Norway / USA - Building upon its presence in providing projection display solutions to specific niche markets, Norway's projectiondesign has created a new visual simulation specialist team.

The impetus for this move is based on strengthening regional support and the new team comprises Mike Raines, Håkon Andersen and Javier Delgado, totalling more than 40 years of combined experience in the training and simulation fields.

Chris Axford, director of international sales & marketing at projectiondesign, says: "We already have a strong regional sales force, partner network and education scheme in place and the addition of this new team is a significant step forward. They bring the right industry knowledge and experience that will significantly reinforce and grow the success and niche market use of our high performance projectors."

Based in Orlando, FL, Mike Raines will

China - Hong Kong's Ocean Park reports that 3m visitors have ridden Ocean Express in the first 10 months.

Theme park design company, Sarner, was responsible for the creative and technical implementation of Ocean Express, which is a fully immersive show that has already captivated and visitors whilst transporting them from the Waterfront to the Summit at Hong Kong's Ocean Park.

Once guests embark the submarine-like carriages, they are 'transported' below sea level and fully 'submerged' deep into the Ocean thanks to underwater visuals and cleverly created programming from Sarner's technical team who made use of sophisticated audiovisual technology, animation and surround audio effects. The mesmerising visuals are viewed on 42 ceiling mounted Samsung LCD screens which look like windows into a colourful and true-to-life underwater world.

Although the passengers fee

Finland/China - Suomen Videoviestintä (SVV), the largest AV technology provider in Finland, has selected Barco's events projector series for the Finnish pavilion during the Shanghai World Expo. In total, eleven FLM HD14 and three RLM W6 projectors are responsible for all video projections inside the pavilion.

The Finnish pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010 is called Kirnu (Giant's Kettle). Its gorge-like shape reminds visitors of ravines found in Lapland and leads them through a peaceful visual, illuminated and aural experience, disconnecting them from the hectic expo environment. The pavilion is a miniature city, presenting both Finland and its society to the world.

The virtual guide is one of the technological highlights of the pavilion. Various virtual guides are projected on huge animated screens to help the guests understand the themes and stories by interact

UK - PSCo is the first UK rental company to invest in a fleet of Panasonic's new 20 series plasma screens, as part of the company's plan to make its entire screen fleet Full High Definition (HD).

The new fleet features 30 42" Full HD and 20 50" Full HD models, bought in line with the upsurge in HD flat screen rentals for the World Cup. This new range follows on from the 12 series but has four times the luminosity of previous models, a longer screen life of 100,000 hours, an impact resistant front glass panel and an improved viewing angle.

PSCo rental director Mike Nield comments, "The new 20 series Panasonic plasmas are the premier flat screen displays available at the moment. The picture quality is stunning when compared to anything else in the rental market today and we are proud to be the first company offering people the chance to be able to rent them to wat

Italy - One of the most popular Italian TV formats in recent months has been song contests for very young talent and one of those, Io Canto, produced by RTI and directed by Roberto Cenci for Mediaset channel Canale 5, chalked up some impressive figures: as well as a live audience of about five hundred spectators, the show reached a peak audience of almost seven million viewers.

The prime-time Saturday show, MC'd by Gerry Scotti, featured 29 singers aged between seven and 15 from singing schools across the country, competing for a trip to the US for a study vacation under the wing of top international producer David Foster. The entrants sang solo and together, as well as duetting with some of Italy's top pop names, accompanied by a resident 33-piece band.

The show's impressive set, designed by Marco Calzavara occupied a third of Studio 20, one of the country's largest TV

UK - Royal Ascot 2010 sees the official launch of the Betfair Lounge. Designed and installed by LCI Productions. Described by some as "Betting flies Upper-Class" the facility allows those new to Betfair a chance to learn how the website works, whilst the company's key account holders can enjoy discreet hospitality with fast connectivity.

The Betfair Lounge is a boutique take on the sports bar format. Guests are surrounded by multiple displays of live racing, other sports and up-to-the-second market odds.Six Apple iMac terminals provide access to Betfair.com.

The project makes use of Samsung HD LCD screens, Extron and Kramer switchgear, AV Stumpful's Wings and ISEO control platforms and LCI's bespoke engineering solutions. The audio and video systems are entirely integrated and re-configurable from fixed touch-screen control surfaces and wire-free iPads. As well as th

Canada - Medialon has been integrated as the main AV control system in the new Montreal Canadiens Hall of Fame, a one-of-a-kind shrine celebrating the history of the famous ice hockey team.

GSMPRJCT was the consultant for this project. The company made the entire exhibit design and production with the support of Techni-Logique, an experienced Canadian audiovisual services integrator. Techni-Logique was in charge of the AV devices installation and hired XYZ Cutural Technology to supply, make the integration and programming of the Medialon system.

Located in the Bell Centre - the centre stage for entertainment in Montreal - the Montreal Canadiens Hall of Fame offers visitors nearly 10,000sq.ft of rare and never-before-seen artifacts gathered by fans accross the country for over 100 years.

Through interactive shows and exhibits, visitors can relive the Stanley Cups, the legenda

Belgium - ArKaos has introduced MediaMaster Express, the latest update of its successful media server software.

MediaMaster Express is "a simple, cost effective version" of ArKaos' professional tool for creative projection and LED use within video design. It has been created especially for small theatres, clubs, shops, bar installations and freelance light designers. Anyone with a limited budget can now enjoy the results of a powerful media server at an affordable price, the company says.

ArKaos has designed MediaMaster Express to help users to set up a show and incorporate video quickly, easily and cost-effectively. MediaMaster Express uses a similar method to that which made the ArKaos VJ DMX Simple Mode so popular. Just drag and drop visuals on the interface - no video recompression is needed - then assign them to DMX or MIDI triggers.

Control is via a computer

USA / Switzerland - The HMP100 Hyper Media Player from Swiss digital signage manufacturer SpinetiX received the NEC Best of InfoComm Award 2010. The award was received at InfoComm 2010 on the NEC stand with the judging panel and InfoComm representatives. SpinetiX donated the $25,000 prize from NEC to both the InfoComm Education Foundation and the National Systems Contractors Association (NSCA) Education Foundation.

Serge Konter, marketing manager at SpinetiX, says, "This prestigious award directly reflects our product's innovation, recognition and acceptance in the US and International markets. The features that make this product stand out from the crowd are its use of open standards for integration with third-party equipment from top AV companies. These open standards have the benefits of driving down overall system running costs. The player also encompasses high-end funct

USA - DNP Denmark showcased a suite of innovative media solutions at InfoComm 2010. All received an extremely enthusiastic reception, and according to S°ren Kræmmergaard, dnp denmark's global sales manager, these successes were in context with the show - which he felt had firmly turned the corner.

"The AV industry in the US seems to be on the right track again after the global economical tsunami," he stated. "While dnp denmark has weathered the global crisis well, the US market in particular has been badly affected - but now we are glad to see that things are changing."

dnp denmark themselves recorded a doubling of visitors attending their booth compared with the previous year. "As a result we can now look forward to the massive process of following up the many progressive discussions with our partners and customers," remarked Kræmmergaard.<

China - Christie has announced the opening of a new manufacturing facility in Shenzhen to meet the growing global demand for digital cinema projectors to screen 2D and 3D movies.

The new facility will significantly expand the company's production capabilities, with the Christie SolariaT projectors scheduled to roll off the assembly line in July. Production will begin with the Christie CP2220 and the Christie CP2210, with the Christie CP2230 to follow. The Shenzhen factory will initially feed the Asia Pacific market, freeing up capacity at Christie's North American plant to increase supply to the rest of the world.

"Assembly in China opens up significant new opportunities and shipping flexibility for Christie that will allow us to better serve all our customers around the world," observed Ihor Stech, Christie's vice-president of operations. "It is the ideal locat

USA - On 24 May in New York City, Live Design honoured Hippotizer's new VideoMapper component with a 2010 Product of the Year Award. "It changes the game in terms of deforming content for any set shape, live and in the moment," says Live Design.

With VideoMapper, individual elements of any video display product - panel, strip, or other device - can be angled, scaled, even separated from other elements, and placed anywhere within a virtual canvas, with its source image supplied from any part of an existing video feed. This frees the designer from the constraints of modern video processor hardware, and allows complete artistic freedom with even the most complex systems.

Debuting this year at The Who's performance in the Bridgestone Super Bowl XLIV Halftime Show, a Hippotizer running VideoMapper sent video content to over 3,000 Barco MiSTRIPs arrayed in a

UK - Operations expert Trevor Payton has joined specialist AV rental and distribution company PSCo, to head up the company's operations, logistics and warehouses.

Payton facilitated the company's move to a new HQ and will be taking on leadership of all three of the company's depots. In addition he is implementing new operational processes, training and development plans for the whole operations team.

Prior to PSCo, Payton's experience spanned both operations and financial management, including most recently five years as the financial controller for French ski company Favre Sports Group based in the French Alps.

PSCo's managing director Stuart Holmes comments, "Trevor is a great addition to the PSCo. His skills lie in both processes and planning, as well as a focus on ensuring PSCo continues to deliver and improve its services as we grow. He will be working with each of

UK - DB Systems, the global AV and IT rental company, has won the Equipment Supplier of the Year accolade at the prestigious AEO Excellence Awards 2010.

The Association of Event Organisers (AEO) is the trade body representing the companies that conceive of, as well as create, develop and manage trade exhibitions and consumer events.

The judges praised DB for 'its fantastic product innovation and enviable efforts in bringing exciting new products to market.'

David Bulley, managing director of DB Systems, said: "I'm thoroughly delighted to have won the Equipment Supplier of the Year award. The event and exhibition industry is experiencing some difficult trading times, but DB has always been able to invest in new equipment and technologies.

"Since January we've invested £250,000 in things like seamless LCD panels, 3D Pyramoid units, which are a form of 3D holo

USA/China - Nemetschek North America (NNA) reports a new partnership with Mad Macs Technology Distributions to distribute Vectorworks software to China, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

"Bringing Vectorworks technology to designers in China is the logical next step for our company as we continue to grow and expand our global presence," said Sean Flaherty, CEO of NNA. "We look forward to working with Mad Macs in this capacity, and we are confident they will be a strong partner for us in the Asian marketplace."

In addition to the distribution of Vectorworks Designer, Architect, Landmark, and Spotlight software, the Mad Macs team will offer a full range of services such as pre- and post-sales technical support, maintenance, and training.

"Having been a reseller of Vectorworks in Hong Kong and China since 2000, it is with great honour that we are now a distributor f

UAE - Spectacular airborne action was seen in the skies over Abu Dhabi on the weekend of 26-27 March as the Emirati capital hosted the Red Bull Air Race for its sixth consecutive year.

With 15 of the world's top race pilots battling for championship points, this race marked the start of the 2010 season. As a popular fixture on the Red Bull Air Race calendar since the World Championship officially began in 2005, Abu Dhabi's warm temperatures and changeable winds makes this race one of the most challenging in the schedule.

Creative Technology once again provided audio visual solutions to enhance the spectators' experience of the high altitude spectacular. Dutch event company, Faber Audiovisuals, asked CT to provide two screens to complete the array of AV equipment laid out for the event. Providing an 8 x 6 panel Lighthouse R7 and a further 8 x 6 Mitsubishi OD10, this is not the

Canada - Christie is participating in the Experience Canada Pavilion during the 2010 G8/G20 World Summit in Toronto this month. Christie's High Definition projectors and MicroTiles play a large part in providing compelling visuals to showcase Canada as a prime destination for business, investment and tourism. Housed within the International Media Centre located in the Heritage Court of the Direct Energy Centre, the pavilion is designed to promote Canada to over 3,000 international media.

In collaboration with Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT) and Lord Cultural Resources of Toronto, who was selected to develop, design and implement the Canadian Pavilion, Christie's projectors promote Canadian tourism and showed 2010 FIFA World Cup matches in High Definition on 30' and 16' screens.

Christie's MicroTiles modular display technology is a focal point at the Pavi

France - Christie has been awarded the Janus de l'Industrie 2010 by L'Institut Français du Design for its modular digital display solution, Christie MicroTiles. The Janus de l'Industrie awards were established in 1953 to distinguish "products designed from the outset for practical value and true user benefit".

The Institut Français du Design (IFD) picks products and services that put concern for the user and their environment first. With the help of a jury of 50 experts from a wide range of fields with backgrounds in business, the creative professions and human sciences, the IFD awards the Janus to products which meet these requirements.

"When we showcased MicroTiles at the American Institute of Architects Convention in Miami on 10 June, the system greatly impressed the audience of architecture and design professionals. We're really proud of the success it's b

UK - Christie has announced the latest edition of its Christie Mirage Series, the Christie Mirage WU7K-M. Featuring a full WUXGA resolution display and dual lamps for uniformity, the Christie Mirage WU7K-M is a compact, 6,300 ANSI lumens powerhouse.

With dual-link DVI support at 330MHz full bandwidth and up to 10,000:1 contrast, the projector delivers crisp images, vibrant colours and uniform brightnes, all at the lowest cost of ownership, says the company.The stereoscopic 3D display system meets the precise needs of the energy markets, life sciences, government, education and medical research where performance, reliability, easy maintenance and low operating cost are critical to project success.

Built on proven 3-Chip DLP technology, the Christie Mirage WU7K-M has three modes of 3D input: standard frame rate of up to 120Hz, as well as frame-doubled content for maximum source

UK - The Nomination Phase for the prestigious Gottelier Award, due to be presented for the fourth time at this year's PLASA Show, is now open and will continue until Friday 23 July. Industry professionals are invited to put forward their choices, identifying the specific product contributions that make their nominee a worthy contender for this award.

Named in honour of the late designer, developer and commentator Tony Gottelier, this award aims to recognise the product developers who have made a significant contribution to the development of the equipment and tools that enable our entertainment technology practitioners to continually push the boundaries of event production, presentation and installation.

Once the shortlist of nominees is decided, the Voting Phase will begin. This year, to help ensure that only legitimate industry professionals can cast a vote, voting for the n

Qatar - Called upon by long time partner QMDI in Doha and working alongside production company John Adkins (JA) Productions, Creative Technology (CT) provided a variety of video equipment for the inauguration of Phase 2 of the Al Khaleej Gas (AKG) project in Qatar.

The ceremony, held at the Cultural Village in Doha on 10 May 10 was the second stage, the first phase of which began in November 2005 and was completed in December last year. This is an ambitious project, the aim of which is to provide gas to some of Qatar's most significant industries.

For this event Creative Technology supplied four Barco R20+ projectors with 0.8 lenses blended onto a 27m wide x 6m high rear projection screen, also provided by CT. This was used to run the main show content and included GFX video and Catalyst. Operated and programmed by CT London's Anthony Bezencon, the entire system was driven by

UK - Paradigm Audiio Visual has appointed Gareth Houghton as sales specialist for the dnp Supernova front projection screens. A self-confessed gadgets and new technology fan, Houghton joins having returned from two years in Australia, after previously working in the print industry.

"All the core skills I acquired in that industry are transferable," he said. "I will be building up customer relations in this market, demonstrating to them the huge potential of the Supernova platform, and proving it to be the most superior front projection solution in the industry."

(Jim Evans)

Norway - Updating its F32 series of projectors to 8000 lumens, projectiondesign has now made the model available for immediate delivery.

With comprehensive changes to optics and colour processing, the updated F32 series now delivers up to 8000 lumens brightness on select models. It is available in a wide range of application specific configurations, and in both WUXGA, 1080p, and SXGA+ resolutions.

The updates to the F32 series further enhances colour accuracy and display, alongside the increased brightness levels available, for greatly enhanced image quality and extended calibration and colour-matching capabilities, says the company.

Commenting on the new series, Anders L°kke, international marketing & communications manager at projectiondesign, says, "This is the result of feedback from our customers. Our projectors are increasingly used in a variety of challenging

USA - The National Museum of the Pacific War George Bush Gallery located in Fredericksburg in Texaswas recently renovated to expand the gallery's footprint to 33,000sq.ft.

The museum asked the AV integrator and provider Bowen Technovation to update the gallery with the latest in AV and information technology to provide visitors with unique experience.

Bowen Technovation selected Medialon to be the main AV controller of the entire museum.

When entering the museum, visitors are immersed into media-rich presentations, meaningful testimonials and historical exhibits which offer them a better understanding of what the Pacific War was like for the US and how it impacted the world.

A wide array of exhibits are spread throughout the museum, each of them including specific video, sound and lighting effects. "We had to find a control system that would receive and deliver the in

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