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Germany - Pro Light + Sound 2007 saw induction loop manufacturer, Ampetronic, launch its new Field Strength Meter, billed as a cost effective and simple solution for measuring, setting up and commissioning an induction loop system to the requirements of IEC60118-4.

"IEC60118-4 is the reference to which every induction loop installation should be tested," explains Julian Pieters, Ampetronic's managing director. "This has recently been revised and is currently being published around the world. The new revision places more stringent and specific requirements on installers, as well as on facilities managers, etc to set up, commission and maintain their loop systems.

"Many installers are tempted to cut corners and not do this testing properly, largely due to a lac

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USA - As people around the US prepare to recognise Earth Day on April 22, Color Kinetics emphasises the role that new lighting technology will play in mitigating energy strain, projecting that at least 75% of commercial lighting in the US will be produced by energy-efficient LED sources by 2030.

LEDs already deliver four times the efficiency of traditional incandescent and halogen light sources, while rapidly gaining ground on fluorescent and offering numerous benefits above and beyond all three, says the company.

"With millions of lights burning nearly 24x7 in office buildings, hospitals, shopping malls, hotels and public places, it's no wonder that commercial buildings account for 51% of total energy consumption for lighting in the US vs. 27% for residential," said Bill Sims, president and CEO, Color Kinetics. "This presents us with an enormous opportunity to

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UK - Awards events provide several of the annual highlights of the UK performing arts industry and Lighthouse screens have enjoyed a high profile at two of the most recent, the Brit Awards and the TPi Awards. 14 February 2007 saw the Brit Awards take place at London's Earl's Court. With the event happening on St Valentine's Day, Lighthouse's heart-shaped screen was a star of the show.

Broadcast live on ITV, the 12 panels x14 panels Lighthouse R16 screen with measurement of 12.72m wide by 10.64m high dominated the Brits' stage, while a second, rectangular R16 screen, measuring 12 panels x 9 panels (12.72m wide by 6.85m high) was positioned stage left, upstage of one of the two performance areas.

The screens and control system were supplied by XL Video. Featuring a mixture of live camera footage, VT play-ins and graphics, control for the screens was provided by XL's new portable

featured content

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 - At least 18 UK sound equipment firms are prime targets for a takeover and another 37 could be sold off by their parent companies, according to a new report by independent business analysts Plimsoll Publishing.

At the other end of the scale are 16 major companies that are expanding rapidly, largely through acquisitions, and 16 "predators" who are using the misfortune of others to clean up in the market.

Plimsoll's senior analyst, David Pattison, said: "The 18 takeover targets we have identified generally have a similar profile - they are privately owned, are in financial difficulty and have owners who are approaching retirement. Any firm in this position should be listening to the warning bells, because its potential selling price will be in the bargain basement. The other 37 distressed companies are operating as divisions of larger parents. I'm fairly certa

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UK - Trident has expanded its portfolio of displays to include the largest public display LCD available on the market from NEC Display Solutions. The 57" LCD is ideal for large public displays and offers a superior screen performance for viewing images, HD TV, video or presentations in public environments including shopping centres, airports and exhibitions, says the company.

The 57" NEC MultiSync LCD5710, available from Trident, is designed to offer public venues a cost effective and easy to maintain solution to providing high quality viewing experiences. Using wide viewing angle technology, clear and bright images can be viewed without glare, distortion or reflections, regardless of the position of the audience or varying light conditions. Video walls can be created with up to 5x5 displays to produce a more powerful impact to the audience "whether at a conferenc

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Japan - Two major QSC system installations in Japan have been reported by distributors, Tokyo-based ComodoMattina.

At Iruma Municipal Hall, QSC Installation Line Array (ILA) and Modular Design (MD) components were specified for the refurbishment of this 1,100-seat auditorium, located in the Saitama Prefecture. Whereas the pre-existing system had been installed inside the proscenium arch, this time the main sound reinforcement system has been designed in front of the arch in order to generate a higher SPL and better coverage, with improved clarity.

While this acoustical solution would generally be favoured it is seldom permitted in general civic halls as it interferes with the architectural aesthetic. That the ILA system was permitted to adopt such a position outside the pros arch in this instance was completely unprecedented, believes ComodoMattina's Takafumi Asahina.

The ma

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USA - Beginning 26 April 2007, Vari-Lite will embark on a six city road show. As part of the 25th Anniversary Celebration, the Vari-Lite road show will highlight the new VL3500 Wash luminaire, the newest member of the Vari*Lite Series 3000 family of luminaires, along with the complete line of Vari*Lite automated luminaires. The road show will begin in Los Angeles, CA, and will conclude November 2007 in Orlando, FL.

"Vari-Lite is eager to get out on the road and demonstrate the new VL3500 Wash luminaire" stated Vari-Lite product marketing manager George Masek. "During the road show, we will have the opportunity for quality personal interaction with our dealers and lighting designers across the nation. Their feedback regarding the light, along with their feedback on the complete product line, is highly regarded. This new light is truly something special, and we are

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Germany - Klotz Digital has announced that all its Aeon audio-networking consoles are being shipped based on the VADIS 212 router and control engine. Also, Aeon is now available with software release 2.0, bringing a new level of power and functionality to the versatile and well established mixing console.

The upgrade to software release 2.0 provides DJs as well as engineers a variety of new features. Via 'User Rights Management', the engineer in charge is able to freelycreate user groups with individually assigned user rights. The user groups are password protected against unauthorised access. Individuals can have the rightto change console adjustments according to their level of training, for example selection of sources to faders, channel presets, storage of snapshots, adjustmentof the parameters EQs, DYN, MIC preamp and many others.

The Aeon Setup Tool (AST) has also been i

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USA - Application-engineered to address the specific thermal, cable and space requirements of today's broadcast and production facilities and components, Middle Atlantic Products has introduced its R4 Series Four Post Open Frame Racks. These are open frame enclosures that support deeper, heavier loads than traditional two post racks, accentuate passive thermal management to effectively vent harmful excess heat, and provide integrators with reliable, versatile and affordable mounting solutions for broadcast applications, says the company.

The robust R4 Series Four Post Open Frame Racks can be ordered in two different styles, each with specific features that make them suitable for use with certain components.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - Sunderland-based High Fidelity Studios has just completed the building of a fully-equipped pre-touring rehearsal suite, installing Allen & Heath's new dedicated monitor console, the GL2800M, to complement the studio's existing GL2400 FOH desk.

"The aim of the new studio is to provide a facility for up-and-coming musicians to take their music to the next level," explains High Fidelity Studios MD, David Dorn. "The suite offers bands the experience of a full blown gig, providing quality equipment they would find at a top line event. The space is set up like a venue with a fully furnished stage including drum rises, a valve back line, and top quality 32 channel monitor and FOH desks."

"We are very familiar with A&H mixers as we have GL2200's and GL2400's in our hire stock, and we come across them in most of the venues we engineer," continues dire

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USA - Nexxus Lighting has completed the renaming of the company from Super Vision International to Nexxus Lighting. The company is focusing its resources on the rapidly expanding market for LED lighting system technologies, fibre optic lighting technologies and other new emerging 'white light' technologies through both new product development and potential strategic acquisitions.

The company has also announced that it has completed the move to its new manufacturing and distribution facility in Orlando, Florida.

"We are very pleased with the response to the Nexxus Lighting strategy from our customers and partners." stated Mike Bauer, president & CEO. "Although we are only a few months into implementation, we have accomplished our short term goals with the name change, symbol change and facility move and now our focused on executing on our branding strategy to mak

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Germany - Electro-Voice has launched the ZxA5 powered two-way loudspeaker. At the heart of the ZxA5 are state-of-the-art transducers. To develop the DVX3150 15" high performance transducer, EV used advanced computer aided design techniques to create forced-air, directional voice coil cooling for high power and efficiency, says the company. Finite element analysis was used to optimise the suspension and magnetic structure for long, linear travel, providing low distortion and greater LF extension. Designed for a wide range of applications, the DVX3150 promises "the ultimate in lightweight reliability... but with a heavyweight 500W power rating".

Handling the HF is the ND2, a 2" voice coil compression driver based on a neodymium motor structure that allows maximum output while keeping size and weight to a minimum. The ND2's precision phasing plug and titanium di

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UK - Christie has introduced Christie ACT, a new theatre automation controller purpose-built to interface with the latest generation Digital Cinema technology. The system makes it easy to automate presentations by translating cues from connected devices to control most theatre equipment including lighting, curtains, sound, masking and projectors, says the company. The system offers a solution, enabling customisable control to suit the needs of a single screen, a multiplex facility or an entire theatre chain.

Manageable through a web interface, Christie ACT allows the user control and flexibility. It can be accessed from any web browser on a networked computer making it accessible from a portable handheld computer or laptop.

With an intuitive graphical user interface, even the novice can easily customise tasks and events to suit specific needs, says the company. Featuring pre-d

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USA - The second annual Behind the Scenes Tony Awards Party is set for Sunday 10 June in New York City. Continuing a long-standing tradition, the shops that work on Broadway gather together for an evening of food and drink to cheer on their Tony-nominated shows. Last year over 125 professionals, a dazzling array of industry talent, had a fabulous evening while making sure their colleagues will be cared for in times of need.

Fred Gallo of PRG Scenic Technologies, one of the organisers of the original Tony parties and the new Behind the Scenes benefit, says, "The combination of attending the long-standing Tony night shop party with the opportunity to contribute to the Behind the Scenes programme that helps industry professionals is a win / win outcome for everyone. Plus, there is an open bar - so as I said last year, there is no excuse not to come."

(Jim Evans)

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UK - When chirpy pop-rockers Guillemots winged their way around the UK on a bill-topping 10-date tour in February, the flying visits to venues from Aberdeen to Bristol were characterised by a sound which always soared but, thanks to XTA processors, a sound crew who never got in a flap, says the avian-styled press release.

Supplied by audio hire company Concert Sound, six XTA DP226s using AudioCore via a WISER wireless network took care of system control for the tour's Adamson Y-10 / Spektrix line array PA.

"The combination of the Adamson PA and XTA processors was really good," says Concert Sound system tech Aron Ross. "It was a system that looked complex on paper, but it was very straightforward. We could make physical changes to the system very easily. In some venues, for the more awkward balconies we needed to both fly and ground stack the Y-10,"

Two DP

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Denmark - It was ten years ago that Martin Professional launched the MAC 600 washlight, a fixture destined to become one of the most successful automated moving heads in the history of the lighting industry. From the first delivery to Hamburg-based PROCON Event Engineering in early 1997, the 575 W Fresnel luminaire went on to become an industry favourite with over 30,000 units sold to date.

The MAC 600 certainly lived up to the company's slogan at the time, 'Tougher than the rest'. Marketed as the 'MACnificent Team' along with the MAC 500, which launched later that same year, the MAC 600 gained a loyal following that changed Martin's reputation forever, says the company.

With their purchase of 300 units in 1997, PROCON was the first to bring the MAC 600 to the rental market, a transaction that other rental houses would soon copy. In honour of that first purchase Martin recentl

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Switzerland - Soundweb London digital signal processing from BSS Audio was recently specified in the fourth biggest ice hockey stadium in the country, with a capacity of 8,000. Built in 1995 the Resega Ice Arena in Lugano is home to the Hockey Club Lugano HCL, which has won the Swiss National Hockey Championship seven times within the last 20 years.

As a result, their home games are packed, with all matches accompanied by a continuous cacophony of crowd noise. This, coupled with a critical reverberation, explains why two different installed sound systems have both been replaced within the last ten years after being deemed unsatisfactory.

In spring last year, the town of Lugano issued a tender for a new sound system which needed to fulfil the sound reinforcement requirements of a wide range of events and also meet the EN 60849 regulation for evacuation purposes.

The concept o

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UK - The convenience of a broadcast-quality Flash recorder with USB drag and drop file-transfer built into the body of a studio-quality condenser microphone is making HHB Communications' FlashMic the portable recording device ofchoice for a growing number of news organisations around the world, claims the company.

Broadcasters including the BBC, BSkyB and Capital Radio in the UK; NHK Tokyo and SBS South Korea in Asia; Al Jazeera in the Middle East; AFTRS Sydney Radio and AAP in Australia and Danish Broadcasting, NRK Norway and Radio France in Europe are using HHB's all-in-one recording solution, with many citing sound quality and ease-of-use as the FlashMic's principal advantages over conventional portable recorders.

HHB managing director Ian Jones says, "FlashMic is conceived as dependable, convenient and easy to operate, providingbroadcast and press journalists with a t

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UK - Live event lighting company, Essential Lighting Group, has made a significant investment to become the world's first lighting rental company stocking Barco MiTRIX and MiSTRIP Scenic LED fixtures.

MiTRIX is a lightweight, bright and highly transparent LED module with 16 by 8 pixels and a pixel pitch of 24mm. MiSTRIP, a linear pixel strip with 13.25mm inline pixel pitch, can be freely spaced to suit the resolution required, offering immense flexibility in a wide variety of applications, says the company.

Essentialís technical director Martin Lubach says, "The creative LED range uses video images which are accurately mapped to the chosen LED configuration using the powerful Director Toolkit software. There's no need for video clips to be pixel mapped into DMX512 signals with the resulting loss of image quality and low refresh rate. The system is easy to configure and c

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UK - Dave Parry has joined the Avolites team as technical sales engineer. Parry brings a wealth of enthusiasm and experience, having worked as a technical project manager, lighting designer and specifier in the club and live entertainment sectors. Projects include high-profile installations at Fabric, Ministry of Sound, Camden Palace and Rehab in London, the Sub Club in Glasgow, Elevate in Delhi and the Wag Club in Paris. Perry is also an active LD with dance gurus Hybrid, and has some club projects which are on-going.

Avolites' Steve Warren says: "We're really delighted to be working with someone of Dave's calibre. His hands-on experience and industry-wide credibility is invaluable. He is also used to dealing first hand with all the challenges and demands of the live, touring and clubbing entertainment markets, and has a clear understanding of the requirements from both cr

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USA - Element Labs has announced its entry into the film and video market with the debut of two new intelligent LED lighting products, the Kelvin series white light fixtures and the Versa BANK video-mapped lighting system.

Well-known in the live entertainment and architectural markets, Element Labs is now applying its technology to develop solutions for film and video. Both new products will debut on Element Labs' camera set at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Convention in Las Vegas.

The Kelvin series LED-based white light fixtures provide unlimited variable colour temperature settings, creating a new level of flexibility in lighting. Plus, Kelvin fixtures maintain a colour rendering index (CRI) of 95 between 3200 K and 6500 K, resulting in extremely high-quality light. And, unlike traditional lighting products, colour temperature remains consistent throughout t

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