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UK - British loudspeaker design pioneer Tony Andrews last night became the first recipient of the newly-created Gottelier Award, named in memory of Tony Gottelier, the leading designer, innovator and industry commentator who died in 2006.

The Gottelier Award was inaugurated this year to recognise an individual or team who, over the years, has made a significant and sustained contribution to the advancement of entertainment, presentation or installation technology - whether in audio, lighting, rigging, staging or any other related field.

Following nominations from across all sectors, four industry pioneers were shortlisted - Tony Andrews (Funktion One), Richard Belliveau (High End Systems), Adam Bennette (ETC) and Wayne Howell (Artistic Licence). The winner was decided through an

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UK - OmniLine is a versatile, micro-line array designed for installation in a wide variety of architectural environments. Its modular approach and scalability extend its use from foreground applications to sound reinforcement in large acoustic spaces. Intelligent software enables an array to be configured to deliver sound precisely over any vertical angle to fit the venue profile without spilling onto surfaces where sound is not required. Additionally, elimination of high-frequency side-lobes gives OmniLine the advantage over currently available DSP steered columns, making it suitable for high quality music reproduction as well as speech in large, reverberant spaces, says the company.

Each OmniLine array is constructed by connecting together multiple array modules. Up to 32 modules can be connected where both high output and vertical focussing down to low/mid frequencies are req

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UK - As well as being a manufacturer of self-powered loudspeakers and pro audio equipment, Meyer Sound has long been dedicated to increasing scientific knowledge and understanding among sound professionals by maintaining a global programme of high-level training in sound reinforcement-related topics. At PLASA07, Meyer Sound Laboratories, in conjunction with Meyer Sound España, S.A, announced the formation of the John and Helen Meyer Scholarship. The scholarship programme is being awarded in partnership with ESAMA (Superior School for AudioVisual Media) of Andalusia, Spain.

Meyer Sound has previously provided support to educational programmes conducted by industry organizations such as USITT (United States Institute for Theatre Technology) and Broadway Sound Master Classes, but the new partnership with ESAMA is the first programme designated as a scholarship bearing the name of

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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 - Belgian gobo manufacturers, Goboland, have signed a new licensing agreement with PRG at the show today. With immediate effect, PRG are now able to reproduce the full range of Goboland gobo designs for use in their Vari*Lite fixtures. The new agreement also means the entire Goboland Collection will now be available to all Vari*lite dealers throughout the PRG dealer network. PRG's Phil Norfolk was on hand to seal the agreement at the Goboland stand earlier today.

"We are extremely happy that PRG want to use our designs," says Goboland Director Ivo Dielen. "We are looking forward to working with them in this new relationship."

(Julie Harper)

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Spain - An Avolites Diamond 4 console controlled all main stage lighting for the 9-day Aste Nagusia 2007 Festival in Bilbao, northern Spain - which saw up to 15,000 people a night enjoy an eclectic line up of bands from The Pogues to Spanish superstars Dover and Miguel Bose.

Technical production for the event was supplied by Bilbao-based Audiomic, who took care of lighting, sound, video and rigging. The Diamond 4 was specified by lighting crew chief Urko Arruza who also produced the generic stage lighting design which was programmed and operated by Alex Ampudia.

The console was chosen for its power, flexibility, easy programming and because it was also likely to be familiar to guest lighting designers, explains Arruza, "Basically it is the perfect desk for a festival set up like this" he says.

The D4 arrived at Audiomic in April - their first one, although they hav

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Hong Kong - Chinese pop superstar Jacky Cheung's massive 2007 tour is wowing crowds with Electro-Voice sound. One of the best-selling Chinese pop singers in the world, Cheung is an internationally renowned entertainer who continues to enjoy huge popularity over 20 years after his debut.

For his latest sold-out stadium tour, The Year of Jacky Cheung World Tour 07, fans are enjoying what critics are calling the most impressive sound and lighting systems ever to accompany the Cantopop icon on the road, including Electro-Voice line array loudspeakers and Midas mixing consoles.

Produced by Engineering Impact Hong Kong and promoted by Fun Entertainment Limited, the tour stopped off for a triumphant homecoming show at the Hong Kong Coliseum in August, where house engineer Daniel Kwan mixed on a Midas Heritage 3000 through a main PA comprised of 8x X-Line Xlvs, 4x X-Li

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UK - Robert Juliat benefited from perhaps one of the biggest projection surfaces at the exhibition, placed as they were on the front of the White Light zone with the entire entrance wall of Earls Court 2 in front of them. This suited the collection of followspots and fixtures on displayed, especially long throw Lancelot and Victor followspots.

The Victor was successfully launched at the show yesterday whilst the Lancelot was running the first DMX operated modules of the NORIA 6-way gobo wheels and CHRO-MIX colour mixing system. These DMX versions are now in full production and confirm the Lancelot's position, not only as an exceptional long throw followspot, but as the most powerful effects projector.

There was a noticeable migration of people throughout the show between the Robert Juliat and Goboland stands. The reason for this became clear as customers viewing the new Tempes

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UK - Theatre sound specialists and Orbital Sound is exhibiting at PLASA for the first time. Making it's UK debut is RockNet, an advanced and fully scaleable, cost-effective network solution conceived and optimized for managing audio and control data for live sound. RockNet also features a plug-in card for Yamaha's M7CL creating a fully integrated CAT5 based multicore solution for this popular console.

As a d&b audiotechnik official sales and installation partner, Orbital's staff are on hand to discuss its latest d&b installations and demonstrate the company's latest Remote Network Software solutions.

The latest digital mixing consoles from Yamaha and Digidesign are being showcased as are a host of wireless radio comms solutions from both HME and Telex. Also on display is RTS Telex's range of wired comms systems.

Orbital's is also showcasing its unique CSC audio playback and

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UK - Wednesday saw the appearance of some mysterious Black Holes on the Goboland stand! Etched out of black coated steel, the Goboland Black Hole is a high-tech 'donut' which sharpens gobo projection by removing excess light and lengthening depth of field. The blackened surface also helps reduce reflections.

"The development of our new black steel process was perfect for a product such as the Black Hole as its non-reflective coating does not exacerbate reflection problems as previous products have done in the past," explains Goboland Consultant, Wyatt Enever.

The Black Hole is marked with pop-out segments - graded in exact photographic f-stops - to enable accurate manipulation of light output, reducing glare by between 6% and 50%. The resulting lengthened depth of field makes it easier to sharpen an image across its full diameter even when projected at an angle. This

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USA - The 2007 Worldwide Partner Conference, better known as WPC07, a computer industry gathering, took place in Denver, Colorado in July. 12 Martin Maxedia digital media servers were used to provide digital content to a remarkable 36 plasma screens, two LED curtains and centre LED Wall.

"We used a Matrix Preview monitor so that I could preview all outputs during programming, rehearsals and show," commented Thomas Walls, Maxedia and Maxxyz programmer at Stardust Productions. "The networking was a godsend. I was given custom content what seemed like every hour or so and with 12 servers online, the networking made my life a breeze."

When all was said and done, approximately 68 gigabits of custom content was used on the show. Mike Amelang of Flying Spot created custom content on-site which Walls immediately loaded into the Maxedia systems. Several other types

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UK - Brian Dempster has been appointed head of the systems integration division of Blitz Communications. This new division is dedicated to developing the company's permanent AV installation business.

Dempster has a lifelong electronics passion and his AV career journey plays testimony to this. After four years with Sony (UK) professional and broadcast division he joined Marcom Systems as technical general manager and progressed to become technical director. Dempster went on to spread his wings as a Freelance AV consultant, providing systems design and project management, to a wide range of blue chip companies for 13 years.

Paul Hutton, managing director at Blitz comments, "We have gained a fantastic reputation in this market with most of our existing business coming through referrals. We have a unique position in the market as a company that can provide permanent installa

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Austria - Audio rental company Audioservices and Design recently provided the live sound system for DJ Tiësto's Elements of Life tour throughout Europe, including a recent live concert at the Pyramide in Vienna.

Because of the consistent high energy of DJ Tiësto's concerts, there existed a need for a line array capable of handling high sound pressure levels on a continual basis, as DJ Tiësto takes very few breaks during performances. Additionally, Audioservices and Design needed a lightweight line array system with no sacrifice in power. To that end, the company deployed a touring system for European dates based upon JBL Vertec VT4889 large-format line array elements, with JBL VRX932s in use for additional fill speakers.

"In standard rock and roll setups the music allows for a lot of pauses for the equipment to rest momentarily, but with an environmental dance-m

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USA - Metric Halo has developed a Jensen Transformer-based front-end option for the ULN-2 stereo mic pre.

According to Joe Buchalter, president of Metric Halo: "The ULN-2 is an incredibly good mic pre, but sometimes you want something that isn't quite 'so pristine' - a certain amount of low-order harmonic distortion has a way of adding depth and sheen to everything that passes through it, thus the high regard applied to classic transformer coupled preamps.

"With the transformer option installed, the ULN-2 acquires that classic character. A second benefit is that the transformer completely electrically isolates the preamp from the source, raising the common mode rejection above its already excellent performance, and providing a measure of confidence when dealing with the unknowns of location sound."

(Jim Evans)

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USA - Open to university and college students nationwide, the registration for Shure's fourth Fantastic Scholastic recording competition has opened and will remain open until 19 October, 2007. A random drawing on 25 October 2007 will determine the 10 competing schools, each of which will receive a standardised 'mic locker' from Shure that must be utilised to complete every recording project submitted.

The names of registrants chosen as contestants in the random drawing will be posted on Shure's website on 29 October. Dedicated mic lockers will be sent out the same day, and must be returned no later than 11 February 2008. Announcement of the Grand Prize winner will take place on 10 May, 2008.

Competing teams from each school are required to record and mix an original piece of music, which will then be judged by a panel of industry professionals who will evaluate the reco

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UK - Dialight Lumidrives has launched Colourdriver XP, its new LED driver aimed at meeting the needs of high power LEDs. It provides LED users in the architectural, entertainment and leisure industries with more choice and flexibility over the control of colour changing LEDs than ever before, says the company.

Colourdriver XP meets the needs of high power LEDs like Luxeon K2 and provides high power operation up to 1000mA together with the option of a white or amber mix in addition to the three standard RGB channels. Colourdriver XP is designed for both interior and exterior use, including downlighting, floodlighting, linear wall washes and landscaping.

Control options now available for the first time include Dali, DMX or even power line control with remote device management (RDM).

The heart of the new system is the power supply module that can be used as a stand-alone driver

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USA - American DJ has introduced an LED version of another of its moonflower effects. Inspired by the popular Electra 250, the new Electra LED is a scanning mirror moonflower using red, green and blue LEDs that produce razor-sharp beams.

The Electra LED contains 46 total LEDs, 16 Red, 15 Green, and 15 Blue, which provide "amazing brightness and rich, saturated colors that won't fade". In a visual comparison, the light output of the Electra LED is similar to that of a 250W halogen bulb, while drawing much less power and offering all the other benefits of LED technology, says the company.

A glass optical system with new lens technology enhances the sharpness and clarity of its beams, while a wide beam spread allows the fixture to cover a large area. The colourful LED patterns can be projected onto a dance floor or a wall. Sound-active with built-in programmes, the Elec

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USA - Houston's Bare Necessity won the second Houston Texans-sponsored Battle of the Bands competition, held annually to find a house band to entertain pre-game tailgaters on Budweiser Plaza, right outside the entrance to Reliant Park. J&S Audio Visual (Houston, Texas) provide sound reinforcement and production for the stage with a PA including Electro-Voice Plasma powered monitors and a Midas Venice 320 mixing console.

"The six Plasma P1 powered boxes are fantastic as monitors," says James Kragle of J&S Audio, who also mixes the show. "I chose them for their versatility and because I can get some serious SPL out of them - these things get loud. I've used P1s for a number of rock gigs, and have had nothing but compliments on their clarity and power. I especially like their balanced output; put up two as a stereo pair with horns down the centre and anyone listening

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UK - Senior Management of CIE-Group - UK supply partners for some of the industry's leading audio & CCTV brands including Inter-M, FBT Audio Contractor and EverFocus - will be donning the cycling clips and hitting the road at the end of September as they undertake a 500-mile cycle ride across France in just three days.

Chris Edwards, CIE-Group's head of marketing and also chairman of local charity 'Derby Kids' Camp', will be joined by CIE-Group colleagues Steve Collin (head of sales) and Martin Featherstone (audio sales), as 'Team EverFocus' undertake this challenging three day event to raise much needed funds both for the children's charity and Wessex Heartbeat Foundation.

The funds raised will help Derby Kids' Camp to provide disadvantaged children from the local area with a free holiday and will also support the hard work of Wessex Heartbeat to provide specialist care for a

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UK - The Renkus-Heinz Audio Operations Network (RHAON), claimed to be the first practical technology to give audio professionals maximum control over self-powered loudspeakers, made its public début as a full production product at PLASA07, in the shape of the all-new Sygma SG Series loudspeakers.

RHAON from Renkus-Heinz opens a new era in networked, powered loudspeakers with an industry-first combination of integral amplification, DSP, digital audio networking, control and monitoring, which will available for the entire Renkus-Heinz powered product lineup, says the company.

Under the headline Maximum Control, RHAON technology will become a standard option in every new Renkus-Heinz powered loudspeaker, beginning with the all-new Sygma SG Series.

Also now shipping is the RHAON-Empowered CF Series, which brings RHAON and the CF Series' technologies to a broad market acro

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UK - Chauvet confirms that it has enlisted Northampton-based Impact Products (Europe) as the exclusive distributor of its entire product line in the UK and Ireland.

Chauvet international sales manager Gerry Zigman said the synergy between the two corporate cultures was key in the decision to join forces. "Impact Products has done an outstanding job at quickly establishing itself as a reputable distributor of professional lighting," Zigman says. "They are knowledgeable and passionate about the industry but most importantly, they share our commitment to impeccable customer service. We bend over backward to provide the most competitive, innovative and reliable lights. They bend over backward to keep customers happy."

Impact Products launched at PLASA 06, drawing on more than 15 years trade distribution experience of its parent company, Solutions Group. A UK-wi

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