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UK - Autograph Sales reports growing sales of Fischer battery chargers and in-ear monitoring amp packages to some of the UK's top rental and technical catalogue companies. After noticing there was a niche in the UK market for such a product, Autograph Sales worked with Fischer to secure the UK distribution. The products proved an immediate success and had their official UK launch at PLASA 2003.

Not only does Fischer manufacture the standard plug-in chargers, but also 19" rack-mountable kits for professional use on tour and stage, for NiMH 9V cells or AA-cells. Batteries are contained in removable drawers, allowing easy access. These batteries also have a much greater capacity than most others on the market, making them more reliable to the user.

Network Audio, one of the UK

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USA / Canada - Rod Stewart has launched a major tour of arenas throughout North America, and will be touring with a Meyer Sound system based on arrays totalling 52 MILO high-power curvilinear loudspeakers. Lars Brogaard is at the helm of the sound rig, serving as both FOH engineer and production manager for Stewart's first major North American tour in three years. Sound Image of Escondido, California is providing the sound system.

The MILO arrays are supplemented by 11 UPA-1P compact wide-coverage loudspeakers for front fill, while two LD-3 compensating line drivers provide corrective equalization for low-frequency buildup inherent in line arrays and for atmospheric conditions.

Stewart's From Maggie May to The Great American Songbook tour kicked off at Office Depot Center in Sunrise, Florida on 6 February and travels around the continent until finishing up back in the

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UK - This year's TPi Awards - the third annual Total Production International magazine awards event - took place at the Novotel London West in Hammersmith earlier this week. Hosted by former Spandau Ballet bassist and actor Martin Kemp, the event saw 25 awards presented, with winners including Jake Berry (Production Manager of the Year), Robert Collins (FOH Engineer), Blue Leach (Video Director), LSD Fourth Phase (Lighting Rental Company), Star Events Group (Staging Company) and Carling Academy Brixton (Venue).

Highlights of the evening included the presentation of The Editor's Award to video director Dick Carruthers, made by Led Zeppelin rock legend Jimmy Page. This year's Lifetime Contribution Award went to the original founder of Brilliant Stages, Charlie Kail - presented to him by Brian Croft - and Robbie Williams' tour manager Andy Franks picked up a personal award, plus an

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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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Australia - Following the enormous success of Australian entertainment venue OneWorld Sport, situated in Sydney's Darling Harbour, a second venue has been opened in the city's Parramatta district. The new bar/club/restaurant follows the same all-action formula, with a barrage of audio-visual, carrying a non-stop feast of sports.

With four big screens, dozens of plasma screens and six satellite feeds, patrons are never far from live sports action. The internal fit-out, by Sydney club specialists Swerve Design, features numerous old and modern classics including a Ferrari racing car, a suit worn by Michael Schumacher and a bat used by Don Bradman.

Sydney-based audio-visual installer Saltec was contracted for the fit-out, which includes Allen & Heath mixing and control, Martin Audio Wavefront 8 system (with over 50 speakers), powered by QSC amplification. In 'The Arena', an area

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Eire - Leading Irish audio installation company Rea Sound recently completed the refurbishment of Scraggs Alley in Carlow, where the traditional Irish bar is benefiting from a new Nexo PS10 sound system. The bar is huge - capable of holding up to 500 people - but has a very low ceiling level. Consequently, Rea Sound has wall-mounted the Nexo PS10 full-range cabinets with asymmetric horn in a horizontal format. Throughout the bar, there are 16 Nexo PS10 speakers, with eight Nexo LS500 sub-bass units in support, powered by PS10 amplifiers.

Although there is a nightclub upstairs at the Scraggs Alley venue, in the evenings DJs also mix club tracks in the main bar. Roger McMullen of Rea Sound explained: "This was one of the main reasons for choosing Nexo as the principal sound system. We needed a loudspeaker that could perform clearly and efficiently during the day when the pub

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UK - London's fabric nightclub has completed major upgrades to its sound and lighting systems. Key to the lighting installation is a package from Coemar UK and its sister company, Lighting Effects Distribution. Coemar iSpot 575 moving heads, iCyc 250s, ProSpot 250s and a variety of LED-based products have been utilized in Rooms 1, 2 and 3 as a result of a new design from Dave Parry's technology team at the club.

The new equipment is predominantly for Room 2. "The room is essentially a black box, but I wanted to put a bit more focus onto the lasers," said Parry. "The room contains a massive block of colour and we've used Coemar iCyc 250s as an architectural backdrop."

The club has also used six Thomas PixelPar 87s from Lighting Effects Distribution to highlight the structural arches, along with a pair of Coemar iSpot 575s and a CF7 as a centrepiece effect. P

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UK - Complementing the recently-announced changes to the staff of White Light Hire, the White Light Group is pleased to announce one further change of position and two more new appointments.

Richard Wilson, White Light's long-serving operations director spent many years as he making the practical side of getting the lights out of the door work he is now moving to the position of business development director, working to introduce The White Light Group to new clients and new areas of business. Bryan Raven, White Light Group's general manager, commented: "Richard's record of making the sharp end of our business work is well proven - after all, however much we promise it means nothing unless we actually get the right lights out at the right time! Having successfully established new working methods for our warehouse in the two years since our move to Wimbledon from Fulham, Rich

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UK / USA - When L&SI Online revealed in January that six key members of the Flying Pig Systems team had resigned from the company - including FPS co-founder and Wholehog designer Nick Archdale and product manager Richard Mead - it triggered a spate of rumours across the industry about the fate of High End Systems' European HQ, and of its flagship control product, the Wholehog III.

HES has been quick to dispel the rumours and reassure its customers and dealers of its continued commitment to the Hog III, saying: "We have an aggressive schedule for new control products as well as software enhancements for the Wholehog III. We recently released a new Beta version software (version 1.3 Beta 4) for Wholehog III, which brings new functionality . . . Reaction among early users and Beta testers is exciting. We're also working on development of Hog III PC."Debi Moen at HES has a

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UK - Northern Light has announced a number of changes to its operation to allow it to concentrate on its core business, which the company reports is currently expanding. The company says the changes will allow further development of its project installation, engineering and manufacturing divisions, which are currently handling some 30 projects throughout the UK - including the new Gateshead Music Centre, Newcastle College Performance Academy, Perth Concert Hall and the Tally Ho Arts Centre at Finchley in North London.

The Reading office will close at the end of March and all matters relating to overseas sales will now be referred to the head office in Edinburgh. Derek Gilbert will continue to work with the company as a consultant. The Audio Visual arm of Northern Light, based at Reading and known as Immedia, will close and all AV contracts and sales will be handled through Immed

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UK - Boy George's cult musical Taboo has taken to the road this month, choosing Audient's Aztec desk to provide the mix for the entire 26-venue, five-month tour of the UK. Supplied by rental company Stage Electrics, Aztec has proven to be the right choice according to the show's number one sound engineer Graeme Asher: "It's a challenge changing venues every week, as no two venues are the same. Audient's live desk makes things a lot more straight forward being so easy to configure, not to mention a lot lighter than I'm used to."

Asher continues: "I'm really pleased with the sound quality too. In fact it's so good we have been able to hear degradation in other parts of our audio system that we were previously unaware of. This has led to us being able to improve the whole system reaching even higher standards of audio. "We went for a lightweight flightca

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UK - Software provider Stardraw.com has announced the availability of downloadable demos from its website, a move that coincides with the launch of their newest application, Stardraw A/V Lite.

The demos work exactly like the full version software for 30 days from installation, but rather than having to wait for and install from a CD, you can download the application of your choice from the website in just a few minutes. According to Stardraw marketing director Rob Robinson explains: "This is a logical step that offers clear advantages, the age of software distribution by physical media is coming to an end. For applications like ours that see almost daily updates, CDs are effectively obsolete as soon as they roll off the production line. With Internet distribution, our customers can get the software they want immediately, rather than having to wait for a CD to turn up in th

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Italy - Renowned for its cheese and ham, the Italian city of Parma also boasts the Farnese - the largest baroque theatre existing inside a building. Built in 1618, this was also the first theatre in the world designed for use with movable scenery and with a proscenium arch.

This historic venue recently hosted an Italian version of Elizabethan dramatist John Ford's 'Tis a pity she's a whore (pictured), directed by Luca Ronconi. The show's lighting designer is Guido Levi, who has worked with directors such as Warner Herzog and Jonathan Miller.

The Farnese's steeply-tiered U-shaped seating influenced later theatre design, but this, combined with the fact that it's built almost entirely in wood and stucco, compelled Levi to run a series of strict tests on moving head fixtures, as the 3,500-seat venue's problematic acoustics amplified any noise from fixture motors. Levi selected S

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UK - Lighting designer and consultant Andrew Dixon and Lightfactor Sales' Paul de Ville worked together to produce a stylish new architectural lighting scheme for St Barnabas Anglican Church in Ealing, London.

Lightfactor supplied all the equipment for the new installation - which was sourced from a variety of British manufactures, including customized Par 64 and AR111 fixtures from James Thomas Engineering, and a custom lighting control panel designed by Mick Hannaford and made by LightProcessor. The result has transformed St Barnabas into a modern, practical and well-lit venue appropriate for a dynamic range of church-based activities.Built in 1915, St Barnabas's spacious 15m high environment has several unique features, including an unusual fresco above the high altar that helps soften the otherwise austere atmosphere. However, the lighting has had very little improvement sin

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Germany - HK Audio's new Cohedra line array system recently met the demanding requirements of Walter Haupt's ambitious touring production of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana.

Haupt presented Carmina Burana on the grand scale, with a large choir, a symphony orchestra and 200 singers and actors performing on a 20m tower with four stages, complex scenery and impressive lighting and sound systems provided by Langeburg-based hire audio rental company, Klangschmiede.

Sound designer/engineer Gerd Drücker (mixing FOH on a Yamaha PM1D) used a Cohedra line array system from HK Audio, comprising 56 CDR 208 S/T mid/high units, along with between eight and 16 CDR 210 subwoofers, depending on the size of the venue. The main clusters consisted of 16 CDR 208 S/T each, with five flown CDR 208 Ts in the centre cluster.

Serving as front-fills were two VT 112 II F (12"/2") cabs from HK'

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UK - Indie combo Aqualung recently supported UK festival favourites, Feeder, for a series of dates on their UK arena tour kicking off at Glasgow NEC and including Wembley Arena. It was also one of the first ever outings for the brand new Verona console from Midas, officially launched at the NAMM show in January 2004. FOH engineer Tony Perretta and monitor man Roberto Pieroni (also house engineer at Fabric) took the opportunity to put the new Verona through its paces.

Perreta said: "I thought Verona was a great desk for many reasons, not the least of which, it's a Midas! It looks and feels like a Midas and, more importantly, it sounds like a Midas. It was a very easy transition from the larger desks, and I was pleased that while Verona is clearly designed to be a far more cost-effective option that its larger brothers and sisters, it retains all the traditional Midas qualiti

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Eire - Leading Irish AV company, CAVS (Corporate Audio Visual Services) has just invested in a new Heritage 3000 console to add to their already considerable Midas inventory. During 2003 alone, CAVS purchased two 40-channel Midas Legend 3000s and 30 Venice consoles of various frame sizes from Midas's distributor in Ireland, Dublin-based Sound Communications.

According to Sound Communications' Alan Murphy, CAVS's acquisition of the Heritage 3000 bears witness to the company's continuing expansion into high-end audio in both the corporate and concert sound markets. "Over the past three years CAVS has invested hugely in updating their audio inventory and is now reaping the benefits both in terms of customer satisfaction and the quality of work coming their way. CAVS is now definitely a major league player in the Irish AV market."

CAVS managing director Fran Quigley sees

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UK / China - James Thomas Engineering UK opened its Asian headquarters in Hong Kong this week. The new HQ will cover Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, China and Japan and is headed by Philip J Walker. Walker has been based in the region for 10 years, supplying cutting-edge technology for the leisure, entertainment architectural and consumer industries.

JTE's Tony Cameron said: "It's great to have someone of Philip's experience and knowledge onboard. The Asian market has enormous potential for us, and we're confident it'll be a great success."Walker was initially attracted to the large application range of JTE's Pixel range, its energy and power conservation properties are ideal for a number of forthcoming architectural projects. He commented: "The Asian market is picking up, and there's plenty of positive feelings that the next few years wil

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International - Gilbert Briggs produced his first loudspeaker in the Yorkshire valley of the River Wharfe over 70 years ago: now the Wharfedale brand is part of a multinational corporation with a wholly-owned, 500,000sq.ft manufacturing facility in China. In fact, in many ways, the International Audio Group (IAG) could claim to provide a prototype business model for all consumer and professional manufacturing across both lighting and sound - as the 21st century gets into its political and economic stride.

The group comprises Wharfedale, Quad, Topaz and Apogee Lighting, and at his HQ in Huntingdon, UK, MD Steve Woolley is afraid of neither politics nor economics. As Karl Marx would have appreciated, the IAG owns the means of production. The factory it has built - not leased - near Hong Kong features wood and metal shops, tooling and plastic injection plants, and a mineral-free co

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Australia - In 2004 Show Technology, Australia's leading distributor of lighting equipment, is celebrating its 10th anniversary by introducing new ideas and marketing initiatives aimed at developing closer working relationships with industry partners. Increased staffing, personalized service, product training and a new trade show strategy, are all key elements of the initiative.

Show Technology distributes brand names such as; Martin, Studio Due, MA Lighting, Kupo, Geni, ELC and Pulsar. Martin in particular has achieved an increased share of the market in Australia and is again expected to have a successful year in 2004. Last year Martin presented Show Technology the award for Stage, Studio and Event Distributor of the Year.

The company has had a 40% increase in company turnover since 2000 and a record year in 2003. It will place increased focus on customer service in 2004 by

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UK / USA / France - Leading UK manufacturer and RF specialist Trantec has appointed two new international distributors - Group One in the USA and Best Audio in France. Both companies will handle Trantec's entire portfolio of advanced radio products, which offers sophisticated radio solutions for the most challenging contemporary audio applications.

Trantec's legendary radio microphone systems include the award winning S5000 and most recently the acclaimed S6000 with its advanced, user-friendly features, all of which have been specifically designed for the professional user. Other Trantec products, including the S10 Soundfield system and PT1 Personal Trainer, offer solutions for leisure, conferencing, education and ecclesiastical markets.

Farmingdale, NY-based Group One's appointment follows shortly after Trantec's S6000 made its mark in the US, scooping an EDDY Award in the

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USA - DiGiCo and Soundtracs will share the spotlight on booth #2808 at the NSCA Convention in Las Vegas (19-21 March) with a live linkup between a DiGiCo D5 FMX and a Soundtracs DS-00 - showing how efficiently live and recorded sound can be handled on a single, integrated digital system. The two console systems share a common software platform and MADI digital interfaces, and employ identical file formats.

"We intended from day one that the two systems should be able to work seamlessly together," says DiGiCo LLC CEO Eric Wade. "This allows a live and recording production - such as a large TV music show - to be mixed live at both front-of-house and monitors on the D5 FMX system, sharing a common fibre loop, while being recorded through a Soundtracs DS-00 on the same loop. The benefits are a completely stable gain structure, total freedom from ground buzzes or other

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