Installation

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UK - Concept AV have recently completed a number of sound system installations in the leisure sector using proprietary Wharfedale enclosures. The company's Jason Lee explains that many of his system designs have been for primary contractor, AVL, and are based around the Huntingdon manufacturer's SI, Twin and Programme ranges.

Both the Junction bar/restaurant in Notts and Royston Leisure Centre in Herts feature multiples of the Programme series, powered by QSC amplification, optimised in the BSS Soundweb DSP, and providing the operators with local control via the BSS remote wall panels.

Situated at Kirkby-in-Ashfield, the once traditional Ritz Associates-owned Junction has now moved upmarket, and playback is handled via four Wharfedale Programme 80's and eight Programme 32's, split between the restaurant/bar and separate pool and snooker room.

Originally owned by the Mansfiel

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UK - After much anticipation, Earls Court One finally opened its doors to the eager crowds queueing for the first day of PLASA '06. With pre-registration visitor levels at a record high, PLASA is bracing itself for record attendance.

New features opening today at the show include the new Integrated Systems Area; a greatly expanded PLASA Seminar Programme with a dedicated Technologies for Worship programme; and the first PLASA appearance of NEET (the National Exhibition of Entertainment Technology).

Traditionally 'DJ Day', day one of the show attracts a large DJ following, to participate in the heats and final of the Gemini 'Extreme V' DJ Competition.

Among today's other special features and events will be the ever-popular Talkzones, where music industry experts talk about different aspects of DJ'ing and dance music, including technical skills, online music and the business o

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UK - Tomorrow's Awards for Innovation ceremony will also include a series of charity presentations, as the money raised from entry fees to the Awards is donated to a number of deserving causes. The ceremony will also include a personal appearance by a true entertainment industry legend - Sir George Martin.

In supporting Sir George's Music Foundation, PLASA will purchase a limited edition reproduction lithograph of the original score for Yesterday - the most performed song in history - signed by both Sir George Martin and Sir Paul McCartney. The lithograph will be auctioned during the course of the show to raise further money for the Music Foundation.

The Awards ceremony takes place tomorrow evening at 6.00pm, at the Central Bar area in the centre of Earls Court 1.

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - As the PLASA Show's visitors began to fill Earls Court 1, the Innovation Gallery was naturally proving a big draw. Situated at the front of the main floor of Earls Court, the Innovation Gallery, sponsored by Lighting&Sound International magazine, forms a striking focal point for everyone coming to PLASA, as it is here that the 60 nominated products vying for this year's PLASA Awards for Innovation are prominently displayed.

The judging panel, consisting of an array of industry experts, is hard at work viewing, questioning and debating throughout today, and will draw a line under their deliberations by around lunchtime tomorrow. As well as the eight Innovation Awards, the judges will also have at their disposal an Award for Environmental Impact to reward any product that makes a significant contribution to environmental issues. The winners will be revealed to the industry to

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UK - PLASA '06 has opened, with much of the industry heading to Earls Court 1 to be part of this international event. The mood on the show floor has been positive, business deals have already been signed, and a strong blueprint has been established for the rest of the show.

The exhibition has been busy since the doors opened yesterday at 10am with architects, DJs, lighting designers, sound engineers, production managers and installers arriving in London to take part in the event.

The show's international credentials have been reinforced by the presence of companies from over 20 countries, including Canada, France, Israel, Lithuania, Germany, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, Turkey and the USA. All the major names are at Earls Court, amongst them 50 first-time exhibitors, including the innovative Canadian company Cirque du Soleil.

No other show gives visitors such a positive f

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UK - Hundreds of products have been launched at this year's PLASA Show, currently running at Earls Court in London. At last night's PLASA Awards for Innovation ceremony, attended by special guest Sir George Martin, eight awards were presented in recognition of the impressive design and development work going on across the industry.

The eight awards went to: Avolites (Stand J30) for its mDMX system; Dolby Laboratories / Lake Technology (BB12) for the Dolby Lake Processor; Global Design Solutions' Blues System (R53); Vieta / KV2 Audio Europe Ltd (GG6) for the So Line; Pharos Architectural Controls (F31) for its Audio Visual Controller; TiMax / Outboard (DD18) for the Track The Actors system; Volex Power Products (FF14) for its V-Lock; and Wybron's InfoTrace system (J38).

In addition to the main award winners, commendations were also given to Adam Hall for its adjustable top-hat

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USA - Color Kinetics Inc (CKI) has announced the unveiling of its latest landmark installation, encompassing more than 1,800 LED-based fixtures as part of a lighting renovation project for Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Based on preliminary operation and testing, the LED-based system is expected to consume just 25% of the total energy drawn by the previous fixtures, while also reducing maintenance and cutting the number of electrical vendors required from six to two.

The project called for the replacement of five-year-old metal halide fixtures within 26 glass pylons leading to the airport's entrance, known as the famed LAX Gateway. Ranging in height from 25 to 110ft, the translucent pylons can now display custom-designed colour-changing effects employing CKI's Chromacore technology, as opposed to the use of glass filters, coloured gels, and electro-mechanical colour sc

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UK - Over the past two years, Birmingham-based Dolphin Media has systematically been upgrading the news studios of all 13 regions in the ITV network, using rear-projected 160in dnp optical screens from Paradigm Audio Visual. But they were forced to break from their standard model when it came to equipping the three ITV Meridian studios near Southampton.

Covering the East, South and West services of the Meridian region, the station wanted to replace the Perspex prints in their three news studios on the Solent Business Park with widescreen projection - but only had the minimum of rear projection space behind the existing set in which to work.

The challenge was to mount a rig that would enable projection onto the TV Studio version of dnp's Giant Wide Angle Studio screen. While the images are shot in 4:3 aspect ratio, the custom-cut screen (trimmed to 3209mm x 1309mm) would be des

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The Radisson SAS Resort on the island of Djerba (Tunisia) has been equipped with the most modern dimmer technology from MA Lighting. The luxury hotel with its approximate 300 rooms and suites focusses on MA digital dimmer, WM' 12 x 3 kVA for the complete installation. The units have a robust coated 19"/ 14 HE steel housing for mounting on walls. They were installed in August by the Tunisian MA distributor MediaCom.

The 44 wall-mounted digital dimmers consist of 12 single 3 kVA dimmers (without RCD) have a large graphic display which shows status values and special functions as well as phase control display. The lighting control, which ranges from classic lights to professional projectors, is via Creston.

Patio Rosinus was responsible for the lighting design of the hotel, with Moris Brill Lighting Design as the executive company.

(Chris Henry)

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UK - Live event company Show Presentation Services (SPS) has been awarded the contract to deliver exciting new audio-visual services to customers at the NEC, in Birmingham. The company is the NEC's first ever in-house service provider that can offer everything from simple AV technology to fully-crafted and supported production.

Paul Thandi, recently announced CEO of the NEC Group, said: "Service is at the core of our business, and improving our customer offer to provide and deliver first class audio visual services is part of the vision shared at the NEC. This initiative underlies our continual focus on putting our customers first and leading the marketplace. Ultimately we want to ensure that every live event has tomorrow's technology, wrapped up in excellent service and delivery focus. We are delighted to have SPS on board to help achieve this."

Robin Coles, managin

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UK - Now that the dust has settled on this year's PLASA Show, the organisers of next year's show - the newly-formed PLASA Events Ltd - are looking forward to building on this week's hugely successful 2006 event - the last to be organised on PLASA's behalf by Clarion Events.

Exact visitor figures will be released in due course, following the independent ABC Audit of the figures. However, early indications are that PLASA '06 may even have surpassed last year's PLASA Show (which was memorable for its frenetic business activity) with a notable increase in visitor numbers, and a very strong international attendance.

Many of the exhibitors that the PLASA Media team spoke to across during the four days of the show praised both the quality of the customers they had been seeing, and the large numbers of international visitors from all around of the world. Despite a relatively 'quiet' S

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UK - tsg has recently completed the installation of a promedia hard disk player and audio system at the new Sam & Maxies restaurant in the Trafford Centre, Manchester. This Sam & Maxies, which is part of La Tasca Group Plc, is the second outlet to be opened during 2006 and is the third brand within the Group, which already operates La Vina and La Tasca.

Essentially a bar, grill and smokehouse, Sam & Maxies offers a subtle, more mature offer of 'Americana' but is not overly themed. Targeted at families, especially those with children of a school age, Sam & Maxies is an elevated offer of the typical American restaurants found within the UK today, with the children's menu being a scaled down version of the adult menu. Music is an integral part in establishing an appropriate dining experience and James Horler, chief executive of La Tasca Group, turned to tsg and its candyrock music

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UK - Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage musical Evita has returned to the West End twenty-eight years after it first opened 28 years ago. Advances in technology down the decades see the production enjoying the latest generation of audio products, including DPA microphones which are being used across the entire cast.

"Radio microphone and miniature microphone technology in particular has had a huge impact on musical theatre," says sound designer Mick Potter, who specified the DPA mics, having used them extensively on all his sound designs since Saturday Night Fever in 1998. "The amount of frequencies now available for reliable use means miking all performers in a cast of 30 or 40 is no longer an issue. Transmitters are so small that on this production, female cast members wear them in their wigs, meaning no visible cable or transmitter packs at all. This is

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UK - Knight Sound & Light have equipped a large Polish community centre in south London with a new technology infrastructure - built around 24 of Wharfedale's full-range Programme 50's.

Hamilton House in Balham - originally a gift from Lord Nelson to Lady Emma Hamilton and later owned by the Kray Twins, has operated as the White Eagle Club and hosted a wide range of Polish community activities since the 1960's.

While front-of-house operates as a bar/restaurant for the Polish community, the 400-capacity multi-function room is used for additional activities including karaoke nights, discos and live music.

The hall was in a run-down state when Magda Harvey took over the premises last year. The services of freelance consultant/DJ Robert Czekalski were enlisted and on advice from Knight Sound & Light, he opted for a Wharfedale solution. "We had experienced environmental heal

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USA - In Cleveland, Ohio, the Browns Stadium's seven year old sound system has been revamped with the assistance of Nashville-based Durrell Acoustic Solutions. Durrell, a sports stadium audio specialist whose resume includes the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the homes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals, determined that approximately 90% of the stadium's loudspeaker drivers showed signs of damage from the elements.

They recommended a complete system overhaul, with a new audio setup based on Community Professional Loudspeakers' WET series. "We chose the Community WET series as our primary loudspeaker system based on its proven ability to stand up to the extreme weather the Browns' Stadium experiences on the shore of Lake Erie," explained John Horrell, President of Durrell. "As Durrell was asked to warranty the new speakers for seven years, the WET se

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UK - Serious Stages reports that it has completed a highly successful season supplying stages for post-race entertainment at various racecourses around the country for The Liz Hobbs Group.

At Newmarket, the Serious team designed a flat roofed stage tailored neatly to fit in between the two main grandstands. It was the first season Serious has worked at this venue and with Liz Hobbs, and the aim was to reduce the stage height from previous years, making it a more comfortable viewing angle, to maximise the available space, and to dovetail the flat roof of the temporary stage neatly in with the grandstands either side if it.

The project was managed for serious by Dragan Kuzmanov. The 40 ft wide by 48 ft deep stage and aluminium roof structure were built on 4 steel tower legs, with the roof sloping away to the rear, to ensure any water drained away safely from the performance area

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UK - London-based theatre sound specialist Orbital has been awarded the sound supply contract by Dutch producers Stardust BV for their epic-scale new musical, Rembrandt.

Staged in The Netherlands' internationally renowned Royal Carre Theatre, Stardust's Rembrandt celebrates the 400th anniversary of the great painter. Orbital's team, headed by Drew Mollison, collaborated with sound designer Jeroen ten Brinke from the early planning stages to ensure that the specified Alcons system met his exact requirements.

Jeroen Brinke commented: "Working to a tight three-week pre-production phase, the Orbital team were fantastic. Streamlining operations on site, their practical advice and 24/7 technical support team sets a precedent. It's great working with them. Their level of service and support through the production process and on-going has been unparalleled."

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USA - The AMC Valley View 16 Theatres in the Valley View Mall in Dallas enlisted the services of Illuminating Concepts to increase the visual attraction of the multi screen complex.

"The building has a long range visibility and can be seen from the main expressway," explains Illuminating Concept's Kenneth Klemmer, director of design on the project. "Originally they were looking at a white light illuminated theatre exterior but eventually decided on a concept to illuminate the building in colour with colour sequences, yet still provide the requisite amount of emergency white light."

Approximately 40 IP65 rated Exterior 200 colour changers from Martin Architectural were integrated into the theatre's perimeter balcony handrail to provide virtually unlimited colour choices for the roughly 30 foot high façade walls. The programmable 150W fixtures are mounted on

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UK - In order the give the public a more in-depth understanding of the structure of an orchestra, the Royal Festival Hall on the South Bank, London, came up with an original way of introducing the structure and sound of the orchestra to both children and adults.

By positioning sixty special pods in the physical shape of the Philharmonic Orchestra and feeding the sound of individual instruments to each pod, the system enables visitors to listen to the different sounds of the respective musical instruments that comprise the orchestra.

The Royal Festival Hall turned to Audio Design Services of Stockport to configure a way of creating an amplifier for each pod position without the need to house 60 separate amplifiers. It was also necessary to provide high quality loudspeakers in the pods to faithfully reproduce the original sound of the respective instruments and yet come within a

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USA - One of the largest churches in North America, Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, has installed Adamson Systems in their main sanctuary. Duncan Edwards, an ADI Group consultant, hired by Southeast Christian, concluded that an Adamson System would be the best system to meet the needs of the church after rigorous demonstrations and comparisons of line array products in the market. Edwards recommended Adamson to the church's board of directors who gave the final go-ahead.

Southeast Christian Church, founded in 1962, has grown to become one of the largest churches in North America. The current facility opened in 1998 and features a sanctuary that seats 9,600. The most attended day of the year is Easter Sunday, where crowds are commonly in excess of 30,000. This is facilitated through multiple services, all held in the main sanctuary. Adamson's demo stock was le

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UK - At the autumn conference of the The Society of British Neurological Surgeons (SNBS), High Definition videoconferencing systems were used in a ground-breaking way to deliver a trainee surgeons' workshop based on a live operation. It demonstrated new techniques for endoscopic transnasal transphenoidal surgery for the treatment of a brain tumour. The systems were also used to deliver presentations to the conference by neurological experts from remote locations.

Hosted by the Preston unit of the SBNS and held in Windermere, the conference is a high profile and well attended conference that is designed to enable specialists in this field to jointly develop best practice for the diagnosis and treatment of a range of neurological conditions.

Supplied by Questmark the systems selected were the LifeSize Room, connected over the internet between the conference centre, Questmark's o

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USA - ESTA, the Entertainment Services and Technology Association, has announced that BSR E1.27-2, Entertainment Technology - Standard for Permanently Installed Control Cables for Use with ANSI E1.11 (DMX512-A) and USITT DMX512/1990 Products, is available for public review until November 20, 2006.

The draft standard describes the types of cable to be used to interconnect products that comply with ANSI E1.11-2004 (DMX512-A) or with USITT DMX512/1990 in permanent installations. The description includes definitions of acceptable cable and connector types and the ways in which they may be used. The draft standard and its supporting public review materials are available at ESTA has also said that the Control Protocols Working Group has started work on a new standard: BSR E1.37-200x-Additional Mess

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UK - Harman Pro UK has supplied Harlow's long-established live music venue, The Square, with a new Soundcraft MH2 front-of-house console. For nearly thirty years, The Square has been renowned for its reputation on the 'up-and-coming' circuit - many British bands who have played here in the past have subsequently gone on to great things, including Blur, Coldplay and Muse.

Stuart Graham of Harlow-based Clarity in Sound Light and Vision contacted Harman Pro UK's Gary Dent, who came down to The Square with a 24-channel MH2, and ran through the features with The Square's sound engineers. They liked what they saw and heard, and the MH2 offered them more flexibility than their old desk.

Comments Gary Dent: "The Square were very keen to get more into running on-stage monitor mixes, and their old desk just didn't have enough aux busses to do the job comfortably. But with the MH2,

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Ireland - Churches, live music venues, theatres and dance societies are just some of the venues that have installed PA equipment supplied by Harman Pro UK's main dealer in Ireland, Reynolds of Raphoe, recently. Reynolds, based in the North-West of the Irish Republic, have notched up an impressive list of recent sales, Harman reports, supplying installation companies in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic with equipment from the Harman portfolio such as JBL speakers, Crown amplifiers and dbx processing units.

"The Celtic Tiger has slowed, but the Irish economy is still very buoyant and this naturally has an impact on leisure and entertainment. As a result, plenty of new bars, clubs and venues have opened around the country, while others have upgraded their sound systems to compete with the newcomers," says Reynolds sales manager Brian McGrath. "Our pro-active a

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  5. QSC on the graveyard shift in Italy
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