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Hong Kong - Martin Professional Hong Kong has reached agreement with Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA) to set up an STA/Martin Technical Training Centre in Eastern China and an STA/Martin Lighting Practice Centre in the near future. Martin will lend further support by providing lighting equipment to facilitate the setting up of an intelligent lighting Laboratory. Martin will also provide a scholarship for STA's Stage Art Institute.

During the negotiations, Mr. Raymond Wong, managing director of Martin Professional Hong Kong, acknowledged Shanghai Theatre Academy's reputation as one of the most popular universities in China thanks to its long history, well-facilitated infrastructure and large number of qualified professionals.

Under the guiding principles of education, and based on mutual benefit and respect, Martin and STA have achieved consensus on lab developments and use of ST

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Jamaica - A record 37,000 people attended the 11th annual edition of the Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival at the Rose Hall Resort & Country Club of Montego Bay to see and hear a star-studded bill featuring artists such as Patti Labelle, Al Green, John Legend, Nestor Torres, Shaggy, Morgan Heritage, Air Supply, and Bo Diddley.

The technical team of Jamaica's John Swaby Entertainment, the festival's audio provider, relied on a system of self-powered Meyer Sound loudspeakers to reinforce the many different musical styles featured at the event.

Since this was the first time that Meyer Sound products were used at the festival, Swaby Entertainment enlisted the support of Philip Grant, managing director of Sound Design in Kingston, Meyer's dealer in Jamaica, to ensure that the equipment reached the festival on time.

The main system consisted of an array of six MILO curvilinear a

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USA - On the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Stadium Arcadium Tour, the innovative video and lighting design is controlled by a pair of grandMAs.

Chili Peppers' drummer Chad Smith, bassist Flea, guitarist John Frusciante and singer Anthony Kiedis are backed by four Barco D7 screens on trolleys and an 80ft wide VersaTube wall which extends to the venue's roof then out over the floor via fingers stretching to the front of house. The 760 VersaTubes display a changing palette of lighting treatments and an array of video content, including animation, flickering CG imagery, IMAG and band footage.

"With the grandMA, we can adjust IMAG on the fly with the buttons on the desk," says Scott Holthaus, along with Grier Govorko, the show's designers from 40wattlabs. "We can distort images for an effect or go black and white from a rescan camera or supplement the performance with odd v

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UK - An audience of 45,000 gathered in London's Hyde Park to see this year's Proms in the Park concert. The lighting for this show was once again designed by Tony Hall, and an MA Lighting grandMA console was used to control his show: "There were eight very full universes of DMX, without the generic channels," says Hall. "The grandMA was an obvious choice, since the channel count is so large and the desk has an excellent 'rock solid' reputation."

During the three intensive evenings of plotting, the desk performed faultlessly, said Hall. "Even better, the desk also performed during the show in the same manner. Essential Lighting's decision to add the grandMA range of consoles to its hire fleet is largely based on its reputation for reliability and this has been proved on this technically demanding event."

Hall insisted on all the lamps being central

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UK - Harman Pro UK has supplied Harlow's long-established live music venue, The Square, with a new Soundcraft MH2 front-of-house console. For nearly thirty years, The Square has been renowned for its reputation on the 'up-and-coming' circuit - many British bands who have played here in the past have subsequently gone on to great things, including Blur, Coldplay and Muse.

Stuart Graham of Harlow-based Clarity in Sound Light and Vision contacted Harman Pro UK's Gary Dent, who came down to The Square with a 24-channel MH2, and ran through the features with The Square's sound engineers. They liked what they saw and heard, and the MH2 offered them more flexibility than their old desk.

Comments Gary Dent: "The Square were very keen to get more into running on-stage monitor mixes, and their old desk just didn't have enough aux busses to do the job comfortably. But with the MH2,

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Ireland - Churches, live music venues, theatres and dance societies are just some of the venues that have installed PA equipment supplied by Harman Pro UK's main dealer in Ireland, Reynolds of Raphoe, recently. Reynolds, based in the North-West of the Irish Republic, have notched up an impressive list of recent sales, Harman reports, supplying installation companies in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic with equipment from the Harman portfolio such as JBL speakers, Crown amplifiers and dbx processing units.

"The Celtic Tiger has slowed, but the Irish economy is still very buoyant and this naturally has an impact on leisure and entertainment. As a result, plenty of new bars, clubs and venues have opened around the country, while others have upgraded their sound systems to compete with the newcomers," says Reynolds sales manager Brian McGrath. "Our pro-active a

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UK - For the second year running, Pharos Architectural Controls received an Award for Innovation from the PLASA judges. The 2005 award for the Lighting Playback Controller (LPC) was followed this year with an Innovation award for the Audio Visual Controller (AVC) which debuted at the 2006 show.

A compact, solid state device, the AVC offers functionality equivalent to two DVD players and a vision mixer, with additional live input, all under integrated show control. AV clips, transitions and effects are programmed quickly and easily via the Pharos Designer software. An internal realtime and astronomical clock along with a bi-directional RS232/RS485 serial port provide triggering options for standalone operation.

The AVC combines seamlessly with the Pharos LPC as the second half of a complete control solution providing lighting, audio, video and show control for architectural ins

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Austria - The Rettenbach Glacier, which enters the Austrian Ötztal-valley near the ski resort of Söldenprovided the backdrop to a production entitled Mars:2068 which is a science fiction spectacle about the conquest of the planet Mars.

The production was staged by lawine torrèn, a network of dancers, actors, media artists and technicians under the artistic direction of Hubert Lepka that was founded in 1992 in Salzburg.

The technical services for the project were provided by You Sound from Augsburg with Klaus Mayer as the technical director. "The production Mars:2068 is in itself quite demanding. Especially with the climatic conditions on top of a glacier at this time of year, it becomes a real challenge," commented Mayer.

"The project required not only equipment that was able to take a lot of strain, but also collaborators with mountaineering

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Europe - Since first shipping about a year ago, the EAW NT Series self-powered loudspeakers with "Gunness Focusing" onboard DSP technology has been making significant strides into the global professional audio market. Already, nearly 200 NT Series systems have gone to customers in Europe.

EAW international sales manager, Sean Martin reports, "What's amazing about the NT Series is that in almost every case, it inspires people sufficiently for them to ring us up to tell us how pleased they are with the product.Habitual EAW customers are used to dealing with high quality product, so they don't necessarily call us up to say thank you every time we sell them a KF760 system because they already know what they're getting. NT Series is different without exception, customers are blown away by how good it sounds, and are genuinely pleased to tell us about it."

Martin

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Switzerland - The first TV broadcast from the new media centre of the Federal Houses of Parliament in Bern, Switzerland, has been transmitted. Accommodating the editorial offices of various radio and television stations, as well as production workspaces and radio studios, the media centre is home to the 280sq.m TV studio of the SRG SSR (Swiss Radio and Television Association). Much of the lighting equipment for the new studio was supplied and installed by ETC from their offices in Holzkirchen, Germany.

The new television studio is situated on the third basement level of the building - an impressive feat in itself, considering that no basement levels existed at the beginning of construction. An 18m hole had to be dug under the building which was itself propped on stilts for the duration of construction. The official laying of the foundation stone was in February 2005, and the 55

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Vietnam - Spanish pro audio manufacturer D.A.S. Audio continues its successful worldwide seminar tour. The company's qualified personnel so far have visited Argentina, India, Colombia, Venezuela, Syria, Sri Lanka, Sweden and Mexico with the objective of providing Aero training for people in the audio field and to bring the company and its products closer to professionals around the world.

The latest training session took place on 19 July in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, under the direction of D.A.S. Audio sound engineer Joan La Roda, together with Pham Kim, D.A.S. distributor for Vietnam, who assisted La Roda in the organization of the event.

The main subject of the seminar was the presentation of Aero 28A and Aero 38 line array systems. About 30 people attended the seminar - an audience that included potential clients and sound reinforcement services providers. Joan La Roda gave a de

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UK - Wicked, winner of fifteen major US awards and recently named the highest grossing Broadway show in history has arrived in London. Prequel to the Wizard of Oz story, Wicked opened for previews in early September at the Apollo Theatre and premiered later in the month. providing the considerable and diverse lighting kit for the show is PRG Europe.

Lighting designer Kenneth Posner has created a dynamic and dramatic atmosphere on stage. He says: "The UK audience is in for an exciting and unique visual experience when they see Wicked. The entire design team spent many hours recreating the Broadway visual elements and embellishing the overall design. The Apollo, with its dramatic height but shallower and narrower stage, made it necessary for us to re-design and re-plot many of the scenes."

PRG Europe project manager for the show, Loz Wilcox

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UK - Entertainment lighting supplier White Light reports that it enjoyed "a phenomenally successful four days at the 2006 PLASA Show". White Light's stand was used as the launching point for a range of new products from the manufacturers represented by the company in the UK, as well as being a showcase for White Light's own products.

The first new product launch was the much-anticipated Lancelot from Robert Juliat, a high-powered effect projector/followspot aimed at the largest productions and venues. "The biggest problem we then had with the Lancelot was stopping people pointing it into the milling crowd," explains White Light's Managing Director, Bryan Raven.

From LSC in Australia, the MaXim desk and E24 touring dimmer rack were on show. White Light's sales director Peter Threadgold and Gary Pritchard from LSC announced that White Light had been appointed

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USA - One of northern Ohio's best-kept secrets, Kenyon College is a small but distinguished liberal arts college with an exemplary reputation as a leader in fine arts, humanities, natural and social sciences and athletics, especially their swimming and diving programs. The recently completed 263,000sq.ft Kenyon Athletic Center is the campus' crown jewel - a massive, multipurpose indoor complex designed by the Gund Partnership architectural firm of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The Center's state-of-the-art media systems have been designed to function under a wide range of scenarios, making creative use of several independent but interconnected DSP and control systems. As Brad Kestner, operations manager at Sound Com in Berea, Ohio explains, flexibility and performance were some of the highest priorities in designing the systems. "The building itself is nothing short of massive,

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Europe - Mediaedge:cia (MEC), the global communications planning and implementation agency, enlisted the help of Paradigm Audio Visual when planning an inventive 13-week pan-European roadshow aimed at promoting the K800i, Sony Ericsson's new Cyber-shot phone.

Tasked with creating an engaging brand experience to dramatise the phone's new and unique BestPic feature - which allows users to press the shutter button once and instantly get nine full quality pictures to choose from - they called on the rear projection display specialists to help bring the concept to life via a series of outdoor installations. These were set across ten countries over 15 weeks, starting at London's Victoria Station.

Potential participants are encouraged to the 'Body in Motion' installation by promotional staff and asked to strike a pose for a nine-shot action photo sequence, triggered by an adapted K80

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The Netherlands - PSL's Exhibition team reports that at this year's International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) its new Panasonic 42" HD screens were in high demand, as leading players in the television industry gathered at the RAI Centre in Amsterdam.

PSL is one of the Official AV suppliers to the IBC, and maintains a full team of project managers and technicians on site for the duration of the show. This year's Convention was judged to be the largest ever, as the industry makes preparations for the advent of high-definition television.

For the event, PSL invested in a substantial number of Panasonic's new HD plasmas, as well as additional HD-ready 45" screens. PSL project manager, Charlie Hill, says: "Our clients in this industry expect a very high standard from us, and they're very specific about the kit they want. For them, it's not just a matter of displayi

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USA - Eight GQ600 Dual Channel Graphic Equalisers from XTA Electronics are at the sonic centre of a sophisticated line array PA system designed and assembled by Sound Image and deployed by live sound specialists Star Way Productions. The XTA GQ600 equalisers and the rest of the system are used regularly for major concert events at two of the country's leading Native American gaming and resort facilities, the Pechanga Resort & Casino and the San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino, both in Southern California.

Since taking possession of the system earlier this year, Star Way Productions has used it for shows featuring artists such as Engelbert Humperdinck, Styx, Jamie Foxx, Stevie Wonder, Ludacris, and Phil Vassar.

The PA system, which is based on QSC WideLine components and uses two Yamaha PM5D FOH consoles, was designed by Sound image. "We recommended the GQ600 EQs for this sys

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UK - Leisuretec Distribution has been appointed a dealer for lighting control manufacturers, Electronic Theatre Controls (ETC). The move is part of the Bedfordshire-based Company's product portfolio expansion.

"We want to grow our lighting business and to offer our clients a wider choice of high quality luminaries and control products" says Leisuretec's sales development manger Andy Duffield.

Leisuretec's customers are involved with many projects across all aspects of the leisure and entertainment markets, particularly in the educational and schools sector.

Mark White, ETC's regional manager for the UK and Ireland comments, "Having Leisuretec onboard is great for us because of their excellent contacts and reputation in the core leisure and entertainment industry." Other brands distributed by Leisuretec include Vestax, GDS, Pioneer, Denon, Strand, Zero88,

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Italy - Even from a considerable distance, travellers near the city of Ravenna, on the main road along Italy's Adriatic coast to Venice, can see a huge Ferris wheel on the horizon: this is the landmark of one of the country's best-known amusement parks - Mirabilandia.

The park recently inaugurated its first indoor attraction, a dark ride called Ghostville - a trip through the haunted ruins of an old Western gold-mining town featuring a cutting edge audio, lighting and animatronics set-up.

The ride was designed and built by specialist firm Art Project of Torbolo; they, in turn, called in Vida Studio Srl of Milan to supply a turnkey package, comprising hardware and systems for all the ride's audio, video, lighting and control, including automation control via PLC. To ensure perfectly distributed high-impact sound with the ability to cover the screams of up to 1,000 people per ho

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UK - The Hoxton Grille, located within the trendy new-build Hoxton Hotel in London's Shoreditch, has all the natural ambience of an all-day brasserie/bistro surrounding an open terrace. Operating independently from Sinclair Beecham's 205-bedroom four star hotel, Hoxton Grille owners Simon Wright and John Pallagi have created a restaurant and bar combination which follows on naturally from their acclaimed portfolio of contemporary chic Room Restaurants, which was founded in 2000.

Adding to the ambience throughout the large open-plan ground floor is guitar and film soundtrack-inspired music, sensitively programmed and delivered by iPod and Denon 6-disc multi CD player.

Based nearby, audio system designers and installers, Sound Division Group, has a long association with Simon Wright's ventures. Here they were called on to enhance the existing background system - fitted when the

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UK - On 25 July, the government launched the final consultation on implementing the 'producer responsibility' aspects of the WEEE Directive - the EU-led initiative that affects all manufacturers by making them responsible for paying for the treatment and recycling of products at the end of their life.

PLASA - the main body representing the manufacturers in the sector - has been active in the consultation process and is now rallying members for the final time to feedback on the draft regulations before their full implementation in July next year.

Detailed consultation notes have been sent to all PLASA manufacturing members affected, together with guidance on how to participate in the process; PLASA is now urging members to act and feedback before the final deadline of October 17th, warning that this is the last chance to get the detail right. Further notes will be issued to mem

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UK - Birmingham-based Matthews Electronics has spent the past year systematically upgrading the ribbon of pubs and bars that make up the city's gay village, using exclusively Wharfedale loudspeakers.

At the chic Loft Lounge on Bromsgrove Street the sound is relayed via a discrete Mission Pro NXT flat panel system, from the same IAG stable as Wharfedale Pro. More Mission Pro speakers are to be found at the Angels Café Bar, where 16 provide the background surround sound. More notably, this is one of the first installations of Wharfedale's new plastic Titan enclosures, with a pair pumping up the volume at the front of the venue.

Around the corner, The Village comprises one big room with an annex, where a pair each of Wharfedale LX12's and LX18's provide the stage playback for a venue essentially focused on operating karaoke nights. Nearby, Route 2 also parades LX18's while

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UK - As the dust settles on this year's PLASA Show, preliminary visitor figures show an increase of 3.5 per cent over 2005 (subject to audit), with an estimated 28 per cent coming from overseas - although some exhibitors have reported their own 'international' proportion was even higher than the show average.

"We believe the increased attendance at the event is another indication that the entertainment and communication technology industries are in a robust state of health," PLASA chief executive Matthew Griffiths commented. "Technologies continue to mature and deliver ever more benefits to a wider variety of customers, and the PLASA Show's pre-eminence as a launchpad for new products continues to make it a compelling attraction for visitors."

With 64 per cent of visitors surveyed in 2005 saying that their number one reason for attending was to see new prod

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Australia - Since its launch in 2003, Platinum Nightclub on the Queensland Gold Coast has quickly become one of the most successful night spots in Australia, hosting the likes of Ministry Of Sound, Kink and One Love. The venue has introduced a new cocktail lounge and updated key components of the main audio system, in particular, the DJ consoles.

"It's been a challenging journey," says Joey Lamitina, Platinum Owner & CEO. "When I first opened the doors I had a very clear idea about how I wanted to run the club, the audience I wanted to attract and the acts/DJ's that I wanted to bring into the club and onto the Queensland music scene. The DJ's were relatively unknown back then but I'm delighted to say that their stars have risen alongside Platinum and today the likes of Dirty South, TV Rock, Vandalism, The Stafford Brothers, Bang Gang and Carl Kennedy are virtually

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