency response of compressed program material operating as a 'smart'

Sweden - W-DMX is a new wireless DMX system developed by Wireless Solution AB in Sweden. Currently, most systems for sending wireless DMX transpose the data on to a proprietary standard such 802.11 (W-LAN) and use compliant wireless equipment for the data transmission. There are inherent problems associated with this method though, interference from other competing local wireless networks including Bluetooth equipment is one problem and the user often has to go to the trouble of setting up IP and Netmask settings in order to make the system function. However, the W-DMX is a compact, plug and play unit with a competitive price, and more importantly, free from interference from other products in the 2.45GHz band.

Using the well-established mobile telephone GSM technology in the 2.45GHz licence-free band, the W-DMX avoids many of the problems associated with ordinary wireless netw

Denmark - Martin Professional has made available the first module in a new Wing System for its Maxxyz lighting control desk that expands the console's functionality and gives users the ability to customize and add more direct access. An adaptable Playback Wing, the first of several Wing Modules to be made available, expands the direct playback access of Maxxyz by three times, and allows the Maxxyz operator to navigate through even more quickly.

The Playback Wing consists of two Playback Modules in one frame, adding 20 motorized faders with 20 customizable LCD buttons and extending the playback capabilities of Maxxyz. The Playback Wing also includes 10 additional LCD buttons, also customizable for easy navigation, plus 40 conventional buttons - more advanced features than competitive equivalents, according to Martin.

The Wing System's modular design is freely configurable, all

USA - EAW has announced the release of DSAPilot Version 1.2 software for its innovative Digitally Steerable Array (DSA) Series loudspeaker system. DSAPilot, which is available as a free download from the company's website, provides a simple control interface for adjusting the vertical coverage pattern of up to 32 DSA loudspeakers. New features available in DSAPilot version 1.2 include:

SPL mapping on listener area: The listener area is shown on screen by a thick bar that uses colours to indicate the SPL at any point. Moving the cursor over the bar opens a window that indicates the predicted SPL value at that point.
Dragable room definitions: Start, stop and inflection points for the listening area can all be entered numerically or by clicking and dragging the mouse to select the desired value.
Selectable amplifier shutdown timer: Each DSA cluster has 16 channels of amplifi

Denmark - Martin Professional has introduced the new Maxedia Digital Media Composer - a media server capable of handling a multitude of digital media - including images, video and 3D graphics. Output as a video signal to video/plasma screens or any type of video image projector, Maxedia boasts a number of advantages over other digital media servers.

Housing an extensive media library for convenient access to creative special effects, Maxedia incorporates 3D effects and mapping (bitmap or video), real-time layer manipulation, and various playback and real-time transition effects. Maxedia, which includes integrated DMX control, provides full control of both lighting and video elements.

Maxedia runs up to a maximum of 20 layers simultaneously, depending on the type of layer, and offers 3D effects with unique real-time manipulation features. Programming is carried out on the Maxed

UK - Drawmer has announced the introduction of the DSL424 TwoPlusTwo Combined Dynamics Processor. The DSL424 provides the engineer with a 1U four channel comprehensive toolbox capable of solving the most complex dynamic problems. Incorporated in the 1U package are two industry standard frequency conscious noise gates and two soft/hard knee compressors with variable threshold limiting. The channels may be front panel configured as four individual stand alone processors, a stereo linked pair of comp/limiters with a stereo linked pair of gates. Alternatively, any combination of processing can be achieved by rear panel patching.

The DSL424 combines the gates of the Drawmer DS404 with the comp/limiters of the Drawmer DL441 to provide a versatile 1U problem solver invaluable in applications where rack space is limited.

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

CZ - The latest addition to Robe Show Lighting's moving head range is now in full production.

Features of the new ColorWash 1200E AT include a CMY colour mixing system, variable CTO, two colour wheels and a combined dimmer/shutter. The 1200E AT zoom has a range of 10 - 87° depending on the lens type used. The electronic ballast enables features like flicker-free operation, extended lamp life and power-saving mode.

The ColorWash 1200E AT is suitable for a wide range of applications including theatre, tv and live production, together with all types of installations, from multi-purpose venues to large clubs. Low noise output also makes it suitable for studio use.

(Barry Howse)

UK - Harlequin has announced that its ever-popular Harlequin Reversible - a vinyl flooring for dance and stage applications that can be reversed to offer an alternate colour - is now available in a wider range of colours. As well as the established range of black/white, pale grey/dark grey and black/grey, the company is now adding red/blue, hazelnut/beige, tan/fog (a grey in between the existing medium and dark greys) and, finally, green/yellow. Widths and weights remain the same.

There are now seven combinations to choose from, each quick to roll out and lay flat to provide a slip-resistant dance surface. Ideally suited to touring companies, Harlequin Reversible is lightweight, easy to handle and hard-wearing for a long service life. Also available are colour matching adhesive tapes for the whole range.

Harlequin has also announced the release of the Summer 2004 issue of its

UK - Following the release of the Quick Start DVD, DiGiCo has now released the full version of its D5 Live user manual giving users individual tuition wherever and whenever required. The D5 Live is an intuitive, simple-to-use console and engineers have found that they can go out and use after minimal tuition, according to DiGiCo. However, the company says there are a multitude of features within the D5 that may not be so immediately obvious.

The D5 Live User Manual DVD gives users their very own DiGiCo workshop, always at hand in a format that is less bulky than a traditional printed manual. The information is divided into seven logically defined sections that are fully navigable, allowing instant access to any chapter. There is also an offline version of the DiGiCo website, so if the DVD is played on a PC or Mac, information about other products is available, or access to a pd

Latest Issue. . .

Save
Cookies user preferences
We use cookies to ensure you to get the best experience on our website. If you decline the use of cookies, this website may not function as expected.
Accept all
Decline all
Analytics
Tools used to analyze the data to measure the effectiveness of a website and to understand how it works.
Google Analytics
Accept
Decline
Advertisement
If you accept, the ads on the page will be adapted to your preferences.
Google Ad
Accept
Decline