Details
UK - Audio Network Plc, the media music and sound specialist, has announced an investment by Leisure & Media VCT plc to accelerate its worldwide growth. Leisure & Media has invested £250,000 in return for a 7% equity stake in Audio Network, which says it has a revolutionary model, "supplying music for use in film, television and multi media production without the usual restrictions, cost and complications".

During the three years since its formation Audio Network has signed up over 100 composers and sound designers and has become established as a leading supplier of music to the UK production community; its music and sound library, comprising over 50,000 sounds, can be previewed on-line at www.audiolicense.net.

Robert Hurst, managing director of Audio Network, said:

Details
UK - Star Events Group has teamed up again with the Arena Group to create an infrastructure for the spectacular watersports pool at the Schroder's Boatshow at ExCeL in London's Docklands. The team designed and built the support for the 70m x 25m pool that held over 2,100 tonnes of water. Windsurfing, wakeboarding and sailing pros demonstrated their skills, using wind generated by the huge fans that flanked one entire length of the pool. 24 of these fans, each weighing 1 tonne, were supported on a raised structure also supplied by Star Events Group.

For the second year running, working closely with the National Boat Show (NBS), Star Events Group was brought in by the Arena Group to supply ExCeL with a complete temporary facility that was fully available from the first day of the exhibition tenancy. This enabled NBS to concentrate fully on the production requirements. This year's

Details
USA - Shure Incorporated has announced the opening of two new locations in China: a manufacturing facility in Suzhou and a sales and marketing office in Shanghai. In preparation for the grand opening, the state-of-the-art Suzhou manufacturing facility has been conducting production trials. Full production of select product lines is expected in the spring.

"China is a very important market for our strategic growth goals," said Sandy LaMantia, President and CEO of Shure. "This expansion will strengthen our company's position by allowing us to respond to the growing global demand for our products. The transition of these product lines to our China facility will be transparent to our global distribution partners," he added.The Suzhou facility, a wholly-owned enterprise, has been equipped with the same calibre of testing equipment as in other Shure plants, includi

featured content

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

Details
USA - Affirming that the company is not just about amplifiers anymore, QSC unveiled a 'wall of sound' at the Winter NAMM show, aimed at drawing the industry eye to an ever-expanding loudspeaker lineup including its ISIS WideLine components. A full-range, wide angle line array system built expressly for nightclubs, ballrooms, theatres, concert halls, and houses of worship, each WideLine enclosure is designed for an open, natural sound and a 140º horizontal dispersion pattern, which, says QSC, is the widest of any line array currently on the market.

WideLine's switchable midrange frequency shading is designed to allow system operators to redirect mid-bass buildup without relying upon external equalisation, aimed at improving intelligibility in this problematic bandwidth. The switch can additionally be used to orient each enclosure's low frequency pattern for either house left or

Details
UK - Lighting balloon specialists Airstar Space Lighting was on hand to assist the homeless charity Crisis at the end of December, providing nine of its Crystal fixtures for use at the charity's annual Crisis Open Christmas event. Taking place across six London venues between 23rd and 30th December, the event was designed to provide skills training & activities, companionship and medical services for as many of London's homeless as possible.

The main venue was located in three buildings at the Millennium Dome, Greenwich, plus associated marquees. Being designed with a 'village' atmosphere in mind, the Crystal lighting balloons were chosen by lighting designer Jenny Kagan to provide illumination for the links between the site's different areas. She deployed seven 2k halogen and two 1.2k HMI Crystals, all 1.6m in diameter. Although she hadn't used Airstar fixtures before, she said

Details
Korea - Avix Tech Co Ltd, recently appointed Audient distributor in Korea, has secured two sales of the biggest Aztec desk yet, a 56-channel version of Audient's flagship console.

Audient's biggest Aztec to date is now being used by the EnCompass Corporation, a multi-entertainment company located in the Chung Cheung area. Introduced to Audient by Avix Tech, their managing director, Steve Kim, explained: "A host of cultural events takes place throughout the year in this part of Korea, so EnCompass Corp handles a lot of global events. The 56-channel console from Audient is currently being used for the concert of the Chung-Ju City Orchestra and Choir. They particularly like the fact that the AZTEC live console has such a large number of VCA groups and dedicated recording connectivity, which allows simple set up of recording equipment for both recording and mixdown." Avix

Details
UK - Britannia Row Productions provided audio for the giant concert at the Cardiff Millennium Stadium in aid of the Asian tsunami relief fund, covering the enormous crowd of 61,000 Brit Row used their L'Acoustics system, with Yamaha for control in the shape of both a PM1D and PM5D at either end of the snake.

"I'm sure there isn't an audio provider in the country that wouldn't have been willing to do this show," commented Brit Row director Bryan Grant, "and I'm honoured that Claire Sampson, show producer, asked us. We were able to assemble a really outstanding team of people: crew chief John Gibbon, Dave Bracey and Gary Bradshaw at front of house, Tristan Farrow and Kursten Smith on monitors, Pete McGlynn, Steph' Thompson, Dorus Hummels and Nahuel Gutierrez onstage and Richard Trow, Chris Peters and James Bowyer on system."

The bands all went through the P

Details
UK - The UK entertainment ticketing industry's self-regulatory body, the Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers (STAR), has welcomed the Office of Fair Trading (OFT)'s announcement that it is to promote steps to clamp down on the resale and touting of show tickets. STAR is, with others, planning to lobby the Government for changes in the law and for the effective enforcement of existing laws to protect consumers, especially from so-called 'e-touts' who exploit web sites to resell tickets. STAR also welcomed moves by the OFT to ensure consumers get clear price information.

Many tickets are being offered for sale through Internet auction sites. Earlier this month there were some 8,378 separate listings of multiple tickets for sale on one leading site alone. There is evidence that large operations, as well as individual touts, are using sites to offer seats at major events at vastl

Details
UK - One year after unveiling its Verona console, Midas has launched Siena at the Winter NAMM 2005 in California and simultaneously on www.midasconsoles.com. Verona, says Midas, has enjoyed an unprecedented uptake over the past year, while sales across its entire range have boomed by 57% over the 12-month period. Now Midas is confident that the 16-send Siena, which is pitched at the same market sector to Verona and shares many of its design techniques, will repeat its success.

"When specifying Siena we felt there was a large gap in the market for a high quality, highly configurable console that had a high output count but was still extremely easy to use in the live environment," says David Cooper, sales and marketing director for Midas and Klark Teknik. "Siena has a feature set sure to appeal to monitor engineers as it is the only console in the world, at this per

Details
Estonia - Arup Lighting, in collaboration with MVRDV, has created a spectacular lighting display that will be suspended 35m high over the Old Town quarter of Tallinn in Estonia. The semi-permanent art installation will be lit over the city, making the dark and wintry Tallinn awash with light every evening for three hours, between 3 - 6 February. The ambitious project was conceived at an Estonian designers' workshop for young architects with the aim of creating a lighting installation to enhance the city and inspire its residents during the winter gloom.

Invited by the Tallinn City Government, MVRDV architects and Arup Lighting were asked to find solutions to realise the winning idea - a 'light cupola' above the city. The Light Dome is the precursor to more anticipated installations of a similar nature in Europe, and the design team hopes to install a larger one in London in 200

Details
UK - Following a record visitor turnout and exhibitor numbers reaching the hall's capacity in 2004, the organisers of the A.C. Lighting North Tradeshow have announced that this year's show will be returning to the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds on 26-27 April. Further show details will be confirmed in the coming months, but visitors can expect a repeat of last year's popular format, say the company. Many of the key brands from A.C. Lighting's stock-holding of leading lighting, audio and associated equipment manufacturers who exhibited in 2004 have already confirmed their attendance, as well as a number of new suppliers who will making their first appearance at the show.

As well as the chance to catch up on the latest product innovations and receive demonstrations, face-to-face expert advice and some exclusive 'show-only' exhibitor deals, the show will again include a range of

Details
Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi's newly-built Heritage Theatre boasts, as well as breathtaking décor, a state-of-the-art audio infrastructure that will allow it to be monitored from several thousand miles away in the United Kingdom, using QSC's QSControl.net technology. Perched atop a hill overlooking the Persian Gulf, the 550-seat theatre was designed as a multi-purpose venue, hosting historical and folkloric events, lectures, and conventions, as well as doubling as a cinema with surround sound. UK-based audio company LSI Projects specified QSC amplification and processing and performed the full system integration, including sound, video, lighting, engineering and project management, for Abu Dhabi's Ministry of Heritage.

QSC PowerLight PL4.0, PL236 and PL218 amplifiers drive the main PA, and are fitted with DSP-4 signal processing modules, which add high-pow

Details
UK - A 40-channel Allen & Heath GL3300 multi-purpose live console has been installed in one of the largest concert and conference venues in the west of England. The Forum, located in Bath's city centre, features a 1700-seater auditorium, which was in need of an audio upgrade. The venue is a converted 1930's super-cinema, which has been extensively renovated in its original art deco style by current owners, Bath City Church. Its0 main function is as the home of Bath City Church, a vibrant Christian group with a growing membership of around 500 people. The auditorium's sound system, installed in the early 1990s, is operated by a team of 15 volunteers from within the church, comprising four teams of three sound engineers working on a rota basis, plus two riggers and a team leader.

"Selection of a suitable replacement desk was a project in itself," commented team leader Ch

Details
UK - Serious Stages supplied a 12 metre Orbit stage and roof system for the final of TV series Celebrity Big Brother at Elstree Studios. The latest Big Brother winner was ex-Happy Mondays dancer Bez - initially considered an outsider - who attracted huge public support along the way and squeezed Blazin' Squad rapper Kenzie and actress Brigitte Neilson into second and third places respectively.

Serious Stages was contacted just five days before the final by producers Endemol, after deciding they wanted the stage for the final evictions live on the Sunday. Eight Serious crew, led by Shaun Dixon, erected a standard one-bay Orbit roof system, 12 metres wide by 12 metres deep. The stage was completed and ready for lighting, audio, set and other production elements to commence their get-in on the Saturday morning. At the end of the show itself, the house guests were inte

Details
USA - Phonic has named Scott Emmerman executive vice president of Phonic America Corporation. He will head up the company's Tampa operation and grow domestic sales. He comes to Phonic after 10 years at E-MU/ENSONIQ as vice president of sales and marketing, responsible for western hemisphere sales and, previously, a district sales manager for Roland.

The new appointment, says Phonic CEO Stephen Wang, is an important move for the company, with Emmerman bringing "the right blend of sales and merchandising expertise to execute Phonic's aggressive market expansion plan".

(Lee Baldock)

Details
Germany - Laser specialist Lobo has announced the latest in a series of installations on cruise ships and a private yacht. Magica, the new flagship of European shipping line Costa, set sail for the first time and, along with its sister ship Fortuna, takes Mediterranean cruising to new dimensions. Each of the 272-meter long floating hotels draws 105,000 tonnes and offers pure luxury combined with Italian ambience for 3,470 passengers.

Among the abundant entertainment on offer is a theatre seating more than 1,000 guests, and its well-specified technology includes a sophisticated Lobo laser system. Three maintenance-free laser projectors are controlled by Lacon-5 workstations and Magica also features Lobo's latest Zaphir moving laser head. The control system allows either completely independent operation of the laser system but also control via DMX, timecode, E

Details
UK - London's glamorous Thai-theme restaurant and club, the Sugar Hut, has opened a large sister venue in Brentwood, Essex. Housed in a lavishly renovated Grade I listed building, the Sugar Hut Village features a high-quality but completely invisible dancefloor and club room sound system from ElectroVoice. Visually, its interior owes much of its success to the inspired use of LED effects. Cosmic Electronics, which was responsible for designing and installing the sound and lighting infrastructure, approached Lighting Effects Distribution, and 40 Solar L80 PCB LED effects (with DMX drivers) and a set of Alkalite Octopod 80s were used to colour wash the multi-zone venue.

Following the huge success of the original Sugar Hut in Fulham, London, owners Chris George, Gary Smith and Frazer Donaldson have taken on a 15th century coaching inn in the heart of Brentwood village. With its un

Details
UK - Faithless' December UK dates, which culminated in two nights at the Brixton Academy, featured sound by Britannia Row including an InnovaSON Sy80 digital console for monitors. Monitor engineer Dave Davies has been a convert to InnovaSON since he first encountered their consoles on a David Gray tour three years ago. He's worked with most InnovaSON desks from the Grand Live up, and is a big fan of the Sy80.

"It's a very user-friendly console," says Davies. "It's easy to use, and I like the fact that there are no multiple layers, as this means it is very simple and fast, which is important on a show like this, which has lots of cues. I really like the ability to programme the desk before the show. And the sound is great: what goes in comes out sounding right." He runs around 50 inputs into 18 mixes, using separate pages for each song, and automation for the

Details
UK - TSC Music, a leading supplier of in-store music solutions, has recently signed to the 'i-ceilings Sound Systems Approved Installer Network' (iSSAIN), joining a shortlist of the UK's biggest and best audio system providers chosen to bring the i-ceilings brand to the market.

Armstrong i-ceilings, the latest generation of integrated loudspeakers, uses NXT flat panel loudspeaker technology to provide exceptional sound qualities, whilst providing a near-'invisible' solution for aesthetic consistency of the ceiling plane. The i-ceilings panel simply drops into the ceiling grid to provide a completely unidentifiable loudspeaker that also benefits from increased clarity and dispersion of music and voice messaging. The product is already finding enormous success in the retail, leisure, education, AV and public sectors, for names such as HSBC, IKEA, Holiday Inn, ASDA, McDonalds, HBOS

Details
USA - Michael Garl, president of James Thomas Engineering and current chair of ESTA's Rigging Working Group, is assuming the chair of its Technical Standards Committee and leaving the leadership of the Rigging Working group in the hands of Bill Sapsis, the current co-chair and president of Sapsis Rigging. The Technical Standards Committee will appoint a new co-chair to serve with Sapsis on the Rigging Working Group.

Mike's first meeting as TSC Chair will be the meeting at the USITT Conference in Toronto on March 16. The change in leadership is occasioned by Paul Vincent's stepping down after many years of service. "My first involvement with ESTA was as a founding member of the Theatrical Dealers Association," said Vincent. "After serving as vice-president, president, immediate past president, chair of the Ethics Committee, member of the BizEd Committee and chair o

Details
UK - Broadscreen interaction developer Visual Planet has launched its Interactive Poster, a new 'shrink wrapped' solution designed to make interactive rear projection displays easier to install in retail and corporate environments. Visual Planet's interactive solutions allow the viewer to control the content displayed on a screen with touch, and the company has 'productised' its technology to make it easier for third parties to use.

The new Interactive Poster offers a range (30-60-inch) of high-resolution interactive diffusion and holographic rear projection screens, which can be used either free-standing or attached to a window. Commercial director Mike Cole said: "The 'Interactive Poster' offers a new dimension for retailers; it can be used within the store to promote services or offerings, or within the shop window to enable day time or out-of-hours window shopping. We c

Page 1737 of 3465

Latest Issue. . .