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UK - Bournemouth University has become the first SADiE customer in the UK to take delivery of the new SADiE 6 audio editing and production software.

Peter Nash, Prism Sound and SADiE's broadcast Consultant, personally delivered the first five UK licences when he attended the Sounding Out creative radio conference, which took place at the University from 7-10 September 2010.

Prism Sound, which made the new SADiE 6 software available to the public at IBC 2010, has also announced sales of 10 native licences to Aberdeen College and 16 SADiE 6 licences, which will run on their existing SADiE PCM2s, to Sunderland University. These will be delivered shortly after IBC.

SADiE 6 products are application based and are focusing on the core SADiE expertise of radio production, TV/film post, mastering, and high-level creative sound design. Although SADiE 6 takes advantage of existi

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Italy - Once again the curtains have closed on La Versiliana Festival. Rock-Pop musical Rent - No day but today by director Paolo Ruffini, produced by Nido del Cuculo, closed the long series of shows scheduled at the festival in Marina di Pietrasanta, Tuscany.

On stage there was a Proel Axiom + Powersoft System chosen by Alessandro Fava's Music Service of Livorno.

"The original version of this musical showed on Broadway for 12 straight years," sound designer Giuseppe Porcelli reports. "Those who know it are aware that its technical features make it absolutely unique. The plot's dynamics require the right mix between a band composed of a drum set, a bass guitar, two electric guitars, one acoustic guitar, a pad, a keyboard and a piano and 18 performers wearing either cardioid or omnidirectional DPA microphones.

"Love songs, acted scenes and ve

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UK / Dubai - Industry veteran, John Lethbridge, of Cereco International has announced that he is about to set up a another new company, based in Dubai, after 40 successful years in the lighting industry.

Lethbridge was managing director of Cerebrum Lighting from 1970 to 2000 and one of the three original founding committee members of PLASA. He was also president of Celco Inc. in the USA and a director of Durango (France), Specialist Electrical Services and Presentation Consultants, all concurrently with his role as MD at Cerebrum Lighting.

Since 2002, Lethbridge has been operating as a freelance business development consultant in the Middle East, for various PLASA members, but primarily for Pulsar Light of Cambridge, acting as their Middle East sales manager. Pulsar Light will become Lethbridge's first client in the new venture.

Unlike regular overseas distribution companies

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USA - The recent Sunset Music Festival 2010 gave Miami's trance / house music enthusiasts much to cheer about. Held on Saturday, 31 July at Soho Studios, this year's festival comprised of four stages (three inside - one outside), each with 10 DJ's. When he wasn't busy running the event, festival promoter DJ Xta-C treated the crowd to his own blend of house music. Trance / progressive music artist George Acosta also performed, as did Ralph Falcon, Cato K, and numerous other musical luminaries. The main stage was located outdoors in Soho Studios' parking lot and this is where the biggest names on the festival roster performed-through a potent sound reinforcement system from the Aero series catalogue of D.A.S. Audio.

Miami-based High Intensity Sound, which specialises in live sound reinforcement for concerts, festivals, special events, and also operates a commercial installation gr

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USA - For many smaller towns, the local church is a focal point for friends and neighbours to meet and keep in touch. And for residents of Perham, Minnesota, St. Henry's Catholic Church has long been just that. The sanctuary's soaring walls and high arched ceilings have made it a wonderful place to gather for traditional Sunday services.

But while the sanctuary's classic, ornate architecture makes the choir and organ sound magnificent, it doesn't do much for the spoken word. In fact, the church has long struggled with the room's reflectivity and its effect on the intelligibility of the Sunday sermons, much to the chagrin of church pastors.

When Fargo, ND-based Tricorne Audio was brought in to design a new sound system for St. Henry's, the challenge was clear - create a system that could deliver intelligibility to all areas of the room, focusing the sound onto the seating areas

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Norway - Often referred to as the northernmost point in Europe, Nordkapp (North Cape) on the island of Mager°ya in northern Norway is just 2103.3km from the North Pole at its most northerly tip. Now a major tourist destination that welcomes some 200,000 visitors every year, the area nevertheless remains sparsely populated; hence local radio is a vital means of communication throughout the region, especially for those in the most remote locations. Systems contracting company J°rgen Lien Elektronikk AS recently installed a PYKO audio over IP network from Digigram to link a number of radio stations across the Nordkapp region, and a transmitter site.

PYKO devices will either convert analogue or digital audio sources to MP3 or PCM IP streams (PYKO-in) or play such streams from the network or from locally stored MP3 files (PYKO-out). In this instance the network consisted of f

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USA - The N-Sid-Sen Camp and Conference Centre is a 270-acre multi-use facility on the shores of Lake Coeur d'Alene in Northern Idaho. The venue offers a wide variety of settings for activities, including sports fields, a ropes course, basketball and volleyball courts and an outdoor chapel. Recently, Pat Lambert of Lambert Audio Engineering was asked to spec a PA system for the new Stillwater Welcome Centre located at N-Sid-Sen, and he selected loudspeakers and DSP from EAW.

"The facility does not have trained audio techs on site, so I knew it was crucial that I provide an extremely flexible and easy-to-operate system. EAW's DX1208 DSP Matrix Mixer fit the bill perfectly," stated Lambert. A combination of EAW VR51 full-range loudspeakers and VRS12 SMS4 surface mount loudspeakers, powered by two EAW CXA80 power amplifiers, were used to evenly cover the foyer and porch z

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UK - In response to demand from the live-events sector of the UK's audiovisual industry, InfoComm International will host a three-day InfoComm Academy course dedicated to the management of events this coming December at its Hemel Hempstead base.

The course will be led by André LeJeune, CTS, InfoComm's rental & staging staff instructor, who has more than 30 years' experience of staging and presentation and has been responsible for many large-scale productions for corporate clients.

Chris Lavelle, InfoComm International's regional manager for the UK and Ireland, comments, "Last year we ran a very successful staging and live events course which focused on technical topics such as large-screen projection and display, audio, lighting, and sets and stages. This year's course, EVS 212 Staging and Live Event Management, will continue to have a strong technical compo

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UK - Black Light has announced its Autumn/Winter schedule of training and awareness courses. These courses have been developed in response to demand from the company's clients in the theatre and events industries and cover a wide range of key skills and technical issues. All of the courses will be run by expert trainers from Black Light and other leading companies. The courses will take place at the company's warehouse complex in Edinburgh.

The courses include training on pyrotechnic awareness, Rosco products, ION lighting desk and chain motor awareness. All attendees will be encouraged to ask questions, engage in discussion with their instructors and highlight any aspects where they need specific advice or training.

The courses require a £25 (ex VAT) booking fee. This fee will be returned when the course has been attended in the form of a voucher to be used with Black L

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UK - In the wake of the merger recently announced between UK structural aluminium specialists Litestructures, and Dutch trussing, staging and lifting company Prolyte, it was confirmed at PLASA 2010 that the branch of Litestructures formerly known as Litestructures Live has been launched as a new, independent company called LS-LIVE.

LS-LIVE is now a facility that unifies three previously distinct areas of operation, namely hire, stage & set, and the studio, which is Europe's largest purpose-built arena rehearsal facility.

LS-LIVE has its own experienced management team to handle and coordinate every facet of live events from equipment hire to project management and support to stage and set design and much more besides, says the company.

"I'm very excited about heading up LS-LIVE and taking on the challenge of moving the business from being a division of another company t

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USA - Chad Koehler of Sea Koehler, Inc. and a lead rigging consultant for many major touring rock and roll productions has specified Ron StageMaster's 6000-wireless system for the current AC/DC Black Ice World tour.

The current tour has a very large set piece; a full size replica of an old steam locomotive, too heavy for (two) 2-ton chain hoists. During installation, a delta plate is rigged, and then two hoists are used side by side on each end of the set piece. The load cells allowed Koehler to monitor the load while building and hoisting the set piece onto the stage and alert the rigging team of any overload.

The production also uses a large video screen which is hung underneath a large truss measuring twenty meters in length (65').

The screen moves up, down, left and right on a motorized track hung from the bottom of the truss. The truss is hung from nine 2-ton cha

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Belgium - StageCo, Tait Technologies, XL Video and Barco are are all involved with the U2 360° tour which hits Belgium on 22 and 23 September. The audience will be able to enjoy the show, with a giant 360° stage and video screen, made in Belgium.

The U2 360° tour started on 30 June 2009 in Camp Nou in Barcelona and will go on until the summer of 2011. This month, it finally sets foot in Belgium. Both the spectacular stage, as well as the transformable LED screen were made possible by Belgian companies.

StageCo was responsible for the construction of the impressive stage. "As it became clear what the designer and the band wanted to achieve, it was obvious to me that this was something unprecedented," says Hedwig de Meyer, president of Stageco. "The sheer scale of the structure, the span of the legs, lifting the huge technical production 28 metres in

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USA / UK - Clair Brothers, one of the most respected names in the entertainment industry, is now expanding its reach outside the US. Roy Clair, founder of Clair Brothers, and his son Barry Clair, president of Clair Brothers, have committed to design and manufacture a high-end line of loudspeaker systems and will continue to offer their expertise and attention to details to the AV systems design and integration industry.

Clair Brothers has signalled its intent to become a leading provider of loudspeaker systems by securing the services of David Cooper in the newly created position of Business Development - Global. The appointment of Cooper targeting the global market is the next step in the long-term strategic plan of making Clair Brothers' product portfolio available to a global customer base following the recent completion of their new manufacturing facility in Manheim, Pennsyl

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UK / Germany - As soon as Martin Audio's revolutionary Multicellular Loudspeaker Array (MLA) had completed its world debut with German rap band Fettes Brot, the band's Berlin-based production company, Complete Audio, became the first global customer for the new system.

They wasted no time in placing an order for the rig, comprising 20 x MLA, 2 x MLD enclosures and 14 x MLX subs (along with Merlin network management system, rigging and peripherals), with Martin Audio's German distributor, Atlantic Audio. Complete Audio MD, André Rauhut remarked, "I now own a system which is truly unique."

The MLA, which collected a Gold Award in this year's PLASA Awards for Innovation at the PLASA Show in London this week, boosts the rental company's cutting-edge inventory which already includes Martin Audio's W8L Longbow, W8LC and W8LM conventional line arrays. "The MLA i

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UK - Broadcast sound specialist Red-TX was employed to capture the audio for the Help for Heroes benefit concert, which took place at Twickenham Stadium on Sunday 12 September.

The event which attracted more than 60,000 people, included some of the injured service personnel who benefit from the money raised by the charity. It was broadcast live by the BBC, which took its music audio feed from the Red-TX sound truck.

Help for Heroes has united the nation behind the Armed Forces. The charity, which does not question the rights and wrongs of recent wars, aims to provide the best possible care and support for injured UK servicemen and women.

Artists performing included Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow, Tom Jones, James Blunt, Alexandra Burke, Pixie Lott, Plan B and The Saturdays.

Red-TX was commissioned to handle the audio by Chris Bretnall, head of Creative Broad

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USA - As longtime and extensive users of Robert Juliat Profile spots, it could have been expected that the San Francisco Opera and Ballet would become the first US installation for Robert Juliat's motorized Victor followspots with RJNET electronics.

"When the Opera was remodelled and seismically upgraded in 1996, we purchased 172 Profiles, then the Opera bought a few HMI Profiles and the Ballet added two more. The Victor followspots are our most recent purchase," says Jim Caudle, technician for the San Francisco Ballet. "The building is shared by both companies which have consecutive seasons: the Opera runs May through December and the Ballet December through May. There are permanent followspot positions for both companies and the Victors remain in place for both seasons."

Caudle notes that the Opera and Ballet's previous followspots "didn't have the p

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UK / Brazil - Following up on its acquisition of Brazilian loudspeaker manufacturer Electronica Selenium in June this year, Harman presented the European professional audio community with Selenium by Harman at PLASA 2010. Selenium is now part of Harman Professional's Loudspeaker Group .

"Being a part of a global organization such as Harman allows Selenium to expand our distribution in a measured, strategic and well-supported manner," says Rodrigo Rihl Kniest, country manager, Harman Brazil. "In doing so, we dovetail well with other Harman Professional brand offerings and we provide European customers with greater choice, improved versatility and Selenium's special combination of innovation, quality and performance value. I am confident that Harman's product portfolio coupled with Selenium's positioning in Brazil and Latin America will facilitate new businesses opp

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France / UK Surbiton-based Plus 4 Audio serves the London Studios, Fountain Studios, Maidstone Studios and the BBC as well as various OB events with shows such as Dancing on Ice, Mercury Music Prize, Must be the Music, Over the Rainbow, Strictly Come Dancing and Sports Personality of the Year to name but a few. The company has just taken delivery of 12 DX12 compact, low profile monitor speakers from APG for rental stock from APG's UK distributor, Red Square Audio.

Plus 4's Stewart Chaney comments, "I had been looking for a micro wedge monitor for our smaller shows for quite some time, but I just couldn't find anything that met our requirements. They were either too big or simply not good enough, or both! Then Paul Nicholson said he'd got something that might interest me, and gave me a demo of the new DX12s from APG. I was more than

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UK - The cutting edge of modern audio and acoustics will be highlighted again at the Reproduced Sound 2010 conference which opens at the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, on 18 November.

Now in its 26 year, the two-day conference, organised by the Institute of Acoustics, has become a key event in the calendar for consultants, manufacturers, contractors and end users.

As well as providing delegates with detailed updates of major new developments, the informal environment of the event allows them to mingle and share insights and information.

This year's theme will be Performing Arts Venues: Balancing the Design and it will include a keynote paper from Jonathan Adams, architect of the Wales Millennium Centre, which became the country's national arts centre on its opening in 2004.

Adams will speak on what it takes to bring the various specialisms of acoustics, th

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UK - At PLASA 2010, rental companies ETA Sound, Total Sound Solutions and A1 Entertainments all placed orders for Nexo line array systems.

ETASound, which is based in North Wales but also has a London office at the O2 Arena, is to take delivery of 16 Nexo D10 modules, with an option to buy the same again, following installation trials of Geo D at one of the UK's most prominent live venues. In April, Eddie Thomas became one of the first rental companies in the world to buy the new RS18 subs from Nexo, and has just ordered more cabinets for ETASound's inventory.

Total Sound Solutions from Swansea and A1 Entertainments from Bristol are purchasing near-identical Geo S12 systems, comprising S1210 and S1230 line array modules, RS18 subs and NXAMP4x4 controller-amplifiers.

"One of the main attractions is the versatility of the S12," says Gareth Collyer from NexoUK. "

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UK - The Martin Audio DD6 is the first in a new line of products that will eventually replace the Wavefront range. The DD6 extends the company's loudspeaker portfolio and targets the touring and theatre segments. "The DD6 marks the first step in a new evolution," states Martin Audio R&D director, Jason Baird. "This ultra-versatile system offers a variety of different deployment options in a tour grade enclosure."

However, it is the custom-designed Differential Dispersion horn, developed using Martin Audio's proprietary BEM tools, which is the system's greatest USP, he continues. "This yields a dispersion pattern which covers typical audience planes in a much more consistent manner than a conventional X by Y degree horn - in other words it delivers optimal near- to mid-field coverage."

To achieve this, the DD6 enclosure is loaded with a 90°-120

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UK - Shaka Zulu, the African themed restaurant and late night venue in Camden's Stables Market, North London, opened its doors this summer.

The venue, costing an estimated £5.5m, is spread over two floors occupying approximately 27,000sq.ft and features hand carved exotic wood walls, elaborate furniture and dominating statues - both over the main entrance and within the premises itself.

Shaka Zulu is a high profile, large scale project, some three years in the making; proprietor Roger Payne turned to long term supplier Carl Broadhurst and his company CTS Productions to provide the audible heart of the venue.

"For such a high profile venue, Martin Audio is always one of my personal first choices. Our past experience with this leading brand has been highly successful with more than a positive response from clients," commented Broadhurst..

The Martin Audio sou

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UK - The flagship Oxford Circus Topshop store has added a Topman trading floor at the top of the building. Former Radio 1 DJ, Bruno Brookes has provided an end-to-end concept for content and sound reinforcement via his broadcast firm Immedia, making this a blueprint for future installations in other stores.

The Harman Pro solution chosen by Immedia will eventually utilise more than 500 JBL Control 47CT and Control 24CT Micro transformer ceiling speakers and Control 28T surface mount enclosures distributed throughout the five trading floors. These are driven by Crown CTs and CDi series amplifiers, with a professing and routing network constructed around Soundweb DSP devices.

The new system gives the primary stations and concession areas the ability to employ local volume control and source select, and the store will be able to broadcast pre-recorded message announcements overla

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USA - A big date on Hollywood calendars each year is the Teen Choice Awards which honours the year's biggest achievements in music, movies, sports, television, fashion and more, as voted by teens.

This year's ceremony was held on 8 August at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles and aired the following day on the Fox Network. Lighting design veteran Tom Kenny created animated looks to match the show's youthful energy using Martin's LC Series LED panels for backdrop graphics, as well as Martin Atomic 3000 strobes and MAC 2000 Wash XB moving heads.

"All in all, the clarity and colour of the LC panels impressed us all and their ease to erect was fabulous," he stated. "I was very happy with the Atomic strobes and 2000 Wash XB's for the look [set designer and art director] Steve Bass and Kristen Merlino and I achieved." Lighting vendor for the event was

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