UK - Harman Pro UK has supplied Harlow's long-established live music venue, The Square, with a new Soundcraft MH2 front-of-house console. For nearly thirty years, The Square has been renowned for its reputation on the 'up-and-coming' circuit - many British bands who have played here in the past have subsequently gone on to great things, including Blur, Coldplay and Muse.

Stuart Graham of Harlow-based Clarity in Sound Light and Vision contacted Harman Pro UK's Gary Dent, who came down to The Square with a 24-channel MH2, and ran through the features with The Square's sound engineers. They liked what they saw and heard, and the MH2 offered them more flexibility than their old desk.

Comments Gary Dent: "The Square were very keen to get more into running on-stage monitor mixes, and their old desk just didn't have enough aux busses to do the job comfortably. But with the MH2,

Ireland - Churches, live music venues, theatres and dance societies are just some of the venues that have installed PA equipment supplied by Harman Pro UK's main dealer in Ireland, Reynolds of Raphoe, recently. Reynolds, based in the North-West of the Irish Republic, have notched up an impressive list of recent sales, Harman reports, supplying installation companies in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic with equipment from the Harman portfolio such as JBL speakers, Crown amplifiers and dbx processing units.

"The Celtic Tiger has slowed, but the Irish economy is still very buoyant and this naturally has an impact on leisure and entertainment. As a result, plenty of new bars, clubs and venues have opened around the country, while others have upgraded their sound systems to compete with the newcomers," says Reynolds sales manager Brian McGrath. "Our pro-active a

Austria - The Rettenbach Glacier, which enters the Austrian Ötztal-valley near the ski resort of Söldenprovided the backdrop to a production entitled Mars:2068 which is a science fiction spectacle about the conquest of the planet Mars.

The production was staged by lawine torrèn, a network of dancers, actors, media artists and technicians under the artistic direction of Hubert Lepka that was founded in 1992 in Salzburg.

The technical services for the project were provided by You Sound from Augsburg with Klaus Mayer as the technical director. "The production Mars:2068 is in itself quite demanding. Especially with the climatic conditions on top of a glacier at this time of year, it becomes a real challenge," commented Mayer.

"The project required not only equipment that was able to take a lot of strain, but also collaborators with mountaineering

Switzerland - The first TV broadcast from the new media centre of the Federal Houses of Parliament in Bern, Switzerland, has been transmitted. Accommodating the editorial offices of various radio and television stations, as well as production workspaces and radio studios, the media centre is home to the 280sq.m TV studio of the SRG SSR (Swiss Radio and Television Association). Much of the lighting equipment for the new studio was supplied and installed by ETC from their offices in Holzkirchen, Germany.

The new television studio is situated on the third basement level of the building - an impressive feat in itself, considering that no basement levels existed at the beginning of construction. An 18m hole had to be dug under the building which was itself propped on stilts for the duration of construction. The official laying of the foundation stone was in February 2005, and the 55

USA - One of northern Ohio's best-kept secrets, Kenyon College is a small but distinguished liberal arts college with an exemplary reputation as a leader in fine arts, humanities, natural and social sciences and athletics, especially their swimming and diving programs. The recently completed 263,000sq.ft Kenyon Athletic Center is the campus' crown jewel - a massive, multipurpose indoor complex designed by the Gund Partnership architectural firm of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The Center's state-of-the-art media systems have been designed to function under a wide range of scenarios, making creative use of several independent but interconnected DSP and control systems. As Brad Kestner, operations manager at Sound Com in Berea, Ohio explains, flexibility and performance were some of the highest priorities in designing the systems. "The building itself is nothing short of massive,

Europe - Mediaedge:cia (MEC), the global communications planning and implementation agency, enlisted the help of Paradigm Audio Visual when planning an inventive 13-week pan-European roadshow aimed at promoting the K800i, Sony Ericsson's new Cyber-shot phone.

Tasked with creating an engaging brand experience to dramatise the phone's new and unique BestPic feature - which allows users to press the shutter button once and instantly get nine full quality pictures to choose from - they called on the rear projection display specialists to help bring the concept to life via a series of outdoor installations. These were set across ten countries over 15 weeks, starting at London's Victoria Station.

Potential participants are encouraged to the 'Body in Motion' installation by promotional staff and asked to strike a pose for a nine-shot action photo sequence, triggered by an adapted K80

Italy - Even from a considerable distance, travellers near the city of Ravenna, on the main road along Italy's Adriatic coast to Venice, can see a huge Ferris wheel on the horizon: this is the landmark of one of the country's best-known amusement parks - Mirabilandia.

The park recently inaugurated its first indoor attraction, a dark ride called Ghostville - a trip through the haunted ruins of an old Western gold-mining town featuring a cutting edge audio, lighting and animatronics set-up.

The ride was designed and built by specialist firm Art Project of Torbolo; they, in turn, called in Vida Studio Srl of Milan to supply a turnkey package, comprising hardware and systems for all the ride's audio, video, lighting and control, including automation control via PLC. To ensure perfectly distributed high-impact sound with the ability to cover the screams of up to 1,000 people per ho

UK - The Hoxton Grille, located within the trendy new-build Hoxton Hotel in London's Shoreditch, has all the natural ambience of an all-day brasserie/bistro surrounding an open terrace. Operating independently from Sinclair Beecham's 205-bedroom four star hotel, Hoxton Grille owners Simon Wright and John Pallagi have created a restaurant and bar combination which follows on naturally from their acclaimed portfolio of contemporary chic Room Restaurants, which was founded in 2000.

Adding to the ambience throughout the large open-plan ground floor is guitar and film soundtrack-inspired music, sensitively programmed and delivered by iPod and Denon 6-disc multi CD player.

Based nearby, audio system designers and installers, Sound Division Group, has a long association with Simon Wright's ventures. Here they were called on to enhance the existing background system - fitted when the

UK - Birmingham-based Matthews Electronics has spent the past year systematically upgrading the ribbon of pubs and bars that make up the city's gay village, using exclusively Wharfedale loudspeakers.

At the chic Loft Lounge on Bromsgrove Street the sound is relayed via a discrete Mission Pro NXT flat panel system, from the same IAG stable as Wharfedale Pro. More Mission Pro speakers are to be found at the Angels Café Bar, where 16 provide the background surround sound. More notably, this is one of the first installations of Wharfedale's new plastic Titan enclosures, with a pair pumping up the volume at the front of the venue.

Around the corner, The Village comprises one big room with an annex, where a pair each of Wharfedale LX12's and LX18's provide the stage playback for a venue essentially focused on operating karaoke nights. Nearby, Route 2 also parades LX18's while

Australia - Since its launch in 2003, Platinum Nightclub on the Queensland Gold Coast has quickly become one of the most successful night spots in Australia, hosting the likes of Ministry Of Sound, Kink and One Love. The venue has introduced a new cocktail lounge and updated key components of the main audio system, in particular, the DJ consoles.

"It's been a challenging journey," says Joey Lamitina, Platinum Owner & CEO. "When I first opened the doors I had a very clear idea about how I wanted to run the club, the audience I wanted to attract and the acts/DJ's that I wanted to bring into the club and onto the Queensland music scene. The DJ's were relatively unknown back then but I'm delighted to say that their stars have risen alongside Platinum and today the likes of Dirty South, TV Rock, Vandalism, The Stafford Brothers, Bang Gang and Carl Kennedy are virtually

Korea - Recently built, the five hundred-seat Jung Sung Po Temple is situated on South Korea's second largest island, Keo Je Do, which is joined to the mainland by a bridge. The temple is part of the Chon Tae Order, a new Buddhist movement that promotes patriotism, Buddhism in daily life and the teachings of Buddha for the common man. The temple authorities approached d&b audiotechnik's Korean partner, Hak Kwon Kim, with a view to installing a d&b sound system to enable the congregation to fully appreciate the monks' Mass. "One of the monks, who was in charge of the PA installation, had previously heard a d&b system," explained Kim, "and hence the approach to us."

"We installed Max monitors and Ci80s on the altar immediately adjacent to the Buddha and used d&b E-PAC amplifiers to power the loudspeakers," continued Kim. "All the loudspeaker cabi

USA - Arup has announced the appointment of David Taylor, an internationally known consultant for theatres, concert halls and other performing arts venues, to lead Arup's performing arts sector work in the Americas. Taylor, an associate principal based in New York, will be the primary point of contact in the Americas for performing arts clients and the linchpin for Arup's overall work in the sector.

"It's an excellent fit for both Arup and David," said Neill Woodger, principal and leader of the Arup Acoustics practice in the Americas. "He has worked with Arup for more than 20 years on key arts projects around the world. His expertise in theatre planning and design brings an important skill set to our practice, augmenting our existing acoustics, lighting, simulation, venue consulting and engineering disciplines and allowing us to provide a complete and integrated p

UK - Integrated Systems Europe has announced that registration is now open for ISE 2007, which will take place 30th January - 1st February 2007 at the Amsterdam RAI, with the support of the three associations; CEDIA, InfoComm International and NSCA.

An innovation at ISE 2007 will be the multimedia conferencing pavilion, which will feature the latest products and technologies in video, audio and web conferencing. Integrated Systems Europe managing director, Mike Blackman comments, "While we can boast an unprecedented number of exhibitors signed up for the show, occupying the largest floor space in the history of ISE, we want visitors to come away with a feeling of a total systems integration experience that will motivate, inspire and excite. The support from our sponsoring organisations as well as our exhibitors, has been instrumental in being able to achieve these magnifice

USA - The Rolling Stones have invited hip-hop superstar Kanye West to join the first three dates of their North American tour this month. West will be bringing his unique rapping style and an AKG Acoustics WMS 4000 Wireless System to The Rolling Stones A Bigger Bang world tour for several dates.

Over the past year, Kanye West has been noted for using AKG Acoustics microphone products for his live show performances. During last year's Touch the Sky tour, West used an AKG WMS 4000 Wireless System with C 5900 M condenser capsule to deliver his high-energy performances.

West's debut album, The College Dropout has sold over three million copies and to date, he has won six GRAMMY Awards and has received a total of eight nominations.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Pro Sound Service installed JBL Vertec line arrays and AE Series loudspeakers at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield, MA for the 2006 summer concert and event season.

The Tweeter Center is a 19,900-seat outdoor venue with a covered, roofed section of about 7,500 seats with the balance in an open seating area. A wall at the back of the seating area separates it from the community. The new sound reinforcement system to serve the lawn area was designed and installed by Pro Sound Service, a 16-year-old firm that has been providing repair and maintenance on the venue's existing system for 10 years.

Until installation of the new system, there had been an ongoing noise-complaint issue from the neighbourhood located behind the back wall of the facility. A 16-foot high wall barrier had been erected to alleviate noise complaints after the town established a maximum allowable sound pre

Canada - Robe moving lights have been specified for the Canadian premier of Cirque Niagara's spectacular Avaia show, staged in the 60,000 sq.ft Celestial Palace big top tent at Rapidsview Park, Niagara Falls.

Created by Russian circus impresario Mairbek Kantemirov and declared an instant classic, Avaia is one of the most anticipated and powerful productions of 2006, amalgamating rare and beautiful horses, acrobats and hair-raising theatrical performance.

The Robes were supplied to Soundbox Productions -who are co-ordinating and overseeing all the show's technical elements - by Robes Canadian distributor Intellimix Lighting and Ontario Sales Rep, Randy Segeren.

The fixtures were specified by Soundbox's lighting and design team of Tran Langford and Jeff Lavallee. A total of 18 Robe ColorSpot 1200 ATs and twenty-four ColorWash 575 AT fixtures are being utilised fo

USA - Daystar Television Network is the second largest Christian television network in the US and broadcasts all over the world. Based out of Bedford, Texas, the network recently purchased a Martin lighting and control package for its Studio A which features the station's flagship production Celebration.

The package consists of MAC 550 profile spots, Maxxyz lighting console and a very recent purchase of Martin's Maxedia Digital Media Composer, all supplied by Gemini Stage & Lighting of Dallas. The network also plans to add MAC 700 Profiles.

Michael Cerione, television lighting director and lighting designer at Daystar, commented, "The Martin lights have done everything we have expected, and we have only touched the surface of what they can do. They give movement and really set the mood for the music portions of our productions, as well as helping create an atmosphe

Australia - Brisbane's North-South Bypass Tunnel (NSBT) is a massive project; a new road that will connect north-south traffic under Brisbane between Woolloongabba and Bowen Hills. This vital piece of infrastructure to the Brisbane community will open by 2010 and in the meantime a new permanent NSBT Visitors' Centre has opened in Kangaroo Point.

The Visitors' Centre is an initiative of the Brisbane City Council, Rivercity Motorway and LBBJV Consortium who, as part of Queensland's largest Public Private Partnership (PPP), has created a state-of-the-art information centre for Brisbane residents and visitors. The Centre features artist impressions, models of the finished tunnels, maps, photography throughout the construction and short construction videos.

Brisbane-based Iceworks Design was given only seven weeks to design the centre from initial concept sketch through to finished

UK - Huge, life-like dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum in London appear to be feeding in water thanks to the creativity and technical knowledge of Stagecraft Theatre Services (STS). The company recently installed the Rosco X-Effects 3D projector into the Museum, as part of its new Dino Jaws exhibition. Salisbury based STS, a leading lighting, staging and sound company, was responsible for the supply and installation of the new equipment, which creates 3D moving effects.

"The Rosco X-effects is an extremely versatile piece of equipment and it has been used to great effect at the Natural History Museum. Each gobo in the X-effects rotates off-centre, which results in an image that seems to have no visible direction or pattern and the on- board potentiometers control the speed of the movement. The 3D image produced by the projector has been used to create the effec

Germany - 3,500 blocs of ice with an overall weight of 320 tonnes were used for the world's largest Ice-Bar (300sq.m) in Schüttorf, Germany. The bar includes a discotheque, called Index, where nearly everything from furniture to walls is made of ice. To give the bar another very special touch there are about 52,000 LEDs - or 160 LED PAR-Spotlights -implemented into the building. Lighting control is done by grandMA onPC and an NSP. Index also utilizes two grandMA full-size and a grandMA light, and grandMA video is also integrated into the network.

"The grandMA consoles are easy to handle and immediately ready for action. Furthermore they're very versatile; they control everything but mainly multimedia devices like the server and LEDs. We use grandMA technology also because of its reliability and quality workmanship," explains Sven Janning of F.A.C.E., which provided pr

Dubai - Recently voted Most Innovative International Retail & Leisure Concept of the Year and International Retail & Leisure Destination of the Year, the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai has attracted over 10 million visitors in its first six months of operation. Quickly establishing itself as both the number one leisure, entertainment and shopping resort in the Emirates and the second largest shopping centre in the world outside North America, the Mall of the Emirates is well on track to hit the 30 million visitor mark in its first year of operation.

Strategically located in the heart of what is now deemed 'New Dubai', the $820m, 250,000sq.m retail and leisure resort is home to over 400 retailers including Harvey Nichols, Emporio Armani, Dolce & Gabanna, H&M, Carrefour, Debenhams, Banana Republic, Zara and Virgin Megastore. However, it is the Ski Dubai complex within the mall that

USA - The historic Hollywood Palladium in Southern California which as been host to almost every type of popular music and artist since 1940. From Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra to Glen Miler, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and U2, the venue has been host to innumerable musical genres.

The venue is a classic ballroom type, originally designed with Big Bands in mind. Very little thought was given to sound reinforcement and the Palladium is not the easiest room to create quality. The fact is that the entire venue is very wide and to make matters worse, it has a balcony: not impossible, but it would normally require a lot of boxes for coverage rather than just SPL concerns.

The physical dimensions make things difficult. The distance between the rigging points is about 65ft (aprox. 20m) with the FOH position over 125ft back (almost 40m) and the main dance floor being greater tha

Austria - The Raiffeisen Bank of Austria wanted an eye-catching corporate branded frontage for their newly refurbished building near Vienna in Austria. Vivid Effect were asked to provide the right combination of architectural, signage and LED experience to achieve their objectives. Working with a local architect and installer, they designed a 20m x 8m screen to be fixed to the first floor exterior of the bank's building.

The LED fixtures used are DingDotz - individually addressable, low profile, self contained, colour changing RGB LEDs that are IP66 waterproof containing super-bright Nichia 3-in-1 sealed LED units. With a viewing angle of 120 degrees, the 15mm fixtures radiate light with high quality colour rendition of 16.7 million hues, which is suitable for directly viewed outdoor architectural signage applications. A standard rackmount Windows PC acts as the master controlle

UK - In a project that began way back in 2004, Warsaw-based Tommex was asked by the architects from the project company Arconel for cooperation with a range of room acoustic solutions and audio system designs for 'Globus', a multipurpose hall with an ice rink and an audience capacity of 5000 people.

The planned facility would have the ability to host hockey, volleyball and basketball - and music events. By the time Tommex joined the project team the main building was almost complete. Tommex started by preparing a mathematical model of the hall using Ease 3.0 software and the virtual acoustic reality of the hall was far from good. In every instance,measurements were made using Gold Line DSP 30 B to check the RT60 parametersand the poor measurements confirmed those gained from Ease. The RT60 at somefrequencies was almost 11 seconds. This presented Tommex with an enormouschallenge

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