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Germany - Neutrik has acquired Connex GmbH. The Oldenburg-based company, founded in 1990, produces and develops components for professional event industry and industrial applications.
The Connex product portfolio comprises solutions for mobile or stationary applications. These include power distribution systems, fibre optic solutions, video products, ethernet components, splitters, patching systems, stage boxes, cabling and measuring devices.
Connex focuses not only on standardised products, but also develops individual solutions and delivers comprehensive consulting services and support in the implementation of projects.
"We are very excited about the growth of our group. Connex GmbH is going to enable us to expand our activities to further areas of application a

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USA - Denmark based professional lighting manufacturer SGM Light A/S has announced that Jason Osterman has joined the SGM team as architectural solutions manager. Osterman, who will remain based in the USA, previously served in various management roles within the architectural and theatrical lighting industries in both the USA and UK.
“I am thrilled to be joining the team at SGM, particularly during this exciting time of creativity in the architectural lighting and media integration sectors. SGM is vastly experienced at creating powerful, top-quality solutions for outdoor environments. Working together with the teams in Denmark and the US, I’m looking forward to developing the next generation of lighting solutions for lighting and media designers,” says Osterman.
By establishing Osterman’s role, SGM is expanding its global team focused on the development of s

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Australia - Meyer Sound has announced the appointment of Owen Ironside to the position of sales manager, Australia and New Zealand. He will assume responsibility for all Meyer Sound sales in the region, supporting the company’s new network of direct resellers throughout the two countries.
Meyer Sound also announced Brisbane-based Ampd Electronics as the new authorised service agent for the region.
Based in Sydney, Ironside will report directly to Chris D’bais and director of international sales Scott Gledhill. Originally from Scotland, Ironside had been working in the UK pro audio and music technology industry since 2000, before migrating to Australia in 2011. Owen brings extensive industry knowledge from his previous live engineering, venue technical management, sales, and installation posi
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Indochine X PixMob Fan Immersion

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's - 40 thousand LED pixels on a ceiling!!! Indochine's whirlwind tour transports fans to another level of the live experience - immersing them from floor to ceiling with PixMob's X4 wristbands, and an LED ceiling made entirely of its NOVA Minis! With the vision of Indochine's creative team, PixMob used its LED fan-technology to turn attendees and venues into an ocean of effects, and a starry sky of LED magic. Très très cool!

Read more about the Indochine tour in the latest issue of LSi

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UK - Vestel Visual Solutions has announced the expansion of its display range with the arrival of the Q Series family. Featuring four new 24/7 models - the 65” QN65, 55” QN55 and QP55, and 49” QP49 - the Q Series is built to meet the needs of businesses across a number of sectors, delivering ‘outstanding high-res picture quality within a slender E-LED design’.
Picture quality is delivered through UHD resolution and HDR 10 on the QN65 and QN55, and FHD resolution on the QP49 and QP55. A 500 NIT brightness level on the QN65 and QN55, and 700 NIT on the QP49 and QP55, also provide notably high brightness for displays of this size and price-point, making them a vibrant and cost-effective solution for areas of high ambient lighting - whether that be within retail spaces, schools, or corporate environments, says the company.
Each of the Q Series displays has been s

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Belgium - Although he was in the clothing business, Luc Provost always wanted to own a theatre. Not long ago, fate gave him a reason to turn this aspiration into reality, when he acquired 10,000 pieces of theatrical costumes from a Dutch company.
Looking for a place to store his newfound collection of clothing, he purchased a former school building in the East Flanders town of Mater. Attached to that structure was a small theatre.
For Provost, it was a building of dreams. “I had the costumes and venue,” he recalled. “So now I was ready.”
On 2 January, 2020, Provost shared his dream with the world when, outfitted with a new rig of Chauvet Professional fixtures, the Cultuurcentrum Maskerade staged its first show. Unfortunately, it was also the last live show at the 220-seat theatre for the year, as the coronavirus pandemic brought public gatherings to a gri

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USA - Attracting around 4,000 worshippers each week, Hope Church in Las Vegas opened a new, 1,750-seat auditorium worship centre and sanctuary in December 2020. The technical infrastructure was designed and installed by church technology specialists Stark Raving Solutions (SRS), who installed an Alcons Audio pro-ribbon system in the main auditorium.
At Hope Church, growth has been so significant, that in 2019, the church moved to add a fourth weekly service. With that additional service, average weekly congregation numbers grew by about 600, according to creative producer Micah Ogle.
Kansas-based SRS has installed many Alcons LR series pro-ribbon line arrays in churches. They introduced the leadership of Hope Church to Alcons solutions at a demonstration event in Las Vegas a few years ago. When SRS suggested a system based on the double 8” LR18 compact mid-size line-

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USA - Passion Church, a thriving 400-congregant, multi-generational and multi-ethnic church in Casa Grande, Arizona, was in need of a complete audio, visual, and lighting systems overhaul to effectively equip its growing ministries into the future and chose Elation Fuze Pendants as part of the solution.
In early 2020, Passion Church reached out to 5 Words Media, an AVL production company based in Phoenix, to inquire about a full AVL system design. A day later, 5 Words Media sales engineer Brandon Cole met Pastor Romeo Leal on-site at Passion Church to walk the space and strategise an ideal AVL system to support their current and future needs.
“I wanted to hear the dreams Pastor Romeo had, not just for the AVL aspects of Passion Church, but for his church overall,” stated Cole. “Designing a system with the overarching vision and mission of the church in mind help

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Luxembourg - Given that the Rockhal sits on Avenue du Rock’n’Roll, it is no surprise the venue raised its fist in the air to host five concerts aimed at gathering data to work towards the return of live events.
The Because Music Matters concert series was set up in partnership with the Luxembourg Ministry of Health to evaluate how future concerts can be presented safely and sustainably across the continent and beyond. The shows were mounted in the 1,200-capacity Club space at Rockhal (Luxembourg’s Centre de Musiques Amplifiées) with a range of safety and testing measures in place.
Featuring Glass Museum from Brussels and local heroes Cleveland, C'est Karma & Francis of Delirium, Fusion Bomb and Claire Parsons & Klein, the event also marked the first use of the Rockhal’s new Adamson Systems Engineering IS-Series PA, temporarily deployed in a configurati

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Spain -At the end of 2020, singer Mónica Naranjo launched a special re-issue of her third studio album Minage originally released in 2000, which paid tribute to Italian artist Mina. Fast forward 20 years, and Puro Minage features a full complement of the exact content that Naranjo had wanted to include in the project from the start. Marking the occasion, she played a special concert in front of a live audience - with COVID rules in place - at the Palau de Les Arts, Valencia.
Lighting designer CaCo García has been working with the artist and her management team for around two years, and he chose to use 66 Robe moving lights to be at the centre of this show, which he helped deliver working closely with video director Alberto Arias.
CaCo discussed the moods and ambience that Mónica Naranjo wanted to evoke throughout her performance and then designed lig

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UK - Brompton Technology and disguise are among the companies included in this year’s fifth annual Financial Times 1000 list of Europe’s fastest-growing companies. The FT 1000, compiled with research company Statista, shows 1,000 European companies that achieved the highest compound annual growth rate in revenue between 2016 and 2019.
This years’ edition highlights some of Europe’s most promising growth businesses, with data taken just before the pandemic took hold.
“We are delighted to be recognised by the Financial Times, one of the world’s leading business news and information organisations, and see Brompton included in the latest FT 1000 list alongside other brilliant companies, such as our friends at disguise,” comments Brompton’s CEO, Richard Mead. “We would like to thank all our staff and partners across the globe for their part in this achieve

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USA - The Canopy by Hilton Downtown is the latest boutique lifestyle hotel to open in Tempe, Arizona. To provide sound reproduction throughout, management invested in the installation of an assortment of DAS Audio systems.
In charge of the project were ‘Skinny’ Greg Gilman, who has wide experience in the world of music and sound endeavours, and Oakland Park, FL-based TM Sound, an AV design/build firm.
“The hotel’s entrance is equipped with two Q-43-T systems,” Gilman reports. “The lobby, which also doubles as the first restaurant/bar, was fitted with ten white Ovi-12s, suspended 14ft above the floor and 2ft from the ceiling, providing equal coverage for Alter Ego (the restaurant & bar) and Myrtle Corner (a lounge/waiting area) - without the undesired reflections from a nearby large room with glass garage doors. We also hide four Q-10 subwoofer

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USA - The 750sq.ft performance space that owner Evan Kirkendall and GM Steve Wozniak created inside Harford Sound’s warehouse in Joppa, MD, features a rig that includes over 75 Chauvet Professional fixtures and a massive 18’ by 10’ video wall made with F4IP panels.
The Harford Sound team and lighting designer Kyle Ryman attempted to replicate the hard-driving intensity of a mega-venue stage for the arena rock tribute band Glamour Kitty.
“Performance spaces like ours that have cropped up since COVID aren’t the biggest, but with a solid band and talented LD, they can create settings that come across great at conveying largescale energy,” said Wozniak. “Kyle did a great job making this performance come alive so it could really speak to viewers.”
Going with dramatic, synced hits, Ryman was able to create punchy vistas that captured the spirit of Glam

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Japan - Enhancing its theatres to offer guests a ‘one-of-a-kind movie experience’, Humax Cinema hired Xebex Inc to design and install a Harman Professional cinema audio solution.
Featuring 10 screens and accommodating up to 1,200 guests, Humax Cinema is one of the most versatile movie complexes in Japan. In addition to showing films, the cinema doubles as a multipurpose venue that hosts jazz performances and other live sound events.
Elevating its facility to include ‘world-class audio’, Humax Cinema wanted to upgrade to a sound system that delivered pristine acoustics and provided guests an unforgettable experience, especially during movies. Xebex deployed a premium Harman Professional cinema audio solution that includes JBL’s Sculpted Surround technology as well as a collection of JBL ScreenArray loudspeakers.
“The client wanted to create an immersiv

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Spain - The North West Spanish resort of Donostia-San Sebastian has long attracted the rich and famous to its many Basque architectural landmarks, including the ornate interior of what was once the San Sebastian Casino.
More recently, the space has been transformed into the plenary hall of the Donostia-San Sebastian Town Hall, but the interior is no less impressive. Clad in marble and stone with vaulted ceilings, chandeliers and stained-glass windows, the room is visually spectacular but sonically challenging – a serious problem for the meetings and events that are frequently hosted within the space.
“The plenary hall of the city of Donostia-San Sebastian is a unique space of extraordinary beauty and it is full of history,” explains Anselmo Calleja of Spanish AV systems integrator Sionua Pro, whose expertise was called on during the refurbishment of the hall.

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Japan - Christie has announced that Kogakuin University has deployed a D4K40-RGB 3DLP pure laser projector for large-scale and 3D projection mapping on a large surface (mapping area) comprising a ‘kinetic wall’ set up in its atrium as part of the renewal process of its Shinjuku campus.
Jointly delivered and installed in Shinjuku Atrium by Ushio Lighting Inc. and CIMA Co, with planning and direction accomplished by P.I.C.S. Co, the Christie D4K40-RGB delivers big, bright and bold images on the mapping area that includes a ‘kinetic wall’ measuring 16m in width and 8.5m in height. This ‘kinetic wall’ features 180 modular cubes, each measuring 40 cm, that can be programmed to move back and forth individually. Creative expressions ranging from a highly dynamic wall surface, large-scale and 3D projection mapping, as well as data visualisation can be achieved using a co

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UK - Unusual Rigging has welcomed the outcome of yesterday’s Budget and what it means for theatres and other arts venues. The chancellor’s pledge to give an extra £410m to the arts is intended to help the sector recover as lockdown eases.
The funds are earmarked for theatres, museums, galleries and live music venues. But, says Tom Harper, managing director at Unusual, for the funds to be used most effectively, the industry should be regarded as an ecosystem, echoing the National Theatre’s Rufus Norris’ idea that the funds should be pumped into productions and not venues.
“The Chancellor has acknowledged that the culture sector will be a ‘significant driver’ in the UK’s pandemic recovery. While theatres are aiming to open from 17 May with social distancing in place, and with full capacity performances to be allowed from 21 June, there are still months a

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UK - Budget 2021 included several measures relevant to theatres including additional funding for the arts, an extension to the Job Retention Scheme and a new Community Ownership Fund.
The Chancellor also announced other measures that could help some theatres: extension to the business rates holiday until the end of June followed by nine months of the rate being discounted by two thirds; VAT cut to 5% on leisure and hospitality sales will stay in place until 30 September, after which the rate will be 12.5% for a further six months, and Restart Grants of up to £18k per premises for hospitality businesses, which would include theatres.
Responding to the Budget, Theatres Trust director Jon Morgan says, “Theatres Trust welcomes not only the Chancellor’s announcement of additional funding for the arts, but also his recognition for the important role culture will play in

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UK - Newly self-employed workers who have lost income during the COVID-19 crisis will be able to claim grants from the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS).
The change to the eligibility criteria, which was announced by chancellor Rishi Sunak in today’s Budget, means those who have become self-employed during 2019-20 will be able to receive cash grants based on their tax returns. When SEISS was launched however, it was based on tax returns for 2018-19, which resulted in many people failing to qualify.
But this latest move will do little to please campaigners, who have been lobbying the government for months to extend the scheme to thousands more excluded workers, such as limited-company directors.
Sunak has also extended the furlough scheme to the end of September, with workers guaranteed to receive 80% of their income until then, whilst employers will b

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UK - Set in a thickly wooded area and set off by manicured gardens in Thronton Hough on The Wirral, The Red Fox restaurant started life as a manor house in the late 19th Century.
For a period this February, the stately landmark took on a more contemporary appearance when it was bathed in brilliant green by a collection of Chauvet Professional LED fixtures.
Scott Cooper of ASG Entertainments donated the use of the lighting fixtures, along with his expertise, to the Red Fox for the benefit of the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust, whose cancer treatment facilities serve patients in Cheshire, Merseyside and the surrounding areas including the Isle of Man.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the suspension of many things, cancer has not taken time off. This is why the Clatterbridge Centre initiated a Let’s Go Green campaign to raise funds and a

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Switzerland - In January 2021, a new training and conference facility for Mercury Training Group SA opened in Mendrisio. The versatile space is designed to be used as one large room or divided into two or three smaller ones, so a flexible and reliable audio system was needed. Yamaha provided the chosen solution.
Led by Frank Merenda, founder of Metodo Merenda (the Merenda Method), Mercury Training Group hosts ‘American style’ training conventions where marketing meets showbusiness. Along with live speech from presenters, video and audio playback are integral parts of the show. Michele and Riccardo De Simone of Sperlonga-based Remix Multimedia SRL were asked by Tiziano Stampete, the head of Mercury’s technical staff, to design an audio system which would maximise the use of the space.
“Reliability, safety and quality were the key words for this installation,”

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Czech Republic - Nearly a century old, Czech Radio (Český rozhlas (ČRo)) is the largest public radio broadcaster in the Czech Republic and Europe’s second oldest radio broadcaster after the BBC. Established in 1923, Czech Radio offers four national services, 14 regional channels, numerous channels covering classical and jazz music, sports, children’s and youth radio services and external multi-language broadcasts.
With previous positive experiences of using DiGiCo SD12 consoles, Czech Radio’s team decided to expand their fleet of broadcast transmission vehicles, with a DiGiCo Quantum338 as the heart of the new OB van for the station’s key location in Prague.
“The Quantum 338 will allow Czech Radio to mix up to 128 channels of audio with enormous processing capabilities and unprecedented flexibility thanks to its universal DMI slots and two Dante DMI module
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