Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
Doughty - Banner - ABTT (27 May - 5 June)

Business

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Worldwide - Like floating cities, Carnival Cruise Lines offer their passengers a lot of variety. Now grandMA's play a key role in the line's entertainment show control. "The grandMA system is an important component for technical operations in the main showroom on our ships," says Preston Bircher, entertainment technical projects manager for Carnival. "Most ships have between two and seven production shows and although they're completely different, they utilise the same basic rig and light plot. The difference is in the programming with all the moving lights and colour changers. The flexibility of the grandMA system is fantastic," he continues.

Demfis Fyssicopulos of dfdesign served as grandMA lighting programmer for Carnival's 2,052-passenger Sensation, with the next installation scheduled for the line's 2,052-passenger Fascination. "These vessels are si

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UK - When the Rose Bowl was constructed at the start of the millennium, offering a new headquarters for Hampshire County Cricket Club, it offered all the facilities expected of a modern stadium. Shaped like a circular amphitheatre, its flexible capacity of 9,000-plus rose to over 19,000 for the 2006 Twenty20 International between England and Sri Lanka. In addition to offering cricket at the highest level, the stadium also hosts rock concerts and numerous functions and conferences.

But five years after Hampshire played their first county match at the Rose Bowl, there were signs that the public address system was leaving a lot to be desired - particularly in terms of speech intelligibility and even distribution. This is vital, not only for voice evacuation purposes, but for spectators to keep up with the commentaries from the scorer's boxes.

Rose Bowl plc, the owner of Hampshire

Renkus-Heinz - Banner - May 2025

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UK - The Rizla Unleashed Music Festival delivered a weekend of music from a breath-taking cliff-top location overlooking Watergate Bay in Newquay, UK in early August. The sold-out event, Cornwall's largest music festival, attracted 14,500 people for the weekend. Friday's headliner Feeder were joined by The Automatic, Mystery Jets, Captain and others, while Starsailor and Graham Coxon headlined the Saturday show.

Concert Sound UK was in charge of sound production and provided their new Adamson enclosures to use. Concert Sound's new T-21 Subs garnered excitement from System Tech, Andy Walker, who commented: "They deliver all that was promised and more. What a stunning sounding, innovative product!"

The sound system design was perfected by Didier Del Fitto of DV2 - Adamson Europe, who chose 24 Adamson Y10s and six Adamson Spektrix as downfills for the main arrays. A tot

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UK - Denon DJ have signed a sponsorship deal with MOBO Award-winning DJ Shortee Blitz. Nominated again for a MOBO in this year's Best DJ category Shortee remains one of the UK's most influential hip hop exponents, with two weekly radio shows on KISS FM. The DJ will be using a pair of Denon's flagship DN-S3500 CD/MP3 players on future dates around the world, and to premix his radio show.

An avowed devotee of vinyl, Shortee's signature skills of cutting and mixing have been honed over a long career. But in the new millennium he has had to face the reality of the market. "The fact is that less and less music is being pressed on vinyl these days and I needed something that would make the transition (to CD) easily. I have tried various vinyl emulation devices but they just don't have that feel."

He was urged to try Denon's flagship CD/MP3 player, the DN-S3500 by Simon Fra

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USA - Eat to the Beat flew 6 top catering crew from the UK over to Chicago to work alongside the 18 strong predominantly Chicago based team for Lollapalooza 2006. The event was produced by Capital Sports & Entertainment and Charles Attal Presents, with catering provided over 11 days on site.

For three days Grant Park was transformed into a celebration of music with fans gathering from around the world to enjoy one of the summer's most powerful line-ups including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kanye West, The Raconteurs, The Flaming Lips and more than 120 other bands.

On show days, the Eat to the Beat team were catering for 850 people, three meals a day. Menus were planned in advance to take into consideration the hot weather and the many dietary requirements. Key favourites during the festival included the full Anglo-American breakfast to cater for varying tastes of the international

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Worldwide - Marquee Audio have helped solve a logistical problem for Britannia Row Productions at the mixing desk on the current Robbie Williams Close Encounters European tour.

Faced with a large returns system, Brit Row had been amalgamating all sources at front-of-house and then running the signals via a digital matrix to create the various sends to the speaker system.

"The loudspeaker controllers were also digital input - which meant that a large number of digital channels were travelling from FOH to stage left and right," notes Marquee's digital manager, Andy Huffer. Seeking a more efficient solution, Britannia Row settled on an Optocore system, due to its simplicity and reliability.

Roly Oliver, the production company's equipment manager, says: "Optocore was always top of our list in terms of audio quality, history and configurability - and the fact that

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UK - Digidesign have completed an outstanding summer in spectacular fashion.The Reading Festival, which traditionally brings the curtain down on the UK festival season, saw the company's Venue live sound environment mixing each of the headline acts over the three nights of the Bank Holiday event.

Furthermore, Venue's D-Show console was the only digital desk used anywhere during the festival (SSE's main production system being a pair of analogue boards in the monitor and front-of-house positions).

The Friday night headliners were Scottish chart toppers Franz Ferdinand, where Parker was piloting the mix. The following night classical festival band Muse closed the show as a curtain raiser to their Autumn European tour. Marc Carolan, already a Venue veteran, was at FOH on a Skan PA-supplied D-Show while a second desk was at monitor city, under the command of Adam Taylor.

On Sund

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UK - There was something for everyone at this year's Global Gathering on the 28-29 July, and with acts such as Daft Punk and Fatboy Slim. Held at Long Marston Airfield, Stratford Upon Avon, there was a capacity crowd of 25,000 camping on Friday, and 45,000 on Saturday. Global Gathering boasted eight Primary stages (seven tents and 1 outdoor) as well as numerous sub stages, and was promoted by Angel Festivals (a joint venture by Angel Music Group and Live Nation).

Simon Barrington, production manager says: "As co-designer for the stages, and lighting designer for the site my concentration on the looks for all the stages was always going to be biased towards lighting. I have always had the belief that punters should walk away from the gig, having experienced the ultimate in audio and visual shows."

Barrington says: "My reasons for choice of fixtures were threefold

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USA / Czech Republic - Color Kinetics and Robe Show Lighting today announced a global licensing agreement whereby Robe will have access to Color Kinetics' complete patent portfolio, enabling the development and sale of its LED Series and Anolis product lines.

Robe is a 15-year manufacturer of moving light systems that are widely used in theatrical, touring, television and other entertainment applications. Its LED-based product lines apply Color Kinetics' proprietary control methods to generate millions of colours and colour-changing effects. The global license will apply to sales of Robe products in all markets covered by Color Kinetics' patent portfolio.

Bill Sims, president and CEO of Color Kinetics, says: "The entertainment lighting market was among the first to embrace intelligent LED lighting technology, and with ever-increasing LED performance, we believe that deman

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Germany - Angelo Kelly has been counting on the both compact and powerful HK Audio active PA systems, for quite some time.

Kelly recently published his first solo album I'm Ready which he is now on tour with. To make sure that the rock and pop songs reach the audience perfectly, Kelly has chosen HK Audio equipment again and this time, it's even two Actor DX systems. That's a total of 6.400 Watts out of twelve compact cabinets (four active subwoofers, four passive subwoofers, four mid/high units) which the company says, are filling up the halls with clarity and dynamics even under full load, thanks to HK Audio's DDO controller.

Kelly and his live band - as well as the quality of the Actor DX systems - can be experienced live on stage until 1 October, when final gig of the tour will take place in the Stollwerk venue in Cologne/Germany.

(Chris Henry)

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Baldwin Boxall Communications Limited will be displaying the new Vigil Eclipse2 stand-alone voice alarm/public address system at Firex North, 17-18 October, Harrogate - stand A27.

Visitors to the stand will be able to witness a demonstration of the increasingly popular Vigil CommuniCare Advance (disabled refuge system) and VIGIL FireCare (fire telephone system).The cost-effective, wall-mountable Vigil Eclipse2 voice alarm (VA) (or public address (PA)) system has the ability to handle up to seven single or four dual circuit zones. Eclipse2 contains the EVAS DSP controlled routeing matrix at its heart and, as a result, has many features. The unit, which is smaller than its predecessor (480mm x 200mm x 680mm), houses one 2U amplifier mainframe providing space for the power supply and up to two amplifiers from Baldwin Boxall's Vigil2 Class D range. Up to 128 Eclipse2s can be linked togethe

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USA - XL Touring Video is video contractor for the 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday 27 September. Ken Ehrlich of Ken Ehrlich Productions brought his production team to XL in early August to work with XL's Bob Magee, Chris Mitchell, Dave Hyslop and Matt Pearson to ascertain what LED technology would be used to create a new look for this year's Awards.

Production designers John Shaffner and Joe Stewart looked at all of XL's current technologies with show producers, Renato 'Ron' Basile and Michael Seligman before deciding on three Barco I6 LED Screens for the award intro graphics and two Barco MiPix Screens that presented the supporting graphics.

John Shaffner says: "The scenic metaphor for television was pixilation. The concept of pixellation was illustrated by the MiPix which gave us 5" on centre format. It takes many pixels to make a big picture just as th

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Russia - G8 Summits, annual meetings of the leaders of eight of the world's leading industrial nations, which are hosted by the country holding the rotating year-long presidency, require an enormous logistical and technological expenditure.

The mere task of translating the numerous speeches, press conferences and communiqués into the requisite number of languages involves a huge team of translators and interpreters working under considerable time pressure for long hours.

For this year's summit in St Petersburg, the decision was taken to employ a Voice-Over-IP system - the first time one had been used at a G8. Two of the Advanced Digital Audio Matrices (ADAMs) in Moscow were expanded with the addition of RVON-8 cards, and translation stations, connected by intercom systems, established by VGTRK in various parts of St. Petersburg to ensure that live interviews, press conf

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UK - Somerset-based Opus Audio recently designed and specified a complete audio revamp of the Monkey Club club, bar and restaurant venue in Swansea. Monkey - founded eight years ago by Paul Dyke and Annabel Davey, has a relaxed, Bohemian atmosphere and a busy live entertainment programme embracing a wide range of music and styles from around the world.

The 400-capacity venue is spread across three storeys and includes two dancefloors, a chill-out room and a roof terrace bar. Monkey has become a hugely popular off-high street phenomena in the city. Opus Audio's Andy Fox worked closely with owner Paul Dyke and sound engineer Paul Cunningham to devise the right audio package for the friendly, lively and multi-layered environment at Monkey, consulting with Leisuretec Distribution's Andy Duffield.

Duffield assisted with the specification of the front end equipment, which included u

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UK / Bulgaria - Switchcraft has strengthened its international representation by appointing Sofia based AT Company to stock and supply its connectors, patchbays and cable assemblies to the broadcast and professional audio markets in Bulgaria.

Stephen Waldron, Switchcraft's director of international sales, says: '"AT Company is a well established supplier within its market place and we are very pleased to enter this new relationship that will increase the availability of our products and introduce the Switchcraft range to new customers."

(Chris Henry)

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UK - Epic Dickens tales have been the name of the game recently for the in-house designers at Autograph. They have been involved in the new productions of Nicholas Nickleby and Two Cities at Chichester Festival Theatre and Salisbury Playhouse respectively.

Nick Lidster and Matt Mckenzie designed the David Edgar version of one of Charles Dickens' greatest novels, which formed part of the 2006 Season at The Chichester Festival Theatre. Broken down into two parts, the captivating story was told in a marathon six and a half hours of wonderful ensemble theatre, accompanied by new music written by Matthew Scott.

Not content with this ample workload, Nick Lidster also found time to design Noel Coward's Tonight at 8:30 in the Minerva Theatre, the studio space at the Festival Theatre. Meanwhile in Salisbury, Chris Full has designed The Playhouse's new musical produ

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UK - With its broadest agenda in the show's history, the seminar programme at this year's PLASA '06 (September 10-13 at Earls Court One) will offer an insight into technical developments, as well as addressing some of the key issues facing businesses today.

New technologies lead the way with Sunday's opening seminar - Out of Home Leisure Entertainment - considering the application of interactive and 4D technologies and the growing crossover between the themed attraction and theatre sectors.

This trend continues throughout the four days, with a range of technical seminars providing the core of the programme: sound system designers and operators of public spaces and transport networks will be interested in Intelligible Intelligibility - how to make PA and VA systems understandable and meet intelligibility standards, whilst those more focused on lighting can attend

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Luxembourg - For a long time the large area around Luxembourg, Saarland-Lorraine, has lacked one thing, a multi-functional hall designed primarily for music events and concerts. With its technical, acoustic and logistic facilities the new 'Rockhal' fills this hole, catering for any show from international artists to local music events.

The opening concert featured The Prodigy and Korn, attracting sell-out audiences. Since opening, many acts have featured at the Rockhal including Simply Red, Michael Bublé, Duran Duran, Clawfinger, Soulfly, Fish, Marillion and Chris Rea. Apart from live performances 'Rockhal' was also the venue for the MTV-produced iDance.

The 'Rockhal' has two venues, the Club Hall which holds up to 1,200, and the Main Hall which can accommodate 6,500 people. There are also six extra rooms for rehearsals, a ballroom and a recording studio. A uniqu

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Ukraine - Kiev-based PA company, Sendi Pro Sound & Stage, recently managed sound reinforcement for the largest international youth worship festival, which was held at the Sports Palace in Kiev, Ukraine, employing four Allen & Heath consoles - two ML5000 VCA mixers a GL4000 and GL2200.

Over 4,000 young people from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, as well as Western Europe, USA, Canada and Australia attended the two-day My Time festival, making it the largest gathering of young worshipers from all denominations.

The event comprised motivational sermons, DJ's, and live performances from leading religious rock, pop and folk bands. Headline artists were Delirious (UK), New Jerusalem (Belarus), Drujki (Russia), and Masada (Ukraine/Canada), with support from GX International, Kick Off, Calvary Chapel Band (Ukraine), Hill Song Praise Band (Ukraine), and Team X-Treme.

Yury Khomenko,

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UK - Laser Visuals Research will present a one-day course in laser display safety at the Kent Science Park on 20 September, covering the key aspects that need to be considered by anybody involved in working with laser displays. The course combines theory with practical examples of many topics, enabling attendees to gain valuable knowledge and insight into what is necessary to perform safe and enjoyable laser displays.

In addition to the subjects covered in the course, attendees will be given a copy of the company's 200-page handbook on laser display safety, and a certificate of attendance. Each Certificate of Attendance includes a unique serial number allowing the attendee to register free of charge on the company's new online database of Registered Laser Safety Operators. The cost of the course is £245 + VAT for one delegate, or £445 + VAT for two. Please contact Ju

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UK - PLASA' 06's DJ Sunday will have loads to offer the next generation of DJs with more special features and events being planned for this year's Show than ever before.

New technologies continue to define the pace with all the latest developments in DJ and VJ technology on show from leading names such as Pioneer, Allen & Heath, Stanton, Gemini, DMC, Ebsel / Proxfade, Numark, Rane and US Blaster. PLASA '06 will also give aspiring DJs the opportunity to mix with some of the best-known names in the business, as well as a chance to witness the record-breaking music event of the year, as world renowned DJ, Cut La Roc, simultaneously mixes on 20 CDJs and 10 mixers.

In addition to on-stand demos, giveaways and workshops - including TalkZones where music industry experts talk about different aspects of DJ'ing and dance music - there'll also be the Gemini 'Extreme V' DJ Competition -

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UK - There's less than 48 hours to go to PLASA '06 - the key exhibition for professionals in the audio, lighting and AV industries.

Pre-registration is still available, with entry at half-price, to take advantage of the opportunity to see leading-edge products, and catch up with friends and colleagues.

For a full round-up of what's happening at PLASA '06 - from product launches from the industry's leading 500 brands, to new feature areas addressing specific technologies, and from a greatly expanded programme of events and seminars, to the chance to win £1,000 in a major prize draw competition - check out the Show website link below.

(Chris Henry)

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UK - London-based event services company PSL has enjoyed its busiest season ever, supplying the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) with giant LED screens for cricket grounds throughout the UK. The 2006 contract has included a significant increase in the number of domestic games, more than 40 fixtures in the NatWest Pro40 League alone.

For the increasingly popular international matches, PSL is providing the ECB with Lighthouse 16mm LED screens. Two such screens, 6.84m x 9.14m, leapfrog one another around the country to the main grounds where they are mounted on goal-post type structures, built by PSL and branded by main match sponsors NatWest and Npower.

For each match, PSL provides the LED display with content from a dedicated PSL OB truck. The unit, which is using SDI transmission, is a fully-equipped production centre, capable of accepting eight SDI and two analogue input

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UK - A.C. Lighting Ltd has announced details of a major online competition to win a Jands Vista S3 lighting control system and bonus Vista prize draw at this year's PLASA Show. The competition coincides with the launch of the new Vista S3 and Vista App hardware and software solutions, and is open to participants living in Europe, North America and the Middle East.

The main online competition officially launches on the A.C. Lighting stand at PLASA 06 - where the company will be showing final production models of the new Vista solutions - and runs until Friday 1st December 2006. Entrants have the chance to win a 1024-channel Vista S3 (with a list price of £4,200 / $9,244) or one of 100 free one-day Vista training vouchers.

The online competition consists of two stages. Entrants first download the Vista App PC software and follow instructions provided to build a basic light

  1. Marquee provide for the Big Chill
  2. Liverpool's Mathew Street Festival
  3. Win a signed Beatles Lithograph at PLASA
  4. White Light to distribute LSC
  5. d&b at Bradford Museum
  6. Antari appoints new UK distributor
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