UAE - High End Systems has confirmed the appointment of TechnoPro LLC as its exclusive Middle East distribution partner. TechnoPro will provide sales, support, service and training for High End Systems' full range of Wholehog lighting consoles, automated and digital lighting products."We are planning for this year to launch a series of training seminars on the Wholehog series consoles, the Axon Media Server, and the new Technospot and intellaspot fixtures," said TechnoPro CEO Nabil Bourgeili. "Our goal is to help professionals and to create more certified technicians in the region as well as assisting customers to understand the finest details of High End Systems technologies."TechnoPro celebrated this year its 10th Anniversary of professional accomplishments in

UK - Ambersphere Solutions, the exclusive distributor for MA Lighting products into the UK, reports that it has been overwhelmed by demand for the recently launched MA onPC command wing.

The MA onPC command wing is the latest addition to the MA Lighting family and offers a powerful, efficient mobile option to operating the grandMA2 control system in even the most challenging environments.

"When we first saw the MA onPC command wing we knew it was going to be a hit, and we were thrilled by the opportunities it was going to open up for us' says Philip Norfolk, sales director for Ambersphere.

"Being able to gain access to the superior MA technology, but at an affordable price tag, allows us to speak to customers who previously thought MA was out of their reach. But it is absolutely not," continues Norfolk.

"This product is so versatile - it can act as a st

Germany - Following the success of the PL1 LED spot and PL3 LED wash lights in the TV and theatre markets; Selecon launched two new LED lighting products, in the same range, at Frankfurt Pro Light and Sound 2012 - The Studio Panel and the PLCyc.

The Studio Panel is an LED soft light featuring: variable colour temperature from 2700K up to 6000K using a mixture of amber and white LEDs. Drawing just 60W of power at any voltage the Studio Panel can be powered via a four pin XLR direct from the TV camera or via a powercon connector direct from the mains. This means that on location the luminaire can be powered from the camera alone. Three onboard buttons and a wheel enable the user to quickly adjust the colour temperature, dimming intensity and access a number of preset colour temperatures. Alternatively the luminaire can be controlled remotely via DMX. Available from April 2012.

T

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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 - PLASA Focus Leeds will be a first for the d&b GB office, who will be at the show to introduce the E4 and E5,the latest teenyweeny additions to the time honoured E-Series, from their Black range.

Alongside these elegant little loudspeakers will be a selection of products picked from the White range. The4S and 5S are equally small loudspeakers, designed for visual and acoustical integration into fixed applications.

Oran Burns and Steve Jones from the d&b GB Education and Application Support team will be offering visitors the chance to attend two seminars as part of the show's free Professional Development Programme.

On Tuesday 17 April, Can you hear me at the Back? presented by Oran Burns, will explore how to get the sound you've lovingly nurtured through the console to every seat in the house. On Wednesday 18 April, Steve Jones will look at what methods can be use

The Netherlands - White Villa, a leading independent production unit, has recently upgraded its production facilities at its headquarters the Netherlands. The newly refurbished studio features a Genelec DSP system with the 8260A monitor ensuring first class results for the many top acts which use the studios for mixing and recording.

Founded in 1997 by John Dirne, White Villa (part of White Villa Entertainment) began life as a small business but has grown to become a dynamic, successful recording company with many hits to its name in almost every thinkable style. Based atEdein the centre of theNetherlands, White Villa has four control rooms and two studios and a hospitality bar area with private pool. Audio consultant, Jan Morel of Morel Muziek chose the 8260A as the main monitor to complement the SSL duality console and other leading edge equipment.

"The 8260A was the pe

USA - Mankin Media Systems (MMS) of Franklin, Tennessee helped Chattanooga's Silverdale Baptist Church find a cost-effective lighting solution for the renovation of existing space into a 2,000-seat auditorium, which includes integration of 15 Aledin 85-watt LED profile spots from Robert Juliat.

Initially, the church planned a new auditorium, but when funding shortfalls required significant budget cutbacks MMS was tasked with figuring out how to retrofit its lighting design into a room that could be renovated. MMS worked with structural engineers to design a catwalk to add lighting capabilities to the pre-existing space while lowering the ceiling for a more intimate feel. The main challenge remained, however: a limit on the electrical supply to the facility since the cost of increasing power capacity to the room would be enormous. Power consumption therefore became a major consid

UK - Belgium's ADB Lighting will exhibit at PLASA Focus: Leeds, for the first time in its own right, on on Stand S-D1.

ADB will show some of its latest lighting and lighting control systems, including the UK preview of its new LED Powered Profile Spotlight.

Based on the proven concept of the Europe 1kW Condenser Profile, the new LED Profile was first shown at JTSE, SIEL and ProLight+Sound. With final design enhancements and extensive road testing in progress, the full product range launch is planned for September 2012. The first two products in the LED range will be a Theatre Fresnel and a Profile spotlight with the equivalent beam power of a 1kW halogen spotlight.

Also on show will be the latest ALC4-2 modular multi-purpose luminaire with its range of reflectors and barndoors, and the Freedom lighting control desk, with a host of software enhancements that extend the consol

UK - Canford has added Roland to its ever expanding range of brands it distributes and will be showing a selection of Roland products at PLASA Focus alongside other top brands such as Tascam, Denon and EMO.

The latest updates to the Tecpro Wireless and Tecpro 2 communications ranges will also be on display alongside the newest addition to the Telex range, the BTR-240 wireless intercom system. Canford's D'n'A cable range for both analogue and digital audio signals will also be shown at the show. A selection of the high end Voice Technologies microphones intended for live or performance use will displayed alongside performance mics from Shure, Sennheiser, Beyer and Audio Technica.

Canford will present selected products from Roland at PLASA Focus while simultaneously announcing their appointment as a distributor for the market leading brand. Products will include the VC-30HD mult

USA - Woodberry Forest School, situated on the banks of the Rapidan River near Charlottesville, Virginia, is an historic boy's prep school situated on 1200 acres of land that once belonged to General William Madison, the brother of President James Madison.

Using Technomad advanced audio solutions, the school has upgraded sound systems in two athletic facilities in alignment with campus-wide building preservation efforts.

Onyx Audio Visual, a Virginia-based IT consulting company with expertise in audio/video, network infrastructure and lighting, designed and integrated the new sound systems. The company chose a Technomad Turnkey PA System to bring multiple loudspeakers and all required signal processing systems together into a single, integrated solution.

The complete system, deployed in a 70-volt configuration to accommodate lengthy cable runs across four zones, reproduces i

Nigeria - Until recently, most TV channels across Africa were run by underfunded national broadcasters who aired only low quality programming. But things are slowly changing. Increasingly wealthy citizens are experiencing far better TV standards when they travel abroad and then demanding better when they get home. Many are investing in wide screen TVs and personal video recorders; and are wondering why they can't also have HD.

None of the free to air broadcasters transmit in HD, so, along with a few other subscription based stations, Supersport Africa - part of a continent-wide subscription TV network owned by a division of Multichoice International Holdings (MIH) - decided to fill the vacuum.

Multichoice converted a warehouse in Lagos, Nigera, into three TV studios as part of a 'fast-track' project to create an HD broadcast facility using a range of ETC lighting, dimming and

Germany / UAE - For more than 25 years German company LOBO has been delivering stunning laser shows - and wowing visitors to PALME Middle East since its inception in 2003.

As technology has improved these spectaculars have become increasingly advanced, and this year the specialists will present one of their most advanced showcases yet.

CREOS is the name of their eight-minute long sci-fi multimedia show, which will integrate multi-layered video and water screens with LOBO's award winning Sparks lasers and many special effects.

"This show production is a technological milestone in multimedia entertainment due to its sophisticated combination of real video, computer-generated imagery and lasers," promises LOBO creative director, Alexander Hennig.

Hennig himself directed the LOBO creative team, incorporating laser animations, laser 3D effects, green screen stu

UK - PLASA Focus Leeds will see Philips Vari-Lite show-off its latest forward-looking developments in automated lighting technology.

A warm welcome is promised to entertainment professionals visiting Stand S-C15, where they can shoot the lighting breeze while familiarizing themselves with the recently launched, compact, efficient and cost effective range of luminaires: the VL440, VL770 and VL880. In addition Vari-Lite will be showing off the VLX3 LED moving head.

Conceived from the union of Vari-Lite creative engineering vision and the company's understanding of lighting designer's needs, this range of luminaires provide the LD with a comprehensive palette of creative lighting tools in an efficient and compact unit.

All are loaded with the kind of powerful Vari-Lite features important to a lighting designer. Between them they can service any size of venue or production and e

USA - Crestron has confirmed the installation of its 50,000th DigitalMedia switcher. Leading AV solutions provider, Whitlock installed the milestone switcher at a US Army base in Newport News, Virginia.

"It's a proud day in the history of Crestron," said Randy Klein, Crestron executive vice president. "Reaching the 50,000th installation milestone further validates DigitalMedia as the industry standard. It also recognises our dedication to engineering excellence and innovation."

The U.S. Army needed a digital solution for its training facilities across the country and called on trusted dealer, Whitlock, to provide the solution. DM was selected because it is the only proven digital solution that accepts both analogue and digital signals and meets the stringent security and reliability requirements of the U.S. Army.

"Our partnership with Crestron was fu

UK - Impact, the trade distribution company for sound, lighting and staging, has opened six new UK branches to cope with countrywide demand for the brands it represents. The new branches, in Park Royal (north London), Belvedere (south London), Glasgow, Edinburgh, Preston and Poole, were rolled out in quick succession from late 2011, allowing Impact, headquartered in Northampton, to easily cover the entire country.

"We are demonstrating an unprecedented level of service to the industry by providing a high level of stock holding and customer support, which together have driven a rapid growth in sales," says Impact MD Grant Lester. "Installers, hire companies and retailers now realise it's possible to have low prices and great service, both from the same trade distributor. We're looking forward to an exciting period ahead, for Impact and its customers."

Each n

UK - To promote the UK launch of the new VR-3 Audio Mixer and Video Switcher at the recent Broadcast Video Expo (Earls Court, Feb 2012), Roland Systems Group gave away a brand new VR-3 at the show. All of the visitors to the stand who requested a personal demonstration of the VR-3 were entered into a prize draw - and the winner was Tony Miles, video producer at the Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU).

After spotting the VR-3 in action on the RSG stand, 'a light went on' in Tony's mind as he realised this looked like the perfect web streaming solution for the university, and particularly for use in its new £75m Business School. The Business School will play a key part in the university, hosting a number of high profile lectures and seminars which the university would like to share with a wider audience by streaming live to the internet. After a demonstration of the cap

South Africa - Nick Britz of Johannesburg-based DWR Distribution will embark on a tour of the country this month to provide demonstrations MA Lighting's new onPC Command Wing.

During the 'Wing It' roadshow, from 10-20 April 2012, Nick will visit rental companies and theatres in Johannesburg (10 - 16 April), Durban (17-18 April) and Cape Town (19-20 April). "The MA onPC Wing is like having the power of a big MA in a briefcase," says Nick.

For more info on the tour, contact: technical@dwrdistribution.co.za

(Lee Baldock)

UK - Artistic Licence Engineering will be using PLASA Focus as a platform from which to launch a plethora of new products. Two new product ranges (Rack Pack and Zone Control) have been developed for release at the show alongside a new splitter and a modular advancement in the Multichrome Range.

The latest addition to Artistic Licence's Rack Pack range, dVnet is a digital video to network converter housed in a 19-inch rack case. It is aimed at retail and architectural applications where a media facade or any pixilated display is to be controlled by video without the complexity of a media server.

dVnet is all a light artist needs to convert their video creation - or any HDMI source - to light. Configuration is simplicity itself, with less than ten mouse clicks required to render video to a media wall.

dVnet can also playback video clips loaded onto its internal hard drive, eit

Singapore - Renkus-Heinz has announced a key addition to its APAC international application support team, Singaporean national Tan Kheng Keong (KK).

Technically trained and fluent in English, Chinese and Indonesian, KK joins the company from Renkus-Heinz's Singapore distributor, Electro-Acoustics Systems, where he was part of the technical team involved in the execution of several major projects including the new Singapore Supreme Court, National Institute of Education, Resorts World Sentosa, and Universal Studios Singapore. Before this he worked both as project and design engineer for an engineering company and an audio consultancy firm.

KK will be offering system design assistance, commissioning support and more, focusing on supporting the company's Asian/Pacific Rim customers.

He comments, "At EAS, my role was as an internal system consultant: design, commissioning a

USA - Flightcase and loudspeaker solutions specialist Penn-Elcom continued its support of the Breast Cancer Awareness fundraising initiative started by Janal Cases - a Case for the Cure - at the NAMM 2012 trade convention in Anaheim, southern California.

Janal cases - a long term and highly valued Penn Elcom customer - raised over $1150.00 with special signed T-shirts.

The Case For The Cure T-Shirts were signed on the Penn Elcom booth at NAMM by a selection of stars who were lined up by Janal Cases, including legendary funk bassist Bootsy Collins, Kelly Hansen of rockers Foreigner, drum addict Ya'el Biz, pop-rock band Hero's Last Mission and Canadian alternative actress and performer Molly Parker.

For a two hour slot on the second day of the exhibition, these T's were available from the stand for a donation to the Case for the Cure campaign of $10.00 .

A crew of Janal Case

Beatlemania - Let it Be, a tribute show to The Beatles, will open in the West End this September. The show - a new version of Rain, which ran on Broadway in 2010/11 - will run at the Prince of Wales Theatre for a limited season from 14 September 2012 until 19 January. The Prince of Wales is where The Beatles played a Royal Variety Performance in 1963 and the show will mark 50 years since the band's first single Love Me Do. It is the first time that the grand theatrical rights to The Beatles' back catalogue have been granted by Sony/ATV for a West End production.

No Show - The Sonisphere rock festival has been cancelled, organisers have confirmed. A web statement said they had fought hard to keep it going but that "a very challenging year" meant the event wouldn't have satisfied fans and the artists. The event was to take place at Knebworth P

UK - Entertainment lighting specialist White Light supplied equipment and support services to Mr Dickens and the Actors, the recent production marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens held at London's Guildhall and attended by The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

The event featured some of Britain's leading actors - including Sir Derek Jacobi, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Bond, Stephanie Cole, Matthew Kelly and Samantha Spiro as well as performers from the Chicken Shed theatre company - performing some of Dickens' most memorable characters, from novels including Great Expectations, Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby. The event was held in support of the Royal Theatrical Fund, of which the Queen is patron.

White Light was brought in to help with the project by Peter Roberts and lighting designer Alistair Grant, to provide both a lighting rig to transform

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