UK - BBC Radio 1 and their 'One Big Weekend' (OBW) spectaculars have a long and fruitful association with Britannia Row Productions, but this year's event in Earlham Park, Norwich was a little different.

The BBC has, in the last decade, grown the stature of OBW to the extent that top line international stars readily abandon days off in their busy touring schedules to make an appearance on the Main Stage at OBW. That's where Britannia Row Prodduction's (Britrow) expertise comes to the fore, having a particular and proven track record for managing high turnover performances of prestige acts, "It's a pressure situation," confirmed Britrow's project manager Lez Dwight, "with simultaneous live broadcast and relatively short changeover periods between what tend to be full

UK - Taking place in the Walled City of Derry - Londonderry, Ireland, The Walled City Tattoo showcases the best of local and international talent in a production based on the rich tapestry of cultural expression compiled from the diverse people within the city.

Entering its second year it was one of a number of events benefiting from KV2 Audio products courtesy of Irish partner Just Lite.

Featuring traditional favourites including the Massed Pipes & Drums and Highland & Irish Dancers, The Walled City Tattoo was a fast paced show also featuring world famous motorcycle display team The Imps and rhythmic comedy from Swiss group Starbugs.

Audio reinforcement the previous year was provided via an "industry leading" Line Array system but according to the shows organisers the change to KV2 Audio's True Point Source approach significantly improved the experience for the 15

Korea - Wireless Solution Sweden has announced its newest distributor of W-DMX products, Tongsuh Technologies and Trading Co. Ltd. in Korea with the arrangement confirmed during the KOBA Show 2015.

Tongsuh is a leading distributor of high end lighting brands including Clay Paky and Philips Showline. The company has been in business for 20 years and celebrated this milestone at the KOBA Show.

Niclas Arvidsson, CEO of Wireless Solution says, "Tongsuh has proven itself as a leading distributor of quality products as well as a strong partner in their region. We look forward to a long a profitable relationship."

H.R.Shin of Tongsuh commented, "Wireless Control is the future, we want to work with strongest company in the field and for us Wireless Solution Sweden is the best choice."

(Jim Evans)

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

Qatar - Qatar hosted the International Handball Federation's 24th Men's Handball World Championships this January and February, a massive event that saw 24 national teams compete in 88 matches to a total attendance of over 300,000.

The championships were held across multiple venues, with three purpose-built just for the event, including the 15,300 seat Lusail Sports Arena. The Arena was the backdrop for the most important games of the championships, as well as the spectacular opening and closing ceremonies. Australia's David Atkins Enterprises produced the celebrations, with technical assistance from Auditoria's Scott Willsallen. With experience earned on major sporting events around the globe including Olympic and Commonwealth Games, Sydney's The P.A. People was chosen to provide communications services throughout the championships.

The P.A. People needed to be onsite as the

USA - LED screen manufacturer PixelFLEX, known for their lightweight and flexible video screens, has designed and released an enhanced version of the FLEXLite LED tile known as the FLEXLite Plus.

The original FLEXLite series was designed for clients who wanted an economical solution to meet the needs of permanent installations and lightweight screens. The FLEXLite Plus line builds on the FLEXLite's success by adding very important features for the rental and touring markets.

Currently available in 3.9, 6.9 and 8.9mm pitches, the FLEXLite Plus line features a curveable and rigid product in one frame that is capable of creating a 15-degree curve in either direction via the unique radial fastener - the greatest curve in any PixelFLEX product line to date. It also adds positioning guide pins and captive screws for safe handling of high module changes. Optional touring frames are a

USA - At InfoComm 2015, Sennheiser is unveiling its new SL Headmic 1 presenter's microphone. At just 7g, this is a lightweight unit that offers powerful sound and is sturdy enough for the toughest corporate applications, the company says.

Designed to be unobtrusive when worn, the high-quality condenser microphone for talks and presentations uses the proven capsule of the omnidirectional MKE 1 broadcasting microphone. It is easy to use and is connected to a bodypack transmitter via the 3.5 mm jack cable included.

"The SL Headmic 1 leaves nothing to be desired in terms of audio quality. It ensures excellent voice clarity and outstanding speech intelligibility right through to the very last row of seats," explains Kai Tossing, Portfolio Manager Business Communication.

The microphone can be optimally adapted to the shape of the head, and the microphone boom can be worn

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies' video division is reporting substantial sales for Green Hippo's all-new line of Hippotizer media servers, which have been completely re-designed to handle the manufacturer's powerful V4 next generation media control software.

Designed to meet the demands of shows today and tomorrow, the new Hippotizer V4 features include 4K+ support, more outputs, Output Manager, STRATA Caddy System, SHAPE 3D projection mapping, visualiser, multiple mixes, and a number of output options, including HD-SDI. The new Hippotizer range features the powerhouse Taiga with four inputs / six outputs; the tour-proof Boreal with four inputs / four outputs; the customisable Karst with two inputs / three outputs; and the compact Amba with two inputs / one output.

The models received much interest upon their unveiling on the AC-ET stand at PLASA London last year - and wh

USA - High End Systems, along with partners CSI Leasing and Light Converse, reports that more than 50 universities from across the United States have entered teams for the Hog Factor.

The top three teams will be selected to go head to head and perform their lighting pieces live on the High End Systems booth at LDI 2015 in Las Vegas in the competition final.

The teams have a chance to win their school a $20,000 scholarship and a Hog 4 console. They can also win themselves a Hedge Hog 4X each. There is still some time to sign up and submit entries for the chance to take part in this competition. Submissions close on 30 June.

"The breadth of entries, coming from universities across the country, shows that we had a tremendous response to this endeavour" says Chris Ferrante, general manager. "We are committed to providing state of the art lighting control in all ma

UK - To mark the arrival of their new Luton van, Showforce has launched a competition on social media. Anyone who spots the van onsite or in transit should take a photo and upload it to Twitter or Instagram. The posts should mention @showforcegroup (Twitter) or @showforcegram (Instagram) and include the hashtag #vanspotting. They will then be entered into a prize draw to win a free four-hour 'Man and Van' call. The prize worth £250 is available to anyone with the Greater London area. The winners will be announced via Twitter and Instagram on 1 July.

Anya Roszkowiak, Showforce's business development director said, "Our 'Man and Van' service can be booked by the hour and has proven extremely popular with clients. An experienced driver is on hand to ensure goods are delivered and loaded both securely and on time. It's perfect for last minute pick-ups and deliveries, the

USA - Cloud Electronics USA will unveil and demonstrate the new CDI-46 Digital Interface Card for the recently launched Cloud 46/120-Series of mixer/amplifiers at InfoComm 2015.

The CDI-46 digital interface card provides a TCP/IP ethernet interface, RS-232 connectivity and an RJ-45 connection for Cloud's range of digital paging microphones, including the PM-4SA with spot-announcement facilities. In addition the CDI-46 boasts a 10-User PIN locked Ethernet server to allow connectivity and control via any portable device with a web browser.

Exclusively designed in Sheffield, UK by a team of skilled R&D audio engineers, Cloud products are renowned globally for using high-quality components and have an outstanding proven product reliability record in the field. Cloud products are used by some of the world's leading blue-chip brands and high street names in Retail, Hospitality, Educ

USA - In line with its ongoing policy to keep the industry informed about the latest developments in its own DSP technology and broader audio processing and networking trends, Symetrix has announced a busy programme of seminars and presentations to take place on its booth (#321) during InfoComm 2015.

Symetrix SymNet processors' support for Audinate's Dante media networking technology has contributed to products from the range being specified for a huge variety of installation projects. Accordingly, at InfoComm 2015, Symetrix' range of presentations will include Symetrix Field Applications Engineer Greg Suchomel demonstrating the ease and speed with which it is possible to use Symetrix DSP and Dante to create a large-scale conferencing system that will integrate with any hardware or software-based video codec.

The busy hourly programme of presentations will also feature Christo

Germany - ETC is taking two stands at this year's Stage Set Scenery show in Berlin - with one purely to premiere ETC Rigging in Europe.

ETC Rigging, which can be seen in Hall 2.2, stand number 208, is another layer to the company's extensive lighting and power control portfolio. By working with local dealers to provide complete wire rope winch packages, ETC Rigging is among the easiest to install and most versatile available. This is the first time the product has been available outside the US.

Sold as complete packages, each winch is easily customised for non standard layouts, and can lift up to 900kg. To ensure its integrity, every hoist is individually tested under heavy load at ETC's factory in Wisconsin, USA, and each electrical component examined and checked.

To go with the new rigging packages are QuickTouch, QuickTouch+, and Foundation controllers, designed to provid

Germany - Movecat, the specialist in kinetic solutions for stage and studio, is launching the LoCo LCS, a shackle version of its active load-measuring sensors. Among the most impressive features of the new device are highly sophisticated sensory elements and a unique test and calibration system.

In most respects, the LoCo LCS units are standard load shackles and can be used as such. The essential difference lies in their special load-measuring pins, which are made from a special high-quality steel, and feature integrated active measuring system with sensory elements. These determine the forces applied by the suspended loads and transmit the data to electronic processors that are also integrated.

Depending upon the model, the rated loads range from 3.25 to 4.75 metric tons. Currently three models are available: LCS-AX - the simplest model, which is based on the LMS-M series wit

Germany - ASC has expanded its maritime projects business area with the arrival of Dirk Schmerschneider to cover the yachting/residential sectors.

Dirk Schmerschneider has been responsible for the newly created yachting/residential business area since December 2014 as key account manager at ASC. He reports in this position directly to ASC's management. With his experience as a project manager for entertainment systems on luxury mega-yachts, he has added to the Hamburg-based system integrator's expertise in the field of Maritime Projects and has extended it strategically to encompass a target group made up of exclusive private clients.

Leif Witte of ASC management, comments, "Dirk Schmerschneider represents the next logical step in the expansion of our maritime projects business area. We have had repeated enquiries from private ship owners during our activities as a system

USA / EMEA - NanoLumens, a leading manufacturer and marketer of visualisation solutions, has appointed Simon Deary as regional sales director EMEA, reporting directly to David DaCosta, NanoLumens' managing director EMEA. Deary will be absed in the company's Bath, UK, office.

"As NanoLumens continues to expand throughout the EMEA region, we need to have someone of Simon's experience join our team," DaCosta said today. "Through his unique background in lighting design and LED engineering, Simon has a well-versed understanding of the industry, and will be able to show a variety of businesses how our solutions can help them to achieve their customer engagement goals and objectives."

Before joining NanoLumens, Deary founded Son Et Lumiere, an LED design firm specialising in high-end events. Deary worked on projects such as the Expendables 3 premier in Cannes and

USA - "Dying is easy. Comedy is hard." That aphorism has been attributed to numerous comedic actors, but it also applies in spades to mixing front-of-house for stand-up comedy.

"People think, 'It's one microphone-how hard can it be?'" says Geoff Hidden, FOH mixer for Fluffy, aka Gabriel Iglesias, the hefty comedian, actor, writer, producer and voice actor out on the road with his Unity Through Laughter world tour since February and known for his online shows I'm Not Fat... I'm Fluffy and Hot & Fluffy. "But there's a lot more to it than that." There is, and a DiGiCo SD9 digital console, including a D2 Rack and integrated Waves plug-ins, is providing Hidden with the specialized tools he needs to make sure that every word is heard.

Hidden says that audio for comedy is all about clarity. "The challenge is keeping Gabriel cons

USA - The Media Networking Alliance is both exhibiting and engaging in a range of activities at InfoComm15 to promote the understanding and uptake of AES67, the interoperability standard for high-performance audio-over-IP streaming.

The alliance's booth on the show floor (# 693) will be staffed throughout the exhibition by MNA member engineers and experts, enabling InfoComm attendees to obtain information and advice concerning AES67, and discuss with member companies their experience in implementing the standard. Visitors can inquire about the MNA and the benefits of becoming a member.

The alliance is also hosting two open events in meeting room W304F in the convention centre West Hall. The first of these, from 15:00 to 16:30 on Thursday 18 June, is a panel discussion How is AES67 going to change our industry? It will provide an opportunity for InfoComm attendees to dis

UK - Shannon Harvey has joined Backstage Academy as course leader on the BA (Hons) Visual Production degree. Harvey previously worked as account manager at d3 Technologies - one of the course's core supporters - and will now be responsible for running the degree and ensuring it delivers against the industry's current skills requirements and technology.

Harvey's experience covers the architectural, theatrical and entertainment industries, working with lighting, video, projection and special effects projects on a wide range of applications.

Said Backstage Academy's Sara Gleadhall, "Shannon Harvey is a huge asset to the course and brings with him a wealth of knowledge on video and lighting system design as well as a unique creative vision which means he is an all-round inspiration for the students.

"Entertainment technology is evolving so rapidly that we need to draw

UK - Canford has been appointed sole distribution partner in the UK and Ireland for the multi-award winning Green-GO range of digital intercom over Ethernet products.

Unlike other digital intercom designs, Green-GO does not employ an expensive central matrix. All interconnection routing data, system set-up and user preferences are stored locally within each user station including beltpacks, which eliminates the possibility of a catastrophic central failure.

Green-GO does not require a dedicated Ethernet network. It will operate on any 100Mbit network without interfering with other data protocols coexisting on the system, including Dante. User stations are powered by Power over Ethernet (PoE). If this is not available locally, any good quality PoE switch may be used including Green-Go's own 5-port switch.

Canford product manager Mike Reay is upbeat about the new partnership.

Record Sales - One Direction, Ed Sheeran and Coldplay helped UK artists account for one in seven of the albums sold globally during 2014, the BPI has said. With 13.7% of worldwide sales, it's the highest British share since the BPI began recording those figures in 2000. Sales of albums by British artists rose in Canada, Australia, Italy and Sweden, as well as the US. Albums from Sam Smith and Pink Floyd also made the top ten list of the world's biggest-sellers of 2014.

According to the BPI's Music Market 2015 report, Taylor Swift topped the list of global recording artists, after shifting six million copies of her album 1989. The figures, which take into account album sales, track sales and streams, put One Direction in second place and Sheeran in third. The BPI also found that streaming had doubled in the UK during 2014.

Royal Ruler - Dame Helen Mirren was named

The Netherlands - More than a decade after much-loved Dutch duo Karel de Rooij and Peter de Jong stopped performing their comedy act Mini en Maxi, public demand for their brand of humour was so great that they agreed to perform as Mini en Maxi again at Koningklijke Schouwburg (Royal Theatre) in Den Haag for a run of shows from April through to June. A Yamaha CL1 digital mixing system has helped to bring the act right up to date.

Established in 1969, de Rooij and de Jong enjoyed huge success with Mini en Maxi, a Silver Rose of Montreux-winning variety act of non-speaking, visual humour. However, music was always a major part of the performances, both men being accomplished musicians, as well as having extra players in the shows for musical accompaniment.

Despite having put the act aside for over 10 years, the two men continued to perform together in speaking plays like Samuel B

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