Germany - Munich-based fibre network specialists Optocore and BroaMan have announced the promotion of Dawid Somló to sales distribution manager for both brands. Somló has been with the company for five years and during that period has managed relationships with existing distributors as well as significantly expanding the distribution network worldwide. Stepping up to management level, and tasked with overall international sales and network responsibility, he states: “I am delighted to take up this new position and relish the challenge ahead, as nowadays technology allows us to make incredibly smart solutions with high bandwidths using all kinds of signal for different applications. I am honoured to be a part of this technological change on the board of such important companies as Optocore and BroaMan who can make this possible by utilising the optical fiber environ
UK - US AVoIP solutions manufacturer Aurora Multimedia has appointed CUK Audio as its exclusive distributor for the UK and Ireland. “Aurora Multimedia is a true innovator in the AV industry and the number of firsts they have to their name is truly impressive,” comments Stuart Thomson, managing director at CUK Audio. “The IPX line of SDVoE based 10G AVoIP transceivers are a great example of the innovation they bring to the market, incorporating advanced features such as reversable USB, copper and fibre connectivity, integrated ReAX control processor, eight-channel Dante, audio DSP and wallplate form factor.” Simon Druce, CUK Audio sales director, adds: “Since my first contact with Paul Harris at Aurora Multimedia, I knew this was a company we had to work with. The culture of innovation Paul has fostered in the organisation is impressive and the products resu
UK - Lighting director Malcolm Reed used Green Hippo’s Hippotizer media server technology to manage the visuals for Coventry-born rapper Jay1’s performance on the UK’s popular football show, Soccer AM. Filmed at London’s Sky Sports Studios, the 90-minute show, which airs on Saturday mornings, includes a section where music artists from across the country are invited to perform their latest songs in front of a live studio audience. Backing Jay1’s performance was a Martin LC 2140 5m x 2m LED screen fed by a P3 system controller. Visuals for the Jay1 performance, partly created by Reed and partly by the band, were simple but effective, based on band logos and a mix of custom and stock graphics. Green Hippo’s Amba media servers were supplied to the production by specialist entertainment technology suppliers, A.C. Entertainment Technologies. Reed previous
The Netherlands - CAST Group will offer an interactive and informative new demo, including the launch of a new augmented reality product designed for broadcast. The daily demos presented by CAST Group will showcase various BlackTrax applications for live entertainment and broadcast. These include lighting, media and virtual lighting, spatial audio, interactive games, talent-tracking and augmented reality powered by CONVRG, BlackTrax’s broadcast-control environment, and Helios, a new camera-tracking beacon. Mounted directly on the camera, Helios tracks and provides a synchronised data stream to broadcast systems and media servers, enabling real-time virtual and augmented reality graphics in any production. For ISE 2020, CAST has joined forces with partners for a live entertainment show designed by MEPTIK, as well as a broadcast & XR demo programmed and supported b
The Netherlands - AV Stumpfl will present their latest projection screen products and a v1.6 preview of their media server system Pixera, at ISE 2020 in Amsterdam. Pixera is a multi-award winning 64-bit system for real-time media processing, compositing and management, built around the key theme of usability. A radical new interface enables even first-time users to intuitively understand the main software mechanics. AV Stumpfl's Pixera combines a powerful render engine with “a revolutionary GUI approach”. AV Stumpfl’s GmbH CEO Tobias Stumpfl comments on the system's successful introduction: "It's wonderful when old industry friends enjoy and support our new products, but to see the amazing enthusiasm of completely new users we only just met in the last twelve months is a uniquely gratifying experience. Pixera may be a comparatively new system, but the high speed
Saudi Arabia - Technical event production specialist LarMac LIVE recently delivered its largest ever project when MDL Beast welcomed over 130,000 festivalgoers to the outskirts of Riyadh for three-days of electronic music - pitching the festival straight into the top three biggest EDM events in the world. LarMac LIVE answered the call from LemonX in late September 2019. Only 10-weeks later, it was showtime. Company co-founder Ian Greenway explains: “The backbone to our business is multi-artist, multi-stage shows - large-scale festivals and TV shows. We like to think that we know how to keep multiple artists and stakeholders happy, usually in very changeable environments, and all of these skills were used like never before here.” Spread over five stages - ranging from the 2,000-capacity Saudi Beast to the 45,000-capacity Big Beast - the festival was held on a
Canada - Symetrix has announced the appointment of Quebec-based AVL Media Group as its sole distributor in Canada. AVL Media Group caters to the live performance, broadcast, and AV integration markets across the country. “Canadian customers look for high-value, high-quality products that offer long-term reliability and clear value,” comments AVL Media Group managing director Andrew Hope. “The combination of AVL Media Group’s strong national presence for sales, support, and service and Symetrix’s established reputation for high quality reliable and scalable DSP solutions is going to be a huge success.” “AVL Media Group has a great team in place who are enthusiastic about Symetrix,” says Ty Robinson, Symetrix international & sales operations manager. “We are really looking forward to our partnership with AVL Media and seeing how far they ca
UK - TechPro, a provider of lighting, video and sound services for the live events industry has announced Yvonne England as its new client account manager. England, who brings more than a decade’s experience to the role, will be responsible for strengthening relationships with existing and new clients, as the business looks to build on its growing success working with live event agencies. England comments: “TechPro appears to be one of the live event industries best kept secrets and ensuring prospects and clients understand everything we can do to make their lives a little easier will be an exciting challenge. “Working closely with the directors and the marketing team, it’s important we not only explain what we do, but listen carefully to them to understand how we can make the workload of event agency teams simpler.” TechPro director Rob Stokes
Austria - From February, Windows 10 will be used for the entire Pixera server product line, AV Stumpfl has announced. In addition to the latest security updates, servers with Windows 10 will also be delivered with many pre-installed tools and drivers. The engine GUI will also be replaced by Pixera Hub, a new toolset that will offer additional features, such as Autostart Manager and Pixera Version Selector. "With our new and customised Windows 10 systems, we are choosing a technological path that will not only provide our customers with future security updates, we are also offering them more freedom on their media servers in conjunction with utilities that facilitate a better workflow," says the company in a statement. The installation of the operating system will be via a USB stick, where all necessary drivers and software packs will be included. Customers, who
USA - The ninth annual iHeart Radio Music Festival landed in the Nevada desert with stars including Alicia Keys, Miley Cyrus and Green Day. The event, held at the T-Mobile arena, was broadcast live on FOX, complete with energetic sets and an array of musical talent. Green Hippo was at the iHeart of all things visual, with Boreal+ Media Servers powering pre-made content. Jason Rudolph was at the helm as screens producer, using the in-built Hippotizer toolkit to manipulate content to fit each artist’s performance, in front of two ‘SuperWall’ LED screens, one on each side of the stage. “We used four Boreal+ servers, as two redundant systems - an A and a B system for the A and B screens,” explains Rudolph. “Each main server was doing four outputs to drive all the content for the show. Everything feeds into two linked E2 frames to get onto the screen and allow
South Africa - DWR will host Hippotizer training and workshop on 17 and 18 March in Johannesburg. Hosted by Dylan Jones, the course will cover a range of topics including Hippolauncher, Output Manager, Media Manager, Visualizer, Pinbridge, Multi-Controller, DMX control, Timeline, Videomapper, Pixelmapper and Shape. Attendees are requested to bring a Green Hippo Server or Play Software on PC, Server Accessories and a valid ID. The course will be held at DWR, C1, Kimbult Industrial Park, 9 Zeiss Road, Laserpark, Honeydew. The cost is R1,800 and includes a light lunch and refreshments. To book, please visit this website.
South Africa - Truck and bus manufacturer Scania recently launched its new product line for the African market at a much-anticipated launch event, held at Montecasino in Johannesburg. Blue Moon brought on board Dream Sets, one of South Africa’s prominent set and technical services companies, to manufacture the set and exhibition areas and to deliver technical services for the event. Toni Van Oostenrijk of SpaceCadet, who took the lead role in designing the look and feel of the set for the event, drew inspiration from the front grill of the new Scania trucks, which he worked into the design of the bar and reception area. “When we first proposed this idea to the client, they seemed a little sceptical. However, as with so many of Toni’s designs, as soon as they saw it, they instantly fell in love with the concept,” says Dream Sets project manager, Billy van der M
Canada - APG Media Group has announced the opening of a new 15,000sq.ft Canadian corporate headquarters just outside Toronto. Comprised of executive offices, training and testing centre, full line product experience centre, quality control lab and a massive warehouse, the new headquarters will provide the growing videowall rental and distribution company with the space it needs to accommodate projected growth, according to APG Media Group president David Weatherhead. The company is also in the process of expanding its inventory and service offerings at its U.S. headquarters in Orlando, Florida. “Our rental and distribution businesses are growing in both Canada and the United States,” Weatherhead said. “The investments we are making in both headquarters facilities represents a tremendous opportunity for APG Media Group to bring to market the many new and exciting
Singapore - AV Stumpfl has announced the Singapore based company Total Solution Marketing as its new Pixera media server distributor for Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, ahead of this year's ISE exhibition in Amsterdam. The products and services provided by Total Solution are used for entertainment events and performing arts venues such as concert halls, theatres, large scale ceremonies, corporate events, product launches, schools, convention centres, galleries, public spaces, house of worship applications and museums. Total Solution Marketing deputy sales director Terence Yee comments: "With so many different media server systems available on the market, we were very curious in 2019 to find out more about this multi award winning system called Pexera. Our engineers quickly identified the great potential of this new and exciting platform. One particularly i
The Netherlands - LED display manufacturer Absen, will return to the RAI in Amsterdam next month to present its range of MiniLED products for the fixed installation and rental markets and to introduce new and enhanced products. Absen will occupy 324sq.m of floor space in Hall 12, representing the company’s largest ever presence at the show. Absen’s MiniLED are ultra-fine pixel pitch LED panels, incorporating 4-in-1 pixel configuration (IMD) and common cathode technology. Demand for Absen MiniLED products has been very high since the launch of the CR series in 2018, and intensified significantly with last year’s launch of the Aries (AX) series, the market-leading sub-2mm MiniLED rental display, designed to meet the rigorous demands of the rental staging market. Absen MiniLED now comes as standard in four core product lines: the Aries (AX), Acclaim (A27 Pro)
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
