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Italy / India - Italian company Aethra SpA, a leader in the global video communications market, today announced that it is providing videoconferencing solutions for the Government in the Kerala State of India through Keltron, a Kerala State Government Enterprise dedicated to technology proliferation in the state.

The state Information Technology (IT) department of Kerala is setting up a videoconferencing network in order to connect authorities such as the Secretariat, Kerala House in New Delhi and the district collectorates, as a part of a way to establish an effective technology-driven communication system within the government.

The aim of the network facility, being set up using the Modernising Government Programme (MGP) fund, is to help ministers and top officials to communic

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France - In support for the stricken musicians of Louisiana, in the wake of the disastrous hurricanes Katrina and Rita, French singer/songwriter Francis Cabrel put on a benefit concert at the Palais des Congrès in Paris. Once the extent of the damage had became clear, Cabrel created the non-profit organisation 'SOS Musiciens de la Nouvelle Orleans' with fellow musician Zachary Richard, with the sole objective of putting together a benefit concert in aid of the city's community of musicians.

At the heart of the system, and by special request of Cabrel's long-time FoH engineer, Ludovic Lanen, was an Sy80 digital mixing console from InnovaSON. Lanen first came across InnovaSON at the "Jazz a Vienne" festival during the summer. Intrigued by the concept and capabilities of InnovaSON consoles, he opted for an Sy48 for Cabrel's mini-tour of cultural centres in his native r

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UK - £9m was earmarked for a development of the Student Union building at Brunel University in Uxbridge, including £1.7m to refurbish The Academy, a multipurpose entertainment venue. Working alongside main contractors, Overbury's, mechanical engineers TGA, architects Devereaux, and lighting consultant Hoare Lee, Peter Varey's PVAV successfully tendered for the sound and lighting contract.

Varey opted for a Martin Audio solution. "Given the variety of the entertainment - from Urban and Bhangra nights to comedy, cabaret and cheesey disco, Martin's Blackline range provided the flexibility I needed," said Varey.

The refit included a raised stage area, with DJ plug-in points and extra mic feeds. Varey re-orientated four Martin Audio new AQ215 (2 x 15) subs in the horizontal access, and recessed them under the stage to create additional rumble. The PA system wa

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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 - Two London-based sound recordists are using a selection of DPA microphones and a Windpac windshield system to create the innovative Project Harvest sound library. The concept, dreamed up by Johnnie Burn and Warren Hamilton from Soho post production facility Wave Recording, is for two people to travel the world putting together a sound library for use in TV, film and radio post production. The finished product will contain a comprehensive selection of stereo and surround sound, ambient atmospheres, and sound effects.

The sound team behind Project Harvest are Joss Gardner and Craig Loftus, who have so far covered London and the South West of England and are now embarking on the North of England and Scotland. The pair are travelling around the country in a van containing a portable recording setup, including two DPA 4060 omni-directional microphones with MMA 6000 pre-amp, two

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UAE - At the opening of the eighth Middle East International Motor Show, show, MultiSell Technology, the inventor of MIM - Motion Interactive Media technologies and leading supplier of value added Point of Sale (POS) solutions, announced today installations of its digital marketing technology, delivering dynamic, interactive floors in the entrance of hall no.3 at the DWTC.

"We chose to utilize the MultiFX because it is in line with our brand values - sophisticated, technologically advanced, and futuristic" said Marcelle Duncan, marketing manager for Land Rover Middle East & Africa.

MultiFX is the innovative visual display system that allows people to directly interact with a large projected ad or game with their body movements, immersing them selves into your message, providing a full-body interactive environment for an effective and fun experience for all users. Thi

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Hong Kong - Lighthouse Technologies reports a 60% year on year growth in sales for 2005, reaffirming its position as a world leader in the manufacturer of LED screens, says the company.

High points in 2005 included the installation of a Lighthouse LED screen at Samsung's flagship advertising site in London's Piccadilly Circus. The 12m x 12m P16 16mm pixel pitch, 5,000 Nits brightness screen, had already proven its worth in this location on the Coca Cola site. With Samsung's position being adjacent, they wanted to have something that was equal in quality.

"This screen has a very high resolution," explains Lighthouse's Northern European sales manger, Simon Taylor, who coordinated the project. "The colour rendition is accurate - something that is an extremely important consideration for companies needing to ensure that their corporate identity is precisely rendered

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UK - Screened just in time for Christmas, the spectacular show All Time Greatest Party Songs is the latest in the BBC's ongoing greatest songs series. The emphasis was on fun, showcasing some classic performances from artists both old and new.

Lighting designer Roger Williams was asked to design the show and with a reasonable budget he wanted to try something new. He explains: "My thought for a backdrop was a soft LED cloth, but as there were none available in Europe; I had to think of something else. Video walls have been seen so many times and to cover an area of over 20 x 15ft - it would have left me little or no money for lights!"

And with the likes of both Heather Small and Jocelyn Brown belting out their hits, the show had to match such massive vocal talent. Williams continues: "So I decided to create a wall of PixelLine 1044s. I wanted it to be fai

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UK - Latest in a growing list of Lyceum-owned venues is the Korova Club based in Wood Street in Liverpool's city centre. Korova is actually three venues in one, offering a mix of entertainment. Entry to the main bar/restaurant area is at street level and visitors are greeted immediately by a combination of predominantly pink lighting (LED downlighters), exposed brickwork and a metal beamed ceiling. Retro style red televisions are positioned above the tables, showing playback of live on-stage activity in the downstairs club.

As with other Lyceum venues, quality music forms the essence and the backdrop of much of the entertainment. The main bar uses eight Tannoy V8 loudspeakers and two VS15BP subwoofers whilst the Kitchen Club to the rear of the main bar provides music at typically a lower level and is driven by six Tannoy i8AW loudspeakers.

A short corridor leads you through to

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UK - With the all-digital Urei 1601 Series already receiving huge acclaim worldwide, Soundcraft has released a third model in the range, the 1601E, which has a comprehensive digital Effects section built in. The 1601E joins the 1601 and the 1601S series of user-friendly, high performance DJ mixers (the latter having a 2-bank, 24-bit sampler section).

The Urei 1601E Effects section is built around a core of 5 effects (filter, delay, pan, cutter and flanger), but also has a set of 25 combo presets in five banks which allow DJs very easy access to a range of unique chained effects sounds. For example, one preset could include a combination of filter, flange and delay effects. The effects can be individually assigned to each channel, and a bpmfx cross-fader allows the DJ to select the desired degree of effect and original sound with a wet/dry mix.

Two effect parameter controls pro

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USA - Barco has won a contract to provide over 46,000 OLite 510 outdoor LED modules for the new Victory Park development in downtown Dallas. In what Barco say will become one of the largest high-definition outdoor media installations worldwide, 11 individual LED displays will be constructed at Victory Park, one of the most significant master planned urban developments in the country. The Victory Media Network will include two fixed 20ft x 20ft tower displays, a digital portal, and eight movable 15ft x 26'ft LED walls (installed in two four-panel groups that face each other across the 60-foot wide Victory Plaza).

The movable media displays will be mounted on rails, and stacked two-on-two. Using the Barco Screen Movement System, the panels can be choreographed individually with discreet video and surround-sound feeds, or locked together to form 30ft x 50ft HD screens with true 16:

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UK - Live brand experience specialists MMM produced a stylish show for the 2005 Hyundai National Dealers Conference at the Celtic Manor, Newport. The event introduced some corporate restructuring and the new UK manufacturing company, Hyundai Motors UK, which replaces the previous Hyundai importers, RAC PLC. It also showcased the new vehicles for 2006.

MMM's brief was to ensure the day's proceedings were highly motivational for the delegates. The conference was followed by dinner and entertainment led by a male voice choir, and comedian Dominic Holland.

MMM designed the set and supplied the necessary technical infrastructure including staging, sound, lighting and AV. They supplied all personnel and services needed to run the event from delegate registration to logistics and artist booking. MMM compiled the PowerPoint content material, graphics and various video stings and play-

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UK - After more than 20 years, Queen returned to the US to play two sold-out shows as a precursor to their 2006 US tour. 16 October saw the band at The Meadowlands arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey and on 22 October the band played one of the most celebrated outdoor venues in America, the Hollywood Bowl. Bandit Lites supplied the full lighting production and crew for both shows.

Queen hit the road earlier this year for one of 2005's most anticipated tours, a show for which lighting designer Barry 'Baz' Halpin received much praise, and for good reason. The Hollywood Bowl is an historic American venue, an 83-year-old landmark with a unique shape. Halpin explains his challenge: "The lighting system was built to fit the dimensions of the Bowl. We put the whole European show into the Bowl but our rig is big and square and the Hollywood Bowl is big and round, so we had to come

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UK - Le Maitre were asked to create the special effects for the UK premiere of the latest Hollywood blockbuster King Kong, at the Odeon cinema in Leicester Square.The crew of four Le Maitre technicians set up four Pyrotek Dragons, using eight heads, on the canopies on either side of the Odeon. The Dragons fired huge flames of up to 50ft into the air as the guests arrived and paraded down the red carpet, then continued to entertain the crowds throughout the three-hour screening of the film.

The crew also rigged a 70ft wide pyrotechnic waterfall from the parapet at the top of the building using 4oz Gerbs. The 30-second waterfall was fired on the arrival of star Jack Black and for the switch on of the illuminated sign 'KING KONG Eighth Wonder of the World'.

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - For the last 77 years the BBC has been transmitting the annual Carols and Lessons service at Christmas from King's College, Cambridge. For millions of radio listeners, and now TV viewers, around the world it marks the 'official' beginning of the festive period. ELP have been providing location lighting, rigging and power for the TV broadcast of the service for a more modest five years, and in that time have helped lighting director Bernie Davis develop and refine his approach.

In previous years, lighting for the audience, organ, walls and ceiling had all been done from the narrow ledge over the choir stalls. However, a review of safety practices decided that it was not safe to work at height without a harness, and there was no way a harness could be attached to the ancient walls without disfiguring the chapel. So some 'sensitive' rigging was performed by the ELP team. Using

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Czech Republic / Canada - Quebec-based Intellimix has been appointed as Robe Show Lighting's new Canadian distributor. The deal was sealed in November at LDI 2005, Orlando, say Robe.

Intellimix, founded in 1996, were looking for a world class moving light brand to add to their portfolio, and so Robe was a natural choice. Robe has started becoming popular in the territory, particularly over the last year, the company reports.

Company president Stephen Kosters explained that Intellimix has become a leading player in the Canadian rental market because it has kept its eye on what is cutting edge technology, and also because of it's "customer first" approach that clearly separated them from the competition. Robe Show Lighting's MD Josef Valchar says: "It's great to have Intellimix onboard. I am confident they will do a great job for us."

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - Pro Audio Systems, the Bradford based audio and AV rental, sales, installation, conference and events production company, has taken delivery of its first Yamaha M7CL digital console, among the very first to be delivered in the UK. The console was presented to the company personally by Yamaha-Kemble joint MD, Andrew Kemble, and joint MD, Hiroyuki Wakamatsu.

Yamaha's new M7CL was launched at this year's PLASA show and represents a major advance in the evolution of a truly intuitive easy-to-use interface in the development of digital consoles. The M7CL offers professional digital console performance for live sound in a 32 or 48 channel system, and is actually easier to operate than many equivalent analogue desks, says the company.

Pro Audio Systems has been a Yamaha commercial audio and music production reseller and hire specialist for 18 years. The company is an officially

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USA - OmniMount Systems has joined the D-Tools Manufacturer Partnership Program (MPP) which gives system integrators the ability to easily specify any OmniMount commercial and consumer product directly through D-Tools' extensive manufacturers database, saving them time and money throughout the entire process of nearly any project, say the company.

"Once a system's audio and video electronics and integration has been specified, selecting the appropriate A/V mounts, furniture, and accessories to complement the desired aesthetics, form and functionality is of vital importance," said Hal Truax, general manager for custom installation at OmniMount. "OmniMount prides itself on customer service that is second-to-none. Our partnership with D-Tools further strengthens this reputation by making OmniMount's immense and diverse product offerings immediately available to syste

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UK - Perhaps the most sought-after party invitation this festive season is the HoHo Christmas Drinks, which this year celebrated its 5th anniversary at the beginning of December at The Players Theatre Bar under Charing Cross station. One of the more inspired Millennium initiatives, it came into existence as the brain-child of Messrs Roger Hennigan of White Light and Paul Hornsby of the Royal Opera House.

As Hennigan explains: "The intention of the evening is to bring together everyone at least once a year for a sociable drinking evening - meet the faces behind the voices and the e-mails and swap an anecdote or two, with the emphasis being on fun and sociability rather than business at the end of a busy trading year."

At its conception there was a small gathering of 20 people at the then Flyman and Firkin (now O'Neills) on Shaftesbury Avenue, but each year has seen th

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UK - A new county museum, 'The Collection', was recently opened in Lincoln's city centre, including a sound system based around Allen & Heath's iDR DSP system. The £12.5m development, designed by London architects Panter Hudspith, houses art and archaeology from the area, including a large Roman mosaic and other finds from the museum site itself.

The iDR system is being used as part of an invisible sound system for a 'talking wall', located in the museum's Orientation Hall. The wall is a public artwork, commissioned from Dutch artist Adinda van t'Klooster, which broadcasts a multitude of pre-recorded speeches, describing different aspects of Lincolnshire history. These stories are played through 22 Amina flat panel speakers, concealed in apertures in the wall.

"The system was commissioned during the final stages of building the museum, and to ensure quiet we had to

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UK - Concert Sound LTD, a well established rental company based in Luton, UK, recently invested in their first Adamson line-source array. They chose Y-Axis line's Y-10s and a SpekTrix system which they immediately took on the road with the Canadian crooner Rufus Wainwright, whose performance in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator brought him instant worldwide recognition in addition to his years of critical acclaim. This multi-stop UK tour had virtually every venue fully sold out.

Matthew Manasse, Rufus Wainwright's FOH sound engineer commented: "The Y-10 provides such pure audio that I can forget about the loudspeakers and just listen to what the musicians are doing. I am no longer listening to a PA system; I'm mixing a band and finding it possible to concentrate on the music, confident that the majority of the audience will hear exactly what I hear. We achieved excellent

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USA - Following in a tradition that has spanned over a century, Macy's has again created breathtaking display windows at their Herald Square location. This year's Christmas windows feature giant pop-up books that come alive, thanks to PRG Scenic Technologies, a division of Production Resource Group (PRG).

PRG Scenic Technologies provided automation, control systems, scenery and lighting for the six automated display windows, each themed around 'It's Christmas in the City'. The holiday windows recently earned the platinum award (first place) in the 2005 DDI winning windows contest, given out by Design and Display Ideas magazine. "Winning the DDI Award is like winning the Oscar for best picture in our industry," remarks Paul Olszewski, Macy's director of windows, who hired PRG Scenic Technologies for the project. "It's the first time Macy's has won the award, and to

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