Germany - Among the many products unveiled by DiGiCo at ProLight+Sound last week was the SD11 which is designed to be equally at home as a desktop console or mounted in a 19" rack. By simply removing the end cheeks and arm rest, 19" rack fixings are revealed, making it straightforward to incorporate the SD11 into any touring or installation environment. It is also the smallest (both in size and price) that the company has ever produced.

Manufactured with a steel chassis for strength and a polycarbonate-overlaid, aluminium work surface for reduced weight, the SD11 features 12 touch sensitive moving faders below a 15" touch sensitive screen. Such clarity of control means the SD11 is as simple to use at speed as any other DiGiCo console.

Sixteen Microphone pre amps, eight line outputs and two mono AES I/O are provided, in addition to which users have the option to

Germany - In twelve public demonstration sessions and a live demo to the world's entertainment technology media, Renkus-Heinz unveiled the IC2 (IC Squared) at Pro Light+Sound - billed as the world's first high powered, medium format digitally steerable loudspeaker system.

Designed for theatre and club installations and integrating digital beam steering with high power output, built in amplification and RHAON network control, it opens up a totally new product sector in pro audio, for venues looking for the ultimate in quality and control, says the company.

Renkus-Heinz also showed the expanding IC Live family of digitally steerable array loudspeakers, and the new CF/CFX101-LA Modular Point Source Array, a potent solution for today's small and mid-sized venues, including auditoria, night clubs, theaters and houses of worship.

Other systems on display were the Iconyx IC8 and IC

Germany - Dutch audio innovators Alcons Audio launched the BC543 - a new triple 18" cardioid sub-bass loudspeaker at Prolight+Sound, designed to give the company's pro-ribbon audio systems the tightest and crispest possible low end.

A self-contained, high-output cardioid subwoofer, the BC543 is designed for both permanent and portable ground-stacked applications, offering a high output plus tight and accurate bass response.

The BC543's front and rear located woofer configuration combines with Alcons Digital Drive Processor (DDP) to offer selectable cardioid, low-frequency pattern control and up to 18dB of rear rejection, without any need for additional cabinets.

The unit's front features two state-of-the-art AW18.6NDC/8 18-inch, long-excursion woofers, complemented by a 5.3 inch voice-coil with vented triple-spider frame, Neodymium motor structure, carbon fibre cone and

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

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

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)

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

UK - Martin Professional heads to Leeds this week for PLASA Focus 2011 where the latest Martin LED lighting fixtures, video screens and processors, lighting consoles and media server products will be on display (Stand S-E16).

The EC-10 is a high performance, true 10 mm pixel pitch LED display panel that teams with Martin's EC-20 to form a fully compatible EC family of LED displays that can be mixed and matched for design creativity. Featuring the same award-winning, lightweight and cable-free design for rapid deployment, the EC-10 is 100% compatible with the EC-20 in terms of brightness, colour, setup, curving, control and processing, even accessories, allowing for seamless, mixed resolution visuals in one system.

The ultra-compact MAC 101 moving head comes with a low price tag for revolutionary stage, dance floor and decorative lighting designs.

The MAC 101 is available in

UK - Similar to last year's exhibition, will have two stands at PLASA Focus in Leeds which are adjacent to each other.

The action-packed 2011 stand will feature a selection of products from top brands including new moving and LED luminaires from Italian lighting manufacturer DTS, for which Lightfactor is the exclusive UK distributor; lighting control from LightProcessor and Cogent; architectural LED fixtures from Cogent and theatrical fixtures and spotlights from LDR.

The DTS section of the Lightfactor stand will show the new Nick 600 Wash Zoom, a high-output LED moving head projector with a 13° - 35° variable motorized zoom and the latest in the 'Nick' series. It is available in RGBW, RGBA or white versions.

The new Delta 10 Wash Zoom from DTS is a very bright 1200 series type fixture with the same spec as the Nick 600 series. It offers 5,000 Lux at 5m and is made u

UK - The A.C. Entertainment Technologies stand (S-C3) at PLASA Focus 2011 will feature new lighting solutions from Jands, Chroma-Q, GLP and Anytronics, with many of the innovations making their UK tradeshow debut.

In addition, staff from the AC-ET's specialist lighting, audio, rigging and video sales divisions will be on hand to discuss the vast, multi-million pound stockholding of over 200 leading brands available from the company's High Wycombe and Leeds offices.

Exclusively distributed in Europe and the Middle East by AC-ET, the show sees the UK launch of the new Jands Vista v2 software. After three years of intense development, extensive testing and finally, use on several major shows and events by beta-testers worldwide, the software is now factory-standard with new Vista consoles and available as a free upgrade to existing users.

There's also a preview of the new Chrom

Germany - At this year's prolight+sound show, d&b featured the newly introduced White range of integration products.

The 16 new products from the White range are designed for visual, physical, acoustical and electrical integration into permanently installed applications and are intended for environments going beyond the rider driven specifications generally used in performance spaces, says the company.

The xS-Series comprises seven stand-alone loudspeakers and three matching subwoofers and are spread over a broad range of sizes and output powers.

The xA-Series comprises four loudspeakers and two matching subwoofers and are mechanically arrayable. The latter are equipped with integrated rigging for the design of vertical arrays providing application specific dispersion and coverage characteristics.

Within the Black section of the stand, the most recent additions to the E-Se

Germany - Following a successful launch of new fixtures at this year's Prolight + Sound, ETC has introduced another new control desk - Congo Kid.

Designed to offer Congo software to small and budget conscious venues with conventionals, LEDs, moving lights and media servers, Congo Kid provides the same controls as a Congo jr, while also supporting up to two external displays.

However, where it differs from Congo jr is that it has a maximum count of 512 control channels, and up to 1,024 outputs on two universes of DMX. It also doesn't allow the connection of external fader wings or modules.

As with any other Congo system, the 40 built-in Master Playback faders can be used for control of channels, groups, presets, sequences, effects, palettes, channel layouts, console key functions and parameter controls. And as with any other Congo system, Congo Kid supports 999 master pages,

Germany - Wireless Solution Sweden was hard to miss at Prolight + Sound 2011 in Frankfurt. Besides a prominent stand as part of Lightpower Village, W-DMX could be found at a plethora of OEM partners displaying products offering W-DMX as either standard or option.

One of the newest OEM partners displaying W-DMX enabled products was Philips Vari*Lite, which offers optional W-DMX on the VL440, VL770, VL880, VL400 and the VLX3. The fixtures offer various lighting options with flexibility and "green" options in these new wireless products.

In addition, Antari was showing its W-Series of W-515, W-530 and X310 Pro Series professional fog machines. Laserworld showed its SwissLas, Purelight, Purelight Blue Beam, Moving Head and Revolution product series, which offer W-DMX as standard.

Other OEM partners exhibiting included A & O, Chroma-Q, DTS, JB Lighting, Pulsar, PR Light

USA - The digital and networked audio specialist, Digigram, has announced that their Aqonda EtherSound stageboxes are now remotely controllable via Soundcraft and Studer digital consoles, as well as Innovason and Yamaha.

Building on the success of Digigram's original EtherSound audio bridges, these 'latest generation' devices are capable of converting up to 16 analogue signals into as many EtherSound channels and vice versa (extracting EtherSound channel to analogue outputs). Furthermore, both Aqonda units (8-in/8-out or 16-in/16-out) offer high end switchable mic/line inputs, Neutrik connectors and state-of-the-art preamps for uncompromised Digigram audio quality throughout.

In addition to their remote control capabilities, Aqonda devices are the first in the world to be ES-Giga ready (EtherSound 2 x 256 channel count plus additional network and control capabilities). Time an

Germany - Palmer has introduced Grand Audition billed as "an innovative and unprecedented unit for comparing different active and passive speakers and subwoofers at the push of a button".

One unit allows you to switch between 10 pairs of speakers and four subwoofers, and has the ability to mix active and passive speakers. The units can be cascaded to enable switching between up to 40 pairs of speakers and 16 subwoofers.

The remote control offers a switchable low pass filter for the subwoofers as well as dim and mute functions. All outputs are galvanically isolated and balanced and each output level can be adjusted by ± 12dB. In addition the unit provides connectors on the rear for optional display LEDs which can be placed on top of or next to the speakers to indicate which one is selected. All inputs and outputs are equipped with XLR connectors, the passive speaker

USA - Mojo Barriers launched two new crowd safety innovations into the American live events market at Live Event Expo on 12 April 2011.

Gatekeeper and Barrier Load Monitoring System (BLMS) have been created by Mojo Barriers to address the changing needs of the live event industry and ensure the safest event for both the audience and artists.

Gatekeeper is a temporary event turnstile system which allows people to be counted in and out of an event space with numbers recorded in real time. Equipped with proprietary software and designed to improve crowd safety at events, the Gatekeeper works by monitoring the amount of people passing through entrance and exit Gatekeeper systems, which have been manufactured to be compatible with Mojo Barriers aluminium crowd barriers.

Barrier Load Monitoring System (BLMS) measures the pressure exerted on barriers by an audience using innovative

UK - TOA Europe is showing a host of mixing and audio product innovations for the first time in the UK at PLASA Focus: Leesds 2011.

"Fresh from exhibiting at ProLight+Sound, Plasa Focus: Leeds 2011 is the type of event that audio technicians and specialists attend to find out more about the latest audio innovations for current and upcoming projects. TOA is be there in force to answer their every need or question related to audio-mixing," says Brett Downing, sales and marketing director at TOA Europe.

First in line is TOA's M-633D digital mixer, which is designed for handling demanding acoustic commercial spaces producing clear, intelligible and distortion-free audio. It's simple to use even by the most unskilled operator, says the company.

It has an Automatic Resonance Control function that identifies room mode frequencies and applies an inverse response curve to t

UK - Putting the focus squarely on the past, present and future of radio microphone frequency wavebands, Trantec comes to PLASA Focus: Leeds 2011 this week with their new Channel 38 dedicated UHF radio product range.

This includes the new and more affordable S5 series which is packed with a powerful feature-set allowing up to 24-channels to operate simultaneously. The S4.16 will also be demonstrated as an entry level 8-channel system.

"Trantec has been manufacturing wireless systems for over 20 years and we were the first UK company to have a Channel 38 product available on the market. It's only natural that we show our latest innovation at PLASA Focus: 2011," says Mark Parkhouse, head of sales and marketing at Trantec. "These products underline Trantec's commitment to ensuring customers have a future-proof solution once Ofcom phases out Channel 69 for wireless

UK At PLASA Focus Leeds, John Hornby Skewes & Co (S-C12) is showing the new HK Audio Soundcaddy One, billed as "the world's fastest PA system". With integrated handles, built in wheels, and edge guards for fast, safe transport, Soundcaddy One is easy to move from home to the venue, and setup is even simpler: just extend the mid-/high-unit pneumatically, connect the signal sources to the integrated four-channel mixing console, and the system is ready to go, says the company.

Featuring six custom broad band speakers in vertical array, Soundcaddy One offers "all the superior benefits of a line array". Its 70° horizontal coverage pattern spreads sound evenly throughout the audience area.

The on-board subwoofer is loaded with three 6" woofers that provide the underpinning for the lower frequency range. And with all that, Soundcaddy One renders speech an

Australia - LSC has announced the release of the QX1 USB-DMX Decoder designed specifically for use with its Clarity lighting and media control software. The QX1 falls into the same family as its bigger brothers the QX2 and QX4 and is aimed at smaller shows or venues where only a single universe of DMX512 is required or where cost is the major consideration.

Engineered to fit into a five-pin XLR style DMX inline connector, the QX1 provides a 450mm cable with a USB style A connector at the opposite end. The QX1 connects directly to a standard computer or laptop (PC or Mac) via a USB port where it will be automatically detected by the LSC Clarity software and appear as a possible output device on Clarity's Patch Window.

The QX1 provide a single DMX512-A and RDM compliant output and where other manufacturers often charge more for RDM compatible devices, RDM capability is built dir

UK/Sweden - Cooper Controls has partnered with Sweden's LumenRadio and the collaboration got off to a flying start with CRMX wireless technology being integrated into Zero 88's latest generation of ZeroWire product range.

CRMX offers functionality such as Automated Cognitive Coexistence, error correction and data fidelity, 5 ms synchronized latency, encryption, 500-1000m line-of-sight range as well as RDM (Remote Device Management). Zero 88 users are already used to bi-directional RDM communication within the extensive product range and Cooper Controls state that their RDM rollout is almost complete. Full remote configuration and monitoring of RDM-enabled devices including dimmers and lighting fixtures can now be performed using ZeroWire.

"Partnering with LumenRadio was an obvious decision for Cooper Controls. We wanted the most reliable and advanced wireless functionalit

France - Innovason has unveiled the latest incarnation of its successful Eclipse digital mixing console, Eclipse GT. Sporting a new look and an optimized feature set for exactly the same price as its predecessor, Eclipse GT sets a new standard for engineers in terms of what they can expect from - and achieve with - a compact mixing console, says the company.

The look of the Eclipse GT has changed considerably with the integration of a few practical features like a side rail to facilitate moving and carrying, as well as some sophisticated aesthetic touches like the red LEDs in the side-cheeks (which may be switched off if necessary) and the signature Innovason red trackball reflecting the new company image that was first revealed at PL+S last year.

Another major change is the 'feel' of the console from an operator's point of view. All of the knobs and faders have been especiall

Germany - At t Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt, Coemar highlighted Reflection Ledko, the new series of LED profilers.

Reflection Ledko is available in three models, Full Spectrum, Reflection Ledko VariWhite 3000/7000 K, White Reflection Ledko 3200 K, with Soft Profile and Profile lenses.

Reflection Ledko is promoted as "the classic expression of Italian genius applied to the profilers world, a creativity that can improve the life of the product and simplify that of the users".

(Jim Evans)

UK - HK Audio's Elements system provided the PA for the Education and Learning programme sessions at PLASA Focus 2011 in Leeds.

Elements' compact size and surprising power means that only one E110SA active sub and two E435 tops were required per side of the stage in order to provide top quality sound for the numerous speeches and presentations.

Neville Raine, JHS's pro audio sales manager (North), said, "Elements has been working great - it has consistently provided a very clear, intelligible sound for all the sessions. The PLASA show has been massive for us. It's certainly been busier than last year, with a steady stream of people coming and enjoying the JHS stand."

(Jim Evans)

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