UK - Based in Canary Wharf, AVT London specialises in producing live events for a wide range of corporate clients, including Reuters, various banks and The Canary Wharf Group. Much of the company's work takes place at the Cabot Hall and East Wintergarden on Canary Wharf (venues for which AVT is the preferred supplier), although the company has produced events throughout the UK and abroad.

AVT London uses Christie as its preferred projection supplier, and recently invested in its second RoadRunner LX100 four-lamp system, deciding that the optimised 10,000 ANSI lumens output was what was required to cut through the considerable daylight emissions in the 32m high glass palace dome of the East Wintergarden.

This is a difficult location at the best of times, says AVT's Dan Hall, and when Canary Wharf Management's Arts & Events team wanted to present a four-film season based around

UK - Following their success in 2005, Hawthorn has organised a new series of events to take place at its base in Old Dalby in Leicestershire. The 'Hawthorn@Home 2006' events will give lighting, sound and AV users the opportunity to get 'hands-on' with the latest equipment and technology. The events also aim to give manufacturers, suppliers and users to discuss the products and to gain an insight not normally available outside large tradeshows, say Hawthorn.

The days will kick off with lunch and an informal get together, followed by the hands-on/demo of the equipment. The first three events are:

3 March: Moving Lights and Lighting Desks'
Companies participating include Avolites, Martin Professional, ETC, MA Lighting, Robe and Zero 88. Hawthorn will also have on show its range of Clay Paky Alpha Spots and Washes, as well as other moving lights in their rental and sales

USA / Belgium - ETC's Networking Partner Program now includes Belgian software developer ArKaos, a world-leading provider of media server technology for live visual performances. The Networking Partner Program allows select vendors to implement ETC protocols, including ETCNet2, in their products. The program gives partners access to the proven power of ETC networking, while also increasing the value of ETC systems installed all over the world.

As a result, ArKaos will be showing the latest version of its popular ArKaos product, the ArKaos 3.5 ETC Edition, on the ATF stand L51 at the SIEL 2006 trade show in Paris next week. A software-based visual synthesizer that runs on a normal PC or Mac, ArKaos 3.5 ETC Edition is a tool for lighting designers or visual artists to create and control amazing visual projections. At SIEL the application will be connecting via ETCNet2 with ETC's n

Belgium - Barco have announced that organizers of the Berlin International Film Festival have selected D-Cine Premiere DP100 and D-Cine premiere DP90 projectors for all digital screenings.

The festival is taking place from 9 to 19 February 2006. In total, four Barco digital projectors will be used for a full agenda of digital screenings in theatres throughout Berlin, on this year's "Berlinale". "We are delighted to be cooperating with Barco, as they really have a long-term commitment to high quality leadership in digital cinema," says Dieter Kosslick, festival director. "We have worked with them during the Berlinale of last year. Audiences were thrilled with the system's performance."

Based on DLP CinemaTM technology of Texas Instruments, Barco's digital cinema projectors answer the demanding needs of the cinema industry. Barco today counts over 5

UK - Technical staging specialists Blitz, part of the Blitz Charter Group, has invested £500,000 in Toshiba's Technorainbow TR 2006R 6mm curvable indoor LED display - one of the most compact and lightweight screens (9kg per panel) in its class allowing for easy transportation and assembly, say Blitz.

Designed to create maximum impact indoors, the TR 2006R's 6mm pixel pitch delivers outstanding picture quality with a 170° viewing angle. The curved LED wall with SMD (Surface Mount Display) is suited for real-time video display in TV studio set design, whilst being ideal for use at corporate events, say Blitz. Jeff Bailey, head of division for Blitz TV Services explains: "This is currently the only screen to offer configurations for both concave and convex imagery and demonstrates our commitment to offering top end high quality 6mm LED screens. To make studios more capt

UK - ArKaos VJ DMX is the DMX- and MIDI-compatible software now available from Stage Electrics, which the company says enables the user to "set up outstanding video shows in a matter of seconds". A few simple video loops from your hard drive, can be mixed and manipulated using more than 100 real-time effects, say the company.

ArKaos VJ DMX lets you control every aspect of your live visual show from within your console: assign visuals to be displayed, trigger effects, use camera inputs, drive effect parameters - all live and directly from the sliders and buttons. You can now seamlessly integrate a professional video control system into your existing lightshow architecture either direct via ArtNet or using a DMX USB Interface, say Stage Electrics.

On top of its 60+ original effects, ArKaos VJ DMX supports additional FreeFrame effects (an open cross-platform real-time

Worldwide - Depeche Mode's Touring The Angel is among the most visually creative shows on the road this year. With XL Video supplying equipment worldwide, the tour is under the artistic direction of Anton Corbijn, who has designed the set and overall visual concept. Early pioneers of touring video, Depeche Mode have always had a fresh and experimental attitude to new media ideas, and so video director Blue Leach has been in his element.

Leach was asked onboard after his innovative work with REM last year. He and Corbijn got their heads together and came up with the idea of six upstage moving screens, just off-centre and all hung at slightly jaunty angles, three in portrait format and three in landscape. "The weirder it becomes the more sense the whole video design makes, and the closer the whole medium becomes to the music," says Leach.

XL Video has serviced D

UK - The Hammersmith Palais maintains its status as London's flagship live venue as The Shockwaves NME Awards return for the fourth consecutive year.

2006 sees the ceremonies technical production growing further in ambition, combining complex requirements from TV and bands to live audience. The TV show, produced by Remedy, is recorded live, and after the show has been recorded, the team have just an hour and a half to turn raw footage into a fully-realised TV programme, ready to air.

Nine cameras inside the Palais feed directly into three generator powered broadcast trucks, provided by Fleetwood Mobiles. A stunning homage to 60's science fiction and B-Movies, constructed by GTMS Event Solutions, will transform The Palais' main stage, themed as 'attack of the monsters of rock' and featuring Ian Brown, the recipient of this year's 'God-like Genius' Award'.

A ground bar

UK - For the fourth consecutive year, XL Video were the video screen suppliers for The Brit Awards, providing a high resolution Barco iLite 6 XP LED screen measuring 15 metres wide by 7 metres high for the 2006 event. It's the first time that The Brits has used HD, a move prompted by Gorillaz' performance which specified a high resolution screen of 2048 x 1024 pixels.

The screen split into three sections that tracked horizontally across stage (via a Kinesys Vector automation system) and into different positions and configurations to provide a variety of different looks for the 10 live artists performing, who also included Coldplay, Kanye West, KT Tunstall and Prince. XL also provided two 16 : 9 aspect ration Sony 15 mm pitch IMAG side screens, each measuring 7 x 4 metres. The screen element of the Brits was project managed for XL by Paul Wood, working for productio

France - Daslight, the producer of user-friendly DMX lighting controllers, is releasing its new professional software package, the next generation DVC 2. Improvements to the system include new functions, buttons, windows and a more intuitive user interface that will cut programming time by half, say the company.

Adding to already popular functions, the new tools include: group window, ordering fixtures and scenes, preset pallets, global multi-selection, powerful LIVE control, DMX universe managementa and more. Further new features will be added in the coming months.

The official release of the new software will be in April 2006, and a preview will be available atProLight & Sound in Frankfurt (29 March - 1 April), where the company can be found on stand B.81, Hall 9.0.

(Lee Baldock)

Hong Kong - Leading full-colour LED video panel manufacturer Lighthouse Technologies has launched a used screen brokerage service to provide added value for its customers. The company says it has seen an increase in requests from customers to help broker a growing demand from the second tier market. This would benefit both existing customers wishing to renew their panel fleet and potential customers who would like the advantages of Lighthouse LED video technology, but do not necessarily want to commit to the expense of new panels, say the company.

"We understand that an LED video panel is a serious financial commitment," explains Lighthouse senior sales manager David Thilwind. "And when our customers want to renew/upgrade their existing fleet, they need the best possible return on their initial investment. The new service we are offering, which is principally for

Germany - This year Australian based manufacturer ARX Systems will be displayingseveral new additions to the ARX Signal Processing range at Frankfurt's Pro Light &Sound, including the 'i Switch' Line Switcher, AV Stream Audio Video Zoner / Switcher, the AudiBox range of Audio Accessories and new models for the SPL range of integrated powered loudspeakers.

ARX managing director Colin Park says: "Frankfurt is the most important Exhibition of the year for ARX and we're pleased to announce the release of some exciting new products being shown there on World first release.

"Europe has been a great market for ARX in the past year and with the appointment ofnew Distributors like Audiosales in Italy, RMS Audio in Hungary, AVS Global in Turkey,Natural Musica y Sonido in Spain and S & V Mega Sound in Cyprus our policy of distribution channel rejuvenation implemented ear

Spain - TESI, the Barcelona-based broadcast engineering company, has launched two new ultra-compact, software controlled analogue audio routers, the Legato A48M and Legato A48, which are deal for a wide range of applications including TV and radio broadcasting, film and video post production, for large PA systems.

Each unit takes a miniscule amount of rack space - just 2U (19inches) each. The difference between them is that the Legato 48M features a built-in mixer for increased flexibility. Both units are controllable with powerful user-friendly Windows 2000 or XP software.

The basic configuration of both units is a 16 input/16 output audio switching matrix. The matrix of the A48 can be enlarged considerably by adding 16 input / 16 output expansion cards, providing up to 48 inputs/ 48 outputs all contained within the 2U rack unit. The A48M can also be expanded to 32 inputs/16

UK - 19sq.m of Element Labs' VersaTile LED panels were used by the hotly tipped UK indie band Maximo Park, headliners of the 2006 Shockwaves NME Awards tour (AKA 'The Brats'). The 19 sold out dates featured the very best of burgeoning UK musical talent including the Arctic Monkeys, Mystery Jets and We Are Scientists in addition to Maximo Park. The VersaTiles were supplied by Element Labs' UK partners, Projected Image Digital to Maximo's lighting designer Stevie Marr.

Marr, a respected LD for many years, is also currently studying Interactive Media at The Arts Institute, Bournemouth, and this was his first substantial tour since starting the course. Marr produced all video content for the Tiles as part of his coursework. The tour's standard generic and moving light rig was supplied by Siyan. Marr wanted something special to differentiate Maximo's highly energetic set, and he want

UK - Saville Audio Visual, Liverpool, have recently completed an installation at Arrowe Park Hospital's School of Health and Social Care for the Wirral Hospital NHS Trust, Merseyside.

The new annexe cost £7.6 million. The ground floor is home to a fracture and orthopaedic clinic with its own dedicated X-ray suite which will treat up to 30,000 patients in a year. The two upper floors contain a staff education centre and high-tech training facility - one of the most advanced in the UK. A central control viewing room is linked by video and microphones to the hands-on area, which can be set up as either a fully equipped Hospital Ward or a realistic Operating Theatre.

Remotely controlled zoom and pan camera feeds are recorded straight on to a hard drive. The operator can view the procedures independently or globally. On the audio side a combination of beyerdynamic MPC23 butto

Belgium - Sporting visualization specialist Barco is proud to announce the launch of its very own sports perimeter LED solution optimized for television broadcast, the Barco SP-10. More and more sports stadiums are looking to use LED technology around the perimeter to improve image quality during broadcast and to offer high-quality advertising and branding packages.

With the SP-10, Barco offers a complete digital perimeter solution, including cutting edge visualization hardware (custom-designed LED display solution) and advanced dedicated SportsBox software (to manage the content of the display). Many years of experience in LED technology in the sports and broadcast markets have culminated in this latest LED perimeter solution that is rugged and reliable, easy to install for both fixed and temporary installations and that will provide a significant and measurable income for the

UK - Working with West Design & Production, PSL, the London-based events services company, has provided one of the most visible elements of this year's Orange British Academy Film Awards in Leicester Square, central London - a massive Lighthouse LED screen hanging from the front of the Odeon Cinema, the first time such a large screen has been featured in such a way.

LED screens played a vital role in the concept of West Design & Production, the agency responsible for conceiving the design and overseeing the production of the exterior areas of the BAFTA Awards ceremony. Director Lucy Smail explains that she wanted to: "Include moving imagery rather than a static backdrop on the theatre, so we've mixed elements of the nominated films which, as you pull back, give way to more and more images. Eventually, the thousands of tiny images reveal the BAFTA mask."

UK - Adamson introduces the next generation of its proprietary venue design software, the Y-Axis Shooter 2.5.5. The easily interpreted software package is extremely precise in providing computer generated predictions of Adamson Line Arrays in customized venues. Along with the original architecture and the ability to create complex listening areas in multiple floor designs, Adamson software engineers have added useful configuration elements.

One such addition is the rigging plot window, for specific horizontal or vertical views of the load points and alternate reference locations. Originally conceived with the intention to further the schematic ability of the user to implement Adamson arrays effectively, Shooter 2.5.5 is now more versatile, offering the capability to include bothY-Axis and Spektrix subwoofer capacity in the vertical window illustration of the array, and apply it

UK - The Theatrical Guild (TTG) is delighted to announce that it is exhibiting for the second year running at the forthcoming ABTT Theatre Show 14th-15th June 2006.

The Theatrical Guild is the only registered charity in the UK providing help and support to anyone who works or has worked Backstage or Front of House, be it general staff or management.

Offering an extremely valuable service, TTG gives financial aid to those who are unable to work due to illness, accidents or to those who have retired.

Karen Nichols, Chief Administrator, explained: "We found exhibiting at The ABTT Theatre Show enormously worthwhile. It gave us the opportunity to meet with theatre professionals from around the country. It was invaluable meeting face to face and being able to let them know that The Theatrical Guild exists and explain how our charity can make a dramatic difference should they

USA - Design & Drafting, manufacturer of LD Assistant, is celebrating its 20th year as a leading developer of CAD solutions for the entertainment lighting and event planning markets. The company says it has "both survived and prospered in the past 20 years", adding: "In the theatrical and entertainment lighting design market, Design & Drafting has been able to consistently lead the field with new and innovative CAD solutions that offers more features and ease of use to its users."

Chicago Stage Equipment DBA Design & Drafting Software was established in 1986 by founder and CEO, Rufus W. Warren III, when he identified a niche in the entertainment lighting market - the need for an easy-to-use CAD solution for entertainment lighting design, presentation, installation and event planning. The company's flagship program, LD Assistant, has evolved over the years to

UK - SPS has recently adopted an account-team organisational structure. "In doing this, it is our goal to better support our clients; to work more efficiently; and to improve the way we communicate," said MD Robin Coles.

The new structure will see an account director head-up each account team - supported by a team of account managers, project managers and technical crew. The teams are responsible for a shortlist of key clients with whom close working relationships can be developed and built upon. Closer working relationships will allow teams to better anticipate client needs, to be proactive, and to provide cost effective, intelligent solutions.

"It's a very positive, customer focussed move that will also benefit all of our people. Everyone is very excited about the changes to our way of working, and the advantages it offers at many levels," said Coles.

(

Slovakia - Martin Professional's Maxedia Digital Media Composer is seeing service on an ever broader variety of shows and events. It is also being specified in an ever expanding number of geographic markets. In Slovakia, Martin distributor Adam A Syn has incorporated the user friendly digital media server into several shows and events of late, mostly for Slovakian television.

For Zlaty Slavik (Golden Nightingale), a singing competition that airs on Slovakian channel STV 1, Adam A Syn technicians Michal Brna and Dusan Rybar programmed the Maxedia to manipulate - divide, rotate and fly - a series of images for an LED videowall. Dagmar Pastorkova of Adam A Syn commented: "We use the Maxedia because of the variety of unique visual effects it is capable of creating through image manipulation. Nobody else can offer such diverse imagery here in Slovakia. For Zlaty Slavik

UK - Stagetec Distribution has supplied a Compulite Vector Lite (Orange) control system and Hippotizer Stage media server to BBC Studios, part of BBC Resources Ltd, in London for the current production of Davina, the mid-week BBC1 talk show.

The Vector is used to control five Clay Paky Stage Zooms, 49 Martin Mac 500, 20 Martin Mac 600s, six Vari*Lite VL1000, two Vari*Lite VL2416, two sets of Pulsar ChromaStrips and the Hippotizer media server.

The VL1000s are the key lights for the chat area and band, with two of the 500s as back lights on the chat area. The 600s colour the upper set and stairs and the Zooms put gobos on the set behind the chat area. The remaining 500s are used for the band.

The Hippotizer is run in dual output mode - one output feeds the big LED screen hanging above the band, the second output feeds five projectors on the floor, rear projecting on to

UK - The Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA) has launched the first in a new suite of financial services designed to help member companies protect themselves against the risk of bad debts and to assist them in trading competitively in the growing global market.

The three new services - free credit checks, credit insurance facilities and a debt collection service - have been launched to minimise the risks involved in trading with particular customers and enable members to make more informed decisions.

PLASA Members can now request free credit checks on all UK companies. The service, provided by CreditSafe, allows members to request Reports on clients or business contacts. Updated on a daily basis, the Reports include financial information, key ratios, trend analysis, directors' details, payment record and a rating system classifying companies on a scale from 0 t

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