Robe - Leaderboard - 27 Aug25 - Jan26
ISE 2026 - Banner - Oct 2025

Video and AV

Details
Des Fallon and Richard Burford have become directors and shareholders of XL Video UK, underlining their dedication and commitment to the company they've helped build. XL Video UK was formed in March 2000 by Chris Mounsor and Lee Spencer, and has gone on to become a market leader in the field of video production for all types of live events, festivals, concert tours and corporate presentations.

Working in conjunction with newly-opened identical operations in the USA and Germany, the UK operation supplies high impact, state-of-the-art digital video production, playback and display technology to the professional performance, entertainment and presentation industries. Sister companies in Belgium and North America provide LED screen solutions for major projects.

Live acts and events serviced this year by XL Video UK include Kylie Minogue, Travis, the Pop Idol tour, S-Club, Jamiroquai, San

Details
Derivative Inc has teamed up with NVIDIA Corporation, the worldwide leader in visual processing solutions, to advance the art of real-time visual performance with an impressive display of 3D animation set to the music of legendary rock band Rush. As part of the band's current 40-city, 'Vapor Trails' concert tour of North America, Derivative's Touch 012 visual performance tools and NVIDIA GeForce4 Go graphics processing units (GPUs) are being used to deliver on-the-fly improvisation of 3D animations projected during 11 songs, providing concert-goers with an exciting new way to experience live music.

Designed for creators of interactive artworks, the Touch tool set uses powerful Academy Award-winning visual effects technology to enable digital artists to author, perform and share expressive interactive 3D visuals from their PCs. On the 'Vapor Trails' tour, Touch artist James Ellis is usi

ISE 2026 - Banner - Oct 2025

Details
Screenco provided three big screen displays for last month’s tense Ryder Cup competition at the Belfry in Warwickshire, continuing a long tradition with both the major sporting event and the production company, Viewpress. Such was the cheering from the huge partisan crowd out on the course that Screenco often had to use their 50sq.m screen on the 18th fairway to switch away from the live action to the Ryder Cup logo - in order to ensure minimal distraction for the players on the 1st and 10th tees.

The contest has come along way since 1985 - one of the first Ryder Cups that Screenco supported, which was also held at The Belfry. This year Screenco supplied three 25mm displays - the 50sq.m screen and two 32sq.m rigs - all configured in 4:3 aspect ratio. The two smaller displays were sited on the practice green and in the tented village, forming part of the corporate hospitality area

Details
Avesco plc has announced that Creative Technology, a leading company worldwide providing audio-visual services, is establishing a new operation in Germany. CT is now based in London, NEC Birmingham, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Stuttgart.

Creative Technology Germany, will be located near Stuttgart and plans to be operational from mid-November 2002. The new company will be headed by Georg Roessler who gained his over 12 years of experience in the audio-visual industry at ict AG, latterly as Director of the Board.

CT Germany will specialize in project-oriented solutions for its customers. As a full service provider, CT Germany will be supplying a full range of audio-visual services used in events, trade shows and fixed installations. Georg Roessler and his qualified staff have years of experience in these activities. "I have known Georg for 12 years and, when we heard h

Details
News of management changes comes from PSL, where Gary Davis now holds the position of vice-chairman, while David Barrass has joined the board as managing director. Gary Davis told us: "I have wanted to get closer to the business for a while and my new role will allow me to devote all of my time to developing relationships with existing and new customers. I still hold my position on the main board and will be heavily involved in the growth strategy for PSL."

Davis’ role as vice-chairman is a full-time role at PSL, focussing particularly on sales, marketing and business development. David Barrass’ appointment is intended to further strengthen the existing management team by adding a wider general management skill-set, gained from many years working at the most senior levels in various service businesses. Most recently, Barrass was European MD for Allied Worldwide In

Details
Avesco Plc has announced the reorganization of the senior management structure of its audio-visual services business, following the establishment of CT Germany. Graham Andrews will head up a new division incorporating all the Creative Technology-branded audio-visual businesses in the UK, USA and Germany, as well as Screenco and Dimension.

MCL, Avesco’s full service audio-visual operation in the UK based in Birmingham, London, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh, will report directly to David Nicholson, Avesco’s chief executive, as will the CT OB outside broadcast business. Graham Andrews commented: "This is the right time to bring together these businesses as many of our customers are seeking a global service solution. This is an exciting opportunity to drive that further forward. Also there is more we can do on equipment sharing in this new division. We are ordering sub

Details
Blitz Television Services of Elstree, UK, has taken delivery of 50 panels of Lighthouse’s new state-of-the-art 6mm LED video screen, the LV0630, with 30 panels immediately going into use on the newly-revamped BBC children’s television show Saturday Morning, which for the first time features a special Saturday edition of the chart show Top Of The Pops.The new-format show was first broadcast on September 21 with the TOTP slot featuring Saturday Morning’s house band Stamford Amp, plus guest artists including Busted, Gareth Gates, Will Young and Nick Carter.

Blitz Television Services’ account manager Jeff Bailey and project manager Mike Kane chose the Lighthouse panels, says Jeff Bailey, "Because we felt the picture quality was excellent, with very good contrast and brightness levels, and the resolution with the tight 6mm pixel pitch is ide

Details
The Electrosonic Group has announced the addition of two companies, Lightinen and Qualitron, to the Group. Lightinen, based in Helsinki, Finland, provides audio-visual and lighting systems to the cruise ship, entertainment and corporate markets. The company employs 35 people and in 2001 the turnover exceeded US$10 million. Risto Oinaala, managing director of Lightinen, will continue the day-to-day management of the business.

Qualitron is a Helsinki-based broadcast systems engineering company serving the broadcast industry in Finland, Russia, Ukraine and other Confederation of Independent States (CIS) countries. The company employs 32 people, including a 12-person office in Moscow, and the emphasis is on the provision of the latest digital broadcasting technology. Turnover in 2001 was approximately US$10 million. Managing director Tapani Karjalainen will continue to manage the company.<

Details
Barco’s daylight display systems have once again been used to bring a world-class event - the World Championship Road Racing - to the many fans who turned out for the event this weekend in Zolder, Belgium. The daylight displays were supplied by one of Barco’s largest rental partners, XL Video - a leading supplier of rental and staging equipment to events such as U2’s Elevation tour, The Malaysian F1 Race and the US Open Tennis Championships. XL supplied a total of 90sq.m of Barco’s Dlite displays to show both live and pre-recorded footage to spectators throughout the duration of the six-day event.

The Dlite displays, specifically designed and developed to be used outdoors and withstand extreme weather conditions, were used on the Jacky Ickx corner, on the first left corner as well as on the finish line. At the Jacky Ickx corner, the race could be seen live on a

Details
Creative Technology has expanded its management infrastructure with three new appointments. Announcing the changes, managing director Mark Elliott said the move will place CT in a firm position for the development of new business in both domestic and international markets, while further enhancing client and project handling at a high level.

Formerly with Gearhouse (and later MCL Birmingham), Chris Cox takes up a newly-created role as business development manager. He will liase closely with other CT offices worldwide and raise awareness among domestic blue chip companies operating in the exhibition and conference markets.

Another returning to the Avesco camp is account manager, Charlie Whittock. He formerly worked as a project manager with CT before moving to the United States seven years ago. While there he pursued a successful career as a freelance production manager, often working

Details
The Park Club, a health and fitness facility in Abingdon, UK, has reopened after extensive refurbishment work, with Chris Gunton & Associates (CGA) having worked closely with the architects and designers to create a sound and video package to complement the wide range of new facilities. CGA have used a number of leading brands to ensure that each room and application meets the high aesthetic and performance requirements of the venue.

CGA installed new sound systems throughout the existing club, and added 10 28" video screens and a cardio-vascular headphone system for the 40 main machines around the video screens. The existing dance studio has been upgraded with new amplification and control equipment, including a Denon combination CD/tape deck, a Trantec radio mic and a Cloud Electronics zoner. Three of Rolec’s hard-disk music systems provide a range of music throughout the

Details
In response to feedback from the industry that the PLASA show, at 25 years old, was in need of re-energizing, exciting new plans for the exhibition were unveiled to both exhibitors and press at PLASA 2002.

We took time out with Matthew Griffiths, managing director of show-owners the Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA) and Nicola Rowland, acting show director for organizer Clarion Events, to hear about the plans and their implementation. Matthew Griffiths expands on the background to the decision: "The PLASA show is the leading entertainment, communication and presentation technology show in the world. To maintain this position, the Association realises that the show needs to be a pioneer in adapting to industry change. It also needs to ensure that the visitor experience is kept vibrant, fresh and business-focused.

"After ongoing discussions and regular feedb

Details
Neutrik UK Ltd, the specialist in entertainment industry connector technology, has undergone a major management restructure during 2002. The new management team, with over 40 years of cumulative pro audio experience, is spearheaded by company director Cheryl Walker, technical sales and marketing director Bob Davies and production director Chris Arnold. Their aims and objectives will be to refocus the company on customer-specific product development, and high quality service and sales support.

Plans are underway to construct a new purpose-built production and sales facility in a green field site in Ryde on the Isle of Wight. The land has been purchased and completion of the new factory is anticipated in mid-summer 2003. Moving the manufacturing plant and the 110 employees from the existing site just three miles away should be complete by the autumn.

The design of the new facility is i

Details
Screenco have strengthened their position in the concert touring market with the recent appointment of Richard Shipman. Most recently with event video production specialists Black Pig, whom he left in June, Shipman was working in a freelance capacity with Oasis before joining Screenco this month.

Commenting on the appointment, Screenco director and general manager, Graham Filmer said: "Richard represents a significant addition to the company. As senior project engineer, he will boost our concert touring expertise - a sector of the industry in which he commands enormous respect - introducing a comprehensive skill set in video graphics, screen displays and projection technology, which will add a new dimension to our touring services." Richard said he was relishing the opportunity. "I will be bringing all my experience from touring and broadcast to the source of the image S

Details
The National Botanic Garden of Wales in Carmarthen offers visitors a view of botany through the years. L&SI looks at the AV installation.

The National Botanic Gardens, officially opened in 2000, was a hugely ambitious project and the first of its kind for nearly 200 years. The Gardens are set in the Middleton Estate - 586 acres of landscaped park set against the stunning Welsh landscape. It has varied topography, a variety of water features offering diverse aquatic habitats, a range of microclimates, rich wildlife, established woodland and, amazingly in the present day, is virtually free from pollution.

Response to the project has been highly positive - during the first year, the Garden attracted over 250,000 visitors. It boasts the largest glasshouse in Europe, designed by architects Norman Foster and Partners to mirror the contours of the surrounding hills. The Theatre Botanica, a

Details
Creative Technology worked within the imaginative 'Billboard' style set design by Pike, and constructed by Model & Scenic, to deliver a highly enterprising stage presentation for this year’s Conservative Party Conference at the Bournemouth BIC. A single screen was placed within four Scanachrome peel-back billboards which lined the 60ft ‘roadway’ of the stage, so not only could the static display change daily but also CT’s animated one.

A template of the screen was cut to fill a gap in the billboard and Creative Technology rear-projected Powerpoint slides to fill the apertures from two of their Christie X10s. Cameras were jointly supplied by CT and the BBC. While the latter provided feeds (to Creative Technology’s PPU), the TX was returned for transmission on the in-house closed circuit monitors, enabling CT to allow the conference chairman to mute sound an

Details
Stardraw has introduced ‘Rubber-Banding’ as the September Feature of the Month. This much-anticipated upgrade has been under development for many months and represents a significant enhancement to their design and documentation applications.

This major new functionality means that the elements in schematic designs stay connected as you move them within the document. So, if you wish to change the look of your block schematic and move products, either by dragging the selected symbols to their new position, or by nudging them with the arrow keys, the connections follow automatically. Furthermore, Rubber-Banding operates independently of Modifiers (Snap to Grid, Snap to Object, etc.).

This is an extremely important development, says Stardraw’s marketing director, Rob Robinson: "Rubber-Banding has been at the top of our ‘Most Wanted’ list for some time,

Details
One of the highlights of the recent ECTS 2002 interactive entertainment show at London’s Earls Court was the vast PlayStation Experience, hosted by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, which ran in parallel to the main event. To enhance the screen-driven extravaganza with a real world atmosphere, Creative Technology Exhibitions (contracted by Denham Technical Services) used the Dataton Watchout system - a scalable digital media system designed for big shows, generating images which can span several video projectors or monitors. Watchout automatically applies smooth edge blending to overlapping projection areas, resulting in a seamless image.

This was just one of the technological solutions which CT applied to interpret the concept laid down by Rod George at Denham. They also drew on some of the projection techniques which their sister company in the US had implemented at recent E3

Details
Show Presentation Services (SPS) has recently provided full audio-visual and staging facilities, including live camera work, at the high level BSkyB 'Leadership Forum' for 320 of its senior management executives from all over the country. The annual event for BSkyB's senior managers, held in the London Suite at the Marriot Hotel, Heathrow on 13 September, 2002, was hosted by Sky News's political editor, Adam Boulton.

SPS has been developing the event format with BSkyB over the past eight months, working together on the stage and set design, as well as planning the seating layout, lights, sound and cameras. Neil Smith, the manager of the project at SPS said: "We have had a good working relationship with BSkyB for the past six years now, so we were delighted to be working on the forum again this year. An event of this size and content takes extensive planning in the months leading u

Details
The Flightcase Warehouse and Q-Flightcases of Lisburn have formed a partnership to distribute their standard range of flightcases in Ireland. The new company will be called Flightcase Warehouse Ireland and will be based in Lisburn. Flightcase Warehouse managing director Steve Austin comments: "We know that the potential in Ireland is massive, but due to logistics and shipping costs, we are limited to what we can sell direct from the UK. According to our website statistics, we receive on average of 5000 hits per month from Ireland, indicating a need for an outlet in this region. Q-Flightcases are the perfect solution to this problem, and are well situated to cover the whole of Ireland."

Q-Flightcases co-director Joan Beggs adds: "At present those companies that take advantage of our local facilities, have mostly been interested in our specialized cases. Generally, for lar

Details
Proving that no job is too unusual, a Lighthouse LVP1010 LED video screen (10mm pixel pitch, 1000 nits of brightness) was supplied for a large pharmaceutical company, Pharmacia’s, recent staff forum. The 5x5 panel screen was supplied by AV Network, specialists in the hire and sale of technology presentation products. “The management of Pharmacia believe in strong, regular communications with its staff," explains AV Network director, Suzanne Atkins. "And to achieve this they hold regular staff forums for two-way open communications and updates." To keep the meeting informal, and to encourage interaction from the staff, the company wanted to keep the event in-house.

"Their offices have a large glass-ceilinged atrium, which they wanted to use for the forum," continues Atkins. "This gave us an area with very high ambient light. As we intended to ru

Details
500 guests attended this year’s UK AV Industry Awards Ceremony on 16 October; and the event attracted record numbers of entries. One of the most hotly contested categories was Installation of the Year, which included five finalists instead of the usual three. Electrosonic, which was involved in three of the final projects, emerged as the overall winner of Installation of the Year for ‘Thinktank’, the Birmingham Museum of Science and Discovery. The other finalists were Williams F1 Conference Center and Grand Prix Museum; the Vanco Lab Presentation Environment; the Sheraton Frankfurt 270 degree AV installation; and The Big Picture at Imperial War Museum North.

The principal criteria applied to the judging process were evidence of innovation and company performance, coherent strategies and objectives, capable implementation, the appropriate use of technologies and creati

Details
The resources of Creative Technology and Dimension Audio were combined at this year’s Paris Motor Show, where their integrated technology created presentation media, IT infrastructure and audio playback solutions for a number of exhibits. While CT debuted their newly-acquired Barco SLM G8 projectors on the Lexus stand, the centrepiece was the Ford stand, where Kylie Minogue helped launch the new StreetKa.

CT used Dimension Audio as the sound supplier. The latter, working for Imagination, provided a system to fulfil the requirements of sound designer, John Del Nero. The sound source delivery was all from hard disk and the automated show was played out through Dimension’s front-line d&b sound rig. Dimension also provided editing facilities in the form of their Syntrillium Cool Edit Pro suite.

CT’s project manager, Darren Alexander, was overseeing the performance of th

Details
Some of the biggest names in television gathered at the Royal Albert Hall in London on October 15 for the ITV 2002 National Television Awards. But everyone in the packed auditorium had a ring-side seat - thanks to the presence of several Screenco big screen displays. The main backdrop was a 40sq.m 25mm LED screen, upstage centre, reinforced by two 13 x 8 sq. metre 15mm IMAG displays, situated left and right of the stage. Screenco also provided a plasma display for the backstage press area.

While the centre screen was sent a feed comprising of stage close-ups, the flanking screens and plasma display took its feed from the live television mix. Hosts Trevor McDonald and Tess Daley presented the awards, screened on ITV1, while this year ITV2 also broadcast exclusive coverage from backstage and the glamorous after-show party. Graham Filmer, director and general manager at Screenco commented

  1. Component symbols from Stardraw
  2. Barco announces $3m order from AVW-TELAV
  3. Major AV installation for GLA City Hall
  4. XL Video supplies Our House
  5. New Projected Image Digital takes RADlite distribution
  6. XL Video on Coldplay
Page 158 of 335

Latest Issue. . .