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Ireland - Dublin's National Concert Hall (An Ceoláras Náisiúnta) is the premier venue in Ireland for classical concerts and also the home of the RTE National Symphony Orchestra. Recently, its long-serving analogue Yamaha PM5000 mixing console was replaced with a digital PM5D-RH, which had to be installed in just one night.

Originally constructed for the Dublin International Exhibition of 1865, the building was converted into the central building of University College Dublin (UCD) when the National University of Ireland was founded in 1908. With UCD gradually relocating to a new campus in the 1960s, part of the building was converted to a music venue and reopened as the National Concert Hall in 1981.

Having done many years of sterling service, the replacement of the PM5000 with a PM5D also saw the addition of an LS9-16 mixing console and two SB168-ES stage boxes for the hall

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Spain - The Unesco World Heritage Committee met for its 33rd session last June at the Seville Conference and Exhibition Centre, bringing together representatives from 21 countries. This is the first time that the Committee has met in Spain. Attended by 1,500 people, the event was organised to study applications from possible new locations to be included in its World Heritage List.

During the event Spanish company SAC Audiovisuales was responsible for the central HD projection covering an area of 20 x 6m, for which it used two Christie Roadster S+20K projectors.

The meeting was held in Hall 2 at the Seville Conference and Exhibition Centre, comprising an area of 7,200 m2. SAC Audiovisuales was commissioned with producing and preparing the whole event, including projection, lighting, audio, translation, video, CCTV, IT equipment, AV design.

Gonzalo Palacio, manager and partner

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UK - The Pandemonium Tour by The Pet Shop Boys is the first touring show to use Britannia Row's 'new' X-Line system, which has recently been turbocharged by the implementation of EV's FIR-Drive (Finite Impulse Response Filters) technology.

[FIR-Drive is the name that EV gives to its entire range of FIR offerings, including FIR-capable processing hardware, custom FIR speaker setting files and related software.]

"The FIR-Drive products have given X-Line a new lease of life, it's like a different system," says Jerry Wing, technical head of Britannia Row Productions. "X-Line always was a good rock 'n' roll system, but the FIR filters have unleashed something that was hidden - as well as being raunchy and loud, the system now has finesse and clarity."

Brit Row debuted its FIR-enabled X-Line at the Classical Brit Awards with system designer Derri

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UK - The Minotaure complex in Vendôme has bought a new Outline sound reinforcement system, comprising 12 Mini-COM.P.A.S.S. speakers and two SubTech 218 SP subwoofers, controlled by an Outline Genius 26 unit.

Located in the centre of Vendôme, the 'Le Minotaure' complex has a total area of 1,500sq.m. It hosts a 769-seat theatre hall, a multi-purpose hall (holding 400 people seated and 600 standing), several smaller meeting rooms and a naturally illuminated foyer for exhibitions. Le Minotaure was inaugurated in 2002, and has hosted numerous shows since .

The theatre hall suffered from poor acoustics. The coverage was uneven, and the stereo image unbalanced. In 2009, it was decided to replace the front of house reinforcement system.

Several systems were compared - among them, a Mini-COM.P.A.S.S. vertical line array, lent by Outline's French distributor Audio2. This system pass

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South Africa - Gearhouse South Africa supplied technical production for the first Cape Town Aqua Festival, a lively three-week arts event, presented by MNet and produced by Hunta Live, that featured a series of world class performances by local and international artists. This took place on a purpose-built floating stage moored in the North Wharf area of the busy port's Victoria & Albert harbour.

The 2000 capacity seating stand - supplied by Havaseat (a Gearhouse company) - was on dry land. The three weeks of the event spanned the peak festive holiday season, and included the resident AquaCircus, a special daily performance devised by Zip-Zap, a local circus school dedicated to developing the skills and potential of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Other highlights included the H2Opera, AquaJazz, AquaBallet and concerts by a wide range of artists

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Nigeria - The Experience, a non-denominational gospel music concert in Lagos, has grown to become by far the largest music event in Africa. A Woodstock-sized throng estimated at 450,000 jammed into the Tafawa Balewa Square and spilled over into an adjacent cricket field for a spiritual celebration featuring 14 American and Nigerian gospel artists, including headliners Kirk Franklin, Phil Driscoll, and Bebe and Cece Winans.

The event's ongoing sound system supplier, GQ Acoustics of Lagos, pampered the enlarged crowd this year with an expanded Meyer Sound system that had been boosted with more Milo line array loudspeakers and 700-HP subwoofers, plus a new complement of problem-solving JM-1P arrayable loudspeakers.

"The main venue is an open quadrangle about 170m across, with the stage on one long side, grandstands opposite, and three-story pavilions on the short side

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USA - Prism Sound and SADiE and PMC are sponsoring The Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing's third annual Grammy Week event, to be held at the Village Recording Studios in West Los Angeles. Set for Wednesday 27 January 2010, this event honours excellence in music, audio, and the professionals who work behind the scenes to create great recordings.

As part of 2010 Grammy Week, the P&E Wing will be celebrating the music of Island Records and its founder Chris Blackwell, whose vision and commitment brought to the world the music of artists such as Desmond Dekker and the Aces, Nick Drake, Melissa Etheridge, Grace Jones, Bob Marley, Roxy Music, Cat Stevens, Toots and the Maytals, U2, Steve Winwood, and many others.

The event, entitled Catch a Fire is named for Bob Marley's first album, which is a 2010 inductee into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Honorary chairs for the eve

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The Netherlands - Mojo Barriers brought 2009 to a close with three different public events in three cities across Holland, delivering tailored crowd barrier systems to each one.

New Year's Eve celebrations in Rotterdam and Amsterdam and a Christmas charity event in Groningen brought together tens of thousands of people in each city with each presenting different challenges for crowd safety. International barrier company Mojo Barriers worked with production companies on each events to supply tailored barrier systems to ensure each event was safe.

For the double New Year's Eve events Mojo Barriers used two teams to work in both Rotterdam and Amsterdam. In Rotterdam a floating stage on the canal hosted a music concert and The Production Factory commissioned Mojo Barriers to install 750m of barrier along the canal bank. 20,000 people attended and the Mojo team used their experienc

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UAE - On 4 January 2010, the opening ceremony of the tallest tower in the world took place in Dubai. The recently renamed Khalifa tower is 828m and boasts 162 floors. Defying the technical challenges associated with such a construction, EMAAR Group revealed to the world its expertise in building engineering.

With such a building, the associated opening ceremony had to be as impressive as the tower itself. Dubai based Prisme International was selected to organise the complete event. Prisme designed a lighting set based on more than 300 Space Cannon, spread all around the building, and also installed on 17 terraces.

Prisme International has worked for several years with France-based Sonoss, French dealer of Luminex equipment. Following a request from Prisme, Sonoss and Luminex supplied a complete network solution to transport all lighting datas, all over the ground level, and in

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USA - There has been a lot of TV coverage recently concerning the Dallas Cowboys giant video displays at their new stadium in Arlington. The $40m, four-sided, high-definition Diamond Vision video board, which is built by Mitsubishi Electric, uses 22,000 TDK-Lambda ZWS power supplies to light the 25 million Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) needed to create the image on the screen.

As part of the team's move from their previous home in Irving, the recently opened $1.1bn stadium sports a retractable roof from which the world's largest HDTV screens hang. The four panels, which together weigh 600 metric tons (600,000kg), are suspended approximately 30m above midfield. The sideline panel stretches from one 20-yard line to the other and measures 21.76 x 48.32m; it has just been recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest High Definition (HD) video screen.

Alr

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UK - Software developer Stardraw.com has appointed audio visual technology distribution specialists RGB Communications as the exclusive distribution channel for their design/documentation and control products throughout the UK and Eire. The agreement is effective from 1 January 2010.

According to Stardraw.com marketing director Rob Robinson, the move represents an exciting step forward. "RGB Communications is a company that specialises in providing solutions, not just products and, having formerly distributed some very well-known control brands for the best part of two decades, what they don't know about control systems isn't worth knowing.

"We are extremely flattered that, after careful deliberation and extensive product evaluation, RGB Communications has concluded that Stardraw Control 2010 is the right platform on which to provide the next generation of control so

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UK - Clockaudio has announced two new additions to its distributor network in Europe.

In Sweden, the Karlstad-based Special-Elektronik AB will represent the British microphone manufacturer. A specialist distributor of AV technology for conferencing and auditoria, Special-Elektronik will also handle the line in Denmark.

Clockaudio sales in Belgium will forthwith be handled by M-PRO BeNeLux BVBA. Led by Mario Clabots, the M-PRO team already represents respected audio brands such as MiPro, Symetrix and Australian Monitor. A regular equipment supplier to AV projects like city halls, court rooms and boardrooms, M-PRO is well-known for providing high-quality competitive solutions in Belgium and Luxembourg.

(Jim Evans)

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Norway - The Norsk Film Institute (NFI) features a Yamaha DME installation and is regarded as the axle upon which the Norwegian film industry revolves, with over 2000 screenings a year in its Oslo premises. Around half of these are previews of major international releases for press and cinema owners, so having the best sound and vision is a fundamental requirement.

The rest of the industry has been quick to follow the NFI's example and installing Yamaha-based digital audio systems.

Unique Cinema Systems (UCS) is one of Norway's major suppliers to the country's cinema industry and the company, which introduced the Yamaha DME64N to the Scandinavian cinema market., It has sold more than 50 DME64N and many Yamaha amplifiers and loudspeakers, with over 10% of Norway's cinemas now featuring Yamaha equipment, a figure which is rising monthly.

"Yamaha equipment has been install

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UK / China - London-based AV sales and service company eMerging has reached an exclusive distribution agreement with Chinese recording microphone company MicW for the UK and Ireland. Effective immediately, the entire range of MicW mono and stereo instrument microphones will be available in the UK through eMerging and a network of selected dealers.

A subsidiary of the Beijing-based measurement microphone manufacturer BWSA, the largest such manufacturer of microphones for test and measurement and industrial applications in China, MicW was formed in 2008 to concentrate on the market for high-quality microphones aimed at broadcast, recording and live applications. After being active in the domestic Chinese market for a year, MicW launched its international sales activities in Europe in Spring 2009. The UK distribution agreement is the largest so far signed by the company, which is c

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UK - The PLASA 2010 Show has officially launched with the opening of a free registration month, enabling early bookers to gain admission to this year's show, at Earls Court on 12 - 15 September 2010, at no charge. Registration is now open on the new-look PLASA 2010 website (www.plasashow.com) with free visitor registration available until 11 February.

Following the highly upbeat reaction to PLASA09, with exhibitors expressing delight at the quality of visitors despite the financial climate, expectations for PLASA 2010 are also high.

Early exhibitor news includes confirmation by Martin Professional; a doubling of stand space by Nexo; and the return after a one-year absence of Zero 88.

PLASA's Events manager Sophie Atkinson said, "Last year the free registration offer helped boost exhibitors' confidence in the show's compelling drawing power by attracting thousands of ear

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Germany / The Netherlands - Optocore has appointed TM Audio as its new exclusive distributor in the Netherlands.

The move is the latest in a continuing strategy to strengthen Optocore's profile in the key broadcast, theatre and touring markets following the launch earlier this year of the SANE (Synchronous Audio Network plus Ethernet) digital audio networking protocol.

Optocore's international sales manager, Mike Case stated: "We are delighted to be teaming up with such a professional company as TM Audio. As part of the Ampco Flashlight Group they are a highly-renowned and respected company, who have been a predominant force in all our key markets over a number of years.

"Given the current economic circumstances it is highly encouraging to receive such a high-level commitment."

The Dutch distributors' sales & marketing manager, Rudolf Nagtzaam, responded: &q

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UK - Hawthorns has launched a new website for 2010 - www.hawthorns.uk.com. The website aims to be as easy to use as it is on the eye and to show the wide array of products and services that Hawthorn provide across its three main divisions of Production Solutions, Hire & Sales and Installations, as well as Rex Howard Drapes.

The new look website contains up to the minute information on Hawthorns' services and hire stock.

Hawthorn's general manager, Simon Wood, commented, "Our new website will be updated with news, blogs, case studies, photographs and additions to our hire stock. In line with the trend towards new media, we want the site to be much more interactive and for it to evolve with us throughout 2010."

(Jim Evans)

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Sweden - On 10 December 2009, CAST Software's wysiwyg and Vivien - Virtual Event Designer played a major role in The Nobel Prize Banquet. Held annually in the Blue Hall of Stockholm City Hall since 1934, the banquet immediately follows the Nobel Prize Awards. The event is attended by the King and Queen of Sweden and the other members of the Royal Family, plus approximately 1300 guests, including Nobel Laureates, politicians, dignitaries and other VIPs, as well as seen by the viewing audience of a High Definition television broadcast by Swedish Television (SVT).

Lighting designer Per Sundin and production manager Ola Melzig collaborated in advance for the Banquet in 2008 using wysiwyg and Vivien. The two have worked together on the event several times in the past, but last year was the first time Vivien was integrated. There was no hesitation to use the software com

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UK - Jonny Gaskell, lighting designer for British electronic duo Orbital, calls the Martin MAC 250 Beam "a new exciting product that has amazing light output for such a small unit."

Gaskell was happy to get his hands on 12 Martin MAC 250 Beams for Orbital's set at London Freeze 2009, a snow sport and music event held at Battersea Power Station in London from 30 October to 1 November.

"It has an excellent fat beam, usable gobos, and lovely colour mixing," he says. "They gave the rig a serious level of punch and stood out over the rest of the rig, giving stadium style fat searchlight beams."

The festival played host to live music acts on two stages with Orbital as headliners. Gaskell had six MAC 250 Beams sub-hung on drop bars across the back of the stage with an additional six on the floor. Also in the rig were 12 Martin MAC 700 Profiles,

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USA / Japan - Yamaha Commercial Audio has announced that Audinate's Dante-MY16-AUD cards are now commercially available. These cards are fully compatible with Yamaha digital MY16 card slots and may be ordered through authorized Yamaha Commercial Audio dealers.

The Dante-MY16-AUD card is based on Audinate's Dante IP audio networking solution. The card can be used to network low latency, sample accurate audio to Dante networked equipment including Yamaha mixing consoles, DME processors and TXn power amplifiers which have MY16 card slots. Each Dante-MY16-AUD card provides 16 bidirectional audio channels (16 channels at 48 kHz, or 8 channels at 96 kHz) over Gigabit Ethernet with real time network redundancy. Multiple cards may be used to support higher channel count.

Each Dante-MY16-AUD card also includes a licence for Audinate's Dante Virtual Soundcard - a software program that e

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UK - BrightSign media controllers are delivering messages about marine biology and conservation at the Sea Life London Aquarium, which re-launched in April 2009 following a multi-million pound refurbishment. Eighty of the BrightSign HD110 units provide interactive looping signage, primarily as electronic labels on tanks that are home to thousands of marine mammals, fish, turtles, seahorse and octopuses.

BrightSign players are delivering the same benefits at other Sea Life attractions throughout Europe, including 15 BrightSigns at Legoland Germany and 30 of the units in Sea Life Portugal.

Each controller drives an HD LCD display built into a bespoke metal enclosure; designed, integrated and installed by audio visual experts Digital Antics. The fish-tank label display is divided into two zones. A narrow menu area shows images of all the species in the particular enclosure whilst

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UK - Lighting designer Chad Peters used 28 GLP Impression moving LED lights on his enlarged set, once American band Paramore moved up to arena sized shows in the UK this December.

He sourced the fixtures from Bandit Lites (who hold a rental stock of 60 Impressions), and their chief executive Lester Cobrin comments: "The units are in high demand from many lighting designers - thus we made the decision to invest heavily - a decision which has proved very successful."

Having been introduced to the power of the LED spots by other third party vendors back in the United States, Peters was sufficiently impressed to try them out for the first time with the band Rise Against, when he was covering for a colleague.

"They were asking whether it was a green design and I thought they were talking about the colour of their set until I realised they were concerned with eco-is

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UK - As Carl Cox wowed the gathered revellers during his five-hour Room-One set at Matter London's first birthday party this autumn, he made the most of the 3D room sound effects created by a TiMax audio delay matrix and triggered live via an M Audio Oxygen8 MIDI keyboard.

TiMax is intrinsic to the sound system design in the Thameside superclub and is the key to the 'tight' but spatial soundfield achieved in the very large and industrial, high-ceilinged Room-One space. TiMax operates in two standard modes: one to optimise the DJ club night sound experience and the second to emphasise the stage focus for live band performance.

Subtle or extreme sound movement effects, such as mix elements spinning or zig-zagging around the room in different directions, are triggered in TiMax by the DJ using the MIDI keyboard. Keen to assure his crowd of special set, Cox incorporated these effec

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Croatia - The combination of transparency, vertical beam distribution and a tiny footprint made Martin Audio's OmniLine micro-line array system the choice for Croatian installation company Ivas Studio when it came to fitting out the 500-seat Church of Saint Ana in the centre of Krizevci.

The parent company of Martin Audio's Zagreb-based importers, Niking d.o.o, covers a wide spectrum of integration work but finds houses of worship a vibrant sector - just as OmniLine does.

With its modular, scalable approach, the architecturally-designed OmniLine can be optimised in the system's dedicated intelligent software, which enables the sound to be delivered precisely over any vertical angle, while the elimination of high frequency side-lobes provides an advantage over DSP-steered columns, making it appropriate for heavily reverberant spaces such as church interiors.

Niking director,

  1. Martin Audio plays on the beach in Dubai
  2. The Week in Lighting & Sound
  3. PRG and New York City go green
  4. London Light supports theatre school's Hairspray
  5. New French theatre equipped with RCF system
  6. Stageco builds seasonal ice rink in Bruges
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