Events

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14 March 2016

With half-price online pre-registration available until the final day of the show, PLASA08 (7-10 September, Earls Court, London), which has attracted a host of new exhibitors and the promise of numerous new product launches, looks set to break all records.

"The industry is heading for Earls Court," commented Director of Events Nicola Rowland, "and the buzz is tremendous among exhibitors and visitors. We also have some strong contenders for the PLASA Awards for Innovation and huge interest in the Gottelier Award - we're anticipating a great turnout for the Awards presentation on Monday evening. PLASA08 is also a fantastic opportunity to see all the key technology brands that helped deliver a successful Beijing Ol

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14 March 2016

Sunday's special interest seminar programme includes two Infocomm seminars; the Institute of Acoustics, Royal Shakespeare Company, National Skills Academy, PMA and Arup feature on Monday; Tuesday sees sessions from the Arcola Theatre, National Theatre, ATG/ABTT and Cirque du Soleil; while Wednesday's line-up is headed by the Institute of Acoustics and CC Skills' Creative Apprenticeships seminar. Technologies For Worship is hosting seminars on every day of the show.

Meanwhile, manufacturer-led sessions include Zero 88 (Sunday), Alcons, Wireless Solution, White Light and Martin Professional (Tuesday) and Cast Software (Wednesda

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14 March 2016

"Never before has so much power and versatility been accompanied by such an easily navigable, application-engineered user interface," Andy Trott, said today. "We are very pleased to expand the Vi Series and from our continuous discussions with members of the engineering community, we're confident that the 96-channel and 72-channel variants will resonate strongly with the market."

With its advanced Vistonics II user inte

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14 March 2016

Designed to provide innovative control of the latest technologies in lighting including LEDs, Moving Heads and Video Server technology, ORB offers extreme flexibility, four universes and contemporary styling.

Building on the successful platform of the existing Leap Frog and Frog 2 ranges, ORB offers a combination of theatrical control philosophy with an adaptable hardware platform, providing intuitive control of both generics and moving lights.

ORB features 2048 channels which can be controlled over standard DMX universes or via Ethernet. Using a numeric keypad, encoder wheels, palettes and syntax keys, programming on ORB is familiar to both beginners and experienced professionals.

Zero 88 previewed ORB to the UK Theatre market at

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14 March 2016

Although PLASA 08 marks the first public unveiling of the PRO6, more than 100 systems have already been ordered. Anticipating unprecedented interest in the new system, Midas is demonstrating four PRO6s on stand J33.

The PRO 6 purchases by rental companies Britannia Row and SSE confirm their commitment to Midas digital networked systems. Each company also owns two XL8 Live Performance Systems, making them the UK's only XL8 rental suppliers, together with EFX Audio in Scotland.

"We already have our XL8s lined up for a busy autumn," says Britannia Row's Mike Lowe. "Oasis are taking the first XL8 out for the autumn touring season for their UK arena tour which runs from late September until early November.

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14 March 2016

Come and see for yourself at Lee Filters Stand C68.

New colours from Peter Fisker: 700 Perfect Lavender, 703 Cold Lavender, 727 QFD Blue, 780 AS Golden Amber

New colours from Paule Constable: 768 Egg Yolk Yellow, 742 Bram Brown, 733 Damp Squib, 731 Dirty Ice

(Julie Harper)

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14 March 2016

With the addition of a dedicated theatrical console the Jester range now represents the most comprehensive

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14 March 2016

A statement issued by the company said,"Polar audio is the exciting new face of beyerdynamic GB Ltd and brings to the market an innovative approach to distribution. Beyerdynamic GB Ltd has always been an independent company, not a subsidiary, but as such it has conducted its operation as a distributor very much in the image of beyerdynamic Germany. This of course has had huge advantages, but in many ways it has coloured our image and led to some inaccurate perceptions of who we are as a company today."

The statement continued: "Perception is not always reality, we are no longer a distributor of microph

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14 March 2016

The SD8 incorporates the Stealth Digital Processing, based on the single Super FPGA and combined with Analogue Devices Tiger SHARCS, creates the Tiger SHARC FX engine. This provides audio quality, precision and processing power with an extensive range of built-in, reverbs, dynamics, output matrix and more.

The SD8's control surface has

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14 March 2016

In September 2007, Zero 88 took on European distribution of LightFactory control software, bringing this incredibly powerful PC based lighting console to its extensive dealer network across Europe.

Following extremely positive response, Cooper Controls will now provide marketing, distribution, service and support worldwide. Existing LightFactory dealers will continue to service their markets. Cooper Controls will be working closely with them to ensure the continued high level of support that they have come to expect from LightFactory.

Graham Eales, Managing Director of Zero 88 said "Having seen the power of the LightFactory products we were very excited about selling them in Europe. Now that we have the opportunity to broaden the market international

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14 March 2016

Gobo Motion is a growing library of Collection video clips featuring background images and textures which can be downloaded directly from the Goboland website at www.goboland.com. Gobo Motion can also be used to create custom clips from customers' artwork to provide an economical and convenient method of basic video display.

Ideal for small scale budgets, simple installations such as trade show stands or foyer exhibitions, Gobo Motion can be used to animate, for example, a company logo which can then be played from standard hardware such as a laptop or AppleTV through a simple video projector or Plasma screen or LCD screen.

This dispenses with the need for media servers or high-tech projection equipme

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14 March 2016

Over 8,000 key buyers and decision-makers are expected to attend the 2009 show, which will consist of four key show segments.

Said show director, Alex Heuff, "The success of last year's show was accompanied by a number of constructive comments as to how the show could be even further improved. These included streamlining the layout and rebranding of certain sectors - and I am pleased to report that we have been able to respond to these suggestions.

"For example, we have re-branded MUSAC Middle East for the professional MI market and DJ equipment manufacturers as the sector starts to show real sign

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14 March 2016

Eclipse's DSP engine enables you to mix up to 104 inputs simultaneously into 48 mix busses with the capacity to manage up to 320 inputs on the console using up to five remote audio racks. The control surface is furnished with 48 faders and 48 fully configurable rotary knobs (spread over four layers). The concept is called SmartPanel and effectively gives you 96 "faders", taking InnovaSON's original SmartFAD concept to the next level.

According to InnovaSON's product manager and designer o

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14 March 2016

HES, a new member of the Belgium-based Barco group, unveiled StudioPix at theBarco/High End Systems stand J30 at Earls Court yesterday.

Smaller than its predecessor Showpix, StudioPix features a circular array of 61homogenous 3-watt LEDs on a 13.5-inch diameter head with an output of 11,500RGB lumens. The pixels offer unlimited possibilities by projecting not just colour, but also displaying images and effects that transform the fixture head into a display device.

"We are excited about the addition of StudioPix to the LED family of luminaires,"stated Bill Morris, HES executive VP worldwide sales."We believe that the future of lightin

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14 March 2016

The new partnership will allow ARRI LS to provide complete broadcast lighting solutions now comprised of ETC control systems and products, ARRI lighting and suspension products, with turn-key design and installation services.

The partnership covers important broadcast markets in central and Eastern Europe (including GUS) as well as the Middle East and Africa.

"ETC and ARRI have developed some of the best lighting technologies for the broadcast industry," says ETC CEO Fred Foster. "This partnership with ARRI Lighting Solutions will capitalise on the strengths of both companies to provide complete lighting systems made with ETC and ARRI products."

The partnership - which does not affect the thea

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14 March 2016

In addition to the recent sale of EV's XLD and XLE modules to APR Audio, Shuttlesound is pleased to welcome five rental companies into the EV family: Clear Sound, based in Stratford-upon-Avon; CWS, based in Peterborough; Ethix, based in London; Leisure Tech, based in Wigan; OneBigStar, based in Nottingham.

CWS, Clear Sound and Ethix have all invested in EV's XLC system which has been revitalised by the recent DVX upgrade, which brings EV's new 12-inch low-frequency/mid-bass woofers into the XLC127 cabinets, improving high-SPL stability and full-bandwidth intelligibility.

Colin Smith, proprietor of CWS, explains that: "we were renting in line-array systems up to ten times

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14 March 2016

Adrian Brooks, managing director of Litestructures, said, "I am delighted to announce the contractual completion of the deal with Impact Products, which we expect to be worth well in excess of £10 million over the next few years. Impact has a complete infrastructure in place to fully serve our mutual customers and we look forward to a highly successful partnership."

Impact offers Litestructures' products with immediate availability from stock in its Northampton base, supported by a national network of trade counters as well as fully automated on-line purchasing platforms on its webshop.

Litestructures is known for its wide selection of lightweight yet st

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14 March 2016

Available in 16, 24, 32, 40 and 48 mono mic/line input channels, ProDesk-4 includes four stereo line only input channels, each selectable from two different input sources and controlled from 100mm faders with stereo EQ and access to all aux buses. All mono input channels also include internally illuminated Mute and PFL switches, six segment channel metering, 48 Volt Phantom Power switch with LED, mic/line, Pad and Polarity Reverse switches.

The ProDesk-4 input channels are similar to those used on ProRack mixers, while the cosmetics are identical to Spectra consoles. The side panels, armrest, and bridge assembly are modeled on Spectra. ProDesk's internal electronics and components are derived directly from th

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14 March 2016

Developed specifically for small- and mid-sized performance venues, houses of worship, touring, and fixed installations, or as a drop-in upgrade for existing analogue systems, the D-Show Profile Mix Rack System combines a D-Show Profile console with the new Mix Rack, a compact 11-space rack enclosure that incorporates all audio I/O (stage and local) and DSP into a single chassis.

The resulting system combination offers a compact, portable, and cost-effective way to take advantage of the power and flexibility of Venue, including native control of an extensive library of TDM plug-ins and tight integration with Pro Tools software for live multitrack recording and playbac

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14 March 2016

For integrators FogScreen One is especially interesting since it enables the creation of large-scale installations, says the company.

FogScreen's AV Integrator Programme for the European market is being launched at PLASA08. This programme has been designed to support AV Integrators with conceptual and technical development, to help with presentations of the screen and to provide integrators with an opportunity to purchase affordable demons

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14 March 2016

Ateis' MD Neil Voce commented: "I am personally really delighted to welcome HD Pro Audio on board as a main distributor of Ateis products. Both companies are new ventures in the UK and this means fresh thinking and the positive attitude we need to succeed. The two companies, particularly with Andy, offer complementary skill sets and backgrounds and these will combine well to ensure customers get a first class service."

HD Pro Audio's Andy Huffer added: "What we like to do here is combine great products with great support, and Ateis have a fantastic range of products that are suitable for a wide range of

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14 March 2016

Tour News - With a canon of classic songs, unbowed enthusiasm and his musical faculties still sharp, Stevie Wonder has opened his first European tour for a decade. The US star took fans at Birmingham's National Indoor Arena on a two-hour journey through almost 50 years of songs that helped shape soul and pop. A sold-out crowd of 13,500 saw him play with a 10-strong band and four backing singers, including his daughter Aisha. Wonder, 58, now visits Manchester and London before other European cities.Festival News - Amy Winehouse has played her last scheduled show of the year

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14 March 2016

Presented during the PLASA Awards for Innovation on the second night of PLASA08, and named in honour of the late designer, developer and commentator Tony Gottelier, this award aims to recognise innovative developers who have made a significant contribution to the advancement of the equipment and tools that enable entertainment technology practitioners to continually push the boundaries of event production, presentation and installation.

Voted for by the industry, the Award was presented to John Stadius by Tony's wife Susie.

Stadius is a distinguished audio designer: in 1978, he joined Soundtracs PLC, designing disco consoles, mixers, power amplifiers and speakers. As technical director between 1980-1994, he continued to design a wide range of ana

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14 March 2016

Secret Garden has been touring China, Korea and Norway since April with two Soundcraft Vi6 consoles and AKG microphones. The last concert of the tour was a special outdoor show incorporating a 27-piece symphony orchestra in the band's hometown of Kristiansand, Norway. With the orchestra and nine musicians/singers on stage, the need for more than 64 channels was obvious.

"When we planned this gig earlier this summer we aimed to use a third Vi6 for the orchestra, but the timing for a stable beta version of the new V3 software was perfect to make it possible to just add, a DSP card in the FOH local rack and a second stagebox to run the required 95 channels from one co