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UK - North London's iconic venue Alexandra Palace turned pink from the 6-8 April to mark the year countdown until the ITV London region will go digital on 4 April 2012, marking the end of analogue TV in the city where television began 75 years ago.

Television personality Christine Bleakley turned on the light show at Alexandra Palace which could be seen across the North London skyline marking the occasion.

Alexandra Palace is the birthplace of television, having hosted the world's first regular public high definition television service, operated by the BBC, from 1936. The television station was located within Ally Pally and its radio tower is still in use. The South-East wing of the palace still features the original studios with their producers' galleries, and is open to the public every September as part of London Open House.

APTL Managing Director Rebecca Kane comments, &

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Belarus - FE Belimlight recently rigged the huge Minsk Arena (home rink of ice hockey stars HC Dinamo) with moving heads from PR Lighting to enable an audience of 12,000 people to experience the full dynamic of Swedish pop music duo Roxette.

The atmosphere produced by a combination of 38 powerful XL1500 Wash and 46 XL1500 Spot lights were further enhanced by audience blinders and haze machines. All lighting was under the control of a Wholehog III desk.

Responsible for the production and design were Swedish company, All Round Productions AB, with the experienced Calle Brattberg (LXworks) taking responsibility for the lighting design, and creating a huge number of different chases and colour combinations.

Brattberg created a generic arena design and picked up lighting locally on the tour - which included the PR Lighting fixtures in Minsk. Despite having little time to familiar

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UK - Students from The Guildford School of Acting (GSA) recently produced and staged The Light in the Piazza - from the 1960 novella written by Elizabeth Spencer. The musical, performed at Guildford's Electric Theatre, relied upon PixelRange PixelLines as the mainstay of the lighting design.

The Guildford School of Acting and PixelRange have a long association and when arranging the lighting design for performances, PixelRange is always specified because the students understand the versatility, brightness and great effects of the lights. Freelance lighting designer, Dan Last, was brought in on this production to give the students experience of working with industry professionals.

The performance was cast from the GSA's Musical theatre course, whilst the backstage team was comprised of those on the GSA's Production skills course. The students take on a variety of roles d

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Germany - Soundcraft's Si Compact range has grown with the latest release of the Si Compact 32, which can deliver 40 inputs to mix, while maintaining the full DSP functionality of its smaller siblings, the Si Compact 24 and 16 models.

The Si Compact 32 features 14 main busses (all with dynamics, delays and BSS graphic EQs), four matrix buses, four dedicated FX buses, four full-time Lexicon effects engines and a range of option cards to interface with other systems such as Aviom, CobraNet, AES/EBU and MADI.

All Si Compact models can connect via MADI to the new Compact Stagebox, adding remote connectivity to these great value digital mixers.

"We believe that this very cost-effective, powerful mixer will be a natural choice for larger install or medium tour sound and house of worship systems," said Keith Watson, marketing director for Soundcraft Studer.

(Lee Baldock

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UK - Cooper Controls will be presenting the latest developments in its Zero 88 entertainment lighting control range at PLASA Focus: Leeds 2011. New to the show this year is the ZerOS Android application - Zero 88's latest addition to its suite of remote applications. Continuing the commitment to mobile device integration, this new app adds to their existing suite of iPhone, iPod, iPad and Windows Mobile applications.

The ZerOS Remote Android app, the first for the entertainment technology industry, allows remote control of any ZerOS console. The app allows users to control their lighting rig from their Android for the first time. From channel levels to playback the ZerOS Remote offers full control of the Leap Frog 48, Leap Frog 96, Frog 2, ORB and ORB XF consoles.

Taking centre stage on the Cooper Controls stand is the ORB XF.

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Italy / Germany - At last week's Prolight&Sound exhibition in Frankfurt, SGM unveiled the first fruits of the new R&D team headed by the former founder of Martin Professional, Peter Johansen. A total of seven new products were launched, all based on LED lighting technology. Johansen believes that the new products will revolutionise all fields of LED application - from fixed architectural to mobile concert touring.

In all its stylish new LED models, the company says cooling methods have been improved via rectangular heatsinks, set-up and address procedures improved with the aid of internal diagnostics, and control procedures implemented to ensure that lamps run flicker-free.

First up, the MP-5 is a full-colour moving LED wash light. In a notable change from its conventional round-can form, this IP65-rated fixture retains the same LED structure but adopts a more compact rectangu

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UK / Germany - UK-based professional loudspeaker manufacturer EM Acoustics revealed its brand new X3 horn-loaded PA system, the long-awaited companion to the mighty Quake subwoofer, at the ProLight&Sound exhibition in Frankfurt last week.

On the drawing board for over six years, the X3 was finally brought to life at the behest of Show Atelier, EM Acoustics' Russian distributor, who saw X3 as an ideal product for their market. The system comprises a horn-loaded 15" LF drive unit, a horn-loaded 8" MF drive unit and six 1" compression drivers on a bespoke waveguide, creating a horizontal line source which allows X3 enclosures to be tight-packed together to form arrays.

The result, they claim, is a system that offers predictable horizontal coverage in any application, particularly those where high SPL is required. "The difference between X3 and other point sour

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USA - Tomcat participated for the third year in the 62nd SETC that recently took place in Atlanta, Georgia. During the event, Tomcat showcased its truss products, co-sponsored a design-tech mixer and donated two dance towers as give-aways.

SETC is the largest convention of its type in the country and offered the opportunity to over 4,000 students and faculty from all over the country to see new and innovative products, attend workshops, participate in professional auditions, compete and apply for theatre jobs, listen to key speakers, enjoy performance festivals, join social events and networking activities.

"It was an honour to be part of SETC as this event is very relevant in encouraging the educational and creative process of university and college theatre," stated Stefano Rosellini, general manager of Tomcat. "Our company has participated for three years in S

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China - Late March saw Hong Kong host the 35th annual Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens tournament, at which 24 international rugby teams competed in front of thousands of fans for the event's Cup, Plate, Bowl and Shield. For the sixth year, Lighthouse provided LED screens to bring all the action in detail to the Hong Kong Stadium North Stand and Sevens Village at the Indian Recreation Club.

The Lighthouse North Stand and Sevens Village screens have become a familiar part of the tournament. This year each screen comprised 7 x 6 panels (7.11 x 4.57m) of R7-ER 7mm screen and relayed real-time playback, action replays, match facts and sponsorship information with the unsurpassed quality, colour accuracy and resolution that Lighthouse screens are renowned for.

"The Lighthouse screens have become an important part of this tournament, with such a fast-moving sport t

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Italy / Germany - RCF introduced its brand new D Line speaker series at ProLight&Sound in Frankfurt last week. The series of four models consists of the HD10-A and HD22-A active 2-way monitor, the HDL20-A active line array module and the HDL18-S high powered sub woofer.

The D line is powered by Class-D power amplifier technology which delivers "ultra fast attack, realistic transient response and impressive audio performance" say RCF. An integrated DSP manages crossover, eq, soft limiter, compressor and dynamic bass boost. All D Line's RCF transducers feature lightweight neodymium magnets for a lightweight solution.

The use of new 1" and 2" neodymium compression drivers with a pure titanium dome offer a transparent midrange sound and high fidelity in HF reproduction, while large constant directivity horns offer a precise directivity.

D Line cabinets are mo

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UK - The Pioneer Lighting and Sound Activists page on Facebook - run by John Lethbridge and Iain Price-Smith - aims to develop and maintain contacts between lighting and sound professionals both past and present who have worked in the entertainment technology industry from the 1960s to the present day. The P.L.A.S.A page aims to help users search for old colleagues who have left the industry and re-establish contact.

"We are also seeking to look back and celebrate the technical developments and the designers behind them as we moved forward from being a cottage industry in the early days of lighting and sound, to the super sophistication of today's technology," comments Price-Smith.

Be sure to "Like" the Pioneers page if you've ever wondered what became of your long lost industry contacts and to ad

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UK - GDS has announced that Nick Read has joined the company as head of its newly created special projects division - GDS Specials. Read has over 22 years experience in the entertainments industry and brings with him wide range of skills, working recently as the head of hire and events for Northern Light and previously running his own successful hire company.

With an electrical engineering background he also boasts experience as a project manager, overseeing the €1m technical-build of Wexford opera house. He has worked around the UK and Europe as a freelance engineer and lighting designer, toured with and brought numerous shows into the West End and worked as a production electrician for major theatre companies, on many of the largest show in London.

His roll will be to develop the GDS brand into the specials market in entertainment, special event and permanent installation.<

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Sweden/UK - Two years ago, EM Acoustics announced the appointment of leading Danish professional audio distribution company, Alfa Audio, as EM Acoustics' exclusive distribution partner for Denmark and Finland. In the wake of the considerable success of Alfa Audio in those territories, the agreement is to extend into Sweden with the support of Alfa Audio's parent company, Arva Trading.

According to EM Acoustics' operations director, Mike Wheeler, having proved themselves in the Danish and Finnish markets, Alfa Audio was the logical choice to extend operations into Sweden. "They've done a great job for us so far," said Wheeler. "It's been beneficial for us to be a part of the impressive roster of top quality pro audio brands in their portfolio, and Alfa Audio has benefitted from representing EM Acoustics as it has broadened their field of application and enabled the

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UK - SweetSpot Group has confirmed Sharp Electronics as Official Broadcast Sponsors for The Tour of Britain's ITV coverage this September.

Following on from their partnership in 2010, Sharp will also continue as Official Electronics Partner to The Tour of Britain, the UK's biggest professional cycle race and largest free-to-spectate sporting event, and The Halfords Tour Series.

Paul Hide, Sharp managing director, commented, "The last 18 months have seen us establish our position in UK pro-cycling, and we are now looking to build on that. As the premier UK pro event, The Tour of Britain is the perfect platform for us, and we'll be looking to bring our technological expertise to the race this year, providing insights that can deepen the fans' enjoyment and engagement."

As a part of the deal Sharp will showcase their technological excellence to a wide audience across

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UK - Saville Audio Visual provided the staging, production and AV facilities for the inaugural Masquerade Ball, a spectacular charity event in aid of the KiDs of Bolton.

The charity was set up by Premiership footballer Kevin Davies, team captain of Bolton Wanderers, aimed at youngsters under the age of 18 living in and around the Bolton area. His wish is to help local children develop skills, confidence, self-esteem and discipline by creating opportunities that otherwise would not be available to them.

This was their first major fundraising event since gaining Charity status only weeks beforehand and was staged in the Premier Suite of De Vere Venues Whites hotel at the Reebok Stadium. The charity and the event is backed by some very prominent Boltonians, some of whom were lending their talents on the night. The evening was headlined by McFly and supported by Britain'

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UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies rigging division has delivered a new flexible, portable Out Board motor control solution to the NEC Group in Birmingham, which will be utilised primarily throughout the International Conference Centre - one of the busiest conference facilities in the country, hosting numerous high profile international events.

The NEC Birmingham encompasses 19 halls of premium conference and exhibition space along with the LG Arena venue.

The sale involves eight flight cased Out Board DV8 8-channel direct motor controllers and three RC16 remote control handsets with 50m extensions, which are cased up as three 16-way racks and two eight-way single racks - all in Five Star Cases' Industrial grade rack sleeves. It was co-ordinated between the NEC's resource manager for rigging, Rob O'Donnell, and A.C. Rigging's Matt Millward in the Leeds office.

This latest

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Italy - Three of Italy's leading audio, lighting and staging rental companies have joined forces to create All Access s.r.l. - and have opened their account by making a massive investment in Martin Audio's Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array (MLA). The three companies involved are Fumasoli Service from Aosta (Valle D'Aosta), Electra Service s.n.c. from Mantova (Lombardia) and Amandla Production s.a.s. (from Lucca Toscana). The founding partners decided to form All Access during the first demo of the MLA, organised by Audiosales s.r.l., the Martin Audio distributor in Italy, following their stunned reaction to the system. Since the three companies have always used Martin Audio's systems - from the old modular system, to the RS800, the F1, the W8, the W8L Longbow, the W8LC and the W8LM - the recommendation had been proposed by head of Audiosales, Stefano Rocchi, who could see the obvio

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UK - Rigging Services has announced the appointment of Scott McAughtrie as manager of its North West branch in Manchester, UK. McAughtrie has a strong event industry background spanning more than 20 years. Formerly with well known AV providers Gearhouse, Blitz and MCL he brings a wealth of maturity and experience with him, which is already proving beneficial to the development of new business as well as growth with existing clients.

Rigging Services has opened its third location in the UK just over two years ago in Manchester and has great aspirations for business growth regionally.

Paul Fulcher, director of Rigging Services comments, "A multi-location business such as ours depends upon the local team to act with independence, strength and speed. Whilst at the same time recognising that they are part of a bigger entity with a need for adherence to the company's quality an

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Germany - Seen for the very first time at PLASA 2010 in September, the SR-16 is a brand new remotely-controllable 16-in/16-out EtherSound stagebox from Innovason. Based on the proven technology behind Digigram's AQONDA device, SR-16 offers high quality audio control with state-of-the-art mic preamps in a compact and cost-effective 2U format.

SR-16 is capable of transforming up to 16 analog audio channels into as many EtherSound signals and injecting them into an EtherSound network (any topology). All of the components are of extremely high quality to ensure that audio quality remains uncompromised throughout, says the company.

Compatible with all existing EtherSound set-ups including ES-100 and ES-Giga, SR-16 is naturally fully controllable via Eclipse - channel assignment is performed from the Nova 2.0 GUI, and there is direct access for preamp gain and PH48V activation from

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UK - At PLASA Focus 2011, dBTechnologies will present the DVA T12, a powerful yet compact three-way active Line Array. It will also announce a collaboration in the UK with Medialease to offer low cost bespoke financing options on new T12 and larger T4 systems.

Like the market-leading DVA T4 - which has sold in excess of 15,000 units worldwide - the DVA T12 is made with a lightweight but rugged PP-Housing, which is fully compatible, allowing DVA T4 units to be flown right below a T12 array for use as down-fills in large PA systems. For an added acoustic benefit, both systems' driver sections are in line to generate phase-correct high-frequency additions.

The Digipro G2 digital three-way amplifier with switching power supply and PFC was designed especially for the T12, and offers the latest technology including a powerful 56Bit/96KHz DSP with ADDA converters delivering a true 14

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UK - 5 Star Cases has just launched a new free iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad app - 'e-CASE'

e-CASE is also a useful addition to 5 Star's web site quotation request facility - with the advantage that it can be used in locations where access to a PC pr laptop is not available, says the company. As long as a 3G, WiFi (preferably) or an EDGE signal is present, e-CASE can be used to configure case projects any place any time.

Says 5 Star MD Keith Sykes, "Communication is a key element in providing the constantly evolving premium service in which we pride ourselves. In a fast moving world, where time is precious, we believe that empowering our clients with greater access to our all our facilities whatever their location or time zone will be another reason for them to bring business to 5 Star".

e-CASE allows the user to browse, configure and select all of 5 Star's 'Case Typ

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UK - To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of its factory in Scotland, DiGiCo is producing a limited run, Special Edition SD8 digital mixing console.

The Special Edition SD8 is produced in an understated titanium colour, but sports all the features and benefits of the original SD8's Stealth Digital Processing with Tiger SHARC FX engine.

"We are very proud to be a UK manufacturer, with a manufacturing base in the United Kingdom," says DiGiCo managing director, James Gordon. "Twenty years is a milestone for our factory, which goes back to the days of Soundtracs before it was bought by DiGiCo in 2002, and we wanted to celebrate in a significant way.

"The Special Edition SD8 marks the occasion perfectly and we are delighted that Italian rental house, Agora, has already put in an order for the first four consoles."

(Jim Evans)

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Germany - Professional loudspeaker systems manufacturer Fohhn Audio has released a new App for iPhone and Android. The App enables users of Fohhn Linea LX-501/601 line array systems to determine the optimum positioning of their systems at a particular venue and adjust the loudspeakers to give the best possible audience coverage.

The latest generation Fohnn Linea LX-501/601 hybrid line array systems are equipped with four or six high-powered 6.5" long excursion speakers and four 1" compression drivers with Fohhn HF Waveguide. Suitable for both flown applications and for use with a tripod, Linea LX-501/601 line arrays are noted for their directional sound capabilities and excellent reproduction of both speech and music.

By typing in the height of the speaker stand and the distance to be covered at the venue, the new App can calculate the vertical angle at which the lou

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USA - An audio industry pioneer, Roger Nichols played an instrumental role in a Meyer Sound milestone when he inspired the company to develop the HD-1 reference loudspeaker into a near-field monitoring system for recording studios and live mixing environments. Nichols was the first engineer to use HD-1 monitors for a recording - Flying Cowboys by Rickie Lee Jones. Other artists who worked with Nichols include Placido Domingo, Roseanne Cash, Frank Sinatra, and The Beach Boys.

"It takes a visionary like Roger to steer change and break new grounds in technology," says John Meyer, CEO and cofounder of Meyer Sound. "He raised the important question about whether loudspeakers should play a neutral role in the audio chain and this opened up the path for reinforcement systems to be built for transparency and linearity. He was a talented individual who took a relentless sc

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  5. Nitro Circus in gear with JBL VerTec
  6. PixelPars in the spotlight in Westminster
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