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Belgium - Ampco Belgium has achieved its first Martin Audio OmniLine installation in the country - in spectacular fashion. The company has supplied and installed 72 enclosures in different hang configurations within the massive, five-storey high Antwerps Sportpaleis concert and sports arena.

Ampco Belgium sales manager Steven Kemland says: "It is ironic that the smallest line array in the market should open its account in one of the largest, multi-purpose venues in the country."

Built in 1933 (and recently augmented with a new building) the main arena - with its distinctive green roof - holds around 17,000, with the new space offering about half that capacity.

But it is on three floors of the public, general concourse areas that technical manager Geert Torfs has made

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Germany - Meyer Sound's M'elodie line array loudspeakers are taking centre-, left-, and right-stage at the Friedrichstadtpalast, one of Berlin's key theatres. The Friedrichstadtpalast lies just beyond the old Checkpoint Charlie where East once confronted West in Germany, but today stands as a high-tech marvel in a city brimming with innovation.

Boasting the largest indoor stage in the world, at 2,542sq.m, the Palast was conceived as a technical tour-de-force from its outset in 1984, featuring staging and rigging intricacies capable of hosting the most outlandish and ambitious productions.

"This theatre was very famous in the time of the DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik/ German Democratic Republic)," says technical director Franz-Josef Münzebrock. "In those days it hosted revues, big-band performances, and TV variety shows. It's now a privately owned theatre

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UK - PSCo will be showcasing the latest cutting edge visual technologies at Imperial College, London on 24th and 26th February 2009, including a chance to see the exclusive Sharp 108" LCD and the 103" Panasonic plasma side by side.

PSCo's portfolio of flat screen and advanced technologies includes some of the 'must see' products for 2009 and the event will give integrators the chance to bring clients and consultants to see them in a central London location.

The monster displays at the event will include a 168" Infinite Plasma wall, 108" LCD from Sharp, 103" Panasonic Plasma with its ground breaking touchscreen overlay from U Touch Technology. See these displays in action, showcasing Full HD content.

The 168" Infinite Plasma wall, made up of 4x4 bezel-less panels aims to demonstrate the flexibility and impact of the product which can be built in

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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USA - NBC Universal has accepted a seat on the Entertainment Technician Certification Program (ETCP) Council. The Council is the governing body which manages the development and implementation of ETCP, the industry-wide certification programme for entertainment technicians.

Paul Jordan, vice-president, production safety will be representing NBC Universal on the Council. "This is a great opportunity for NBC Universal to work closely with this Council and its diverse partners. We look forward to the work ahead," said Jordan.

ETCP chair, Tim Hansen commented: "The ETCP Council considers NBC Universal's involvement with the programme invaluable because they are truly a powerhouse in film, television and performing arts productions; their wide ranging experience will bring a unique perspective on safety to the table."

(Jim Evans)

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Malaysia - Harman Professional has announced the appointment of several new staff members to the Harman Pro Asia team. The Harman Pro Asia office, located in Kuala Lumpur, has effectively added three new additions onto their team: Eric Goh, Kit Roche and Raymond Tee.

Goh has been added to the Asia staff as regional sales director for South Asia; a position in which he assumes responsibility in handling all dealings involving Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. He will report to David McKinney, Harman Professional's senior director of sales for Asia.

Another team addition, Roche comes to the office with 20 years of administrative experience and assumes the position of office manager.

To round out the newly appointed members of the Asia team, Tee joins as application engineer and will handle technical support and system design support for all of the Harman Pro brands.<

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UK - Since originally opening in 1996, Lush has been a hot destination for the dance community right across Northern Ireland. Now clubbers have an additional incentive to flock to the northern holiday destination of Portrush in County Antrim, following the latest £1.5m technological upgrade of the 2,000-capacity venue.

Lush is within the Kelly's entertainment complex (which includes a hotel, restaurants, bars and holiday chalets). Managing director Peter Wilson asked his technology specialists Light & Sound FX (LSFX) to create a wow factor by delivering advanced LED media displays that would allow the venue's posse of resident VJs to show off their creativity.

Proprietor Darren Gardiner opted for a complete PR Lighting solution. He specified the high-resolution Marveon LED screen P12 Indoor, with 12mm pixel pitch, as the main display above the stage, with a 37.5mm V-LED

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Switzerland - Europe's tallest wine tower, standing at a staggering 15 metres, has been unveiled as the centre piece of the new Radisson Blu Hotel at Zurich Airport. The innovative installation was the focal point of the recent grand opening ceremony.

ES Projects, a trading division of ES Group Ltd, designed, built and commissioned the structure with the support of specialist sub-contractor Stage One who installed and commissioned key features such as the LED lighting and Angel flying winches. ES Projects called on its experience in the events industry to provide training and choreography for the Wine Angels.

The wine tower is a steel framed, glass clad structure designed to act as a vertical four sided temperature controlled wine cellar, operated in full view of the hotel guests and bar customers. The total capacity of the tower is 3,840 bottles. Wine bottles are store

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UK - Violinist Tim Kliphuis has purchased a DPA 4099 instrument mic from UK distributor Sound Network.

"I have played as far afield as Syria and Lebanon, where people are used to a totally different, more pop, approach to acoustic music," he says. "Having my own mic saves long discussions about the sound I want, as the 4099 dictates guarantees the sound I will get.

"My first impression was that the 4099 looked strong and compact, which is what I need for my touring work," continues Kliphuis. "When it came to mounting the mic onto my instrument, the violin clip worked like a charm, and the arm made positioning very easy. I was familiar with DPA's sound quality from working with their previous models and expected the same standard: a faithful rendering of the sound of my violin."

(Jim Evans)

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Eurovision Update - Georgia has chosen an entry which takes a swipe at Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for May's Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow. But disco-funk song We Don't Wanna Put In, a play on the politician's name, could fall foul of Eurovision's rule against political content in entries. A contest spokesman told BBC News some lyrics are "sensitive", but any action would be deferred until next month. Russia and Georgia went to war last year over the region of South Ossetia. Relations between the two countries have been tense for several years.

Tout Control - A new website has been launched to try to help fans buy secondary gig tickets more safely. The Concert Promoters Association (CPA) has developed the website and says it is in response to a lack of government action on touts. Anyone will still be able to use the site, but the CPA

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USA - Newly opened along the banks of the Potomac, the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Centre is the latest monumental addition to the national capital region. With 2,000 luxurious guest rooms and 470,000 sq.ft of meeting, convention and exhibition space - it's the largest combined hotel and convention centre on the Eastern Seaboard.

Candela Controls specified and installed a total of 355 PixelArc R architectural LED luminaires at the resort. 200 colour wash the custom built light box rooms that highlight the four external corners and two towers of the building. The additional 155 are installed inside architectural façade light boxes located above the doorways on the inside of each of the four ballrooms.

The illumination of the light boxes was a major installation challenge. Candela Controls' Bill Ellis explains: "We had to take into consideration the whole design o

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Germany - The Berlin microphone manufacturer will be offering trade fair visitors a programme of short seminars with expert moderators. The seminars, 40 in total, focusing on 10 different topics, will deal not only with general questions concerning the use of microphones in the studio and on stage but also with special topics such as the amplification of choirs, the creation of band demos, the use of digital microphones in home recording studios, voice training for various musical styles, optimal monitoring, and measures for improving room acoustics.

Seminars will be held on all four days of the trade fair, from 9:45 am to 6:00 pm. The complete programme with all of the information concerning the seminar topics and moderators can be found at www.neumann.com. Participation is free of charge, and no preregistration is required, however those who come early will get the best seats,

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USA - LEDtronics has released its latest generation narrow-beam (15 degree) PAR30-style LED spotlight bulb. The general-purpose bulb is made up of five 3-Watt, high-power LEDs and replaces filament-based PAR30 bulbs, combining advanced Light Emitting Diode (LED) technologies, standard AC voltages, 26mm Edison screw-in base, and light-optimising design, producing 367 lumens or an impressive 2,938cd Total End Foot Candles of vivid warm-white light.

The 15-degree narrow-beam PAR30A LED bulb runs on a voltage range of 85V to 260V AC current, and thus can be used anywhere in the world. Other voltages like 12-Volt AC or DC are optionally available for qualifying customers. The LEDtronics PAR30A-style lamp is a direct screw-in replacement for up to 75W PAR30 incandescent or halogen bulbs, but has a maximum power draw of only 9.5W.

Since it uses LEDs instead of standard filaments, thi

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UK - Kettner's is a grand old Soho institution, once frequented by Oscar Wilde, the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII), often with his mistress, Lillie Langtry, and Agatha Christie and later a favourite haunt of media types and theatre-goers. The restaurant, and its famous champagne bar, has now been refurbished with a new decor, which harks back to its Victorian beginnings, and a sound system marking the first UK installation of the Ateis UAP G2 digital audio processor and K-Array loudspeakers.

Background music, both live and pre-recorded, sets the mood in the building's different areas; the Champagne Bar, Brasserie and Pudding Bar on the ground floor and the Apartment Bar on the first floor. A well-distributed, easy to control sound system was required and Kettner's management also wanted facilities for three media rooms on the first floor.

These are being hired ou

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USA - A Meyer Sound system successfully brought a bone-rattling rumble to create sensational movie experience in a 2006 Sensurround screening of the 1974 cult film Earthquake for the Pacific Film Archive and then a 2007 screening for the Los Angeles Film Festival. This January, Meyer Sound's 700-HP ultrahigh-power subwoofers were once again deployed to reproduce the historic track at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles.

One of the more interesting concepts was Sensurround, a system developed in the 1970s by Universal Studios and most famously associated with Earthquake. Sensurround's extreme low-frequency enhancement, while a harbinger of today's dedicated subwoofers and multichannel environments, was both rudimentary and somewhat controversial at the time, and quickly fell into obscurity.

Everything old is new again, and modern audiences have shown a keen apprec

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USA - ETC has expanded its website to include content in Russian for Eastern Europe, in addition to German and English. The new section brings together the Russian language information ETC has produced over the last several years in a user friendly format.

The homepage of the Russian part of the website has links to ETC product information, minisites, installation stories and news. There are also navigation tools for visitors to access ETC downloads, including product brochures, application sheets, setup guides and manuals. Visitors can also link directly to ETC's representatives and dealers in Eastern Europe and Central Asia from this site.

ETC's Eastern European sales manager Armin Kloss says: "As the markets in Russia and surrounding countries continue to grow, more and more people are turning to the internet to get information. Now our customers have all they need to

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UK - Visuals and moving light director Svend Pedersen made extensive use of a Catalyst digital media server to illuminate and animate the set for the latest series of The Krypton Factor, recorded at Granada Television Studios in Manchester for ITV.

Designed by Dominic Toft, the set was made entirely from Perspex and Barco MiStrip LEDs, featuring a wide, shallow set of steps at the front, leading onto the stage, with a MiStrip back wall that curved up and above the stage to form a ceiling over the area, producing a cylindrical style structure.

Pederson used the latest spec Catalyst supplied by Ross Williams, with one output making comprehensive use of the Mix Window facility to zone the output to cover each of the four contestants individually.

He used four Mix Windows per contestant plus an additional Mix Window applied across the whole MiStrip surface, running on two

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Hungary - Located in downtown of Budapest, The Morrison's Music Pub is a very large venue which offers a great number of attractions; The venue comprises five main areas - a big room for live shows, two dance clubs and a lounge area with games and a heated garden.

All the audio systems have been installed by Pako, RCF's distributor in Hungary, using RCF loudspeakers, which proved to be the best all round choice for the various kinds of environments and applications of the venue.

Every week, from Monday to Thursday, concerts are held at the Morrison's Music Pub and after the show it is possible to dance or sing along with karaoke systems.

The sound reinforcement system for the main concert room comprises TT25-A and ART 310-A used as stage monitors. The DJ booth is equipped with ART speakers, used by the DJ as a cue monitor to mix music before and after the live shows.

In th

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USA - One of the exhibits in The Grammy Museum, which opened in December 2008, is the Hall of Fame. Designed by Gallagher & Associates, it features a sculptural column of more than 350 Shure Model 55SH Series II Microphones.

"The Shure 55SH Microphone has been a music industry icon for more than 60 years, as the Grammy has for over 50," said Mark Brunner, Shure's senior director of global public Rrelations. "We are honoured that the Grammy Museum selected this classic microphone to evoke a profound connection to the history of music performance. The microphone sculpture, like this fabulous museum, is something that every music fan should see in person."

(Jim Evans)

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UK - With just 10 weeks to go, the first PLASA Focus event has grown to fill two halls at the Royal Armouries in Leeds, on Tuesday 28th and Wednesday 29th April 2009 - and has announced its first, comprehensive, seminar programme.

To ensure the show is as valuable as it can be for busy visitors, a packed two-day seminar programme in a purpose built auditorium will cover a broad array of topics, including health and safety, rigging, sustainability and more.

Six seminars have so far been confirmed (with two more still to be announced). These cover 'Tallescopes - Friend or Foe?', 'PPE for Working At Height - Clearing The Mist' and 'The Theatres Trust - Open Forum' (Tuesday 28th); and 'Sustainable Events - Making BS8901 Work For You', 'Freelancing In The Industry' and 'Regulatory Reform - Fire Safety' (Wednesday 29th).

All seminars are free to attend and tackle a wide spectrum o

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UK - Not quite an hour's drive west of Fort William, Glenuig is remote in the sense that it's far from any urban centre. That doesn't meanthat it's on the road less travelled. Striking in its outlook across the Sound of Arisaig and west to the Hebrides beyond, this community of just 30 souls has provided a welcome to many thousands over the past 25 years with a special brand of folk gathering in the beautiful setting of Glenuig Hall.

This timber building located in the Parish of Moidart, West Lochaber, Scotland, has recently been endowed with its own d&b audiotechnik PA system, provided by Warehouse Sound Services. Glenuig has musical history running through it and demands proper professional quality sound.

The Glenuig Games and Music Festival first manifested itself at a local gathering in April 1983, when the date for the first Not So Serious Glenuig Gameswas set for

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UK - Wisbech-based flightcase manufacturer 5 Star has again provided a case solution for UK DJ equipment specialist, Pioneer.

Following the success of the Pro-420FLT and Pro-440FLT mini consoles, Pioneer required a custom designed case to house its latest professional DJ system, the MEP-7000 multi entertainment player and controller, which also includes a 19" mixer such as the DJM-3000. The DJM-700 mixer can also be housed via the 19" rack conversion.

Pioneer and 5 Star worked closely from the outset of the project to achieve a value added' product with numerous eatures and Pioneer branding.

"Pioneer has a great relationship with 5 Star", says Pioneer's Paul Beardsall. "We simply supply a brief for a new project and they have a remarkable ability to produce and deliver the goods. Design flare, an eye for detail and a superb production turnaround real

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