France - The Crestron sales team has added Kevin Marchelidon as its new sales engineer in France.
Reporting to Alain Solomon, Crestron’s regional sales director in South West Europe, Marchelidon will be the go-to technical expert for customers, and will support the regional sales team.
“We're excited to welcome Kevin, who will be a great asset to our team in France,” comments Solomon. “He has been providing technical input for AV projects for many years and has a proven, excellent track record of customer service, project management and quality assurance.”
Marchelidon adds: “I am really looking forward to meeting all my colleagues and customers, and I am ready to provide my best assistance for all your technical requirements.”

Australia - Cutting Edge has been a leading provider of sound and picture post production for the advertising, features and television industries, both in Australia and internationally, for almost three decades. The company recently announced Edge Lab, its newest venture in Virtual Production (VP) based in Brisbane, Queensland.
The facility is a research and development (R&D) hub for production industry professionals, developed in partnership with Big Picture, part of the NEP Worldwide Network, and motion caption integrator Logemas.
Brompton Technology processing is used for the main LED screen as well as ambient reflection and lighting walls.
Cutting Edge is able to facilitate all its clients’ needs across commercial, television and feature film productions. Now, the company can also tap into the latest technical innovations in VP with its Unreal Engine po

South Africa - As a direct response to the new pressures faced by businesses in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Johannesburg-based AV technology solutions provider, Stage Audio Works, has announced StreamWorks, an end-to-end live streaming service.
“COVID-19 has changed the way we work forever,” says SAW’s group CTO, Nathan Ihlenfeldt. “Participation in virtual events and remote meetings via the internet has become the norm for most of us, and even when the world finally starts to open up again, will remain an important part of our everyday lives. However, public streaming platforms and the internet in general has come under increasing pressure, with embarrassing consequences to the host organizations.
“With vast experience in delivering video reliably to internet users, especially in Africa, we decided to take things a step further and launched StreamWork

UK - Leisuretec, distributor of professional and commercial audio, lighting and video equipment, has unveiled a new corporate brand identity that consists of a new logo, website and style.
The new logo is at the core of the transformation, the company opting for one with a modern look and feel to replace the old emblem. The logo device represents the ‘L’ from Leisuretec, with the levels and waves within it reflecting the company’s passion for audio, lighting and video technology. Meanwhile, the four bars stand for the company’s core values of experience, choice, value and service.
“We are very excited to launch our new logo and corporate brand identity, which consists of a refreshed style, website and refined summary of our company vision, mission and value proposition,” comments Charlie Henden, marketing manager at Leisuretec. “Our previous log

UK - Virtual production solution Vero is now fully operational in the UK, offering LED surround screen backdrop, realtime graphics and powerful in-sync camera tracking.
The project brings together content, technology and operations talent from multiple companies, who have joined forces to enable creatives and filmmakers far more on-set visual control.
Vero features Desay 2.6mm pixel density LED screen technology from Production AV and visual content by MadeWithVero. Utilising Production AV’s touring and events experience, the solution can be deployed across the UK as needed by the production.
The team says the set-up has ‘revolutionised’ traditional VFX workflows, which rely on combining physical footage captured in front of a green screen with digitally generated backgrounds in post-production. In addition, costly set builds, location shooting and visual

UK - To complement the technology on display at Samsung KX, Snelling Business Systems and Cosmic Electronics recently outfitted the venue with a complete Harman networked AV, lighting and control system.
Situated in the recently developed Coal Drops Yard shopping district in King’s Cross, London, Samsung KX is a destination for the public to ‘experience Samsung’s range of innovative connected technologies working seamlessly together’.
The 20,000sq.ft space features a 32ft Screenmax LED display wall, connected “smart kitchen,” immersive augmented reality experiences and an ever-changing list of temporary installations. To further enhance the futuristic experience, Samsung KX required a facility-wide immersive AV, lighting and control system with enough flexibility to serve any current or future needs. Audio-visual integrator Snelling Business Systems and li

UK - disguise has announced a major software release in early April. Cluster rendering will allow users to scale out their real-time content rendering without compromise, as their productions increase in size or complexity. disguise invited a select group of global partners to pressure test and implement the technology into their workflows in preparation for public release.
disguise’s cluster rendering will unlock the limitations of a virtual production studio or immersive installation by scaling out real-time content up to an unlimited capacity, says the company. This is achieved by spanning real-time content over more than one disguise server as each machine will render a fragment of the final content frame to increase the render power. Developed to support Unreal Engine’s nDisplay capabilities, the technology also removes the need to manually configure the nDisplay cl

USA - For nearly 120 years, the distinguished Brooklyn Law School has been training and empowering lawyers in a wide range of disciplines.
In response to the COVID pandemic this year, the Brooklyn Law School wanted to make sure that specific classes could start up and continue as safely and efficiently as possible. The school contains some seminar-based classrooms where the instructors and law students typically engage with a lot of interactivity as they debate a range of different concepts and theories in the class.
To achieve a safe level of social distancing, the school decided to shift to a hybrid attendance model with only half the students in the classrooms at any one time. In order to facilitate this model, the faculty needed the seminar- based classrooms to be equipped with an AV solution that would allow remote students to hear and interact as efficiently as p

UK - The financial support Video Design has received from the Cultural Recovery Fund, administered by Arts Council England (ACE), has proved to be very beneficial.
Company CEO Alex Leinster explained, “We bid for funding to support the business as we experienced the sudden and near total cessation of all work. The services we provide are a fundamental part of the live music business, a significant multinational and culturally important industry. The ACE funding has enabled us to improve our resilience and preparedness for the end of lockdown by developing and extending our skills and expertise. We have used the time to ensure we are fit and ready for the future.”
Video Design’s grant application was based on their extensive catalogue of past projects including many which involved new and innovative approaches that broke new ground and advanced the industry.

USA - Miami-based creative multifunctional studio, darmah, specialises in production design enhanced by the latest cutting-edge tools, and known for its attention to detail and quality control. Last year, it announced the turnkey dXR stage with the latest Extended Reality (XR) Technology.
From set design, creative direction and video content, to developing and delivering the final product, darmah is a one-stop shop that uses the latest technology to bring emotion to the audience and create unforgettable moments. A big part of that is Brompton Technology LED processing, which has been key to the company’s success story over the last six years.
“Brompton makes reliable, easy-to-navigate LED processing that allows us to make all our video and xR work look amazing,” says Rodrigo Proal, founder of darmah. “As a Brompton partner, we continue to have a great experien

Germany - publitec has added the Christie Griffyn 4K32-RGB high-performance projector from Christie to its rental fleet.
The Griffyn 4K32-RGB is Christie’s first projector to offer new digital convergence to give users the ability to select red, green, or blue individually and adjust each colour by remote control, for easy picture-perfect image alignment that saves time and money. In addition, the Griffyn 4K32-RGB has an integrated metal frame, which makes it possible to mount the projector in the rental area without separate rigging accessories.
Jens Richter, publitec managing director, comments: “The Christie Griffyn was a convincing winner in a direct shoot-out with comparable projectors from other manufacturers. In particular, in terms of brightness, colour space, sound level and price, we could see clear advantages for our customers. It will replace the popul

UK - Specialist recruitment agency SER Limited has committed to donate 10% of its event industry placement fees to Backup, the technical entertainment charity.
Established in 2004, the Blackburn-based company works with clients of all sizes throughout the UK and internationally, covering sectors including audio visual and lighting, plus building controls, machine tools, construction, mechanical and electrical, fire and security, telecommunications and more. SER says it is dedicated to understanding all parties’ situations when recruiting, taking time to understand why vacancies have arisen, why the candidate is open to the opportunity and the motivators, ambitions and goals of both the client and the candidate.
Kate Booth, SER’s AV and events recruitment consultant, comments: “I was aware of Backup pre-coronavirus and had attended a previous fundraising event hel

France - IP video specialist Vitec has announced that Eric Deniau has joined the company as chief technology officer.
“IP video streaming continues to grow across all markets as more and more enterprises harness the power of their networks to deliver and manage video traffic,” said Philippe Wetzel, CEO of Vitec.
“The pace of innovation that is taking place in IPTV is accelerating as organizations across industries elevate their dependence on video streaming.
“Eric will be joining Vitec as CTO to lead technology innovation and R&D efforts worldwide. He has a deep knowledge of software and a sophisticated understanding of hardware products that will enhance the experience and capabilities of Vitec’s talented R&D leadership team. He is tasked with developing the next generation of codecs, ASIC technologies, and software solutions that will power Vi

Middle East - Creative Technology Middle East has welcomed two new additions to its operations. Dailos Rodriguez has joined as venue operations manager for the company’s newly-formed venue services department. He has over 24 years of experience in the hospitality and AV industry and has worked across multiple venues. He has secured various high-profile contracts during his time and implemented in-house AV services for some of the Middle East's biggest hotel chains.
Of his appointment, Rodriguez says: "It is a great honour joining the CT team, and I look forward to getting started on the variety of fantastic projects we already have lined up."
Also joining the team is Mark Johnson, who has been appointed business development manager for venue services. With over 19 years of experience in the AV hospitality industry, he brings a wealth of knowledge and exper

USA - Based in Scottsdale, AZ, Impact Church is a fast-growing, multi-ethnic church known for high-energy worship and relevant, accessible teaching. The church recently moved into a new home, which was purpose-designed to host worship services with a focus on high quality audio, video and lighting.
The anchor point of this new AVL system is the ADJ LED video screen which fills the rear of the stage, while the lighting setup consists exclusively of fixtures from ADJ and sister company Elation Professional.
What began as a bible study for the Arizona Cardinals hosted by player Andre Wadsworth in the late 1990s was opened to the public and soon became one of the fastest growing churches in the nation. Headed up by Senior Pastor Travis Hearn, Impact Church has a reputation for diversity, authenticity and throwing a huge celebration each weekend. These gatherings have becom

UK - BBC Studios' popular celebrity TV contest Strictly Come Dancing returned for its 18th series at the end of 2020, with new visual content choreographed by Hippotizer Karst+ media servers.
Leading the dance was a partnership of a Karst and Karst+, with the same duo serving as backup. An average series audience of more than 10 million Brits watched as the routines played out in front of a colourful array of visual content. The main stage was constructed as a series of arching LED screens, providing an eye-catching backdrop for the cameras.
The visual content included custom-made content for each performance - created by Potion Pictures and led by David Newton - and a mix of loops, full length time-coded tracks, and live rendered visuals.
These utilised Unreal Engine and nDisplay, with the data fed into the Hippotizer Media Servers by an output splitter.

UK - disguise has announced new features for its xR software. This upgrade will further enhance its integration of Unreal Engine and address the continued demand for immersive content of the highest quality, detail and frame rate across Extended Reality (xR) and Virtual Production, says the company.
The latest features introduced by disguise include ACES colour management, DirectX12 (DX12) and Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) support from Nvidia. Together, they will allow users to deliver images of the highest quality via 10-bit HDR processing of Unreal content through disguise RenderStream.
RenderStream is a proprietary IP protocol that enables the hosting of Unreal content on dedicated disguise hardware. “This approach of scale-out rendering in conjunction with features such as DX12 support, DLSS and the ACES colour management workflow allows Virtual Production

USA - Founded in 2020, LA-based XR Studios constantly pushes the boundaries of XR technology to new heights. Collaborating with Fuse Technical Group for technical and equipment support, XR Studios provides two high-spec LED stages featuring quality equipment, including Brompton Technology processing and ROE Visual LED panels, and offers a team of expert technologists and bespoke workflows to help bring XR productions to life.
“We have always had a great relationship with Fuse, a company we consider to be one of the greatest pioneers in terms of pushing LED technology for a wide variety of applications,” says XR Studios’ director, J.T. Rooney. “They have a lot of experience with the equipment and provide technical consulting across live entertainment, television, film and virtual production. We wanted to ensure that our entire operation was executed at the highest le

Germany - Stephan Schenk, as general manager global sales & solutions, has taken over responsibility for the worldwide sales and service of ARRI’s hardware products as well as the company’s solutions business. This newly created position aims to combine and align the sales and service activities across all ARRI product groups and expand the systems business across all markets.
In this role, Stephan Schenk reports directly to executive board member Markus Zeiler. He is responsible for all the sales and service departments of the camera systems and lighting business units, including the ARRI System Group in Berlin. Additionally, the regional managers from the Americas, China, East Asia Pacific, and EMEAI will report to Stephan Schenk.
Schenk joined ARRI in 2009, as head of ARRI’s Business Unit Camera Systems. He was appointed to managing director of Arnold &am

USA - tvONE has announced the forthcoming arrival of the ONErack Spider, a universal multi-voltage DC power solution which is the latest addition to the company’s ONErack universal rack mounting system.
“Not every rack has enough space for a full ONErack chassis, and the Spider offers the same simultaneous DC voltages but with rear or zero space racking,” says Mark Armon, global product manager at tvONE. “Everyone knows and has experienced the mess just a handful of wall-warts can cause when servicing or installing a system. The ONErack products have proven that there is a better way.”
The ONErack concept is a modular rack mount system designed to ‘vastly improve the installation and serviceability of small devices’. It allows variously-sized, externally-powered devices from any manufacturer to be converted into slide-in modules that can be designed preci

UK - With esports rapidly becoming one of the world’s most popular spectator sports, one of the challenges for the industry is to ensure that audiences in studios and stadiums see every detail of the gameplay on the large screens at the same time as the players. Any lag or juddery visuals can ruin the immersive experience, and Panasonic’s latest high fame rate (HFR) upgrade kit (ET-SUK10) for the Panasonic PT-RQ35K projector addresses these issues, bringing stadium and studio spectators closer to the action.
The HFR upgrade delivers higher quality images with rapid and smooth movement and less image lag by enabling the 30,500 lumen, three-chip DLP laser projector to accept and output 240Hz HD signals using just one cable. The improvements delivered by the upgrade are significant. As well as enhanced images, latency can be reduced to just 5ms - compared to 82ms using pre

UAE - LarMac Projects worked in collaboration with creatives and technical teams to deliver 49th UAE National Day, Seeds of the Union.
LarMac Projects was contracted to produce the 2020 live event production during some of the industry’s - and the world’s - most testing times. The show at Abu Dhabi’s Jubail Island saw the creative vision of artistic director & designer Es Devlin brought to life by long-term LarMac production suppliers including PRG, Auditoria, Wonder Works, SKYMAGIC and Groupe F.
A kinetic illuminated sculpture designed by Devlin took centre stage as the key visual storyteller. The 15m x 15m rotating cube portrayed projections depicting the UAE’s history.
Due to the restrictions on mass gatherings, for the first time in its history, the UAE National Day celebration event took place with a very small, socially distanced audience, and

Europe - Performance systems integrator Pro Media Audio Video is entering the European market with industry veteran Eddie Thomas charged with developing global business for new entity Pro Media Audio Video EU, Thomas brings 30 years of industry knowledge to the role.
Headquartered in Lititz, Pennsylvania, Pro Media Audio Video joined the Clair Global group of companies in 2019. The new EU office will establish a local presence from Britannia Row Productions’ Twickenham base.
Pro Media Audio Video has long established connections in live sports the company enjoys strong relationships with Major League teams in the US.
Pro Media Audio Video general manager, Ted Leamy, comments: “Each of the companies has the same working culture. Eddie shares our values and he is the person chosen to carry this global standard into Europe. Eddie is incredibly well-connected

UK - disguise has announced that global investment firm The Carlyle Group will take a majority stake in the company, with US video games developer Epic Games taking a minority stake.
disguise employees will also retain a “significant” minority share, with founder Ash Nehru the largest shareholder. Existing private equity partner Livingbridge will also reinvest in the transaction.
The partnership with Carlyle will accelerate disguise’s growth plan, focusing on international expansion, continued innovation, and enhanced support and product offerings for its customers. Meanwhile, Epic Games has bolstered its position with this latest transaction, having last year backed disguise with an undisclosed grant to enable its technology to be a native platform for the delivery of Unreal Engine content in xR projects.
disguise CEO Fernando Kufer says: “We’re proud

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