UK - Vanguardia Consulting, the Surrey-based acousticians, sound system designers and noise control specialists, have been called in to design and specify a substantial temporary audio system for Twickenham Stadium's brand-new South Stand for the current series of Rugby internationals.

The system marks the six-month-old company's first live sound project since U2's legendary soundman Joe O'Herlihy joined the Vanguardia team in a consultancy role in September. The South Stand, which takes Twickenham's capacity to 82,000 for matches, allowed the stadium to host a record crowd when the stand was opened for the Investec Challenge match between England and New Zealand on 5 November. However, its roof has yet to be finished, meaning that a temporary solution had to be found to provide a fully certifiable public address and voice announcement (PA/VA) system to cover the South Stand for

South Africa - The Stones chain of entertainment venues is rapidly becoming one of South Africa's most established and successful hotspots and has been successfully franchised across 19 branches nationwide. Two of the chain's key venues in Cape Town and Pretoria now boast state-of-the-art EAW sound systems throughout, supplied and installed by EAW's South African distributor, Johannesburg-based systems specialists, Surgesound.

Offering customers a huge choice of entertainment, Stones venues incorporate chilled lounge areas, up-beat dancefloors, live music stages and a relaxed bar and pool table environment, all open seven days per week. After hearing the EAW system recently installed by Surgesound in the Manhattan Club in Johannesburg, Adam Collingwood, operations manager for the Stones Group, had no hesitation in commissioning Surgesound to supply and install a customised Lab.g

The Netherlands - The latest phase in the development of Amsterdam's legendary Paradiso nightclub was recently completed with the addition of Synco compact stage monitoring on long-term rental from Synco Europe through Ampco Pro Rent (APR).

The floor monitors, which are used both on the Paradiso's main stage and its smaller stage upstairs, are rented on a 60-month arrangement - under the same formula that applies to Synco wedges already on long-term hire to six other top Dutch clubs, the Tivoli, Het Paard, the Music Centre Utrecht, O 13, Nighttown and the Milky Way. The monitors were chosen by the club after their regular use there by both Dutch and international bands.

In 2003 the Paradiso - which is housed in a beautiful former church, complete with stained glass windows that overlook the stage - completed a massive refurbishment of its main hall, which included the addition

Germany - Bosch Security Systems has introduced a new version of its Plena All-in-One combined background music and paging system with DVD audio and video functionality. In addition to background music, the unit can also play DVD videos on a separate display, showing, for example, video commercials or slide shows in small shops, showrooms and boutiques. The new Plena All-in-One also features a digital FM/AM tuner with 15 presets to store preferred radio stations and a 120 W mixer amplifier, all integrated in a compact housing.

The DVD player plays normal audio and video DVD and CDs as well as MP3 encoded DVDs and CDs. In addition, it plays JPEGs on CD-R, DVD-ROM and DVD-R.

The unit has component, composite, and S-Video connections for video output and can play PAL and NTSC content in either progressive or interleaved scan. A TOSlink optical output is also available that suppor

South Africa - The Stones chain of entertainment venues is rapidly becoming one of South Africa's most established and successful hotspots and has been successfully franchised across 19 branches nationwide. Two of the chain's key venues in Cape Town and Pretoria now boast state-of-the-art EAW sound systems throughout, supplied and installed by EAW's South African distributor, Johannesburg-based systems specialists, Surgesound.

Stones venues incorporate chilled lounge areas, up-beat dance-floors, live music stages and a relaxed bar and pool table environment, all open seven days per week. After hearing the EAW system recently installed by Surgesound in the Manhattan Club in Johannesburg, Adam Collingwood, operations manager for the Stones Group, had no hesitation in commissioning Surgesound to supply and install a customised Lab.gruppen-powered EAW system throughout Stones Tygerv

Spain - French multimedia retailer FNAC has commissioned Vieta to kit out special event stages in all its new stores, commencing with the most recent openings in Murcia and Bilbao.

The French company FNAC is one of Europe's largest retailers of cultural and consumer electronics products, from books to TV sets to computer software. Vieta collaborated with FNAC on the 10th anniversary celebrations of its megastore on Barcelona's famous Diagonal. FNAC has asked for Vieta's PA speakers to be installed in new stores as they open across the country.

In each FNAC branch, an 'auditorium' is dedicated to different in-store marketing events, such as book signings, personal appearances by musicians or authors, and promotional demonstrations. In Barcelona, the store auditorium hosted a number of bands playing live, using Vieta's Fa-Line speakers. Deployment of a number of Vieta's highly-p

UK - The development of modern, fully-featured performance spaces in both state-run and privately-funded educational facilities, has become something of a mission for Stuart Graham's company Clarity in Sound, Light & Vision. But even he would be surprised at the progressive approach taken by the Girls' Day School Trust (GDST) to the construction of a new theatre at Blackheath High School in south-east London this year.

The GDST is a group of 28 independent schools operating in England and Wales and Blackheath High School was founded in 1880 as part of the Trust.

The school's business manager Tony Sutherland says the project appeared on the radar soon after the Senior Department relocated to its new premises in 1994, and by 1999 a decision to build a £1.5 million, 345-seat auditorium - principally to be used for performing arts, ballet and school assembly - was rubber sta

UK - Orbital Sound has recently completed the third and final phase of a year-long reorganisation program. Apart from doubling its staff and setting up rigorous benchmark testing, it has also involved some major structural work to expand the available space. The result is a highly modern facility, to service its clients in the UK and mainland Europe.

Bringing in experience from the retail industry, Samantha Loveless was appointed as warehouse manager in January 2006, previously with Amazon UK. Joining the company with absolutely no knowledge of sound equipment, but with considerable knowledge of warehousing, she has successfully implemented some rigorous changes to propel the company forwards as a leading rental and sales facility.

She commented: "On joining the company it was clear that it had enjoyed considerable growth in only a few years, and inevitably the warehouse

USA - Indiana-based Apollo Design Technology Inc, a leading manufacturer and distributor of lighting effects products and accessories for the entertainment industry, was granted an occupancy permit for the recently completed 5,000sq.ft building expansion at its headquarters in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The space will be used for additional glass gobo production and warehousing for its growing lines of gel and motion effects products and accessories.

"Everyone at Apollo welcomes the additional space," states company founder and president Joel Nichols. "Not only can we expand and breathe, it will also allow us to pursue additional opportunities within the entertainment industry."

(Lee Baldock)

UK - Whilst many major towns and cities across the UK are served by local theatres, each playing a multipurpose role within the community, The Lights in Andover has raised the bar a good deal higher.

Originally built in 1972, the waterfront location was a run-down venue when it was taken over by the local Test Valley Borough Council. But this Autumn it has emerged as a vibrant regenerated facility, with its own leisure arena, dance studio and theatre, which will accommodate an ambitious programme of music, theatre, comedy, dance, education and conferencing.

The theatre has undergone the first UK installation of QSC's ILA line array sound reinforcement system, which was recommended and installed by locally-based specialists Stagecraft Theatre Services Ltd (STS).

Stagecraft have been in business for three decades - and specifying QSC products for at least the last ten years. I

Italy - Martin Audio loudspeakers feature in a revolutionary Italian leisure hospitality concept which has opened in Brescia. Known as MYA Dinner Moving the premises simultaneously operates as a restaurant, lounge bar, meeting point, dancefloor, art gallery, theatre and much more.

Accessed via a crystal elevator, the articulated scene is spread across 800 sq.metres on different levels, with electronic systems able to completely transform each area. This is an innovative use of space where the common denominator is 'togetherness' - the kitchen, rooms, music and decor effects are all united in a single aesthetic, with high architectural values masterminded by Adriano Verzelletti.

On the top floor, customers are able to dine under the stars - thanks to an additional 500sq.m terrace, with hanging gardens and water games. After dinner MYA 'changes its skin', transforming completely

Denmark - dbx Professional Products, a Salt Lake City-based manufacturer of professional signal processing products and a division of Harman International has provided a signal distribution solution for a new hotel wellness and conference facility in Denmark.

Situated in the idyllic surroundings of Snekkersten, in Denmark's North Seeland, Comwell Borupgaard Hotel has recently undergone a significant renovation with the opening of its Body & Mind Spa. This has met the increased demands for qualitative meeting facilities and relaxation from delegates within the business community. In this simple, beautiful and sensuous universe - created by Bente Midelbye of TO B Design, the main focus is on silence and tranquility.

The task facing Morten Paulsen from Pro Event, Frederiksværk who supervised the audio installation, was to meet the psycho-acoustic requirements of this spa, massag

Australia - Luxeon LEDs from Lumileds have been used to light the InterContinental Executive Club Lounge on the 32nd floor of the InterContinental Hotel in a project which provides a lounge for guests along with a viewing deck of Sydney's Botanical Gardens and Harbour.

NDYLight specified Megabay Lighting Enterprises, a certified member of the Luxeon Lighting Network, to create a relaxed, stylish environment through the creative use of light, while taking advantage of the stunning views of the city.

As the new lounge is surrounded by glass on three sides, lighting design director, Susan Lambert, had the challenge of minimising the amount of interior light being reflected back into the lounge. To achieve this, NDYLight's solution for the Executive Lounge incorporates Luxeon LEDS on both the interior and exterior. These are used to highlight individual elements of the design.

O

UK - Dynalite will be unveiling the new DTP160 LCD Colour Touchscreen at Integrated Systems Europe in Amsterdam, in January, and at ARC07 in London, in February.

The new DTP160 offers a powerful 640 x 480 resolution 160mm graphical user interface. The device incorporates the Windows CE operating system and display graphics are easily created using standard HTML authoring tools such as FrontPage or Dreamweaver, providing design flexibility of custom user pages.

The Touchscreen is a part of Dynalite's Revolution range, and incorporates an innovative clip-on cover facility, the DTP160 will accommodate fascia options of virtually any architectural surface medium, providing designers with unrivalled décor matching capability.

Also new is Dynalite's powerful suite of PC software DLightIII, which combines intuitive user control features with monitoring and reporting faciliti

Japan - Solid State Logic's new Duality console will make its Japanese debut in April 2007 when the first desk to be installed in the country is unveiled by the Osaka School of Music (OSM). Established in 1986, OSM is part of the Jikei Group - itself a member of Community Colleges for International Development (CCID). The Jikei Groupoperates 47 schools throughout Japan and has in excess of 35,000 students.

OSM's colleges in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka operate under the name of The School of Music and Communication Arts. These establishments cater for 15,000 students and teach a variety of courses covering music entertainment, creative entertainment and ecology.

As part of its ongoing expansion, OSM is preparing to open Sendai Communication Arts, a new centre in Osaka that will be completed by next April. The 48-channel SSL Duality will be used to teach its music entertain

USA - Since opening in the summer of 2006, Hotel 1000 has fulfilled its focus in becoming Seattle's finest luxury boutique hotel. Located in the heart of downtown Seattle, Hotel 1000 boasts 120 luxury hotel rooms on ten floors, 47 condominium residences on fourteen floors. It also includes a selection of restaurants and bars, a full service spa and fitness centre, a wine cellar for the residents, a dog-walking park on the roof, and over 6,000 square-feet of high-tech meeting and banquet space for business guests.

Design/build firm Pro-Comm and its division, The Music Room installed AV systems and automatic shades in all 120 hotel rooms. Hotel 1000's nine boardrooms and conference rooms also feature an AV distribution system installed by The Music Room using SymNet audio networking equipment.

"We were referred to the product specifically by our A/V designer, Stan Holt. We

UK - Forward-thinking book retailers, Maher the Bookseller, are pioneering a revolutionary new interactive Listening Post in their shops, designed to increase sales of audio book titles. The pilot scheme is the initiative of managing director, Tony Maher, and his idea has been turned into reality by multimedia solution providers Creative Retail Entertainment (CRE).

Two of Maher's three shops - in Welwyn Garden City and Fleet - have been equipped with the technology and they are already paying dividends. Tony Maher says the development is in line with his company's policy of providing a more welcoming environment in which to shop, conscious that 50% of the population never ventures into a book shop. "We wanted to create a bright, contemporary design, with the infrastructure that would enable our staff to be able to offer an exceptional service to customers," he said.

UK - Utopian Leisure has just completed its third new venue launch - in the spectacular Odyssey complex situated on the riverfront of Belfast City opposite the famous H & W (Titanic) Shipyards. The Box is a two tier nightclub and bar venue offering a diverse selection of style, imagery and music. Following on from their successful openings of Sam Jacks and Bar 55 in Newcastle and Love Shack in Durham, MD Bob Senior and operations director Carl Hornsby called in Andy Austin-Brown of KV2 Audio to specify a new sound system to match the standards that had been installed in the previous venues.

The Box represented another challenge, that of being able to contain and control sound without creating external noise pollution. In this case the Odyssey complex is surrounded by a multi screen cinema complex, an IMAX cinema directly above and several well know chain restaurants in the surro

UK - Already with a reputation as one of the most luxurious cinemas outside the West End, the renowned Everyman Cinema Club in Hampstead, London, has nevertheless been getting a makeover, commissioning CGA Integration to enhance the technical facilities in its bar and private screening lounge.

Hot-foot from its recent project at the Dorchester Hotel, CGA has altered the identity of the Cinema's ground-floor, transforming the lobby into a cool bar seating area with the installation of an Electro-Voice sound system, using four wall-mounted EV S-40 ultracompact compact monitors together with a 50" plasma screen.

The space has been re-designed to include a cyc-type wall, new lighting, and shocking pink and orange furnishings. Says Chris Gunton of CGA, "even given the hot colours, it's a square design so I chose Electro-Voice's square S-40 cabinet, which sounded much warm

UK - When the Barbican Concert Hall decided to integrate its four different sound system controllers with an AMX integrated sound control system, they were referred by AMX to Hawthorns to carry out the installation.

"This wasn't a straightforward AMX installation, as the Barbican use the system in a unique way and we enjoyed the technical challenge," said Simon Ling, installation manager for Hawthorn.

Hawthorns have done over 12 AMX installations, for a variety of clients in the UK, over the past 12 months: "When we were asked to recommend a potential installation company by the Concert Hall, we had no hesitation in recommended Hawthorns who have done superb installations for us in the past and our customer feedback on their performance has been glowing," said Sarah Chiappi of AMX.

Ingo Reinhardt, deputy technical manager at the Barbican said: "We ar

Italy - Newly open for business in the town of Brescia, just an hour from Milan, La Nave di Harlock is a houseful of creative musical opportunity that defies description, including a recording studio, video editing facilities, gelateria, restaurant, live music venue and even an ice rink.

Owner Gianluca Renna has just opened the restaurant and live music venue at the Harlock, which has been equipped with a JBL PA system, Crown amplifiers, and a Soundcraft GB8 for front-of-house audio control. The venue is hosting live music four nights a week, and plans are in place to double its capacity by utilising the upper floor, which has a gallery overlooking the stage.

Renna already operates a tour sound rental company, which carries JBL Vertec line array in its inventory. His businesses also include a promotion company, running its own festivals and gigs, a commercial graphic design an

Norway - Clear-Com, a Vitec Group Communications brand, has recently completed an installation at the renowned National Theatre in Oslo, Norway. The installation of a FreeSpeak 10 digital wireless intercom system, with 10 FreeSpeak beltpacks extends the capacity of the other Clear-Com equipment already in use at the theatre. The installation was managed and completed with the support of Clear-Com's Norwegian distributor, Danmon and its managing director, Oivind Iversen.

FreeSpeak 10 brings the power of matrix communications to the wireless environment, combined with the coverage flexibility of a local cellular network. Up to 10 beltpacks can operate from a single 1-RU base station via individually located Antennae, and users can talk beltpack-to-beltpack or in small groups. Each beltpack is registered with a User ID that the base station will recognise. This prevents interferenc

Italy The Congress Palace in Bologna is using Cayin Technology digital signage to offer a flexible information platform for congress' participants and visitors. The Congress currently offers the use of five venues and more than thirty meeting rooms throughout the city.

Ten SMP-WEB players and 2 CMS-MINI servers are used together with large plasma displays of 42" and 50". Those screens are positioned at the reception, in conference rooms and in the congress cafeteria to deliver live information about hosting companies, meeting schedules and rooms usage. Due to the limited capacity of the auditorium, the platform is also used to transmit live streaming video from the main auditorium to other conference rooms to increase the number of viewers.

SMP-WEB is a scalable web-based networked digital signage system. It allows event hosting companies to display a variety of mult

USA - Located in downtown Chicago's busy River North district, Spy Bar is a smaller venue that stands out from the crowd by offering patrons an intimate club experience that is big on style and sound quality - using a Dynacord Cobra line array system installed by Audiolines.

"Spy Bar's owners chose the Cobra as their new main room system after the DJ booth was renovated earlier this year," says Eric Dahl of Audiolines. "The Cobra has a small footprint, yet pumps out huge sound into the 30ft by 30ft room. Two stacks of two Cobra Tops and two Cobra PWH subs are ground stacked either side of the booth, standing about nine feet high, tucked in nicely under the 12ft basement ceiling. The Cobra hardly takes up any space, but it's taken the sound Spy Bar to another level."

"The Cobra is simply a great club system," Dahl continued, "one that opens up

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