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UK - Allen & Heath has launched the next generation of its GL range with four new models - the GL2400, GL2800, GL3800 and GL4800 live sound consoles.

Based on dual-function capability, which Allen & Heath pioneered in the early 1990s, the range has been developed with a feature set dedicated to modern sound engineering, such as ambient matrix recording, fast IEM mixing, aux-fed sub, and engineer's wedge monitor. Aiding sound quality, the new GL models benefit from new audio circuit developments, a responsive, musically-tailored EQ, extended preamp gain range of 74dB with input on XLR or jack, and a new ultra-quiet mix head amp design for optimum dynamic range.

Frame sizes vary from 16 to 56 channels, in all-metal space saving frames that feature individual card and nutted pot co

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UK - SPS Vision provided a 5.4m x 4.1m Barco LED screen to organisers Clarion Events for another spectacular London Air Show at Earls Court on April 8 to 10.

The screen was flown in the centre of the main exhibition hall. Underneath it, 30 computer pods with flight simulator games were in place for the public to test their skills. As well as relaying giant images of the flight simulator games, the screen carried key information such as the seminar programme and promotional material for exhibitors. SPS's Bryan Leathem comments: "It was a great example of making the technology work hard to earn its keep."

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

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UK - The Pharos Lighting Playback Controller has won the Best of Category Award for the Controls and Controls Software category at the Lightfair International 2005 tradeshow in New York. The award, announced at the show at the Jacob K. Javits Center on April 12, follows the Pharos' acclaimed initial showings at LDI 2004 in Las Vegas and ARC 05 in London.

Richard Mead, managing director of Pharos Architectural Controls, said: "The response at Lightfair from designers and installers alike was tremendous. The Pharos LPC bridges the gap between entertainment and architectural lighting in a way that proves attractive to users in retail, themed or architectural environments. Pharos LPC is a solid-state, fit-and-forget solution for control of colour mixing fixtures, conventional dimmable fixtures and ballasts, and automated moving lights using either DMX or DALI protocols. The uni

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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 - Event service company PSL has underlined its relationship with projector specialists Sanyo by placing a significant order for products at the compact, portable end of the market. The move forms part of an ongoing review of its rental fleet, and is designed to give its clients access to the latest technology in its inventory.

"This equipment will be spread across our depots in Potters Bar, Birmingham, ExCeL, PSL Central and The Brewery, and will support our activities nationwide," said PSL managing director Gary Davis. "Sanyo products have an excellent feature set and offer great value for money, while we know we can always depend on good support."

The order consists of large quantities of PLC-XU47 2000 ANSI lumens Ultra Portable Compacts; PLC-XC10 3000 ANSI lumen Compacts; and PLC XP56 5000 ANSI lumens Portable Networkable Projectors.Said Sanyo's Crisp

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UK - SES, the Slough-based power and distribution specialist, has won the contract to convert all the PRG Group's power distros to the new BS7671 colour code. The move will involve some 200 items of 15 types purchased before early 2004, when PRG instigated the new regulations ahead of their compulsory introduction on April 1st 2006.

This follows SES's close collaboration with PRG in the run up to the 2004 Athens Olympics, when the two companies co-designed twenty-four 72-way MCB distribution boxes, which, says PRG's Peter Marshall, were "expertly built and delivered ahead of schedule in time for the shipments to Athens". PRG then chose SES for the colour code conversion work and, says SES's Mark Cooper, "It's great to continue our very positive working relationship with PRG - the UK's largest lighting rental operation. It endorses SES's commitment to service and q

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UK - St Mary's Stadium, the home of Southampton Football Club, has secured the opportunity to hold concerts at the ground during the closed season, the first of which will feature prolific singer and song writer Elton John to a sold-out crowd of 35,000 at the stadium in May.

St Mary's is not alone in a year that sees a significant increase in the number of football stadiums hosting concerts in the UK to provide an additional revenue stream and bring entertainment to their areas during the closed season. Some have hosted concerts before, while for others such as St Mary's it is a first, but in all cases the potential for noise upsetting local residents is a major hurdle to over-come in securing the all-important entertainment licence.

Acoustics specialists Capita Symonds has helped many UK sports venues secure concert licences during 2005, and the company was brought in by St M

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UK - Boston Acoustics UK has introduced a new line up of its 'outdoor audio' Voyager Series loudspeakers. The company cites sound quality, easy installation and weatherproof construction as its key benefits for commercial and domestic new build or re-fit projects.

The Voyager series loudspeakers are compact, attractive and designed to withstand 15 years of outdoor use. The cabinets are waterproof, UV-resistant to avoid fading in the sun and come supplied with corrosion resistant grilles and brackets. Special touches include rotating badges for vertical or horizontal installation and chunky, hand-tight collars for simple position adjustment.

The range spans five models from the smallest, Voyager 4, at 23cm tall for discreet installation while the range-topping Voyager 7 model boasts a substantial 7in bass driver in a larger cabinet for improved sound.

For acoustically demandi

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UK - Sunbaba created a series of branded digitally printed screens for MTV earlier this month which were used as a backdrop and branding for their Spanking New Music Week event at Manchester Metropolitan University Student's Union.

MTV's three-night event featured some of the UK's newest acts from Jem and The Longcut to The Editors, who are expected to break into the charts this year, performing in front of a series of DigiMesh backdrops produced by Sunbaba. The screens were digital printed for clarity.

In addition to the main stage backdrops Sunbaba also produced digitally printed PA Scrims using its new DigiSound scrim material which allows the sound to pass through little signal degradation.

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

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UK - Phil Cobourne has joined Showsec as UK Safety & Project Manager. He will primarily work on large scale events and develop the company's health and safety consultancy service.

Previously employed by the Tussauds Group at Warwick Castle, his 11 years there included numerous events from the castle's in-house classical concerts, the film première for King Arthur, three episodes of Mastermind, the first National Lottery outside broadcast and pop concerts ranging from Simply Red in 1999 to the Summer Nights concerts in 2004.

Showsec is servicing a steadily increasing number of one-off and annual events requiring professional crowd management, security and health and safety services. MD Mark Harding commented: "Phil brings a wealth of knowledge and experience and he will help to increase the momentum we have towards a health and safety conscious

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Austria - Midas' Austrian distributor Audiosales has sold a 40-channel Verona console to VTR (Veranstaltungstechnik Rieder), a Viennese multimedia rental company offering high level video solutions to high calibre clients from across the country. VTR has invested heavily in video equipment over the past years, and wished to upgrade its audio quality, a move which included replacing the main audio mixing desk which had been in residence for some time. Criteria included much-improved sonic performance, better signal to noise ratio - especially when placed near dimmer or amp racks - a small frame size and a reasonable price point.

After a shootout between four British-manufactured consoles, VTR chose the Midas Verona. "Although VCAs are a nice feature to have, we don't need them very so much, so we focused more on the audio quality," says Mischa Volavsek, technical direct

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USA - While noise, feedback, uneven coverage and even unintelligibility are acceptable, perhaps even preferable, on Bourbon Street, they were deemed unacceptable when the city's various governing bodies convene at New Orleans City Hall. Specifically, concern centred around the main council chambers, the site of numerous meetings by panels handling the city's business, such as the city council and the planning commission.

The root of the problem lies in an antiquated analog sound system that grew increasingly incapable of handling mounting audio demands. New World Resources Corp., a New Orleans-based AV systems integrator, was brought in to tackle the issue. "The system was really giving them a hard time," said company president David Humphreys. "They tried various short fixes, but they finally decided that it was simply a bad design. They agreed with us that a new

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UK - Autograph Sales has announced the appointment of five regional dealerships as authorised product resellers. Stage Sound Services of Cardiff, Pro Audio Systems of Bradford, Impact from Newquay in Cornwall, B&H Syscom of Peterborough and Midlands-based Pro Audio Solutions are the first five companies to join this new initiative.

The scheme provides customers for Aviom, Clear-Com, Countryman, EM Acoustics, Fischer Amps, K&M, MC2 and Milab with local pre and post-sales support, backed up by in-depth technical knowledge and instant-access stock at Autograph Sales.

"We're very excited about these new partnerships," says Autograph's Susie Alterman. "The range of brands that we represent appeal to a much wider audience than ever before, and having regional specialists will give pro audio customers in every part of the UK the local knowledge and backup that they nee

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USA - The Colorado Convention Center in Denver has completed a major $268 million expansion/renovation that makes it the 15th largest conference center in the USA. More than 100 national meeting planners played a major role in designing the expansion, a 292,000 sq. ft. seamless addition to the facility, which includes a new 50,000 sq. ft. flexible space ballroom. The new ballroom is divisible into 18 different rooms, offering literally hundreds of possible configurations. The 'wow' factor, however, comes when guests gaze up at the built-in colour-changing fiber optic lighting located in the ceiling.

Overhead sparkle 4,540 teardrop Swarovski crystal points powered by 72 Martin Architectural FiberSource CMY 150 fiber optic illuminators and Advanced Lighting Systems FocaLyte™ Fiber Optic Cable. The Martin FiberSource illuminators are located in the ceiling, at the extreme edge

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UK - Direct connectivity with ESP Vision software with some new exclusive features is now available for Wholehog 3 console owners. A new partnership between ESP Vision of Las Vegas and High End Systems allows Wholehog 3 owners to make use of this ground-breaking visualisation technology.

ESP Vision software simulates all facets of a lighting fixture's capability and personality in real-time via a simple Ethernet connection with a Wholehog 3 console. The visualization provides the user with a powerful toolset to create and pre-program spectacular shows and lighting designs.

"This connectivity to ESP Vision is exciting because of the functionality it will add to the Wholehog 3 console," says Robbie Bruce, HES Director of Software Development. "It's optimized for the Wholehog 3, meaning that it carries features the normal ESP Vision software doesn't offer for other

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UK - The 400 seat Corn Exchange in Newbury has recently upgraded its sound system. The Art Centre's technical manager Guy Dickens managed this project as part of a general refurbishment programme, which included new seating, and decoration. The overall aim of the refurbishment was to improve on the comfort and the "theatre experience" for the audience.

Guy Dickens explains: "The Corn Exchange is a busy multipurpose arts centre which has a fast turnaround of shows (mainly one night stands) often involving different formats and mix positions. There were several reasons why we needed to improve our existing 10-year-old sound system. The expectations from the public have risen, as most people now listen to digital sound in their homes and cars, and want the same quality when they see a live show. The same expectations are also coming from the performers. More and more

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USA - We've seen a number of new developments concerning the ongoing LED debate this week, beginning with Color Kinetics Inc (CKI) announcing that the Massachusetts District Court has granted its Motion for Summary Judgement regarding three of Super Vision's claims - those for 'interference with prospective business relationships', 'trade disparagement', and 'defamation', which we reported on 25 April.

Following that announcement, Brett Kingstone of Super Vision was quick to respond to reassure his supporters and place the implications of the ruling in perspective. He told us: "The ruling was based on a technical procedural issue, and not on any merits in the case, including any merits on those three claims [by] Super Vision. In fact Color Kinetics did win a minor victory in this summary judgment, which unfortunately is one of a string of minor victories that are based prim

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UK - Organisers of the National Concert Band Festival say they have found the perfect recording device in their attempt to merge a playback CD of each band's work with constructive appraisal from an adjudication panel. Consolidated as a charity, each of the 50 bands participating in this year's national festival - held at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester - was recorded on a Marantz CDR300 Professional portable CD recorder.

This event is an adjudication by professional musicians and composers against a set criteria, based on musicality and tonality. These recordings enable up to 160 bands, at the regional stage, to assess how well they are progressing. NCBF previously used a battery-powered portable cassette recorder, but has now switched to the CDR300, according to NCBF business manager Kevin Cooke, using one channel to record the band direct to CD via a Behring

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Germany - Lighting design - what does the phrase conjure up for you? Do you think of par cans, fresnels and spots? Or moving heads? LED systems? How about video screens and projected images? Award-winning lighting designer Jerry Appelt will be considering this question at Showlight 2005 next month, when he talks about Lighting Germany. Appelt's work integrates all the visual elements of a performance into his designs, so the set, video, projections and effects such as star cloths and LED light curtains all seamlessly become part of the production.

As a counter to this, another award-winning lighting designer, Rick Fisher, wonders whether technology is beginning to upstage the lighting designer's art. With his paper Nothing to Light? It must be projection!, Rick guarantees a stimulating discussion as he questions why, if lighting is the glue that holds a show together, are

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UK - Martin Professional A/S recently announced that Henrik Miller will be the company's new R&D director. Henrik comes to Martin with roots in project-oriented R&D and an extensive background in product engineering. He has held previous R&D positions at Purup Electronics, Terma, Crisplant, I/O Technology and Esko-Graphics, all of which are Danish firms.

Based at the Martin headquarters in Aarhus, Denmark, Miller's main responsibility will be to oversee Martin's R&D activities at both its Danish and Chinese facilities. "My primary focus at Martin will be to strengthen the project organization and continue to work on the integration of product development into the main business process," he stated.

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

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UK - RCF has announced it is to host a two-day customer Open Day 'In House' exhibition, at Coombe Abbey Hotel, Brinklow Road, Coventry, on June 28 and 29. Opening hours are 10am-7pm on the Tuesday and 10am-4pm on the Wednesday.

During the event RCF plans to show many of its professional and commercial audio sound systems. These will include active demonstrations of the new ART Series and the larger format 4PRO Active Speaker System, including the new 4PRO 7001 4 Way Active System, launched at this year's Frankfurt exhibition. The Open Day will also see the first full UK demonstration of the RCF Acustica compact speakers.

RCF's Phil Price commented: "It is important for our customers to be able to see and hear our new speakers systems. This year alone RCF have introduced new models in all our major ranges as a well as a complete new range of Monitor Q Installation speakers

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