Canada - CAST Group of Toronto has announced the arrival of Vivien 2013 - Virtual Event Designer which is available now to download for members only.

Vivien 2013's new features include:

Drawing Purge: If in the big event plans your Vivien files become very large and heavy, by using Vivien 2013?s powerful Purge tool, users can clear the drawing of old imports, renders, library custom items and more characteristics (you aren't relying upon) to make the file smaller in size and easier to move around. No need to waste time pulling huge files from the server anymore; this keeps you truly mobile," says CAST.

Layer Merge: "For dealing with an enormous file from a client or a convention centre with lots of drawing layers, Vivien 2013 allows users to merge some of those layers together so you can to better manage the drawing and make things less confusing," CAST adds.<

Germany - The demands on modern conference and training rooms have changed completely over the past few years. Even in small rooms we expect a perfectly working media integration these days. For instance, the room should automatically go to standby on time with the beginning of the seminar or the meeting, turn on the beamer lamp, depending on the resource booking, wake up the amplifier, the mixing desk and other devices from standby mode and adjust the illumination.

In the best case the same steps should be carried out again in the reverse order at the end of the event. Especially in view of today's energy debates, saving energy by automated standby activation is becoming more and more important.

So far, all this could only be realised by means of very expensive and extremely complex media control systems. With the Cardinal DVM 194 series Sommer Cable will present a new, very

UK - PR Lighting has added the new, super-bright XLED 1037 to its popular XLED moving head portfolio.

Characterised by the use of 37 x 10 Watt RGBW LEDs (containing four colours in one), another key feature is its wide linear zoom, with beam angle ranging from 12° to 54°.

Additional features include a linear CTO from 3200K to 10000K, linear colour mixing with macro function, , 0-100% linearly adjustable dimmer and an electronic strobe (0 to 25fps).

In terms of movement, the XLED 1037 offers speed adjustable pan and tilt (with pan angle of 0°-540° and tilt of 0°-270°) with auto position correction function. It also enables auto speed adjustment of the fans, brightness and contrast adjustment and boasts an advanced cooling system, with LED lamp overheating and DMX512 control display statuses.

There are various control options, since the XLED 1037 is W

Spain - Over the past few years D.A.S. Audio Aero 50 systems have been handled by hundreds of national and international sound engineers in festivals around the world. After listening to their feedback and combining this with listening tests and a battery of measurements to determine the real effects on the Aero 50s, D.A.S. Audio has updated the presets for the control and digital processing of the Aero 50 systems.

The major technical features of the new presets include: modification of the systems HPF cut to 80 Hz, the same as the LX-218 subwoofers; modification of the cross-over slope between the 15" and 8", offering higher definition for the mid-bass zones while also protecting the 8"; increase in the 8" HPF cut to 200 Hz, which provides higher definition and component protection.

The new Aero 50 V5.5 presets are completely compatible with the three main

UK - Automation specialist Kinesys is launching LibraWATCH, a new free multi-platform load-monitoring software app which works with Windows, Mac, iOS and Android operating systems.

LibraWATCH is the latest in the innovative Libra range of products by Kinesys and integrates seamlessly with LibraCELL, LibraPRO and LibraWIFI.

With smartphones and tablets an increasingly popular everyday tool for technicians, riggers and touring crews in the entertainment industry, Kinesys has developed this new, user-friendly and robust load-monitoring experience specifically for all professionals who are working 'on-the-go' with rigged installations.

LibraWATCH offers a fully flexible and fully mobile solution designed so load information can be viewed quickly and clearly via a wired network or through a LibraWIFI wireless connection on multiple portable and hand-held devices.

Once installed

Sweden - Wireless Solution Sweden AB's award-winning W-DMX technology is now available in the newest moving head in the popular XLED moving head range of products by PR Lighting, the super-bright XLED 1037.

Characterised by the use of 37 x 10-Watt RGBW LEDs (containing four colours in one), another key feature is its wide linear zoom, with beam angle ranging from 12° to 54°. Additional features include a linear CTO from 3200K to 10000K, linear colour mixing with macro function, 0-100% linearly adjustable dimmer and an electronic strobe (0 to 25fps). In terms of movement, the XLED 1037 offers speed adjustable pan and tilt (with pan angle of 0°-540° and tilt of 0°-270°) with auto position correction function. It also enables auto speed adjustment of the fans, brightness and contrast adjustment and boasts an advanced cooling system, with LED lamp overheating

USA - Cerwin-Vega! recently launched its new P-Series professional PA system, with events at the Gibson Showrooms in New York and Los Angeles. This new product, from the Gibson Pro Audio brand, was put to the test by artists such as DJ Premier, The Dirty Pearls, echosmith and DJ Serafin. Suited for any sound reinforcement application, from live performances to public speeches, the P-Series P1500X speakers were used both as monitor wedges and stacked with the P1800SX subwoofers for full amplification.

The performance in New York on Thursday, 6 December, took place at the former Hit Factory Studios and featured performances by DJ Premier and The Dirty Pearls. As guests made their way into the showroom, Scratch DJ Academy guru, DJ Henry C, mixed songs from today's top 100 list on Stanton STR.150 turntables, with his beats blasting through the P-Series. One of the highlights of the

Canada - CAST Software has released WYSIWYG R30, the latest edition of its industry standard lighting design and pre-visualisation suite. R30 is available to download now from the Members Only Area of the CAST Website: www.cast-soft.com. The release follows a phenomenally successful beta-testing period which saw one tester put the new software to use on an undisclosed high-profile project, says the company.

wysiwyg - 'What You See Is What You Get' - is an award-winning software suite that is the graphic application tool used by production professionals to create stunning pre-visualisations of lighting and video designs at home or in a studio, without having to spend time and money programming at the actual venue. The software gets its name from its ability to deliver renders that are identical to what the designer can expect to see at the event itself, helping users become more

UK - The same 20K ANSI lumens PT-DZ21K Series projectors that helped deliver a spectacular performance for the London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony have been selected by AtoV, an industry leading AV solutions and rental company based in Manchester.

Having been providers of leading edge AV staging technology since 2002, AtoV provides its customers with quality end-to-end Full-HD projection, display and video equipment solutions. A total acquisition of 12 PT-DZ21K and PT-DZ770 Panasonic projectors will refresh AtoV's rental fleet with most progressive projection technology available and clients will continue to benefit from AtoV's quality control structure.

"After significant research and bench-testing the latest projectors, we selected Panasonic. As projection specialists we pride ourselves in creating the most impressive visual presentations for some of the UK's hig

USA - Elation Professional says it is making it "simpler and more affordable to produce high-quality visual content on LED video walls, projection screens and broadcast displays". The company has unveiled the Zeus Media Server, a full-scale media server with two full HD outputs and a powerful Arkaos Media Master Pro engine that lets you easily programme and play smooth visuals from any DMX lighting desk, MIDI controller or as a stand-alone unit.

Designed for live concerts and productions, theatre, clubs and houses of worship, Zeus is designed for quick and easy setup, and is especially suited for applications that call for precise, real-time visual displays. It features Arkaos MediaMaster Pro 3.0 software, including Arkaos' patented Kling-Net protocol, which automatically configures and distributes real-time video data to remote display devices by pixel. With Kling-Net

The Netherlands - Artistic Licence Engineering will be demonstrating dVnet, its innovative new digital video-to-network converter, at ISE 2013. Visitors to the stand (8-R232) are guaranteed an exciting visual display as dVnet drives Pixel Pad, the LED array product from Abstract, the company says.

The latest addition to ALE's Rack Pack range, dVnet is aimed squarely at retail and architectural applications in which a media facade or light sculpture is to be controlled by video, and the complexity of a media server is not required. dVnet is all a user needs to convert a video creation to light. The digital video input is in HDMI format. Configuration is simplicity itself, with less than ten mouse-clicks required to render video to a media wall.

dVnet can also play-back video clips manually loaded onto its internal hard drive, or via the incorporated play list manager which faci

The Netherlands - Dataton will "usher in a new era of innovation and creativity at the 2013 edition of Integrated Systems Europe". The company's latest products, marketed as additions to the Watchout suite of multi-display production and presentation software, will be showcased on Dataton's biggest ISE stand so far.

While the exact nature of the products to be showcased at ISE remains a closely guarded secret until the show opens its doors on 29 January, Fredrik Svahnberg, Dataton's marketing director, comments: "We have continued to update Watchout this year with new features such as 3D stereoscopic playback, live video streaming, interactivity, and multiple languages. What we are going to show at ISE marks the start of a major move forward."

On the first day of ISE 2013, Dataton will host a booth party at 17:00 on stand 7-K175 to celebrate its 40th year i

USA - D.A.S. Audio will feature the new Convert 15A powered multifunction loudspeaker system with variable dispersion and the new SX-218A subwoofers as the main sound reinforcement system on the Venue Stage at Winter NAMM 2013 - located just outside the arena adjacent to Hall A. These new loudspeakers - part of D.A.S. Audio's Convert Series - will be central to all activities that take place on the stage. Equally notable, the company will introduce its new Aero 40 line array system.

At 4 PM on Thursday, 24 January - opening day of Winter NAMM 2013 - D.A.S. Audio will unveil the new Aero 40 line array system at its booth, #7101 (between Hall A and the Arena). Part of the Aero Series 2 product line, the new Aero 40 is a mid-size, powered line array system utilizing 12-inch and 6-inch transducers for the low and mid frequencies respectively plus dual compression drivers for the hig

The Netherlands - Mitsubishi Electric's MDT701S will make its European debut at ISE 2013. The flagship 70" edge-lit LED display is the largest professional LCD monitor ever offered by Mitsubishi, equally suited to both public display or corporate settings, says the company.

"Large format flat panel displays are increasingly popular in public display applications such as signage and point of information, as well as corporate presentation and education. The large, Full HD screen and elegant narrow bezel design of the MDT701S creates an impressive visual presence as well as delivering excellent performance and low cost of ownership thanks to its use of LED backlighting," says the company. "LED illumination means reduced power consumption and slimmer profile, while delivering a 5000:1 contrast ratio and increased colour gamut. Lifespan is also increased and LEDs

The Netherlands - The 10th Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) show sees Yamaha Music Europe GmbH showing a full range of products for the installed audio market.

Exhibiting on Stand 7-M176, a highlight will be products from the Commercial Installation Solutions (CIS) series. Making its first appearance in Europe, the CIS series is a range designed specifically with ease of installation and use in mind, says Yamaha. The CIS series has been devised to provide a complete system solution for situations where there isn't an experienced audio operator available to manage it - for example in restaurants, retail outlets, transport hubs, public buildings, convention centres and function rooms.

The first CIS series products include the MTX matrix processors, XMV multi-channel amplifiers, VXC ceiling speakers and VXS surface mount speakers - all featuring Yamaha's renowned digital technolog

The Netherlands - Later this month, Panasonic will be at Integrated Systems Europe to present a host of new display and projector innovations.

The new video wall display from Panasonic, the TH-55LFV50, will be exhibited at ISE. The LED LCD display is a solution for digital signage as well as for the rental and staging market. The highly energy efficient video wall features a robust design to minimise breakages and the industries narrowest bezel to bezel of only 5.3 mm thickness.

Display solutions for lobbies, airports, showrooms and retail stores will also be showcased at ISE. Panasonic will present new Large LCD displays, TH-70LF50 70 inch and TH-80LF50 80 inch and digital signage LCD displays; TH-42LF5 42 inch and TH-47LF5 47 inch. These new displays boast the utmost attention to design detail, feature narrow bezels and can reproduce Full-HD images. For robust outdoor applic

UK - Flare Audio has launched Space Technology, billed as "a groundbreaking new development ... The technology delivers an immediacy of sound with unbeaten clarity and detail, and is set to open up a new frontier in sound experience for audio professionals through to home consumers".

The company states: "Space is the latest development from UK based audio manufacturing innovators Flare Audio Ltd. Space Technology achieves this giant leap in audio quality by banishing resonance. Where other speaker designs strive to control resonance and internal reflections through enclosure design and dampening; Flare doesn't do damage control. Flare speaker designs are believed to be the first in the world to prevent resonance or internal reflections being created in the first place. No resonance means no rear-reflected sound wave damage, which leads to pure sound, audible exact

The Netherlands - Artistic Licence Engineering will be demonstrating dVnet, its innovative new digital video-to-network converter, at ISE 2013. "Visitors to the stand (8-R232) are guaranteed an exciting visual display as dVnet drives Pixel Pad, the LED array product from Abstract," says the company.

The latest addition to ALE's Rack Pack range, dVnet is aimed squarely at retail and architectural applications in which a media facade or light sculpture is to be controlled by video, and the complexity of a media server is not required.

dVnet is all a user needs to convert a video creation to light, says ALE. The digital video input is in HDMI format. "Configuration is simplicity itself, with less than ten mouse-clicks required to render video to a media wall."

dVnet can also play-back video clips manually loaded onto its internal hard drive, or via the incor

Europe - Launched in March last year, Yamaha's CL Series has been extended with the introduction of the new Ri8-D Input and Ro8-D Output rack units, which use the same Dante audio networking to deliver "almost limitless system flexibility".

Complementing the CL series Rio3224-D and Rio1608-D i/o units, the space-saving 1U size Ri8-D and Ro8-D make it possible to now place inputs where a system only needs inputs and outputs where it only need outputs, or any combination of the two.

The Ri8-D and Ro8-D work seamlessly with compatible Yamaha professional audio products which have the Dante-MY16-AUD interface card installed. These include the M7CL and LS9 digital consoles and the DME64N digital mixing engine. The Ri8-D head amplifiers can also be controlled directly from the user interface of a compatible console.

"The Ri8-D and Ro8-D have been developed to delive

UK - Design, manufacturing and distribution company MilTec (UK) Ltd has experienced "unprecedented demand" for their latest LED batten, the LEDHead Batten2. The lightweight but robust batten has proved popular with both rental and installation companies for use in a wide variety of applications. Demand really took off after a very striking demo system was shown at PLASA in September.

The unit is fitted with 18x 8W quadcolour LEDs, PowerCon in and out connectors, five-pin XLRs and a versatile hanging bracket. A selection of operating modes allows options from simple four-channel control up to full pixelmapping of each LED for stunning visual effects. In addition, a barndoor type reflector allows the Batten2 to be used as a cyclorama wash up to 6m plus.

Thirty-six of the battens were used by Blinding Light for set lighting on the Proms in the Park concert as part of th

USA - Australian-based audio company RØDE Microphones has announced the iXY, a stereo microphone for iPhone and iPad with 30-pin connector that allows high quality recording at sampling rates up to 24-bit/96kHz, "the only microphone on the market to do so," says the company.

Appearing at the International CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas for the first time, the company has unveiled the innovative device to an expected audience of over 150,000 visitors.

At the heart of the iXY is a matched pair of ½" cardioid condenser capsules, fixed in a perfect 90 degree 'near-coincident' alignment resulting in immersive and true-to-life stereo recordings, captured in incredibly high detail, says RØDE. The iXY uses its own high-fidelity analogue to digital conversion ensuring all recordings are "rich, smooth and accurate".

The iXY's small

USA - Prism Projection's recently introduced RevEAL Profile Junior, a compact version of its industry award-winning RevEAL Profile LED luminaire offers 10,000 lumens and equally impressive optics.

The Profile Junior is a compact 10,000 lumen LED profile spot; in fact its size and weight are similar to conventional tungsten-sourced ellipsoidals, yet its output exceeds conventional 575W ellipsoidals. This new compact design of the Profile Junior is offered in three versions; a tunable 2,800-6,500K, 3200K and 5600K white light. As with all Prism LED products, the Prism Junior utilizes the patented TrueSource technology along with its advanced thermal management system.

The Profile Junior, along with the original Profile, is ready right now for use in a wide range of applications including long throw front of house lighting positions

"The RevEAL Profile Junior caught my eye

The Netherlands - German loudspeaker manufacturer Fohhn Audio demonstrates the full capability of its state-of-the-art beam steering technology at Integrated Systems Europe in Amsterdam (stand 7-H179). On show will be the company's Focus Series of electronically steerable line array systems. This includes the established Linea Focus LFI-120 - LFI-450 family of 1.2m to 4.5m loudspeakers and the recently released Focus Modular series comprising the FM/I-100 and FM/1-110 high frequency modules and the FM/I-400 low-mid/full range module. Fohhn will also premiere its new Linea LX-220 high performance hybrid line source loudspeaker system.

In Focus Modular, Fohhn takes the concept of modular line array systems with real-time beam steering to new levels. The compact modules each contain three separate, specially developed DSP processors with dedicated functionality, designed to produce

The Netherlands - Martin Professional is heading to the ISE show in Amsterdam, with its latest line of LED video products in tow, the VC Series of Strips, Grids and Dots.

The VC Series of LED video products combines an all-new level of simplicity with a high level of quality. Instead of relying on DMX, these new creative LED video elements are driven by Martin's award-winning P3 System Controller family for true video control with superb ergonomics and easy set up. So no need to worry about stuttering, uneven dimming or lack of synchronization (as with many DMX-driven solutions). VC-Strips -Grids and -Dots are ideal for integrating LED video into a façade, stage design, ceiling, lobby or any other structure (indoors or out), says the company.

The new VC-Strip family of narrow LED video strips features a pixel-pitch of 25 mm and is available in various lengths up to 400 mm. Th

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