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Australia / Sweden - LSC Lighting Systems has been appointed as the sole Australian and New Zealand distributor for Wireless Solutions - the wireless DMX solutions company from Sweden, after previewing the W-DMX products at the Entech trade show in Sydney in February.

One company that decided to trial a system was renowned Sydney-based hire company Lots of Watts, who trialled the system at Hillsong Church's recent album recording at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. Daniel Monro from Lots of Watts says that the SEC is a venue in which they had tried other wireless DMX systems before, with disappointing results. "It would result in us having to run a lead up to the roof to make the system work," he said. "This time around, with the W-DMX units, we installed the receiv

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UK - System integrator Tiger AV has found a unqiue application for Marantz's PMD570 solid state digital recorder - to encourage storytelling in the new 'Seven Stories, the Centre for Children's Books' development in Newcastle.

A national home dedicated to children's literature had long been the dream of Elizabeth Hamill and Mary Briggs, whose vision was to place children, young people and their books at the core of the UK's national literary culture. Their wish was realised late last year when the multi-galleried Seven Stories opened in a Grade II listed Victorian flour mill in the riverside Regeneration and Conservation area of the Ouseburn Valley in Newcastle. The building was restored throughout 2005 at a cost of £6.5 million.

Tony Crossley, technical director at Tiger AV, said: "The Centre thrives on being able to offer exhibitions and visuals that make the orig

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Italy - Watched by a combined worldwide TV audience of over four billion, the opening and closing ceremonies of this year's Winter Olympics featured legendary Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti, a stunning lighting design, and enough pyrotechnic effects to keep the Italian fireworks industry in business for years.

What that TV audience could not have seen, however, was the complex work needed to distribute audio to the 35,000 artists, athletes, VIPs and other guests inside Turin's Stadio Olimpico - or how that work was made all the more difficult by the demands of television.

The audio show designer for the opening and closing ceremonies, Gary Hardesty of Sound Media Fusion, originally conceived a conventional FOH system which would have seen line-array clusters hung either side of the stage, with additional arrays being flown at various points further down the area, each one bei

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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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Hong Kong - Keeping its trading partners informed and involved is an integral part of Lighthouse Technologies way of doing business. A key part of that strategy is its annual partners meeting, where a range of European clients gather for a weekend of information exchange, presentations and networking.

For the second year running the event was held at the ski resort of Bormio, in the Italian Alps. and included a demonstration of the new R6 screen and the launch of Lighthouse's new used panel brokerage business.

Lighthouse's newly appointed chief technical officer (CTO) Grant Elliott, also hosted two clinics and a brainstorming session, during which feedback from the partners was welcomed with a view to incorporating the ideas in future Lighthouse technical updates and products.

A special presentation was also made by Marko Leppik of Beneway Oy, a Finnish company whose HUDLE s

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UK - Automation specialists Kinesys have designed a customised control system for the large moving band platform used on Movin' Out, the Twyla Tharp dance production set to the music of Billy Joel. The show has just opened at London's Apollo Victoria Theatre.

Kinesys were asked onboard by Total Fabrications' Chris Cronin, who designed and built the 14m wide by 8m deep structure that moves several times during the performance and is in full view of the audience throughout.

The platform needed to move up and down as well as tracking upstage and downstage, so Kinesys supplied five of their Velocity drives and a laptop running their proprietary Vector software.

The four two tonne winches - one in each corner of the structure - were supplied by TFL and travel at up to a quarter metre a second, the platform is tracked by a single motor and line shaft system and is controlle

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UK - Lighting technicians from across the industry are invited to attend a unique training and social event to be held on the 6th of May at the EDGE venue in Solihull, near Birmingham.

The hosts (Solihull Society of Arts) and organisers (UKSLC.ORG - UK Sound and Lighting Community) have assembled a top team of leading UK console manufacturers to deliver training on the latest lighting desks and entertainment technology throughout the day.

Compulite, MA, Chamsys, ETC, Zero 88 and Robe are providing a wide variety of lighting control equipment for attendees to use, and their staff will be on hand to answer questions from console operators at all levels of experience.

The training sessions are designed to cater for everyone from drama pupils wishing to learn about 'real world' performance technology, to freelancers who want to practice on new consoles, and seasoned LX operator

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Australia - Following on from a recent series of installations overseas, most notably in Hong Kong, Coemar De Sisti Australia has completed another high profile architectural illumination project in conjunction with Australian company Laservision - this time in their hometown of Melbourne.

120 Collins Street, a landmark office tower, is one of the most significant buildings on the Melbourne Skyline. Comprising 50 levels of office space, with a total building height of approximately 264m, the building is topped with a 50m communications tower. Following a collaborative approach from Laservision, Coemar De Sisti Australia's MD Peter Kemp began initial consultations and planning for a project which involved illuminating the communications tower. Initial designs for the lighting incorporated discharge-lamped colour changers spread throughout the tower with the outer uprights highlig

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Saudi Arabia - A sound system from Italian pro audio manufacturer Outline has been used for the opening ceremony of the 21st Janadriya Festival in Saudi Arabia. The Janadriya Festival is held with the patronage of Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdullaziz Al Saud, who became King of Saudi Arabia following the death of his brother, King Fahd. Since then, the festival's opening ceremony has been attended by the Saudi Arabian King. The festival's main contractor was Saudi Arabian company Rhythm Media Production, whose owner, Futtais Bughna, was in charge of the direction and production of the entire event.

The art director and writer was Moneer Al Quatani, while the scenography was by the International Theatre of Dubai. Other major suppliers included Tony Shembish's Avolites Middle East, supplying lighting consultancy, Avolites lighting desks and High End moving head fixtures; Sound & L

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UK - Bandit Lites UK is supplying lighting - including all trussing and rigging - for Westlife's current arena tour. It's the sixth consecutive year that Bandit has worked with Westlife, and once again the production company is Production North.

Westlife's remarkable career is still breaking new markets as record sales of the latest 'Face To Face' album and the tour deliver the band's dynamic, slickly choreographed and highly entertaining show to both new and traditional audiences.

Lighting designer is Peter Barnes, who worked closely with lighting director, programmer and operator Dave Lee - the two have collaborated on the last three Westlife tours. Bandit's account handler is Mark Powell who says: "Working with Peter is always a pleasure, and Westlife go from strength to strength every year."

Creative directors for the 2006 show are Ian MacDonald and Will Baker

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USA - Genlyte Controls is pleased to announce the hiring of Andy Broitman and Steve Gambino as regional sales managers for the Northeast Region of the United States. Broitman will focus his sales and service in the greater Baltimore area and will be based out of his home office in Doswell, VA. Gambino will focus his sales and service in the greater New York City metropolitan area and will be based in Boston. Both Broitman and Gambino will join Mike Connell, Matthew Burstein, and Vince Mrlack in supporting the sales of all products manufactured by Lightolier Controls, Entertainment Technology, and Vari-Lite.

"We have seen a tremendous growth in the sales of all products manufactured by Genlyte Controls in the northeastern region of the United States," says Bob Schacherl, vice president of worldwide sales. "Driven by this sales increase, we have brought Andy and Ste

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Germany - HK Audio's successful Installation Line of sound reinforcement products has recently added five new members to the IL product family. At ProLight&Sound, the German manufacturer presented three new ceiling speakers and two compact cabinets for background sound reinforcement and public address.

The IL 60-CT is a compact 6.5"/ ¾" ceiling speaker with a handling capacity of 40 watts RMS for typical installations in foyers, boutiques, bars, shopping malls or even airports and public buildings. For music applications requiring extended bass, HK AUDIO offers the IL 80-CT with 8" speaker, ¾" tweeter and a power-handling capacity of 60 watts RMS. In the third ceiling model, the IL 60-CTC, also a 6.5" model, the speaker is enclosed in a sturdy steel housing.

In addition to the ceiling models, HK Audio also offers two new value-priced two-way speakers

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UK - The ABTT reports that Barnet Artsdepot in North London has been hosting a series of technical training courses recently. 12 technicians have attended the courses, as well as technicians from the Artsdepot itself. The courses form the Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) Award for theatre technicians, with subjects including Electrical Fundamentals, Knots, Counterweight flying, and Manual Handling.

Two technicians attending the course were the recipients of the Nicholas Van Wijk Bursary. These bursaries are the kind gift of Heather, widow of Nicholas van Wijk who spent most of his working life in the West End Theatres. He was Master Carpenter at the Aldwych Theatre in London from 1994 until his death in October 2003. Nicholas always laid great store in passing on his stage technical knowledge to the next generation. The recipients of the bursaries were Christoph

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Italy - Over the past year, RCF's research and engineering faculty have been working to produce the new TT+ high definition system, which opens up "a new chapter in the company's long history as one of the world's leading audio innovators" say the company. As a totally integrated sound company, RCF has the ability to design and manufacture transducers, loudspeakers and amplifiers, as well as the all-important control electronics.

The company says that the design philosophy of the TT+ series is based upon offering the sound engineer solutions and tools that are ready to use. These include the ability to sustain very high power with highly efficient sound pressure levels. "The main design ethos is being, able to offer the audio engineer extremely high audio quality and system efficiency," say the company

RCF says: "Intense sound levels are created with e

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USA - The Colortube 2.0 has earned Chauvet a 2006 Club World Award in the category of Best LED product. Instituted by Club Systems International magazine, the Club World Awards annually recognize the best in nightlife venues and the technology behind them. This year's awards were presented at a March ceremony in Miami's hot Nocturnal club.

In response to the win, Chauvet CEO Albert Chauvet said: "We are very pleased and honoured. This award is testimony to Chauvet's credo of providing value, innovation and performance in every product we put our name on."

The Colortube 2.0 is outfitted with 144 high intensity LEDs over its one-metre length and is made of white UV-coated polycarbonate. It performs 22 patterns, chase and colour flows via the Colorcontroller 2.0, which is itself DMX-512 compatible. RGB mixing diffuses seven brilliant colours: cyan,

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USA - L-Acoustics took advantage of the recent NSCA Expo in Las Vegas to formally recognize a number of its independent manufacturers' representative firms for their service. The most significant of these awards - the coveted 2005 Rep Of The Year plaque - was presented to Warman Marketing by L-Acoustics vice president of sales and marketing Paul Freudenberg.

Spearheading sales and support for the loudspeaker manufacturer's Rocky Mountain region, Warman Marketing is centrally headquartered in Broomfield, CO, with offices in both Provo, UT, and Phoenix, AZ. Currently celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the firm is under the direction of founder and principal Harry Warman.

"Harry and his team really put on the miles and did a fantastic job last year of representing L-Acoustics throughout gargantuan territory, all the way from Montana to New Mexico," says

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France - Gérald de Palmas has been a chart-topping recording artist and stellar concert draw in his native France ever since his debut single, Sur la Route, rocketed to number one in 1993. Though not yet as well-known in North America, de Palmas' name nonetheless has come to public's attention through a 2003 duet with Sheryl Crow (The First Cut Is the Deepest) and his songwriting contributions to Celine Dion's Gallic repertoire.

In 2005, de Palmas proved his staying power with a tour that pulled capacity crowds in nearly every French city that could offer at least a mid-sized arena. The tour came to a triumphant close in late November, with the last 20 shows, mostly staged in venues with seating capacities of 6,000 to 8,000, being supported by a system built around 24 Meyer Sound Milo high-power curvilinear array loudspeakers.

The Meyer Sound package was i

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Germany - Frankfurt's ProLight&Sound 2006 (29 March - 1 April) was a comprehensive success for EVI Audio, says the company, with a great many visitors to the booth, lively interest in the lectures in the Telex Academy, and a great atmosphere at the musical performances, whether at the booth ("Liquid Blue") or the Agora Stage ("The Real Groove Band" with their many special guests).

Sharing centre stage among the numerous new products on display were the four new amplifier series from Dynacord and Midas' first digital console, the XL8, which was making its world debut. The new flagship of the live console range, which had long been awaited with keen anticipation, caught the eye of all visitors and was the subject of a detailed presentation to representatives of the music trade.

Following the maxim "Never change a winning team", EVI Audio and the Mus

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Europe - Tommy Hilfiger Europe (THE) selected Alcons systems for its European Hilfiger Sessions - a new jam-session concept where top and upcoming artists join for an "in the round" concert. Top audio quality has been recognized by THE as essential for the experience, which underlines the fashion company's strong connection with music.

THE's At van Barneveld said: "The idea of the Sessions arose from the wish to couple music to the brand Tommy Hilfiger. In the USA, combinations with music have been developed, literally from the beginning of the brand (as Tommy Hilfiger is a musician himself). This can be sponsoring of concerts, the close-cooperation with young artists or the development of own TH formats. The Sessions is one of those concepts."

The plan is to have a roll-out throughout Europe, with sessions in a number of European cities in a period of six

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Belgium / Morocco - Belgian signal processing specialist Apex has signed a deal with one of the leading PA companies in Morocco. Encom has placed an order for 15 units of Apex's GX230 (2 x 30 band) graphic equalisers, and has also been appointed to represent the full line of Apex products in Morocco.

Based in Casablanca, Encom fulfils three different roles - as a PA company, as an installer and AV integrator, and as an importer of pro audio equipment. The company owns the first L'Acoustic V-Dosc system in Africa, and is also the L'Acoustics distributor in Morocco.

According to Encom's general manager Rachid Mediouni, Encom has long enjoyed "a good history with Apex. We already have a substantial inventory of the GX Series EQs, which enjoy the Apex reputation of stability and excellent sound quality. We never have any after-sales problems with this equipment, another reaso

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USA - Zaxcom is introducing its new ZFR100 broadcast-quality recorder at NAB 2006 in Las Vegas. The ZFR100 can record up to 12 track-hours of audio directly to a 2-GB flash memory card. As an ultra-compact recorder, the versatile ZFR100 is equally well-suited for use in a sound bag as a backup recorder or as a transcription recorder. To simplify audio syncing and processing during post-production, the ZFR100 includes a full-featured time code reader/generator that stamps the time code directly on to broadcast WAV or MP3 files.

"We're excited to launch our newest product, the ZFR100, to the international audience of NAB2006," stated Glenn Sanders, president of Zaxcom. "We've engineered it to best serve users who need a lightweight, versatile recorder that can record a significant amount of information. This is particularly vital in the ENG or reality TV markets, wh

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UK - The people behind the Blue Room online discussion forums have announced the launch of a new service for the entertainment industry. The Blue Room Wiki, it is hoped, will provide the backstage community with an ever-growing knowledge-base of technical know-how. Building on the success of the Blue Room forums, the Wiki will enable forum members to contribute their knowledge in article form to an online encyclopaedia.

The Blue Room now boasts almost 4,000 members, with over 110,000 messages posted since its official launch in January 2003. With over 4.5 million hits each month, the Blue Room has proved very popular. "The introduction of a Wiki is something which we've been working on for a while. We saw that the Blue Room was becoming, in part, a repository for a vast assortment of technical knowledge and advice, and an online encyclopaedia seemed like the next logical st

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