UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) Ltd's Video division has supplied XL Video with two of the latest Green Hippo v3 HD i7 media servers, which have gone into immediate use on tour with 2010 Mercury Prize winning UK indie band, The xx.

The sale was co-ordinated by Peter Butler for AC-ET and Paul Wood, XL's project manager for The xx tour. Wood also liaised closely with XL Video's technical project manager, James Morden.

The Hippotizers were specified by the band's lighting director, Michael Straun and were specifically chosen as they were the only media servers able to fulfil the exact functionality and system requirements necessary.

Two of the Hippotizers are run live, while the third is used as a 'hot' backup - all running on the latest 3.1 version software.

The tour has included a wide variety of European festival dates.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Entertainment lighting specialist White Light supplied the lighting to the Horse of the Year Show, a long-standing fixture in the British event calendar, held at the Birmingham NEC. The event features equestrian displays, show jumping, and more. The show is an annual must-see for equestrian fans.

The Horse of the Year Show is organised by Grandstand Media Ltd, with Production Team as the production company led by artistic director Nadia Raibin. The show's lighting design was by Mark Strange, with Ben Fox as technical producer - who gives "a big thumbs up from the whole team to White Light for a great event". White Light supplied lighting for the main Andrews Bowen International Arena along with the smaller Caldene Arena.

"We've been through a few different lighting companies on the Horse of the Year Show over the last few years," comments Ben Fox, &quo

France - Over 200 Robe LEDWash 600 RGBW LED moving lights were again central to Peter Heilig's lighting design concept for the BMW and Mini booths and press launches at the Mondial de l'Automobile 2012 à Paris (Paris Motor Show). This was staged at the Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles and attended by over 1.2m visitors over two weeks.

The lighting fixtures were supplied by Rock Service from Salzgitter in Germany and specified by Heilig after his very successful use of Robe's LEDWash and PureWhites for BMW at the Geneva Motor show earlier in the year.

Thirty-two LEDWash 600s were positioned on the floor at the back of the BMW stand - designed by Mutabor Hamburg - for the press launch and unveiling of the new eco-friendly BMW Concept Active Tourer vehicle at the event.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Edinburgh-based technical installation specialist Northern Light is the first company to purchase the newly launched SDRIVE motorised track system by Triple E.

Following an industry and press launch hosted by Triple E's managing director David Edelstein at Portsmouth's King's Theatre in September, Northern Light project manager Martin Tarpy purchased the SDRIVE system for The New Waverley School in Birmingham.

"We wanted to deliver the best possible solution for the school's main proscenium theatre and consulted a range of suppliers, including Triple E," says Tarpy. "The SDRIVE had launched that very week and appeared to meet all of our technical criteria, as well as our budget."

The SDRIVE system is a compact and simple to use motor intended for curtains weighing up to 50kgs and is suitable for drama stages in buildings such as schools.

The new Wa

UK - Shine Systems has selected the Mackie DL1608 as the console of choice for the 24,000-capacity Welford Road Stadium, home of the Leicester Tigers rugby club.

Director of Shine Systems and audio engineer for Welford stadium, Phil Taylor, explains, "The DL1608 is used to play music before/after the match and at half-time (both from the iPad and from a Macbook Air running Traktor), together with playing pre-recorded announcements and to control the match announcer microphones."

The large stadium is divided into 17 discrete zones and employs a robust wireless network that was suitable for the DL1608. "I was also able to walk round the ground during the pre-match build-up with just my iPad and adjust levels as required using the ground-wide wireless network." continued Taylor. "I would usually use a larger-format digital console for this, but I am confi

UK - Manchester-based lighting, rigging and visuals rental company dbn designed and supplied a large ground support system for the Games Time outdoor stage spectacular, which played its final performance at Derby last weekend.

The show, produced by Walk The Plank and Déda, was a mixed-media performance combining music, dance, video, lighting and pyrotechnics, directed by Lea Anderson and starring members of the local community. Four teams - Red, Blue, Green and Yellow - sporting fabulous carnival style costumes designed and made by Mahogany - competed to win the Games Time Finale.

dbn's Stephen Page was asked to design the truss and lighting for the event, which played four towns - Skegness, Loughborough, Northampton and Derby - celebrating the spirit of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the East Midlands.

dbn invested in a new Slick ground support sys

Australia - Sydney International Regatta Centre in Penrith Lakes hosted one of the most successful outdoor dance party events of its kind on 15 September 2012. The outdoor festival featured seven stages spanning over the Island, with the main stage, also known as the 'Red Stage' hosting 22,000 people who came to dance to the beats spun by Wildstylez, Headhunterz, Frontliner, Code Black, Psyko Punkz, Toneshifterz, Zany, Max Enforcer, S Dee vs Hektic, and XDream.

The event was hosted by MC Villain, produced by Matt Chromatic and promoted by Q-dance Australia. Norwest Productions provided complete sound production; staging, lighting, and pyro were executed by LX- PRG, Lasers- Oracle, and Pyro-Howard & Sons.

Audio system design was executed by the event FOH Engineer Scott Harrison, on the new Adamson Blueprint AV Software, enabling the plotting of the four hangs plus a front-fill.

USA - Audio-Technica is celebrating its 19th year of supporting the Country Music Association (CMA) Awards by providing an extensive selection of vocal and instrument microphones for its annual awards show.

The 46th Annual CMA Awards aired live in 5.1-channel surround sound Thursday, 1 November, 2012, on the ABC Television Network from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, and featured over 200 Audio-Technica microphones, including an impressive array of hard-wired mics and Artist Elite 5000 Series UHF Wireless Systems.

The team responsible for the audio at this year's CMA's again included a who's who of broadcast audio. The audio was supervised by award-winning audio producers Tom Davis and Paul Sandweiss; ATK/Audiotek provided the sound system with FOH (front-of-house) mixers Patrick Baltzell and Rick Shimer; the broadcast music mix was handled by New Jersey/California-based M

UK - Flightcase manufacturer 5 Star continues to enjoy brisk business this autumn with a wide variety of projects including a substantial supply of cases to Edinburgh-based lighting, sound and AV specialist, Black Light.

The cases - a series of general purpose and custom items - were purchased to protect and transport Black Light's newest equipment investments, including lighting and rigging kit.

5 Star designed, manufactured and delivered the order with their characteristic speed and efficiency so the cases were able to go straight into action on a range of events and hires.

5 Star was selected for its reputation for producing robust, premium quality cases as well as the expedient turnaround, and was project managed for them by John Barsby out of the company's Wisbech HQ.

Eight Eurotrucker road trunks with full trays, one ETC Gio lighting console case, two Selecon Acclaim

Turkey - SGM's new generation LED strobes have arrived on the Aegean coast. In one of the world's biggest open air venues 18 of the XC-5 RGB strobes pulse beneath the night sky of Bodrum. The stylish Halikarnas, which overlooks the Aegean, was completely redesigned this summer by its millionaire owner Süleyman Demir.

Lighting stalwart Andy Graves, of Turkish-based LEDsistem, supplied 18 of SGM's innovative XC-5 RGB strobes among the lasers and special effects that animate this luxurious multi-zone venue. They had been specified by Arch Lite's Matthew Button and Trent O'Connor, who between them undertook responsibility for the architectural, theatrical and club lighting design.

Button, who masterminded the stage lighting design, had no hesitation in choosing the SGM solution over conventional strobes, stating, "In terms of power, this fixture not only outperforms a standa

UK - The Bristol Old Vic, one of Britain's most historic theatres, founded in 1766 by 50 merchants, lawyers and politicians, has been given a spectacular £12.26m makeover in the first phase of a major redevelopment.

Originally designed by the Bristol architect James Saunderson, the theatre is believed to be the oldest working theatre in the UK. Stage Electrics was awarded the contract to design and install a completely new technical infrastructure and production lighting, audio and communications systems. The project has been headed by consultants Charcoalblue with design by John Stevens and project management by John Woodley; architect Andrzej Blonski and builders Galliford Try.

The refurbishment includes the raising of the stalls and gallery to dramatically improve sightlines throughout the Georgian auditorium, a new, flexible thrust stage format, conversion of the pai

Australia - September saw five very different acts take to the stage in Melbourne, Australia, as the city's RMIT University staged its seventh annual MAVIS showcase. With all of the production's technical tasks carried out by students, a highlight was the fact that they were able to get hands on with a DiGiCo SD7.

A collaboration between RMIT's Music Industry (Sound Production) and Audio Visual Technology departments, the MAVIS project is an opportunity for final year students to apply their skills in event planning, live sound, audio and visual recording in a professional setting, using industry standard equipment.

This year they were faced with a variety of acts, performing on two stages. The music ranged from cartoon metal warlords Barbariön, country rockers Alford's Band of Bullwinkles and psychedelic beatniks Wolfy & The Bat Cubs to singer/songwriter Violetta Delconte Ra

South Africa - South Africa was the destination for a roadshow with Robe, Avolites and LumenRadio from 30 October - 2 November 2012. The event was put together by DWR Distribution and demonstrations were held in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.

The UJ Theatre, The Playhouse Company and the Baxter Theatre were the hosting venues.

Overseas representatives promoting their latest equipment were Robe's Josef Valchar and Harry von den Stemmen, Phil Blue from Avolites and Peter Kirkup from LumenRadio.

"I feel like I'm coming home every time I come to South Africa," commented von den Stemmen. "When we do demos like these we never arrive with an average mix of products but choose novelties to show clients something different."

Robe focussed on the Robin DLX, DLS and DLF which are versatile and of equal interest to television studios, clubs and just about any

The Netherlands - The Gelredome in Arnhem was sold out recently for the world premiere of a new production of the truck-busting, ear-crunching spectacle known as Monster Jam.

For the first time in the worldwide history of Monster Jam, the event brought together the world's biggest monster trucks, along with daredevil demo riders and, of course, the FMX-ers from Team Marvel and Team Destruction - creating the largest ever extreme sports battle.

Last year almost 70 Powersoft Duecanali amplifiers were installed in the Gelredome arena by TM Audio. Olaf Landzaat created the system design and headed the installation team. In collaboration with Italian engineers at Powersoft, a custom-made Media Matrix plugin was written, enabling the amps to be integrated into the system seamlessly.

The house system at the Gelredome (also installed by TM Audio several years ago) has

Hurricane Benefit - Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi are to perform at a benefit concert for victims of Hurricane Sandy on Friday. The rock stars are natives of New Jersey, which was one of the areas hardest hit by the storm. They will be joined by Billy Joel, Sting and Christina Aguilera on the live one-hour telethon to be broadcast on NBC. Money raised from Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together will go to the American Red Cross relief efforts.

Hosted by Today show presenter Matt Lauer, the concert will be recorded from NBC's New York studios at Rockefeller Plaza. It will be broadcast live across NBC's other cable networks including Bravo, CNBC, E!, Syfy and USA at 20:00 EST (00:00 GMT) and tape-delayed on the west coast. The commercial-free telethon will also be streamed live on NBC's website. NBC organised a similar benefit after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 which raised $50

USA - With one week remaining until PLASA Focus: Stamford 2012 opens its doors to the tri-state area for the first time, over 50 companies are currently preparing to debut new pro audio, lighting, video and stage technologies at the event, which takes place at The Stamford Marriott, Connecticut, on 12-13 November 2012.

PLASA Focus: Stamford will also host the popular PLASA Professional Development Programme, a two-day programme of free seminars and events running alongside the exhibition - including a Keynote Session presented by legendary lighting designer and one of the world's preeminent theatre consultants, Richard Pilbrow. Richard will also be taking part in a book signing before the seminar, coinciding with a cocktail and hors d'oeuvres reception. This free to attend event takes place on Monday, 12 November from 5pm onwards. To book this session, and to see the full line u

UK - After its illustrious past as a cinema, the landmark Scala at London's Kings Cross has now been firmly established by director Ryan Bissett as a popular alternative live music, club and arts venue.

Since the venue also hosts LAE Live Audio engineering diploma courses, it depends on showcasing the best in production technology. Recently it upgraded its mixing consoles and now standardises on Soundcraft platforms, which can be found in both the house and stage positions.

Three and a half years after purchasing a 32-channel Soundcraft MH3 from dealers Crystal Pro Audio, head of sound George Gregori gave the go-ahead for the purchase of a new Soundcraft Si Compact 32 from the same suppliers - giving them a matched channel count at both ends.

The desk was specified by head sound engineer Dave Preston, who earlier reviewed several other options in the same category before dec

Denmark - The recently formed Matrix Group has taken on the exclusive Danish distribution of PR Lighting's automated discharge and LED lighting portfolio, with immediate effect.

Established in early 2011 to harness and strengthen the respected companies, Nordic Sales & Staging, Signal Audio and Moto Audio Sales, Matrix Group provides a powerful distribution partner for many international manufacturers. From a base in pro audio it has expanded this year into lighting distribution and sales - with PR Lighting becoming its latest acquisition.

Commenting on the move, Matrix CEO Kenneth Bremer, said: "As part of our strategy we wanted a brand that had a broad and well-made range of lighting products - that was both affordable and had professional specs.

"I asked several people for recommendations and we were introduced to Cui Lin at PR Lighting. We quickly realised the

China - Jazz artists from around the world converged on the two day Shanghai International Jazz Festival recently, including Incognito from the UK, Japan's Jabberloop, Theo Croker's Afrosonic global collaboration and Italy's Roberta Gambarini.

Additionally, American trumpeter Roy Hargrove's RH Factor made their China debut while Chinese artists Tia Yuan, Karen Mok, and Khalil Fong gave riveting performances. Over 8,000 music fans enjoyed a weekend of music and some fantastic weather in the world's largest city.

Martin Audio distributors, Budee, service the main Green Note stage - the largest and most popular of the six stages - on an annual basis and the company's Lee Feng, one of China's leading tour sound engineers, built the PA system around Martin Audio MLA Multi-cellular loudspeaker arrays.

Remarkably, the audio mains were about as compact as it gets: at only 790kg - in

China - DPA Microphones' new hand held d:facto Vocal Microphone made its debut on Chinese television this summer when it was used extensively during the production of The Voice of China, a show produced and screened by Zhejiang Satellite TV that topped the nationwide ratings.

Based on the same concept as NBC's The Voice, the Chinese show featured four judges/coaches who used blind auditions to identify teams of singers they wanted to work with during the series. The prize for the winning artist, Liang Bo, was a recording contract.

Heading up sound production for the show was Mr Jin Shao Gang, a noted sound designer and one of China's most important sound engineers. During an extensive and illustrious career, Mr Jin has worked with many of the country's top recording artists and was also heavily involved in the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Colombia - Robe's new Colombian distributor Codiscos SA recently staged hands-on technical demonstrations followed by a rock concert in the city of Medellin - all designed to illustrate first-hand the capabilities of Robe's latest technologies to potential clients. The event was co-ordinated by Codiscos's Sebastian Ochoa and attended by Robe's Regional sales Manager for Latin America, Guillermo Traverso.

The first day was dedicated to showing existing Codiscos clients, particularly those in the rental and staging markets, the newest Robe technologies now available on the Colombian market. The featured products were Robin 600 and 300 LED Washes, MMX Spot, the Robin 600 Beam, CitySkape Xtremes and 48s, the LEDForce PAR 18 and a selection of Robe hazers.

Sebastian Ochea remarks that the power saving and efficient running made possible using Robe's products, built to their 'smalle

UK - A Stage Technologies rental AU:tour control system provided the overhead flying for Nicholas Hytner's triumphant version of Shakespeare's Timon of Athens at the Olivier Theatre in the National Theatre. The production, which opened on 17 July, finished its run on 1 November in front of a live audience in London and was live-streamed to cinemas around the world.

The Stage Technologies system included 15 BigTow winches, ranging from 12 BT200s and two BT390s which flew smaller scenic items to a single BT490 which moved a very large scenic wall. The control system included several AU:tour control racks and an Acrobat G•6 desk, running the eChameleon software.

Stage Technologies' director of rentals services Ted Moore said: "It is a great privilege for our rentals team to be asked to provide an automation system for the National Theatre, one of the most famous

UAE - A Midas PRO6 console has been supplied to Abu Dhabi's iconic Heritage Theatre, making it the latest high-profile venue in the Middle East to invest in a Midas console.

Chicco Hiranandani, business development manager at Midas's Middle East distributor NMK commented: "The Heritage Theatre joins a prestigious line up of venues that have specifically chosen Midas solutions for their reliability, redundancy and most importantly - audio quality. These venues include the Raha Theatre, Abu Dhabi; the Qatar National Theatre, Doha as well as the Royal Opera House in Muscat, Oman."

The Heritage Theatre is a 550 seat multi-purpose venue that is used for drama, dance, lectures and conferences. The latest supply of the PRO6 sees it join other UAE venues such as the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, which is currently using a Midas XL4.

"Midas is enjoying increasing

UK - Live Experience, the showcase for event and experiential production services has announced its exhibitor line-up which already exceeds the 2012 list. With five months of the sales cycle remaining ahead of the exhibition, this is a real testament to the growing appeal of live production in the events mix, say the organisers.

Event director, James Samuel explains: "The live event industry is buoyant after a record year in 2012 when this country's expertise was showcased to the entire world. It's clear that professionals are determined to maintain and capitalise on this exposure. The fact that bookings have already exceeded our launch year is an excellent testament to the show. It also highlights increasing optimism in the event sector and the UK's position on the international stage. We're delighted that Live Experience is growing at such pace in terms of floor space and

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