USA - BSR E1.18, Standard for the selection, installation, and use of single-conductor portable power feeder cable systems for use at less than 601 volts nominal for the distribution of electrical energy in the entertainment and live-event industries, offers guidance on the selection, installation, and safe use of single-conductor portable power feeder cable systems used in the entertainment and live-event industries as power distribution systems, and is available for review until 28 August 2006. The draft standard and its supporting materials are available at http://www.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php

In addition to being asked to review the document to see if it offers adequate advice, reviewers are asked to look for protected intellectual property in the draft standard. ESTA does n

UK - The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is the independent organisation responsible for providing national guidance on the promotion of good health and the prevention and treatment of ill health. Its remit covers guidance on public health, health technologies and clinical practice for the NHS in England and other parts of the UK.

NICE's main offices are in Holborn, London where the organisation has been based for the past three years. The Institute's main conference room, the Derwent Room, enjoys high utilisation by committees, researchers and other medical professionals wishing to conduct meetings and workshops in the pursuit of developing guidance for the NHS, and the room is also used for stakeholder meetings.

The auditorium can be configured in a number of ways: theatre style (taking up to 70 delegates), as well as in boardroom and classroom f

UK - XL Video renews its acquaintance with Roger Waters, supplying projection to the current tour plus an IMAG system to selected shows, which included his performance in London's Hyde Park last weekend.

Waters' is renowned for pioneering the integration and use of provocative moving images into his work, and this is no exception, with a complex, expressive and compelling video narrative running for the entire show. Video is a fundamental to a performance shot through with many serious political and psychological threads. It's acts an additional player onstage, with every image ands sequence loaded with meaning and relevance.

The tour has also visited some more off-circuit corners of the world, including Tel Aviv, Stavanger (Norway), Moscow and Istanbul. The first half of the show contains a selection of Waters and Pink Floyd classics, while the second half is dedicated to the

Russia - Staged at the Olimpiysky Sports Center in the Russian capital, the National Television Awards in Popular Music was attended by more than 20,000 people, and saw G-LEC provide 157 PhantomFrames to display the video images that served as a visual backdrop to the circular set.

Having designed the set to move up and down, the production company looked for the lightest and brightest LED system available, and chose G-LEC's lightweight, flexible and easily assembled PhantomFrame. The modular PhantomFrame system is capable of providing pixel by pixel rendering of full-speed video display signals, ensuring that the images, from a Catalyst media server and fed to the bank of LED frames via seven PC racks, were fast and smooth. In addition to the Awards, the audience was treated to performances from a host of Russian pop stars, including the once-controversial duo Tatu.

This was

UK - Foo Fighters fans at London's Hyde Park and the Father's Day gig in Manchester rocked on to Dave Grohl and his band's high-energy performance. The sun blazed and temperatures soared, but none of the action from the Foos or support bands Motorhead, Queens of the Stoneage, Angels & Airwaves and The Subways was lost on XL Video's Lighthouse R16 16mm LED video screens.

Three curved columns in a four x nine panel configuration graced centre stage, along with various other ground stacked curved screens - an impressive 160 panels of Lighthouse R16 in total. "The most complicated thing about this was that there was an overnight from Hyde Park up to Manchester," explains Phil Mercer, XL Video project manager for music and live events. "The screen needed to be quick and easy to set up and also lightweight because of limited weight loading on the stage. Lighthouse was t

UK In the last couple of years, Midlands-based Central Presentations Ltd (CPL) has gone from strength to strength, and its rapid expansion has meant they have had to rethink their whole business processes. Keeping tabs on its kit was paramount, and in this rental management solution inspHire played a key role.

Specialising in conference and live event production, as well as AV equipment hire and sales, CPL has seen massive growth recently. During this frenetic period, they were forced to consider all the facets of their business; from office and warehouse space to the modernisation of the old paperwork systems used to track and invoice its kit.

Increased investment in equipment meant the manual paperwork system began encountering problems - items were mislaid or left on site with no obvious way to trace them, as manual administration systems became time-consuming and laborious

UK - National WiseUp2Work Day will be held on Wednesday 30 August 2006. WiseUp2Work is a major initiative by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) to address head-on the issue of safety for the under 21s when they are starting work, apprenticeships or work experience. On average, 10 young people are killed and 2,500 badly injured every year.

The aim is to make employers, trainers, youth workers and teachers, and young people themselves, aware of the risks they face in the workplace and what they should be doing to mitigate them. WiseUp2Work is sponsored by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and supported by the National Youth Agency and the British Chambers of Commerce.

National WiseUp2Work Day is being staged at a time when many young people are embarking upon their careers or starting work experience placements, and are at the highe

UK - Crystal Clear Audio, a specialist in high quality AV installations for churches and schools, has installed a new sound system at St. Meryl's Primary School, Watford, on behalf of Carpenter's Park Church. The Church regularly uses the school's main hall for its services, but was frustrated by the poor quality of their old sound system - and Crystal Audio's experts were called in to sort it out.

"Our brief was to install a new system that was compact, simple to put together and very easy to use," says Crystal Clear's managing director, Nick Fatkin. "The main components of the system are Van Damme Black Series multicore cable and VDM connectors, all of which was supplied by VDC Trading. We also specified stage boxes and an Allen & Heath mixer, along with Shermann speakers that are permanently mounted on RSJs."

Client response to the new sound system has b

UK - United Visual Artists has used 240 Chroma-Q Color Blocks to provide a curving LED screen of lighting and video effects for Massive Attack's Collected 2006 international tour. The Color Blocks have been bought by Blackburn-based rental company HSL, main lighting contractor for the tour.

The group, currently touring Europe to promote their tenth anniversary 'Best Of' compilation, recently returned to the UK to play high-profile headline slots at the Wireless Festival 2006 in London and Leeds. For this, the third successive tour collaboration between the band and lighting designer Vince Foster, UVA wanted to create an entirely new, more organic and audio-responsive show for their onstage visuals, whilst still retaining the essence of the last two tours.

UVA had discussed the idea of surrounding the group with LEDs capable of displaying images and text, but which also doubled

UK - Single plasma displays are no longer acceptable in the foyers and reception areas of progressive corporate establishments, believes Tim Verran, a director of system integrators Ikure Audio Visual Management.

When that office is situated within the famous Northern and Shell Building on the Thames, presided over by publishing tycoon, Richard Desmond, that observation becomes particularly relevant.

ODL Securities Limited (ODLS) was founded in 1994 as Options Direct (Europe) Ltd in response to a movement away from the 'open outcry' system of trading on the LIFFE derivative products market. The company believed that the future for trading financial instruments would be screen based and the use of technology would be paramount in the development of the financial markets.

Boasting some of the widest ranging and most technologically advanced resources in the financial industry,

UK - XL Video is supplying projection for Canadian filmmaker Atom Ergoyan's critically acclaimed stage production of Samuel Beckett's Eh Joe, originally written for television in 1965 and never performed onstage before.

The production, was originally commissioned by The Gate Theatre, Dublin and The Barbican, London and has enjoyed short runs at both venues. It is currently in the West End at the Duke of York's Theatre for a three week twice-nightly run.

The compelling 25 minute drama features actor Michael Gambon sitting alone on a bed motionless and silent, behind a gauze, while an offstage camera trained on this face, slowly zooms in to a close up shot over the duration of the work, capturing all the nuances of his expression. A disembodied female voice-over reminds Joe of a past love affair that ended in tragedy when he drove the woman to suicide.

The image of Gamb

Europe / USA - Radiohead has gained a reputation as one of our era's most creative and eclectic bands. Musically, they keep their fans' affection with a mosaic of multilayered songs and continuous artistic evolution. On the road, the band maintains that cutting edge feel with a complementary lighting design by long time Radiohead LD Andi Watson.

As fans eagerly await the release date of a new album, Radiohead has begun debuting some of its new material on a European and North American tour. The tour also marks the debut outing for Martin's Mac 700 Wash.

Andi Watson, who helped beta-test the Mac 2000 Wash on a number of Radiohead's European shows in 2002, and subsequently used the luminaire on the band's Hail to the Thief tour, has real-world tested the Mac 700 Wash on this latest Radiohead tour. "I am incredibly impressed with the Mac 700 Wash," he says. "

UK - Charter Broadcast has built on its successful start to 2006, working on a range of sporting and television projects for some of the biggest names in the industry. Charter has been involved with a number of prestigious motor sports events, including the Monaco Grand Prix and French Grand Prix, where it provided digital radio camera systems, giving armchair viewers the best possible view of the action. Similarly, Charter provided two complete digital radio camera systems for the British Touring Car series and one digital radio camera system for British Superbikes, both of which involve live, prime-time transmission.

Aside from motor sports, Charter has continued its involvement in other sporting fields, providing the HD Link for the ACS Tethered Blimp System used in the Sky coverage of England's Test Cricket throughout the summer, and supplying two complete digital radio came

UK - Metro has appointed Danny Whybrow as managing director of its Broadcast Facilities Division, reporting to Peter Wright, Group CEO. Danny will join Metro from Blue Post Production where he was also managing director. In addition, Metro announced the investment of £200,000 of new technology and the appointment of two new bookings staff as part of a major expansion of the Soho-based facility.

Whybrow will be responsible for the broadcast facilities division that works on many projects from shoot to post, including Channel 4's fully HD show Totally Frank and the recent Isle of Wight Music Festival. Joining his current team of 56, will be Karen Hake from Dubbs and Alex Finch from TSI in bookings. The new equipment installed at Metro as part of this expansion will include major HD upgrades for the company's Avid systems, a Sony HD cam SR and Sony lenses.

"I brought D

UK - A new £7m boutique hotel development in Edinburgh's fashionable West End has been equipped from the ground up with audio products from the Fuzion plc catalogue.

The Hudson Hotel, the latest addition to the 21-strong Festival Inns portfolio, is the result of merging a former post office, night club and office block into a complete leisure operation, including 31 technology-led bedrooms, The Hudson Bar and Hudson Club. To fulfil the brief of providing cutting-edge technology the company turned to Edinburgh-based Dynamic Productions.

Dynamic's project manager Graeme Anderson has brought all his expertise to bear over the three hotel room floors, ground floor bar/reception and basement nightclub, where he has worked magnificently to convert a space with restricted ceiling height into a vibrant, atmospheric dance venue.

Working within the confines of a Grade-B restrict

USA - HME have announced the appointment of AVA Audio Video Associates, Inc., of St. Louis, Missouri; and First Choice Marketing, of Seattle, Washington to represent HME's DX Series and PRO850 wireless intercom systems.

AVA Audio is the latest manufacturing representative for the mid-west region; including Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa and Southern Illinois. First Choice Marketing will represent Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Northern Idaho and Western Montana.

AVA Audio Video Associates, Inc., offers large corporate and hotel customers "state of the art" equipment and responsive technical support, says the company. AVA Audio Video is a full service, audio visual provider, and has been an independent manufacturer's representative agency since 1988.

First Choice Marketing continually demonstrates excellence with its contract A/V integration, broadcast, touring/renta

UK - Sound Division Group report that demand for plasma displays was stretched to the limits during the recent FIFA World Cup. While all their existing hire stock of media displays was out on duty the company also made some notable sales to high profile venues.

"It proved to be a breathtaking three weeks," reports managing director, David Graham, "so much so that we immediately augmented our existing stock with a further 12 NEC 42in and 50in models."

Among the notable London venues that either hired or purchased displays were Charles and Adam Breeden's All Star Lanes and The Lonsdale. While the former ordered a 50in display, three 42in plasma screens were distributed around the exclusive Notting Hill bar restaurant.

1 Lombard Street brasserie in the City purchased three 42in plasmas, while the upmarket restaurants Beach Blanket Babylon and Nozomi also lai

Iceland - QSC signal transport system has been specified in the regenerated multi-room Eldborg Conference Centre, on the site of a famous geothermal spa in Iceland.

Situated just outside Reykjavik, The Blue Lagoon, one of Iceland's most popular choices for international visitors, is in the midst of a major redesign and expansion programme, set to complete by the spring of 2007. This will include the bathing, shower and lagoon facilities, but also a greater choice of restaurants - including a 250-cover diner built into a lava cliff - and the sophisticated Conference Centre. With three separate rooms and an entrance hall, it can accommodate up to 400 people (220 theatre style) in the largest of its reconfigurable facilities.

The new system is part of a turnkey AV upgrade of an existing system in which the ceiling speakers, amplifiers and video projectors have been retained.

Th

UK - 5 Star Cases will celebrate its 25th anniversary at PLASA 06, where it will show its diverse range of cases - and also have some fun. Marking the quarter century, 5 Star is holding the 'Speed Challenge' - where visitors can experience an exciting flight-cased racing simulation game - with prizes to be won.

The simulation includes high quality graphics and sound and the entire system is housed in a custom built 'Super Tour' flight case with racing seat, steering wheel and pedals. The 'Speed Challenge' will take the lap times from each hour of the show, and the visitor with the quickest time walks away with a 5 Star 25th anniversary, limited edition briefcase. More than that, the overall quickest time over the four days will receive a £2,500 voucher to spend at 5 Star Cases.

5 Star will also show a selection of cases from its various ranges, including the recently upd

UK - The Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA) was one of the main bodies representing the architectural, creative and live events sectors at the recent Olympics Business Summit, held in Leeds on Wednesday 19 July.

During the course of the Summit, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) - the body responsible for delivering the new venues and infrastructure for the Games, launched a draft version of its Procurement Policy - which outlines how it will manage the whole procurement process, including its selection and award criteria.

With the UK Government spending £3bn on the physical infrastructure for the Games, PLASA is keen to profile the creative and technical expertise of its membership and is preparing a guidance note for members to help them maximise their chances of winning key contracts. It will also be working with them to ensure they are fully aware

USA - PRG Video - a division of Production Resource Group (PRG) - has completed a major expansion of its rental inventory, increasing the company's service to key markets, including special events, corporate shows and Broadway productions.

Equipment recently acquired includes Digital Projection Highlite 12000 DSX and Lightning 35 HD projectors. PRG Video also offers an extensive inventory of 10,000 lumen projectors, manufactured by Barco. The new video equipment complements PRG's extensive projection technology resources.

"PRG has pioneered projection and video technology through multiple generations and applications - from the spectacular PANI and PIGI large format projectors to the fully-integrated video solutions based on our proprietary M-Box Extreme media server," says Jere Harris, chairman and founder of PRG. "This most recent investment once again gives u

USA - Production Resource Group (PRG) has named Scott Hansen as its chief financial officer, to be absed at the company's office in New Windsor, New York. Since joining PRG in 1997 from Ernst & Young, Hansen has held a series of key positions that have given him hands-on knowledge of the company's diverse locations and areas of operations, says the company.

As, successively, PRG's assistant corporate controller, controller of the lighting division, and corporate controller and vice-president of finance, he traveled extensively to PRG's offices throughout the country and in Europe, helping the company's operations executives refine their asset management and operating procedures. In early 2003, he was promoted to general manager of PRG Audio, based in Mount Vernon, New York and PRG Lighting, based in North Bergen, New Jersey. In 2005, Hansen also became the GM of PRG Video in Mou

UK - XL Video is the first UK company to purchase the Lightengine Patch 560 - a 75mm pixel-pitch LED display system which can serve as a dynamic, low resolution 'curtain', set or scenic element. XL's system has gone straight out on ITV4's regular live late night World Cuppa chat-show programme, which ran for the duration of the World Cup.

The Lightengine was specified by video and projection specialist Dick Straker of Mesmer (pictured), working with photographer Marcus Tate. Producer Joe Talbot wanted a theatrical mood to the show, and he, Tate and Straker, opted for a large, abstract image, constantly changing on camera. Lightengine seemed an ideal solution, as Straker needed some visual tools to make the set adaptable and changeable - the antithesis of more conventional plasma screen studio looks.

Talbot says: "Every new television show needs its own unique, visual look

UK - Last year, director Peter Sellars presented his Tristan und Isolde at the Opera Bastille in Paris, with specially commissioned contemporary visual art by Bill Viola as the backdrop to Wagner's opera.

This summer the work has been adapted into a museum-scale exhibition showing across two venues - Haunch of Venison Yard and St. Olave's College - and presenting over 10 new works under the title Love/Death: The Tristan Project.

At St. Olave's College these are being shown over four feature areas in two separate halls - ranging from room-sized video projections of image and sound (in the main assembly hall and gallery) to three smaller projection screens an a plasma display.

The highlight is the back-to-back presentation of Fire Woman and Tristan's Ascension in the main hall. Here, the artist displays high-definition projection onto a 19ft x 10.7ft screen using

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