USA - Audio, video, lighting, staging and broadcast company Panavid Inc. has recently invested in Brompton Technology Tessera SX40 LED processors and XD Data Distribution Units to work in conjunction with its new 1.5mm ROE Visual Sapphire LED display. Located in New Jersey, New York City, and Dallas, Panavid has more than 40 years of experience of providing first class integration and production services to both domestic and international clients. The company has recognised the ever-increasing demand for increased pixel density and higher resolution in LED screens for live events and art installations, as well as an increasing level of interactivity. It is the first production house in the world to invest in the latest, ultra-fine, ROE Sapphire, along with two Brompton Tessera SX40s and four Tessera XD Units. “Our mission is to provide our clients with the most qual
The Netherlands - Canon Europe will be showcasing a new dimension of its business to visitors at ISE 2020 next month. Visitors to the stand will have the chance to see its advanced imaging ecosystem, including Canon’s incredible HDR, 4K and 8K projection capabilities and unrivalled line-up of input to output solutions, including world-class cameras and lenses. Canon’s network cameras, comprehensive analytics software, and a robotic arm - provided by Denso - will be on stand demonstrating how visual analytics technology can support automation of various cumbersome tasks. Matthew Koshy, European product marketing specialist, Canon Europe, comments: “We’re building on the success of ISE 2019 by expanding our input to output showcase, which highlights the importance of having an integrated line-up to deliver unbeatable resolution. Our range of high-brightness and
Austria - Back in 2016, Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera) with its chief sound engineer Athanasios Rovakis, started investigating the possibility of moving the venue’s audio and video distribution to fibre. At first, the opera house modernised its audio system, purchasing a network fibre solution based around Optocore X6R-FX analogue devices and M8 MADI switch to bring together additional signal sources from distant places in the house, and to share signals for broadcasting. Looking to expand their communications outreach, by the following year they were considering further options provided by Optocore’s partner company BroaMan. This resulted in them purchasing a point-to-point set of Mux22 multi-signal transmission devices, with the new FrameSync8 board. Offering a superior upgrade to traditional frame sync technologies it allowed sync distribution together with e
South Africa - Fogtech, a Johannesburg-based rental and technical supply company, has purchased 140 Absen PL3.9 Lite LED panels from DWR Distribution. Established in 2007, Fogtech initially specialised in Fogscreens alone. By 2010, the company expanded to include AV and video to their service offering and, soon after, started to deliver turnkey technical solutions for events, including lighting, audio and AV. The company has a reputation for being a friendly yet professional team, who deliver well-maintained gear to events and for cross rental purposes. A practical and hands-on owner, Garth O’Kelly of Fogtech, comments: “LED is an amazing product and has revolutionised our industry, but it can be finicky. We looked at different brands and felt that Absen had refined their product to accommodate our working style. One of the biggest decision-makers was the after-sa
China - New Year’s Eve presents a broadcaster battleground in China as the main networks compete for the most-viewers crown. Satellite channel Hunan TV rose to the challenge, commissioning a countdown-to-2020 live show featuring big-name artists backed by party-enhancing lasers, lighting effects and video content. Shanghai-based Honest AV was brought in to deliver a video solution for the ambitious programme, specifying 10 Hippotizer media servers to drive visuals for more than 50 acts and events during the evening. The content was a mixture of live feed to IMAG screens and pre-made content by Ndimensions. “Two Boreal+ and four Boreal DVDL Media Servers were used to play the video material, three as the main output and three as hot backup,” explains Fei Zheng from Honest AV. “A further three Boreal+ machines were used on the VJ elements of the show.” T
UK - Lighting rental specialists Version2 supported The Brits Are Coming at the newly re-opened Riverside Studios. Working with award winning lighting designer Tim Routledge, the Version2 team supplied a comprehensive lighting package, including a healthy selection of recent additions to the company’s growing inventory. The Brits Are Coming TV special is the reveal of the nominations for the BRIT Awards 2020. Hosted by broadcaster and presenter Alice Levine, the show featured special guest performances by nominated artists including Liam Payne, Aitch and Mabel. Recorded for ITV in front of a live audience, this was one of the first and one of the largest productions staged within the newly opened Studio 3 at Riverside Studios. Following the extensive re-development of the historic West London site, Riverside’s hosting of the show conveyed a clear mess
USA - The new Christie Crimson Series of 3DLP laser projectors, introduced this week, deliver 31,500 ISO lumens for the same price as the Crimson 25 models with the same 60Hz processing and Christie BoldColor Technology in a compact, rugged package for rental, staging and fixed installation customers. Users will also experience the same Christie TruLife electronics and the built-in warp and blend capabilities of Christie Twist. In addition, by adding Christie Mystique, users will reduce multiple projector calibration times from hours to minutes, saving both time and labour costs. Designed with the technician in mind, the Crimson Series is built-tough and is easy to ship, handle and install thanks to its compact form factor, quiet operation and omnidirectional capabilities. Featuring an IP5X sealed, solid-state laser light source, Crimson projectors provide years of rel
Finland - In the wake of the success of G Livelab Helsinki, the Finnish Musicians’ Union has opened a new - and bigger - venue in the city of Tampere, some 200km north of the Finnish capital. The same team was deployed to realise the Tampere project, which is built according to the same ‘music first’ philosophy as Helsinki. The result is an extraordinary live music experience based on quality programming, modern design, and Genelec audio systems including the new 4430 Smart IP loudspeaker. Housed in a striking red brick building which was formerly the boiler house of the Frenckell paper mill in the heart of the city, the venue hosts up to 250 people and offers a varied programme including jazz, folk, world music, pop/rock, chamber music, electronic music and more. Akukon Oy designed the acoustics, electroacoustics, lighting, sound, video, communication sys
The Netherlands - Visual design studio Tenfeet’s longstanding relationship with Dutch rockers BLØF resulted in some dazzling effects as the much-loved band played two sell-out gigs at Rotterdam’s 16,000-capacity AHOY Arena. Tenfeet video programmer Pim Elberse specified and supplied two Hippotizer Boreal+ Media Servers - one main and the second as a full live backup machine - to handle pre-made content mixed with multiple effects and live feed blend. The content ranged from sweeping landscapes to computer-graphics, lyrics and pictures. “We needed a system that could cope with various live feeds and feed a variety of content that was mixed with live, as well as control an SDI-matrix with 10 cameras on stage surrounding the band,” explains Elberse. “The Boreal+ provided total flexibility in combination with our Hog4 lighting console.” Despite the large
Belgium - Het Kunstuur (the Art Hour) is a new ‘interactive’ gallery concept developed by art collectors and entrepreneurs Hans & Joost Bourlon, presented in the former Holy Ghost Chapel in the historical heart of Mechelen, Belgium. Thirty-two Belgian paintings from the 19th century are displayed in three gallery spaces where their stories are told by a series of well-known Belgian personalities. Creative lighting design and media specialist Painting with Light (PWL) was asked to manage and co-ordinate and design the technical systems and control for lighting, video, audio and humidity control for this intricate and unique project. Visitors wear headsets and listen to an audio track as they move around the spaces, prompted to stop / move on cue to designated areas by the audio track, where they watch and listen as the AV effects play out. The walkthrough
Canada - Solotech has officially announced the launch of its e-commerce platform. Directly accessible in Canada and via the home page of the company’s website, the Solotech Online Store is a resource for individuals and shops looking for professional audiovisual and entertainment technologies deliverable at home. Currently offering used professional audio, video and lighting equipment available for shipment everywhere within Canada, the platform will support, in a second phase, purchases made in the United States. Previously used by Solotech during the tours of international artists, all products displayed on the online store are tested by the company’s teams of specialists before being offered for sale and guaranteed 90 days. “This is the outcome of several months of tireless work to deliver a dynamic platform with a selection of both high-quality and affordab
South Korea - Christie Digital reports that Gyeongnam Masan Robot Land, the world’s first theme park dedicated to intelligent robotics, has installed an extensive range of its laser projectors and real-time video processing and show control systems, which deliver spectacular visuals and enhance the visitor experience. Located in the city of Changwon on the southeast coast of South Korea, Gyeongnam Masan Robot Land occupies 1.25m square meters and comprises a research and development centre, convention centre and theme park. Its main attractions, which combine robotics technology and entertainment, are powered by Christie GS Series and HS Series 1DLP laser projectors, as well as Christie Pandoras Box’s Single and Quad players, Dual and Quad OCTO Servers, Pandoras Box Manager and Widget Designer. These systems were installed by Christie’s Korean partners Star Networks an
New Zealand - Harman Professional Solutions has realigned distribution of AMX and SVSI in New Zealand with the appointment of JPRO. JPRO, which has a long association with Harman having represented audio brands JBL Professional, BSS, Crown and Soundcraft for more than 30 years, will now add the complete range of AMX video control solutions and SVSI Networked AV solutions. Support, warranty and repair of AMX & SVSI products in New Zealand will also transition to JPRO with immediate effect. Warranty terms and inclusions will not be affected. “We are excited to expand our partnership with JPRO and extend our distribution reach in New Zealand. This is aimed at enhancing access to Harman products and solutions across verticals, focusing on solutions-driven approach and elevating customer experience,” comments Ramesh Jayaraman, VP and GM at Harman Professional Solut
UK - Women in Data, the UK’s largest female data professional event, pulls in over 1,000 attendees from around the world. Held within the surroundings of the InterContinental, London O2 on the banks of the River Thames, WiD features keynote presentations from a host of guest speakers. Having worked with Light Fantastic Production Services on a succession of previous events, WiD once again called upon the team to provide a complete technical, equipment and logistics production solution, custom designed to cover all aspects of the prestigious conference. Branding for 2019 Women in Data was characterised by red to signify confidence, ambition and drive. Following this theme, LFPS applied bold, crimson hues throughout the stage set and lighting design, emphasising the colour as a symbol of strength and vitality. Continuing the look, the team extended the lighting design
UK - The Tony Award-winning Best Musical Dear Evan Hansen opened in London 19 November at the Noel Coward Theatre with video projection comprising the shows entire stage scenery. Supplied by Stage Sound Services, three disguise vx 4 and four gx 1 servers powered projections for the show, highlighting the impact of social media on daily life and create an immersive social media environment on stage for the actors. “The cornerstone of the play is Evan and his interaction with the real world through a social media lens,” says projection designer Peter Nigrini. “To successfully tell our story, social media needed to be a visceral part of the theatrical environment. After the set designer created a physical environment, my job was to bring this virtual world to life on stage and give it the emotional power that so many teenagers clearly feel in their day to day
UK - Rising British singer and rapper Little Simz played her flagship show at London’s Kentish Town Forum in December, making video a priority for the first time to enhance her show for the tour’s largest audience. Production AV was brought on board by Little Simz’s production manager, Eric Wade of EZ Services, who was on the lookout for a new video supplier. Wade was keen to ramp up the visual effect of the show and capture quality footage, not only for live stage to IMAG screens, but also for use in promo material. “We had a pretty tight schedule to implement the video aspects for the biggest show of the tour and going with Production AV made perfect sense,” says Wade. “We wanted to give everyone in the audience the same experience, regardless of whether they were on the balcony or tucked away some place where sight lines weren’t so great. “Pro
UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) has been appointed as the exclusive UK distributor for Calibre’s HQUltra700 series of universal live events switcher-scalers with immediate effect. Sister Company, A.C. Entertainment Technologies Ireland will handle distribution in the Republic of Ireland. British-based manufacturer Calibre has been providing image scaling technology for over 30 years for use with large LED videowalls, designed for concerts, award ceremonies, rental/staging, advertising, and for image scalers for professional projection applications. Calibre’s HQUltra700 series, consisting of the HQUltra730ASV and the HQUltra770ASV, are universal live events switcher-scalers with the ability to drive flat panel displays, projectors or LED videowalls. Stuart Burdett, video sales manager comments: “Being able to provide our customers with a reliabl
Germany - Optocore has appointed Dusseldorf-based United Brands GmbH (United B) as its new German distributors with immediate effect. Tine Helmle, Optocore director of sales and marketing, comments: “With the expansion of our product portfolio such as Festival Box, AutoRouter and our Madi series United Brands was a perfect match. Due to their expertise and long-time experience in install and live events they bring huge potential in placing Optocore as the main sound distribution network on the market.” United B’s Jens ‘Bubbes’ Steffan, who will largely oversee the Optocore account, adds: “We were familiar with Optocore technology through our distribution of DiGiCo [digital consoles]. So it was just a small step to contact Optocore. The company has a lot of very interesting products, which perfectly match our customers’ demands.” Discussions had st
UK - Media server specialist disguise has released r17, the latest update to its software. Launched in response to user feedback, r17 brings workflow and user experience enhancements, including Manipulators and PreComps, and introduces Network Device Interface (NDI) support. Users can now stream an NDI source from content tools to the disguise stage in realtime, unlocking new workflows for esports, fixed installations, and TV productions. Integration with NDI can also be used as a streaming preview from content tools, such as 3DSMax or AfterEffects that enable users to finesse content accurately in-situ, saving time and speeding up workflows. For compositing, PreComps is a new workflow that allows users to create a pre-composition of layers which can be reused in multiple locations, making timelines cleaner and more flexible. It also enables the routing of video content
Europe - ISE 2020 sees LED processor manufacturer, Brompton Technology, give the first European showing of its Dynamic Calibration technology and launch its latest LED processor, the Tessera S8, on its largest ever trade show stand. The significant size increase of this newly designed stand, which measures 90m2, will allow Brompton to give regular presentations of Dynamic Calibration, the Brompton HDR solution, and the new Tessera S8, alongside its ever-popular demonstration stations. First shown at LDI 2019 in Las Vegas, Dynamic Calibration takes a different approach to maintaining uniformity, while unlocking the full potential of the LEDs to achieve “previously unthinkable levels of brightness and colour saturation”. Dynamic Calibration is enabled after panels are measured with Brompton’s Hydra system; an all-in-one advanced measurement system custom-designed
UK - Lighting and video specialist Colour Sound Experiment supplied lighting equipment, LED screen, rigging and crew to the most recent UK leg of Respect: The Aretha Franklin Songbook tour which has just finished. The vibrant and animated two-hour live concert was created by Adrian Grant (producer of Thriller Live) and directed / choreographed by Tiffany King, celebrates the huge success and songs of Aretha Franklin - the Queen of Soul. It was delivered by three leading vocalists - Stacy Francis, Tanya Edwards and Cleo Stewart - together with a live band, a gospel choir and ‘preacher man’ AJ Lewis. Colour Sound had supplied the tour earlier in the year, so production manager Aaron Booth again returned to Haydn Cruickshank and the team in West London. For this one, they were also asked to supply a lighting and visuals director, so regular Colour
Canada/Germany - The Canada-based IP video processing specialist Embrionix has become part of Riedel Communications. Founded in 2009, Embrionix provides miniaturised, high-density IP gateways, IP signal processors and converters for broadcast video applications. Since pioneering the use of small form-factor pluggable (SFP) modules for signal processing early in its history, Embrionix has been granted more than 20 patents for its technologies. Riedel Communications has grown to become a leader in distributed intercom and video network solutions. Riedel has been pursuing a networked approach to video infrastructures for more than a decade with its real-time media network, MediorNet. "Sometimes, things just fit. Just like Riedel, Embrionix started out as a garage company and has managed to preserve its innovation-driven startup spirit on its way to global success. O
Australia - For the tenth year in a row, AGB Events has produced its Lights of Christmas spectacular in Sydney. It has become a tradition, and a much-anticipated event for families throughout the city - and beyond. The first Lights of Christmas was established by AGB Events in 2010 with the support of the NSW State Government. “We take great pride in creating meaningful and memorable public celebrations that draw communities together so successfully that they become an integral part of the cultural landscape,” comments Anthony Bastic, CEO and creative director of AGB Events. “That’s what Lights of Christmas has become.” “While it’s a unique event, Lights of Christmas is representative of the kind of events we’ve created for governments and city/state councils around the world - not just Australia, but the United States, Europe
Poland - Absen has appointed SQM as the company’s official distributor in Poland. SQM, a specialist provider of multimedia and event services, will have exclusive rights over the sale and distribution of the Aries AX1.5 MiniLED rental display, in the Polish rental staging market. Headquartered in Poznan, SQM provides multimedia and audio-visual rental services for trade fairs, conferences and events across Europe. The company has recently added over 100sq.m of Absen’s AX1.5 product - part of the Aries MiniLED rental series - to its inventory, making it one of the few partners to be able to offer rental customers such a high-quality 1.5mm fine pitch LED display. “Quality is the most important factor for us and the AX1.5 certainly delivers on so many levels,” says Michal Górski, CEO at SQM. “After visiting Absen’s manufacturing base in China and witness-tes
