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Three products from DiGiCo - a new Aviom card, an EtherSound card, and a Mini Rack. The Aviom card allows the Aviom self-mixed 'musician' monitoring system to be routed direct from the console - a useful facility that reinforces what Stanley Miller asserted was 'the way forward' on Neil Diamond earlier this year, "self-mixing for musicians is perfectly acceptable for live rock and roll".

Using the EtherSound control protocol puts the engineer is directly in control of running the loudspeakers - especially useful with self-powered PA system and separately amplified systems from the likes of Nexo and Camco. Could be useful for dialling out parts of the system when you find an upper balcony fails to fill with people, and savesa lot of running down to stage to achieve the same effe

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Not an easy show for any service company, but Bandit Lites always manages to attract a crowd. This busy lighting rental company will in the next few months be servicing tours by McFly, Michael Bolton, Dream Theatre, and Donny Osmond, while in the US it will see The Kings of Leon, Mudvayne, Hillary Duff, Brian Wilson, and the Moody Blues on the road. Company director Richard Willis commented: "Maxxedia from Martin has gone really well for us recently, we've had a lot of our guys trained in its operation." Confirming the ever-blurring line 'twixt video and lighting in the realms of concert world . . .

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Wybron showed off the production prototype of a fixture that has been used in a custom form for a number of years by designers Doug Brand and Justin Collie - better known as Artfag. This fixture, The Light Pod, is a nine-light blinder that can have either one or two Martin Atomic 3000 strobes added to it and comes complete with a CXI colour scroller.
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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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Pioneer was as busy as ever throughout the show and highlighted three important new products - the DVJ X1 DVD video/CD player, the DJM 1000 pro mixer and the EFX 1000 effecter. Also launched was the SFL1 flat panel speakers. Pioneer illustrated its full range of DJ products across the stand, and its renowned on-stand performances proved as popular as ever with guests like James Zabiela, Addictive TV, Tom Middleton, Phil Kay, Eclectic Method and the Drunken All Stars.

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On the top deck, French optical manufacturer Sovis Optique, whose products are used by ADB and Robert Juliat, was meeting and greeting with buyers of optical lenses, optical coatings and molded optics.

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"May the point source be with you" - KV2's dramatic introduction to its new VHD PA system was reinforced by the presence of light sabres at the stand. The company say the VHD is going forward to where no PA has gone before. A strong statement: however, even if only half of what the company says is true, then this system should give conventional line array systems a run for their money and will possibly be the first real challenger to effectively compete at all levels.

The VHD concept is that it presents the closest thing to a true point source currently on the market. KV2 claim that with maximum requirement of one or two HF elements per side plus fill, the PA will cover an audience of 15,000 people, thus minimizing space used and manpower and rigging requirements. Bold statements, which L&SI will look at in more detail in a future issue.

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The distinctive maroon livery of Rackz stood out on the upper deck, where managing director Dave Roberts was showcasing the recently revamped Contractor series of 19" equipment racks, featuring bevelled edges and hinges which allow the doors to open through 180º. The Nexus line of lightweight, low-cost power amplifiers was also on show, providing 2 x 750W RMS at a mere 7kg and using HEXFET power amp stages.

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An exhibitor at PLASA for a couple of years now, Coolux has started to make significant strides with its Pandora's Box media server. Although the media sever market is almost as saturated with products as is the LED fixture market, Pandora's Box has a significant feature that separates it from the crowd - dual outputs for edge-blended video. By using internal aligning controls, two projectors - even coming from different angles - can combine to show a moving image as if it were coming from a single source. This is a major leg-up for the small German company over the competition, and it will be interesting to see whether its product gets the recognition it deserves. Also on show was the v-Base - a new moving yoke for large-format projectors (Barco SLM R12+ and Sanyo PLC-XF45) designed by Brother, Brother & Sons, the guys behind ADB's Warp luminaire.

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Infinium Technologies introduced the contact-free digital fader for DJ mixers and professional lighting and sound consoles. The faders use a combination of infrared light focused by parabolic reflectors onto phototransistors to create a modified Grey Code. The resistance of the fader can also be adjusted by way of a screw on the fader, however increasing the resistance does not create any physical wear, as magnets create the effect. The faders are available in 45, 60 and 100mm versions.

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The Loud Technologies group is an ever-expanding entity, as is its product range. At this year's PLASA, both EAW and Mackie had new toys to demonstrate.

From EAW comes the new NT range of powered loudspeakers, modestly described as 'The world's best sounding powered PA speakers'. The cabinets feature revolutionary DSP processing developed by EAW's director of research and development, Dave Gunness. The result is 'Gunness Focusing' - DSP algorithms designed to correct 'correctable' loudspeaker anomalies (i.e. ones that are linear and do not vary with time or axial position), which can then, theoretically, be applied to any loudspeaker system.

EAW Commercial showed the new AX Series of installation loudspeakers, which incorporate 'CSA' technology to counter 'Apparent Apex Error' - in order to deliver off-axis response that is symmetrical in all planes, say the company.

Mackie introdu

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It has been 25 years since Formula Sound launched its iconic PM80 DJ mixer and so it seemed like a good reason to launch a limited edition of the desk - the PM80R at this year's PLASA.

It was the PM80 and the 'Formula Sound sound' that has also led the company to produce the FF-6000 Dual Format DJ mixer in collaboration with Funktion One, the leaders in purple loudspeaker manufacture. Funktion One talked to many international DJs on their requirements for the ideal desk, which was in turn developed into the FF-6000 by Formula Sound and manufactured, of course, in purple.

Yet Formula Sound are not just about DJs, as Tony Cockell was keen to point out, introducing the CX-10 Priority Interface for audio evacuation systems, which was essentially developed for the new Wembley Stadium, where around 1,000 channels of CX-10 have been installed.

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Spectacular photographs and video footage of the company's giant projection projects greeted visitors to the E/T/C UK stand. Although the company's Paul Highfield reported visitor traffic to be steady, he pointed out that making only one or two really good contacts would make the company's PLASA Show worthwhile.

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UK - Adlib Audio supplied sound, lighting and staging for ten live venues at the three-day 2005 In The City Live & Unsigned event, part of the ITC international music convention and showcase held in Manchester last weekend. ITC was founded in 1992 by Yvette Livesey and Factory guru Anthony Wilson. Bands who've appeared first at ITC include Oasis, Coldplay and the Stereophonics. At this year's event, over 160 bands played in multiple venues across the city.

"The best thing about using Adlib Audio," says event organizer Phil Saxe, "is that they removed any anxieties from the pre-production right through to the events themselves, which ran like clockwork. We knew there would be absolutely no worries! "

Adlib's production management and logistics were handled by Mark Roberts, who is also the company's general manager. He worked closely with Adlib Lightin

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German pro audio manufacturer KME introduced several new products, including the fully redeveloped Remote Control Module, CA 4 and CA 8 active loudspeaker systems and its much-awaited line array. The Remote Control Module, or RCM V2.0, is an optional accessory for the company's QSA 200 and QSA 500 D self-powered loudspeaker systems. The TCP/IP-based controller offers an automatic speaker impedance control system, which completes the existing remote diagnostics facilities, integrated three-port Ethernet switch together and new firmware features such as integrated KME-Control protocol.

Adding to the company's popular Cluster Series were two new self-powered ranges in the form of the CA 4 and CA 8. The CA 4, aimed at mobile DJs and smaller bands, features an 18" sub in the form of a CBA 800 D and two CSA 400 D mid/high cabinets. The larger CA 8, consisting of two CSA 600 D mid/highs

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In addition to hosting ELC Lighting and Robert Juliat, White Light was also showing off a number of other products, including the new White Light / ETC Smart Touring Rack, a successor to the long-established White Light/Arri 48-way touring rack. Also on display was White Light's award-winning Digital Festoon - which is now shipping.

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On display from Italian manufacturer Coemar was the company's new iSpot 1200W moving head fixture with electronic ballast as well as its new iWash Halo, a halogen version of its popular wash light. Adding to the LED frenzy, Coemar also showed the Panorama LED RGB architectural fixture.

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Mojo Barriers launched its Barrier Load Monitoring System (BLMS), which provides realtime readings of crowd pressure on barriers. Driven by an uninterruptible power supply, the system records the results and produces graphs which show a time line, along which is plotted the pressure measurement and where it occurs - a real boost to crowd safety. Managing director Patrick Jordan confirmed that initial tests in 2004 at one high profile UK outdoor event saw amendments to the site for 2005, because the BLMS readings revealed significantly uneven pressure on the barriers. Read more in this issue's news, pages 26-27.

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Sennheiser UK launched several new products, the first of which is the SKM 5200 handheld wireless transmitter. The transmitter can be fitted with a choice of six Sennheiser and two Neumann interchangeable heads, depending on requirements. The Sennheiser heads include five condensers and one dynamic with a wide variety of polar patterns, while the Neumann heads are super-cardioid and cardioid. The 5200 offers two channel banks, one fixed and one variable. The fixed bank can be ordered with 20 pre-sets while the variable can be selected in 5kHz steps. The transmitter is also available in black, nickel and steel blue finishes.

Sticking with wireless systems, Sennheiser has attempted to lower the cost of high quality products with the introduction of the new freePORT range. The systems are integrated solutions coming in three varieties - Vocal, Instrument and Presentation - all of which al

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Sharing a stand with E:Cue Lighting Control, Schnick Schnack Systems added to the vast ranks of LED lighting products with its LED-Paneel and LED-Kachel. LED-Paneel is a road-tested plug-and-play square panel with 400 individually controllable LEDs and a number of diffusion options. LED-Kachel is a circuit board of 16 LEDs capable of illuminating an area of 200mm x 200mm.

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Sweden - Long-time DPA user the GöteborgsOperan (Gothenburg Opera House) in Sweden, has purchased a further eight DPA 4011 cardioid microphones, taking their inventory of this product to a total of thirty. All have been supplied through DPA's Swedish distributor Arva. The 4011s are mainly being used for orchestras, and according to the venue's technical supervisor Lars Olsen, are proving to be equally suitable for woodwind, brass and even timpani.

"We are somewhat different to most traditional opera houses as we produce not only operas but also ballets, operettas and full-scale musicals," says Olsen. "We have found all DPA mics to be of outstanding quality as well as being flexible enough meet our different needs. The versatility of the mics means that our technicians can work with one kind of equipment regardless of the type of music, and this makes their job ea

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PLASA 2005 marks the 50th anniversary for the CM Lodestar and was therefore the cause of much celebration on the CM Entertainment stand. This was the final PLASA for CM's Wally Blount who will have retired by this time next year. Asked if he was looking forward to it, he replied: "You bet. Wouldn't you?"
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