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Stagetec (UK) Ltd has recently won three major contracts covering a diverse selection of production industry areas. In the theatre market, the company is supplying and installing a complete new sound system at the Orchard Theatre in Dartford. The theatre 3D-modelled the auditorium to ensure optimum coverage and intelligibility, and were demonstrated several systems. They chose a Nexo system, supplied by Stagetec, consisting of eight PS15 mid/high speakers, four LS1200 sub-bass cabinets, plus three PS8 speakers for delays, all driven from Crown Macro-Tech amplifiers. The whole system is controlled via a Crown USM810 digital processor and three Sabine Graphi-Q digital programmable graphic EQs - the idea being to offer a quick, easy and very flexible system catering for the wide range of prod

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Visitors to Baldwin Boxall’s stand will see a range of new products. These include the VIGIL Communicare, a product developed in response to the publication of BS5588, which states that every public building must have a communication link to each Refuge Point. The system enables a fire officer to remain in contact with any disabled person whilst they are in the safety of a refuge area. The main Communicare control panel will be available in four versions, covering up to 16, 32, 48 or 64 areas. Communicare will, of course, be compliant to BS5588 and BS5839 part 8.

Also new is the VIGIL Eclipse/BVCOM - a serial data port being designed to enable adecentralised VIGIL Eclipse/BVCOM to be controlled externally via the BVRM intelligent microphone. The company’s R&D team is also currently working on software which will enable the BVR20 to be programmed via a laptop. Finally, the

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Irish lighting design and technical consultancy LDPS Ltd has moved into new offices in central Cork as part of an on-going expansion and recruitment programme. The new address and contact details are: LDPS Ltd, Studio Office 11, Fareham House, 26/27 MacCurtain St, Cork, Ireland. Tel: + 353 21 450 8162, fax: + 353 21 450 8168.

The LDPS team has also been strengthened with the appointment of Bertie Buckley as company administrator. Buckley previously worked as assistant to the director of Cork Opera House, and his experience and knowledge will be a great asset to LDPS. The recent move to the larger, centrally located premises is significant, and is designed to integrate all aspects of the growing LDPS team into one creative and administrative space.

LDPS was formed by Grant Collie (pictured) in 1998 to offer consultancy, lighting design and project management services and solutions to

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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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Out Board Electronics’ new Ibex programmable hoist controller has made an auspicious debut on two frontline tours with Vari-Lite Europe Ltd. Both the Roxy Music and Robbie Williams shows - currently out on tour - have had their lighting designed by Liz Berry, who has given the new hoist controller the thumbs up. The purchase of a single unit (and rental of a second) had been authorised by VLPS’ Matt Croft, who admitted that he had not heard of the Ibex until he started to prep both tours. "I looked at both jobs and each show had moving truss systems. In the past we would have used hoist commanders - but they involve a lot of hardware and personnel, so we were starting to look around. At the same time Out Board’s Lawrence Heron had contacted our rigging department independently to see if they were interested."

An advantage of the Ibex system, says Matt, is th

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A whole range of Sennheiser audio equipment helped ensure the success of Planet 24’s recent production for ITV, Survivor, throughout seven weeks of filming on the remote desert island of Pulau Tiga in the South China Sea. Of particular note was the performance of Sennheiser’s new MKE-2 Gold lavalier clip mic, which successfully provided the principal means of recording broadcast quality sound in the extremely hostile and humid tropical environment.

The new mic is designed specifically for ‘high moisture’ resistance but provides the same acoustic performance as its industry standard counterpart design. "The conditions the microphones faced were very much a worse case scenario - humidity and salt water," explains Planet 24’s technical director Peter Johnston. 16 of the MKE-2 Golds were used, along with their associated UHF SK50 miniature belt pack

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The Community AirForce system made an impact on its UK debut when it supported two back-to-back shows by Status Quo in the Channel Islands recently. The kit was supplied from the rental stock of Lancashire-based HSL, who have enjoyed a long relationship with the promoter, Paul Couser, from Onstage Events. The two venues were the 2000-capacity Beau Sejour Centre in St. Peter Port, Guernsey, and the 2,500-capacity Fort Regent in St. Helier.

HSL produced a special ‘mini-rig’ for sound engineer Andy Taylor, providing two AF3 short-throw and four AF10 bass per side (configured as two rows of three enclosures). This was underpinned by eight VLF218s. HSL production manager, Will Soden, said: "We are still assessing the system. However, this configuration proved more than adequate to provide full coverage at the levels required." AirForce was run completely flat, using on

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Trantec’s award-winning S5000 radio mic system was used by Sprout, the event-production division of Marcom Presentations at Disneyland Paris recently to assist the communications of 200 delegates at a major conference. Marcom’s Jason Adams revealed that a selection of lapel and handheld mics were used over the course of the week-long event for new employees. Adams confirmed that the inventory included 10 channels of S5000: "We favour the Trantec system because it offers great reception and it’s easy to set up and use."

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Vari-Lite Inc has announced that Bob Schacherl has joined the company as vice-president of sales and marketing. Schacherl will lead Vari-Lite's worldwide sales and marketing efforts for the new line of Vari*Lite luminaires and consoles. "We're excited to have Bob as part of the Vari-Lite team," said Clay Powers, president and chief operating officer at Vari-Lite. “Bob's knowledge and experience will be instrumental in helping us to achieve our goal of making Vari*Lite the preferred brand in automated lighting technology."

Schacherl joins Vari-Lite with over 20 years’ experience in the automated lighting and entertainment marketplace, and a successful track record in building effective worldwide sales organizations. He is a founder and former president of High End Systems, from which he resigned at the start of this year.

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Last November Selecon dealer Stage Electrics added 50 1200 High Performance Fresnels to its hire stock. To date the staff have been overwhelmed with the response to these popular luminaires which provide high light output, excellent beam control and are the perfect principal luminaire for the medium to large stage. The constant high demand for the units has prompted the decision to further boost the hire stocks by adding another 100 units this summer. Adding further spice to its hire stocks Stage Electrics has also introduced 40 new Selecon Acclaim Axial 18/34 Profile luminaires. Having been designed for applications requiring precise beam control, this versatile luminaire delivers for short or longer throws, pattern projection or accurate area illumination - fantastic for use within both the corporate and education markets.

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INTEL is the international electronics fair sponsored by ANIE (National Federation of Electrotechnical and Electronic Firms) which stages the World Light Show, an exhibition of lighting technology products. At this year’s event, Clay Paky displayed a full range of products for the architectural lighting sector. INTEL also held ‘Experiencing Light’, organised by Assi (National Association of Lighting Manufacturers), where lighting designers, architects, art historians and philosophers tackled the theme ‘light’ in general, with a focus on architectural lighting. During this show, prizes were awarded to the Lighting Designers who took part in the competition ‘Illuminated Monuments’.

This competition involved the lighting of some of Milan’s most well-known monuments. The event had a number of aims: to enhance frequently-overlooked monuments,

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Show Presentation Services (SPS), the leading equipment rental and staging specialist, has announced that it increased its turnover from £8m to £13m over 2000, and achieved a 58% increase in pre-tax profits for the same period, as a direct result of its integrated event services strategy. The results reinforce SPS’s position as a leading independent AV rental and staging business. High business growth rates were achieved by the scenic construction and lighting rental departments in particular, of 241% and 148% respectively. SPS’s investment in a Barco D-Lite7 Modular LED screen was validated by the turnover generated with the successful launch of its LED rental business. A part-year contribution from the Earls Court and Olympia AV contract that commenced its five-year term also boosted SPS’s increase.

"This year has seen more challenging business conditions,&qu

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Intertec, organizers of the annual LDI exhibition in the United States, have announced that this year’s show (2-4 November, Orlando, Florida) will incorporate Expolatina 2001, the exhibition aimed at the Latin-American marketplace. The move, say Intertec, has been made to accommodate Latin American visitors who want to be able to attend both events. Nine workshops at LDI will be presented in Spanish-only, and will include presentations by Sarah Sidman on lighting and the use of colour, Meyer Sound on line array systems, Andres Mayo of Mr. Master in Buenos Aires with a detailed look at DVD authoring, and a panel of international lighting experts moderated by Sergio Alvarado of Strand Lighting. In addition there will be an entire programme offered in English.

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The US-based Entertainment Services & Technology Association (ESTA) has announced that BSR E1.8, Entertainment Technology - Loudspeaker Enclosures Intended for Overhead Suspension - Classification, Manufacture and Structural Testing, is now available for public review, and will be until 25 September 2001. Loudspeakers suspended overhead should not pull apart and rain debris on people below, and this draft document is an attempt to offer guidance to a manufacturer to make sure such a mishap does not happen. The document describes the structural requirements for loudspeaker enclosures intended for overhead suspension, which include enclosure construction, component part security, enclosure suspension hardware, manufacturing control systems, structural testing, and product representation. The standard is intended to enhance the safety of speaker rigging at popular music concerts and

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The Swiss city of Berne is having the lighting system in its municipal theatre modernized by the Transtechnik Group at a cost of around 425,000 Euros. Due to be completed at the end of this month, the project will bring state-of-the-art lighting technology to this famous theatre. The new system includes two lighting control consoles - a Focus NT and a Prisma NT - each of which is fitted with a moving light controller and connected to the digital auxiliary console via a Transtechnik DMX-Gate protocol converter. The converter converts the DMX signals from the lighting consoles to the Profibus signals for the auxiliary console (and vice versa) to allow the devices to exchange data. The Profibus standard requires only a thin, two-wire cable for transmitting control signals, which means that there is no need for thick bundles of cables to the auxiliary console. Profibus also permits bi-direct

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Brazil-based Selenium Loudspeakers has announced the appointment of Overt Light to Sound Ltd as its new exclusive distributor for the UK. Malcolm Burlow, managing director of Overt, has over 20 years’ experience in the pro audio industry, having previously worked for Numark UK. He says: "We are very proud to be associated with a loudspeaker transducer company with Selenium’s worldwide reputation. Few people realise that the company has been manufacturing loudspeaker components for over 50 years, utilized in some of the finest cabinets available. The market is looking for a high quality and competitively-priced alternative, and we are confident that Selenium will be their first choice."

Overt say that a new range of compression drivers and woofers will be available within six to eight months.

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PLASA has worked in co-operation with some of London’s leading entertainment venues to offer an exclusive insight into the workings of some of the city’s most famous venues; this exclusive backstage tour immediately follows the close of the PLASA Show in London this September. Theatrical London delegates will visit the world-renowned Royal Albert Hall for a night at the Proms; the Apollo Victoria Theatre to see the upgraded Starlight Express; Tussaud’s Group Studios for an exclusive technical tour, and the Donmar Warehouse for a ‘Divas at the Donmar’ performance. To top it off, you can step back in time at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre . . .

Wednesday 12th September: The experience begins with A night at The Proms, The Royal Albert Hall, featuring Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring. Pre-show drinks will be served in the foyer. Performance starts at 7.30pm.

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The historic Manchester-based BBC Philharmonic Orchestra has taken delivery of a Sony DMX-R1000 digital console, supplied by Total Audio Solutions. The orchestra will use the consoles to record its acclaimed performances at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, as well as for BBC Radio 3 recordings in their Studio Seven Concert Hall. The console will also accompany the orchestra on the regular overseas concert tours and international broadcasts that it undertakes.

Virtually all recitals are recorded to digital stereo and BBC recording and mixing engineer (programme manager) Stephen Rinker was instrumental in deciding to opt for the DMX-R1000. "We carefully evaluated the criteria by which we should select our replacement console," he explains. "This encompassed a move to digital, and it’s fair to say that the DMX-R1000 was the only digital desk that fully matched our

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Cadac will be showing its innovative R-Type lightweight touring console on Stand S22 at the 2001 PLASA Show. The R-Type is already clocking up an impressive list of show credits since it went into production earlier this year: in Italy, appearances include the Pavarotti & Friends Concert in Modena, and the Heineken Jammin' Festival at Imola, and in London, the July Picnic with Pavarotti followed by Route of Kings - both in Hyde Park. Contained within a cost-efficient and easily re-configurable package, the R-Type provides comprehensive facilities for both FOH and monitor mixing. It gives rental companies a highly flexible console - using Cadac’s unique ‘plug-anywhere’ modules for fast installation - at a competitive price.

The R-Type features a new lightweight monocoque design and a slimmer module width - combining touring ruggedness with the respected Cadac audio qua

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Arbiter and JBL recently took residence at the Hammersmith Apollo, to host the first UK demo of the Vertec Line Array system. The day was designed to give clients an opportunity to view the product up close and allow them some hands-on time with the system.

One of the issues JBL was most keen to emphasize was that of weight, or rather lack of it, for each Vertec VT4889 enclosure weighs only 69kg, including rigging hardware. Each enclosure includes two lightweight 15" low frequency loudspeakers, four powerful 2250H 8" midrange frequency loudspeakers, coupled to RBIs (Radiation Boundary Integrators), and three compact 2435 high frequency drivers fitted to WaveFormers.

The system is already establishing a strong following, both in the US and Europe, where some of the key touring supply companies have systems out with a number of headlining bands.

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A joint project involving manufacturers Allen& Heath and Audace has provided a UK conference and exhibition venue with a unique paging system.

Bryan Waters, MD and founder of Audace, explained that the HIC system required a larger number of output zones than A&H’s DR128 digital matrix could provide. "The first challenge was the need for a system of 16 zones. We wanted to provide the Centre with a single control system that would work with two of the Allen & Heath units." Waters, who professes a keen enthusiasm for the Cornish pro audio manufacturer’s products, set up Audace specifically to provide one-off solutions and off-the-shelf support products for the blossoming digital market. "When the DR128 was launched, there was nothing like it on the market for anything like the price - and there still isn’t," he enthused. "However, the software su

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Logic System Pro Audio has announced recent sales of its loudspeaker systems to PA rental companies. London-based Gighire has added eight Logic System units to its existing monitor system. Gighire’s Jon Pickett looked at many options before deciding on the CM20 15" plus 2" co-axial cabinet. Pickett, who joins a rapidly-increasing list of CM20 users, said: "When we weighed up all the options, the CM20 had the performance, was the right size, could be run off our existing control equipment and was also competitively priced. Coupled with our own experiences of Logic System’s excellent build quality and reliability, it was a fairly easy decision to make."

Meanwhile, PA company Acousys Sound Systems of Wokingham has just added another Logic System CS1296 system to its ever-increasing array of hire stock. The system has been purchased in order to fulfil a heav

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