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UK - Sound and lighting wholesaler Batmink has announced a deal with Neo-Neon Holdings for the distribution of its range of LED fixtures. M,anaging director David Churches commented: We are very pleased to be the distributors for Neo-Neon, who are one of the largest manufacturers of lighting in the world. Their products slot neatly into our portfolio, and customers can be assured of quality, reliability and value for money."

The Neo-Neon range includes colour-changing Motion Tubes and Motion Panels, as well as the Path Light uplighters designed for exterior use.

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - Audio-Technica has become the latest manufacturer to take advantage of Stardraw Weblink to offer its customers access to the full complement of technical data on its current product range. Stardraw Weblink is a web service that allows linkage of product symbols used in Stardraw design and documentation software to any online data. Audio-Technica has used the service to embed URLs for the product profile pages on Audio-Technica's website along with spec sheet PDFs, submittal sheets, associated literature and accessories available for all products.

Audio-Technica's Steve Savanyu is pleased with the flexibility offered by the Weblink service both for manufacturer and client, he commented: "I took advantage of the multiple link capabilities offered by Weblink to link each of our wireless systems to the appropriate accessory web pages along with the PDF locations for the sy

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UK / USA - London-based Artistic Licence and Super Vision International of Orlando, Florida, USA, have announced the signing of a joint development agreement to develop LED control systems. Artistic Licence is one of the early pioneers of software development and electronic control systems in the lighting industry. Their systems are installed in lighting venues and entertainment complexes worldwide. Super Vision is a world-leading manufacturer of LED and fiber optic lighting systems. The partnership will develop the industry standard for regulating and controlling LED lighting systems that will be made available for open and widespread use throughout the industry.

Wayne Howell, managing director of Artistic Licence stated: "Both Artistic Licence and Super Vision are leaders in their field and respected pioneers of innovative technology. This new technology sharing agreemen

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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 - The Finsbury Avenue Square project at Broadgate in London's financial district, won Best Exterior Lighting Project at the recent Lighting Design Awards 2004. Artistic Licence's Wayne Howell told us: "Artistic Licence is extremely proud to have been involved in the project, from concept phase through design, manufacture and installation. We would like to congratulate both Maurice Brill Lighting Design and Mark Ridler for their exceptional design."

The Broadgate project was a major architectural installation in the City of London, involving the installation of 550 colour change fixtures in a new public plaza in Finsbury Avenue Square. The project, which is probably the largest of its type in the world, presented numerous technical hurdles and required some ingenious application of technology. The entire system was custom designed, manufactured and installed by Arti

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Sweden - Capture Sweden has announced the arrival of a new DMX input option for its lighting design and visualization software, Capture 3.0. The new 'Capture DMX Box' is a USB box with dual DMX universe inputs with configurable termination. The device is fully plug and play with Capture 3.0 and works with any laptop or desktop workstation running Windows 2000 or Windows XP.

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

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USA - After over 10 years of dedicated service, Jeffrey Cox is no longer the general manager of L-Acoustics US. All sales inquiries should be directed to Paul Freudenberg, director of sales and marketing. "Although we are certainly sad to see Jeffery leave, we wish him the very best," says Freudenberg. "Everyone else in the company, however, has remained onboard, including Bernie Broderick, our director of technical services, and production manager Alan Vachon, so things are very much business as usual around here. With the continued support of L-Acoustics founder Dr. Christian Heil and the rest of the team in France, L-Acoustics US continues on its strong track and we look forward to carrying on the vision and Partner concept that Jeffrey helped begin 10 years ago."

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

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USA - Strong Entertainment Lighting has announced it is the exclusive distributor of the Canto product line of followspots in the USA. Developed and designed by Strong engineers, the Canto line provides mid-range lighting options for realistic prices, say Strong. The Canto line is unique because it provides five mid-range followspot options in the 'throw gap' between 70 and 150ft. Made in Italy by LDR, the line includes both metal halide and incandescent sourced followspots.

"We are excited to be the exclusive distributor of Canto products in the United States, and to provide our customers and the industry with a solution for the challenging throw gap common in mid-sized theatres and auditoriums," said Paul Rabinovitz, Strong Entertainment Lighting vice-president. "With the addition of Canto, we complete our full line of followspot products and continue our commit

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USA - L-Acoustics US recently announced the worldwide launch of Soundvision, an acoustical simulation program designed for the installation of the company's Wavefront Sculpture Technology (V-Dosc, dV-Dosc and ARCS) and Coaxial Point Source Technology (XT and MTD) loudspeakers.

Benefiting from the manufacturer's many years of experience in the modelling of acoustic sound sources, L-Acoustics' first three-dimensional sound design program is capable of operating in real-time. Designed with an intuitive graphical user interface, Soundvision allows for the calculation of sound pressure levels (SPL) and coverage mapping for complex sound system or venue configurations.

Room geometry and loudspeaker locations are defined in 3D and simplified operating modes permit the user to work in 2D to rapidly enter data. According to user preference, either horizontal (plan) or vertical (cut) vi

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UK - Meyer Sound Laboratories, in recognition of the growing importance of its UK business, has appointed Roger Harpum as UK sales manager. Harpum brings with him years of experience from his long tenure at London's Autograph Sales and will manage Meyer Sound's expanded UK dealer network.

"We are seeing increased demand for Meyer Sound products in the UK, and no one knows more about the market for us there than Roger," says Helen Meyer, executive vice-president at Meyer Sound. "His presence will help us build the kind of relationships with all of our dealers in the region that we still enjoy with Autograph after all these years."

Autograph's history of working with Meyer Sound dates back 22 years, and encompasses a lengthy list of notable theatre, live sound, studio and fixed installation projects. Today, as the market in the UK grows and changes, the compa

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UK / Germany - Tannoy has announced that from 1 April 2004 it will have its own dedicated sales team covering the pro audio (commercial products) and residential audio markets in Germany. Two sales managers have been appointed to oversee all aspects of the new sales distribution operation.

Matthias Exner will be responsible for sales and marketing of professional products for the sound reinforcement and installation markets and he brings to Tannoy a wealth of audio experience. Initially employed as an engineer, and since 2000 as managing director of Audio-Vertrieb Peter Strüven GmbH, Matthias is especially experienced in fixed installation and DSP systems. He was involved with the Autostaat project - Volkswagen's multi-billion dollar entertainment theme park based in Wolfsburg.

Tannoy's sales and marketing director, Simon Sinclair, was keen to highlight the improved service

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The Netherlands - The new dmXLAN Node 1 from ELC Lighting is an Ethernet node allowing the conversion to Ethernet (Artnet protocol) of one DMX universe, input or output. For fixed installations, such as theatres or conference centres, the cabinet will be mounted on the wall, with the display in front and the DMX connector pointing downwards, avoiding the risk of connectors and cables getting in the way of feet or flightcases, etc. The Ethernet is connected internally through hardwire connection. In the truss-mount version, an Ethercon connector from Neutrik is placed beside the DMX socket. The cabinet is fitted with a built-in M10 nut on the bottom for a truss clamp and a hole is provided for the safety hook. In both cases, the 5-pin XLR connector can be set up as a DMX input or output. Node1 is powered through the Ethernet cable, as specified by the IEEE 802.3 standard.

(Lee Ba

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USA - Cunard's $800million Queen Mary 2 is the longest, widest and tallest passenger ship ever built. Over four city blocks long, she is 100ft longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall. And when she set sail from Southampton, England on 12 January, Nautilus Entertainment Design's Bill Havens was aboard to oversee the results of their work. NED provided entertainment facility design services - including lighting, audio, video, rigging and special effects - for over 40 public spaces on this historic and eagerly awaited luxury liner. NED was also responsible for the design and commissioning of the ship wide broadcast system and editing suite.

The ship has six restaurants, 14 bars and clubs, a library, theatre, disco and casino. The first floating planetarium, 'Illuminations', provides a unique opportunity for passengers to view full colour, full motion educational and entertainment pro

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USA - London-based automation specialist Stage Technologies will collect a Staging and Projection Product of the year EDDY award from Entertainment Design magazine, when the awards are presented in New York in June. Judges singled out the company's latest software innovation - Visual Creator commenting that it is "remarkably intuitive and greatly expands the notion of what can be moved where on stage."

Visual Creator is an advancement of the award winning Pathway technology that was used to create the spectacular flying effects in the The Witches of Eastwick, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Millennium Dome. The latest in software design architecture, this motion design tool allows two- and three-dimensional effects to be drawn as imagined. Combined with position maps and profiles this new software makes the previously complex task of calculating cues a thing of

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UK - Software provider Stardraw.com has appointed pro audio sales and systems specialist Marquee Audio as UK reseller for the entire range of Stardraw's design and documentation software packages. Both parties regard the new partnership as an extremely positive move. "We have been Stardraw users ourselves for years and we love the product," said Marquee's Andy Huffer, "so it seemed only logical to be able to pass on the benefits to our own customers. Furthermore, as a forward-thinking company whose products are constantly evolving and developing, Stardraw's profile complements our own modus operandi perfectly."

Stardraw marketing director Rob Robinson agrees. "Marquee Audio is one of the most respected and successful names in the business for professional audio sales and systems integration in the UK, and is thus the ideal partner for Stardraw. In addit

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UK - Software providers Stardraw.com will launch a new application aimed at the smaller AV systems integrator. Stardraw A/V Lite offers all of the powerful drawing and design tools of its more heavyweight sibling, Stardraw A/V, for less than half the price.

Stardraw CEO David Snipp explains why the company felt it important to launch a product for this market sector: "Stardraw A/V is undoubtedly the most popular off-the-shelf product we do, however, at $2,500 US, it represents a significant investment which may be beyond the reach of the smaller contractor. What we have done with Stardraw A/V Lite is to produce an entry-level package that allows you to create your designs to exactly the same standard as the full version. The drawing engine and the symbols in the Lite package are the same as those in the full package but the ancillary functionality is tailored for the smalle

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UK - The participation by María Pagés in the first ever flamenco festival to be held in London was also a first in the use of a Harlequin Liberty floor for this form of dance. Recognized as one of the leading innovators in the development and redefinition of modern flamenco, María Pagés and her company of dancers performed 'Flamenco Republic', 'Bulerias and 'El Perro Andaluz' as part of the recent Sadler's Wells flamenco festival.

As a leading exponent of modern flamenco, María Pagés had been searching to replace traditional 12mm plywood flooring with a new type of floor that could offer the purity of sound demanded, and at the same time reduce physical stress on the dancers. Patrick Lesage from Harlequin International already had an idea that Harlequin Liberty floor could provide a modern solution to this problem and discussions were opened at the company's studios in Tor

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China - Ace Hong Kong have carried out an audio and lighting fit-out in Cheng Ping - a town in Guang Zhou, Southern China - having won a competitive tender for the work. After specifying the system, Ace had to meet a deadline for the opening show at the Cheng Ping Culture Centre on the second day of Chinese New Year (January 23, 2004).

The loudspeaker management system consists of four BSS Audio 9088 Soundwebs (processing the JBL AE series Left/Centre/Right cluster). Soundweb also handles the speaker delay taps and EQ processing in an auditorium which seats 1,300 people. In an all-Harman Pro line up, Crown CTs series amplifiers power the system, and the FOH mixer is a Soundcraft MH4.

Ace was also responsible for providing the theatre lighting, with the conventional lighting controlled by ADB. The generics include profiles and fresnels while Clay Paky provide the moving lights,

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UK - Audio contractor Ansabac has found an unusual application for the Symetrix SymNet digital audio matrix system - in a West Midlands bingo club. When they installed the original sound system at Shipley's Luxury Bingo Club in Redditch, the client had specified a custom-built matrix device. "But the company who manufactured it went under, and when the system also went down it was clear we needed an off-the-shelf solution," said Ansabac's Phil Parkes.

They turned to Fuzion plc's Tim Harrison, and he in turn recommended Symetrix' proprietary SymNet system. "It's often the case that our clients contact us for solutions," reports Harrison. "Ansabac were unsure how they were going to accomplish their routing and digital distribution, and we were able to show them how easy this would be using SymNet technology; at the same time we were able to help them signi

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USA - In 2003, the famed US Naval Academy at Anapolis completed a 10-year renovation of the historic Bancroft Hall. Bancroft Hall has the distinction of being the largest dormitory in the world, housing the academy's entire class of 4,500 midshipmen. It has 1,873 rooms, 4.8 miles of corridors, and almost 10,000 windows.

One of the last rooms to be renovated was the historic Memorial Hall. Known for its plaques honouring past midshipmen and its "Don't Give up the Ship" motto, the Memorial Hall is one of the most revered spaces at the academy and has been used for countless Naval ceremonies and presentations over the last 100 years. As with many historic rooms, the hard reflective surfaces and high ceilings made the Memorial Hall a difficult acoustical challenge. The Naval Academy wanted to replace its ineffective portable sound system with a permanently installed audio

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UK - Leading project management company Stagecraft is the first company in the UK to install an innovative new touch screen lighting system created by Zero 88. Stagecraft has been working with Salisbury nightclub The Chapel on the supply and installation of £100,000 of lighting equipment, which includes the new touch screens.

Since early 2003 Stagecraft has been involved in the massive refurbishment project at The Chapel. Project manager Martin Palmer commented: "Lighting can be used in so many different ways in clubs like The Chapel and the system we installed had to be extremely versatile. With so much new lighting technology out on the market we spent a great deal of time researching all the options available."

Linked directly to the Zero 88 Frog Box, the touch screens can be used to recall and edit lighting sequences stored in the Frog Box's memory. Through a re

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USA - Ballantyne of Omaha, a manufacturer of motion picture projection and specialty lighting equipment including the Strong International range of followspot products, has reported financial results from continuing operations for the three- and 12-month periods ending December 31, 2003. Net revenue from continuing operations for the three months ending December 31, 2003 rose 44% to $11.1 million, up from $7.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2002. Gross profit from continuing operations in the quarter rose 110% to $2.7 million from $1.3 million in the year-ago period, due to lower manufacturing costs resulting from increased sales volume and a more favourable sales mix.

John P. Wilmers, president and CEO of Ballantyne, commented: "The financial health of the theatre exhibition industry is steadily improving and our customers are gaining improved access to capital for new

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