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UAE - Dubai's DUCTAC theatre was the destination for many of the key regional AV integrators and audio consultants on Easter Sunday, to attend the Middle East Pro Audio Seminar, organised by Tannoy Middle East with support from Lab.gruppen, Lake and Biamp Systems. The successful event attracted over 40 attendees and was v well received.

The event was aimed at audio professionals throughout the region with an active involvement in the installed sound market, designed to give them an opportunity to discover the latest product innovations from the TC Group's pro-audio brands; namely Tannoy, Lab.gruppen and Lake, as well as some insight into the market-leading DSP install solutions from Biamp Systems.

The well-equipped community arts theatre proved to be an appropriate venue for dem

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UK - Blackstar Amplification has been honoured in the 2011 Queen's Awards For Enterprise in the International Trade category. Blackstar has only been in existence for four years - an unusually short period of time in which to earn the award.

Paul Hayhoe, Blackstar UK's sales and marketing director, comments, "In 2007, four friends - all passionate musicians - launched Blackstar Amplification. Having worked together for years at the highest levels of the amp designing industry, their dream was to create new and innovative guitar amplifiers and pedals that would be the ultimate tools for self-expression."

Hayhoe continues, "Since then, we have gone from a shed at the bottom of the garden to a 4500sq.ft facility and a team of 25 amazingly talented and dedicated people. Blackstar products are now distributed in more than 40 countries around the world, but one thing

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USA - The Entertainment Technician Certification Programme (ETCP) Council is has announced an addition to the Employer and Labor Provider Recognition Programes: ETCP Recognised Contractor. This programme has been initiated to recognise organisations who utilise ETCP Recognized Employers and/or ETCP Certified Technicians on projects and job sites. This designation would be appropriate for designers, integrators, producers, and production companies. It would also be applicable for venues such as performing arts centres, arenas, museums, theme parks, and houses of worship.

Many organisations find ETCP Recognition and the ETCP logo to be effective marketing tools. ETCP Recognised Contractors may utilise the special ETCP Recognized logo which identifies them as a 'Contractor of ETCP Certified Technicians'. These logos may be used on company letterhead, on a website, and in advertisin

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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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Italy - RCF has invested in a new facility, called the RCF Audio Academy - a complex of several demo facilities, classrooms and conference areas. At the Audio Academy there is also a 'Room of Sound' - a large area where various different audio applications can be set up, from a standard commercial system to complex DSP-controlled solutions. The Audio Academy is an ideal place for system integrators, FOH sound engineers, installers, rental and "tomorrow's engineers" to participate in courses and have the opportunity to learn about new technologies or get updated with the latest developments and trends. The RCF Audio Academy is based in Reggio Emilia, Italy very close to RCF's international headquarters.

"Our goal with the RCF Audio Academy is to share our knowledge and skills with the industry," says Fausto Incerti, general manager of RCF.

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UK - Packed aisles and major new product launches firmly established PLASA Focus as an unmissable industry event for the north of England. Some 1956 visitors, representing a 9% increase in the total number of attendees in 2010, headed to the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds last week to see 130 brands launch dozens of new products to the UK market. A total of 2457 attendees, including exhibitors, enjoyed Focus's trademark sunshine, free lunch and informal, friendly atmosphere.

Among a lengthy list of new products receiving their UK launch were the Chroma-Q Studio Force and Jands Vista V2, both launched by AC Entertainment Technologies; a new generation of moving heads from Robe; Avolites' Sapphire Touch and a preview of its Titan V5 software; the Wave 28 all-in-one modular PA from Adam Hall; Christie's new Nitro Solutions range of motorised moving yokes; the new Showtec luminaire

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Germany - Lighting designer Gunther Hecker used 22 Robe LEDWash 600s as his key fixtures for the just finished Die Söhne Mannheims European tour, an opportunity seized by the band to preview material for their forthcoming new album to be released in the autumn.

Söhne Mannheims is a popular German music band with massive energy and dynamics, featuring up to 17 members (with 13 on this tour) encompassing several musical genres including rap, R 'n' B, soul, hip hop and rock all fused into a distinctive style, achieving considerable commercial and critical acclaim.

Hecker's lighting design studio is based in Werne. He started his lighting career in the theatre 20 years ago, and now works on a host of live events, TV shows and bands - also including LD'ing the Die Fantastischen Vier and Tokio Hotel. He has worked with Söhne Mannheims since 1999

Hecker had been wanting to try o

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USA - Cree has introduced the Screen Master CLX6A-FKB which "delivers industry-leading intensity and far-field pattern matching for high-resolution full-colour displays in a small water resistant package".

Optimised for outdoor use with both IPX6 and IPX8 ratings, this PLCC6-type LED eliminates the need for a protective cover, reducing overall systems cost and delivering higher brightness, says the company. It is billed as the industry's first water resistant, tall LED package, designed with dimensions that provide superior thermal performance and make it easier for customers to assemble.

The Screen Master CLVBA-FKA is Cree's first black-body RGB surface-mount LED, optimised to provide the highest contrast ratio for indoor video screens. It has matched red-green-blue far-field patterns, delivering "a consistent viewing experience across a wide range of viewing p

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UK - Avid has appointed Mick Brophy as European sales manager for its Live Sound division. Mick will be heading up Avid's Live Sound European sales team, with a focus on driving sales of the Avid VENUE live sound console range.

Mick brings with him over 25 years' experience in the live sound industry. Before joining Avid, he spent four years in Barcelona as the international sales and marketing director of professional products for Vieta, based at SeeSound, Avid's Spanish and Portuguese distributor. In this role he drove sales of the VENUE product range in Portugal, gaining extensive knowledge of the system and customer base. In addition, he's held positions at mixing console company, AMEK, where he spent 11 years, three as international sales director. Mick also worked as a consultant for various audio companies, advising them on how to grow their sales.

Mick will be based at

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UK - Since its inception KV2 Audio says it has fought against the increasing acceptance of poor quality audio technology being used for convenience over results and has always built its products around the best technology, rather than simply following the latest technology.

The Super Live Audio name derives from KV2 Audio's opinion that live music is "the ultimate source and features three distinct disciplines, Super Digital, Super Analogue and Super Acoustic... The three disciplines are the culmination of KV2 Audio's innovations and technologies".

Where digital processing is required, KV2 Audio listened to the industry standard 48kHz and 96kHz delay lines and found that they badly distorted the sound, offering reduced intelligibility, especially over distance. Refusing to accept this KV2 created Super Digital technology featuring 20MHz High Resolution Sigma Delta A-

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UK / Germany - UK audio brand Studiomaster has reported success on all fronts at this year's Prolight+Sound exhibition in Frankfurt, as new products and proprietary technologies debuted on its stand generated a record increase in trade visitors and potential distribution opportunities in more than 40 new territories and market sectors. The company also announced the strengthening of its sales operation with the appointment of a global sales manager.

Major attractions included the company's first digital mixer, the DIGILIVE 24. A proprietary development, complete with moving faders and optional Firewire interface, it provides a unique expandable mix platform at an entry level price point; rackmount expander modules provide 40 channel and 56 channels systems. Also debuted in production prototype form was the Horizon 2012 powered mixer, offering unrivalled power and performance in

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Australia - Alan Jackson is currently completing his first headline tour of Australia, with many of his arena shows selling out rapidly.

Lighting designer John Lucksinger used Chameleon Touring Systems for lighting supply including 16 Vari*Lite VLX LED wash lights hung in the air randomly over the stage.

Lucksinger admits that in the US he uses a different type of LED fixture, however when Chameleon offered him the Vari*Lite VLX's he was excited to try them.

"I found them to be very clean, and their colours are just beautiful plus they're very quick and have a really nice zoom. I'm not a real gear person and see lights as lights. I remember seeing a demo of the VLX and thinking 'oh great another wash fixture'. But they are honestly one of the best fixtures I've ever used, they are amazing. I'll certainly be specifying them in the future."

(Jim Evans)

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UK - Mercury AV has supplied an Allen & Heath iLive-T digital mixing system to manage FOH and monitor sound at Cambridge Community Church.

Rich Harris from Cambridge Community Church considered two other competitive products but following a demo at Mercury AV, decided to purchase iLive.

The iLive system comprises an iDR-48 MixRack and iLive-T112 Control Surface for monitors together with an iDR-16 Mixrack and a second iLive-T112 Surface at FOH. The two MixRacks are connected via MADI, which provides a 64-channel bi-directional audio link between monitors and FOH. An iDR-32 MixRack has also been supplied for use with a laptop for smaller external events.

Ian McDonald, Director of Mercury AV Ltd comments, "iLive is an incredibly flexible system. Digital signal distribution is one of the key benefits of using digital mixers and with Allen & Heath's iLive-T Series, this ben

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France - British band, Archive, whose musical genres span everything from trip hop to progressive rock, have enjoyed massive success in continental Europe for the best part of nearly two decades. The band recently embarked on a completely sold-out mini European tour accompanied, for the most part, by a philharmonic orchestra.

FoH engineer Spike Jones used an Innovason Eclipse in tandem with another console, as well as a full complement of Neumann digital microphones for the orchestra, all controlled via Eclipse. The tour included a date at the art deco Parisien venue, Le Grand Rex - the first with the digital microphones; a special 'electric' show in Karlsruhe which was just the band, and the final show at the concert hall at the university of Berlin with the orchestra and digital mics which was recorded live using Elipse's integrated digital recorder, M.A.R.S.

"I've real

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Germany - Two grandMA2 light consoles and nine MA VPU (Video Processing Unit) plus are being used to deliver the video and graphics package for the current series of German Pop Idol, which is being recorded in Studios 30/31 at the Coloneum MMC Studios in Cologne, produced by Grundy Light Entertainment.

The popular talent show series is now in its eighth series and is the biggest studio based show in Germany, complete with a live broadcast every Saturday on RTL, also enjoyed by an audience of 1,300 in the studio.

The set and video concept is designed by Florian Wieder (Wieder Design) and based on a series of interrelated 3D spheres and screen surfaces. Video is a vital part of the look and dynamics of the show, with custom content for each competitor and their different songs designed by Falk Rosenthal from Gravity Hamburg. Together with the lighting, designed by Manuel

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Algeria - PR Lighting's Algerian distributor, Neosun, has supplied production specialists, HANS Company, with quantities of XL Beam 300's to enable the production company to showcase a number of leading car brands at the recent Salon International de l'Automobile d'Alger (14th Algerian Motor Show).

Neosun has been working with PR Lighting since 2009, initially placing small orders before developing a much larger slice of the market with the Chinese manufacturer's components. One of their major customers has been HANS Company, confirms Neosun sales executive, Salim Derradji,

"XL Beam 300 is new type of moving head, with special features not found with competitors' brands - so our client was pleased to be able to provide a different solution," said Mr. Derradji.

At the Motor Show, the fixtures were mostly suspended from square or triangular truss sections. For SOVAC,

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China - Wireless Solution Sweden will be showing off a new booth design while demonstrating the new W-DMX G4 line during PALM Expo 2011, 26-29 May at the China International Exhibition Centre in Beijing.

"PALM Expo is an incredibly successful show for us," says Niclas Arvidsson, CEO of Wireless Solution, "We've had great success with both end users and OEM partners in this region of the world. The G4 technology will be fast embraced."

"Unlike any cable, the new G4 is able to repair corrupted data and vouches for maximum security by running on dual band and creating a backup duplicate of the signal," explains product specialist Ben Darrington, "This new standard is transparent and works with several protocols, creating extreme flexibility and reliability without the need for additional controllers or software."

(Jim Evans)

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UK - Britain's Got Talent's dance group Flawless are coming to the end of their largest ever tour - 60 dates covering major cities of the UK.

With more dates, less rest, tighter install deadlines and even more demanding choreography the Flawless team requested Le Mark's Manero Portable SubFloor to be used at every venue possible.

Artistic director Marlon Wallen comments, "We have used the Manero floor throughout our 60 date UK tour and we really feel that it has made a significant difference to the quality of our performance. The give in the floor has protected our bodies during flips and multiple somersaults and we have noticed its superior quality when compared to other professional dance floors we have performed on in the past."

(Jim Evans)

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USA - Peavey Electronics Corporation, one of the world's largest manufacturers of musical instruments and professional sound equipment, has initiated multiple actions against Behringer for various intellectual property issues, including patent infringement, false marking, trademark infringement and unfair competition.

The Behringer-related entities currently involved in these suits include Music Group Services LU SARL - a corporation currently located on Mauritius; Music Group Services US, Inc - a Washington state corporation; Behringer International GmbH - a German corporation; Behringer Holdings (PTE) Ltd - a Singapore company; Red Chip Company Ltd - a British Virgin Islands corporation; Behringer USA Inc - a Washington state corporation, and Behringer Spezielle Studiotechnik GmbH - a German corporation.

Peavey filed a lawsuit in 2009 against Behringer in US District Court i

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Denmark - The Royal Danish Ballet's recent performance of A Folk Talewhich ended a four week run at the Copenhagen Opera House on 8 April, is a classic Bournonville ballet that included several new interpretations and visual elements. Part of that new look included lighting effects from Martin Professional MAC III Profile luminaires under the command of lighting designer and programmer Mikki Kunttu.

"It was one of the main ideas of the design to have the brightest source of light originating from the centre of the stage so we created a cluster of MAC III's in the centre of the space," Kunttu stated. "I wanted a very silent moving light with a lot of brightness, wide beam and good gobo projection and the MAC III delivered all these."

Kunttu made the decision to use the 1500 watt fixtures after studying scale models of the sets. "With the set's wh

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USA - A tribute to the life and work of John Denver took place at the 1ST Bank Centre in Broomfield, Colorado. To mark his commitments to humanitarian, sustainability and conservation causes the event was held on Earth Day, 21 April.

Hosted by Olivia Newton-John, a close friend of Denver and his family, the evening featured performances from a large roster of artists including Lee Ann Womack, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, John Oates, Trace Bundy and the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra. The show opened with Denver's induction into the Colorado Music Hall Of Fame, the first artist to be so honoured, and also included performances from his first wife and his widow.

Sound production for the event was handled by Colorado-based Dowlen Sound who deployed a combination of Outline GTO, Butterfly and Mantas loudspeaker modules in the 6500-capacity venue. The main L&R system comprised 12 GT

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USA - The Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Southern California grows larger every spring. This year, the three-day event boasted over 75,000 attendees each day, and featured headlining acts such as Arcade Fire, Kanye West, and Kings of Leon.

Integral to this major production was wireless lighting control, realised with LumenRadio's CRMX Nova systems. On 11 generator-powered lighting towers as far away as 2,100ft from the control center, LumenRadio controlled four DMX universes of High End intellaspots, PRG Bad Boys, and Color Kinetics ColorBlazes.

Provided by Felix Lighting of La Mirada, CA, the LumenRadio units overcame daunting challenges, not only linking several universes of DMX to locations well over a quarter mile apart, but doing so while peacefully coexisting in an environment saturated by other wireless traffic, including life safety, performance, production, and

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