Germany - LumenRadio reports that it broke the company's previous attendance records at this year's Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt with several thousand German and international visitors to the stand; part of German CRMX distributor LMP's extremely busy village.

Two new products and a dozen new OEM and project partners, among them some of the largest players in the lighting industry, were revealed in conjunction with the show. Over 1200 new catalogues with new reference installations and projects were distributed to lighting professionals, manufacturers, distributors, and partners during the four day exhibition.

An example of wireless OEM products on display at the show was Philips Entertainment's new Vari-Lite and Selecon fixtures. Philips has developed a solution that makes it po

UK - SweetSpot Group has confirmed Sharp Electronics as Official Broadcast Sponsors for The Tour of Britain's ITV coverage this September.

Following on from their partnership in 2010, Sharp will also continue as Official Electronics Partner to The Tour of Britain, the UK's biggest professional cycle race and largest free-to-spectate sporting event, and The Halfords Tour Series.

Paul Hide, Sharp managing director, commented, "The last 18 months have seen us establish our position in UK pro-cycling, and we are now looking to build on that. As the premier UK pro event, The Tour of Britain is the perfect platform for us, and we'll be looking to bring our technological expertise to the race this year, providing insights that can deepen the fans' enjoyment and engagement."

As a part of the deal Sharp will showcase their technological excellence to a wide audience across

UK - Saville Audio Visual provided the staging, production and AV facilities for the inaugural Masquerade Ball, a spectacular charity event in aid of the KiDs of Bolton.

The charity was set up by Premiership footballer Kevin Davies, team captain of Bolton Wanderers, aimed at youngsters under the age of 18 living in and around the Bolton area. His wish is to help local children develop skills, confidence, self-esteem and discipline by creating opportunities that otherwise would not be available to them.

This was their first major fundraising event since gaining Charity status only weeks beforehand and was staged in the Premier Suite of De Vere Venues Whites hotel at the Reebok Stadium. The charity and the event is backed by some very prominent Boltonians, some of whom were lending their talents on the night. The evening was headlined by McFly and supported by Britain'

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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

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies rigging division has delivered a new flexible, portable Out Board motor control solution to the NEC Group in Birmingham, which will be utilised primarily throughout the International Conference Centre - one of the busiest conference facilities in the country, hosting numerous high profile international events.

The NEC Birmingham encompasses 19 halls of premium conference and exhibition space along with the LG Arena venue.

The sale involves eight flight cased Out Board DV8 8-channel direct motor controllers and three RC16 remote control handsets with 50m extensions, which are cased up as three 16-way racks and two eight-way single racks - all in Five Star Cases' Industrial grade rack sleeves. It was co-ordinated between the NEC's resource manager for rigging, Rob O'Donnell, and A.C. Rigging's Matt Millward in the Leeds office.

This latest

UAE - Part of an internationally successful chain, the Club Se7en opened its doors recently after around 12 months' intensive construction and installation activity. Like those of the Ratsky III and Mood Nightclub II, two of Dubai's other top clubs, Club Se7en's operators opted for a complete Dynacord sound system.

The installation was the responsibility of the Dubai-based sound company Phoenix LAS, whose MD, Mark Legaspi reports, "We've long been diehard fans of Dynacord because its products are reliable, extremely efficient and represent outstanding value for money. Also, the support from Tony Sawyer, Dynacord technical support manager, and distributor AVL Electronics is outstanding."

The sound system is built around VariLine loudspeakers reinforced by Sub 18 cabinets to provide maximum sound pressure at the bottom end of the frequency range. The requisite power is

Australia - With a previous installation at the Riverside Theatre, Sydney, a second Australian theatre has now embraced the audio qualities of Alcons loudspeakers. The Playhouse is a 618 seat venue in the Canberra Theatre Centre. A three-level theatre with proscenium arch, it is used for a wide variety of productions.

Alcons was specified for the job by one of Australia's leading theatre sound design companies, Notsui Consulting.

"A test system was then taken to Canberra to give the head of audio a listen, and we were awarded the contract straight away," says David Betterridge of system installers Loud And Clear.

For this installation, eight LR14 are flown as a centre cluster, with three LR14B flown above. Two pairs of VR12 and VR12M per side provide balcony and stalls side-fill, with two BF302 providing a full-bodied sub-bass. The system is powered by seven ALC2 a

UK - Launched by musician Kate Nash in London's Trafalgar Square at the beginning of March, the BME on Tour project - in the form of one of London's much beloved, but now retired, Route Master red buses - is set to take the British Music Experience out on the road, reaching thousands of children and young adults across the country who may never have had access to modern music equipment, bespoke music education masterclasses or visited the museum.

As part of its commitment to education, Sennheiser UK has been a sponsor of the British Music Experience since its launch in March 2009 working in conjunction with the museum to host a series of Education Days and Masterclasses.

"Sennheiser UK's interest in the British Music Experience was first piqued because the timeline they proposed displaying more or less mirrored the timeline of the history of Sennheiser, the company

Italy - Three of Italy's leading audio, lighting and staging rental companies have joined forces to create All Access s.r.l. - and have opened their account by making a massive investment in Martin Audio's Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array (MLA). The three companies involved are Fumasoli Service from Aosta (Valle D'Aosta), Electra Service s.n.c. from Mantova (Lombardia) and Amandla Production s.a.s. (from Lucca Toscana). The founding partners decided to form All Access during the first demo of the MLA, organised by Audiosales s.r.l., the Martin Audio distributor in Italy, following their stunned reaction to the system. Since the three companies have always used Martin Audio's systems - from the old modular system, to the RS800, the F1, the W8, the W8L Longbow, the W8LC and the W8LM - the recommendation had been proposed by head of Audiosales, Stefano Rocchi, who could see the obvio

Poland - Lauda-Audio has won the contract to fit a substantial Nexo Geo S8 sound reinforcement system into one of the country's most famous church buildings, St John's in the city of Gdansk.

The massive Gothic interior of this former house of worship in the heart of Gdansk's main town is now a spectacular venue, administered by the Baltic Sea Culture Centre as an exhibition space and auditorium, showcasing everything from classical concerts to world music. On Lauda-Audio's advice, an all-Nexospec has been drawn up; Adam Adamowicz explains why.

"As a prominent historical monument, the St John's Church is protected by law, and any modifications to the building are conducted under strict scrutiny. We faced quite a challenge to install so many speakers and still meet the curator's standards.

"The Geo S8 is a small cabinet but very effective. The venue management places

UK - Rigging Services has announced the appointment of Scott McAughtrie as manager of its North West branch in Manchester, UK. McAughtrie has a strong event industry background spanning more than 20 years. Formerly with well known AV providers Gearhouse, Blitz and MCL he brings a wealth of maturity and experience with him, which is already proving beneficial to the development of new business as well as growth with existing clients.

Rigging Services has opened its third location in the UK just over two years ago in Manchester and has great aspirations for business growth regionally.

Paul Fulcher, director of Rigging Services comments, "A multi-location business such as ours depends upon the local team to act with independence, strength and speed. Whilst at the same time recognising that they are part of a bigger entity with a need for adherence to the company's quality an

Germany - Seen for the very first time at PLASA 2010 in September, the SR-16 is a brand new remotely-controllable 16-in/16-out EtherSound stagebox from Innovason. Based on the proven technology behind Digigram's AQONDA device, SR-16 offers high quality audio control with state-of-the-art mic preamps in a compact and cost-effective 2U format.

SR-16 is capable of transforming up to 16 analog audio channels into as many EtherSound signals and injecting them into an EtherSound network (any topology). All of the components are of extremely high quality to ensure that audio quality remains uncompromised throughout, says the company.

Compatible with all existing EtherSound set-ups including ES-100 and ES-Giga, SR-16 is naturally fully controllable via Eclipse - channel assignment is performed from the Nova 2.0 GUI, and there is direct access for preamp gain and PH48V activation from

UK - At PLASA Focus 2011, dBTechnologies will present the DVA T12, a powerful yet compact three-way active Line Array. It will also announce a collaboration in the UK with Medialease to offer low cost bespoke financing options on new T12 and larger T4 systems.

Like the market-leading DVA T4 - which has sold in excess of 15,000 units worldwide - the DVA T12 is made with a lightweight but rugged PP-Housing, which is fully compatible, allowing DVA T4 units to be flown right below a T12 array for use as down-fills in large PA systems. For an added acoustic benefit, both systems' driver sections are in line to generate phase-correct high-frequency additions.

The Digipro G2 digital three-way amplifier with switching power supply and PFC was designed especially for the T12, and offers the latest technology including a powerful 56Bit/96KHz DSP with ADDA converters delivering a true 14

UK - 5 Star Cases has just launched a new free iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad app - 'e-CASE'

e-CASE is also a useful addition to 5 Star's web site quotation request facility - with the advantage that it can be used in locations where access to a PC pr laptop is not available, says the company. As long as a 3G, WiFi (preferably) or an EDGE signal is present, e-CASE can be used to configure case projects any place any time.

Says 5 Star MD Keith Sykes, "Communication is a key element in providing the constantly evolving premium service in which we pride ourselves. In a fast moving world, where time is precious, we believe that empowering our clients with greater access to our all our facilities whatever their location or time zone will be another reason for them to bring business to 5 Star".

e-CASE allows the user to browse, configure and select all of 5 Star's 'Case Typ

UK - To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of its factory in Scotland, DiGiCo is producing a limited run, Special Edition SD8 digital mixing console.

The Special Edition SD8 is produced in an understated titanium colour, but sports all the features and benefits of the original SD8's Stealth Digital Processing with Tiger SHARC FX engine.

"We are very proud to be a UK manufacturer, with a manufacturing base in the United Kingdom," says DiGiCo managing director, James Gordon. "Twenty years is a milestone for our factory, which goes back to the days of Soundtracs before it was bought by DiGiCo in 2002, and we wanted to celebrate in a significant way.

"The Special Edition SD8 marks the occasion perfectly and we are delighted that Italian rental house, Agora, has already put in an order for the first four consoles."

(Jim Evans)

Germany - Professional loudspeaker systems manufacturer Fohhn Audio has released a new App for iPhone and Android. The App enables users of Fohhn Linea LX-501/601 line array systems to determine the optimum positioning of their systems at a particular venue and adjust the loudspeakers to give the best possible audience coverage.

The latest generation Fohnn Linea LX-501/601 hybrid line array systems are equipped with four or six high-powered 6.5" long excursion speakers and four 1" compression drivers with Fohhn HF Waveguide. Suitable for both flown applications and for use with a tripod, Linea LX-501/601 line arrays are noted for their directional sound capabilities and excellent reproduction of both speech and music.

By typing in the height of the speaker stand and the distance to be covered at the venue, the new App can calculate the vertical angle at which the lou

USA - An audio industry pioneer, Roger Nichols played an instrumental role in a Meyer Sound milestone when he inspired the company to develop the HD-1 reference loudspeaker into a near-field monitoring system for recording studios and live mixing environments. Nichols was the first engineer to use HD-1 monitors for a recording - Flying Cowboys by Rickie Lee Jones. Other artists who worked with Nichols include Placido Domingo, Roseanne Cash, Frank Sinatra, and The Beach Boys.

"It takes a visionary like Roger to steer change and break new grounds in technology," says John Meyer, CEO and cofounder of Meyer Sound. "He raised the important question about whether loudspeakers should play a neutral role in the audio chain and this opened up the path for reinforcement systems to be built for transparency and linearity. He was a talented individual who took a relentless sc

UAE - Education Without Borders 2011 opened on Burj Khalifa Island, Dubai, with a spectacular laser show in front of the world's tallest building.

Responding to an invitation from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, more than 1,000 students from 130 countries attended a stupendous opening ceremony.

Six high-power lasers from tarm Showlaser and sixty precision deflecting mirrors transformed the open-air arena into a network of laser beams.

(Jim Evans)

USA / Germany - Bosch Security Systems, Inc., Communications Systems Division has announced that Phillip Scobee will join the Electro-Voice team as product manager, Electro-Voice Concert Sound.

Best-known as the designer of high-end touring sound systems for artists such as Kenny Chesney and Sugarland, Scobee brings long experience and an end-user's perspective to his new position, where he will be responsible for both new and existing Electro-Voice concert product lines.

Scobee's connection to Electro-Voice equipment dates back to his early-career involvement with installed sound and has continued into his work in tour sound, most recently as director of operations for Morris Leasing in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

"I've designed large-scale touring rigs for many different artists," Scobee says, "and I've used a lot of EV equipment over the years. We chose EV for

Germany - Robe lighting held its fourth International Distributor's Conference (IDC) in Frankfurt at the Kempinski Hotel in Gravenbruch. This was attended by nearly 200 people from over 60 companies representing 80 countries, and a major segment of Robe's International distributor and dealer network.

The timing was chosen to coincide with the 2011 Prolight+Sound Exhibition in Frankfurt, at which Robe launched five new products - the Robin 600 PureWhite, the Robin 300 LED Wash, the Robin MMX Spot - the first of a new generation of 1200 Series luminaires, the DigitalSpot 3500DT and the versatile CityFlex 48.

The fast moving format of the 2011 IDC included a full presentation and overview of all the new feature-packed products, giving the distributors a preview ahead of the exhibition.

Robe's sales director Harry von den Stemmen kicked off the Conference, updating everyone with

Denmark - Nordic Rentals of Denmark, has become an L-Acoustics K1/Kudo/Kara rental network agent with the purchase of 48 x K1, 36 x Kudo and 36 x Kara WST line source cabinets, with 24 x K1-SB, 40 x SB28 and 12 x SB18 subwoofers. The system, supplied by L-Acoustics' Danish distributor Moto Audio Sales, comes complete with LA-8 amplified controllers in LA-RAKs with LA-AES3 cards.

Nordic, a new WST user, has moved increasingly into digital technology, with the decision to purchase K1, according to Nordic Rentals director audio-logistics-stage Jens Elsborg. "V-Dosc has been the reference since the early nineties, and L-Acoustics is the brand all technicians have on their rider and the brand all other manufacturers relate to.

"With the K1 package, that heritage is very well preserved. Buying a speaker system nowadays is also a choice of 'family'. By careful choice of age

Brazil - Renowned Brazilian band, Santa Maria, recently upgraded its touring FOH mixer to an Allen & Heath iLive digital system. The band is famed throughout Brazil,and has been performing for nearly 30 years.

"We have been using Allen & Heath's analogue consoles for the last 15 years and have always enjoyed their sound quality and durability," says Santa Maria's art and musical director, André Zampieri.

A&H's Brazilian distributor, Libor, introduced Zampieri to iLive, who decided to try out an iLive-T112 Control Surface and iDR-48 MixRack at FOH.

"I fell in love with iLive the first time I used it," reports Zampieri. "We've been using the system for several months now with great results. iLive gives us high quality audio with a flexible design that combines the conveniences of the digital world, such as the use of an iPhone, iPad or LapTop wi

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