UK - SIS LIVE, Europe's largest outside broadcaster and uplink provider, has installed a large Optocore fibre ring on a 2 Gbit network, and BroaMan Repeat48 SDI-to fibre converter at the new MediaCityUK in Salford. This major broadcast project was successfully conducted by the SIS LIVE projects and integration division, under Dave Gill.

SIS has now fully occupied three floors of the Blue Tower within the MediaCityUK complex. The eighth and ninth floors house new broadcast facilities including a master control room, production galleries, studios, voice-over booths, edit suites and data control centres. Optocore's contract required the infrastructural design and installation of seven presentation galleries, two small TV studios, two edit suites, seven VO booths, new central MCR/CAR, new satellite dish farm, IT CAR and new Text Room data centre. SIS LIVE also installed an IT infras

UK - Restaurant chain McDonald's has introduced digital play elements into more than 150 of its key outletss - using gesture-control technology from Paradigm AV.

This is designed to "enhance the Happy Meal experience, and to increase kids' interaction with their favourite Happy Meal characters".

Tasked with delivering this solution in restaurants with high family footfall, integrated marketing agency, The Marketing Store, contacted Bedford-based Paradigm AV.

And by using the company's advance gesture-controlled technology they were able to create and develop the Happy Meal Digital Play concept - a series of movement-activated, interactive floor media games, linked to each Happy Meal promotion.

Paradigm first began working with McDonald's UK in 2010, trialling ceiling mounted projectors to create this digital floor play, with the content, projected onto the

UK - Entertainment lighting specialist White Light was tapped to provide lighting for a special brand experience event - the internal launch of Everything Everywhere, the company that runs T-Mobile and Orange in the UK. With the event, known as EE Live, the digital communications company invited employees from across the UK to the NEC Birmingham for an introduction to the branding and vision of the new mobile and broadband provider.

In the spirit of innovative technologies, the event was an interactive experience, immersing employees in all things 4G - and uniting them under the look, feel, and vision of the new EE brand.

Richard Saunders, project manager at White Light, oversaw the event planning and completion. The event, produced by WRG, was a major undertaking, incorporating several experience zones spread across two halls at the NEC Birmingham - Hall 2 (for the employee b

Switzerland - The Umwelt Arena is a large-scale futuristic structure designed by René Schmid Architects and completed this summer.

The building shows an expressive synergy among external form, construction techniques, ecologic materials and purpose, that's providing a suitable venue for discussion of sustainability issues from multiple standpoints - social, economic, energetic, ecologic.

The Umwelt Arena features a specially shaped array of photovoltaic panels, covering its hood as an envelope.

The multi-faceted shape of the arena displays a crystal-like appearance.

The environmental impact has been kept as low as possible during the construction of the building; also the Arena runs CO2 neutral, thanks to the photovoltaic panels and to its 'thermo-active' structure, including two large water storage tanks accumulating heat and cold under the foundation.

That's why

Denmark - The name says it all. Xtreme Mandehørm - event organizers call it Xtreme Man-stench in English - is a gruelling, male-only 12K cross-country obstacle course. The race can be run in five different cities across Denmark and is more than just a test of one's manhood: once the race is over participants are in for a night of revelling.

D.A.S. Audio systems were set up in the Nørresundby Sports Centre to help make Aalborg's post-race Oktoberfest-inspired celebration - complete with delicious food, free-flowing beer, boxing and a comedy act by famous Danish comedian Frank Hvam-the perfect way for the roughly 1200 participants to top off the day's challenge.

Event organisers, wanting to take this year's Xtreme Mandehørm to a whole new level, required a complete professional light and sound system for the post-race celebration. Local company Pladebiksen S

UK - Lighting designer Yenz Nyholm used his Avolites Tiger Touch to help reignite the memories of Level 42 fans when the band performed at London's Iconic Royal Albert Hall. The concert marked a quarter of a century since the band launched its seminal album Running in the Family.

Nyholm created a dynamic, clubby, retro feeling lighting and video set, which relied heavily on the use of old footage and promo videos from the 1980s. He programmed both the lighting and the video through his Avolites' Tiger Touch 6.1, which now features enhancements and updates that have advanced the console's capability considerably.

This update is very much to Nyholm's liking who says he is extremely impressed by a number of the new features. "The best thing for me is the cue stacking. You can display your cue list and each individual cue's parameters on the screens, but better still y

Australia - The City Recital Hall Angel Place is a purpose built concert venue situated in the heart of Sydney with the capacity for 1230 guests seated over three tiers of raked seating.

This world class concert venue acoustically designed for fine music and spoken word, has an elegant beauty, intimate layout and professional technical services creating a perfect combination for annual general meetings, conferences, meetings and special events.

The time had come to replace their lighting console with a more technically advanced model especially as the venue recently acquired some moving lights.

After a thorough research of the market, technical manager Cally Bartley found herself drawn to the ETC range of lighting control consoles.

"I was interested in the Eos and Ion consoles but I was told there was a new console coming out that sits between them and would be ideal,

USA - Lighting designer Brock Hogan specified 28 Robe LEDWash 600s for the recent US tour by San Francisco rock band, Train.

Hogan has worked for Train for the last three years, and was turned on to the features and functionality of Robe products - specifically the LEDWash 600 - by LMG Touring, a national provider of video, audio and lighting equipment.

LMG Touring added Robe products to their inventory last year, and supplied lighting, video and LED for the recent Train tour.

Hogan first used LMG's initial batch of LEDWash 600 on last year's Good Charlotte tour and followed up by integrating them into his latest design for Train.

Hogan's aesthetic starting point for lighting the tour was to create a 'big rock show' look for the band, with plenty of colour, movement and spectacle - bold and effective!

From the outset, he also had the LEDWash's individual ring control in

USA - Community Professional Loudspeakers reoorts that it has gained EN54-24 certification for its R-Series R1, R2 and R6 loudspeaker systems. EN54-24 is the harmonized EU standard for loudspeakers for use in fire detection and fire alarm systems.

R1, R2 and R6 loudspeakers are able to provide the full bandwidth and high-level music and voice reproduction required in venues such as stadia, sports facilities and convention centres. With EN54-24 certification, installations will no longer need to install a separate voice evacuation system for listening areas covered by these R-Series loudspeakers. This can result in substantial cost savings for projects.

Chris Barrow, Community's product manager, explains this advantage, "While specifiers and contractors have previously had to consider the use of non-EN54-24 loudspeakers with 'special application exemptions' to design an ef

South Africa - Joburg Theatre has acquired 20 Robe MMX Spots just in time for Jack and The Beanstalk, an entertaining pantomime which runs from 30 October to 30 December 2012 on The Mandela stage.

Simon James (production manager), Enos Ramoroko (technical manager) and Patrick Mbatha (senior lighting technician) from Joburg Theatre, formerly known as the Civic, were looking for a moving light that was up-to-date with technology and something that would carry them over for the next few years.

"After watching the demo by DWR Distribution's Dave Whitehouse, Duncan Riley and Gareth Chambers, we had no doubt as to which spots we wanted," commented Enos Ramoroko. "Because the MMX has the dual graphics/animation wheel, you can easily create effects that would normally take very long to program in a matter of few strokes. We also have the Robe 700E Wash lights tha

Spain - In 1973, almost 20 years before 'house' became a byword for a mix of euphoric dance and sound, Pacha Ibiza opened its doors and the minds of its celebrants to a new way of immersing the soul in music. The fact that four decades later it is still the leading brand with franchised clubs all over the world is indicative of a questing attitude. Pacha looks constantly to reinvent ways of being and hearing; two thousand and twelve has witnessed just such a reinvention.

"We were looking to the complete renewal of the sound system. What we wanted to achieve was a more homogeneous and exciting sound throughout the Ibiza club and the dance floors," explained Toni Prats, technical director for the Pacha Group.

Prats engaged the services of Imaginamusica, d&b audiotechnik partner for Northeast Spain. "We had done the research," said Toni Prats,"With Imagin

Germany - Beneath the banner Let's celebrate together in the free state of Bavaria a giant open-air party to mark the Day of German Unity was thrown in Munich's city centre on 2-3 October. Over 400,000 revellers accepted the invitation, thronging the area between the Siegestor, Ludwigstrasse and Odeonsplatz in bright sunlight.

The highlight of the celebrations was an ecumenical service in the Jesuit church of St Michael featuring addresses by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Joachim Gauck, and its Chancellor, Angela Merkel, as well as the Minister President of Bavaria, Horst Seehofer. The mix was sweetened by the attractive programme of entertainment on offer in the Odeonsplatz.

The sound production for the stage in Odeonsplatz was the responsibility of the Weilheim-based company TC Showtechnik. The team led by managing director Martin Schulze (sound),

UK - The University of Exeter's stunning new multi-million pound Forum project has transformed the heart of the Streatham Campus and provided it with a vibrant new centrepiece.

Officially opened by Her Majesty The Queen, the inspirational mix of outside and inside space includes an Auditorium, two technology-rich Exploration Labs, a Multimedia Room, featuring three fully specific editing stations with 60-inch preview monitoring, Seminar Training Room and the Seminar Block and Group Study Room - as well as a new Student Services Centre, refurbished library, retail and catering outlets.

Sir Robert Mcalpine, main contractor to the University of Exeter, commissioned GV Multi-media Ltd with the challenging task of providing and integrating the vast AV system in the Forum. Working to tight timescales (since the opening needed to form part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations)

UK - Following speculation on the speaker system of choice for their next tour, Mumford and Sons FOH engineer Chris Pollard has elected to take out audio rental company Capital Sound's new Martin Audio MLA system for the band's debut arena tour in the UK.

'"The MLA momentum is building and we knew that once Chris got to hear the system he would go for it," says Capital's general manager Paul Timmins. "But because of the band's hectic schedule in Australasia and North America, we had a problem simply getting him in front of it."

However, Pollard managed to spend some time at London's The 02 during the Killers' first show day there. "We showed him around the equipment and then he listened to the incredible coverage MLA delivers without the need for the delay hangs that are usually necessary for The O2," continues Paul. "He made his decision lat

USA - North American entertainment technology reseller, A.C. Lighting Inc. reports that despite the current challenging economic climate, its business is on track to post a record year of trading performance in 2012.

The company is also actively recruiting for a number of key positions to support its current growth level, which has been driven in part by recently signed distribution agreements with leading rigging manufacturer Prolyte Group and visual performance technology developer, ArKaos.

These new distribution appointments highlight the company's commitment to further developing its business to keep pace with the ever changing demands of its customers.

The Chroma-Q, LedGo and Jands brands distributed exclusively in North America by A.C. Lighting Inc. have also delivered strong product lineups in 2012, leading to impressive sales growth, says the company.

A.C. Lighting

Denmark - The European premiere of Disney's Aladdin: The New Stage Musical opened in the Fredericia Theatre in Denmark on 4 October to glowing reviews from the Danish press. The Fredericia is one of only five theatres worldwide and the only venue in Europe to be selected as a Disney partner. Demand has been so high that the initial run was extended until 25 November, which is a fitting tribute to the theatre's production team and the cast, all of whom have worked extremely hard to make the show a success.

Unsurprisingly, Aladdin is the biggest production that has ever been staged at the Fredericia theatre, so theatre director, S°ren M°ller, had no hesitation in turning to Lars Frederiksen from TTA distributor and audio solutions provider, Alfa Audio, to supply both equipment and expertise on all aspects of the sound production. One of the key elements provi

South Africa - Louis and Sybel Möller had both been involved in the performing arts most of their lives, Louis as co-founder and producer of, amongst others, Carte Blanche, and Sybel Coetzee as a freelance actress and TV presenter.

In 1989 they took stock of their hectic lives and decided that with two young boys they had to change the pace of their lives. They got out of the rat race and went into dairy farming in the Plettenberg Bay area. After a few years of farming they sought a way to combine their two loves - the footlights and the farm. They decided to convert the beautiful, rustic American-style wooden barn that Louis had built into a theatre. The old-world atmosphere, heavy wooden beams, a horseshoe gallery, big tables with welcoming lanterns and wood chips on the floor were perfect for an informal theatre experience. Thus the Barnyard Theatre was born and opene

UK - XL Events supplied LED screen, projection, cameras / HD PPU and crew to the high profile hmv sponsored 2012 GamesMaster Golden Joystick Awards - the world's most popular and credible video games awards - celebrating the very best in the gaming industry.

The ceremony - celebrating its 30th anniversary - was staged at the Westminster Park Plaza Hotel, London, UK.

It was the first time that XL has been involved in the event - brought onboard by production company Reality Ltd. with whom they have worked on numerous other occasions. XL Events' Paul Wood project managed, working closely with Reality's Paul Corrick on the design and presentation, and specification of the video equipment.

The event took place during the afternoon, and for the first time ever, a livestream of the ceremony was hosted on YouTube.

The look and styling of the video elements were crucial given the

UK - A community centre is looking forward to a brighter and greener future after Dartford-based 8point3 donated cost and energy-saving LED lighting.

The new fixtures were installed at Greenhithe Community Centre in Alexander Road, Greenhithe, last weekend, replacing all of the old, traditional lighting fixtures.

"LED lighting uses up to 80 per cent less energy than traditional lighting systems, meaning users see significantly reduced electricity bills," said Ashley Bateup, managing director of 8point3, which has its head office at Suscon in Dartford. "And, of course, the dramatic reduction in energy used means the hall will be significantly lowering the amount of CO2 it is responsible for, reducing its carbon footprint."

The system installed at the centre was designed and manufactured at 8point3's sheet metal factory in Belvedere. The lights slotted dire

Germany - Robe moving lights - including 30 MMX Spots and 44 ColorWash 700E ATs - were in action on the Main Stage at the 2012 Berlin Festival, taking place over two days at the atmospheric Tempelhof Airfield, a former US military base.

20,000 music fans enjoyed a fabulous international line up including The Killers, Sigur Rós, Plan B, Kate Nash, Franz Ferdinand, Orbital and many more, together with some of the best local and national talent.

Lighting for four stages including the Main was supplied by locally based rental company TSE Corp.

Tilman Schumacher, production lighting designer for the Main Stage, specified the Robe fixtures, although the rig here was based heavily on Steven Douglas's festival design for The Killers who played a storming Friday night headline slot.

The MMXs and 38 of the ColorWash 700E ATs were hung on the overhead trusses with the other six Colo

UK - PLASA Events has announced the addition of a new event to run alongside its ever popular northern trade show, PLASA Focus: Leeds 2013. The PLASA Riggers' Forum will take place on Tuesday 30 April, at the Royal Armouries at Clarence Dock, only a short distance from the Leeds City Centre.

Following on from the success of the first PLASA Riggers' Forum, held in London earlier this year, this new event is an opportunity for members of the rigging community in the North of England to share their views and experiences and to have their questions answered by a range of industry experts, including members of the National Rigging Advisory Committee.

The three-hour forum will begin at 2pm with a presentation about rigging competence, entitled 'The Dunning Kruger Effect -The Dangers of Unconscious Incompetence'. The presentation will be followed by an hour of chaired question time,

UK - The Panasonic Visual Experience, which will be visiting a number of major UK and EU cities throughout this month, has begun its UK leg in Weybridge; with Stoke and Edinburgh to follow.

The Visual Experience Road Show offers the opportunity for resellers, end-users and distributors to meet with the Panasonic team and see live demonstrations of the very latest Panasonic professional projectors and displays. Attendees will also have the opportunity to take a tour of the product and solutions on display along with Panasonic technical experts who will be able to assist with any questions. Everyone that attends will benefit from gaining a greater understanding of the range the application possibilities and specifications of each product.

Amongst the solutions on display will be new additions such as the now PT-DZ21K series projector which debuted in July at the London 2012 Olym

The Netherlands - Riedel Communications donated an Artist Digital Matrix intercom system to Emma TV. Emma is a Dutch TV station for the Emma Kinder Ziekenhuis, a children's hospital in Amsterdam.

The Artist system that consists of an Artist mainframe and five Artist 1000 series control panels replaces the old intercom system. "Our old intercom system was at its end. Riedel was so kind to step in and sponsor us with a new intercom installation. Since we are relying on sponsorships and donations, we are really glad Riedel helped us out here," said Alex Vermeulen, volunteer technical manager at Emma TV.

"Riedel helped us with a very reliable Intercom and we are very happy with it. At the end you want to entertain the sick children and make life a bit more easy on them. Not to worry about technical issue helps a lot. "

(Jim Evans)

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) Ltd.'s Video division have been officially appointed as the exclusive UK distributor for LedGo's range of modular LED video solutions, recently unveiling the innovative product range on the company's stand at PLASA 2012.

Netherlands based LedGo BV has been providing the theatre and television production industry with a variety of LED video screens and innovative solutions for a number of years. Recent applications include a range of popular TV talent shows, news broadcast studios and large-scale political events.

LedGo's EQ HR range features an asymmetric design suitable for seamless horizontal and vertical applications with no visible wires or frames. The flagship product is the EQ HR Blackface Line, LedGo's ideal solution for creating high contrast and visual depth.

The LedGo EQ Stripline range is a solution for medium-resolutio

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