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Hong Kong - Taking place in June and July respectively, two of Hong Kong's highest profile events of 2007 used Lighthouse LED screens for visual backdrops.

Provided by Lighthouse's rental partner AV Promotions, a vast 45 panels wide by 10 panels high (28.8m x 4.8m) Lighthouse 6mm indoor screen was the centrepiece of a massive celebration of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The event took place at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and featured performances by many well-known Hong Kong artists, such as singers/actors Jacky Cheung and Andy Lau alongside Chinese performers including the pianist Lang Lang. The climax of the event saw Hu Jin Tao, the State President of China invited to the stage to sing with all the per

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UK - PLASA Events has unveiled the extended educational programme that will be a key feature of PLASA07 - with many of the sessions offering free admission to show visitors.

Four days of exclusive seminars, training sessions and workshops will be held in four purpose-built PLASA Education Theatres on the main show floor in Earls Court 2, divided into official 'special interest' seminar theatre sessions and exhibitor-led sessions.

Last year's guest presenters Technologies for Worship and InfoComm International return with an expanded seminar programme, while Cast Software will host a series of visualisation training sessions. Located nearby, PLASA will also host the first live pilot assessments for the National Rigging Certificate - the major new scheme that provides a recognised framework for measuring professional rigging skills.

Special Interest Seminars
This fou

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UK - Specialist asset finance company, Medialease, has commissioned a three part series of Podcasts looking at the challenges of technology purchase in the live production and fixed installation markets.

Talking to some of the serious players in the business, including Britannia Row's Bryan Grant, John Penn from SSE and XL Video's Lee Spencer, along with key manufacturers Barco and Lighthouse, Part One, entitled All the World's a Stage Payment, looks at the evolution of the industry and the attitude of the banks and asset finance institutions that service it.

"We decided to commission a series of Podcasts looking at how the industry has changed over the last four or five years," explains Medialease's Paul Robson. "It's gone from being very much a cottage industry, run by people who were passionate, but treated it pretty much as a hobby, to a multi-million

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 - A.C. Lighting has been confirmed as an Official Car Sponsor of the Arden International racing team for this year's GP2 motor racing series.

The Championship is designed to equip every member of every team with the experience, knowledge and determination to succeed in Formula One and features cars running at speeds only a few seconds shy of F1 pace. For this season Arden opted for rookie drivers Adrian Zaugg and Bruno Senna, nephew of the triple F1 Champion Ayrton Senna.

A.C. provided the Arden GP2 team's innovative 'bullet-shaped' garage lighting pods, which feature the latest LED colour-changing technology and were custom designed to be in keeping with the cars' cutting-edge aesthetic and functional design.

Phill Capstick, the company's UK sales director, comments: "A.C. Lighting is extremely proud to be sponsoring the Arden International GP2 racing team. Their tr

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Germany - In celebration of its 10th year in business, Look Solutions has launched its new website in advance of PLASA 2007. The new website is designed to be faster, easier to use and more organised than its predecessor, says the company.

"After 10 years we decided it was time for a new updated look," says managing director Kirsten Eicher. "The new website carries full details of all our entire product range and downloadable data sheets for each unit, in addition to news, references and a list of our extensive international dealer network. PLASA will prove an ideal forum for our customers to tell us what they think of the new format."

The latest products to be listed on the website are the new Tiny F07 and the Tiny CO7 battery operated foggers. These are the modified successors to the Tiny Fogger and the Tiny Compact respectively, with the design of each b

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UK - A little over two years after Nexo and Yamaha announced the formation of a strategic alliance for product development and distribution, the first fruits of the collaboration are to be revealed at PLASA 2007.

For the first time on the international stage, Nexo will unveil the NXamp, a powered TD Controller. The integration of amplifier, available in two 4-channel sizes, with the Nexo TDController is a cooler, cleaner and more efficient solution which will bring cost and operational benefits to live use as well as fixed installation, the company says.

The TDController function provides crossover, sensed amplifier control and system alignment, using digital software algorithms to combine this calibrated data with sensed voltage and current measurements, precisely controlling the temperature and displacement of each driver.

The larger of the two NXamps displays "except

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UK - PLASA 2007 will mark Logic System's tenth appearance at the show. Recent shows have seen additions to the Ethos Array live sound products and PLASA 2007 continues in that vein with the launch of Ethos Nd bass options.

The heart of Ethos Nd is new generation long excursion neodymium drive units. Three products will be launched at the show with further additions coming on line over the next 12 months.

Ethos Nd215 has been introduced to compliment the Ethos CA fixed angle array box and will form the basis of ground stacking CA or have the capability to be flown above it.

Nd315 has been designed to fulfil the same role with Ethos VA vertical array, while Ethos Nd218 aims to be the reference touring sub bass enclosure. All cabinets share the new driver technology which has permitted both a reduction in weight and size combined with an increase in both power handling and usab

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USA - SpeakerCraft has announced three new models in its series of TIME motorised loudspeakers. Last year's introduction of the Theatre in Motion Experience (TIME) changed the way people looked at flush-mounted ceiling speakers, says the company.

The drivers in all three new models are mounted at a fixed 45° angle inside of a cylinder that smoothly descends out of the ceiling when the system is activated. During setup the installer manually rotates the cylinder to point the speakers toward the listening area. The speakers return to their flush position when desired. All of this is accomplished through the use of a rugged miniature motor assembly, which is controlled and powered by a Cat 5 cable.

The TIME Mini 2 is the smallest of the new offerings with an exterior diameter of 5.75" with a 2.5" full-range driver. The TIME Mini 5.1 and 5.3 models both have an exter

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Spain - Head of QSC Spain, Mauri Costa reports that three major entertainment venues in the Catalonia region have recently adopted the QSC brand - both for the system transparency and design aesthetic. And two of these - Sala Highland in Tarragona and Sala Mandra in the Barcelona suburb of Hospitalet del Llobregat - have already pledged to maintain continuity with the QSC systems approach when they begin their second phase of development.

But it is the 800-capacity Sala Ángel in the Barcelona suburb of Sabadell, that has really captured the imagination. Situated in the Zona Hermética industrial area, after dark the district is turned over to live entertainment, and becomes one large party.

Ángel owner Gregorio García wanted to appeal to an audience seeking to be entertained away from the Barcelona downtown scene. With a unique venue, which would cover both live perfo

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India - PALME India (formerly PALA India) will take place from 4-6 October 2007 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre In the 12 months since the inaugural PALA India exhibition, what was then an emerging market has matured beyond all recognition, say the organisers.

The rebranding of the show to PALME India - bringing it inline with IIR Exhibitions' Middle and Far East Events portfolio - and improved travel networks, have given exhibition manager James Raffoul cause for optimism.

"With this massive growth in the Indian infrastructure, which is developing commercial, retail, residential, and tourist complexes on a par with anything in the world, demand for entertainment and AV installation products and services is growing at an alarming rate," observes Raffoul. "This year we have been delighted by the positive feedback we have received from Delhi, in the north of the c

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UK - The Centre Court atmosphere at this year's Wimbledon Tennis Championships was a very different one due to the absence of a roof! This very different environment called for a very different loudspeaker system.

It was clear to Tim Speight and Jon Berry of sound contractor RG Jones Sound Engineering (suppliers of sound systems for the Club), that installing a distributed system would not be a viable option; as the limitations on possible loudspeaker positions and cable routes would have compromised the performance of a distributed system enough to render it useless. So an innovative approach was required.

"The distributed approach was not an option," said Berry, "so we started thinking about possibilities for a point source system, but designing a point source system that was capable of throwing the 100m across the bowl whilst at the same time containing the s

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Austria - Austrian Harman Pro distributors, Kain Audio, has fitted out two high-pedigree, but vastly different hotels in Austria, using a ZonePRO audio solution from dbx Professional Products.

Said Franz Werner, sales manager for Kain Audio, "ZonePRO is the perfect answer when we are looking to send different audio sources to many different zones, with a paging override - as is the case in hotel applications."

Kain divided Roomz into 10 different sound zones and Bleibergerhof into 12, using a ZonePRO 641 and ZonePRO 1261 in the former and a pair of ZonePRO 1261's in the latter.

In Vienna, the futuristic 152-bed Roomz is a frenzy of different colours and shapes and already an urban architectural landmark. Situated in the southernmost part of Austria (in Bad Bleiberg), the more rural Bleibergerhof Hotel takes advantage of the area's high altitude thermal waters and i

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South Africa - Catering for a diverse corporate and private clientele, The Catwalk, located in Gauteng's Fourways Mall, is the ultimate venue for casual, social gatherings and slick, professional events.

Harman Pro distributors, Wild and Marr, were approached to provide a complete audio and lighting solution. The elaborate technical demands called for a system that is flexible in operation, as the dynamic venue will cater to a variety of events, including a cross spectrum of entertainment. After many site visits, audio system designer, Justin Mamulis, proposed a multi-faceted solution.

At the heart of the system is BSS Audio Soundweb London. With 12 inputs and 20 outputs, the system offers total control and flexibility. All the routing and DSP is controlled via a Soundweb London BLU-10 programmable remote panel in the control booth.

The input stage features a Soundcraft GB4/

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UK - Soundcraft will be emphasising the compact footprint of its range of mixers at PLASA 2007, displaying a selection of its multipurpose consoles ranging from the flagship Vi Series of digital desks to a trio of new effects mixers featuring on-board Lexicon processing.

The Soundcraft Vi Series of digital live sound consoles has lately been extended with the new Soundcraft Vi4 model, offering all the functionality and facilities of the Soundcraft Vi6, but in a smaller, more compact footprint better suited for space-conscious applications such as theatres, houses of worship, and venues or clubs with space-limited mix positions.

In just under 1.5m/5 feet, the Soundcraft Vi4 offers access to 48 inputs on 24 faders, with a total of 27 output busses available for use as masters, groups, auxes or matrices. All other features of the Soundcraft Vi6, such as the Vistonics II touch-scr

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USA The Midas XL8 performed in the prestigious company of the New York Philharmonic this summer, as FOH mixing console for the 43rd consecutive Concerts in the Parks series, which brings free of charge world-class classical music performances to parks across New York City's five boroughs.

The XL8 was supplied by Sound Associates, who are having particular success with the new digital Midas in their theatrical show sound designs, including the hit Sister Act.

Sound Associates Domonic Sack, one of the sound designers for Sister Act and system designer for the Concerts in the Park, was instrumental in introducing the XL8 to PJ Volpes and Rob Gordon, both sound engineers for the Metropolitan Opera and support engineers for the Concerts in the Parks tour.

The list of distinguished FOH engineers who mixed with XL8 on the tour included Lawrence Ro

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UK - Transmission is a ground-breaking music television format, pioneered by Channel 4 and heavily sponsored by telecommunications company T-Mobile. Although it has a prime-time broadcast slot on Friday nights, this magazine programme with live performance goes nowhere near a television studio. Instead, the recent Transmission tour spent 10 weeks on the road in the UK, recording in oddball locations, such as warehouses, old cinemas and, in Brighton, the Udderbelly - an inflatable purple tent in the shape of a cow.

In all locations, the show is recorded in front of a small live audience, typically about 150 people. Musicians perform on one, two or three stage areas; a separate intimate seating area is used by the host presenters to chat with the artists. The format flows freely, with the audience moving around the venue to see each item as it happens.

However, a r

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UK - Leading VJs and DJs, and an audience of thousands, descended on Manchester Central (formerly known as the G-Mex Centre) for two nights during July for the Industrial Resolution - the event featured a monumental visual arts installation displayed on what is claimed to be the world's largest high-res digital screen by Harkness.

Commissioned by Manchester International Festival, Industrial Resolution brought together visual artists from Microchunk, led by director Todd Graft, to perform custom-designed, multi-media to the soundscape of DJs, including 2 Many DJs, Carl Cox, Fatboy Slim, Laurent Garnier, Layo, Sasha, and many more.

The focal point of the visually stunning show was the shaped Harkness screen - 48m wide by 18m high over a 25m radius and with a total area of more than 800sq.m - specially constructed for the event to form a spectacular backdrop for th

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UK - At the PLASA Show this year, Anglo-French large format projection specialists E//T//C Image will demonstrate its versatile proprietary control software - OnlyView. This deals practically and flexibly with all the major challenges of large format projection programming including complex masking and soft-edging of the images, says the company.

The company has projected onto some of the most iconic buildings in the world including Buckingham Palace and Nelson's Column in London, St George's Hall in Liverpool, Edinburgh Castle, Scotland; The Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, Dubai International Financial Centre, Malta's Fort St Angelo in Valetta Harbour, the Château des Duc de Bretagne in Nantes and many more.

E//T//C has also provided large format projection solutions for some of the highest profile global events including the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2002 Manchester

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Australia - LSC Lighting Systems, has appointed Dejan Deletic to the role of research & development software engineer based in its Melbourne Head Office.

Deletic comes to LSC with global experience in software design, having worked at Kvaerner Oilfield Products in the UK and Pupin Holdings in the former Yugoslavia. Most recently he has been working with Australian Arrow as their software developerHe will be working as part of the EKO R&D team; developing new software and giving the EKO range more flexibility to further expand its use into the 'archi-tainment' marketplace, says the company.

(Jim Evans)

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Germany - Klotz Digital has appointed Jim Bakker to the position of sales director for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). He is responsible for the sale of the whole range of Klotz Digital's's broadcast and PA products, with the brief to expand the company's sales channel in both markets.

"I am delighted to have joined Klotz Digital, as it is a dynamic company well established in the radio broadcast market. Furthermore it offers a broad range of promising products and solutions with great potential to conquer the PA sector," says Bakker. "I will focus strongly on managing and developing Klotz Digital's business relations to fuel the company's further growth."

Bakker was previously with AKG Acoustics where he was fully responsible for sales business in Europe. Prior to that he was involved in sales, consulting, design and installation for high-performanc

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UK - Batmink, one of PLASA's original members, will introduce a spread of new products at this year's show. International companies will be showcased alongside an extensive range of own brand LED and generic light fittings.

The Visage LED Video Floor Module is a new stage and club lighting product utilising RGB LED as a light source. Using advanced digital and video technology it can reproduce stunning motion effects as well as real time video, driven through PC DVI. A fully modular system, each floor panel measures 500mm x 500mm and inter-connect, allowing for total flexibility in both size and design. The panels use 12mm toughened glass as a faceplate, ensuring safety and durability.

This combination of form and function make this product suitable, not only for conventional dance floors but more unusual shapes such as catwalks and walkways.

Also debuting is the LED Truss P

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