The PLASA Awards for Innovation recognise products that advance the industry by demonstrating a new style of thinking, improving technical practice or taking a key step forward in terms of safety. All successfully vetted products are judged against one another on the strength of their innovation alone.
Companies and products in the running include:
• Altman Lighting (STAND F40) - UV LED Spectra CYC - A 100W cyclorama/wall wash luminaire utilising high output 365nm UV LED emitters. Designed for theatrical and architectural applications, the Spectra Cyc UV blends the output via a patented LED lens and reflector combination which reduces pixelisation from direct view.
• Artistic Licence (STAND L50) - nanoScope - A pocket-sized, battery-powered tester for DMX512 and RDM, built into a 5-pin XLR connector, indicating results using colour-coded light.
• Focusrite (STAND C55) - RedNet - An extremely scalable, near-zero latency Dante audio distribution system that can be used to expand I/O channel count, interface digital components, and/or bridge between Pro Tools|HD or MADI and the Dante audio network.
• Joe Bleasdale (via Capture Sweden - STAND J2) - The Interactive User Manual - The Interactive User Manual is set to change the way we think about product user manuals, technical documentation and training. Easier for the manufacturer and more informative and engaging for the end user, the interactive manual is capable of providing far more than words and images.
• Line 6 (STAND E81) - StageScape M20d - The world's first smart mixing system for live sound. Utilising a groundbreaking touchscreen visual mixing environment, StageScape M20d streamlines the way you mix to get your sound dialed in quickly and stay in the creative zone.
• Martin by Harman (STAND N80) - Martin Quadray - An innovative lens system that adds a new visual dimension to shows via the projection of 1, 2, 3 or 4 individually controllable rays of light. The ability to individually manoeuvre and manipulate up to four beams from a single luminaire is unique.
• Prolyte Group (STAND Q65) - ProLyft AETOS - This range of hoists is fully equipped to meet future demands in lifting equipment and offers clever features and carefully engineered product attributes.
Chris Toulmin, Head of Events, PLASA London 2013, said, "We've been delighted with the response so far and our judging panel is very excited about the innovative products we're seeing is looking forward to taking a closer look at these products. Some present brand new technologies, others ameliorate working lives, and all of them make a difference to the pro- audio or entertainment lighting industries."
The judging panel, led once again by LSI's technical editor, Richard Cadena, will have up to eight awards of equal standing at their disposal, with the added option of making one or more of these a 'Gold' Award - for products which stand out above the rest.
In addition, the judges can also choose to give the PLASA Award for Sustainability, which recognises products that can claim a significant reduction of power usage for its product type/application, effective use of renewable energy sources, or significant reduction of environmental impact of product lifecycle.
For more information on how to enter the PLASA Awards for Innovation, please visit www.plasashow.com/awards
(Jim Evans)
