UK - The NEC in Birmingham has completely refitted its Skywalk with LED lighting to improve the visitor experience while saving energy and lowering carbon emissions.

The NEC asked MHA Lighting to devise a bespoke solution for the Skywalk that would reduce energy bills whilst improving light quality.

MHA Lighting were also selected to replace the traditional fluorescent lighting in their Concourse and Gallery suites with their LED lighting that uses wave guide technology to achieve energy savings of up to 80% with intelligent controls.

MHA Lighting installed 144 TiLites in the Concourse and Gallery Suites and 260 bespoke RodLites above the 400m long Skywalk that were designed to be match the NEC's corporate branding and to be in-keeping with lighting finishes in other areas.

Georgia - Chauvet is lighting one of the historical buildings in Era Square of the subtropical European city of Batumi located on the shores of the Black Sea. A former national bank for decades, the building is under construction inside, but completely refurbished on the outside, uplit by 121 COLORado 3p IP and 33 COLORado 1 IP fixtures.

Both carrying an IP 66 rating and designed to withstand the harshest weather conditions, COLORado 3p IP and COLORado 1 IP are designed for this kind of permanent outdoor installation in a climate where showers are frequent all year long.

The lights dress all four levels of the building's exterior in saturated washes. The architecture combined with the lighting design transform this building every night at twilight into a fairytale-like castle. All fixtures have been programmed to automatically start-up when ambient light gets low.

Audio and

Germany - Audio manufacturer Audient will be showcasing its latest compact recording console ASP4816 at ProLight + Sound, this time at a new booth location shared with Dorset-based microphone manufacturer, Sontronics in Hall 5.1 A71. Audient also takes this opportunity to present regional sales manager Simon Horn, who will be on hand on the booth demonstrating products and meeting customers.

Horn handles sales & support for the German, Swiss and Austrian territories since the recent decision to deal directly with these customers was taken. "This is the first time many of our European customers will have had chance to get their hands on our latest analogue console," he says. "It's a fantastic desk, and I have every confidence that there will be a lot of interest during the show."

(Jim Evans)

The Netherlands - The Final Qountdown ended 2011 for the Trance and Techno scene in the Netherlands. Taking place in Amsterdam's Heineken Music Hall the event, it was organised by Q-Dance. Lighting designer Tamil van Draanen was keen on giving this event, the last version of a series of Qountdowns, a special mood. Using a grandMA2 full-size and a grandMA2 light as backup gave him the assurance needed to accomplish his mission.

Programmer and operator Martijn van Summeren stated, "We chose the grandMA2 consoles for two main reasons. First because of the extended Timecode function. The show contained seven timecoded shows, one of which was nearly 15 minutes long. Second because of its rich and varied programming features.

"Macros helped me to create the show quickly, and the Effects Engine gave me the creative freedom that I needed to create a dynamic sho

The Netherlands - ISE 2012 gave Alcons Audio the opportunity to again demonstrate how pro-ribbon audio technology is bringing an ever-more lifelike experience to 3D cinema.

For the second year running, a highlight of the show was the 3D theatre, which brought together several of the leading manufacturers of 3D cinema equipment to provide a real world demonstration of their technology.

A collaboration between Alcons, DVS (who provided the server and content), Image Screens (projection screen), Infitec (3D glasses) and Lang AG (projection), visitors were treated to a range of 3D Blu-Ray and CD presentations, including Teutonic rockers The Scorpions in concert action.

The Alcons 5.1 surround system comprised a CRMS (15" LF, 8" MF, 4" pro-ribbon HF) front system and 12 CRMS surround speakers (which feature 8" MF and 4" pro-ribbon HF). Powered and control

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ETC Halcyon Silent

High End Systems Halcyon Silent builds on ETC’s legacy of fanless automated fixtures by incorporating features from the highly sought-after Halcyon family. Halcyon Silent perfectly balances silent operation with brilliant output of 18,400 lumens and high-impact features. 

For more information visit us at www.etcconnect.com

USA - Sensaphonics has announced the opening of its new online store. The new e-commerce site is primarily devoted to parts and accessories for Sensaphonics custom earphones and earplugs, and features a secure checkout system powered by Volusion.

"When our clients are on tour, the need for items like replacement cables and desiccant is obviously not limited to business hours," notes Michael Santucci, Sensaphonics founder and president. "Our secure online store allows our customers to order the supplies they need online, anytime."

Notable accessories available online include the dB Check in-ear sound level analyzer, Dry & Store Zephyr desiccant system, and earphone supplies such as Oto-Ease lubricant, cleaning wipes and earpiece soft wraps. Replacement parts run the gamut from earphone cables and cleaning tools to Pelican storage cases and replacement filter

Germany - The Avolites Group takes to the road for 2012's first international trade fair for the events technology sector covering a broad spectrum of products and services with their German partner Trendco in Hall 11, stand D50 and C50 at ProLight+Sound in Frankfurt. Avolites Media Ltd. will exhibit its new Ai Media Server in tandem with Avolites Ltd's Sapphire Touch and Titan Mobile lighting control consoles.

Recently, Avolites Media Ltd bought the intellectual property rights to manufacture and distribute the Ai Media Server worldwide. Prolight + Sound offers visitors the chance to view the future of this advanced and fast developing system. As well as demonstrating the currently available Ai Media Server, visitors will be granted the first preview of Sapphire Media. The Sapphire Media Live Video Controller creates a new class of show media controllers unlike anything seen be

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Create new traditions – Cameo P6 - High Output Full-Spectrum Ellipsoidal

Cameo's P6 is a future-proof LED profiler with a powerful 600 W RGBACL engine and 16,000 lumens. It’s an energy-efficient replacement for 2.5 kW halogen profile lights in theatres and venues. With excellent light quality and natural colour rendering, it fits perfectly in theatres, musicals, TV studios, congresses, and live events.

With an LED life of 50,000 hours and low power use, the P6 cuts energy costs and supports the EU’s ‘Green Deal’ goals for climate neutrality by 2050. It also meets updated eco-design rules for lighting.

www.cameolight.com/p6profile

Germany - ProLight + Sound 2012 will be the scene of a major celebration for MDG and cast C.Adolph & RST Distribution as the two companies celebrate a long-standing association. The show marks the 20th anniversary of MDG's appointment of cast C.Adolph & RST Distribution GmbH as its distributor for Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

"Twenty years in Germany in association with the same people and the same company is a real cause for celebration," says MDG's Martin Michaud. "Cast has been fantastic in support of MDG products and the team, led by Heinz Siller, have worked tirelessly to bring MDG to a wide range of customers. Prolight & Sound is an opportunity to celebrate the journey so far and to look forward to the next twenty years."

MDG will be displaying the latest version of its dual mode Digital Atmospheric Generator, theONE complete with its adaptable t

USA - Roger Keim who heads up the marketing department at d&b audiotechnik Inc. knew exactly why the company wanted to have a presence at the first ever PLASA Focus in Austin Texas.

"The idea of regional trade events is very appealing to d&b audiotechnik because of the more personalised opportunities it affords our clients. We also recognise that the tie-up between ESTA and the PLASA organisation can only strengthen the industry's voice at government level; so we felt it was doubly important to support this inaugural show."

The d&b audiotechnik booth featured two distinctly different loudspeakers this year, both from the Black range. Part of the T-Series is the T10, a multifunctional cabinet that can be used either as a line array or as a high directivity point source loudspeaker. The HF driver is fitted to a unique waveguide horn producing vertical linesource direct

Germany - Italian loudspeaker manufacturer dBTechnologies will unveil a wide selection of new products at this year's ProLight+Sound exhibition, welcoming visitors to its now established 780sqm booth space in Hall 8, G70 shared with cousin brand RCF.

Preferring to keep full information under its collective hat however, the dBTechnologies team reveals just a few choice details prior to the show giving customers a taster of what they have to look forward to later on this month.

Amongst the professional audio offerings, comes the upgraded Opera DX line, billed as the next chapter of the celebrated Opera series' 12-year success story. With a level of reliability that is expected of the well-established range, Opera DX benefits from the latest available technology, and has been augmented with in-house developed digipro G2 power amps and other state-of-the-art features which improve

Germany - d3 will introduce its software only version, d3 Designer, to press and public during ProLight + Sound 2012.

d3 was previously only available as a software/hardware bundle. The new d3 Designer is a software only solution that has all the powerful features of d3 but with the outputs water marked. Made specially for show creators, content designers, projectionists, project managers and other video production professionals, d3 Designer is billed as "the most advanced integrated production platform in the market".

Shows created on d3 Designer are transferable to both 2U and 4U d3 production systems. d3's real-time stage simulator also allows for pre-vis of moving screens and props, "giving full control of your show - on the train, or the plane, or even in your hotel".

(Jim Evans)

UK - Harting's new Ha-VIS preLink(R) interconnection system offers a new installation concept for data network cabling according to ISO/IEC 1180.1, and is suited to heavy-duty applications in theatre backstage and upstage areas.

The new connection technology simplifies cabling, saves installation time and enables extensions and conversions without incurring significant interruptions to existing operations.

With the Ha-VIS preLink(R) system, the data cable is first assembled in the preLink(R) termination block, which then simply snaps into the preLink(R) standard RJ45 jacks or optional Harting plug modules. The preLink(R) cables can be either terminated in the field or factory supplied pre-terminated in a reliable, performance-guaranteed, pre-tested state.

Installation flexibility is enhanced by easy replacement and 'drag through' in narrow ducting of the small cross-section

Germany - Merging Technologies will be exhibiting at Prolight + Sound on stand #8.0 G18A. Horus, Merging's new flagship I/O system is now being delivered and is already making its mark on the live sound market, just as it is with high end music recording and broadcast. For this reason, Merging Technologies decided to exhibit in Frankfurt on its own stand rather than that of a local distributor.

Horus has been designed as a stand-alone converter of the highest quality, but its utility is hugely increased by becoming an IP 'node' on a RAVENNA network. Combined with Merging's MassCore, performance and flexibility takes on another dimension and allows comprehensive routing and control of the astonishing I/O capability of the converter, says the company.

This highly scalable solution has applications right across the industry from the simplest location recording and mastering to ma

UK - XL Video provided video production - including LED screens, projection system, PPU and cameras for the 2012 Brit Awards, staged for the second year running at London's O2 Arena.

The event was the 11th year in a row that XL Video and (XL Project manager Paul Wood) has been a supplier to the event, working for technical production co-ordinator Papilo Productions and producers Brits TV.

Peter Bingemann's stage set design was inspired by the work of British pop artist Peter Blake, and consisted of a series of different sized white box frames, which were filled with artefacts and props, and two LED screens, also ensconced in box frames. The stage left screen measured 8.1m high and 4.5 wide, while the stage right one was a 4.5m square surface, both made from Pixled F-11.

In front of these, on the downstage edge of the stage were three more F-11 screens, two 4 x 4m squares on

South Africa - On 20 January, Gerriets offered its second Technical Presentation on the Latest Overseas Entertainment Technology in Johannesburg. Organised by its South African distributor, Gerriets South Africa /AVL Distribution, the session was held at Radio Park within the Auckland Park headquarters campus of the SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation). SABC Radio Park was a perfect venue for this event, as it is equipped with Gerriets curtains, track systems, and roller screens that were installed in late 2010.

Andreas Gause, Gerriets GmbH director of sales and marketing, travelled from the company headquarters in Germany to present a comprehensive introduction to the full scope of Gerriets products. Lasting two-and-a-half hours and addressing more than 170 current and prospective customers, the presentation focused on projection screens, textiles, and rail syst

Qatar - Dubai-based event production company Kenkaato has produced the first ever live public music event to be staged in the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) Park in Doha, Qatar.

The initial concert in a series of music shows planned over the coming months was headlined by Yusuf Islam/Cat Stevens - also on his first ever live appearance in the Middle East - and was completely sold out, attracting a capacity audience of 2,800 including 221 VIPs and senior members of the Qatari Royal Family.

Kenkaato is a new company established by Sarah Whitmarsh and Daryl Payne to provide imaginative, turnkey, full production solutions for all types of live events.

Both Whitmarsh and Payne have extensive experience working on a variety of large scale and high profile productions in the Middle East region.

The company's brief for the MIA Park show from the Qatar Museums Authority included the p

UK - Spanish singer-songwriter Juan Zelada's debut single Breakfast in Spitafields achieved Record of the Week status last summer. Fast becoming one of the most talked about names on the music scene he was awarded a prize at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA), for his songwriting. Since then, Zelada has been A-listed three times in a row; and he has just released his debut album High Ceilings and Collarbones, which has already received critical acclaim as well as Radio 2 Record of the Week status.

On the road, Zelada and his guitarist Luke Higgins both use Trace Acoustic TA200s. "The TA200 is so easy to set up - it's like a PA in a box and the sound quality is absolutely phenomenal," Zelada states. "It's particularly versatile, as it has two channels; I just plug in my mic and guitar, and I am able to get a crystal clear tone as well a

UK - The Hire Company's South coast office has moved to custom built freehold units on the new Christchurch Business Park, Radar Way, Christchurch, Dorset BH23 4FL. The new home for The Hire Co. more than doubles the storage and equipment preparation space, allowing the company to set up and fully test larger projectors and demonstrate its larger equipment to customers.

Manager Scott Clarke commented, "This eagerly awaited move will help The Hire Co. to deliver an even more efficient service to our hire and conference customers. Last year saw us service a record number of events, producing record turnover. This has seen continued investment in more equipment, the latest delivery of our new 16,000 ANSI lumens Panasonic PT-EX16 Projectors, pushing our old unit to breaking point.

"Whereas parking and loading in our old premises was a chore, this is not the case at Chris

France - Le Camji is a dedicated performance space that includes a 320-seat auditorium right in the centre of the bustling city of Niort in western France. First opened in the year 2000, Camji's mission is to support cultural diversity through the medium of contemporary music in general and amplified modern music in particular.

The organisation therefore plays an active role in supporting local talent and introducing young performers to modern technology, as well as hosting concerts from well known and established artists. When the time came to upgrade their audio facilities, Le Camji turned to Poitiers-based systems integrators, Agora Audio, who specified and installed a full digital solution based on a EtherSound network throughout and an Eclipse GT digital console from Innovason.

According to Agora's David Rocher, it was the Camji's role of nurturing local talent by offerin

USA - Students at Valley Christian Schools' Conservatory of the Arts in San Jose, Calif. are honing their musical skills in a high-tech rehearsal and performance facility unlike any other in the country. Completed in late 2011, the new Conservatory building incorporates a multipurpose rehearsal hall that can be used as one large room or divided into two smaller spaces. In any of the three space configurations, the acoustical characteristics can be instantly optimised for music style and ensemble size using the permanently installed Meyer Sound Constellation acoustic system.

"The school wanted acoustics with exceptional variability," says James Black of Acoustic Dimensions' San Diego office and principal acoustical consultant for the Conservatory project. "The idea was to accommodate anything from a small string ensemble to a full marching band, either for rehearsa

Europe / USA - Alan 'Big Nobby' Hopkinson has been a fixture on the London live sound scene for some time now. Perhaps best known as the perennial front of house mixer for Tool, Hopkinson spent most of 2011 on the road with System Of A Down. It was his first tour with the band, and his first behind a Midas digital mixing system - the PRO9.

"I've been a longstanding Midas user, but it's always been an XL4 analogue for me until now," notes Nobby. "I have used Midas digital previously though, as we have a PRO6 installed at Shepherd's Bush Empire, probably the busiest 2300-capacity theatre in London. I have babysat many engineers on it there, and have seen many come in apprehensive and leave amazed. So I knew what I was getting into."

With System Of A Down, Big Nobby used the PRO9 across Europe and North America, with occasional switches to a PRO6 as availabili

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