USA - Escondido, California based Sound Image, a leading provider of audio systems for touring and installation applications globally, is the second American company to join Adamson's Project Energia.

The significant investment in Adamson's E15 system was no surprise to Sound Image president, David Shadoan who comments, "Adamson kept us closely informed as Energia was developing. As soon as beta testing began, we confirmed that we would join in Phase One. The Sound Image philosophy is to deliver leading technology and to stay ahead of the curve. Energia was a simple choice. This system is progressive and a very powerful solution. We look forward to getting it on the road."

Sound Image has carried Adamson Y-Axis and T21's in their inventory since 2007 and the move to the Energia series was a natural step forward. Adamson Systems Engineering, president, Brock Adamson c

Turkmenistan - An Allen & Heath iLive digital mixing system has been installed in the conference room of Turkmenistan's iconic new TV Tower located in the capital city of Ashgabad.

Opened in 2011, the 700ft Television Tower includes a TV and Radio studio complex catering for six channels, and houses an OB fleet. There is also a revolving restaurant and offices built in the shape of the national emblem - an octagonal star - which is registered with the Guinness World Records as the largest star in Turkmenistan.

The building's sole conference facility has a small control room, which required a similarly compact mixing console. Consequently, audio and lighting contractor, Asimetrik, selected an iLive-T80 Control Surface and iDR-48 MixRack system.

"The tiny control room now has a small mixing system but with enormous features," comments Mert Kiliccote from Asimetrik. &

Spain - Following its success on Broadway, in the West End and on tours in the US, Israel and Poland, a new Spanish-language version of Shrek The Musical is proving a sell-out success in Madrid, featuring a Yamaha PM5D-RH at front of house.

Running at the Teatro Nuevo Apolo (New Apollo Theatre), Shrek El Musical is keeping family audiences spellbound with its mixture of comedy, choreography, a wide range of new songs and heart-warming plot, all suitably adapted for the Spanish audience.

Production company Theatre Properties specialises in musicals and has a number of Yamaha digital consoles in its inventory. A Yamaha PM5D-RH was chosen to mix the FOH requirements of what is a fairly complex production.

"ThePM5D-RH was specified for a number of reasons," says Jacinto López of Yamaha Music Europe Ibérica. "A prime one was that the company's

Brazil - The 2011 edition of the Rock in Rio festival featured a bill that included Red Hot Chili Peppers, Guns 'n' Roses, Coldplay, Metallica, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Jamiroquai, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Shakira, Motorhead, Claudio Sanchez (Coheed and Cambria), Lenny Kravitz, Snow Patrol, Maroon 5 and many more.

The sheer scale of the event is extraordinary, certainly when compared with even the largest European festivals - the 150,000sq.m (about the same as 28 American football pitches) area of the Parque do Atleta in Jacarepaguá can accommodate 800,000 people.

Gabisom Audio Equipment, sound provider for the show and one of the world's largest audio rental companies, deployed an Outline GTO line-source system on the 'Sunset' stage, one of the most prestigious stages at Rock in Rio, featuring a diverse array of acts including Joss Stone and local favourites Sepultura as well

UK - Jands Vista consoles, running the new Vista v2 software, have been installed in the two TV studios at Lincoln University's Media Broadcast Production Centre, a purpose built production environment which includes radio studios, video editing, audio editing, digital imaging, and multimedia suites as well as a brand new sound theatre.

The studios have been newly upgraded to include some of the latest lighting and camera technologies, bringing the facilities up to full multi-camera and HD spec.

The University offers qualifications with some of the UK's leading media orientated courses, and the studios are used for full programme making and a variety of other associated functions. They are run by the University's Media, Humanities & Technology Faculty, and overseen day-to-day by studio engineer and technical specialist, Steve Judge who also teaches the practical and technical

USA - A flurry of new exhibitors and a wide-ranging seminar programme are creating a buzz around this PLASA Focus: Austin 2012 (22-23 February), organisers PLASA Events report.

Texas lighting guru Richard Cadena comments, "I have been overwhelmed by the wide range of reasons to visit PLASA Focus: Austin 2012. In addition to the world-class line-up of manufacturers and new products, the side-shows will undoubtedly make this a memorable first event for Texas."

While new audio, staging, lighting and AV products will top the show floor agenda, The Professional Development Programme will see educational sessions from PLASA's partners in the event: The Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas, The Broadway Green Alliance, Austin City Limits Live, The Production Equipment Rental Group, and the Long Centre for the Performing Arts, among others.

Joining an already packed floor pla

Argentina - dBTechnologies' successful DVA T12 and T4 line arrays were chosen by rental company Wanzo Producciones srl at leisure company Grupo Slots' annual closing event last month in La Punta. Consisting of prize draws beamed across Argentina to all the group's casino halls, the event culminated in a music show at La Punta's Hippodrome, featuring singer Abel Pintos and 15-piece band La Konga performing to a 48,000 strong audience.

The PA set up by Wanzo Producciones consisted of 16 DVA T12 and 16 DVA T4 and a further eight DVA T4 as out-fill. Rental company owner Sebastian Wanzo says. "The result was excellent. Everyone was impressed with the clarity as well as the dispersion of the sound."

The firm's audio team had tested the newest dBTechnologies line array at smaller venues, but this was the first large event using DVA T12, and Wanzo wasn't disappointed. "

The Netherlands - At ISE in Amsterdam, on stand 1M80, Meyer Sound will unveil new additions to its long string of standard-setting products, showcased alongside the D-Mitri digital audio platform. Also shown will be the CAL column array loudspeakers.

D-Mitri is a powerful network-based digital audio processing and distribution platform that encompasses the entire audio chain, from microphone input to loudspeaker output, incorporating multichannel distribution, multichannel recording and playback, and show control automation. With its high-performance processing engines (96 kHz/24-bit conversion with up to 64-bit floating point internal processing) and AVB capability, D-Mitri's strong programmable platform makes suitable for a number of applications, from theatrical productions to a wide variety of permanently installed audio environments.

The seminar AVB: The Future of Stan

UK - Via the technology of enhanced video, composer Frank Zappa joined his son Dweezil and band on stage in Brighton in December as part of the long-running Zappa Plays Zappa show, with the band playing in its entirety in original track order one of Frank's best known albums Apostrophe.

The current line-up of Dweezil Zappa, Scheila Gonzalez, Pete Griffin, Billy Hulting, Jamie Kine, Ben Thomas, Joe Travers, and Chris Norton has toured the ZPZ show - a tribute to Frank's amazingly prolific output of over 60 albums performed in exacting detail - around the world for several years now and continue to do so on a fairly regular basis.

Mansfield-based ESS were contracted to supply audio for the UK dates, in the shape of a Turbosound Aspect system. The band and crew were relaxed and on top form for this last show of the tour at the Brighton Dome, with the iconic venue pr

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) recently hosted a workshop event for some of the industry's hottest lighting designers to showcase its portfolio of LED, lighting and video control technologies from leading manufacturers - including Chroma-Q, GLP, PixelRange, Vari*Lite, Jands Vista and Green Hippo.

Held in the modern demo facilities at AC-ET's High Wycombe HQ, the workshop was the initiative of the UK sales team's Paul Biggerstaff and Jez Johnstone of leading UK rental company, Siyan.

Seven in-demand lighting designers attended the workshop: Jamie Thompson (The Script), Johnny Barker (Scouting For Girls), Dave Cohen (Wretch 32, Simian Mobile Disco), Greg Hill (Biffy Clyro, Nero), Andres Atkinson (Eliza Doolittle, Framing Hanley, Little Boots), Louis Oliver (Jessie J, Katy B) and Chris Swain - AKA 'Squib' - (Two Door Cinema Club, Bombay Bicycle Club).

The LDs were

UK - Allen & Heath has added two new models to its ZED range of multi-purpose live sound and recording mixers. The new ZED-16FX and ZED-18 each have 10 fully-featured mono channels and 3 or 4 dual stereo channels, respectively, fulfilling the demand for increased channel counts in a compact format.

In keeping with the rest of the range, both mixers have a connection for USB send and return for recording, playback and effects. The 10 mono Mic/Line inputs feature Allen & Heath's DuoPre two stage preamp, three-band MusiQ EQ with swept mid frequency, and 100mm faders, all in a compact, rack mountable format. The stereo inputs have two-band EQ and inputs for extra sources, and there are four auxes accessible from each mono and stereo channel.

Additionally, the ZED-16FX has a built-in FX processor with TAP tempo delay settings and a 24 bit/48kHz conversion rate, with access to a com

France - The team from d&b France will be at Siel in the Grande Halle de la Villette (29-31 January) with several new additions to the d&b catalogue. Centre stage will be the newly launched additions to the time honoured E-Series, the E4 and E5 loudspeakers that are some of the littlest loudspeakers in the company's product range.

Alongside these will be a selection of products from the xA and xS-Series, which together comprise the company's White range of integration loudspeakers. Four elements of the White range are now being offered coloured white as standard, as well as the more traditional black; these are the 4S, 5S and 8S loudspeakers as well as the 12S subwoofer - all from the xS-Series.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Genelec is set to make a return to the NAMM show following an absence of several years. The company will be showcasing its award-winning 8000 Series alongside a selection of supporting subwoofers (7050B, 7060B).

"We're delighted to be back at NAMM," says Terho Savolainen, marketing manager at Genelec Oy. "Although we've not been at the show for a while we've been very active in the sector and are really looking forward to meeting up with both new and existing customers. The 8000 Series has been phenomenally successful for us and I know the NAMM Show audience is going to love how the range has evolved while we've been away."

The Genelec 8000 Series "represents the culmination of Genelec's 30 years of experience in loudspeaker design and development and is suitable for a wide variety of tasks including near-field monitoring, mobile vans, broadcast

North America - As part of its ongoing effort to support the growth of the network for its Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array system, Martin Audio has appointed Jim Jorgensen to the newly created position of MLA support specialist.

A respected audio veteran, Jorgensen has been working with Martin Audio products since 1978. His career includes work with regional sound companies such as his own Genesis Productions in Phoenix, as well as Sunbelt Scenic Studios, and Clearwing Productions in Milwaukee and Arizona.

Jorgensen has also toured with leading artists such as Missy Elliott, Stevie Wonder, Tower of Power and, most recently, Sammy Hagar and Chickenfoot.

"Having known and worked with Jim for 20 years, I am thrilled to welcome him to our team in North America," said Rob Hofkamp, director of operations for Martin Audio. "Jim's knowledge of the industry and the pe

UK - IT & AV rental DB Systems has grown its operations team with the appointment of Jess Walters and Katy Stannard.

As logistic co-ordinators, their role is to make sure the right kit and crew get to events and exhibitions allowing DB to deliver the projects it has been hired for.

Mark Danvers, DB's operations director, said, "In 2011, we provided an IT & AV service for nearly 2,500 clients, at 248 exhibitions worldwide. Part of our ability to deliver an IT & AV service on a global scale is down to how we co-ordinate our service.

"Jess and Katy will help make sure that we get the right people and equipment to the right place at the right time. This will include the likes of booking the appropriate crew for the technical requirements of the contract, as well as arranging the necessary transportation of equipment and personnel."

(Jim Evans)

USA - BlackBox manufacturer JoeCo heads to NAMM with a preview of a new BlackBox App for remotely controlling and monitoring its range of BlackBox recorders and players.

Designed for use on the iPad, the BlackBox App will provide full high resolution metering on all channels and a range of transport controls for remote operation. It will also enable the BlackBox menu and set-up options to be remotely controlled.

JoeCo's Joe Bull comments, "We want to offer users a remote monitoring and control interface that allows them maximum flexibility with the positioning of the BlackBox hardware at a venue, or on location, and that also enables the BlackBox to be operated without moving from the FOH console.

" Providing high resolution metering, especially for 64-channel versions of the BlackBox Recorder, is of great benefit to engineers who need to monitor critical levels du

USA - It was George Barber's lifelong passion for racing that led him to become a driver with the Sports Car Club of America in the 1960s.

After his father's death in 1972, the Birmingham native put his racing career on the back burner to take over the family dairy business. But by the late 1980s Barber's obsession with collecting and restoring vintage cars and motorcycles eventually resulted in one of the most impressive collections in the world, and in 1995 he opened the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum.

In 2003 Barber sold his dairy business and invested more than $50m to build the Barber Motorsports Park. The sprawling 740 acre park, just east of Birmingham, is home to the museum as well as a 16-turn, 2.38-mile racetrack that has hosted both motorcycle and car racing events ranging from Grand-Am and NASCAR to AMA Superbike and Mustang Club of America.

"The state of

UK - The Holy Trinity was Tunbridge Wells' first parish church. After its final religious service in 1972 its Grade 1 listed status ensured safety from demolition, and by 1975 a public petition had secured permission from the Church Commissioners to produce a plan for community or public use.

An appeal committee raised £50,000 and five years later it reopened as The Trinity Theatre arts centre complete with a raked-seating auditorium. Growing popularity soon saw an art gallery, licensed bar and computerised box office added.

Its latest upgrade sees the venerable space take on the very modern mantle of digital cinema, although a cursory gaze at the vaulted balconies, plush stage tabs and comfy seats reveals little. Only on closer inspection does it turn out to be the UK's first digital cinema to employ the K-Array system, its mid/high hangs barely visible against the tabs

Brit Awards Nominations - Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran is leading the field at this year's Brit Awards, with four nominations, followed by Jessie J who is up for three awards - best female, breakthrough act and best single for her hit Price Tag.

Organisers have also announced that Adele will perform live at this year's ceremony next month. It is her first confirmed live performance since recovering from throat surgery. The singer is also nominated in three categories - best female, best single and best album for 21.

The trophies - including a lifetime achievement prize for Britpop band Blur - will be handed out at the O2 Arena on 21 February.

Yellowbrick Road Block - A performance of The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium had to be called to a halt last week after the production suffered technical problems. Star Michael Crawford apologised when the mus

USA - The new DLT15A 500W active speaker system from American Audio is designed for DJs, bands and nightclubs. A two-way powered speaker it is equipped with a built-in lightweight Class D high-power amplifier.

Featuring a 15-inch woofer, 1.3 inch driver and rotatable horn with 90* x 40* dispersion, the DLT15A delivers "great output, high dynamic range and distortion-free sound quality".

The speaker comes enclosed in an attractive, upscale-looking rugged - yet lightweight - plywood cabinet.

"With the DLT15A, we have brought together a lot of features that today's customers are asking for in a speaker system," said Tom Freret, national sales manager for American Audio. "For many DJs, bands and mobile performers, an active speaker system just makes sense, because they don't have to haul around separate amplifiers, crossovers and so forth. The DLT15A off

Vatican City - Clear-Com reports that Vatican Television Centre, known in Italy as Centro Televisivo Vaticano (CTV), the official broadcaster of Vatican City, has selected Eclipse-Median digital matrix and Tempest 2400 digital wireless intercoms to help cover the official activities of Pope Benedict XVI as well as the ongoing religious events and services held at the Vatican.

The extensive communication capabilities offered by the four connected Eclipse-Median, six I-Series intercom panels, two Tempest BaseStations and four Tempest BeltStations "assure that CTV broadcasts have fast access to reliable, high-quality communications".

Since 1983, CTV, headquartered in Via del Pellegrino in Vatican City, has broadcast the Pope's pastoral ministry and other activities of the Holy See. Each year, they cover about 200 events from inside the Vatican as well as during the Pope

UK - Broadcasting services provider Bow Tie Television recently needed to upgrade the audio monitoring system in one of its Outside Broadcast vans, to deliver the high quality of sound that the company's clients expected. A K-Array system was the answer.

Because of the limited space available, it had proved impossible to position all the speakers of the OB truck's original production monitoring system in exactly the right places. The only way to achieve the correct placement was to block the view of some of the monitors, which clearly wasn't an option.

K-Array is distributed in the UK by Sennheiser UK and when Bow Tie TV's head of outside broadcast sound Ross Banks attended the latter's roadshow on 9 June at Knebworth House, he was impressed with Dave Wooster's demonstration of the tiny K-Array KZ10 full-range loudspeaker and KU36 sub.

"Because the KZ10 is so small, we

UK - Audio manufacturer Audient is celebrating the launch of its new ASP4816 recording console by throwing a drinks party on Tuesday 31January at SAE Institute in London, where the Hampshire-based company's latest compact, analogue mixing desk will be showcased with the help of rock/folk collective, Flight Brigade.

Kicking off at 3pm at SAE Institute's Bankstock Studios, the party will give guests the opportunity to see and hear the band Flight Brigade being recorded using the ASP4816, as well as microphones kindly provided by Sontronics.

"It's the ideal way to introduce the features of the ASP4816: letting people get hands on and experience it themselves," says Audient's UK sales manager, Gareth Williams. "We're delighted that our friends at SAE Institute London are hosting too, the new £4m studio facility in Hackney will make a great backdrop for the eve

UK - Harman Soundcraft's small-format digital console, the Si Compact, has received a major upgrade with the release of its V2 software. The new free upgrade provides more than 23 major new features, updates and enhancements, the company says. These include eight additional DSP channels expanding the Si Compact 16 and Si Compact 24 to 32 and 40 inputs to mix, respectively.

Of particular note is the new user-configurable fader layers allowing input channels to be reassigned anywhere on either input layer and any bus master reassigned to either master layer. Now an engineer can put the inputs and returns where he or she most needs them - for example, having the main vocal or presenter always in position 1 on both input fader layers, or mixing aux and matrix masters on a single bus layer to reduce the number of layer changes.

Another useful new function in V2 is DOGS (Direct Outp

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