Business

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UK - Media programming, system design and installation company, tsg, has recently installed a substantial Audica Professional audio system at The Farm restaurant and pub in Solihull.

Nick Freeman of tsg explained the choice of the system: "Our programmed music services were the initial requirement and starting point for The Farm, but how this was delivered and the system's ease of use and aesthetics in the venue were equally important to us and the client. Simple, continuous operation is catered for by our promedia hard disk system.

"Aesthetics were obviously a key element for The Farm so we introduced them to Audica Professional's MICROseries. Not only is this the most stylish and discreet ultra-compact loudspeaker product available, but it can provide superb audio quality for background music without the need for subs; a real bonus for style-conscious venues in pro

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USA - Embarking on a two-year phase-in of new teleconferencing and videoconferencing systems, the University of Wisconsin (UW) Colleges - a network of 13 two-year, freshman and sophomore sub-campuses under the University of Wisconsin - is in the beginning stages of upgrading all of its conferencing capabilities at each of its satellite campuses across the state. The first phase started this summer and will be completed before classes begin in September. The next phase will be completed by the end of summer 2008.

Each UW College campus hosts a distance conferencing classroom to provide students greater access to instructors with specific skills sets - i.e. foreign languages or medical courses.

"Our main goal is to replace our antiquated audio conferencing processors with Biamp's new Nexia VC and Nexia TC processors," said Scott Bouffleur, UW Non Online Distance Educat

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UK / Italy - Italy's Show Way 2008 exhibition was presented directly to an international audience at PLASA 07. The new show met with approval both from the audio and lighting manufacturers present at the event and from the associations of the World-ETF (World Entertainment Technical Federation), which consider the initiative an important professional trade fair opportunity in Italy.

Several associations, such as VPLT, ESTA, PLASA, Secartys and JASST confirmed their support for the show.

The list of exhibitors is growing steadily, say the organisers. At the same time, a programme of meetings and seminars on extremely topical subjects in the audio and lighting sector is being compiled: safety and regulations for stage structures and rigging, technological evolution of light sources (lamps and LEDs), electrical safety regulations for public entertainment premises, and the evoluti

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UK - EFX has ordered two full Midas XL8 Live Performance Systems for immediate delivery. The rental company has also pre-ordered two Klark Teknik DN9696 high resolution hard disk recorders designed for the live recording environment, a pre production unit of which was shown at PLASA 07.

Based in Bathgate near Edinburgh, EFX is a long-time Midas user and has taken the decision to invest in the next generation Midas and Klark Teknik digital product range.

"We looked at digital consoles for a long time, and without exception felt that nothing out there could live up to what our existing stock of analogue consoles could already offer," says EFX's John Ramsay. "We chose XL8 on its audio quality above any other consideration. It simply cannot be compared to other boards on the market, and we know our new consoles will enhance any job they go out on."

(Jim Evan

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USA - Chauvet has chosen GE Consumer & Industrial to be its primary supplier of metal halide discharge lamps. GE Showbiz CSR metal halide lamps will now fit the majority of Chauvet's signature, lamp-fitted luminaires, including the Q-series and Legend moving yokes, and the Spectrum architectural line. In addition to supplying lamps, GE engineers will assist in the design of future Chauvet optics.

"The lamps' superior quality, the strength of the GE brand name and the level of insight they have into optics have us excited about the possibilities," says Chauvet CEO Albert Chauvet. "Working closely with the engineering team at GE to develop new products and to optimise the systems and performance of our optical elements will allow our discharge fixtures to offer even greater value."

"Chauvet fixtures and GE lamps are a perfect complement to one another an

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UK - PRG Europe has once again supplied lighting for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's UK tour. Over 180 ETC Source Four profiles and 80 Source Four PARs were supplied by PRG Europe, who also supplied over 200 ways of Avolites dimming.

Lighting director Al Crawford explains: "PRG Europe supplied equipment for our last UK tour, two years ago, and as soon as they heard we were returning, they thought about how things could be improved and told us about it - before they even got the job. PRG Europe still maintains that individual attention to detail and client needs that is so important to a company like Alvin Ailey.

And once we'd returned to them, I really felt they understood our needs. I have nothing but praise for project manager Loz Wilcox and the rest of the team."

Wilcox says, "We needed to be creative with some of the solutions we offered the compa

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USA - To better accommodate the quickly growing city of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Memorial Health System has built its newest hospital campus: Memorial Hospital North. In providing the hospital the most advanced audio technology available, Beacon Communications LLC of Denver, Colorado also developed a paging system that helps hospital operators better serve patients while maintaining a relaxing, comfortable atmosphere in every area. To create this paging system, Beacon Communications installed a Biamp AudiaFLEX CM (CobraNet Module) for signal EQ, distribution and network capabilities.

"In Memorial Hospital North we've installed Rauland-Borg's Nurse Call system - one of the most flexible systems available," said Michael Hester, managing partner, Beacon Communications. "It allows the hospital operators to quickly and easily ring a station or call a particular nurs

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UK - Having attracted one million visitors in just 12 months, the 32,000-seater Ricoh Arena is one of the Midlands' busiest football venues. More than just a sports venue, the Ricoh Arena has played host to concerts from acts ranging from Bon Jovi to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Tasked with delivering a powerful loudspeaker system that offered superior clarity from the stands to the boxes and balconies, consultants ARUP turned to Harman Pro UK to assist with design.

ARUP system designer, Paul Malpas reports, "The biggest challenge was the difficulty of getting access to loudspeaker mounting positions in a live stadium. Harman provided a lot of assistance directly to us by providing specific data, interpreting the catalogue data and helping with the acoustic modelling effort."

Faced with the added constraint of a tight timescale, ARUP's final design needed to satisfy bo

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UK - On 2 October 2007 the British Olympic Association's (BOA) Olympic Gold Ball was held at London's impressive Natural History Museum. The event was attended by HRH The Princess Royal, President of the BOA and 39 Olympic medallists. Event Concept, accredited production company at the Museum, was appointed to produce the prestigious event. In a race against time, the team transformed the venue and installed a technically complex stage setting in just one hour after the Museum closed to the public.

The Museum was open to the public until 6pm and BOA guests were scheduled to arrive at 7pm. The team installed a sophisticated production design including lighting, set, A/V and furniture in four separate areas of the venue as well as external architectural lighting. Event Concept's installation and rehearsal schedule had to also take into account the needs of the caterer, florist, a

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Germany - 2007 saw the tenth anniversary of the annual BlauerSee DJ festival taking place near Ratingen, Germany, with Turbosound once again bringing the sounds of some of Europe's top DJs to large and enthusiastic crowds.

Headlined, as always, by Sven Väth, the theme for this year's festival was unsurprisingly 'Zehn' (Ten). The event's regular sound companies, North Rhine/Westphalia-based BLL and CE-Veranstaltungstechnik, used the latter's new NuQ and Aspect TA-890 cabinets at the festival for the first time.

"Being the tenth anniversary, this year was a very special event," says CE Veranstaltungstechnik's Carsten Eichstädt. "There were no big lighting effects, everything was purely about high quality sound."

The festival featured two arenas, the main one featuring 12 TA-890H touring enclosures per side, flown two wide by three deep, with six ground-st

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Portugal - RTP, the main Public Television and Radio Broadcaster in Portugal, have chosen Clear-Com to provide a new digital wireless flexible communications system capable of serving four studios and video editing suites.

The installation is Portugal's first Clear-Com Eclipse Omega based system supported by the new Eclipse V-Series Panels and the Digital Wireless FreeSpeak 50. Key features of the new V-Series Panels include 10 character display, international character support and a 'Listen Again' function that allows the user to literally listen again to the last 15 seconds of any incoming call.

"One of our main goals was to have an intercom system that could work across the whole studio complex and would also be able to expand with our growing production needs," said Miguel Angelo Oliveira, chief radio & television engineer at RTP.

"All these requirements,

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UK Arsenal Football Club's new Emirates Stadium has established itself as one of the best in Europe, with a much expanded seating capacity and improved facilities compared to the club's old home at the Highbury ground.

Fittingly, the Public Address/Voice Alarm system at the new stadium is also state of the art, as befits a modern 60,000-seat arena, and has already won friends amongst Gooners, as the club's supporters are affectionately known. The backbone of the new PA/VA system is made up from JBL speakers powered by Crown amplifiers, which were supplied by JBL and Crown's UK distributor, Harman Pro UK, and installed by Honeywell Business Services.

The main speakers in the stadium are JBL PD5212s and AM6200s, powered by Crown CTS 3000 amplifiers - in total, over 120 CTS 3000s were used throughout the ground, split between three control rooms. JBL Control 24, 26 and 29 ceiling

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UK - Mid-September has seen a new nightclub opening on London's Fulham Road, providing those who like to relax in opulent surroundings with another location to see and be seen in.

Located on the site of the historic Cafe des Artistes, a favourite haunt of the likes of the Rolling Stones and David Bowie in the 1960s and 70s, the Valmont Club is a 300-capacity venue whose focus is on providing an inclusive atmosphere (no VIP rooms here) and serving a menu of 60 different cocktails to a high quality audio soundtrack, comprising a mixture of background music, DJ sets and live performances.

To achieve the desired sound quality, audio contractor Outstanding Productions chose Turbosound loudspeakers. The club is divided into four principal areas - the entrance, main bar, lounge bar and dance floor - throughout which Outstanding Productions installed a distributed system of Turbosound

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UK - Would you like your work to be enjoyed by millions and see your name up in lights? That's the deal on offer from Blackpool as it launches a nationwide search for a new design for next year's Illuminations.

The winning designer will receive £3,000 and follow in the illustrious footsteps of Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen who created a stunning road section for the 2007 display. Laurence was the first external designer to be asked to contribute to the six miles of lights and he's agreed to chair the panel of judges in this hunt for fresh talent for 2008.

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen said: "I was touched, flattered and a little overawed by the concept of designing something quite so iconic! The Blackpool Illuminations are such an important expression of Blackpool's reputation as Britain's Vegas. By creating an Illuminations 'X Factor' I am confident that we will unearth some i

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South Africa - Located in one of South Africa's primary port cities, the ICC Durban was originally built just over 10 years ago, and has since hosted numerous prestigious international conventions, including the International AIDS Conference in 2000.

To celebrate the Centre's 10th anniversary, the ICC Durban launched the new extension to their facility, The Arena. As a multi-purpose platform forinternational conferences and events, The Arena consists of three halls, each with the capacityto be sub-divided into separate rooms. The three halls can also be combined to crate a single large hall, with a capacity for up to 10,000 people. WhenICC Durban isn't hosting conventions The Arena lives up to its name, hosting theatre and live music performances, and sports including tennis, wrestling,gymnastics, equestrian events and even motocross.

With such a wide variety of activities to

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UK - Vieta's new weatherproof loudspeakers will be subjected to the full force of an English winter at a demanding leisure park installation. ESL Systems has specified DO-44 enclosures to handle the forthcoming seasonal promotions at Southend's Adventure Island, running through the winter months at the seaside location.

Directly overlooking the sea, Adventure Island is Southend-on-Sea's 40-acre fun park, with rides and 'experiences'. Traditionally, the park closes after the summer season, but this year is staying open to maximise its opportunities with a new light-show attraction for the autumn and winter evenings called Light Fantastic!, featuring character parades and exciting illuminations.

Rob Roberts, general manager of Adventure Island, spent many months preparing the new illuminations before turning his attention to the requirements for a new audio system to run

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UK - Harman Pro UK, distributors for BSS Audio in the UK and Ireland, have announced that, as of October 2007, the company will be offering training courses for potential and existing users of BSS Audio's integrated programmable audio networking and DSP systems Soundweb Original & Soundweb London.

Both courses will be free of charge and will provide training to ensure the attendee leaves with a good knowledge of how to use Soundweb Original or Soundweb London and will be held at the Harman Pro UK offices in Potters Bar.

One of each course will be held each month with a maximum of eight attendees per session to ensure that each person has the best training possible. The places will be allocated on a 'first come, first served' basis. A calendar of events, course information and registration form will soon be available on the website below:(Jim Evans)

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Italy - Aethra, a leader in the global telecommunications market, has announced that it is to provide corporate-level managed videoconferencing services worldwide thanks to a partnership with BCS Global, a leading provider of managed videoconferencing services headquartered in London.

Through this partnership, Aethra now offers managed business-grade multi-videoconferences over dedicated IP networks. Furthermore, the service permits the connection of High Definition videoconferencing equipment, enabling companies that do business across the globe to leverage exceptional quality virtual meetings for more effective, reactive and flexible communication.

The service is targeted in particular at companies with multiple branches and/or international offices, which require secure, reliable and effective video communication solutions for high-profile collaboration and events. Custome

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France - Last week, the fashion industry gathered in Paris to view the upcoming spring/summer collections of the world's foremost designers. As the industry's leading fashion week wrapped up on Sunday night, only two shows were heralded by the press as "alive to the heart-stopping possibilities of fashion", one of them being Alexander McQueen. Last Friday night, in a collection that was a tribute to the late stylist Isabella Blow, McQueen, a 9m high, 15 m wide Versa TUBE 'eagle' sculpture inspired by McQueen and Blows mutual love of ornithology formed the backdrop to a show that exuded pure daring imagination.

The "eagle" was designed by Warren Du Preez and Nick Thornton-Jones who worked closely with Rob Fowler of Element Labs London office to realise their concept. It consisted of 281 1m HD Versa TUBES and 120 half metre long HD Versa TUBES. The Versa TUBE H

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USA - Owners Kristi Anderson and Bryce McKamey conceived Seattle's See Sound Lounge, nestling in the heart of trendy Belltown, over dinner in New York City one day in 2001. For a venue that came about from an evening's conversation, it has turned into something rather special that indulges a few of Anderson and McKamey's personal passions. Not least of which is what McKamey declares to be 'studio quality audio' based around a Turbosound QLight™ loudspeaker system.

See Sound Lounge describes itself as the implementation of logic and ergonomics, utilising neutral, linear and organic elements to create a clean and minimalist environment, where contemporary and ultra comfy sofas, ottomans and day beds articulate the true meaning of lounging.A glowing, streamlined bar with Italian leather bar-seats, DJ booth, luxurious private guest room, open air façade, and soothing water fea

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Sweden - Slingco has supplied and installed a Cablenet tensioned wire grid system in the main auditorium at Stockholm's Danshögskolan - University College of Dance, part of a new 9 million Euro building to house this unique training centre.

University College of Dance is the only school of its kind for dance and neocircus in Sweden. It features a variety of courses and a lively atmosphere of challenge, innovation and experiment plus a meeting place for the arts, sciences, theories and concepts - old and new.

Right from the off, the project architects and theatre consultants agreed that a tensioned wire grid system above the full area of the theatre space was the safest and best way forward. They contacted Slingco as Europe's foremost designers and experts of this specialist technology.

Slingco received the enquiry from Dick Hasselblad of Tater-Konsult Hasselblad, who was wo

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Finland - FogScreen reports that the FogScreen projection screen is now prominently featured at the entranceway of Markus Thesleff's hottest new nightclub Maya in London and David Judaken's hottest new Los Angeles nightclub, Opera.

Maya was developed by the award-winning teams behind some of London's most successful Clubs: Pangaea, The Cuckoo Club, Amika, Movida and 43 South Molton. "FogScreen projection screen is a new and exciting technology which allows a unique interactive branding tool for patrons and corporate clients alike," states Markus Thesleff of club Maya.

In Opera, David Judaken, who is also the mastermind behind MOOD Nightclub, has once again created a vibrant and stunning atmosphere for his Hollywood A-list celebrities.

"FogScreen is pleased to welcome Opera and Maya to the reference list," says Mika Koivula, CEO of FogScreen. "FogScre

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Portugal - French digital mixing console manufacturer InnovaSon has just announced the appointment of Live Sound, LDA as their new distributor in Portugal. The move is the latest in a series of new distribution partnerships to be announced this year and further strengthens InnovaSon's international distribution network, says the company.

According to InnovaSon's international sales manager, Philippe Pelmelle, the timing for this latest agreement is perfect. "Portuguese distribution had traditionally been handled by our Spanish distributor," he explained, "but it goes without saying that a market is almost always better served by a local rather than a remote partner. As we have recently appointed a new distributor in Spain, it was the ideal opportunity to separate the two markets and establish a Portuguese distributor based in and dedicated to serving that territor

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UK - BBC Scotland's new state of the art headquarters in Glasgow, which boasts the latest broadcast technology and is the biggest TV recording space to be built in Scotland and the second largest TV studio in Britain, is to host the 2009 Showlight event.

Set on the banks of the River Clyde, the BBC's new high definition television studio complex was opened by the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, on 20 September and is a bold departure from traditional TV studio premises.

Showlight 2009 will take place from 16-19 May and will be of interest not only to TV lighting directors, but anyone involved with entertainment and architectural lighting design. The BBC's high definition equipment will be utilised to illustrate papers from all genres of lighting, including theatre, film, event, education, architecture and, of course, television.

Organising committee chairman, Ian Dow, said: &q

  1. Klotz Digital at Frankfurt Airport
  2. ETC UK projects BT's Digital Music Awards
  3. Hawthorn acquires Rex Howard (Drapes)
  4. Channel 9 installs LSC dimmers
  5. Vatech Video & Audio take on Telex
  6. CMT gets astrophysical
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