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UK - Power distribution specialist IDE Systems has announced a change of ownership following a management buyout.
Company founder Ian Thomas has sold the business to Wayne Woodhead (group managing director), Kevin Warne (group sales director) and Matt Collins (systems operations manager).
Woodhead, who has over 30 years’ experience in the product design, testing and engineering sectors, continues as group managing director. Warne also remains as group sales director, and Collins now acts as operations director. The company is reportedly seeking to appoint a rental operations director and financial director.
Outgoing owners Ian and Sue Thomas comment: “Having owned and led IDE since it was established in 1994, we were keen to make sure it continues to grow into the future, yet be able to exit. Having appointed the management team last year, we are very pleased

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China - Hong Kong free-to-air broadcaster ViuTV is preparing for an audio-over-IP future with the purchase of an Artemis Light console, a Brio12, a Brio36 and AoIP interfaces from Calrec.
“The consoles are incredibly user-friendly, vital when being used by a range of operators across a variety of outputs,” says Mike Lau, assistant vice-president of production and facilities at ViuTV. “They are very reliable with great sound quality. We also wanted to be able to satisfy our current networking requirements while also preparing ourselves for an IP future as that transition occurs across our wider infrastructure. Calrec’s technology and after-sales service gave us confidence in making this change.”
The Artemis Light is housed in Studio 1, which is used for general entertainment content as well game shows and live performances. The Brio36 is being used for talk s

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USA - The Entertainment Technician Certification Program (ETCP) has announced the addition of Motion Laboratories as a Recognised Training Provider for ETCP Renewal Credits. This is the first listing that specifically addresses the area of portable power distribution.
Dave Herrmann, Motion Labs’ training develop manager, comments: “MLI Learning prepares Motion Labs employees and customers for work with Motion Labs equipment, primarily in the entertainment industry. The people that build and use our products are the greatest assets to their respective industries. It is because of them that touring productions, conventions, local shows and festivals, permanent event spaces, corporate and church events, and more can all function properly, and above all else, safely.
“Those involved in making event production possible are doing so because they are gaining the knowled

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South Africa - After a successful dot2 training course created, hosted and taught by DWR Distribution in Johannesburg, there was a demand for the same training to take place in Cape Town. The training was brought down to the Cape by Olebogeng Boinamo from DWR.
“It was booked out with 12 people and it filled our Cape Town offices,” says Olebogeng. Each student had access to the system as there were three dot2 consoles from DWR, three of those in attendance had their own dot2s and the rest worked on dot2 on PC. This illustrates the different levels that exist in the field and the impact of the dot2 console, with avid users and newcomers both attending the course to develop their skills, because the console and related PC platform are being used so frequently in the industry.
“The students reflected the Capetonian relaxed attitude as they were eager to talk and as

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USA - As part of on-going upgrades and developments to its studio facilities, Verizon Media has taken delivery of three mc²36 audio production consoles and a Nova37 Hybrid IP/MADI Plug&Play Audio Router for its studio facilities from German IP broadcast technology pioneer Lawo.
Renamed Verizon Media Studios (formerly Oath Inc) early in 2019, the renovation and new buildout to the facilities will serve all Verizon Media brands, including Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, Huffpost, Yahoo News, RYOT, Engadget, Tech Crunch and Makers. It encompasses live broadcast and pre-tape studio content with shared resources across different locations.
With DSI/Blade Media acting as the main contractor, the upgrade covers three studios; Control Room 1 and Control Room 3 are used for a daily eight-hour live Yahoo Finance broadcast and ancillary shoots, while Control Room 2 is a general

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Germany - The latest EtherCAT Plug Fest welcomed 57 participants from eight countries and four continents.
The event, conducted by the EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG) in cooperation with acontis technologies GmbH, was held in the middle of May in Ravensburg.
Besides testing their own EtherCAT devices in a shared network with those of other manufacturers by using the EtherCAT Conformance Test Tool, the participants could exchange knowledge and ask for advice from the EtherCAT experts on-site. The different masters and lave products led to a balanced ratio of devices and real-life network conditions.
Christoph Widmann, managing director at acontis technologies GmbH, comments: “The EtherCAT Plug Fests are the perfect opportunity to test devices and applications in a large network together with other manufacturers. For that reason, acontis has participated in many

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UK - Ascot Racecourse has announced Bose Professional as its official technology supplier for sound.
The partnership will bring an audio solution to enhance the event-day experience at Ascot.
Integrator SSE Audio Group has led the process to design and specify an audio system that utilises the latest loudspeaker and amplifier technology developed by Bose. Products have been selected based on their ability to form a robust system that delivers best-in-class vocal clarity and consistent, intelligible sound for every listener across the entire Ascot site.
George Vaughan, head of technology at Ascot Racecourse, comments: “Sound is an important facet of the event day experience and having Bose join us as our official technology supplier in this department, will introduce a new level of audio excellence to our venue. Becoming one of the global reference sites for

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Austria - Event technology provider Technic Consult has been a satisfied customer of Elation products for years, relying on products like the Platinum Beam 5R and FS 15R followspot.
The company has recently opted to upgrade its inventory, adding the new Artiste Picasso LED moving heads and multi-functional Paladin effects.
Technic Consult has been active in event technology for over 25 years. Located in southern Austria, near Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, the company manages lighting, sound, video and staging for live events of all kinds, including theatre, handling everything from planning to implementation. “We have been working with Elation products since 2013,” says Stefan Schwarzl, head of lighting at Technic Consult. “The reliability and quality of the equipment and personal support provided by Karl Lager have made our decision to invest in Elation much easie

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UK - CUK Audio has announced plans to move into new premises in East Kilbride.
The new building, which is currently being fitted out, is situated in Peel Park around 10 miles from the company’s existing Glasgow HQ. It will provide space for the distributor’s expanding back office, sales and technical teams and also house five training suites and a distribution centre with over 750 pallet locations and 1000 small item locations.
CUK is expected to move in on 5 June.
Stuart Thomson, CUK MD, comments: “When we moved to our current Glasgow location back in 2010, we thought there was more space than we could ever need. However, since then, we have delivered year-on-year growth which has accelerated since a change in ownership and the restructuring of the company in to four divisions two years ago. Over the past year, it became apparent that we were very near th

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Arts in Education - A campaign to promote the inclusion of the arts in education is being developed by Equity. Members voted unanimously to pass a motion from the Liverpool and District General Branch asking Equity to work with other trade unions, arts organisations and educators to “promote the essential nature of arts in the curriculum”. Proposing the motion, branch chair Martin Williams said the industry risks “becoming a playground of the rich” if some school children are excluded from creative subjects. He said: “The arts should be a vital and essential part of any curriculum, but sadly their existence across curricula at all levels is at risk.”
Blurred Lines - Ryan Tedder has written some of pop's biggest hits, including Beyonce's Halo, Ed Sheeran's Happier and, for his own band OneRepublic, Counting Stars. But he says pop is in

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USA - The ESTA Control Protocols Plugfest organisers have announced today that an Introduction to RDMnet will be broadcast live on Sunday 21 July from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 P.M., CDT. This event is being offered free of charge to both ESTA and non-ESTA members.
Officially known as E1.33, Entertainment Technology – (RDMnet) Message Transport and Management for ANSI E1.20 (RDM) compatible and similar devices over IP Networks, the RDMnet standard was recently approved by ESTA’s Control Protocols Working Group (CPWG) as a consensus standard and is now on track to obtain approval by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) later this summer.
RDMnet is a generational step forward, extending the functionality of RDM to Ethernet networks. As draft standard testing began in the summer of 2018, we would expect to see products with RDMnet features to begin to appe

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UK - One of the UK’s busiest sound hire companies, Liverpool’s Adlib has added further Outline Newton 16+8 units to its hire inventory, following their adoption as the company’s go-to processing hub for festival stages and complex multi-source applications.
Senior engineer Ian Nelson commented, “The new additions are scheduled to head out later this month on Radio 1 Big Weekend and then to all of the Adlib festival bookings for the rest of the season. Following the festival season, they will then be incorporated into the Adlib Control Systems and become the core of the Adlib loudspeaker processing systems.”
Adlib also hosted a dedicated Newton training day at its new Knowlsley HQ at the beginning of May, during which system techs and engineers were given a detailed overview of the unit’s feature set. The training was hosted by James Lawford of CUK wi

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UK - The Knight of Illumination UK (KOI) Awards, which celebrates the creative and technical talents of video and lighting designers, welcomes a number of new judges to each of the panels across the three disciplines of Theatre, Television, and Concert Touring & Events for the 2019 Awards.
The Awards boast three panels comprised of arts critics and industry experts, with specialist knowledge of their sector, to ensure well-rounded coverage and expert insight during the judging process.
In the Theatre category, each judge serves a two-year term on the panel, which is chaired by critic and broadcaster, David Benedict.
"Given the breadth and depth - and length - of the annual judging session for the Theatre KOI Awards it is essential that our judges, all critics viewing work live in performance, are as passionate as they are articulate about their specific art f

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UK - PLASA Focus Leeds returned to the Royal Armouries from 14-15 May for its 11th edition. With an 8% increase in visitors, the show once again proved to be a key social and business event in the entertainment technology calendar, welcoming professionals from across the industry over two days.
With a popular capped stand format, the show provides a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, as Davie Bell from Stage Electrics explains, “That’s where PLASA Focus Leeds is particularly relevant – with smaller stands you can get close to all sorts of people. As a result, we have been fantastically busy.”
Peter Condron, UK sales manager for Martin Audio confirms this sentiment: “It’s been a great show, due to the family feel which the show is known for. It’s just the right size and the fact it’s spread over two halls also makes it feel more spacious and relaxed. It ha

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South Africa - Use your legs for a good cause and ride for the SOS at this year’s 947 Telkom Cycle Challenge to be held on Sunday, 17 November at Riversands Commercial Park in Fourways. Everyone is invited to participate, especially riders in the entertainment industry!
DWR’s cycling enthusiasts, Marlene Riley and Chris Pugh, are heading the cycling team and have already recruited friends and colleagues to join them. The team so far includes Robert Izzett, Eazy Moeketsi, Shannon and JP de Vernon, Victor Vermaak, Marlene and Bruce Riley Dylan Jones, Jaco Beukes, Tyler Pugin and Chris Pugh. Those who are brave enough can join Chris and Robert for a double loop!
“The 947 is a highlight on the cycling calendar and this year we decided to support a charity closer to home,” said Marlene Riley. “SOS Charity Fund was established by DWR in late 2017, and in a short ti

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UK - West London lighting and video rental specialist Colour Sound Experiment has expanded its fleet of vehicles with a new artic and trailer – a Volvo FH460 Globetrotter Euro 6 tractor unit, complete with a 45' Schmitz Cargobull low-ride Tri-axle semi-trailer.
This vehicle - chosen for its efficiency and dynamics - is an investment made for the convenience of trucking equipment to tours and festivals across the UK and Europe. It will also offer clients an additional element of cost-effectivity as Colour Sound can offer independent trucking services for large one-offs.
The truck will be especially busy during the upcoming festival season and will help streamline overall production logistics by reducing the off-site pick-ups required.
“All our vehicles have been bought with a view to making our operations as flexible and versatile as possible to suit client n

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UK - Rental company HPSS has added Outline Newton to its hire stock, adding another user to the growing group of companies benefitting from Newton’s comprehensive feature set and ease of use.
The purchase was confirmed at PLASA Focus in Leeds by HPSS managing director Hugh Jones, following a product demonstration at the company’s premises in Hull. Hugh and HPSS technical manager Iain Firth were suitably impressed and Newton is now to be immediately pressed into service in some challenging scenarios.
Helping with the quick roll out of Newton straight onto upcoming jobs, Outline distributor CUK Audio has already provided training for HPSS staff and freelance system technicians, carried out by James Lawford, live sound manager for the UK and Ireland.
(Jim Evans)

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Europe - QSC has announced the appointment of Earpro, S.A. as a new distribution partner for the Iberian region, effective 1 June 2019. Earpro will represent both QSC Live Sound and Systems solutions in Spain, Portugal and Andorra.
“We are excited to partner with such an experienced and highly professional distribution partner to expand the QSC brand for both the Live Sound and Systems businesses in the Iberian region,” says Ron Marchant, senior director distribution management QSC EMEA. “As part of this transition, we would also like to thank SoundLight for their commitment and partnership during the last years.”
Miguel Mezquita, managing director of Earpro says, “After leading the professional audio distribution for the last 30 years in Iberia, Earpro is happy to become QSC brand ambassadors for its leading portfolio of amplifiers, loudspeakers and audio, v

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Europe - d&b audiotechnik has announced the brand’s existing distributor for Belgium, Amptec, will now distribute the full range of d&b products across the Netherlands and Luxembourg, effective immediately.
“d&b has already enjoyed many fruitful years working in close collaboration with Amptec in the Belgian market and we see great potential for our partnership in the future,” says Phill Coe, territory manager EMEA at d&b audiotechnik. “Working with Amptec for the whole BeNeLux region ensures that our customers will benefit from their extensive knowledge and experience supporting both touring and installation projects across multiple markets.”
Amptec’s growth in recent years has coincided with the appointment of experienced industry professionals; distribution of d&b in the Netherlands will be led by Amptec sales director, Bart Hilberin

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Europe - Ayrton and Lightpower have announced that, from 1 July 2019, Lightpower will take over the exclusive distribution of Ayrton in Germany.
"We are looking forward to working with Ayrton,” states Herbert Marx, sales director of Lightpower. “Ayrton is an extremely dynamic brand with innovative, market-leading products of the highest quality. Ayrton's high-quality standards and product and portfolio strategy are a perfect match for Lightpower."
“It is a big step for Ayrton to join forces with Lightpower,” comments Michael Althaus, Ayrton’s global sales director. “A short four years after introducing Ayrton to the German market, it is now time for the next distribution level. To have a broader sales approach, to develop new markets and to also offer convincing service on the after sales side.”
(Jim Evans)

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France - Elation Professional’s French distributor, Best Audio & Lighting, is inviting lighting professionals to its studio near Paris 21-23 May for a chance to demo and get hands on with Elation lights, including the newest luminaires in Elation’s comprehensive product line.
This is an opportunity to check out Elation’s award-winning product line and get up close with some of the newest offerings such as the Proteus Maximus, Artiste Monet, Rayzor 760, Proteus Smarty Hybrid and Fuze Profile. Lighting control products from Obsidian Control System like the NX 2, M-Touch and M-Play will also be available for hands-on examination. Registration is requested at info@bestaudio-lighting.fr
(Jim Evans)

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South Africa - DWR Distribution is hosting a studio lighting workshop presented by Peter Rieck on 28 May from 9am to 5pm local time.
Peter is well known in the South African industry for lighting countless studio and television productions. His easy-going nature and wealth of experience will make this a training course not to be missed.
The course will be hosted at DWR, 9 Zeiss Street, Laserpark, Honeydew. The cost is R450 and includes eats and refreshments. Bookings can be made here.
(Jim Evans)

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China - PK Sound has appointed Polar Audio Guangzhou as its distributor in China, effective immediately. The deal marks PK Sound’s first commitment to growing into the APAC region.
On the appointment, CEO and chief engineer at PK Sound, Jeremy Bridge, commented: “The deal came about as Polar Audio was searching for a high-quality audio brand to complement to their high-end video and laser offerings. As a renowned audio designer, Polar Audio’s CTO became aware of the technology and made multiple visits to the factory, and attended live events where our loudspeakers were being used as well. Polar Audio was looking for a world class company that they believed could overtake established top level brands. PK Sound has just the right technology to do so.”
According to Bridge, Polar Audio combines the experience of long-serving industry professionals with a large netw

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The 11th edition of PLASA Focus Leeds will open its doors from 14-15 May at the Royal Armouries Museum, unleashing the world of live entertainment technology on the north of England.
Spanning two sold-out halls, the popular show provides a platform for 175+ leading brands, all geared up to showcase the very best the industry has to offer, including a variety of products arriving on UK shores directly from international launches.
Lighting will make an impression with Robe, Chauvet, Elation and Avolites; huge audio will be delivered by Bose, d&b audiotechnik, Funktion-One and Sennheiser; and event specialists include SFL Group, UK Rigging and Hawthorn.
Beyond the show floor, the programme will see industry leaders present content that is both insightful and entertaining, guaranteeing visitors will depart from the show with ready-to-apply knowledge and endless inspirat
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