UK - Xerocon London 2015 marked one of the UK's largest gatherings of its kind with over 800 people attending. The two day conference held by leading accountancy software company Xero boasted over 40 exhibitors, nine guest speakers and the launch of Xero's latest product updates.

For Xerocon's second year in the UK, production agency Lipfriend Rodd International Ltd once again engaged Creative Technology (CT). In addition to providing the equipment and crew for the main conference, CT also supplied the three breakout rooms and the gala dinner.

In the main room a super wide screen measuring 42.5m by 3.5m was created using seven flown Panasonic DZ21K projectors. The internal warping and soft edge blending capabilities of these projectors produced one giant seamless image.

As well as displaying presentation graphics, the screen relayed live footage of the speakers captured via

Finland - Genelec has announced the promotion of Sami Mäkinen to the role of business manager - AV install. This key segment of the Genelec business will benefit from Sami's previous experience within the company which has given him a comprehensive knowledge of the Genelec product portfolio across the company's various business segments.

Sami joined Genelec in 2007 as domestic sales manager (Finland) and later moved to international sales manager, home audio. His new role will see him use his many years' experience in the company to develop existing customer relationships within the AV market and explore new opportunities. Sami will also be responsible for co-ordinating sales and marketing activities for the AV Install business segment.

"I'm taking up this role at an exciting time," says Sami. "The AV Install business is booming as is demonstrated by the hu

UK - XL Video supplied projection, LED screens and a camera / PPU package to the Paolo Nutini UK arena tour which completed a busy year of touring and live performances from the artist following the release of his album Caustic Love.

The show design was originated by a creative team comprising tour director James Monkman, lighting designer Jason Hyne and video producer and co-ordinator Tom Wexler. XL Video's project manager was Paul "Macca" McCauley and their crew chief on the road was Stuart Heaney. Production manager for the tour was Tony Gittins.

There were three distinctive video surface elements which brought a real sense of depth and dimension to the stage - gauzes, which were projected onto a medium resolution LED screen surface and low res LED battens.

A classic widescreen look was the dominant aesthetic for the singer / musician - known for his raw,

Korea - The AmorePacific Beautiful Life Centre in Osan, Korea, has reinvented the factory tour and brand centre with the award-winning Story Garden, an interactive multisensory and multimedia experience, involving sight, sound and touch. BRC Imagination Arts hired Electrosonic to do the initial audio-visual design and provide AV support for the Story Garden on the cosmetic company's expansive campus.

Story Garden will receive a Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement at a black-tie gala on 21 March 2015, at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California. The Thea Awards honours creative excellence in theme parks, museums and other attractions.

AmorePacific was founded in 1945 in the kitchen of the founder's mother, and has grown to become a global corporation with 30 cosmetics, personal care and health care brands. In 10 scenes on three level

Australia - TDC - Technical Direction Company enabled graffiti artists to express their artworks using technology in a true world first as part of this year's White Night Melbourne, one of Australia's most celebrated cultural events, which took place on Saturday, 21 February 2015.

TDC provided the technology and expertise behind a world first graffiti-mapping artwork projected onto the largest mural in Melbourne - spanning five stories high and 70m long. This groundbreaking piece of street art was one of the highlights of White Night Melbourne 2015, a 12-hour nocturnal extravaganza running from 7pm to 7am, inspired by Paris' Nuit Blanche and the international network of White Night programmes around the world.

"With a stunning and expanded event landscape, White Night Melbourne 2015 offered a great mix of free and ticketed entertainment over 12 hours, featuring local, nat

USA - Upstaging Inc has announced the introduction of the new Saber LED series. The Saber is a 10mm, double-row, IP65-rated Video LED strip, designed for creative effects in any indoor or outdoor environment. The Saber is built by About Show.

Made with aluminium alloy and advanced LED technology, the versatile nature of the Saber allows it to fit into any design. The Saber is made with a 10.4mm video strip with two rows of SMD 3in1 LEDs attached. It is available in three sizes, 1000mm, 500mm and 250mm in length. The total fixture is lightweight and less than 1" (2.5cm) wide with a depth of just under 3" (7.6cm) without clamps.

The 1000mm section weighs only 2.65lb (1.2kg), with a three-sided mounting track that allows for various mounting options. Saber was designed to mount seamlessly end-to-end but can also be stacked and maintain its 10mm pixel pitch. The optional

Germany - Steinberg Media Technologies has released VST Connect Pro 3, the advanced remote recording plug-in for online collaborations under Cubase Pro 8, Nuendo 6.5 and Cubase 7.5 digital audio workstations.

VST Connect Pro allows producers and performers to collaborate together regardless of location. Multi-track recordings can be streamed directly to the workstation in premium quality, revolutionizing the way musicians and producers interact over the Internet.

The third version of VST Connect Pro comes in a new look, making it more intuitive to use, while its single-click setup facilitates the implementation and configuration of the plug-in. The video window can now be detached from the main user interface, allowing users to position the window to their whim. FX inserts have been introduced in VST Connect Performer, which will be welcomed by the performer who can now enhanc

UK - Green Hippo has always placed a great importance on creating good relationships with its clients and supports them with their needs when designing, programming or operating shows.

To catch up with a long-standing client and friend, Green Hippo's Mercedes Stevao-Boase and Stefanie Mueller made their way to Elstree Studios at the end of January 2015.

The latest Celebrity Big Brother season had reached its halfway point and the pair went to meet up with loyal HippoExpert Russ Grubiak.

Russ is a Lighting and video programmer specialising in TV and he has been involved in a long list of TV shows over the years.

With the recent release of the brand new Hippotizer V4 product range, Russ was one of the first UK programmers in the industry to get his hands on two pristine Hippotizer V4 Karst units.

Currently his equipment includes three Hippotizer V3 GrassHoppers and

Spain - XL Video supplied a substantial projection system and control together with HD cameras / PPU, HD LED screen, several hundred monitors, networking and fibre infrastructure plus audio systems for two high profile Microsoft events staged back-to-back at the Fira de Barcelona Gran Via convention centre in Barcelona, Spain.

TechEd is Microsoft's premier event for IT professionals and enterprise developers, and this was followed immediately by Convergence, the Microsoft community's chance to network with other users, share and expand their experience and realise their potential.

XL's team was led by project manager Nick Askew assisted by Chris Ellis and Dick Crabbe and they were working for live event consultancy Nteractive headed up by technical director Matt Brownfield, technical consultant Andrew Vass and acclaimed sound designer Colin Pink.

The Nteractive team paid clo

USA - Agricultural technology manufacturer and educator Precision Planting updated the user experience for their Planter Technology Institute, a mobile educational and promotional 53ft trailer that travels to growers nationwide, with the high definition PixelFLEX LED FLEXTiles.

After utilizing high-maintenance short throw projectors and televisions, Precision Planting engaged AV partner AVSC to improve the visual impact of the mobile display. PixelFLEX was chosen to create a dynamic and mobile visual environment.

"We thought this would be the best solution for our trailer moving forward, because we had seen it in action, we had seen the clarity and the definition, and we felt like it would be the best bang for our buck," said Precision Planting marketing manager Sean Arians.

The lightweight LED tiles save time and money in conjunction with the video trailer's full

UK - Continuing their work on a number of recent high profile productions at the National Theatre London, UK, XL Video is supplying digital LED scenery for Man and Superman at the National's Lyttelton Theatre.

The highly-acclaimed production of George Bernard Shaw's play, which stars BAFTA award-winner Ralph Fiennes in the lead role of Jack Tanner, is directed by Simon Godwin, with a video design by Luke Halls.

The production uses over 1800 modules of XL Video's Barco MiTrix LED to form digital scenery - upstage and for both side walls of the set.

The semi-transparent MiTrix LED is masked with a linear plastic which diffuses the light and enables the screens to be used for a diverse range of scenic elements throughout the show - including solid colours for interior walls, to reflect the colours of heaven and hell and to create blue skies and natural landscapes for the

UAE - Peerless-AV has opened a new warehouse location in the Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone (JAFZA), Dubai, to improve response times to customers throughout the Middle East, Africa and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

"This is another strategic step in Peerless-AV's growth plan for EMEA. We are seeing rising demand for our mounts and Emerging Technology solutions from the region and the time is right for us to invest in high quality and efficient local support for customers in the region," said Adam Dent, director of international sales, Peerless-AV Europe.

The Jebel Ali location was chosen for its reputation as the pre-eminent logistics hub for the region and beyond. The warehouse will be managed by DTK, who have a 20 year history in servicing the technology market across the region. Shared with other vendors, the facility already has a wide range of Peerless-A

Europe - Electro pioneers, Kraftwerk, are currently touring the world with probably their most spectacular and innovative live show of their 45-year career - 3D concerts of their The Catalogue 12345678. Having received rave reviews across North America last year, Kraftwerk are now touring throughout Europe.

Production manager Winfried Blank made the decision in early 2014 to put DirectOut Andiamo 2.XT AES/MADI AD/DA converters on the tour. He asked for extended routing functionality to be included in the software for even greater flexibility. "We are working with digital audio signals from the source to the output," he said. "Our periphery is MADI and my idea was to travel via fibre from a couple of RME MADIface XTs to DirectOut's Andiamo 2.XT and from there via AES3 to the d&b amplifiers.

"The DirectOut Andiamo 2 series already supported MADI port r

UK - XL Video UK has announced a large investment in d3's Pro range of media servers, adding 12 units to its inventory.

The addition of the units to its existing fleet now makes XL Video the largest rental stockist of d3 media servers worldwide.

The company has made the investment as a result of growing demand for d3 from all sectors of the rental market including concert touring, and events agencies.

To ensure XL Video is able to provide the highest levels of support for the new d3 machines, XL's media server and control systems manager, Christian Dickens, has become a d3 certified trainer.

As well as providing training, XL Video has a team of in-house technicians with high-level d3 expertise who can provide support with 3D modelling and previsualisation for shows, enabling clients to see how their show will look, even from the early design stage.

XL's Christian Dickens

Belgium - Barco has added two new indoor LED displays to its display portfolio for retail and advertising. Designed for fixed indoor installation in fashion retail, automotive retail, banking or transit advertising applications, the V4i and V6i feature 4mm and 6mm pixel pitch, respectively, and combine the renowned Barco image quality with excellent contrast.

"We offer an extensive portfolio of both indoor and outdoor LED displays with low, medium, and high resolution for all types of applications in the retail and advertising market," comments Carl Rijsbrack, vice president retail & advertising at Barco.

"With the addition of the V4i and V6i to our V-series LED displays, we are expanding our range of medium-resolution displays with cost-effective models. All around the globe, Barco products have proven their worth by offering exceptional image quality, ultimate

UK - On 28 February the Odyssey Arena in Belfast played host to the boxing match relayed on live TV in the UK, featuring super bantamweight champion Carl Frampton defending his title against American Chris Avalos. Boxing in his home city, Frampton, also known as 'The Jackal', defeated Avalos inside five rounds and continued his winning streak.

Creative Technology's (CT) services were engaged to supply the IMAG screens rigged above the ring. Four 18sqm displays were flown from truss using CT's new ROE MC7 LED tiles and fed with the live footage also broadcast on ITV.

Paul Seeger, CT project manager, commented, "This was an important fight in the boxing calendar with 11,000 people watching in the sold-out Arena.

"Our aim was to enhance the audience's experience which was achieved through the use of our new 7mm resolution tiles. With their high levels of brightness an

USA - Verizon Wireless is turning up the wow factor in stores and malls around the United States, from their two-story flagship store in Chicago to the Mall of America in Minneapolis, to Houston, Santa Monica, and Boston.

Smaller "Smart Store Plus" locations that include some, but not all, of the new design features of the flagship stores are also making appearances around the United States starting in Seattle.

One of the first video features customers see when entering the stores is the Brand Focal, a video column consisting of over 100 Christie MicroTiles. The feature sits at end of the entrance walkway and displays the Verizon logo on a dynamic, animated background that interacts with shoppers using the motion tracking technology of Microsoft Kinect.

Further into the store, shoppers can explore features of various phones and service plans on the Product Wall, a

USA - XL Video US has announced the addition of German Perl as technical director media application and projection. After 10 years of developing leading edge technologies with XL Video in Dusseldorf, Perl joins the US operation to position the subsidiary for expansion into complete turnkey video and presentation solutions for its clients.

XL Video is an industry leading, global provider of high-end video display systems delivering quality LED technology, projectors, and media servers as well as experienced technical support. Perl's role is to develop emerging video solutions for innovative and aesthetically daring shows.

While with XL Video Dusseldorf, Perl played an integral part in developing proprietary show control systems for clients such as Opel and Renault.

"We are pleased to have German working with us full time. His talent and skill will take us to a new level,

Germany - With hundreds of Hippotizer V4 units joining the herd of award winning Hippotizer V3's, Green Hippo and B&K Braun get ready to showcase the latest innovations in media server technology.

Says the company, "After an incredible February with a single Hippotizer Taiga unit driving the 87th Academy Awards, we're bringing Taiga to Prolight and Sound where it will be driving the entire stand along with its smaller brothers used for private demos on the B&K stand Hall 11 stand B15-D14.

The impressive stand will also feature Boreal which recently set sail on the largest cruise ship designed for the British holiday market. The vessel, officially named by the Queen, carries 3,600 passengers with the Hippotizer Boreal controlling video playback in the ships theatre!

Three Green Hippo staff will be on site with Sascha Werner, Media & LED specialist, B&K Braun delivering m

Canada - Winnipeg's striking new Canadian Museum for Human Rights explores the universal concept of human rights with a special emphasis on Canada.

Electrosonic was contracted to do the audio-visual design of the museum's 11 galleries, and subsequently the company directed the AV equipment installation working with local partner Advance Pro. The museum features theatres, interactive touchscreen stations, projections on a digital canvas and hundreds of video clips.

Eleven media partners were involved in the build-out requiring considerable technical coordination by Electrosonic. The company worked closely with SH Acoustics, LLC of Milford, Connecticut, on the museum's audio elements.

The project posed a number of challenges due to the building's architectural profile, which was designed by US architect Antoine Predock, working with Winnipeg's Architecture 49. Designed to move

Spain - With 85,000 people attending over the course of the four days, the Mobile World Congress (MWC) is the world's largest exhibition for the mobile phone industry. Held annually in Barcelona within the purpose-built arena Fira Gran Via, the MWC is renowned as the industry's forum for launching major technological breakthroughs.

Creative Technology (CT) has supplied various exhibitors at this event over the last nine years with the London office providing most of the equipment used. As CT Spain has heavily invested in new equipment, the 2015 event involved a much larger contribution from CT Europe's resources, as well as an increased number of exhibitor stands being delivered.

CT provided services for six international clients with equipment including LED, touchscreens, audio systems, and media servers. One of the most challenging was a gala dinner held in the Museu Naciona

Europe - Continuing their long-term working relationship, XL Video have supplied a compact and versatile projection package for DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist's Renegades of Rhythm European tour.

XL Video project manager, Jay Mobbs-Beal worked with manager & production manager, Jamal Chalabi, to create the video specification for the tour.

The shows, which spanned across Europe from the UK over to Estonia and Lithuania, featured a projection backdrop flown behind the DJ booth. With varying venue sizes, XL Video supplied two different screen types for the tour - one 4.8m wide by 2.7m high, and a smaller 4.3m x 2.4m screen.

For the projection, XL Video supplied two Panasonic PT-DZ 10k projectors, one live and one backup, and a 0.8 lens and 0.36 short throw lens which were alternated dependent on venue and screen size. XL are also supplying the 0.36 lens for the continuation of the

Germany - The Sinus - Systems Integration Award is presented this year for completion of the new ARD (Consortium of German Regional Public Broadcasters) 'Tagesschau' studio. This new production environment incorporates state-of-the-art technology and is innovative in terms of its optical design. It has been home to Germany's most successful news programme since April last year. The Sinus is awarded for the creative application of AV media technology and systems integration. The awards ceremony will take place on 16 April as part of Prolight+Sound and this pre-eminent industry award will be presented to the contracting clients 'Norddeutscher Rundfunk' and 'ARD-aktuell' along with the companies involved in the project.

In addition to the news presenters' innovative desks, the most conspicuous feature of the fully refurbished studio is the 17 metre long, semi-circular multi-media w

USA - For the seventh year running, Hippotizer by Green Hippo was again the media server of choice at this year's Academy Awards, broadcast from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre on 22 February.

This year however, marked a major step forward: The new Hippotizer V4 hardware and software system was put to work. One V4 Taiga, the flagship model of the new V4 range, performing a task that would have previously required at least three Hippotizer HDs, drove six video outputs, feeding all projection and LED screen content on the main stage - executing the show's artistic vision with perfectly executed looks, from a vintage theatre façade, to Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge.

In addition, in the show's screens control room, a V4 Boreal provided live 3D visualization of the entire theatre and stage, including all media content, giving the programming team both accurate real-time and pre-viz repre

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