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Australia - A Klotz Digital Xenon console was installed earlier this year in the University of Newcastle's media production facilities in Callaghan, Australia. Over the past years the university's technical staff have rapidly upgraded facilities, adding equipment that will further enrich student learning experiences through hands-on industry standard technology.

Funding towards the end of 2006 allowed for the replacement of an old analogue broadcast console which had been in use in teaching of radio and journalism courses for approximately 12 years. "I had done some investigation into digital broadcast consoles and it basically came down to two consoles from Klotz DIgital's rival manufacturers," says George Hyde, the technological officer (Audio) of the university's Scho

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UK - Martin Professional will be showing a wide range of new and established products at PLASA 2007, featuring two new moving heads in the award-winning MAC range, including the smartMAC; all new indoor and outdoor LED luminaires; new Mania flower and rollerscan effect lights; a pair of new Magnum smoke machines; new lighting control and digital media systems.

The smartMAC is a 150 W moving head profile that offers "unprecedented reliability, longer service intervals, total silence and reduced power bills and a fanless cooling system in a new compact design".

Based on the MAC 700 platform, the MAC 575 Krypton is designed for "venues or any space that demands reliable, durable and no-nonsense performance".The Exterior 200 LED is a long-life programmable luminaire offering full RGB plus Amber and White colour mixing. Weatherproofed, it features a comprehensiv

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UK - Celebrating its 30th birthday at PLASA07, James Thomas Engineering (JTE) will be unveiling the beginning of a new corporate identity and announcing the restructuring of the sales team.

Andy Walters will head up the sales team supported by Chris Waller as special projects manager. Walters has been involved with PixelRange for the last five years, but has returned to the generic lighting and truss side of JTE to concentrate on the development of the existing product range and the creation of new concepts.

Walters explains, "The next few months will be an exciting time, we will present two new product catalogues at PLASA and new web site will be launched towards the end of the year. Both Chris and I are looking forward to new JTE era."

(Jim Evans)

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 - LSC Lighting Systems, Australian designers and manufacturers of lighting control equipment, will launch the new Redback Dimmer at PLASA07. The Redback will be unleashed at 2pm on Monday 10 September at the LSC booth D83, part of the White Light Zone.

Available as a 2RU (with rear mount connectors) or a 4RU (with front mount connectors), the Redback offers programmable Min. and Max. Levels and dimmer curves for each channel, a soft-patch facility, and on-board support for six internal scenes with fade times and six chases (with speed control), allowing it to be used as a stand alone dimmer.

The Redback joins an already impressive catalogue of products at LSC, including the, maXim Lighting Control Console, and the EKO Dimmer; the full LSC range will be on show.

See LSC at PLASA07 - Stand D83

(Jim Evans)

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PLASA07 organisers PLASA Events have announced a record number of new exhibitors for this year's show, with over 50 companies exhibiting either for the first time or returning after an absence.The show, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, has been radically re-drawn with the former two-level, single hall layout changed to a single-level, two hall format. New facilities include quiet meeting and wi-fi areas and four seminar theatres, where special interest and manufacturer-led sessions will be free for the first time.PLASA is confident that this year's show (which runs from the 9-12 September at Earls Court), will break its previous record of over 500 new product launches. "New products are the number one attraction for visitors," comments Event Director Nicky Rowland. "And with over 50 new products submitted for the PLASA Awards for Innovation, it underlines t

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UK - DMi D&M Installation has announced that it only recommends the use of Kingston Technology Compact Flash memory cards in its Marantz Professional range of solidstate recorders. The recommendation is the result of a compatibility assurance scheme developed in partnership with Kingston Technology.

Under the cooperative scheme, Kingston Technology's R&D department has rigourously tested its range of CF cards with all Marantz Professional's PMD products, and has provided a list of all compatible memory cards on its website (www.kingston.com/ukroot).

Mark Perrins, general manager, DMi D&M Installation, commented, "The volume and varying quality of CF cards in today's market can be at the least confusing for the customer, and at worst incompatible with the recorder. This agreement between Marantz Professional and Kingston gives peace of mind to existing and future users of

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UK - 3M Visual Systems has announced the addition of a new DLP (Digital Light Processing) projector to its existing range of high lumen digital projectors that are fully compatible with both 3M Vikuiti Rear Projection displays and 3M Digital Signage software. This high brightness projector is rated at 3800 ANSI lumens, is designed for Vikuiti Rear Projection displays up to 60-inches diagonal and comes with a three year (or 4,000 hours) standard warranty.

"Our new DX70 projector is perfectly suited to digital signage installations where a display may be required to run all day, such as reception areas and canteens in businesses, schools and hospitals, as well as shop windows and airport displays," said Paul Gardner, business development manager, 3M Visual Systems. "The product complements and strengthens our existing portfolio, at the same time widening our reach t

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UK - Robe moving lights have been installed at Glasgow's very 'happening' nightspot Byblos - a 900 capacity venue housed in the basement of an atmospheric listed building in Albion Street - in the Merchant City area of town.

These were specified by Andrew O'Neill of Glasgow-based design and installation company Flashlite. "As always from an installer's viewpoint" he says, "reliability is a key factor - you need fixtures that are going to work with an absolute minimum of fuss and maintenance - so Robe is an obvious choice."

Byblos has two main rooms and a VIP Bar. It is independently owned by three individuals, two of whom are local nightclub industry movers and shakers ...And all of them appreciate the advantages of good production values.

"They wanted a quality installation" explains O'Neill and they were prepared to spend some money on it, whi

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UK - The Embassy Club in London's Mayfair, has recently taken delivery of a Versarray rig, the new line array system from Peavey. With the acquisition of the new, the club has launched Embassy Rock Nights, fast becoming one of the hottest events on the capital's gig circuit.

Embassy London opted for a system comprising a total of four Versarray 112 mid-hi modules (two per side) featuring a lightweight 12" woofer and 4" voice coil with a neodymium magnet structure. Two Versarray 218 dual 18" ultra-high power vented subwoofers with optional ground-stacking kits complete the line-up. Control comes courtesy of Peavey's VSX speaker management system and amplification from Peavey GPS power amplifiers.

Front of House duties are handled by a Peavey 16FX 16-channel mixer featuring Silencer mic preamps which allow for high gain with low noise and distortion for clear sign

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UK - Taking advantage of the space available in Earls Court 2, White Light has chosen to create rather more than a simple stand: the White Light Zone will feature the company itself and the family of manufacturers that it represents in the UK.

"As soon as we heard that PLASA was expanding into the second hall, we knew that we wanted to be there," comments White Light's managing director, Bryan Raven. "We all have fond memories of the PLASA Shows there. We hope it will make for a much better place to spend four days talking to people, and make our familiar on-stand bar an even more pleasant place to pass the time."

Representatives from every area of lighting with which White Light is involved, including hire, sales, installation and service for theatres and other venues, events, corporate productions, exhibitions and more, will be on-hand throughout the show

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UK - ShowCAD Control Systems will again be exhibiting with Pulsar Light of Cambridge. ShowCAD will be using and demonstrating version 3.00 of its Artist show control system, which will now control up to 32,000+ DMX channels (shortly to be increased to 100,000+ channels) supporting many input/output protocols.

New features include pixel plotting - an innovative method of programming large LED arrays, Autopilot (automatic show generator), new improved global fixture addressing, multi-layering of effects, pixel-array fixture types, global and zoned proportional rate and level controls, scrolling marquee text-generator, setup wizards, macro generators and video to DMX features, as well as comprehensive controls for intelligent and conventional lighting control.

Artist systems are principally installed in nightclubs, lately controlling the US award-winning Best Nightclub Installati

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UK - Visual Productions has released version 1.48 of the VisualDMX Lighting control software in time to introduce the new features to visitors during PLASA 07. The new VisualDMX release features several enhancements to the software. Users will notice a revised Matrix Mania! dashboard for the control of matrix set-ups; the changes in this user interface improve the usability and compatibility with touch screen control.

The most significant improvement in this version is the new Action Editor. This editor replaces the old Cue Editor offering even more programming functions than before. Additionally, the Action Editor also enables events to be triggered by a real-time scheduler and a timer mechanism.

Furthermore, the handling of DMX Devices is enhanced; DMX hardware is now automatically detected by the software and support for the Art-Net dongle is added, making VisualDMX Art-Net

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Poland - Throughout July and early August, the Baltic Sea was home to one of the most spectacular annual maritime events, the Tall Ships Race. Starting at the Danish port of Århus, the ships sailed to Kotka in Finland, then the Swedish capital Stockholm, before finishing the season at Szczecin in Poland, where two large Lighthouse LED screens were in place to greet the ships and their crews.

"According to one popular Polish saying 'It's not necessary for a man to eat, but to sail - it is,'" laughs Rafael Kociemski of Polish screen company Wizja Sp. "That is how important an event the Tall Ships is to Szczecin."

Proof of this was provided by a crowd of 1.5 million which came to admire the ships in Szczecin harbour, making it the largest Polish outdoor event of 2007. In total over 200 ships took part, accompanied by a wide variety of other attractions, perfo

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UK - PLASA 2007 sees Zero 88 taking on the European distribution for the LightFactory range of lighting control software. Designed in New Zealand this software has been growing its user base globally.

Martin Searancke of LightFactory says: "I am excited by linking with Zero 88. Their product brand and distribution network is well established in the European market. I am looking forward to working with their distributors in Europe to establish our software as the choice for PC-based control."

Zero 88 will be selling LightFactory as a complete boxed package. This will include the software, Zero 88 USB to DMX dongles and quick start guides to allow the software to be installed and used quickly. The design allows all the DMX processing to be done in the dongle's Neutrik 5-pin connector.

Several options will be offered, from one universe to 64 universes of DMX control.

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Singapore - For the second consecutive year, the Soundcraft Vi6 was one of the consoles of choice for Baybeats, the annual Indie rock festival at Singapore's Esplanade. Running over three days, the event featured a host of bands from Singapore, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Philippines, Sweden, Australia and the US.

In 2006, The Esplanade purchased the new mixing desk from distributors E&E just in time for Baybeats where it was in use as a monitor board. But this year the Vi6 undertook FOH duties while it was joined by its smaller sibling, the Soundcraft Vi4 on monitors at the Nokia Arena.

The Vi4, which was launched earlier this year, offers similar functionality and facilities to the Vi6, but in a smaller, more compact footprint. Measuring just 1.5m wide, the Vi4 offers 48 inputs on 24 faders, with a total of 27 output busses available for use as masters, groups

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UK - L&SI has learned that David Caulfield has parted company Martin Professional Plc. Caulfield had held the position of managing director of the UK subsidiary of the Danish lighting manufacturer for the past five years. News of his departure came just days after Martin Professional issued a press announcement saying that Caulfield would be speaking at the company's press conference at the forthcoming PLASA Show.

The company's brief statement on the departure reads: "David Caulfield has ended his employment with Martin Professional Plc as of August 30, 2007. We would like to thank David for his efforts over the last five years as Managing Director and wish him the best in his future endeavours. A recruitment process for the position as Managing Director in Martin Professional Plc will begin immediately and it is our intention to fill the vacancy promptly."

David Cau

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UK - Norwich Theatre Royal's £10 million modernisation project is entering its final stages, with the new look building due to re-open early in November following major improvements to the auditorium and front of house areas.

The modernisation will provide audiences with greater access and comfort. Improvements include increased leg room and access in the circle, a new air treatment system, double the amount of foyer space, improved eating areas, a newly designed theatre façade, and upgrading acoustics in the auditorium to concert hall standards.

Norwich Theatre Royal closed its doors to the public at the end of March 2007 following the visit of Northern Ballet Theatre's The Three Musketeers. The opening show in the new-look venue will be Glyndebourne on Tour's production of Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore on 13 November.

(Jim Evans)

Details
UK - Philips Solid-State Lighting Solutions, the new entity formed by Philips' acquisition of Color Kinetics, will showcase a wide range of lighting systems and technologies at PLASA 2007, demonstrating a complete end-to-end approach to LED lighting for entertainment and event production.

iW Blast 12 TR is a new white light system with variable colour temperature and "tour-friendly" features, including a replaceable lens, protective face cover, standard XLR connectors and a housing that easily accommodates various truss clamps.

ColorBlast 12 TR is an RGB system that projects saturated, controllable colour with touring-specific features. ColorBlast 12 TR UV is billed as a unique ultra-violet (UV) system designed for "black light" applications in stage and set environments. Unlike traditional UV fixtures, it uses LED technology and advanced optics to provide

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The Netherlands - The Muziektheater in Amsterdam has chosen to replace its analogue, wired intercom infrastructure with a fully digital intercom solution from Clear-Com, including wireless beltpacks and matrix frames.

The Netherlands Opera and Dutch National ballet both create and produce their own operas and ballets which involves a large amount of rehearsal time on stage where clear communications are vital. The Clear-Com FreeSpeak beltpacks provide a reliable, wireless system for Muziektheater stage, lighting, sound, and technical teams.

"Intercoms are the lifeline between the artistic staff and technicians," said Hans-Willem de Haan, head of the sound and video department at Muziektheater. "We have a long-standing relationship with Clear-Com, so when we decided to move to a digital intercom system, we chose the Clear-Com 4000 matrix in combination with the F

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UK - Following the demonstration days at its west London offices, Essential Lighting customers have adopted Scenic LED at a rapid rate with many clients already delivering new effects at events in July and August, the company says.

Scenic LED sits on the increasingly blurry line between video and lighting by utilising the same individual components of a video wall, packaged in tiles and strips that provide flexibility for lighting and set designers to build dynamic effects into the set. Bringing the control of these elements firmly in to the hands of the lighting designer or visual content director, MiTrix and MiStrip remove the restrictions of content being forced to confirm to a 4:3 or 16:9 screen formation.

With almost constant rental now confirmed throughout September, Essential has further demonstrated its commitment to Scenic LED by doubling its stock of MiTrix and MiStr

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UK - Specialist crowd management and security company, Showsec, provided security for Creamfields 2007 and ensured that festival goers enjoyed their bank holiday in safety.

Creamfields relocated last year from the Old Liverpool Airfield, Speke in Liverpool, to Daresbury Estate, Cheshire, and more than 40,000 music fans gathered on the green-field site this year to see headliners Chemical Brothers, Groove Armada, Kelis and LCD Soundsystem along with the extraordinary line up of top DJs that Creamfields is famous for.

Showsec has supported Creamfields event management company, Loud Sound, for a number of years, working in close partnership with them on many different events all over the country. During the run up to the show, Showsec worked closely with Loud Sound to develop an all encompassing crowd management plan that covered everything from traffic management to on site crow

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