UK - When the 16th century Royal Grammar School in Guildford hit a snag midway through converting the former gymnasium into a multi-purpose auditorium, the school's bursar, Ian Watson, contacted Scott Wakelin at Marquee Audio, who devised an audio-visual solution which would allow simple operation and switching of playback devices - sending both laptop VGA and composite video signals from either the control room or lectern positions. At the same time, the provision of a pair of flown Turbosound TQ-310 (10" + 1") full-range speakers and a TQ-115 (single 15" sub) - enabled them to optimise the building's already enhanced acoustic properties.

The principle playback sources are the Marantz DVD player (with RS232 port) and PC laptops. Thus Marquee Audio specified Kramer switching and scaling interfaces in a signal network with a Biamp Nexia system - which handled the f

USA - Gefen has released the DVI-1000 ST - which is a new version of the DVI-1000 HD video extender, but is equipped with more durable fibre optics cable connectors to accommodate the rental and staging markets.

Though armed with cable connectors that are better able to endure frequent and repetitive setup and take-down procedures, the DVI-1000 ST uses the same methodology to extend high definition digital video up to 500m (1,640ft) from source to display. Small sender and receiver units link the source to the extended display with multimode fibre optic cables, available from Gefen in lengths ranging from 10m (33ft) to 100m (330ft). The DVI-1000 ST supports high resolutions up to and including 1080p or 1920x1200 for computers, and is equipped with DVI inputs and outputs to connect its sender and receiver units to the source and the extended display, say Gefen.

"This new v

UAE - Large-format projection specialists E//T//C UK projected giant images onto the majestic Gate International Finance Centre in Dubai, for the launch of Credit Suisse's new Middle Eastern offices. The event production company was Eclipse LLC, and the original concept was developed by Adrian Bell, managing partner of Eclipse. Duncan Shortt was the production and project manager.

Credit Suisse wanted to announce its arrival in Dubai and the UAE in grand style. They did this initially at an opening gala event for key Credit Suisse organization figures, followed by a week of projections in a high traffic area to maximize brand exposure and impact. Eclipse won the bid for the contract by presenting the boldest and most effective response to the brief, combined with a reputation in the region for delivering polished, high end production solutions.

With large format projection sti

UK - David Ambrose has been appointed managing director of Electrosonic Ltd, effective immediately. Reporting to the Electrosonic Group CEO, Kyle Carpenter, Ambrose will has responsibility for all Electrosonic's operations in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) region.

Ambrose has been with Electrosonic for 15 years and during that time he has worked within the systems, products and service businesses of the company, including a short period in Hong Kong. He says: "Electrosonic has a strong history of understanding and adapting to the needs of our customers. This is an exciting time for the organisation with a significant investment in new products, growth within our service business and some great opportunities for systems integration projects."

(Jim Evans)

Hong Kong - Lighthouse Technologies has introduced what it claims to be "the industry's first portable, self-contained 'pop-up' high brightness light emitting diode (LED) video screen". Lighthouse, will be showcasing the PopVision at InfoComm which opens in Las Vegas this week.

PopVision features Lighthouse's proprietary technology, enabling "a high-resolution screen with better quality images at an affordable price". Designed for aesthetic integration, PopVision - with brightness level up to 3000 nits - Is intended for use in any digital signage network (new or existing) where LCD, Plasma and projection systems are not appropriate. PopVision can also be used in outdoor applications and be seen in direct sunlight with the proper weatherproof housing.

The 6mm screen is contained in a 5ft x 2ft mobile case with a wireless remote and hydraulic system that ena

UK - Arcstream AV has appointed Peter Giles as business development director. Giles, who has over 15 years' experience of audio and multi-media production around the world, joins the west-London based company at a pivotal point in its history. Arcstream AV has just been appointed sole distributor (UK, Ireland and the Middle East) for poolSystem and propellerplasma - two new display technologies. Giles' role is to develop the market for these and the company's profile as a one-stop, professional and reliable provider of audio-visual technology applications.

Giles's career portfolio includes audio consultant to Massive Attack for the award-winning Nocturne, audio director for the award-wining Stone Forest in China - where he helped build the biggest ambisonic soundfield in the world; and MARS2112 - in New York - where he worked on motion simulator films and rides to create the pla

Belgium / China - Following last month's contract win for the LED display installation at Nanjing Olympic Centre, Barco Media & Entertainment has been awarded two more major contracts in Chongqing, China. Barco will install outdoor LED displays for the city's International Convention & Exhibition Centre and also for the Chongqing Dahe Advertising Co.

Barco says the total value of the two Chongqing contracts is approximately € 1.5 Million. "I think the signing of these two contracts is a timely reflection of the rapid economic development of the western region in China, which has demonstrated an increased need for high-end facilities associated with the construction of social infrastructure, including large LED displays," says Marco Bruines, vice president Barco Media China.

At the Exhibition Centre, Barco will install an outdoor SLite 14 LED screen, with a total are

UK JVC's SR-DVM70EU recorder has three-in-one video recording that incorporates MiniDV, HDD, and DVD and offers a range of professional features. Additional to its triple recording capabilities, the recorder has a 160 GB hard disk that provides high-storage capacity for extended recording times. It also enables mass duplication with high-quality picture and audio.

It is being promoted as is "an ideal tool for quick and easy editing of live programming and recorded DV footage as well as for dubbing, archiving and duplication in a post-production facility or corporate office".

When dubbing, the deck analyses content as it is recorded on the hard disk drive and assigns optimum bit rates to ensure picture quality while calculating disc capacity. In addition, the deck features selectable recording times and data rates depending on the application. Copying of DVD discs can

Belgium - Barco Media & Entertainment has appointed Richard Marples as international sales manager for the Asia Pacific region. Marples will head up the division's Asian sales team, which focuses on servicing Barco's existing Rental Partners in the region as well as further increasing its market-share in the lucrative Asian AV industry.

Marples' career has included 16 years with Phillips Lighting, where he most recently held the position of international account manager. In that role, he was responsible for the reorganization of all existing accounts, in-depth analysis of competitor products as well as the identification of new opportunities for growth. Marples has accumulated a wealth of knowledge and experience in the international AV industry.

Stephan Paridaen, president of Barco Media & Entertainment, stated: "We are very pleased with the addition of Richard to the Ba

UK - Cambridgeshire based 5 Star Cases Limited have recently invested in 3D modelling software by Solid Edge. The Wisbech company, purchased the software from Cutting Edge Solutions Limited of Witney - Oxfordshire, having evaluated various other systems on the market. 5 Star is one of Europe's leading specialist case manufacturers and supplies some of the biggest names in the Entertainment and Audio Visual sectors as well as many blue chip companies including Alstom Energy, Martin Audio, Lighthouse and Rolls Royce.

CES, UK's leading supplier of the renowned Solid Edge from UGS had previously demonstrated the system at a 'Customer Day' back in 2003. Although 5 Star Cases had been using 2D drafting for a number of years, the move to 3D modelling was considered just prior to the demo at UGS.

Works Director Keith Sykes explained "Although three packages were evaluated, Solid

UAE - During the PALME exhibition in Dubai, L&SI was invited to visit the premises of Production Technology LLC - better known as Protec. Protec is a world class event production company and the region's largest supplier of sound, lighting, AV, hydraulic and motor control equipment.

The latter elements are a particular area of Protec's strength, as a tour around its facilities reveals. Everywhere are the remnants of large-scale motorized set pieces, waiting to be called upon. There are set pieces purchased from the selling off of the Millennium Dome's contents; there are large, customized, articulated truss sections, huge spheres and steel and aluminium forms of all kinds of construction; it's like a giant's Meccano kit, with lots of bits that you can't get from the shops. There's enormous potential for creativity here.

Protec is owned by Stephen Lakin, the industry veteran wh

UK - Production company Flux Events, headed by John Farquhar-Smith, promoted and production managed the recent Cinemaphony performance of Shostakovitch's Seventh Symphony - at the Royal Albert Hall.Shostakovitch's 7th (Leningrad) Symphony in C major was written in 1942, during the terrible siege of Leningrad. The landmark Royal Albert Hall event was staged to commemorate VE Day 1945 and the loss of 26 million Russian Allies in the War. Performed by the 120-piece St Petersburg Academic Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the composer's son, Maxim Shostakovitch, and accompanied by the haunting images of Georgy Paradzhanov's film, it was the brainchild of designer Sergai Davitaya and the Russian Information Agency, Novosti.

Novosti had been impressed by last year's Battleship Potemkin event that Farquhar-Smith produced with the Pet Shop Boys in Trafalgar Square: Flux events was approa

UK - ECT has been appointed by three separate installation companies to provide bespoke projection screens for installations into religious buildings. Each screen has to be large enough for all the audience to benefit, as well as fitting into the unique architecture of the older church. ECT had less than two weeks to technically advise on and manufacture a projection screen, which would fit snugly between two pillars. "Being given the chance to work on a screen suitable for such an atmospheric setting was an interesting challenge!" said Adam Flawn-Thomas, managing director.

One of the solutions used was to suspend the screen on hinges. The whole unit can then be swung into the wall when not required. Project Audio Visual installed another ECT screen into a church, making it the centre backdrop. A remote control unit allowed the screen to be slip quietly out of sight, r

UK - When Metal Hammer Magazine held its annual Golden Gods Awards at London's Astoria recently, it was imperative that the stage was lit and dressed in the spirit of thrash metal. With so many logostyles on display, production reinforcement specialists PSL devised a clever means of front projection, using three Digital Projection Lightning 10gv 3-chip DLP projectors, fitted with short-throw lens - in conjunction with High End Systems' Catalyst software. The screen destinations comprised two inner and two outer 25ft by 5ft Trevera long rectangular drapes as the main projection surfaces, flanking a conventional 14ft x 10.5ft front projection screen.

PSL's project manager Mark Solomons worked closely alongside lighting designer, 'Luton' (Pete Hosier) to embellish a stage format he had originally developed with the band Killing Joke. Catalyst V3.3 software was running from a G5 Mac

China - Lighthouse Technologies in Hong Kong is supplying two of its indoor screens for the 8th Shanghai International Film Festival being held at the Shanghai Superbrand Mall. The company, in conjunction with Join Merit Media Holdings Limited and GP Batteries, is supporting Stellar Megamedia, a local entertainment and media company that is providing digital film services at this year's event. As such, Lighthouse has supplied one of its giant 4.48 x 3.36m R6 indoor display screens together with its new PopVision LED screen, measuring 1.28 x 0.64m. PopVision made its debut at the recent InfoComm show in Las Vegas.

The two screens will air coverage of film trailers, festival highlights, as well as new digital film content. The R6 will also serve as the main backdrop for the broadcasting of the festival's prestigious movie awards.Offering a 6mm pixel pitch, high definition imaging

Singapore - For the first time at this year's International Pro-Audio and Lighting Symposium 2005 (iPALs '05 - 22-24 June, Singapore), Lighthouse Technologies is co-hosting its stand with rental partner AV Promotions Ltd, to showcase its revolutionary range of large scale, full-colour video screens developed to meet specialized industry needs.

A highlight of the exhibit will be Lighthouse's R6, 3.2m wide and 2.4m high, 6mm pixel pitch indoor video screen which, the company says, is an attractive, cost-effective option for smaller scale rental applications demanding uncompromising image quality with virtually any source materials, delivering sharp, vibrant viewing capabilities.

The company's line-up at iPALs'05 will also encompass products including the super quiet, versatile Lighthouse R10 LED screen. Constructed as three creative pillar architecture, each measuring 0.64m wide

USA - In May, TMB shipped the 100th ProPower Rack Panel Distribution (RPD) System. The system was sold to Ed & Ted's Excellent Lighting, Inc. in support of an intensive summer of concert and corporate events, commencing with the Eminem North American Tour.

TMB's ProPower RPD features a comprehensive range of cULus Listed panels. Included are virtually every type of connector, voltage range, or special purpose power distro device used in the live event and entertainment industries. Over 150 panels are available, with more being added regularly. Panels and their positioning in the rack are selected by the user and the RPD system is built exactly as specified. RPD rack systems are normally shipped within ten days, completely ready to use. In addition to Power Distribution panels, an entire family of panels has been engineered using the ETC SmartPack dimmer modules and ProPlex Data

UK - Two new Visualizers from WolfVision incorporate features that make them ideal for meetings, presentations and conferences, say the company. The VZ-57plus Desktop and VZ-C30 Ceiling model are the first to use Progressive Scan in a 3CCD camera. In addition, WolfVision have increased the motion capture rate to 30fps - 50% faster than previous systems. WolfVision says that this means for the first time in Visualizers, 100% true colour with high resolution to produce unrivalled clear, sharp picture quality, allowing documents, plans and even 3D objects to be shown. Product prototypes, textile patterns, technical diagrams and architectural models can be seen clearly for detailed study and discussion.

The 3CCD Progressive Scan camera is the latest of WolfVision's own developments and uses a beam splitter that divides each pixel into the separate red, green and blue primary colours

UK - Stardraw.com recently announced that it has incorporated support for WebBrick technology from UK-based home automation products and solutions company O2M8 into its award-winning application, Stardraw Control.

Stardraw Control generates standalone, customized control programs that can manage and monitor any type of addressable equipment from any manufacturer using any protocol over any communications infrastructure. This approach frees systems integrators from closed or proprietary architectures and applications, offering instead the ability to create a single application that can control many different products with as much or as little complexity as the end user needs.

O2M8 Ltd is a UK-based company creating innovative smart home products and solutions using standard technologies and open source software to reduce costs and drive growth in the smart home industry. WebBri

The Netherlands - Just over a year ago, Dutch systems integrator Hecla Professional Audio and Video specialists met with real estate agent Flipse to advise it on how to get the biggest impact when advertising the company's selection of properties for sale. Now, it has an eye-catching Lighthouse Technologies' LED video screen installed on the side of its building in Dronten, Holland.

"Flipse was looking at using a digital screen to offer its clients a variety of services," explains Hecla's marketing and sales director Jos den Hartog. "There were several options - magazines, photographs in the shop window, etc - but they were looking for new and exciting ideas that would create the maximum possible impact."

Hecla advised Flipse that if it was to achieve the constant attention it wanted, an LED video screen was the ideal solution and should show not only the r

UK - A new compact colour touch screen has been introduced by iLight for their intelligent lighting control systems. Launched at CEDIA Expo 2005 UK, the unit has a 3.5" backlit LCD screen, giving it a discreet presence and enabling it to fit in a standard double gang backbox. Easy to use, the screen is software configurable, enabling the controls to be custom designed for the precise requirements of the user. Building plans, photos and 3D graphics can be incorporated in the display to enable simple fingertip selection of lighting scenes, as well as providing control of other integrated systems such as audio, security, heating and blinds.

Also introduced by iLight at CEDIA is the new iCAN/RS232 serial interface. This system integration node allows third party equipment to be controlled from an iLight iCAN network via their RS232 serial ports and allows the iCAN network to be

Sweden - Swedish AV specialist Massteknik's recently-purchased Lighthouse R16 16mm pixel pitch LED video screens have been installed into Copenhagen's famous Tivoli Gardens for its summer season of concerts. From April to the end of September, Tivoli is using the two 5x5 panel screens, measuring 5.1x3.8m and controlled by Lighthouse LVC88 processors, to show live footage of the concerts interspersed with video clips.

Massteknik's Claes Winberg says: "We purchased the R16 screens because they have excellent resolution, picture quality and the weight of the panels makes them easy to install for this type of application. Of course the price is always important and they offer a very good return on investment.

"Also, because Massteknik isn't running the screen - Tivoli is handling that in-house - they must be easy to use. The Lighthouse screens fulfil all the necessary cr

UK - The world's first high-definition LCD projector has been added to the rental fleet of PSL. The event supplier has purchased the 5500 ANSI lumens Sanyo PLV-HD10, further consolidating a long relationship between the two companies. "This is the first LCD HD product to the market anywhere in the world, and PSL will be one of only two hire companies in the UK to have it in their fleet," declared Sanyo's Crispin Piney. "We understand that PSL see this is as opening up a huge range of opportunities - the cost benefits over triple-chip DLP are enormous."

PSL MD Gary Davis responded: "We have been considering this move for a while and it's the first of a number of similar projectors we anticipate purchasing. Owning our own HD10 enables us to fill another niche in the marketplace."

He added, "Many of our customers are already requesting hi-def fo

UK - While Coldplay was wowing the Saturday night crowds on Glastonbury's main stage, headlining on The Other Stage were Razorlight. The unlisted opening act of last year have enjoyed a meteoric rise in the last 12 months, and to create the environment in which they could showcase a number of new songs, PSL extended the concept it devised for the band on their spring tour to create a 'living room' feel, working to a set design by LD Matt Dowden.

"We augmented the projection and threw images onto a white filled cloth surrounded by 25ft side screens to create a splayed 'box' effect," said PSL's head of music, Pod Bluman. "It was a very theatrical feel, using blocks of red and blue colour washes, and still photographic imagery.

PSL mounted two Barco ELM R12 12,000 ANSI lumen projectors off the front truss, with two further R12's wheeled in on rolling risers to addr

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