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UK - A.C. Lighting Ltd has announced that it is changing its name to A.C. Entertainment Technologies Ltd from 1 September 2008, to reflect the company's increasing range of industry products and services.

No longer just a leading provider of professional lighting equipment to over 80 countries worldwide, in recent years A.C. has extended its vast technology stockholding in response to customers' demand for a single supplier who can meet all their production and project needs.

The name A.C. Entertainment Technologies therefore marks a new era for the company, and encapsulates the wide range of products, accessories, consumables and related services available through A.C.'s dedicated Lighting, Rigging, Audio and Video divisions.

In addition, A.C.'s related services include in-house cable and scrolls manufacturing to order, product training, servicing and after-sales support. S

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China - Bose played a pivotal role in ensuring that clear, intelligible sound was delivered at five of the 12 newly-built Olympic venues, including the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing. Using Bose Modeler software, Bose engineers created acoustical models, designed sound systems and predicted their acoustic performance.

The Bose Auditioner system enabled everyone to hear how the proposed systems would sound before they were installed, and to evaluate each system to ensure it was the right one for the project. After the installations were completed, Bose used their advanced STI measurement tool to verify the actual system performance.

The Panaray LT family of loudspeakers were chosen for the large venues because they deliver extremely tight pattern control in the mid and high frequencies. This makes them well-suited for use in multiple loudspeaker arrays, long throw distances

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UK - The Hoosiers are playing an extensive array of festivals this summer and their front of house sound engineer Trevor Gilligan is taking his Yamaha LS9 console along to every show. Festival dates include the Isle Of Wight, Glastonbury, T In The Park and V2008 in the UK, Summersonic in Japan, Lowlands in the Netherlands and Gampel Das Festivalgelände in Switzerland.

"Although I've been mixing for 25 years, I'm a relatively recent convert to digital," says Gilligan. "When I first started working with the Hoosiers, I had been using a DiGiCo D5, but for some dates (rental company) Britannia Row didn't have one available. So to save them sub-hiring one in I took a Yamaha M7CL out instead.

"A hard and fast rule I have is that I shouldn't be mixing my band on a console I don't know,' he continues. "You don't know what's going to be available at a festival

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Reggae News - A statue of late reggae legend Bob Marley has been unveiled in a small Serbian village during a rock festival as a token of peace in the Balkans. Musicians from Croatia and Serbia were joined by rock fans for the midnight ceremony in Banatski Sokolac.

Organisers said Marley, who died in 1981, "promoted peace and tolerance in his music". Serbia recently erected a statue of iconic film character Rocky, while Mostar in Bosnia has one of Bruce Lee. Another Serbian village put up a statue to actor Johnny Weissmuller, best known for his depiction of Tarzan. Serbian musician Jovan Matic and veteran Croatian rock star Dado Topic took the covers off the Marley statue at the Rock Village event.

Festival News - A huge blaze at the Reading Festival which spread to 19 vehicles in a car park was started accidently with a barbecue, police have revealed. The fire was under co

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UK - For the 21st consecutive year, Pearce Hire provided all the lighting and power at the 44th annual Cambridge Folk Festival. This year for the first time, festival organisers and key suppliers worked with Julie's Bicycle to find ways to reduce the carbon impact of the festival.

The four day festival featured live musical performances and entertainment to an audience of 10,000 people. Pearce Hire supplied all site power and lighting for bars, food stalls and tower lights for the car parks and campsites. A pair of synchronised generators powered the main stage and the broadcast compound.

An array of Pearce Hire's moving and generic lighting all controlled with Avolites Pearl Desks and ART 2000 dimmers help set the scene across three stages, reflecting the variety of acts performing.

Julie's Bicycle is a not for profit company that helps events to reduce the UK music industr

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China - Philips Entertainment Lighting contributed to the Olympics' spectacles as the lamp supplier of 220 PR Lighting fixtures.

Roger Van den Plas, segment manager Philips Entertainment Lighting, says: "We are proud that PR Lighting has chosen us as their preferred supplier for the biggest event of the year. In the presence of milliards of people we have demonstrated the innovative Philips lamps that resulted in a state of the art light show."Philips will also contribute to the Beijing 2008 Paralympics later this year.

(Jim Evans)

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USA - The Broadway show All My Sons will preview 18 September using three Hippotizer HD V3 media servers. New City Video of New York is supplying the Hippotizers and other video equipment for the production.

Since 1999 New City Video has provided audio/visual support for stage and corporate events. A select list includes the original projection package for the Blue Man Group at the Luxor in Las Vegas, Tom Stoppard's play Invention of Love, and composer Steve Reich's world tours, along with numerous events for the Brooklyn Academy of Music and many others. "Hippotizer is the premier product for our applications," says New City Video owner Jack Young. "I wouldn't trust a show with any other media server."

All My Sons associate video designer, Brian Beasely, says: "Based on previous experience, video designer Finn Ross and I knew that

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USA - GE, a worldwide partner of the Olympic Games has announced it has exceeded its sales goal for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, winning 400 infrastructure projects in and around Beijing that will generate $700 million in revenues. NBC Universal has also generated a record of more than $1 billion in advertising revenues, making the Beijing Games the most successful Games in GE's history. NBC Universal's Beijing Olympics coverage is on pace to be the most watched Olympics in history.

GE, which has been providing technology to support the Olympic Games and other major sporting events for more than 70 years, managed projects in all 37 official Beijing Games competition venues and 168 commercial buildings in and around Beijing.

"GE is uniquely positioned to deliver a variety of critical technology solutions for Olympic host cities," said Jeff Immelt, chairman & CEO, G

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UK - HSL is supplying lighting equipment for all the C venues theatres at the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. This involves six venues and a total of 20 different performance spaces including the Urban Garden, a new outdoor area adjacent to the main C venues hub on Chambers Street. With over 170 shows from 150 companies, this is the largest programme of theatre on the Fringe

HSL has been involved with supplying C venues for several years. Project manager Mike Oates says: "It's great to support the vibrancy, energy and enthusiasm of new theatre, and Edinburgh is a world showcase for some of the best and most innovative future comedy, dance, theatre and musicals."

Lighting for C venues is being co-ordinated by production manager Gareth Edwards and head of technical/chief LX Andrew Grant. Lighting designs for all the different spaces have been created over the years by

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Italy - Not only is 2008 the year of Giacomo Puccini's 150th anniversary celebrations, it is also the 54th year of the Puccini Festival. And the festival now boasts a new open-air stage lit with help from ETC on the shores of Lake Massaciuccoli in the composer's birthplace of Torre Del Lago, northern Italy.

As well as lighting the opening concert by La Scala Philhamonic Orchestra and Chorus and a tribute to Puccini by the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, an ETC Congo jr control desk - with a second as backup - was used for Turandot, Tosca, Madam Butterfly and one the composer's lesser known operas, Edgar, which featured a set design by UK artist Roger Dean and costumes designed by his daughter Freyja.

For board operator Federico Canibus, this was the first time he'd used an ETC desk. He says: "After getting into the 'mentality' of the desk's operatio

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UK - Clockaudio has appointed distributors for Russia and South Africa.

RTA-Engineering in Russia has, since its foundation in 1998, risen to become one of the leading A/V design and installation consultancies in the country. The RTA sales network extends throughout Russia from its Moscow HQ. Specialising in the design, supply, installation and support of conferencing A/V in command and control rooms, conference centres and boardrooms, RTA is also recognised for its delivery of turnkey solutions.

In South Africa, Clockaudio has been signed up by Audiosure, the professional audio division of the First Technology Group.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - Situated in London's Kingly Court (behind Carnaby Street), Michael Newton's new boutique members club Bureau features JBL Control series loudspeakers. These were specified and installed by Colin Pattenden's CP Sound, who were introduced to the project by leisure designers Satmoko Ball, with whom they also worked at another members club, Volstead.

The venue has been designed into four separate sound zones: the central dancefloor, the seated area to one side, the VIP booths and the toilets. The music is distributed using a four-channel zoner.

Four JBL Control 29s are flown over the main dancefloor area, reinforced by two floor-mounted JRX118S bass bins, in special hand-built enclosures. These were specially made by Nottingham-based joinery company, Interwood, to Satmoko Ball's design, and are clad in American Black Walnut veneer with a hardwood lipping. The speaker grille m

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USA - Crown Audio's I-Tech Series of amplifiers was selected by Audio Analysts of Colorado Springs, Colorado for Bruce Springsteen's North American tour. Crown's I-T4000 and I-T8000 amplifiers were used to power JBL VerTec VT4889 and VT4887 line array elements and JBL VT4880 arrayable subwoofers.

Springsteen's tour began in Hartford, Connecticut in February, making 29 stops throughout North America before a 12-country tour in Europe. The tour returned to Springsteen's home state of New Jersey for three performances at Giants Stadium in East Rutherfordin July. The final show will take place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 30.

Audio Analysts' FOH Engineer for Bruce Springsteen, John Cooper said: "When Bruce performs, he wants to ensure his fans get the best audio experience possible. We turn to Crown's I-Tech Series because we know these amps will deliver the power and pe

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World - Céline Dion is on a year-long world tour following her residency of nearly four years at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. This current Taking Chances tour began on Valentine's Day 2008 in South Africa and by the tour's completion it will have encompassed 120 shows in over 80 cities on five continents, before winding up in Florida in January 2009.

Dion and her crew have long relied on Sennheiser wireless microphones and personal monitoring systems, as well as Neumann microphones. The Taking Chances tour is no exception, with dozens of channels of Sennheiser RF equipment, courtesy of the singer's exclusive sound, video and lighting provider, Solotech, accompanying her on the global jaunt.

The Tour features a seven-piece band, three backing singers and eight dancers, and is presented in a variety of formats, including in the round, according to each venu

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UK - The newest addition to London's Heathrow Airport, Terminal Five is a massive £4.3 billion (US $8.5 billion) project as large as the city's Hyde Park, and is designed to handle 35m passengers a year. A Meyer Sound audio system features in the World Duty Free stores throughout the terminal.

Designed and installed by Bradford, UK-based Pro Audio Systems, the integrated AV system was commissioned by World Duty Free to provide a multimedia marketing and entertainment package for its seven elaborate stores, which feature cocktail bars and beauty events areas. The sound system employs four Meyer Sound UPM-1P loudspeakers, seven M1D-Sub subwoofers, and a total of 74 four-inch cube MM-4 miniature loudspeakers, many of which are custom-painted to match the décor.

Pro Audio's managing director Brian Lumb says: "Aesthetics has been a major consideration. And the bri

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France - An Allen & Heath iLive digital system was employed for the recent Festival Arte Flamenco held in Mont de Marsan, France. Celebrating its 20th year, the festival is one of the most famous of its genre, hosting the world's greatest Flamenco artists.

The main events took place at the Espace François Mitterand, which boasts a large stage for the dance displays. Bordeaux-based Sté Ateliers Lumières managed the AV requirements, selecting a Meyer line array system with an Allen & Heath iLive digital system at FOH. The iLive system, comprising an iLive-144 control surface and iDR10 stage rack loaded with 48 inputs/32 outputs, was connected to a PC equipped with an LX6464 Digigram card for multi-track live recording.

"Some of the touring sound engineers were familiar with the iLive system from previous events, but by the end of the event even the engineers

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South Africa - Johannesburg-based DWR Distribution has been appointed as the official South African distributor for UK-based specialist LED fixture manufacturer, i-Pix.

DWR's Duncan Riley says: "The i-Pix range is something totally different to anything else currently offered by LED manufacturers, and I see massive potential for it in South Africa."

Riley initially came into contact with i-Pix' via SA's leading rental and production company, Gearhouse South Africa, who invested in i-Pix Satellite fixtures shortly after they went into production in 2006. "There's a big future for digital lighting and low energy consumption sources," continued Riley " and the time is now right to offer these very robust, highly tourable products to SA's growing production and performance market. The potential is massive - from theatres to TV productions, corporate events

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USA - Dave Matthews Band (DMB) is once again touring the US. This year's tour presents a showcase of state-of-the-art lighting effects including 38 PixelPar 90s and 41 PixelLine 110s. Lighting designers Fenton Williams and Aaron Stinebrink have worked with DMB for many years, and enjoy experimenting with the latest lighting fixtures available.

Stinebrink notes: "We choose fixtures primarily for how they will incorporate into the overall design. We then consider the reliability of the fixtures - this is the one area that PixelRange has always excelled in. PixelRange are great fixtures, well put together and thought-out for touring applications."

Williams continues: "The speed of LED products that PixelRange has offered us, has allowed us to think of toning in a whole new way - and I am looking forward to the continued development of new fixtures. The main purpose

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UK - Designed by leading sports architecture firm HOK Sport, Stadium MK - home of Wimbledon football club - features a two-tier seating layout separated by a 360-degree open concourse; it also boasts UK's first Meyer Sound self-powered system installed in a stadium.

When looking for audio equipment for the venue, club director Pete Winkelman - a former record-company executive who owns the nearby Great Linford Manor Studios - sought advice from two old friends in the music industry, audio consultant Gary Garner and Metallica sound engineer "Big Mick" Hughes. Hughes admits to "not having the slightest interest" in football, but stresses that "just because you're in another world, doesn't mean you should walk away from good sound."

Through the auspices of Hughes and Garner, as well as Taylor, Mich.-based rental company and long-time Meyer Sound user

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Germany - Despite soaring temperatures, there was a massive entry for this year's Corporate Fun Run in Munich. 30,000 runners completed the five-mile course winding its way through the Bavarian capital. Fancy dress was essential and the 150-strong team from Bosch Security Systems once again proved invincible, securing first prize in the Most Original Team category.

The team from the company's production facilities in Ottobrunn, Straubing, and Nuremberg, adorned with blue wigs, Elvis sunglasses and headphones, managed through the ingenious use of themed t-shirts to reproduce the entire signal chain - from microphones, to mixers, amps and loudspeakers - covered by the Business Unit Bosch Communications Systems.

With dance steps custom-choreographed for the occasion and a converted handcart providing a lightshow, sound from Dynacord loudspeakers and refreshments, the fleet-footed

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USA - This year's presidential campaign has seen Senators Obama and McCain on the road across the US, ably assisted by audio prodycts from Shure inc.

In Ohio, Mike Volkerding of Cincinnati-based Frequency City Sound, with the help of Thunderbolt Systems helped move Senator Obama through three different campaign stops in a single day in February. With the first set for a boardroom conference at Cincinnati's Museum Center at Union Terminal, the following two landed at the Fifth Third Arena across town and the Nutter Center in Dayton.

"It was a real foot race," Volkerding says, "with only an hour between each event. That put us in a place where we had to have three different systems in place ready to go at each stop, with crews in place. The boardroom speaking engagement used Shure lavs and podium mics, while the arenas required full-blown PA rigs flown in front of

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The Q2Q Group reports that it has secured the exclusive UK distribution rights for worldwide lightweight truss manufacturer, Eurotruss. Q2Q has long been an established event management company, and after a recent takeover, has further expanded its group outlook to include sales, hires, installations and planning within its client portfolio.

Managing Director of The Q2Q Group Koen van Geene stated that he was" thrilled to be able to take on the sole UK distribution rights for such innovative and modern products".

Eurotruss is one of the leading suppliers of aluminium truss systems on the international market. It offers a wide range of aluminium truss systems Both Eurotruss and Q2Q will be present PLASA 08.

(Jim Evans)

  1. PLASA Puts Sustainability Centre Stage
  2. Barix streamers at World Youth Day
  3. Yamaha at heart of refurbished Pontoise theatre
  4. Water Sculptures for Bradford's Centenary Square
  5. Dobson Sound and DiGiCo chill out
  6. Stage Sound Services invests in Trantec
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