Installation

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UK - Electrosonic was responsible for the overall system design, project engineering, installation, programming and commissioning of the AV systems at the Science Museums's new Dana Centre in London. The stylish, purpose-built venue provides a forum where the international research community and the general public can take part in exciting debates about contemporary science, technology and culture.

The Science Museum has a full time staff engaged in the realisation of interactive exhibits, and has enormous experience of the realities of using AV techniques in the public domain. With the Dana Centre, it was quite clear about its objectives, but it did not have the in-house resources to complete the detailed design. Electrosonic was chosen from among the proposed solutions, not only because its proposal appeared cost-effective, but also because it was clear that it had relevant e

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Sudan - The Ministry of Energy and Mines in Sudan has placed an order for a complete conference system, to be supplied by Brähler ICS UK Ltd. The system is to be installed into the Ingaz Conference Hall by local Sudanese company, Federal Information Technology Co. The Ministry's premises is located adjacent to the UN headquarters offices in Khartoum.

Brähler ICS was chosen as the principle supplier for the project. Facilities will include an 85-user Automic microphone system, linked to an Infracom simultaneous interpretation system with infra-red delegate receivers and a full public address system. A flexible and robust system was required, as uses will include conferences, seminars and training sessions in multiple languages.

The Automic microphone system comes with portable delegate and chairman's microphones, both with gooseneck stems and interfaces with the interpretati

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UK - CP Sound has supplied a complete lighting and sound design, specification and installation to the new independent club, 90 Degrees - The Right Angle in Grantham, with the technical work being completed in just four days! CP's Colin Pattenden was approached by the owners after they researched the nightclub trade press to find good options for sound and lighting. Pattenden asked David Linger from Robe UK to supply the lighting, whilst he concentrated on the sound and lighting design.

90 Degrees is located in a cavernous old building above a wine warehouse and consists of several rooms, including a main DJ/dance area, a secondary dancefloor and a seated 'booth' area with rounded, cocoon-like seats. From the outset, the club has been designed to be truly multipurpose. The name '90 Degrees' refers to the owners wanting everyone to have a clear view of the performance area in fro

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UK - Sound Division has been nominated Installer of the Year in the prestigious National BEDA Awards, for its AV installation at London's Lonsdale House. The National BEDA Awards traditionally recognize the best individuals, venues and products in the industry, and this year, for the first time, has created a brand new category to honour installers. Lonsdale House has become a Mecca for connoisseurs of high-class London nightlife. Owner Charles Breedan chose Sound Division as a direct result of the company's work for top London restaurant, Momo.

Sound Division managing director David Graham is very pleased with the nomination. "I feel that it's a great achievement for Sound Division," he stated. "We've made a conscious effort over the last two year to focus our energies on the London contracting market, and we are fortunate to be able to count a number of very pre

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UK - As part of a recent refurbishment of Elly's Bar & Restaurant on the Jersey resort of La Pulente, Channel Islands-based Project Audio has installed 10 of the new QSC Acoustic Design AD-S52 loudspeakers.

Purchased from Shure Distribution UK, the AD-S52s are fed from background hard drive computer by day and live DJ playback sources after dark. Each of the restaurant's four zones is addressed by a single channel of a four-channel QSC CX254 amplifier, which occupies just 2U of rack space. Two AD-S52 enclosures are located in the main restaurant, with a further two in the conservatory, two in the smaller restaurant area and two in the bar. The final pair are installed upstairs and run on an independent system.

Project Audio's Dave Findlay, who was introduced to the AD-S52s at last year's PLASA Show, believes he is the first person to install them in the UK. Commenting on the p

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UK - In late April, having received an impromptu visit and presentation of the new KV2 Audio ES system by Andy Austin-Brown, both Phil Soltys and Dave Charman of PSD Electronics in Newquay were impressed enough to invite Austin-Brown back to conduct an "on-site, live Friday night demonstration in the heart of Newquay nightlife."

The venue was the Koola Club, an eclectic mix of club, bar and attached restaurant, feeding the requirements of the resident surf and sand fraternity as well as the hedonist weekend visitors and devout clubbers, situated on the seafront. The owners wanted to invest in a new sophisticated, but discreet audio system that could provide extreme high power with exceptional clarity and finesse. With a diverse range of entertainments from dance to live performances, the system had to operate with the minimum of attention.

Dave Charman explained: &qu

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Australia. - The newly opened AFL (Australian Football League) "Hall of Fame and Sensation" has made extensive use of ARX's Level 8 Audio Line Balancer. Centrally located on Swanston Street, Melbourne's main CBD thoroughfare, the Hall of Fame features a series of "walk-through theatre-ettes" each showing video clips of Australian football history. Each visual display is accompanied by an appropriate audio track from a bank of un-balanced sources triggered by movement sensors.

As the distance from the sound source to the screen displays is up to 40m the normally un-balancedsignal would be prone to any number of interferences. Installation Contractor DRM Project Audio Visual installed 10 units of Level 8s offering a total of 80 Channels to balance the Soundtrack signals and provided strong clean interference free signal paths.

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

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USA - Utah's Salt Lake City Olympic Legacy Theatre uses a pair of Jem Glaciator heavy foggers to create a special cloud effect during the opening and closing scenes of a feature movie that is presented several times each day.

Supplied by Las Vegas-based atmospheric and effects specialists Water FX, the Glaciators are used to create a three-dimensional cloud at the beginning of the film, a curved 37ft (11.3m) fog barrier that covers the projection screen. The fog creates a curtain onto which three projectors cast images of blue clouds. The fog curtain is controlled via fans and manifolds, and at one point a hole is blown through the cloud to create for the audience the effect of flying through the clouds.

At the end of the movie, viewers journey back through the clouds. Some 150ft (45.7m) of ducting, plus 120ft (36.6m) of manifold and 100ft (30.5m) of tubing with a large diver

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UK - A high-profile vodka bar in Bedford has become a showcase for the latest fashions in LED lighting. Purchased recently by Mark Walker for his girlfriend Deborah, Bar Soviet is equipped with the latest Mood panel and high-power Solar MR16 RGB downlighter technology - supplied by Ian Kirby's Lighting Effects Distribution.

Having finally taken over the premises which he had tried for four years to acquire, the new owner - who also runs the company Laser Light International - wasted no time. First he applied for a PEL (which he hopes will give him a 3am license) and then he contacted his friend, Glasgow-based Nadar Shahzad of Blue Audio. Shahzad reports, "Mark wanted the venue to constantly change colour. Although he hadn't seen the Mood panels, we had been sent a demo unit last year - and I knew this would be the perfect solution for him."

Offering a split screen di

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UK - The Product Excellence Awards at the PLASA Show has been a popular feature of the event for many years, highlighting the significance of the show as a focus for new developments for the industry. To reinforce this role, the PLASA Awards have undergone an important change for the 2004 event (12-15 September), in order to focus on genuine innovation.

For the re-branded PLASA Awards for Innovation, the judges will be looking for products which advance the industry, demonstrate a new style of thinking, represent a key step forward in safety terms, or improve technical practices. There will be eight Awards for Innovation at the judges' disposal and currently over 60 nominations have been received, with just three weeks before the deadline of Friday 3 September. Exhibitors who still wish to nominate a product are urged to submit their applications as soon as possible. Nominees w

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UK - One of the world's leading cruise ships, the QE2, has undergone an extensive technical refurbishment of its Grand Lounge, the largest entertainment venue on the ship. A new Martin Audio sound system has been installed to handle the Lounge's diverse programme of events.

The Grand Lounge stretches over two decks of the ship, accommodating 450 people in cabaret-style seating on two levels. Twice a night, the ship's on-board cast present theatrical production shows, and occasionally guest cabaret artists perform, as well as dance bands. Cunard's entertainment technical manager Andy Pygott had to search for a sound reinforcement system that was flexible enough to handle these shows, as well as all the other events that are hosted by the Grand Lounge throughout the day.

"We were looking for a system that would deliver even sound coverage across the whole room, with a part

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Greece - The 2004 Olympics are being broadcast to thousands of fans and spectators at the event at numerous locations in and around the historic city of Athens, using state-of-the-art Barco equipment, the company reports. Other regions, such as ancient Olympia, Thessalonica, Volos, Heraklion and Patras, as well as municipalities around Greece, are also involved in the franchised Olympic Celebration sites program. With expected ticketed visitor numbers reaching well over 5.3 million, the Barco LED display and projection solutions used in the various sporting venues and entertainment locations around the country have their work cut out.

Over the last months of the preparation for the games, Telmaco, the main system designer and integrator, in cooperation with Barco, has installed two SLite 22 LED displays at the Karaiskaki Stadium in Faliro Piraeus and the Kaftatzoglio Stadium in

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Russia - Exactly 53,212 spectators were in attendance on the 31 July, 2004, beneath the huge new canopy held aloft by 16 supports, as Berlin's Olympic Stadium - four years out of commission for rebuilding - re-opened with a magnificently staged spectacle.

Charged with the installation of a brand-new sound reinforcement system and supported by EVI Audio, the Berlin-based sound and events specialists TSE AG opted for a large Electro-Voice sound reinforcement system and a Dynacord PA. In addition to outstanding sound quality, the new equipment offers reliable and convenient system control and monitoring. In this, Electro-Voice's IRIS software and remote-controlled amplifiers play key roles. Explains Oliver Sahm, project and sales manager permanent installation Europe: "Having to install the loudspeaker enclosures in the roof is hardly conducive to easy maintenance. Thanks to E

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Ireland - For about a year now, film equipment rental company Arri has been using a Telex BTR-700 intercom system - most recently on the set of the Touchstone/Bruckheimer production King Arthur. Most of the shooting for the film was done during a six-month period in Ireland, and the BTR-700 played a vital role.

Hans Lehner, one of the Arri technicians responsible for camera and stage equipment, said: "The system was used by key members of the crew - the director, the camera operators, the director of photography and the crane operator. At times, up to five of them were hooked up at the same time during a take, exchanging information and correcting or fine-tuning settings they had tried out earlier - such is the clarity of the system that they were able to communicate in whispers so as not to bleed into the production audio during passages of dialogue. The BTR-700 was

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UK - Corporate and event lighting specialist Colourhouse is enjoying a summer of close collaboration with designers Bluey Design, working with them on projects for General Motors at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and for British Telecom's Exact Ball in Suffolk. At Goodwood, Bluey Design was continuing an association with General Motors stretching back to 2002, working for Jack Morton in Detroit. The General Motors Orangery is a space used by the executive officers of General Motors worldwide to relax and entertain their guests away from the bustle of the motor-racing outside. By day, the space contains a set creating an elegant and contemporary space; by night, the venue is transformed into a gala dining space.

Bluey Design was responsible for lighting both the exterior and the interior of the Orangery. The interior day set was enhanced with custom-made low-voltage stick lights

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UK - Essex-based Xtreme Audio Visual has installed an audio package from Fuzion in The Elbow Room, Notting Hill, part of a highly successful chain of pool bars and club venues around the UK. The system comprises a pair of Nexo PS10 full-range cabinets, three pairs of Nexo PS8 compact cabinets and Crown CE1000 amplifiers. In addition to pool tables, The Elbow Room has a bar and dance floor area which has just been fitted with a portable DJ booth for use at weekends. The PS10s provide the dance floor with enough level, while the PS8s are used around the pool tables.

Commenting on the install, Xtreme's Duncan Baines said: "This bar is in a very densely populated neighbourhood, so potentially there are problems with the neighbours. The PS10s and PS8s provide good-quality sound without needing to be pumped."

Xtreme AV has just been awarded the contract to equip the Elb

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UK - Charcoalblue, the UK's newest theatre consultancy, was formed in February of this year by three theatre professionals who had previously worked together at Theatre Projects Consultants - namely Andy Hayles, Jon Stevens and Jack Tilbury. Hayles explains: "We decided that the time was right to branch out on our own. It wasn't an easy decision, but we had a clear vision of what we wanted to achieve."

Each member of the team has a strong background in the theatre. Hayles was previously chief electrician at Richmond Theatre Royal. Stevens has worked at the RSC in Stratford, toured with Opera North and was head of sound at Glyndebourne Opera. He still does lighting design when he gets a chance - most recently The Makropulos Case at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. Tilbury began his career as a theatre production manager, and went on to project manage for Imagination at the Millenn

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Greece - Bon Studio S.A. won the contract to install the audio infrastructure in three of the most contemporary stadia in Europe, used recently for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Drawing heavily on the product portfolio of Harman Pro group companies for whom they handle distribution, Bon Studio was able to meet the specifications laid down for the Pampeloponissiako and Panthessaliko Outdoor Stadia, and Nikaia Indoor Stadium. When some of the designs were later modified to achieve optimum sound quality, Bon Studio were able to comply with the revised requirement.

The new 24,000-seat Pampeloponissiako stadium in Patra was built in order to stage the Olympic football tournaments. Bon Studio installed the sound reinforcement system in the stadium's main arena plus sound reinforcement and public address systems in the internal peripheral areas. Using EASE predictive software, the

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UK - Following an investment of £1.3m, Gloucestershire entrepreneur Terry Cole has given Stroud residents a highly-specified new nightclub on the site of the former Gaumont Cinema. The three-storey venue Warehouse adopts the same name as Mr. Cole's other venture, the Warehouse Wine Bar in Dursley, and is an industrial conversion of the Gaumont Cinema which opened in 1935, using varnished sleepers, brickwork and stone effect flooring. Above the large balcony bar on the first floor is an opulently-detailed VIP room, while the dancefloor itself incorporates a water feature.

Cole enlisted local company, Hans Beier's CAV - which he had worked with before on the Dursley venue - to design and install a sound and lighting infrastructure in the 850-capacity venue.

As the centrepiece, Beier chose the Martin Audio W8LM Mini Line Array system - after Martin Audio's Simon Bull successfull

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Japan - "Acoustically it's perfect," said Ralf Zuleeg, an applications support specialist from d&b audiotechnik, "a typical modern, horseshoe-shaped concert hall; slightly dry for a small ensemble, but ideal for a full orchestra." Matsumoto City Hall in Japan was originally opened 40 years ago; the current refurbishment project began in 1999, completing in the spring of 2004. Its grand opening will comprise multiple events covering the full gamut of musical performance, with the debut concert having been staged on 29 August 2004.

Yamaha Sound Technologies Inc. was selected to be responsible for the sound installation, with Nagata Acoustics Inc. providing the acoustic sound design, Makoto Ino their senior consultant elected to specify d&b systems. "We have experience of this company's equipment through our partnership with the Otaritec Corporation, who

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UK - PLASA 2004 opened its doors on Sunday 12th September to enthusiastic crowds, with a full show, hundreds of exciting products and a real buzz across the show floor. Both visitors and exhibitors are commenting that the excitement is back and the industry future looks bright.

The Product Excellence Awards at the PLASA show have been a popular feature of the event for many years, highlighting the significance of the show as a focus for new developments for the industry. To reinforce this role, the awards have undergone an important change for 2004 with the focus being much more on genuine innovation and have been relaunched as the PLASA Awards for Innovation. The previous assessment criteria, which segmented the nominations into sectors, has been removed so that products were not judged within category lines, but on the grounds of their innovation alone. The judges looked for

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UK - tsg, the Chesterfield-based media programming and systems company, have recently completed the installation of an audio, lighting and vision system at one of the capital's best known watering holes. The Tattershall Castle, London's favourite floating pub and club, has recently been in dry dock in Great Yarmouth undergoing an eight-month, £4.75m refurbishment. On 19 May, she sailed home up the River Thames and returned to her berth at Victoria Embankment.

Originally a passenger ferry sailing across the Humber estuary from Hull to New Holland, the Tattershall Castle has taken on a modern, new look, with large, clear windows being fitted in the stylish main bar, offering both drinkers and diners stunning views of the nearby London Eye, Festival Hall and the Houses of Parliament.

On board there is also a nightclub, which plays host to the glamorous Kash Point alternative c

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USA - An impossible-to-miss media event, the launch of - the longest, widest and tallest passenger ship ever built - caused an international stir. Pathway Connectivity keeps the data flowing in the four of the most technically sophisticated facilities aboard the largest passenger ship ever built - Cunard's $800 million historic luxury liner, Queen Mary 2. The four areas are the Main Lounge, the Queen's Room, the disco and Illuminations, the first floating planetarium ever constructed.

The Main Lounge sports 45 Pathport DMX units, running eight universes driven by an MA Lighting GrandMA console in a full tracking backup configuration, using a GrandMA Relay unit. The control system outputs Pathport protocol directly, using DMX only at the output stage. The award-winning Pathport DMX management system is more than a tool to route DMX over Ethernet, say the company: with up to 64

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Sweden / Norway - Visual act, the Swedish stage automation specialist, has recently completed the installation of a new control system for the Norwegian Theatre in Oslo, involving the replacement of drive electronics for 119 fly bars and point hoists. The system installed is capable of operating all the drives simultaneously, as was ably demonstrated during the testing period, when the company's technicians made the most of the empty stage by programming continuous movements and effects involving all 119 drives.

The latest version of Visual act's operator desk was selected as it is especially designed for permanent installations, providing an ergonomic work area suitable for many hours of use on an everyday basis. Three operator desks were installed - one of which is wireless and can be moved to the house for rehearsals.

The control system has fully redundant servers and po

  1. Marquee returns to Derby Assembly Rooms
  2. Martin Blackline for LSE's Underground
  3. The call of progress at Cadogan Hall
  4. LTP & Vaughan Sound at ExCeL
  5. New appointment at tsg
  6. Centre Stage update
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