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UK/Ireland - Hampshire-based LED Screen Hire reports a busy start to 2005.

LED Screen Hire Ireland, headed by Hamlet Sweeney is a new Irish sister company to the specialist LED screen operation. Based in Dublin 1, LED Screen Hire Ireland will service the company's existing clients in the region and capitalise on new and expanding commercial opportunities.

Hamlet Sweeney's background has been primarily music orientated for the last 15 years, and he has toured with a string of leading artists including UB40, Meat Loaf, The Hothouse Flowers and The Waterboys. For the last five years he has specialised in visuals and LED screens.

Meanwhile, LED Screen Hire UK has made a £750,000 investment in new screens so far this year. Both UK and Irish companies now have access to over 20

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Germany - Outline will be holding a Press launch during this week's ProLight + Sound in Frankfurt to announce its latest products for 2005. These include a new monitor designed using the HARD principle, and Globe Sub - a universal self powered sub bass.

The Italian manufacturer will also We shall also be announcing its Compass (compact polar adjustable sound system). "This 'line source loudspeaker' takes the line array technology quantum leaps forward," says Outline. Compass has a fully adjustable horn flare which is manoeuvred via servos contained within the cabinet and controlled via software. Dispersion can be calculated and adjusted between 60 and 180 degrees in the horizontal and between 0 and 15 degrees in the vertical. Flying hardware will also be mechanically adjustable via computer controlled servos. Compass will see its physical launch at PLASA 2005 in L

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UK - Hell, a new £1.5m bar complex in London's Shoreditch, features a Martin Audio-based sound system supplied and installed by The Sound Division Group. The venue at various times has served as a button factory, and most recently the Brick Lane Music Hall. It is now owned and run by Stephen Breen and Fred Nicolay who also operate a string of bars in Belgium.

Dividing the venue into three sound zones, Sound Division's David Graham specified eight AQ8's, eight AQ5's and a combination of AQ112 (1 x 12in) and AQ210 (2 x 10in) subs. The AQ5's double up with the AQ112's in the restaurant zone, AQ8's and AQ210's (recessed under the benches), are found in the 'hotspot' area facing the DJ booth, and in the multimedia area further AQ8's, either side of the projection screen, create a sound bias.

The multimedia area features a 7ft drop-down screen, front-projected in 4:3 aspect ratio

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Japan - Live sound specialist SCI (Sound Creators Inc) has become the first Japanese company to install a Solid State Logic C200 digital production console into a mobile recording vehicle.

Fumiaki Saito, SCI managing director, says: "Solid State Logic's C200 console was perfectly suited to our requirements because it has great 5.1 capabilities and a large number of inputs, which is ideal for live sound recording. It also offers exceptional audio quality and is user friendly, which is an important consideration for the freelance engineers using our vehicles."

SCI handles a variety of orchestral recordings, many of which are destined for television broadcast and release on DVD. It has four mobile trucks in daily use, including Studio-3, which now houses the C200. This vehicle is based on a Mercedes-Benz chassis and incorporates two mixing rooms.

(Jim Evans)

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USA - The Entertainment Technician Certification Programme (ETCP) Council has announced that the rigging candidate handbook and application forms are now available. The first ETCP rigging examinations (arena and theatre) will be held in November 2005 in conjunction with the ETS-LDI trade show. Candidate information, including eligibility requirements and application forms, are available on the ETCP website.

"All experienced riggers are invited to take the industry's first rigging certification exam," says an ETCP spokesman. "The rigging certifications are designed for highly experienced riggers. Qualified riggers can apply for either one or both exams. Individuals must meet eligibility requirements to apply for the exam(s).

"The content for the examinations is based on a job analysis performed by twenty-four subject matter experts under the guidance of a pr

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UK - AV equipment and service provider Blitz combined resources from its Manchester and Elstree facilities to supply sound and video systems for the Elle Style Awards 2005, held at Spitalfields Market.

Blitz worked alongside events management company, urban productions, where project manager Monique Smith observed, "Blitz's expertise, coupled with their proactive approach and attention to detail had helped us tremendously at past events. When organising an Awards ceremony at one of the East End's most extraordinary and exciting venues, Blitz was well placed to provide us with both the equipment and proficiency to help bring Spitalfields Market alive on the night."

Steve Parker, based at Blitz Manchester, co-ordinated the efforts between Manchester and Elstree to make sure that the event ran smoothly. He commented: "Spitalfields Market is a truly remarkable locat

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UK - Lighting Effects Distribution provided project architects Satmoko Ball with a complete lighting set-up for new London West End nightclub Umbaba.

Cara Satmoko and Adrian Ball, partners in the practice, were introduced to LED's Ian Kirby by Umbaba director Jeremy Hartley, and between them they have evolved a series of changing scenes and moods to highlight the West African theme of the adobe/earth-style architecture.

In total, the Kent-based distributors supplied three Alkalite Octopod 80's; 35 x Solar MR16 3W high-power Luxeon RGB lamps and eight metres of Coemar Linea flexible RGB Strip, along with four Geni Mojo Spinmaster 3Y barrel-effect scanners for the dancefloor. Control gear consists of a 256-channel Sirocco desk for the LED effects, working under Mode programmable control, and a Geni PC Brain for the dancefloor lighting.

The owners had wanted to achieve a slo

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UK - The Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) will launch its annual Summer School 2005 at the A.C. Lighting North Trade Show being held at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds on April 26 & 27.

ABTT Summer School 2005 is being held at Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry. Four Awards are being offered: In addition to its successful Bronze for Stage Technicians, this year sees the launch of a Silver Award for Stage Technicians, a Silver Award for Sound Technicians and a Silver Award for Stage Electricians. For the first time, these Awards will have full accreditation from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama, making the ABTT Awards the first accredited courses for technical and production practitioners in theatre.

The Bronze Award is five intensive days taking the following subjects: Electrical Fundamentals, Portable Appliance Testing, K

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Germany - Smart Consoles are on display at three locations at this week's Frankfurt Musik Messe. For-Tune, Smart AV's distributor for Germany and Austria, is demonstrating the top-of-the-range, 96-channel Elite E96 console which is driving Merging Technologies' Pyramix digital audio workstation software, while Apple is showing the 48-channel Elite E48 interfaced to the Logic Pro 7 engine.

On the Atlantic Audio stand, another E48 console is configured for the first time to control a MediaMatrix NION system from Peavey. Torsten Haack at Atlantic Audio explains the rationale behind the tie-up: "The combination of the Smart Console and the Peavey MediaMatrix NION is ideal for any kind of multi-purpose hall or convention centre. Now control of the matrix can be fully integrated with the mixing console functions, which makes the sound engineer's job much easier."

In addit

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USA - The United States Navy has employed beyerdynamic's MCW-D 200 conferencing system in the Judge Advocate General's Office. The Digital Sequencing Spread Spectrum technology for interference free operation makes the MCW-D 200 ideal for this type of installation, claims the manufacturer.

"Since the beyerdynamic conferencing system was being placed in a secure facility, we had to configure it in a different location and train the officers how to move it back to their site," says Greg Lukens, vice president of Washington Professional Services, the company that undertook the installation.

"The fact that this product is a portable system is integral. The product's digital encryption system allows the user to facilitate the product in a secure manner. It minimises the ability to overhear and eavesdrop into top secret conversations."

With the capability of ha

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USA - Compulite Systems has renewed its presence in the US with the establishment of Compulite USA, a wholly owned subsidiary. "This is a key stage in the implementation of the company's growth strategy, and overall mission." says Ohad Ashery, Compulite's VP of marketing and business development.

"Naturally, we see huge potential in the North American market", Ashery continues, "Compulite has always been known for it's outstanding responsiveness to customers, and the new subsidiary will enhance our ability not only to sell, but also to provide follow-up services such as training and support to our valued customers in the US.

"We also expect to gain first-hand knowledge of the specific needs of the North American market, that will be quickly translated into new products, supplementing our established product lines."

Located in Wallingford, C

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Hong Kong - Out Board has confirmed Jolly Pro Audio as exclusive Hong Kong and China distributor for its TiMax audio imaging delay matrix and showcontrol processor. Following the announcement, CEO Andy Leung organised a seminar in Hong Kong where Out Board director Robin Whittaker presented the psychoacoustic principles and advanced delay management techniques of TiMax to an audience of sound designers, contractors and engineers.

TiMax's use of multiple precedence delays to enhance intelligibility through precise localisation of voice and musical instrument sources were explained and demonstrated. It was shown how this "source-oriented reinforcement" technique ensures each audience member will localise to the acoustic output from the stage of an actor, singer or musician just a few milliseconds before receiving any amplified sound. Delegates also heard how stereo or su

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USA - For the eighth consecutive, Audio-Technica microphones were chosen for the internationally televised VH1 broadcast of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

A-T supplied over 50 mics to capture the audio for one of the celebrated event held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. The Hall of Fame honours legendary performers, producers, songwriters, DJs and industry notables. The 20th annual induction ceremony honoured The O'Jays, the Pretenders, Percy Sledge, Buddy Guy and U2.

Audio-Technica's acclaimed Artist Elite 5000 Series UHF Wireless System was used during the ceremony for vocals by The O'Jays, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Percy Sledge, Bo Diddley, B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis and Paul Shaffer. Additionally, a selection of hardwired A-T microphones was also utilised including the AE2500 (bass guitar amps), AE5100 (hi-hat), ATM35 (horns) and AT4050

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Germany - DiGiCo unveiled its integrated remote digital tube mic preamp module, the D-TuBe, at this week's Pro Light + Sound in Frankfurt.

"I would not say tubes sound better but they do colour the sound of a vocal or a particular instrument and make it sound different," says DiGiCo's James Gordon. "This is something that sound engineers like to experiment with, so they insert them into their systems to provide characteristics they can't otherwise get from either analogue or digital mixing consoles. The D-TuBe offers an alternative to this traditional technology by making it part of a digital console. "

The D-TuBe was developed in conjunction with TL Audio and supplies eight channels of tube pre amp. It has been designed to fit neatly into existing DiGiCo systems by simply replacing the last input module on a stage rack and moving the output module along on

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Liechtenstein - Neutrik is extending the popular D-chassis line with USB and FireWire receptacles. The new NAUSB and NA1394-6 will be shown for the first time in the UK at Sounds Expo, London, this month.

"Digital signal transmission is becoming more and more important in the Pro Audio world. With these digital connectors, Neutrik eases the integration of digital tools in the sound studio environment, offering convenient connections of any hardware using any of the two standard Bus technologies," says Neutrik's marketing director Norbert Nachbauer.

"The chassis of the USB and the FireWire connector fits to the D-panel cut-out established by Neutrik, which is universally accepted throughput the Pro Audio market. This makes the upgrading of existing consoles and panels remarkably simple - unscrew a no-longer required S-chassis connector and replace it with a NAUSB

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USA - Meyer Sound has announced the MICA compact high-power curvilinear array loudspeaker, the latest addition to the MILO family. The MICA is smaller than the original MILO loudspeaker, but, says Meyer, exhibits the characteristics of high power and extended high-frequency response that have been "MILO family hallmarks".

Designed for touring, rental or fixed installation applications, the new system is billed as "ideal for applications that do not require the higher power or greater throw distance of the original MILO, or in smaller venues that cannot support the weight or size of MILO". It can also be operated as a complement to a MILO main system. For example, a tour playing venues of varying sizes could carry both MILO and MICA, using MILO for main arrays with the new system for sidefill in larger venues and MICA for main arrays in smaller venues.

The M

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UK - Councillors and the public are set to benefit from an advanced digital congress system complete with electronic voting, five large-screen plasma display screens plus inductive loop facilities for the hard of hearing. The installation was carried out by Tyco Integrated Systems (TIS) of Cambridge for Thurrock District Council in Essex. The system is designed to improve sound quality both to the able bodied and the hard of hearing and to "streamline meetings' management with electronic voting, public displays of voting results and more".

TIS also designed and installed an integrated PA system providing messaging, including emergency evacuation messages covering multiple zones inside and outside the building including the car parks.

In line with the latest government requirements for equal access for the hard of hearing, the system includes an inductive loop to oper

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Ukraine April 4 marked the start of the pre-programming period of the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 to be staged in Kiev. The show is produced by National Television of Ukraine, NTU, together with EBU, the European Broadcasting Union. NTU says it will sell a total of 50 000 tickets for the rehearsals, the semi-final and the final on May 21. A total of 300 million live television show viewers are expected.

For the fifth consecutive year, Sweden's Spectra Plus will be providing all lighting, video and rigging for the event. For the fourth year in a row, the lighting will be designed by Per Sundin, who once again has chosen Pontus 'Bullen' Lagerbielke as his assistant lighting designer.

The four lighting operators will be working on four ETC Avab Congo consoles, sixteen HES Catalyst systems, more than 300 Robe moving heads, a number of conventionals and four Capture visualisation

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Germany - For a form of entertainment so steeped in tradition, many theatrical productions nowadays employ a vast array of cutting-edge technology. But should theatre stick with 'traditional' production values or are moving lights, moving sets and moving sound becoming a necessity? These are questions that will be considered by lighting designer Ken Billington in his keynote address at Showlight 2005.

Lighting technology is also at the heart of Were you right?, a session where David Taylor will ask Richard Pilbrow (both of Theatre Projects Consultants) about some of his early prophesies for the future of stage lighting. Although Pilbrow is renowned as a theatre designer and producer, the chairman of Theatre Projects was a pioneer of modern stage lighting. His 1970 book Stage Lighting became a standard reference work.

These two papers are part of a wider pr

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