UK - Like the ABTT, WiSE has much to celebrate: In just a few years it has grown to embrace over 420 female industry members worldwide; is about to complement its members only social networking site with a public facing website (so everyone can get involved) and, for the first time ever, will have its very own stand at the ABTT show.

WiSE was established in 2008 to address the under representation of women in the technical disciplines of entertainment. Since then the organisation has established links with colleges, businesses and training organisations, run a series of successful networking events, mentorship programmes and technical training sessions and lobbies for fair working conditions for everyone.

It could not have done this without the support of the industry it serves and works with. So, to celebrate its success, WiSE has invited aspiring cocktail designers from its

USA - The call of the wild echoes throughout the Dallas World Aquarium, where visitors to one of the city's most popular attractions can experience nature from five continents, 14 countries and three oceans. As the sounds of wildlife emanate from the diverse range of live animal exhibits, a host of presenters and performers use a range of professional audio equipment to further enhance the visitor experience.

Crescent Sound and Light, a Louisiana-based production and systems integration company, recently upgraded the sound systems for several exhibits. The company chose Technomad Noho and Vienna advanced audio loudspeakers to reproduce intelligible voice and full-range musical audio in the Giant River Otter and Crocodile display in the Orinoco exhibit range; and the Temple of the Jaguar in the Mundo Maya exhibit range.

Mike Smith, president of Crescent Sound and

Paraguay - An Axiom system was chosen for the celebration of the bicentennial of the Independence of Paraguay.

The event was held in mid May in Paraguay's capital city, Asunción, and included the leading national pop and folk artists. Among the political figures who took part in the event was president Fernando Lugo, who welcomed the presidents of the neighbouring countries and addressed the enthusiastic celebrating crowd.

NJ Audio & Lighting was in charge of the technical production of this event, which was held in the park next to the Government Palace.

The features of the location led to the choice of Proel Edge bi-amplified monitors for the main stage, as they could provide the power and the acoustic clarity needed and also because their low profile fitted the purpose of keeping the focus on the event. The side-fills were two Proel Axiom clusters with relative sub-woofe

UK - Released at the ABTT show are products from the new Opus 9 range of loudspeakers from Opus Audio Technologies.

Utilising Opus Audio's Pistonic Wave Integration Technology, the new Opus 9 range covers high quality reproduction loudspeakers, from the T950 with its 85 degree conical coverage and 900W of full range power, through the smaller T925 with wider coverage but slightly lower power handling, to the T900 mid/high only unit.

The T800 continues the tradition of the former PSD800T whilst the smallest conical dispersion cabinet in the range currently is the T300.

Coupled with the powerful, yet lightweight sub bass cabinets ranging from the T115 through to the T218, the Opus 9 range looks set to provide a versatile series of components for touring and installation applications, says the company.

The first pair of T950 cabinets has been installed in the Spa Grand Hall i

UK - 10K is to launch what it believes is "the world's first real-time professional wireless Audio and DMX wireless solution "at the ABTT Show in London this week.

Featuring concurrent transmission and reception of 48kH, 16bit audio and 512 DMX channels, the tri-Wi system will find favour with companies who need to send either or both signals at distances up to, or in excess of, 2.3km using the less cluttered, registration free, 5GHz band, says the company. Additionally, by employing Open SSL encryption to offer secure, tap proof transmission, the tri-Wi system allows users to improve signal security as well as save costs when compared to cable solutions.

The tri-Wi system comprises of two main components, the tri-Wi transmitter and the tri-Wi receiver [Rx]. An optional Repeater unit is available where greater distances are required. The Tx unit features a pair of th

USA - A short but breathtaking drive from trendy Aspen, St. Benedict's Monastery reflects the natural serenity of its majestic surroundings. Nestled in a valley on several thousand acres in western Colorado's Elk Mountains, it offers spectacular views of nearby Mt. Sopris' twin summits. It is an idyllic environment for the Benedictine monks who mix their daily meditation and prayer with the running of a working ranch and bakery. The monks also operate the architecturally renowned Retreat House and Hermitages, hosting personal and group retreats, conducting daily liturgical services, and occasionally welcoming performances by world famous musicians from nearby Aspen.

Built in 1958, the Monastery's main chapel is simple but elegant, its rustic red brick walls accented by a quarry tile floor and barrel-vaulted, pine-beamed arched ceilings that soar to 32ft at their peak. A single 1

UK - Orbital Sound is highlighting a line-up of new products from its extensive portfolio of international brands at ABTT 2011 in London this week.

On display is the new two-channel HME DX210 digital intercom system, as well as intercom systems from Clear-Com, with the brand now exclusively distributed in the UK by Orbital and being shown on its stand for the first time. From Zaxcom, Orbital is demonstrating the company's third-generation TRX900LT digital wireless transmitter, complete with new user-selectable filters that emulate a more traditional analogue sound when required, without losing all the benefits of digital transmission and clarity.

Orbital is also highlighting the extensive T-Series line arrays from d&b audiotechnik, as an authorised sales and installation partner, together with the new White Range product lines.

Added to these curtain-raisers is the newly reb

Middle East - Recent travels by the Sennheiser ME team have seen them visit Kuwait and Qatar, to provide local support to their partners.

In Kuwait, Phil Massey, general manager of Sennheiser UK and ME, Mig Cardamone, business area manager for Middle East, Ryan Burr, business development manager for ME and Heston Saldanha, consumer channel sales manager, met up with partner aDawaliah Trading, part of Universal Holdings, to undertake a two-day training schedule.

The first day saw Ryan Burr conduct a session on installed sound, focussing on how the various products within the Sennheiser's portfolio are suited to various situations.

This included comprehensive information on the new ADN conference system, infrared simultaneous translations systems, system 2020 for both tourGUIDE and translation, as well as the fully automated guidePORT system. The group of 15 attendees drew fro

UK - West Country sound company, Evosound Pro Audio, managed PA requirements for the recent Night Surf event held at Lusty Glaze in Newquay, Cornwall, employing its Allen & Heath iLive digital mixing system to run FOH and monitors for bands, which included headline performances by Reef and The Kooks.

Night Surf is a sporting and music event, comprising a surf contest during the day with participation from many pro surfers, and a music event by night including a mixture of local talent and renowned bands.

Evosound first purchased an iLive system, comprising an iDR-48 MixRack and iLive-T112 Control Surface, in 2010, and has recently ordered a second, duplicate iLive system.

"'The flexibility & user friendliness of iLiveT112/iDR-48 means it is never in our warehouse and always out on hire. In my view, iLive has rapidly become an industry standard and continues to exceed ou

UK - Tower Productions recently provided a turnkey package in the grounds of Cardiff Castle for a Heineken Cup Final event, comprising power, heating, lighting, audio, video and networking.

Site access restrictions meant no large plant could deployed so Tower synchronised four 100kva machines from their own stock to give a 400kva generation package with 100% redundancy.

Christie Roadster HD18ks, Philips Vari-Lite VL3000 spots, and a dozen ETC Source Four profiles looked after the external branding/projection onto the castle walls with Dominator and NovaLight High Ground searchlights for aerial effects. 40 green 400W HQI's provided a solid base colour to the castle walls.

Inside the marquee, an array of HD plasma screens from Tower's newly formed AV department were recessed into the set showing the game, associated branding and information, live camera and a Sky HD feed.

In

World - A group of pro audio companies have formed an organisation to promote a standard system control architecture for professional media networks. Eight manufacturers have formed the group, whose mission is to secure the standardisation of the Open Control Architecture (OCA), a media networking system control standard for professional applications.

The Alliance has been formed to complete the technical definition of OCA, then to transfer its development to an accredited public standards organization. The standards organisation will render the OCA specification into an open public standard for control of professional media network systems.

The founding members of the Alliance are: Bosch Communications Systems, d&b audiotechnik, Duran Audio, Loud Technologies, Media Technology Systems, PreSonus, Salzbrenner Stagetec Mediagroup and TC Group.

Developed recently by Bosch Commu

UK / Australia - PLASA has confirmed the line-up of international speakers for the PLASA sponsored international seminar programme at ENTECH 2011.

Taking place from the 19-21 July 2011 at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, ENTECH has been Australia's leading biennial trade show for the entertainment, live events and corporate installation sectors for 17 years. Visitor attendance to the event has always been strong and this year it will be further strengthened by the co-location of the SMPTE conference and exhibition - a major event for the broadcast, pro-audio, audio visual, lighting, staging and commercial integration markets.

Three keynote speakers have been confirmed as part of the PLASA programme, each bringing their expertise in the lighting, audio and rigging sectors to the event.

Lighting designer Rob Halliday is an internationally respected lighting program

USA - Looking to trim ticket prices despite soaring fuel costs on its Love Come to Life Tour, Nashville-based Christian rock band Big Daddy Weave slimmed down production by trading conventional loudspeakers and amp racks for Meyer Sound's Mina compact line array loudspeakers. This tour was the first for Mina, the newest addition to Meyer Sound's Milo family of self-powered line array loudspeakers.

"Taking an equipment truck simply wasn't an option," states the band's production manager and FOH mixer, Matthew Grunden. "To cut costs, we had to fit everything into a trailer behind the bus. The MINA arrays were key to making that happen."

With tickets for some shows as low as $10, Big Daddy Weave's tour hit the road in March, zig-zagging between Wyoming and Florida through spring and summer, playing 800 - 1,000 seat venues that include churches, meeting

USA - Bosch Security Systemsreports that more than 4,000 customers have interacted with Bosch products on the Safe & Sound Tour. Since its debut at the ISC West Conference & Exposition in Las Vegas, the tour has travelled more than 3,500 miles to stop in 12 cities across the Western region of the U.S.

"Customers appreciate the opportunity to explore our offerings without the need to travel to a trade show. In turn, we benefit from more focused attention over a longer period. The return is higher for both the customer and for Bosch," said Jeremy Hockham, president of sales - Americas, Bosch Security Systems. "The truck also exposes customers to the breadth of our portfolio - opening up new opportunities for dealers looking to expand their solutions offerings."

Featuring high definition video surveillance, access control, intrusion and fire detection,

UK - Organisational changes at Midas and Klark Teknik have seen the departure of former managing director John Oakley at the beginning of June.

Midas and Klark Teknik are now undergoing a restructuring of the management team to accommodate Oakley's departure and allow for better integration within the shared services of the parent MUSIC Group. Newcomer Ian Riley, who joined Midas and Klark Teknik from Harman earlier this year, takes on the role of VP Operations and R&D, while Jonathan Chitty is VP Customer Support, a new division which handles day-to-day commercial and financial matters.

On the manufacturing side, the MUSIC Group has invested $10m in a dedicated manufacturing facility for the Midas and Klark Teknik brands, with another $10m in state-of-the-art SMT and optical inspection systems. Also driving the next phase of Midas and Klark Teknik's development is the expandi

USA - At InfoComm 2011, Biamp Systems has released Vocia 1.3. Designed for facilities where audio reliability and scalability are paramount, the EN 54- and ISO 9001:2008-compliant Vocia 1.3 adds increased functionality to its decentralised, network-based system architecture and continues to be an ideal solution for a critical paging system in North America and critical paging and life safety paging systems elsewhere in the world, the company says.

Vocia 1.3 introduces four new amplifiers to the full family of paging product line. These small amplifiers are ideal for projects that have areas to be covered with small zones or provide local analogue inputs. Underscoring the importance of reliability, Vocia's new failover module adds comprehensive failover capability, with 7:1 or dual 3:1 failover, complementing the already built-in, device-to-device and 1:1 channel failover capabil

UK - Entries are now open for The Theatres Trust second annual People's Choice Award, following a launch event at the ABTT Theatre Show 2011.

Entries are invited from entertainment industry manufacturers/suppliers with a product that they consider is making a difference to theatres sustainability, either through design, manufacture or operation. Successful applicants products will be displayed on The Theatres Trust's stand 2-M14 at PLASA 2011 from the 11-14 September and visitors to the show will cast their vote for the People's Choice Award.

Visitors to stands at both the ABTT Theatre Show and PLASA 2011 will be able to see a variety of information on the Trust's European Regional Development Fund-backed 'Ecovenue' sustainability project, which is improving the sustainability of 48 London performing arts venues.

At PLASA 2011, after three days of visitor voting, the award w

USA - LDI, the annual US trade show and conference for the entertainment design and technology industry, has announced a five-year partnership with PLASA, the international entertainment technology trade organisation.

The purpose of the agreement is to expand the reach of both PLASA and LDI, and broaden training options for industry professionals.

According to organisers Penton Media, PLASA's international reach adds a broader global dimension to LDI. The Technical Standards Updates track, now from PLASA (formerly ESTA) will again form part of LDI's training line-up this year, giving LDI professional attendees the latest information on essential issues at the heart of the industry.

PLASA will be able to share its technical updates with the industry at large and benefit from the additional US exposure for its trade show and association. By partnering with LDI, PLASA also adds

USA - Opened just two months ago, Orlando-based restaurant and night club Draft chose dBTechnologies loudspeakers to provide sound to its patrons. Describing itself as a casual dining-lounge, Draft Orlando offers lunch, dinner and late night drinks with a backdrop of energising tunes.

Comprising 12 dBTechnologies Arena 12 speakers, the main sound system was specified by Owens AV Design. Bob Owens, owner and audio equipment installer was pleased with how easy it was to install, and he reports, "The customer was really happy with the sound quality."

Built from the ground up, casual dining lounge Draft Orlando boasts a host of other technology including Panasonic LCD televisions and Kramer video switching alongside the dBTechnologies boxes.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Outline debuted its iMode iPad/iPad 2 App at InfoComm 2011 last week. iMode technology embeds a Linux-based CPU - with integrated DSP chip, parameter control software and webserver - right into its powered speaker systems, thereby streamlining setup and control by eliminating the outboard gear between the console and power amplifier. The new iMode Control App allows anyone with an iPad or iPad 2 to control the extensive pallet of iMode functions via the Web.

"With the introduction of the iMode Intelligent Digital Loudspeaker Control Platform currently incorporated into the Mini-COM.P.A.S.S. line array and iSM monitor speaker systems, Outline has developed a control App to bring iMode power to the iPad/iPad 2 user," says Tom Bensen, senior vice-president and managing director ofOutline North America.

"Because of the massive global success of the iPad as the

UK - Organisational changes at Midas and Klark Teknik have seen the departure of former MD John Oakley at the beginning of June.

Midas and Klark Teknik are now undergoing a restructuring of the management team "to accommodate Oakley's departure and allow for better integration within the shared services of the parent Music Group".

Ian Riley, who joined Midas and Klark Teknik from Harman earlier this year, takes on the role of VP operations and R&D, while Jonathan Chitty is VP customer support, a new division which handles day-to-day commercial and financial matters.

On the manufacturing side, the Music Group has invested $10m in a dedicated manufacturing facility for the Midas and Klark Teknik brands, with another $10m in SMT and optical inspection systems. Also driving the next phase of Midas and Klark Teknik's development is the expanding R&D 'centre of excellenc

UK - This year the ABTT Awards were sponsored by Jelf Insurance who during the show launched their Public Liability/PI insurance scheme tailored to the needs of people who work in the entertainment industry.

The Lighting Product of the Year went to The Arc LED Houselight System from Global Design Solutions. The judges were impressed by the wireless dimming performance of these bespoke fittings manufactured to retrofit existing tungsten lighting in auditoriums and Front of House locations. Honourable mentions went to the LEDKO Reflection LED profile spot and the Robe Robin Wash 600.

Shure's new Axient Radio Microphone System took the award for Sound Product of the Year at the ABTT Product of the Year Awards. Axient was recognised by the judging panel for its clever frequency management, as well as its increased spectral efficiency, allowing large numbers of wirele

UK - The spin continued for d&b with its monochrome Black on black and White on white exhibition stand at this year's ABTT Theatre Show.

Familiar faces from the traditional mobile series of products, the T10 and B4-SUB represented the Black range, whilst the 10S and d&b's smallest loudspeaker, the 4S, from the newly introduced White range of installation products, were shown in their colour coordinated areas of the d&b stand.

The benefits of new features to systemtools; R1, R10 and ArrayCalc were readily explained by Steve Jones and Oran Burns who took time out from the busy stand to present two sessions as part of the newly restored ABTT seminar programme.

"ABTT always presents us with a great opportunity to show our products to a broad range of people in a relaxed environment," d&b's Emma Adamou commented. "It wa salso fantastic to see the investment into ou

UK - LD Systems new D1013CUSB, universal condenser microphone with USB connector is both Windows and MAC OS X compatible, and does not require a driver. It has a cardioid pickup pattern and a wide frequency range (30 Hz - 18,000 Hz) and so can be used for capturing the subtleties and nuances of almost any tone, says the company. The D1013CUSB is designed for use within podcast recording situations, multimedia presentations and "a multitude of other scenarios".

Andrew Richardson, managing director of Adam Hall UK says, "The D1013CUSB is a versatile microphone that will add a new dimension to your sound. We have found that many customers use a variety of platforms to record their sound and this offers the perfect solution."

(Jim Evans)

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