Germany - Schertler expands into the pro audio market with the release of its new Yellow MIC500 microphone preamplifiers - single channel, full Class A, 500 series preamps that are specially designed for user installation in commercially available Lunchbox racks. The release heralds a new focus for the Swiss manufacturer who, over the last 30 years, has established a worldwide reputation for developing high quality contact microphones and acoustic amplification systems.

Available in three models, MIC500-TL, -TO and -TT, the Yellow MIC500's high quality electronics are contained within a totally shielded metal enclosure, while an anodized aluminium front panel provides intuitive access to its controls. These include a 12-step rotary switch for adjusting input sensitivity (in 3dB increments), plus an extra gain control for use in weak signal conditions or when connecting low out

USA - Built in 1963, the Guardian Angel Cathedral is the home church for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Vegas. The cathedral serves local families and Las Vegas tourists with its daily masses and other services. Its attractive 'A-frame' design features beautiful stained glass windows and polished tile floors. However, combined with a 66ft height, these features result in a high reverberation time which benefits the choir and organ but detracts from speech intelligibility.

The cathedral's older sound system was unable to provide acceptable voice quality in this reverberant environment. Thus, in 2015, Guardian Angel contacted Steve Keating of Mission Electronics in Las Vegas to analyse its system and recommend a course of action. Keating tested the existing system and found that the sound was muffled and the intelligibility was poor when the sanctuary was empty and even when

Germany - Wireless DMX drew major interest at Light + Building 2016, in Frankfurt showcasing the range of products featuring the new G5 software with Triple-Band technology and advanced Adaptive Frequency Hopping, along with their current OEM series including the fast-selling COB chip, a 6mm by 6mm RDM compliant DMX chip.

Wireless Solution were present for all six days, networking with existing and new customers from both the architectural and entertainment industries, discussing applications from street lighting and high bay installation, through to the entertainment business.

Additionally, Wireless Solution partnered with University of South Wales, to offer James Walton -student of BSc Lighting Design Technology in the UK - an opportunity to work at the show. James performed as an ambassador for the brand during the week as well as networking with other industry leaders

USA - Acclaimed film director Nick Redman once said of composer Alfred Newman: "He was a true musical force, and one that cannot in any sense be replaced." It was only fitting then that the University of Southern California named its acoustical gem of a recital hall after this film scoring icon, who won nine Academy Awards and was nominated 45 times, behind only Walt Disney and John Williams.

However, while the Alfred Newman Recital Hall on the USC campus has been earning international recognition for the purity of its acoustics, the 280-seat facility's incandescent lighting system has been aging. That is, until 4Wall Entertainment recently replaced it with an all-LED system that featured house lighting from Chauvet Professional's Ovation H-105WW LED Fixtures.

"The university wanted to retrofit this hall with an LED solution to save energy and save on the lamp changes," sa

UK - Aurora Lighting Hire supported Sport Relief with an extensive lighting package for the live broadcast from the Copper Box Arena at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Working with lighting director Gurdip Mahal, gaffer James Tinsley and team kitted out the arena with a range of automated fixtures that allowed the LD the maximum flexibility to easily switch between introductions that highlighting the important nature of the show and the diverse array of sketches and live performances staged throughout the evening.

A host of Martin Viper AirFX fixtures were combined with GLP XL X4s to provide deep colour within the cavernous sports arena, dissected by Clay Paky Sharpy and Mythos heads added for their superior spotting abilities. Aurora also provided a number of powerful Nova Flowers for their intense beam capablity, perfect for creating dramatic 'searchlight' effects acro

UK - Conference and live event technical services provider Saville Audio Visual has announced an exclusive UK partnership with US technology specialist Crowd Mics. Designed to harness true audience engagement, Crowd Mics is billed as "the ultimate way to achieve interactive delegate question management and control".

Tim Holladay CEO and co-founder at Crowd Mics commented, "Since our launch we've had significant interest from the UK and have been looking for the perfect partner to drive this forward. Saville combines a vast technical know-how with a forward-looking and personable team. Perfect for Crowd Mics."

"Using a free downloadable app for both iOS and Android, participants are able to use their mobile device as a wireless microphone to ask questions at live events. Questions are facilitated via a moderators iPad with speakers selected at the touch of the screen" expla

UAE - Terry Miranda and Dubai based Lighthouse Productions designed and supplied another elegant set and lighting design for the 2016 Al Burda Islamic Art Awards staged at the Abu Dhabi National Theatre in the UAE.

Nearly 100 Robe fixtures graced the rig, including 16 x Robin 300 Beams, 12 x ColorWash 575 ATs, 12 x MMX Spots, 24 x PARFect 100s, 12 x Pointes and 16 x CycFX 8s. Lighthouse, known throughout the region for its fresh and inventive designs, has invested in Robe since 2004 and currently owns a large inventory of products.

The annual Al Burda Awards is open to artists of calligraphy, poetry and music from across the Middle East and internationally, whose works are judged by a panel of experts, and held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Abdulla Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and organised by the Federal Ministry of Culture and Knowledge

UK - Sennheiser has announced that Leisuretec, specialist distributor of professional and commercial audio, lighting, video and special effects to the trade, has taken delivery of the UK's first stock of lapel, headmic and handheld SpeechLine Digital Wireless systems. This significant investment places Leisuretec as Sennheiser's number one UK supplier to the trade.

SpeechLine Digital Wireless is claimed to be the world's first wireless digital microphone to be designed exclusively for speech applications. The most important requirements placed on microphones for speech applications are easy installation and operation, a high level of reliability and future-proof technology.

For SpeechLine Digital Wireless, Sennheiser's engineers developed a completely new wireless microphone. Installation, operation and adjustment are easier than those of any other microphone; once the mic

Europe - Italian loudspeaker manufacturer Outline has announced the appointment of Trius Vertrieb GmbH & Co. KG as its new distributor for Outline's complete family of professional loudspeaker and electronic products in Germany and Austria.

Over the last 20 years Trius, based in Ibbenbueren, Germany, has become one of the most important A/V distributors inside Germany and Austria. The company has separate pro audio, pro video, and musical instrument departments, as well as a related music distribution company - TMD GmbH. Trius is well known throughout Europe for supplying extensive customer training, high level technical support, well trained in-house sales and traveling rep teams, and a good selection of premium products.

"At Trius, we strive to offer our clients the highest level of technology products and top-notch support in all ways possible. Our constantly developing

UK - Whilst many of the athletes still revel in their achievements at the London Olympics and Paralympics 2012, off the track, one of the biggest successes of the time was Channel 4's The Last Leg - a spin-off show covering the day's sporting events. Now four years later and almost time for the next Olympics in Rio, the show is still going strong. Naturally, it has progressed over the years, moving from coverage of the Olympics to more topical events and things that have been happening over the past seven days.

And now, Adam Hill and co-hosts Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker are back for a seventh series and with a brand new lighting supplier - Richard Martin Lighting (RML). This series there is a fresh new set which meant it was the perfect time to create an entirely new look. RML has provided LD Chris Kempton with a rig including Sharpys, VL1000TS, Alpha Spot 700 HPE,

Germany - Lawo, manufacturer of market-leading network, control, video and audio technology for broadcast and live applications, has re-structured its global sales team following the Lawo company reorganization in January 2016.

With strong growth plans based around an expanding IP product portfolio, the re-structured sales organization combines the expertise and experience of all the Lawo entities into a single global concept. This fully supports the strategy to offer full audio and video IP solutions seamlessly integrated with a powerful control layer.

For this one-stop, turn-key approach for broadcast, installation and live customers, Lawo has formed focused regional teams to maximize customer service and consultation. This will provide customers and partners with direct local access to strong technical expertise and application knowledge to support the industry move to

USA - The best cheerleading squads in the country met recently in Dallas, Texas, for the National Cheerleading Association All-Star National Championship with well-practiced routines performed beneath a large dynamic rig that included lighting and video gear from Elation Professional. Held 19-21 February at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Centre, production company Gemini Light, Sound & Video of Dallas served as lighting and video vendor for the event, which was televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network.

The visual centrepiece of the setup was a large upstage LED screen made up of 448 Elation EPT6IP LED video panels. The 6.7mm pixel pitch LED screen, which served as a visual backdrop for the performance stage where cheerleader routines took place, measured 58.80 ft. wide x 33.60 ft. tall (28 panels wide x 16 panels tall, 2688 pixels x 1536 pixels). The LED wall was bi

South Africa - On 28 December 2015, 3,000 revellers gathered at Stanley Island, Plettenberg Bay to enjoy SA's top acts and many unexpected experiences in the extraordinary country which is the Castle Lite's Republic of Extra Cold.

Stanley Island, the only private Island in South Africa, features an indigenous milkwood forest, pristine wetlands and private beaches. The task of transforming the Island into a 'Country' was in the hands of set and technical provider Dream Sets and their project manager Riaan Jacobs, guided by their client OMAGE and the creative by Peter Blond.

Access to the island is only by ferry boat. While the setting is spectacular, the equipment moves from the mainland to the Island in stages, made possible by two barges, four 4

USA - The Knoxville Museum of Art held its primary annual fundraising event, L'Amour du Vin, 5 March. The elegant wine auction and dinner serves as the number one contribution for the museum, and has been hailed as the state's finest food and wine event.

"Bandit Lites has been involved with L'Amour du Vin since its inception 13 years ago," said Bandit's director of philanthropy Allison Burchett. "This year was unlike any other. The tragic, untimely death of Blackberry Farm's Sam Beall was evident in the hearts and minds of every guest. Rather than cancelling the event, just one week later, Sam's staff did exactly what he would have wanted: Celebrated his life, by celebrating food, wine, and art and how Sam inspired us all in his 39 years."

Bandit donated the lighting package for the opulent evening, bringing illumination to the night sky theme. GRNLite LED pars washed the

Poland - The City Cultural Centre in Plonsk, Poland, has updated its sound reinforcement system with Dynacord equipment. BGR BAU installed a Dynacord Cobra-4 compact line-array loudspeaker system with VariLine fills, LX and DSA power amplifiers and a P64 controller to ensure crystal-clear sound in the new multi-purpose auditorium. Additional Dynacord products were specified for other spaces in the centre.

The City Cultural Centre's sound reinforcement is divided into five independent sound distribution zones. The largest of these is a 300-seat auditorium, which is also utilized as a cinema.

"Multifunctional rooms create numerous challenges," says Krzysztof Goslinski, construction manager at BGR. "They require a combination of high intelligibility, homogenous sound and powerful coverage." Additionally, the customer wanted to integrate the old into the new sound reinforcemen

Poland - The inauguration of Wroclaw's term as European Capital of Culture 2016 saw a truly spectacular live street performance and light show with over 400 Clay Paky fixtures directed by ECoC performance curator Chris Baldwin.

Announced as the winner in 2015 following eight years of preparation, Wroclaw has an ambitious programme of 400 projects and 1000 cultural events planned for the rest of the year.

Kicking off the proceedings was the opening ceremony Awakening. Baldwin's complex and cleverly crafted design saw four different parade routes, around 5km each, simultaneously occurring throughout the city before meeting in its heart.

These represented awakening the four different elements of Wroclaw's history - the Spirit of the Flood of 1997, the Spirit of Rebuilding following World War II, the Spirit of Many Faiths celebrating diversity and the Spirit of Inno

Europe - Swedish rockers Ghost were honoured with an award in the Best Metal Performance category at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, held 15 February at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles. Supporting the release of the latest album, Meliora, and enjoying the extra attention with a Grammy for the song from that album, Cirice, Ghost recently finished a European tour featuring Martin by Harman lighting fixtures that helped set the tone.

Freelance lighting designer Christian Wienberg Bonde worked with Ghost for several months in preparation for the tour. Ghost has a distinguished stage presence and the band was heavily involved in set design and production decisions throughout the tour, which saw the band play intimate clubs and festivals while traveling with a floor lighting setup.Ghost recently finished a European tour featuring Martin by Harman lighting fixtures tha

UK - has undeniable character. It also has a house lighting rig replete with Rogue moving fixtures from Chauvet Professional.

Lighting designer Victor Zeiser of Squeek Lights (New York) felt like he was meeting an old friend when he encountered this rig during a stop at Electric Ballroom Camden Town's Electric Ballroom m on his UK tour with his client, the multi-Grammy winning They Might Be Giants. Zeiser often uses a variety of Rogues on his US gigs, but he didn't have the high-output fixtures in his rig for the UK tour.

"It was great coming here and having Rogues at my disposal," he said. "They're amazing fixtures and I get a lot out of their output, speed and features like split colours and layered prisms."

However, Zeiser wasn't bereft of lighting power on his UK tour. In place of his usual Rogues, his rig included 10 of their cousins, the Intimidator Spot 355Z IRC

China - The Ko Shan Theatre in Hong Kong has installed Mina line array loudspeakers to upgrade its long-standing Meyer Sound system. Used to discreetly support a schedule of Cantonese opera productions, the compact Mina system was chosen for the 1,031-seat theatre due to its low profile, as it was important to theatre management that the system had zero visibility.

"The Mina system has been more than just a technology upgrade - it has truly transformed our entire audio operation and system workflow," says Yeung Tsz Yung, the theatre's resident deputy technical manager. "We are very impressed, and truly appreciate the support Meyer Sound provided before, during, and after the installation."

Aesthetics proved to be one of the project's most significant challenges. "The Mina arrays are hung within cave-like concrete compartments, and concealed behind black mesh cloth - the sa

Australia - Cunard's spectacular Queen Victoria liner helped kick off International Women's Day activity around the globe by turning purple in Sydney.

Wearing a 60m long banner on her hull sporting this year's campaign message 'PledgeForParity', the Queen Victoria took on a purple hue as dusk fell in the city, reflecting the internationally recognised colour for women's rights, which celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievement of women.

The event was managed by Event Emporium with lighting designed by Ziggy Ziegler and operated by Ben Ronczka. Chameleon Touring Systems supplied 31 x Martin MAC Quantums, 16 x Clay Paky Mythos, and two MA Lighting grandMA2 light consoles.

The ship was lit from both sides as well as from the bow. Ziggy required a punchy light that could reach the distance from the Sydney Opera House across the water to the port sid

UK - Apex has announced the appointment of CUK Audio as the exclusive distributor for the innovative, all-in-one Liviau control platform throughout the UK and Ireland. CUK has already taken delivery of the first shipment of Liviau devices, and is preparing "to hit the ground running".

Liviau is available in two flavours: the first is Liviau R for conference room control applications, now with integrated Skype, YouTube and MirrorOp streaming software in addition to its high definition audio capabilities and all the other integrated services you would expect from a conference room control platform. The second version is Liviau S, now integrating the Spotify app, which is aimed at bars, clubs, retail, houses of worship and corporate applications.

Liviau S benefits from the same high quality audio functionality as Liviau R but with greatly enhanced video and lighting capabilit

Singapore - Loudspeaker system manufacturer d&b audiotechnik has announced the latest addition to its global network of wholly owned subsidiaries. d&b audiotechnik Asia Pacific Pte Ltd is to open in Singapore and will play a key role in the company's regional expansion.

The new Singapore premises will provide facilities and resources for d&b to strengthen its position in the Asia Pacific mobile market and make further inroads into the installation market. The APAC team will focus on supporting d&b Distributors and the company's growing customer base in the region. They will also roll out the industry leading d&b training program, providing resources and support as well as workshops and seminars.

By the end of 2016, the office will operate as a full service hub for the Asia Pacific region. The hub will enable d&b to deliver a faster service and provide a spare parts service

USA - Built in 1971, the John Lance Arena at Pittsburg State University (PSU) in Kansas is home to the Pitt State Gorillas basketball team. The University recently received significant contributions, led by Alan and Roberta Whetzel, for renovations to the 6,500-seat capacity arena. Included in the improvements was a wall-to-wall maple hardwood floor covering the main court and two practice courts, new seating, new shooting standards and a VUE Audiotechnik sound system designed and installed by Reliant Media Systems.

The new VUE sound system in the John Lance Arena consists of four arrays and two zones of fill speakers. The two arrays that face the North and South sides of the arena each are made up of four VUE al-4 Subcompact Line Array systems and one al-4SB Flying Subwoofer System. Each of the two arrays facing the East and West ends of the arena are comprised of six al-4s a

China - The Ko Shan Theatre in Hong Kong, China has installed MIna line array loudspeakers to upgrade its long-standing Meyer Sound system. Used to discreetly support a schedule of Cantonese opera productions, the compact Mina system was chosen for the 1,031-seat theatre due to its low profile, as it was important to theatre management that the system had zero visibility.

"The Mina system has been more than just a technology upgrade - it has truly transformed our entire audio operation and system workflow," says Yeung Tsz Yung, the theatre's resident deputy technical manager. "We are very impressed, and truly appreciate the support Meyer Sound provided before, during, and after the installation."

Aesthetics proved to be one of the project's most significant challenges. "The Mina arrays are hung within cave-like concrete compartments, and concealed behind black mesh cloth-t

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