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France - At the AES in Paris (May 20 - 23), Sennheiser exhibited its professional wireless range and explained how complex multi-channel audio transmission in the age of digital TV can be achieved successfully. Among the products on display at the 120th exhibition and conference of the Audio Engineering Society was Sennheiser's new SK 5212 bodypack transmitter, as well as the SKM 5200 handheld transmitter, the new 3250 wireless monitoring system and the NET 1 network system. Products from Sennheiser's renowned 5000 Series allow professional users to safely navigate the frequency constraints brought about by DVB-T, and achieve frequency agility and transmission reliability in multi-channel productions.

Sennheiser's star performer at the AES was the SK 5212, one of the smallest body

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USA - Representing the latest addition to QSC's WideLine family of sound reinforcement components, the new Installation Line Array (ILA) has now been released. The new series is ideally suited for nightclubs, multipurpose theatres, houses of worship, or any other venue seeking professional quality in a lightweight, unobtrusive package.

"One of the main reasons for developing the ILA is to make true line array performance accessible to a far broader range of applications," says QSC's director of product management, Gerry Tschetter, explaining the underlying goal driving the product introduction. "Most line array systems today are manufactured for the touring sound market, which means that overall, system costs lie well beyond the means of many facilities that could gain direct benefits from the technology. By focusing on fixed installation needs with a moulded encl

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Italy - For the 2006 Sanremo Song Festival, RAI broadcasted some special episodes of Domenica In and Affari Tuoi from the Casino Theatre in Sanremo. The director of photography Fausto Carboni opted for a Clay Paky lighting system to light the purpose-built set, that included eight Alpha Spot HPE 1200, 12 Alpha Spot HPE 575, 12 Alpha Wash Halo, four Stage Profile Plus SV and 30 CP Color MH.

"I had to realize a lighting effect that could be adapted to both programmes, which both required completely different lighting setups," explains Carboni. "The choice of the motorised projectors and the layout of the same was carefully studied before installation, because we were aware that, once installed, they would not be touched again for the whole week, which did not apply to the scenography, which changed each time."

Carboni has been using Clay Paky pr

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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 - PAI and sister company Lighting Technology Projects (LTP) have completed the design, specification and commissioning of an integrated sound and AV solution and specification of interior and exterior architectural lighting at the Opera House Casino, Scarborough.

The venue is one of the most successful independently owned casinos in the country, and is a complete new build on the footprint of the former old Royal Opera House Theatre, which had a colourful history dating back to the 19th century.

After many years of dereliction, the old building was demolished in 2004 and replaced with a new construction designed by architects Frame International. Frame also created the interior design and asked PAI onboard to work closely alongside them on the specification of a complete technical infrastructure.

PAI's Paul Adams, LTP's Terry Reeves and Frame International collaborated to

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USA The 2005-2006 touring seasons have seen artists including Foo Fighters, Weezer, Maroon 5, Jack Johnson and Pearl Jam out on the road using Rat Sound Systems' legendary sound system components. All of those major tours had another thing in common: each system had speaker control and processing done using the rugged and reliable XTA DP428 Audio Management System. After years of comparison testing by Rat's technicians, their choice is clearly the DP428 digital speaker controller.

We use the DP428's on almost all the Rat tours," says systems and tours director Jon Monson. "In fact, we are presently planning on upgrading all of our XTA DP226 units for DP428's in our house systems, and we are adding DP428's for all of our wedge amp racks in our monitor systems. We use them almost exclusively for speaker control, and all of our house systems utilise a slight Rat modificat

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Germany - Nearly 3000 invited guests attended an evening gala extravaganza at the Festival Hall in Frankfurt, invited by the SEB Bank to celebrate its 150th anniversary.

Organisers of this major corporate event were keen to provide a highly efficient, high-quality and yet discreet sound reinforcement system that would do justice to such a splendid occasion. The system had to meet a range of different demands, including the chairman's speech, a guest presenter and the Big Band and the Musical Show, as well as a Top 40 band and DJ. All signals had to be transmitted in the highest possible quality, and the client wanted a powerful dance-floor sound as well as even sound distribution throughout the entire hall, which was up to 90 metres long.

The job of drawing up the sound concept was given to Knut Winkler, one of the specialists at the Frankfurt branch of Ambion GmbH. His choice

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Budapest - ACF Budapest will open its doors in a few months' time. This Audio Visual Creative Fair is a first in the Central Europe region and takes place from 21 to 23 November 2006 at the Europa Congress Centre.

The number of exhibitors is growing each day. At present over 30 exhibitors have already reserved their spaces including American DJ/American Audio, ADB TTV, Chromatica, Sonoss, Verbiest, Show Solutions, Meyer Sound, Laser System Europe, ADC, Barco, ZAJ/Discotechnika, Balogh Studiolighting, Mikropo Systemhouse LTD, Panasonic Madyarorszag, Rexfilm, R-Digital, Whirlwind Digital Europe, Ampco - Flashlight, Luminis, Highlite International, Doremi, Audmax, etc.

The fully renovated Hunguest Europa Congress Centre site will host exhibitors and visitors on several floors and in different halls. The Congress centre is less than half an hour from Budapest international airport

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France - At the AES Convention in Paris, Neumann presented an entire series of new products: Solution-D, the Neumann digital microphone family, is expanding. Following the lead of the D-01, the digital large diaphragm microphone with 15 different directional characteristics, the well-known, successful miniature microphone series 180 is now entering the digital.

With the new digital models KM 183 D, KM 184 D and KM 185 D, three different directional characteristics are being offered initially; four others will follow in 2007. The modular construction of the new microphones permits the passive omnidirectional, cardioid and supercardioid capsules to be combined with the KM D output stage.

In the microphone, the proven Neumann A/D converter from the D-01 is located immediately next to the capsule. With a dynamic range far exceeding that of the capsule, the converter allows optimal

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Czech Republic - Robe Show Lighting announces it's latest Weather Protection products - the LightDome 1200 and 575 and the WeatherShield 1200 and 575 - just in time for the summer festival season to kick off.

With exterior applications a growing trend - in both entertainment and architectural areas, no moving light range is complete without its own weather protection facilities. Robe has spent considerable time researching into the best solutions to protect their fixtures from extreme environments and has come up with the ultimate in weather resistance.

The 1200 and 575 LightDomes are very easy to rig and are designed to encase Robe's popular 1200 and 575 series of luminaires. The luminaire's base is fixed onto the LightDome's luminaire holder by four quick-lock fasteners, and this in turn fixes to the base of the Dome by another four quick-lock fasteners. The cables are run i

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USA / Europe - XL Video continues to supply video production and equipment to the incredibly popular Il Divo tour, which kicked off the in the US and is now enjoying record audiences throughout Europe.

Video forms a simple but high impact visual component of the show, and was integrated into the overall live stage look by lighting designer Mark Cuniffe, who also shot some of the footage. The initial video aesthetics were devised by artistic director and choreographer Luca Tomassini, working closely with tour director Steve Martin and Cuniffe.

XL's crew for all sections of the tour are Richy Parkin and Mark Davies. Unusually, the four Barco R12 Plus video projectors are mounted in portrait format (i.e. on their sides) attached to specially made brackets fabricated at XL Video UK and attached to four Genie 25 Superlifts, positioned at the rear of the stage.

The lifts are wound

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UK - Christie, a leading provider of visual solutions for business, entertainment and industry, introduces the world's first 3-Chip DLP High Definition projectors with native 1920x1080 resolution, the Christie HD12K, Christie HD8K, Christie HD8Kc, Christie HD5K and Christie HD5Kc. With the highest resolution in their class, the Christie HD series offers the same powerful 10-bit image processing that is at the heart of Christie digital projectors.

With brightness levels ranging from 5,000 to 12,000 ANSI lumens and 1,500-2,000:1 full field contrast ratio, the Christie HD series packs a wide range of power, flexibility and features. The new HD series models are also available with colour-corrected optics, known as the "Kc" models. Designed for the rigors of rental/staging, post-production, broadcasting and houses of worship, all five models feature built-in edge-blending,

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UK - RF Specialist Trantec will showcase its internationally award-winning UHF S6000 radio microphone range at the up-coming Broadcast Live! Show, 20-22 June, Earls Court, London on stand: C 54.

Recognised for their innovative approach Trantec's team based at their south London HQ,design practical and reliable RF solutions for the most challenging broadcast applications. Ideal on location or in the studio says the company, the S6000 range can be supplied in either 8-channel, 2-channel or single channel variants, complete with advanced beltpack and handheld designs.

The 8 channel receiver is easily configured through an intuitive user interface running on its own built in PC . Maximising operations, its miniature transmitter only uses one AA battery to run for 8 hours. Plus its compact profile and lightweight design scores highly both on a practical and aesthetic level.

Perfe

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UK - Lincoln City Football Club played host to the Lincoln Live Event held on Saturday 20 May. The 15,000 strong crowd were entertained by a line-up which included Westlife, Lee Ryan, Liberty X and X-factor finalists, Journey South.

Event sound was supplied by Nottingham-based Merlin Productions using the Ethos line array from Logic System Pro Audio. The rig comprised of 30 VA enclosures, 12 B2 bass cabinets with eight SB2 handling the sub-bass. The front-fill role was covered admirably by the new ML-8 enclosures and on-stage monitoring by the LM-20 series, say Logic System.

Organiser Liz Hobbs, of Liz Hobbs Event Group, commented: "We use Logic Systems Ethos rigs on all of our racecourse shows. We particularly like the consistent high quality sound. In fact, on the night we had another five shows confirmed, all based on the success of Lincoln Live, in which Ethos played

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The Netherlands - Prolyte has been awarded the Abel Tasman Medal for Best Entrepreneur of 2006. Prolyte's CEO Fokko Smeding and CFO Anne Smeding received the Award from the Royal Commissioner Mr. H. Alders at the end of a thrilling show, in which the three nominates were presented.

The jury eventually selected Prolyte on several grounds, recognising Prolyte's capacity for innovation, their continuous growth and their worldwide recognition as a manufacturer of high quality and reliable products. For both Anne and Fokko Smeding it was an unexpected surprise, as Fokko says: "We were flattered to have been nominated, but didn't really expect to win. We are very proud of all the people at Prolyte who are the heart and soul of our company, and who bear this success."

(Lee Baldock)

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Dubai - Xische Digital, Dubai Media City and New York-based digital studio together with MultiSell Technology announced its latest digital experience last week. In May, Harvey Nichols unveiled its latest in a series of eclectic window displays at the Mall of the Emirates, featuring a life-size puma strolling across the 6-metre window amidst cages and ruffled feathers.

"The experience of using the entire shop front as a canvas creates an extraordinary retail experience for an unassuming passerby," says Danish Farhan, chief executive of Xische Digital. "In line with Harvey Nichols' global initiative to showcase some of the most eclectic window dressing in the world, this is a first in many respects, merging the digital domain with the real world."

Designed by the award-winning team at Xische, and deployed together with Multisell Technology and AWEBCO, the ret

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uk - Summit Steel has installed a large trussing mother grid in the roof of the newly refurbished Roundhouse for Fuerzabruta - the first show staged at the legendary performing arts venue since it reopened last week.

Summit won a competitive tender for the work which is being project managed for them by Jay Call. Coincidentally, Fuerzabruta production manager Jonathan Bartlett, knew Call from Summit's work at the Royal Albert Hall and Call is also acquainted with The Roundhouse's technical director, John McKinnon.

Call and the Summit team worked closely with Fuerzabruta technical director Ale Garcia throughout. The show contains a myriad of aerial stunts, lots of water, and plenty of audience interaction.

The mother grid - measuring 22 metres at its longest point - is suspended on nineteen static points and tensioned off to the external ring of roof bea

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UK - At the end of April, the smash-hit musical Chicago left London's Adelphi Theatre, where it has played since 1997, and moved across town to a new home at the Cambridge Theatre - once again with a lighting rig from White Light.

Lighting designer Ken Billington won a Tony Award for his lighting design for the revival of the classic Kander & Ebb musical when it first opened on Broadway. When the show moved to London, White Light supplied a rig including over three hundred ETC Source Fours plus three Robert Juliat Aramis followspots, and Wybron ColorRam 4" scrollers and an ETC Obsession 2 console, both the scrollers and console making their UK debut on the show.

The show's move to the Cambridge Theatre was to make way for the new production of Evita, soon to open at the Adelphi also using a rig from White Light. But the move was very tightly scheduled, with

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Germany - d&b audiotechnik has launched the latest addition to its monitor range, the new M4 stage monitor. The M4 is a visually discreet, 2-way high performance stage monitor employing an integrated 15"/1.3" exit coaxial driver with a CD horn and passive crossover network.

In its standard 50° x 70° dispersion configuration it provides a precisely defined coverage area on stage. The M4 can optionally be operated in 2-way active mode by changing the d&b D12 amplifier's configuration without any modifications to the loudspeaker. For its compact dimension and mere 20kg (44lb) it produces 138 or 140dB SPL, when driven in passive or active mode respectively.

The latest firmware for the d&b D12 and E-PAC amplifiers now contains the tricks mentioned above, a dedicated MAX configuration for passive operation of MAX or MAX12 cabinets. The "linear" configurat

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USA - Shure endorser Brad Paisley, who walked into this year's Academy of Country Music Awards at the MGM Grand with nominations in six categories, went home the night's biggest winner with three wins. His latest album, Time Well Wasted was named Album of the Year, and When I Get Where I'm Going, a track that pairs the country superstar with the legendary Dolly Parton, scored dual honours as Vocal Event of the Year and Video Event of the Year.

Paisley, who opened the show with a grand entry from the rear of the hall performing with a UHF-R/SM58 wireless system from Shure, was but one of many Shure endorsers appearing at this year's 41st annual event, the third to be held in Vegas after departing LA. Among others present who maintain a place on Shure's roster of allied artists was Sara Evans, who picked up a very big win as Top Female Vocalist, and performed

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UK - Gavin Pearce is the FOH engineer for James Brown's live show and is currently touring the world with the Godfather of Soul. As well as having a stack of gear in his studio, Gavin uses the ultimate portable interface to record each show, the Focusrite Saffire.

With a musical upbringing Pearce was destined to end up with a career in sound but at the age of 18 when he took his first sound job he could have hardly dared to hope to be doing what he's doing now.

"I wasn't quite sure what to do with an insert at that point," he laughs, "but one day a week turned into two which turned into seven and here we are! I have toured with several Broadway shows and music acts. The most notable are James Brown, Three Mo' Tenors, Cook, Dixon and Young and John Legend."

Pearce is already a huge Focusrite fan. "I buy Focusrite gear because I like the way it sounds.

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USA - The increased drive current capability of Luxeon K2 LEDs from Philips Lumileds is transforming the market for solid-state lighting technology by enabling development of brighter LED-based lighting applications than ever before. As the first and only LED tested and binned at 1000mA with specified minimum performance and no sacrifice in lumen maintenance, Luxeon K2 allows more light to be extracted from each emitter than any other single-chip LED. This not only delivers a lower cost per lumen but also expands LED lighting design possibilities far beyond the previously standard 350mA LEDs.

"At 1000mA, Luxeon K2 delivers more than twice the light output than can be produced at 350mA while maintaining the lifetime, quality and robustness of the device," noted David Eastley, Luxeon K2 product manager. "This paves the way for an explosion in the quantity and variet

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