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Germany - W-DMX is once again gracing the stages of German musical theatre. Following a successful run with Wicked - The Witches of Oz, the system is being used on another popular musical, Ich Will Spaß ("I want to have fun!").

The 80s period will be revived in the Colosseum Theater Essen. The lighting rig will include 83 moving lights (amongst them 49 Vari*Lite VL3500 Spot and Wash units), plus 99 ETC Source Fours. To represent the colourful feel of the 80's, the stage is dominated by a giant Rubik's Cube equipped with 293 MR16s, custom created for the set design, with 197 LED/RGB-Modules built in. The 950sq.ft (88sq.m) large video wall is one of the largest moving screens in German staging. Furthermore, the edge of the stage is fitted with 54 B250 LED st

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USA - Philadelphia's University of the Sciences main athletic facility, the gymnasium at Rosenberger Alumni Hall, recently received a sonic renovation, courtesy of Philadelphia-based Clear Sound. As Clear Sound's Chris Dietze explains, the facility has long been in need of better sound. "The gym's PA system has always been underpowered and poorly placed," says Dietze. "For sporting events, people tend to overlook bad sound and blame it on the ambient crowd noise, but they use the gym for other events too, like convocations and student orientations, and it's then that the problem would become painfully apparent." Clear Sound designed a system utilising 12 Community R1-66 full-range two-way loudspeaker systems mounted strategically across the gym's peaked metal roof, with six loudspeakers covering the bleacher areas and six more covering the court area. "The

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UK - After 10 successful years with L-Acoustics, industry veteran Paul Nicholson has been busy with two significant new projects: the first was to reinvigorate MIDAS ProSound, the audio company he founded some 20 years ago and the second was to set up a sister company, Red Square Audio, to handle distribution of high end audio products.

Nicholson comments, "Since my return at the beginning of July, MIDAS ProSound has been extremely successful in capturing some significant sales and securing several large scale installation projects through our ongoing consultancy work. Rentals are also increasing and some major production projects are under active development for next year. However, I really wanted to look at distribution rather than additional dealerships. With this in mind, I entered into discussions with several manufacturers and French console manufacturer Innovason bec

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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 - The story of William Tell is given much credence in Switzerland as it is regarded as an important episode in the formation of the Swiss nation. When director Volker Hesse interpreted the original Schiller play as a dialogue-only rendition of the story - Tellspiele - he solicited the assistance of Out Board's TiMax Audio Imaging system and sound designer Tom Strebel to produce reliable, person-specific, voice-localisation effects, with real-time automation from the new TiMax Tracker actor tracking system.

The play was staged in the Uri Theatre in Altdorf - the Swiss province from whence Tell originally hailed. The 500+-capacity theatre is a standard proscenium build, but not much else about this production's staging could be described as standard. The theatre's interior was almost completely re-fashioned to create a 35m long stage platform stretching all the way from

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UK - DB Systems (DB), the global audio-visual company, has been awarded a contract by Rapiergroup to provide AV solutions for defence and aerospace giant, BAE Systems.

The two-year contract, which begins in January 2009, will see DB working with Rapiergroup to design innovative and bespoke AV solutions for BAE Systems' exhibits at over 28 exhibitions and events around the world. These include Farnborough, Paris, Dubai and Singapore Airshows, DSEi London, IDEX in Abu Dhabi and LAAD in Rio de Janeiro.

Previously, DB worked with Rapiergroup for BAE Systems between 2006 and 2008. However, to win this new contract DB successfully came through a competitive five-way pitch, which was spearheaded by David Bulley, Managing Director, and Jay Goldson, Senior Account Manager, who will also oversee this contract. BAE Systems is the third largest global defence company in the world and has

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Ireland - A pioneering installation at the new Wexford Opera House in Ireland marks a European first for auditorium sound - digitally steerable auditorium audio.

Acoustic consultant Peter Mapp and system integrators Northern Light specified six Renkus-Heinz Iconyx digitally steerable array loudspeakers, supplied by Renkus-Heinz's UK and Ireland distributor, Polar Audio. The project saw a completely new theatre complex built on the site of the previous theatre in this picturesque Irish coastal town.

Three pairs of Iconyx IC16 loudspeakers are installed, with one column of three concealed either side within the stage's proscenium arch. Each left and right pair covers, respectively, the stalls and first and second balconies. The Iconyx units' digital beam steering capabilities were used to precisely focus each loudspeaker on its allocated seating area during setup via the dedicat

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UAE - With everything hurtling rapidly toward a digital destination it's as well to remember that the laws of physics are what govern our ability to stage concerts, not ones and zeros. Where can you hang your 30-tonne LED screen and how can you hang it, are two questions that make a case in point.

These are exactly the questions Rick Wade (project manager) from Production Technology in Dubai asked himself when he learned he was about to have his busiest run-up to Christmas ever. Shows by Queen and Paul Rogers, Kylie Minogue, and George Michael, in the space of three weeks; and all of them had committed to provide a full production show, not some scaled-down version for the Middle East.

"For a production manager like Albert Lawrence with Queen, taking a show like theirs around Europe is relatively straightforward," said Wade, "in that the resources of companies l

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World - Wybron's Infogate feedback software plays a key role on Independence of the Seas, the newest and biggest ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet.

As part of Wybron's Infotrace feedback system, Infogate enables lighting equipment on board Independence of the Seas to talk back to its operators using the industry-standard two-way communication protocol Remote Device Management, or RDM. It constantly monitors the equipment, keeping an eye on any problems or maintenance issues.

"We can track scroller wear and tear, what strings are in which scrollers, identify each fixture individually and basically track how the rig is holding up," says lighting technician Michael Calder, who's now headed to Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas - another Infogate ship.

Independence of the Seas launched in April 2008 as the world's biggest cruise ship. Wei

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UK Eastern-themed cocktail bar, Orchid, in London's Leicester Square recently underwent an interior redesign using Tryka LED lighting modules.

Pembroke Design carried out the interior refurbishment, while the technical brief was interpreted by EM-Communications' Ed Manwaring, who says: "Tryka produces quality LED lighting units that are so robust and reliable you can 'install and forget', which is why I always specify them. Knowing that they're unlikely to encounter any problems frees me to focus on the next Tryka installation."

The original brief was to create a friendly and welcoming entrance lobby while softening some of the venue's more industrial features - the main smoke extractor for the Trocadero Centre, which is above the bar, forms a now-concealed element of Orchid's ceiling.

Mirror mosaics were used on the walls to brighten the entrance stairs, which fol

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Russia - Rental company Live Sound Agency is enjoying an extremely busy autumn/winter season following its recent investment in 32 Lab.gruppen Powered Loudspeaker Management (PLM) systems earlier in the year. The PLM devices, which are used to power their L'Acoustics V-DOSC rig, were supplied by Lab.gruppen's Moscow-based Russian distributor, I.S.P.A.

Live Sound Agency's Yuriy Sokolov reports: "The combination of one of the world's greatest system processors, Dolby Lake, with the tried and tested amplifier technology from Lab.gruppen in one single device is a stroke of genius. There is no discomfort for the user in that everything is already familiar to him and there is a good preset library to work from initially. After that, it's easy to customise if necessary. The result is that you are efficient straight away because your time is spent tuning the system, and not having

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UK - Lighting control and automation group, Dynalite, will showcase a wide range of control system elements and software that enable advanced levels of lighting control, and seamless integration at the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2009 exhibition.

According to Paul Wilmshurst, managing director Dynalite Europe, fully integrated control systems are becoming more prevalent across both residential and commercial sectors. "There is a real demand for integrated lighting control systems that can incorporate third-party control elements, such as audio-visual, curtains, blinds and temperature control systems," he said. "From a commercial building perspective, integration with systems incorporating Ethernet backbones, such as building management systems provides hotels, offices and residential complexes with installation and control flexibility. Dynalite is one of the f

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UK - An issue that has cost electronics manufacturers worldwide a great deal of time, effort and money is the Restriction of Hazardous Substances directive, which restricts the use of many materials, most noticeably leaded solder and cadmium plating on connector shells.

UK-based Bryant Broadcast has now introduced a fully RoHS compliant version of the MIL-C 26482, 26 and 41-pin connectors, which are historically the connector of choice for the outside broadcast industry in the UK and are used in conjunction with 8- and 12-way 'Star-Quad' cables in audio multicore systems.

These new connectors have zinc cobalt black plating finish and heavy duty arctic grade ribbed coupling rings. Both the standard convention of cable-end male connector with locking ring to panel female receptacle with bayonet posts; and cable-end receptacle to mating panel mount plug are available. Both male a

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UK - OHM has introduced a series of white speakers to meet the growing trend for nightspots where audio equipment needs to be heard but not seen. Stock items range from ceiling speakers, through the KS surround series and up to the BR8 wide dispersion loudspeaker popular in disco bars and small dance clubs.

Requirements for other speakers to be finished in white can be met by the manufacturing unit in Knutsford, Cheshire where OHM have been making speakers for over thirty years. Recent venues have been Walrus in Manchester, where white BR8s are in the basement disco with white LM series in the restaurant and cocktail bar, the Bar Bacchus in Warrington another BR8 installation and further from home in New Delhi, a new-build five-star hotel and multi entertainment complex will have an OHM Lunaray line-array system in white for the one thousand plus capacity nightclub.

Mounting b

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France - Projection specialists E/T/C won first prize for 'Innovation contributing to the Events Industry' at the 2008 Heavent Expo Awards held at the Hippodrome de Longchamp in Paris last week. The Award was created four years ago by the exhibition organisers and the ANAé (Association des Agences de Communication Evénementielle) to pay tribute to and encourage the technical "savoir-faire" of companies or individuals in the event field.

E/T/C was rewarded for its technical contribution to The Image Mill, the spectacular show created and produced by Robert Lepage and Ex Machina for Quebec City's 400th anniversary. The ground-breaking show saw the installation of 27 Christie 20K video projectors, which were programmed and controlled by E/T/C's multimedia platform, Onlyview. A monumental image 657m long was beamed onto the Bunge grain silos running al

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UK - Brilliant Stages has designed and manufactured the infrastructure for the spectacular focal point of AC~DC's Black Ice Tour 2008, the Rock 'n' Roll Train. Conceived by Fisher Studio's Jeremy Lloyd and Mark Fisher, the centrepiece is inspired by the first track of AC~DC's new album and requires a 'life size' steam locomotive which appears to have crashed onto stage.

The locomotive needs to be hidden upstage at the top of the show before, self-supported and powered by crew alone, moving 4.5m downstage to slew round into its final position between two video walls and over the walkway.

Various effects needed to be incorporated into the design, including lighting, pyrotechnics, smoke, C02, headlights, a brass bell and deployable, light-up devil horns, not to mention concealing - and then supporting - a huge inflatable known as Rosie.

The complete centrep

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Slovakia - Over 100 Robe moving lights were used to light Cat Girls, a new Slovakian TV project launched "to find the sexiest girl in the country".

Lighting for the show, staged in the Expo Arena in Bratislava in front of an enthusiastic live audience and broadcast live on Slovakia's Markiza network, was designed by Martin Kubánka, who was brought onboard by production company MAYA. All lighting and sound equipment for the event was supplied by Q-99, and it was one of the biggest TV productions yet seen in the country in terms of lighting and video technology.

Kubánka's creative challenge included producing an integrated lighting and video design that looked equally as good on camera as it did for the live audience, and that also fulfilled the usual demands of 'light entertainment' television. He worked closely with show director Karol Vosátko, camera direc

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Jordan - Amman's PRO4 Total Event Solutions has upgraded its rental sound systems with Meyer Sound self-powered loudspeakers to meet a variety of production needs in the area.

"Our goal was to raise the quality standards for live audio production in Jordan. This was why we invested in Meyer Sound," says Hisham Al Asad, production manager of Onstage, a division of PRO4 Total Event Solutions.

PRO4 is now stocked with Mica line array loudspeakers, 700-HP subwoofers, and a Galileo loudspeaker management system.

The first deployment of the Mica system was at the annual Amman Summer Festival, a 24-day marathon of social, cultural, and musical events held in the city's huge King Hussein Park and attended by more than 150,000 people. "Our client, the Greater Amman Municipality, was very satisfied with the high-quality audio production at the event. Of course, we are v

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USA - American Audio has introduced the VersaPort, an easy-to-use universal audio interface that provides a powerful and affordable USB solution for using CD players or turntables with DJ-ing software.

The VersaPort is a four- input channel / four- output channel sound card with microphone and headphone level control that hooks up directly to a PC via its USB connection. A USB 1.1 compliant unit, this black box lets you connect your CD players or turntables to your computer and mixer all at the same time.

A generic interface, the VersaPort works with virtually all popular Windows and Macintosh audio production software programs, including: (Windows) MME, MS DirectSound, Steinberg ASIO and Audition; and (Mac) Garage Band, Audio Hijack Pro (OSX) and Sound Manager (OS9) - and many more, says the company.

"We developed the VersaPort in response to our customers' needs for a

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Italy - Litec, one of the leading companies in the construction of aluminium structures for entertainment worldwide, has launched a new website, www.litectruss.com

The site has been filled with new content and redesigned with a vibrant look in line with the new corporate image of Litec, says the company.

Among the most important innovations is the Products section. The new section aims to make the whole range of Litec products more understandable. Each product is listed with its main technical features and users can also download all technical documents as well as having a look at a gallery of installations where the various products have been applied.

It is also now possible to find a product by typing its code or part of it in the search box of the site. All information about a single product will be collected quickly and directly on one page. "This will certainly hel

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