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UK - OHM has introduced the DSP-A3 amplifier, which the company says offers an output of 1800W per channel at 4 ohms, and combines the reliability of a class H output with the lightness of a switchmode power supply and a fully featured DSPEthernet controller.

The amplifier features a 48-bit 96kHz AD/DA converter and a DSP that features system filtering, up to 2 seconds of delay, EQ and limiting functions. Configuring, monitoring and controlling can be done locally or by use of the full Ethernet communications capability. The performance can be monitored and settings changed via a Windows-based computer over a local area network or from the internet, enabling installed amplifiers to be monitored from remote location. The user interface shows the DSP functionality just like an analogue unit with one-to-one portraits of every control.

To complement the DSP amplifier a 2U high 19&

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UK - UK Skills Secretary John Denham announced that small businesses will be the focus of £350 million worth of Government funds to help them train their staff. The Government's approach will be reshaped and money will be available to deliver a new package of support to help small businesses get through the tougher economic climate by building the skills and expertise of their workers.

It will deliver funding for training, with the minimum level of bureaucracy or delay. This will be for subjects such as business improvement techniques or leadership and management, which are proven to provide skills to increase the productivity of individuals and firms. John Denham said:"Small businesses are an important engine of our economy and we must make sure that we support them during tough economic times.

"We are overhauling the training system to make sure that they can

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Switzerland - With the SUV Q5 the German car manufacturer Audi has launched its second model in the "Q" range. To give this new car suitable impact, high-profile shows were staged, including one that was recently held in Zurich. Lighting designer Christian Crego and Dirk Stirnimann, responsible for lighting, video, design and realisation, used a grandMA system for the AMAG Q5 Preview Event.

"I've been familiar with MA products for a long time and have always relied on them for any show. The reliability and operation are second to none. You simply have to love your 'Granny'," says Stirnimann. For this reason he built up a system consisting of a grandMA full-size, a laptop with the grandMA onPC software as backup and two MA 2Port Nodes for local DMX-distribution.

"It was my intention to have an open stage. Therefore I chose triangular trusses which were

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UK - Stagecraft Ltd, the Salisbury-based lighting, sound and AV hire and sales company, went into liquidation on 17 October 2008, LSI Online has learned. Lisa Tapper, the former accounts manager of Stagecraft Ltd, reports that she and other key staff members have bought the assets of the company and are reforming as Stagecraft Technical Services Ltd as of today, 30 October 2008.

The new company directors are Lisa Tapper, Mike Naish (formerly Stagecraft Ltd production manager), Kevin Hughes (former projects manager) and Simon Sketchley, who has joined the company from AJS Theatre Lighting and Stage Supplies, where he was general manager.

Tapper reports that eight key members of staff have been retained as part of the new operation, while a further eight have lost their jobs.

Tapper was also confirmed that all forward orders on Stagecraft Ltd's books will be honoured by the ne

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UAE - In Dubai, Protec has just increased its inventory of Camco amplifiers for use with JBL Vertec and Nexo Geo line array systems. Already the biggest user of Camco Vortex in the Middle East, Protec has ordered another 24 Vortex 6 units for use on Kylie Minogue's massive outdoor show in November.

Protec is the largest supplier of sound, lighting, audio-visual, hydraulic and motor control equipment in the region, with an investment of over 50 Million Dirhams in the latest equipment. The company has used Camco for many years now, and Edward Ross, Protec's head of audio, continues to be a fan. "These are fantastic amps, very smooth and the quality of the audio is second to none. The Vortex 6 is really reliable, handling the challenging conditions of the UAE climate, which has extreme temperatures and high humidity."

The new Vortex 6 amplifiers were acquired from loca

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China - The sixth edition of Prolight+Sound Shanghai drew a record crowd of visitors from 82 countries and regions when held at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, 9-12 October 2008.

Visitors to the show found a variety of sound, entertainment and lighting technology spread over two halls as well as exclusive live concerts hosted by Sennheiser microphones and Pioneer.

Prolight+Sound Shanghai attracted 14,152 visitors, an increase of nearly 4% compared to last year. Of these 13,008 were domestic visitors, a rise of 6% and 1,144 were international visitors. The exhibition saw 308 exhibitors from 10 countries and regions showcasing their products in 23,000sq.m, the organisers say.

(Jim Evans)

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Australia - ARX Systems has announced the appointment of EAS (Excellent Audio Support) as its new distributor for Germany.

ARX Managing Director Colin Park commented: "EAS's Hubert Overesch and I have been discussing the possibilities of working together in Germany for some time, the EAS sales team felt our range of signal processing products was a very complementary fit with the other lines they currently represent, especially our newer USB and analogue interface and dynamics products.

"Germany has always been important for ARX, along with the UK, it's one of Europe's trend setting markets. We're looking forward to working with Hubert Overesch and his energetic team at EAS to consolidate ARX's position in the German market and to reinforce to their customers the state of the art performance that ARX products can offer them."

Along side ARX, EAS also represent

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Australia - When the city fathers of Adelaide wanted to enliven their city precinct by night, they conducted a design competition to see what might be offered. Local design firm Fusion came up with a proposal to permanently wrap an eight-story car park building with a moving, illuminated canvas.

Fusion's concept was not for yet another giant video screen suitable for watching football, motor racing or music videos. According to designer Damien Mair: "The vision for the Lantern was to create an experience that would capture the imagination of the city and add beauty to people's lives."

Wrapping more than a thousand square metres of display around a car park building that relies entirely on natural ventilation to clear away the exhaust fumes from its occupants, calls for an unusual screen format. Mair's solution was to construct the display from 754 individual anodized

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Germany - Klotz Digital has confirtmed Chinese company Wincomn Technology as its number one Varizone distributor in Asia for 2008.

"The influx of orders from Wincomn over the last couple of weeks saw the Chinese technology provider reach its sales targets months before the end of the year and before the other dealers in Asia," says Patrick Salloch, managing director of Klotz Digital Asia Pacific. "This is a development that we are very pleased about - to say the least. It proves that the partnership between our companies is working and we have chosen the right partner."

Wincomn received the award during their recent visit to the new Klotz Digital headquarters in Feldkirchen, Munich.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - Sarner's most recent installation at Southend's Adventure Island is the new ghost train ride, Over the Hill which was officially opened last week in time for Halloween and is being heralded as a ghost train for a new generation.

The new attraction replaces Adventure Island's successful Beelzee Bob's Trail which, after eight years, was closed to make way for a new and advanced scary ride of the future.

The ride, which is made up of 12 two-seater carriages, delivers a 3D experience using animatronics, pneumatics, video projection, holographic images, surround sound, lighting, mirrors and air blasts to create a multitude of special effects. Set in a cemetery, the ghost train features apparitions and a main character, the Undertaker, who guides thrill seekers through the ride after waving them off and warning them not to go 'over the hill'. It also incorporates

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UK - The Creative Blueprint has been launched in Northern Ireland and will ensure the long term success of the nation's creative and cultural industries. The Creative Blueprint has been informed by extensive research from employers, education providers and the industry in Northern Ireland. It gives a snapshot of where the industry is currently at and what needs to be addressed in the future to ensure workforce skills development.

Tom Bewick, chief executive of Creative & Cultural Skills said: "This action plan is employer-driven and therefore entirely employer focused. The creative and cultural industries in Northern Ireland have grown considerably, but there still isn't a clear progression route for those entering the industries and skills gaps exist within the workforce. In Northern Ireland, we are delighted to have received funding from the Department for Employment and

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USA - Richmond Sound Design's (RSD) SM-Designer sound design software is known to be comprehensive and versatile - now it can claim to be "award-winning" technology, too, the company reports. Scott Siegwald, who recently won the 2007-2008 AriZoni Award for Non-Contracted Theater Sound Design, credits RSD's innovative sound design and management program for his success.

When Theater Works, a community theatre in Peoria, Arizona, decided to produce Bram Stoker's Dracula as part of their 2007-2008 season, they knew the sound engineering would involve an unprecedented challenge. The show required 72 music cues and 58 sound effects which needed to be overlapped and layered into 157 sound cues during the show. The production team decided that, in order to create the auditory atmosphere necessary for this eerie play, they would need to hire four sound engineers and pro

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UK - Scottish rental company EFX is the first to pair Midas XL8 and PRO6 digital systems on a tour. EFX has been using its two XL8 Live Performance Systems for front of house and monitors on Eddi Reader's UK tour and deploying the PRO6 Live Audio System on monitors in smaller venues.

FOH engineer Joe Thomas and monitor engineer Shona Steadman started the tour with an XL8 each, working seamlessly through dates across Scotland and the north of England before arriving at London's Shepherds Bush Empire, where the PRO6 took over on monitors.

No stranger to the XL8, Steadman has used it on a Deacon Blue tour and countless festivals and concerts throughout the summer, becoming very familiar with the system. Moving onto the PRO6, she simply transferred all her show settings across from XL8. "They all came up perfectly the first time, which was very reassuring," she says. &qu

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USA - FiberPlex reports that an extensive LightViper fibre optic audio transport system was recently installed at Southern California's MiraCosta Community College. The college recently completed a $21 million project to build a music technology classroom facility on its main Oceanside, campus. The new music technology building features a total of eight production control rooms fed by two large recording studios. All audio is routed through an extensive LightViper digital transport system via fibre optics.

San Diego-based ProSound, a LightViper VAR and audio design firm, handled all aspects of the audio design, as well as installation of the fibre audio components. Mike Krewitsky, owner and chief systems designer for the 30-year-old pro audio company says: "This project was truly about designing, and then putting into place, an affordable infrastructure that will remain tec

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UK - Allen & Heath has announced its Distributor of the Year 2008, awarding the accolade to the company's Chinese distribution partner, Sanecore Audio. The award was presented to Sanecore's general manager, Jun Zhu, and Sanecore Shanghai sales manager, Wu Hao, at the recent Music China show. The award recognises the best overall performance by an international distributor during Allen & Heath's 2008 fiscal year.

Allen & Heath's area sales manager, Bardy Hayes, commented: "It gives us great pleasure to make this award to the Sanecore team, which has displayed great enthusiasm and dedication to the A&H brand. Allen & Heath has launched many innovative products in recent times, including the Xone:4D DJ controller, the ZED-R16 dedicated recording mixer, and developments in its iLive digital range, and with dynamic distributors such as Sanecore behind us, Allen & Heath will cont

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UK - White Light and the Arcola Theatre supplied low-energy lighting and more to the 2008 Latitude Festival. Having established that a fuel cell and low-energy lighting could be used to great effect in a London fringe theatre, the Arcola team sought to demonstrate that the same approach could be taken in a non-blacked-out tent in daylight in the middle of summer.

In association with London Hydrogen Partnership, Logan Energy and BOC, Arcola powered the festival's Theatre Arena tent using a 5kW Gencore fuel cell. White Light then worked with the Arcola team to provide lighting capable of maximising the available power, the rig including ETC Source Fours fitted with lamps between 375 and 750W, Source Fours fitted with CDM lamps and Chroma-Q Color Blocks which use LED technology.

White Light also worked to maximise the event's overall eco-footprint by re-using equipment rather tha

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Jordan - "We've just completed one the most unusual, challenging, and yet ultimately rewarding shows in the company's history," said Britannia Row Productions' Bryan Grant, speaking after a recent gala event in Petra, Jordan, that saw stars from the world of classical and popular music come together to celebrate the work of Luciano Pavarotti on the anniversary of his birthday, 12 October.

"This wasn't just an act of veneration," explained Grant, "Pavarotti touched many people in his lifetime, particularly through his work as United Nations Messenger of Peace. It's rare to see stars the calibre of Sting and Zucchero rubbing shoulders with the likes of Carreras, Domingo and Bocelli, but that was the nature of the man."

Naturally, such a potent mix of performers brings its own challenges, the services of Britannia Row being engaged to bring their own

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Singapore - The Ignite Music Festival staged this summer at The Republic Polytechnic in Singapore had two stages - a main stage for full-on loud rock, and an acoustic stage for the more intimate experience.

Tony Kam, assistant director (technical operations) reports: "The PA systems were put together by my in house technical team at the Poly; they defined system, position and size of rig, but naturally the students assisted, putting it up, and effectively it was they who ran the show.

"We purchased a Q-Series system from d&b audiotechnik last summer, and knew this would be ideal for the main stage which featured a large Q1 loudspeaker rig with Q and B2 subwoofers. Since we bought into the Q-Series, our in-school technical team has attended several seminars on system design and application, theory and practice and related subjects.

These were run by Anil Suho

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USA - Ransdell Chapel, the heart of Campbellsville University in Kentucky, has installed an iLive-144 at FOH position. A 900 seat facility, the Ransdell Chapel provides the educational focus for the University and is used for various types of events including student orientation, bi-weekly student body worship sessions, annual Pastor's conference, worship arts conference, theatrical performances, symphonies, and full band concerts.

"Completed and dedicated in April of 2007, the new Ransdell Chapel is in constant use and every programme is different from day to day," says Doug Price, the A/V coordinator for the University. "Often, they will have multiple events in a single day. They needed a system with easy channel and output configuration, total recall, and flexible routing. The iLive-144 was the perfect solution for Ransdell. The mix rack lives at the stage, int

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UK - GE Consumer & Industrial has announced a call for entries for the 26th Annual GE Edison Award competition. Through the competition, GE recognises excellence and quality in professional lighting designs that employ the significant use of GE light sources (lamps and/or LEDs).

The GE Edison Award competition is open to professional designers, architects, engineers and consultants. Entries are judged on the following criteria: functional excellence; architectural compatibility; effective use of state-of-the-art lighting products and techniques; appropriate colour, form and texture revelation; energy effectiveness and cost effectiveness.

Projects scoring the highest number of points will qualify to receive Awards of Merit or Awards of Excellence. The GE Edison Award Winner is selected from among the Awards of Excellence.

The Award for Excellence in Environmental Design gives

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UK - Affliction Entertainment has burst into the mixed martial arts scene with an edgy and rock influenced style. To create the look and feel for the inaugural event Affliction Banned - Innovative Show Design (ISD) devised a lighting concept that would enhance and reflect the Affliction clothing brand.

28 PixelPar 44s featured on the immense lighting rig as truss warmers. ISD's lighting designer, Justin Garrone states: "For warming truss we primarily use PixelPars or PixelArcs. I like these fixtures because of their low profile, which allows us to fit them into tight spaces. Also, a nice feature of the PixelRange products - is the ability to spec a fixture that either has the brain attached or a brain that rides separately."

The Affliction Banned show featured distinguishable looks for each fighter - created using different colours and lighting effects,

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UK - Projected Image Digital has moved to new, larger premises in Chiswick, west London which includes a permanent training and demonstration facility. The new HQ is just 5 minutes from the previous one at 58 B Wellesley Road, London W4 4AD. All phone numbers and emails remain unchanged<

The move was necessitated by PID's proactive programme of hands-on product support and training, which reached the level where it needed its own dedicated space.

"We are now doing regular Catalyst and WholeHog training," states PID MD David March. He adds that the 1000sq.ft demo area is also ideal for them to stage product mock-ups and testing for clients and upcoming projects.

(Jim Evans)

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Opera News: Plans by the Royal Opera House to establish a northern base at Manchester's Palace Theatre are to be examined by the Arts Council. The proposal from the London-based company was discussed with Culture Secretary Andy Burnham. It was decided that an independent evaluation of the scheme, to open a new opera, ballet and lyric theatre venue at the Palace, would start immediately. Mr Burnham said the review was the "positive next step". The Arts Council said the evaluation would look at plans to expand opera and dance provision, develop new audiences and provide more training and skills development to the sector.

Live News: Big-name bands like Take That and Oasis are leading a boom in gig ticket sales, with UK stadium shows selling in record time despite the credit crunch. Take That sold 700,000 tickets for their 2009 tour, a week after 500,000 tickets to see Oasis were

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UK - The Diskus has become the latest addition to London's burgeoning conference venue landscape following an inspired and versatile multimedia installation by Design Integration.

Owned by UNITE, the Union T&G Section, and occupying a prime site in the Holborn business district, the independently run Diskus has been able to promote itself as an "advanced conference venue" since the AV specialists carried out a major upgrade this summer using QSC's AcousticDesign Series loudspeakers and CX Series power amplifiers.

Derek Wright, managing director of Design Integration, has frequently turned to QSC components to satisfy his project requirements - and given The Diskus's low ceiling height he was able to deploy multiples of AD-Ci52T and AD-Ci52ST recessed ceiling speakers for the foyer/break out area and main auditorium respectively.

Said conference manager, Francis Wil

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