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Slovakia - Home to one of Eastern Europe's biggest and most prestigious international theatre festivals, the city of Nitra in western Slovakia has a long and well-established theatre tradition. The city also boasts one of the biggest and most modern theatre buildings in Slovakia, the two-stage Andrej Bagar Theatre.

The theatre's Big Hall offers a capacity of 600 seats while the Studio provides variable seating arrangements for up to 150 people. When the time came to upgrade the audio system in the Big Hall in keeping with the facility's status as a reference venue for musical productions, theatre management turned to renowned installation company and Lab.gruppen distributors, MediaTech.

MediaTech's technical manager, Miroslav Paciga, is no stranger to the facility, having installed the original system, and then an upgrade to that some ten years ago. "The original system w

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Metallica's World Magnetic Tour is taking the band across the US and Europe, playing arenas in the round with Meyer Sound's new TM Array configuration deploying four centre overhead arrays of the company's ultrahigh-power 700-HP subwoofers.

Providing even, powerful low-end coverage for in-the-round concerts with fewer subwoofers than traditional configurations, the TM Array delivered impressed Metallica at their London and Berlin record release events that the band specifically requested production to use the system on the arena tou.

Playing in the round creates a myriad of problems for production, especially in the low-end dynamics. Metallica has been experimenting with different configurations for the past 17 years, but with varying success until the adoption of the TM Array, says the company.

"It's difficult," says 'Big Mick' Hughes, the sound engineer who has b

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UK - Following the recent announcement of the appointment of Red Square Audio as Innovason's exclusive UK distributor, founder Paul Nicholson, in conjunction with Innovason and Tannoy, invited a number of live sound industry notables to celebrate the launch of his new company.

The Grand Ballroom at Pinewood Studios provided an elegant setting for people to come and see/hear for themselves the products Paul will be representing, notably the new Eclipse from Innovason and the Tannoy VQ Series loudspeaker system.

Guests were treated to a short product presentation from both manufacturers followed by a champagne buffet and the opportunity for some hands-on time with the Eclipse. The highlight of the evening was a 45-minute set from Eighties punk rock icon and actress, Toyah Wilcox.

The diminutive star performed a belting, high-energy set that included most of her original hits a

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UK - The problem of counterfeit consumer electronics and MI goods is not going to disappear overnight, but Sennheiser UK is committed to supporting its dealers and end users by doing everything in its power to combat the steady trickle of counterfeit Sennheiser goods coming into the UK from China and Hong Kong.

"The good news is that in the battle against counterfeiters selling inferior, unauthorised products illegally bearing the Company's logo, Sennheiser is winning," says the company.

Debbie Tyler, Sennheiser UK's director of HR, is leading the fight against the counterfeiters.

"We have developed an excellent working relationship with HM Revenue and Customs," explains Tyler. "Every time they seize a shipment of counterfeit products ¬ which is on a regular basis now, ¬ they send us samples of the goods for us to examine. Some counterfeits are obv

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Middle East - Lighting control and automation group, Dynalite, has added the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Jordan to its global network of technical and sales support centres. Servicing the Middle East and North African markets, Dynalite's new offices complement the company's existing domestic distributor and channel partner network, and extend its global reach.

The new offices provide the industry with access to the company's comprehensive range of lighting control and automation solutions. Dynalite's new UAE office is located in the Dubai Airport Free Zone (DAFZA), with the new Jordan office in Amman and the Kuwait office in Kuwait City. "With this strengthened presence in the region, the Dynalite team is well positioned to support local projects and provide fast response times to inquiries from Pakistan, through to Morocco", the company says.

According to Dynal

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UK - In March 2006, the Leicester Theatre Trust, part of Leicester City Council, ordered an integral automation system as part of the building of Curve - a venue that was boldly commissioned to make the world of theatre visible from the outside in. This imaginative and unusual brief required the innovative thinking of automation pioneers and Stage Technologies was chosen to meet the challenge.

In July 2008, champagne corks popped as the venue was handed over, fully kitted out with a remarkable automation and flying system that incorporates 76 winches and 12 portable point hoists, a grid that encompasses the entire performance area and a control system comprising two mobile Nomad desks and two handheld Solo consoles.

Visibility was a key element of the brief, with the project directors wanting to be able to exhibit the performance area to a wider audience at the press of a butt

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Argentina - On 22 January, Elton John returned for a concert at the Boca Juniors Club Stadium, 16 years after his last show in Argentina. The show was performed in front of an audience of 25,000, with James Blunt as the opening act. Buenos Aires Live Show was the company responsible for providing sound to the event.

The company employed Powersoft amplifiers K10, K8 and K6 to power the sound system, sound which consisted of a main L/R system of 14 JBL Vertec VT 4889-1 and an out-fill of 12 JBL Vertec VT4889-1 per side with subwoofers (VCA Sub Low 2x21"), while for the monitoring system BALS used 16 bi-amplified coaxial Proel CLX15 with six Powersoft Q4002 amplifiers to achieve eight monitor mixes.

(Lee Baldock)

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Australia - Rigging specialists Pollard Productions, based in Sydney, Australia has invested in a Kinesys automation system. Kinesys is a European market leader for flexible, user-friendly, precision automation solutions.

"We'd been following the development of the system for some time," explains James Ring, managing director of Pollard Productions, who reveals that they were eagerly awaiting the release of the latest K2 3D programming and visualizing platform, and had also seen Kinesys in action on several concert tours throughout Australia. "Kinesys came highly recommended by many of the touring riggers we know".

Pollards' system consists of eight 1 tonne Liftket and twelve 0.5 tonne Liftket double brake chain hoists with 20m of travel, 20 Kinesys Elevation 1+ variable speed hoist controllers, a 24 channel Kinesys Array PD-ES and two 6 channel Mini Array

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UK - Under the direction of Mick Anderson, business development consultancy MAC is expanding, adding to its client list and recruiting new specialist skills to the team.

MAC has been signed up by the German loudspeaker manufacturer CODA Audio to develop its export sales direction on a global basis, and assist CODA's owner Svetley Alexandrov in positioning his company to take best advantage of the international market.

Anderson comments: "We're delighted to be joining the CODA operation. This company is driven by highly credible technology and has a proven ability to produce the goods, from manufacturing operations entirely based in Europe.

"CODA Audio is a vertically-orientated company, producing all elements of the sound system - drivers, hardware, enclosure, even the inductors and electronics - and thus keeping extensive control of quality, There are very few com

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USA - Following lengthy industry speculation, ETC is to enter the LED luminaire market, having acquired the Selador product line from Selador co-founders Rob Gerlach and Novella Smith.

"We didn't want to make a 'me too' RGB or RGBA product that didn't provide the kind of significant innovation in lighting we strive for," says ETC CEO Fred Foster. "With its exclusive x7 Color System, the Selador product line produces a far superior quality of colour and light to anything that we had seen before in LEDs. We also benefit from the brainpower of Selador LED experts Novella and Rob - great people who will join our ETC team."

The Selador x7 Color System finds its perfect counterpart in ETC's control products, says the company. ETC's marketing manager David Lincecum explains: "ETC brings to the table a unique capability to make the control of LED luminaires ea

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New Zealand - New Zealand PA company, Noise Productions, employed its Allen & Heath iLive digital system at the Christmas in the Park event held during the festive period in Masterton, near Wellington.

Hosted by a local radio personality and supported by More FM Radio, the community-based event was held in Masterton's main park and featured a performance by the Nick Tansley Big Band, custom-created for the event using session musicians and fronted by the host himself.

iLive managed FOH and monitor sound for the 26-piece band. The iDR10 MixRack was installed on stage linked via CAT5 cable to the iLive-144 Control Surface at FOH, whilst monitor sound was mixed on stage over WIFI with a laptop loaded with iLive Editor control software. An analogue splitter was not needed as Noise Productions used iLive's digital patchbay to split the inputs in the iDR10 MixRack into two channels

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UK / USA - Wohler Technologies Inc has announced that HHB Communications, one of Europe's leading suppliers of professional audio technology, will serve as the company's exclusive distributor in the United Kingdom.

Through this new partnership with Wohler, HHB will be responsible for all sales and marketing activities in this region, servicing existing customers and markets while developing new relationships, particularly with regard to new video products. HHB will distribute the full Wohler product line.

Steve Angel, HHB sales director comments:"Wohler products are well-designed and well-built, providing a strong feature set and broadcast quality all the way; we anticipate strong demand for this new offering."

With over 30 years in the business, HHB has grown to become a significant supplier to all of the major broadcasters and facilities companies in the UK. Amon

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South Africa - Disney's musical, Beauty and the Beast, produced in South Africa by Pieter Toerien and Hazel Feldman, played to its first South African audience on 2nd October 2008 at the Montecasino Teatro Theatre in Fourways. The production made use of a grandMA full-size console.

Richard Knight, the associate lighting designer who came out to recreate Natasha Katz's original design in Johannesburg, was also the original moving light programmer for the Beauty and the Beast tour which successfully ran in the United States from 2000 to 2004. The show is based on the original Broadway production produced in 1994.

The South African contingent of Programmers included Glenn Duncan, DWR Distribution's Nick Britz, and of course the South African associate designer Denis Hutchinson who also did his share of programming.

Hutchinson commented that the rig was fairly conv

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Switzerland - One of the final elements in a 3-year renovation of the Bundeshaus (Swiss Parliament) in Bern is the installation of a Nexo GEO S8 sound reinforcement system in its largest council chamber, specified for its "exceptional intelligibility and low profile".

International architectural and acoustic consultants Walter-Storyk Design Group (WSDG) worked closely with installation company Kilchenmann AG and Nexo distributor ZAP Audio on this project, which began in 2006.

One of the goals was the integration of modern technology into a faithful restoration of the building's original structure. This applied in particular to the installation of a PA system in the National Council Hall.

Giving the politicians a rare day off, the Chamber was made available for a live demo and the GEO S8's performance was measured and analysed to verify their choice. WSDG had studie

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UK - Solutions Group (UK) Plc recently opened the doors to its brand new product demonstration auditorium - The Solution - to a specially invited audience.

Bucking the current economic trend, Solutions Group has invested in excess of £100,000 in creating what it believes to be the UK's first club-sized room for the demonstration predominantly of professional sound and lighting equipment, distributed to the trade through its specialist operating division Impact Products (Europe) Ltd.

As the events of the day went on to show, however, the versatile 100sq.m auditorium will offer a host of other applications to the Company and its customers.

With the room laid out as a retro-style Bistro, the congregated crowd was literally led down the red carpet for the official ribbon cutting by the Mayor of Northampton, councillor Brian Markham.

With staff dressed as 1920s gangsters

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UK - The exterior lighting at Glasgow's SECC Clyde Auditorium was turned from its usual blue to red on Valentine's Day, to mark the start of Scotland's Red Nose Day 2009 campaign. Stage Electrics donated nine Studio Due 2.5kW City Color units and 10 Martin Professional TW1 80 volt units to create the dramatic change in colour for the charity event.

The units were installed and operated by technical director Tony Edwards, chief technician Iain Banks and the technical team at the SECC. Stars of BBC1's Strictly Come Dancing, Rachel Stephens and winner Tom Chambers donned their red noses and pushed the button in front of BBC TV and press to instantly change the colour of the outside of the building, known as the 'Armadillo' for the evening. The stars of the show were at the SECC as part of their UK Strictly Come Dancing tour.

(Lee Baldock)

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Norway - Midas PRO6 live audio systems were used for front-of-house and monitors for a production of Grease at the Oslo Spektrum. The eight-show run was the first musical to be staged at the 5,500 capacity arena, which usually houses rock concerts, Disney on Ice and sports events.

Local company AVAB CAC, which was technical supplier for Grease, chose the Midas PRO6 due to the exceptional sound quality and the flexible automation system they knew it would provide. Sound engineers Thomas Wold (monitors) and Stein Andre Hovden (FOH) - both employees of AVAB CAC - joined the production 10 days before the first show. As they were both first-time PRO6 users, they spent the first two days setting up the systems and learning how to operate them. By day three, the show's script was reviewed in detail, the snapshot count was taken and the rest of the day spent program

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USA - Opening the GRAMMY Awards this year with Get on Your Boots a track from their forthcoming album, U2 set the tempo for live performances at this year's ceremonies with Bono stepping into the spotlight using a Shure UHF-R wireless microphone equipped with an SM58 capsule. UHF-R continued to cut a wide swath across the wireless frequency spectrum throughout the evening, with a combination of SM58 and KSM9 handheld transmitters chosen by a lengthy list of performing artists including Jennifer Hudson, Coldplay, Kid Rock, Carrie Underwood, John Mayer, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Keith Urban, M.I.A., T.I., Kanye West, and Jay-Z.

With frequency coordination provided by Dave Bellamy of Burbank-based Soundtronics Wireless, the GRAMMY telecast braced itself for the operation of 50 RF channels within the cavernous Staples Center. Out of 28 wireless channels dedicated to the 23 musica

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UK - Litestructures proudly introduced its new line of creative aluminium solutions - LiteConsole - at the recent TPi Awards ceremony in London. Presenter Phill Jupitus described the console as looking like "...something from the Starship Enterprise!"

The original inspiration for LiteConsole came from Paul Oakenfold who required a modular performance console to reinforce his stage presence on his recent global stadium tour with Madonna, and Litestructures totally responded to Paul's requirement.

"LiteConsole represents an innovative, portable and high visual impact solution for corporate presentations and live performances," says the company. The line can be used as musician/DJ/production work surfaces; as eye-catching information booths at trade shows and exhibitions; for TV/video recording projects; and as temporary retail outlets/sales promotion counters

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UK - The PLASA Technical Resources Office invites PLASA and STLD members to forget the worries of the credit crunch for a day by blasting around the Silverstone race track.

The event is organised by PLASA's Technical Resources manager Ron Bonner: "If you have ever wanted to drive your own car above the legal 70 MPH limit to see what it is capable of without being snapped by a Gatso - then this may be your big chance. The PLASA Technical Resources Office has reserved Silverstone for a day to hold a day of fun on the track. Included in the day is lunch and if you need it, tuition on how to drive your car in this environment. (Additional tuition fees apply)

"The day is provisionally booked for Friday June 26th 2009 - just a week after the British Grand Prix has been decided - and it is estimated that the full cost of the day and lunch will be in the region of £210

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No Show - Peter Gabriel has pulled out this week's Oscar ceremony after learning his performance as a best song nominee would be limited to just 65 seconds. The singer, co-nominated for Down To Earth from Wall-E, said he had hoped to perform the song in its entirety. The three shortlisted songs will be performed as part of a medley. "It's a bit unfortunate," said Gabriel in a video on his website, adding that he was "an old fart" who could afford to "make a little protest". The Academy had no comment.

In a change to previous years, producers - eager to bolster viewing figures for the Oscar ceremony later this month - have chosen to cut back on song performances. But the British singer, nominated alongside American composer Thomas Newman, said songwriters "deserve a place in the ceremony as well". "The songwriters are a v

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UK - In the few months since its opening, the Westfield London retail complex has already proved a success. And drawing on that success is large format exterior advertising specialist Ocean Outdoor, which has commissioned three large Lighthouse LED screens for Westfield, at a site close to the complex.

Facing the major Holland Park roundabout, the three large 12 by 4 panels (12.24m (w) x 3.04m (h) each) R16i/o 16mm outdoor screens, housed in a gigantic, standalone rectangular structure, provide an eye-catching display to a captive audience of thousands of drivers per day.

A wide range of exterior signage types compete for attention throughout London, so this installation demanded the ultimate in what is currently available. Lighthouse R16 combines the ideal image resolution for the site with 5000 nits brightness, 2000:1 contrast ratio, superior colour reproduction and Lighthou

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USA - Technomad LLC, a leader in weatherproof loudspeakers and audio systems since 1995, has announced that AVX Northwest, an AV equipment dealer, consultant and installer based in Centralia, Washington, has completed two Technomad Turnkey PA school installations in the Pacific Northwest.

The Technomad installations, at Saint Martin's University of Lacey, Washington and Kalama High School of Kamala, Washington, provide substantial athletic sound system upgrades on the campuses indoors as well as outdoors.

"The reliability and durability of Technomad loudspeakers outdoors is renowned because of their weatherproof design, and the voice projection and musical quality is also very much appreciated in this industry," said Mark Abbott, Founder of AVX Northwest.

"That audio quality and reliability translates phenomenally indoors, especially in gymnasiums for live spo

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  3. J. R. Clancy raises safety standard with PowerLift
  4. Dubai TV broadcaster invests in Telex and RTS systems
  5. RCF at the Zadar Sports Arena, Croatia
  6. DPA goes back to school at University of Huddersfield
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