USA - D-Tools, Inc. a leader in system integration software, has announced that Planet Waves, respected designer and manufacturer of cable and connector products for A/V systems, has joined D-Tools Manufacturer Vantage Point (MVP) program. Planet Waves is a product line acquired by D'Addario & Company in 1998 and features a full line of cables for the custom installation market. Now, Planet Waves dealers who are users of D-Tools' award-winning System Integrator software can download detailed information on Planet Waves cable solutions directly through the software, making it easier to specify Planet Waves products.

"Partnering with the D-Tools MVP program was an excellent way to expand our product exposure and educate integrators and consumer electronic professions on the benefits of Planet Waves Cable Station line," said Robert D'Addario, Planet Waves CI product manag

UK - 5 Star cases has supplied Professional & Broadcast Digital Systems (PBDS) with a selection of flightcases to complete the building of a flyaway television studio for a client in Russia. The order comprised three 17u and three 10u Tour Grade specification racks.

Rack 1 is used for video, Rack 2 for the VTRs and Rack3 for audio - the 10u racks provide all the monitoring. Each of the 17u racks has a sliding tray which provides a control surface for the three operators - camera control vision mixer / director and sound engineer. The system provides four broadcast cameras, audio and video for two VTRs together with full communications and monitoring.

PBDS, part of the Wescom group of companies, provides custom system engineering solutions from outside broadcast vehicles to major studio systems. This is the second order PBDS has placed with 5 Star - following a series of cases

Italy The Congress Palace in Bologna is using Cayin Technology digital signage to offer a flexible information platform for congress' participants and visitors. The Congress currently offers the use of five venues and more than thirty meeting rooms throughout the city.

Ten SMP-WEB players and 2 CMS-MINI servers are used together with large plasma displays of 42" and 50". Those screens are positioned at the reception, in conference rooms and in the congress cafeteria to deliver live information about hosting companies, meeting schedules and rooms usage. Due to the limited capacity of the auditorium, the platform is also used to transmit live streaming video from the main auditorium to other conference rooms to increase the number of viewers.

SMP-WEB is a scalable web-based networked digital signage system. It allows event hosting companies to display a variety of mult

USA - In the decade since Trans Siberian Orchestra (TSO) debuted, this is the first year that they incorporated a video element into their tour and they turned to XL Touring Video to implement it. TSO runs two identical tours simultaneously and XL provided each tour with 88 Element Labs 1m VersaTubes which illuminated and accented four pieces of truss that were used overhead. Lighting designer Brian Hartley says: "I knew I wanted Versa Tubes from the beginning, they are the coolest things."

John Wiseman, President of XL, says: "I've been watching from afar as the TSO phenomenon continues to explode onto the scene. From a few theatre dates to two simultaneous sold-out arena tours. When the chance came up to support the design for Brian Hartley, and support Craig Redden at Q-1, we jumped at it. This tour(s) will do nothing but continue to gather steam as it becomes

UK - SPS, one of the UK's leading live event companies has appointed Peter Mankowski to the role of production manager for its Solutions division.

Mankowski has had a diverse career history to date, which has seen him working across many unusual projects; ranging from overseeing the entire audio-visual installation of the new Parliament in Kabul, to being a founder and head of creative for online magazine, Roadieworld.

The Solutions division within SPS provides creative services for events through the innovative use of technology and the latest production techniques for digital video and graphics, says the company. Their focus is on delivering clients messages effectively, with creative solutions which look great and engage the audience.

In his new role Mankowski will be working closely with SPS event producers to ensure that the technical solutions work seamlessly with the

UK - XL Video is supplying full video production and crew to George Michael's critically acclaimed 25 Live tour. The show's main video feature is made up from 3000 of XL's new Barco MiStrip LED modules, configured as a huge, dramatic 25 metre long curved backdrop-style display, running behind and underneath Michael.

This concept initially came from show designer Willie Williams - with whom XL has also worked on numerous other productions including U2. The eye-catching backdrop flows down onto the stage and beyond via a series of concave and convex curves.

XL worked closely with Barco on the design and engineering of the screen which is the dominant element of the stage set, explains XL project manager Phil Mercer. "It was an ambitious and demanding brief using a new product, and the surface needed to be very high resolution and with seamless joins between each vertical sc

Malta - Large format projections specialists E//T//C UK returned to Malta to project onto the dramatic Fort St. Angelo in Valetta Harbour, for the opening ceremony of a Thomas Cook conference.

Working for the DRP who were the main show producers, the Malta Tourist Authority and the Malta Fairs & Convention Centre (MFCC) the event was staged for two sets of Thomas Cook delegates. It marks E//T//C UK's return to the island after their highly acclaimed work for the Welcome Europe celebrations in 2004 that saw 10 new member states including Malta join the EU.

E//T//C UK projected 500 metres across Valletta Harbour onto the Fort from the projector position located at the Old Customs House.

They used eight 6kW PIGI projectors with double rotating scrollers, all overlaid to optimise the image brightness, complete with special Barco 125 cm lenses. The image was divided into t

UK - When Peterborough Community Church was designing its multi-million pound, brand new purpose-built home in 2004, a key requirement was a large backdrop that would look impressive and help to bring the large congregation closer to senior pastor Dave Smith as he delivers his sermons.

The new church's main auditorium can accommodate 1800 worshippers and includes state of the art audio visual facilities. Hawthorn Theatrical was the contractor chosen to fulfil the staging and visual requirements, which included the task of sourcing a video screen that had to measure a vast 10m high by 16m wide.

"We needed to provide a backdrop to all that goes on during our services and other events," says the church's Pete Charlton. Having seen blended projection in other church venues - Charlton took the decision to take advantage of the latest projection technology and, together wi

Spain - In the twelve months it has been on air, La Sexta has seen its ratings rise steadily and a gratifying return from advertising sales. La Sexta's broadcast studios are in Barcelona and its news editorial offices in Madrid. Post-production is divided between the two, and the task of streamlining communications between, as well as within, the two centres was entrusted to Telex-RTS's Madrid-based partner Unitecnic.

In Barcelona, Unitecnic installed an ADAM 64 matrix with RVON and Mini Trunkmasters, two ISDN2005 interfaces and a variety of keypanels (9 x DKP 12, 5 x KP32 and 5 x MKP12). In Madrid an ADAM 48 with RVON was combined with four different types of keypanel (6 x KP32-16, 5 x KP32, 2 x DKP12 and 3 x MKP4), as well as four ISDN2005 interfaces, a BTR800 wireless intercom system and three TR825 UHF transceivers.

The system that links the studios in the Castilian and Ca

UK - XL Video UK is supplying a digital PPU, camera system, two Catalyst digital media servers and crew for Snow Patrol's current UK arena tour. It's the first time the band has used video on tour. The live mix is being directed and cut by Blue Leach.

XL's account manager Phil Mercer says: "It's always interesting working with Blue. He's demanding and always pushes imaginative boundaries, which is challenging, stimulating and hugely rewarding for everyone working with him. His work speaks for itself!"

Leach - much acclaimed for his creative video design on the 2006 Depeche Mode Touring The Angel tour (also supplied by XL) - has produced an original and unusual show. He worked very closely on developing integrated show visuals with lighting designer Davy Sherwin and Catalyst programmer Robin Haddow. The show is an integrated three-way mixed-media montage of liv

The Netherlands - As Integrated Systems Europe 2007 (30 January - 1 February 2007) draws nearer, the show's organisers have announced that all four halls at the Amsterdam RAI are now full, with over 350 exhibitors. An unprecedented number of visitor registrations have been made, demonstrating the expectation which is mounting for the fourth and biggest edition of ISE.

The event promises a range of new features, displays and innovations, and includes strong backing from the three industry associations CEDIA, InfoComm International and NSCA. Mike Blackman, managing director for ISE, said: "ISE just seems to grow stronger each year, with more suppliers and manufacturers of AV related products and services keen to be part of this exciting event. With such a high quality and diversity of new and existing exhibitors to this show, I anticipate that visitor records again will be br

Malta - A performance by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli accompanied by the Maltese National Orchestra launched the new Malta Fairs & Convention Centre (MFCC) as a concert venue. The show was attended by 7,500 people including Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, and President Edward Fenech Adami.

The new 27,000 square metre MFCC venue is located on a purpose built site at the centre of the Island, with a large parking area and easy access from all directions. It's the largest performance/convention/exhibition space in the country and the only indoor venue offering full production facilities to accommodate medium to large concerts, tours and shows. It is intended to generate a whole new level of commercial fairs, concert, conference, corporate event and live music business in the county, attracting world class performers and leading destination management companies.

The structure is th

UK - Appointed by Jack Morton Worldwide, large-format projection specialist E//T//C UK projected 40 giant portrait images depicting 'Dreams of London' onto the Shell Tower for London's New Year's Eve 2006/07 celebrations.

The spectacular public event organised by the Mayor of London and Visit London, included a memorable pyrotechnic, lighting and visual extravaganza designed to capture the spirit of London at the start of 2007. The event took place along the Thames, encompassing the South Bank between Jubilee and Westminster Bridges, including iconic landmarks like the London Eye and Big Ben. It was enjoyed live by 200,000 people on the streets, and broadcast live on BBC 1 to several million viewers.

The eye-catching black and white photographs by Mark Livemore illustrating the dreams and aspirations of selected pupils from the Johanna Primary School in Lambeth - were projecte

The Netherlands - 3M will launch its Vikuiti Rear Projection Film at Integrated Systems Europe 2007 (Stand O 50). The flexible, easy to apply film enables video, static images and dynamic messaging to be projected directly onto windows and glass surfaces or partitions, becoming the centre of attraction in any high street or shopping mall. A range of digital wall displays and interactive whiteboards will also be on show with the brand new Digital Media System 700 and 800 Series, featuring Vikuiti Super Close Projection from 3M.

The Vikuiti display enhancement film is 3M's latest rear projection innovation designed to transform any glass surface into a dynamic branding and promotions tool. Up to now, implementing on-glass or in-window digital signage in retail, banking, corporate and education environments has been problematic due to the inherent reflection challenges created when

USA - Effective immediately, Ableton Inc. will assume distribution of Ableton products to the US dealerchannel. Sales will be made via Ableton Inc., located in New York. To support the US sales and marketing effort, Ableton has established a new office in New York City managed by Dave Hill Jr.

"This is an important stage in Ableton's growth," said Hill. "We look forward to working closely with dealers on how to best sell Live in their markets. For the last few years, I've worked closely with M-Audio in the US market and feel honoured to take this next evolutionary step for Ableton."

"Since 2001, when we began selling Live, we have experienced tremendous growth in the US dealer channel. We are confident that our increased investments in the US market, combined with a dedicated end-user focus, will result in even more growth for our sales partners and ou

UK - If you use or work for a small business which you think is worthy of an award, then the organisers of the British Small Business Champions (BSBC) 2007 would like to hear from you. And, if the business you nominate is selected as a regional champion you will receive a bottle of champagne.

To let BSBC know about the business you think is great all you have to do is e-mail: bsbc@fsb.org.uk or write to BSBC 2007 PO Box 335, Lymington SO41 6WJ giving the name of the business, its address, a line or two about why you think it is outstanding, and your name and address. An entry form for British Small Businesses 2007 will then be sent to the business.

The business you nominate must not employ more than 50 people and have been trading for five years or more. Closing date for entries is 31 January 2007.

The annual British Small Busin

UK - Video specialist and event solutions company PSL has further expanded its rental inventory of Green Hippo's Hippotizer Media Servers, and is currently the only rental house in the UK to provide systems complete with the additional cards which enable VGA and SDI input.

PSL offers both the Stage and Express Hippotizer models, bringing high quality media playback solutions to the live presentation industry. Live events, concerts, television, clubs and theatre can all use the system to enhance their productions.

With eight individually configurable layers of 1024 x 768 resolution media, multi-level previews for each channel and a new user interface, the Hippotizer Stage is ideal as the heart of any controlled environment. Powerful effects, including fully variable blur in two flavours, beat detection, chromakey and alpha-channel capabilities, together with super-precise 16-bi

UK - Three exciting performances took place in December in arena settings in Manchester, Newcastle and Nottingham. A selection of the most captivating scenes from The Blue Planet programme were projected on an immense custom made ECT projection screen. At 16m x 8m, it was one of the largest screens ever used in the country. ECT designed and manufactured strong very lightweight truss sections in a aluminium finish for the frame. The front projection screen material had webbed black border with eyelets which allowed easy dismantling and erection.

Howard Raynor, promoter for the show said: "The screen did its job magnificently presenting these breathtaking BBC pictures to over 14,000 people in Arenas in Manchester, Newcastle and Nottingham. The Blue Planet Live! has been attracting great reviews in all three cities."

The show was conducted by award-winning compos

UK - PSL supplied one of its biggest screens of 2006 to the UK arena tour by Madness, which culminated in a hometown gig at Wembley Arena days before Christmas.

PSL Music's Pod Bluman, says: "Production screens are getting bigger all the time, and the giant central screen for the Nutty Boys uses 80 panels of Lighthouse LED screens in 16:9 aspect ratio." Weighing in at 5.5 tonnes, the screen is of such a size that, in some of the smaller venues, PSL video rigger Chris Harris has had to put extra trussing into the roof spaces to hold it up.

To match the show concept, developed by production manager Lee Charteris, the screen carries a spectacular combination of live footage and graphic content, designed by vision director Tim Fleming. PSL provided a 3-man digital PPU travelling with the tour, all using Sony DXC-D35 cameras, with four additional fixed Sony cameras, and J

UK - XL Video UK renewed its acquaintance with dance gurus Basement Jaxx - arguably one of the most exciting live acts in the UK right now - supplying all the video kit for their UK arena tour.

Basement Jaxx's largest tour to date, amalgamated the talents of their LD Jonathan Armstrong and video director Nick Fry into a dynamic creative team. The two worked very closely in their respective departments to produce energy pumping show visuals that matched the band's full-on, action-packed dance attack.

XL project manager Des Fallon says: "Once again it's refreshing to see something truly original and unique happening through the close collaboration between video and lighting."

It was Jaxx 'ringmaster' Felix Buxton in particular who initiated the idea of an upstage video screen. He specifically wanted a light source that could be used to silhouette the band, and has al

UK - Audio-visual sales and service company, Green-i, has marked its fifth anniversary by acquiring the interests of corporate event service company, Canegreen Commercial. The deal was confirmed on December 1, 2006, and becomes effective from January 1, 2007.

Both companies were set up as associate business units to the successful rental production company Canegreen Ltd, established by Yan Stile and Pete Edmonds back in 1982. In 1996 Andrew Frengley spearheaded Canegreen's expansion when the new Canegreen Commercial made an instant impact in the corporate event market. In 2001 Green-i, under Ian 'Woody' Woodall further underpinned the expansion with a vibrant installation division in the industry's growing leisure hospitality sector. Concurrently Richard Brooker Sound Design added a third string to Canegreen's bow.

The new Green-i executive brings the two successful former ind

UK - Britannia Row, Blackout, Creative Technology, PRG Europe and Avolites held their joint Christmas ball, for the second year, at the newly refurbished Victoria House in Bloomsbury Square on Tuesday, 12 December, 2006.

Delighted by the success of the black-tie and flamboyant themed evening, Bryan Grant, managing director at Britannia Row says: "Around 1,200 friends and clients attended the ball during the course of the evening. This was twice the number of guests who were present last year and everyone was expecting it to be at least as successful. Big stress, but our merry band of rascals pulled it off - it was twice as good!"

Jim Baggott used his creative and directorial talents to design the party. Lost Vagueness provided the live entertainment which included Santa's Grotty, The Laundrettas, Dynamo Rhythm Aces, The Fat 45s, Gurlesque and Anna Piana.

Special th

USA - The Special Event Show and Vivien - Virtual Event Designer are getting together in Los Angeles next week to offer a series of "firsts." In a first-ever virtual lab setting, a diverse group of Vivien Users comprising students, event planners, and designers from around the world are coming together to participate in the inaugural seminar, Getting Started with Vivien - Virtual Event Designer. In this unique environment, attendees will not only learn directly from the Vivien team, but also from Vivien Ambassadors-industry leaders, clients, and students who are eager to share their design expertise with others. Participants will learn how easy it is to adopt Vivien's award-winning tools into their event planning process, the company says.

"This truly unique learning environment will provide attendees with valuable design skills that they can immediately ap

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