UK - Ayrton will unveil two new lighting fixtures and showcase others in the UK for the first time as it exhibits on stand K40 at PLASA 2018 on 16-18 September.
The French lighting manufacturer will launch the Bora-S wash and the Khamsin-S spot, two low-power LED fixtures that are also up for PLASA Awards for Innovation.
Bora-S is a high-output, low-power LED washlight that delivers 38,000lm output from an 8,000K white LED engine of just 750W. Ayrton says its performance surpasses that of any other LED fixture in its class, and 1500W/1700W discharge fixtures at a fraction of the power consumption. Bora-S is ideal for large scale venues and outdoor and indoor arenas, but it's also fully featured with a 178mm PC front lens, a 8:1 zoom delivering a beam range of 8° to 64

TMB has introduced the first ethernet patch cable with verified performance up to 100m.This one-of-a-kind, stranded, flexible CAT6a patch cable is suitable for all portable networks up to 10-Gigabit, and features renowned ProPlex durability, reliability, handling, low skew, noise rejection, and data transmission characteristics.
In entertainment applications, ProPlex Cat 6a Extended cable is especially useful for front of house cable runs, where the industry standard lengths for sound, lighting, and video are typically either 100m or 300ft. Prior to the introduction of this cable, no portable, stranded Cat 6a or Cat 5e cables providing 100% verified performance were available to support these lengths.
Drawing upon over 30 years of experience and over 15 million feet of ProPlex Data Cable sales, ProPlex CAT6a Extended combines the highest data transmission integrity with the

UK - Prolight Concepts Group will exhibit at PLASA (stand G40), highlighting its expanding product range and an eventful business year that saw the company move to a new warehouse and office complex and refresh its logo (pictured).
At the PLASA Show, Prolight Concepts will feature eLumen8, LEDJ and Global Truss and launch many new products, including dynamic backlit blinders and Kudos moving heads, IP65-rated Endura pars and Evora series all from eLumen8.
LEDJ will feature a pixel version of the Spectra Flood Q40 and an addition to the new CZ Stage Pars with an RGBA version, and Prolight Concepts will also showcase its ever-expanding Global Truss staging systems.
(Jim Evans)

Thailand - Mahajak Development and Baan Rig recently deployed a complete Harman Professional Solutions audio system featuring JBL, Soundcraft, Crown and BSS solutions at Rajamangala National Stadium.
Home to Thailand’s national football team, Rajamangala is a 65,000-seat sports and entertainment venue that also hosts international events such as the AFC Asian Cup, pop concerts and political rallies.
Rajamangala’s management recently decided to upgrade to a high-impact audio system that could deliver even coverage and intelligible sound to every seat, while also streamlining and simplifying production requirements. They hired audio integrators Mahajak Development and rigging experts Baan Rig to deploy an array of JBL Precision Directivity loudspeakers along the roof of the stadium. The system also includes a robust network of Crown DCi Series amplifiers, Soundcraft

Located on a picturesque bend of the Brda river in Bydgoszcz, Opera Nova is one of Poland’s leading opera houses, and it has recently upgraded the audio installations for its two main performance halls with Allen & Heath dLive digital mixing systems.
With a world-class repertoire including The Nutcracker, Orpheus in the Underworld, Swan Lake and Madame Butterfly, Opera Nova opened in 2006 and completed its latest audio installation last year.
Supplied by Konsbud Audio, the new dLive systems were installed in two locations. The Main Hall features a dLive S5000 surface, alongside a DM32 MixRack, a DX32 Expander and a Dante card. While the Chamber Hall has a dLive S3000 surface and a DM48 MixRack combined with another Dante card.
Adrian Michalski (head of the acoustics department and main sound engineer for Opera Nova), comments; "I’

The Netherlands - Dutch supergroup De Toppers take over the 68,000-capacity Amsterdam Arena annually for a string of sold-out shows billed as “the sing-along party of the year”.
As usual, the 2018 Pretty in Pink - The Circus Edition concerts were among Holland’s hottest tickets so far this year, and it was a substantial Adamson E-Series system from Ampco Flaslight Rental that brought the hits to the capacity crowd on 25, 26, and 27 May.
The high-profile foursome - consisting of singers Rene Froger, Gerard Joling, Jeroen van der Boom, and Jan Smit - combined a spectacular circus-inspired stage design with a set list combining crowd-favourite covers and originals for the one-of-a-kind experience. Presented in-the-round, the shows were supported by over a dozen flown E-Series arrays to ensure complete coverage and high-impact sound for every single seat.

India - With its large glass doors and smooth tile interior, the Sri Sathya Sai Premamrutham ashram in Muddenahalli is an awe-inspiring place of devotion. These very same features also make the edifice a highly reflective - and acoustically challenging - space.
Coupled with the sheer size of the hall, which can seat close to 10,000 faithful, it was clear that a sound system was required inside the venue to maximise intelligibility during talks, concerts, and devotional activities. For this landmark project an L-Acoustics Kara system, provided by the French manufacturer’s certified distributor provider for India, New Delhi-based HiTech Audio Systems, offered such a solution.
“For the management of Sri Sathya Sai Premamrutham, the project is a milestone and the audio install was a prime consideration,” adds Sri Sathya Sai Premamrutham’s, Bharat Kumar. “We didn

UK - JHS has reopened the HK Audio Demo Theatre at the company's headquarters in Garforth, Leeds.
The newly refurbished demo theatre is home to the entire HK Audio range of live sound reinforcement systems.
The Demo Theatre is appointed with complete systems, cabling and accessories from the many HK Audio series. Visitors can also benefit from the technical advice of in-house pro audio specialist Chris Walton.
(Jim Evans)
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Germany - The Mercedes Benz Arena in Berlin was transformed into a giant live e-sports battle environment for the PUBG Global Invitational 2018, the first major international live tournament organised by the PUBG Corporation, and the first world championship in competitive PUBG. Teams of 24 competed for a share of some serious prize-money over four days.
The first-person shooting action was boosted by an energy-fuelled opening show. Event producers Production Associates asked visual specialists Live Legends to create a high-impact lighting design for the Opening Show and the championship, for which around 600 Robe moving lights played a central role.
Between the start of the project and getting to site in Berlin, Live Legends’ initial brief for the lighting design was also considerably expanded to include lighting control, set design, video content and control and fu

Belgium - Pukkelpop, held over four days at the end of August, showcases a variety of musical genres and also hosts theatre, street entertainment and food from around the world.
A major part of the audio production for this eclectic mixture of entertainment that has elevated Pukkelpop to being Belgium’s biggest and best alternative festival, is handled by production company PRG. DiGiCo was its choice of console for three of the festival’s stages including the Main stage, which hosted some of music’s biggest acts, including Dua Lipa, N.E.R.D, Arcade Fire and Kendrick Lamar.
The DiGiCo line up was SD10s on the Main and Marquee stages at both Front of House and monitor positions, and SD7s at both spots in the Dance Hall. Most bands took advantage of the house consoles, but if they did not, it was because they had brought their own DiGiCos with them.
“In the

UK - Technical production event specialist Saville AV has re-branded its conference and live event division to Sparq and its AV/IT wing, to Visavvi. Both brands will sit under Saville Group, the parent organisation.
The move is part of a wider investment strategy to “future-proof the business and ensure it continues to effectively evolve its technical event production service offering for clients in the UK, Europe and the USA”.
Sparq offers a full production service, from creative design and staging to technical crew and kit hire.
Visavvi delivers all aspects of IT/AV project for business customers - from consultation through to design and install and maintenance and support.
Colin Nixey, joint MD of Saville Group, comments: “Saville has been a familiar face in the live events industry for over 40 years. However, we recognised it was time for a change

South Africa - Effective 1 September, Pro Audio has become Audio-Technica’s new consumer and pro audio distributor in South Africa. The company is based on the Linbro Business Park, Frankenwald near Johannesburg and its portfolio also includes Turbosound, TC Electronic, HK Audio and Klark Teknik.
Audio-Technica export sales manager Dre Klaassen comments: “We’re delighted to welcome Pro Audio to the Audio-Technica family. We are very confident that it is the right company to build Audio-Technica’s profile in both the pro and consumer markets in South Africa. The company’s wide experience and drive in distribution is unique in the territory and I very much look forward to working with them in the future.”
Neil Schofield, Audio-Technica’s export sales manager for consumer products adds: “Pro Audio joins as distribution partner at an exciting time, with man

USA - ETC has announced the promotion of four ETC employees into vice-president roles.
Fred Foster, ETC CEO says: “Each of our new VPs bring fresh viewpoints to our executive group which is something we constantly encourage across the entire company.”
Jake Dunnum is the new vice-president of commercial and industrial operations. Dunnum started working for ETC 18 years ago as a technical support specialist, later moved into marketing product management and most recently became the general manager of business development. In his new role as vice president, Dunnum will continue his duties in business development for all ETC companies around the globe and oversee the management of the commercial and industrial companies of Echoflex and Penko.
Vice-president of human resources, Val Farace, will focus on the global employee experience at ETC. Farace joined ETC 22

UAE - Gamma Illumination, UK based designer and manufacture of low energy lighting solutions, has expanded its operations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) with the opening of its first office in the region and the appointment of Arsalan Bari as vice president.
Gamma Illumination has been active in the MENA region for the past five years. This expansion will enable the company to develop closer relationships with its clients and support the rapidly growing business demands in the region.
“Gamma has already built a reputation for its fusion of high quality and great value, whilst providing industry leading turnaround times and a trusted service to its customers,” says Bari. “I look forward to working with the team to continue to do this throughout the region.”
Cate Hickling, sales director at Gamma Illumination, adds: “These are exciting times

UK - Bristol-based specialist LED lighting manufacturer GDS has added two new staff members.
Following a recent management restructure and the ongoing establishment of important new areas of business, the company has appointed Charlotte Fenwick to the position of marketing manager and Katie Dyer to the role of business development executive. Charlotte brings wide experience of growth-marketing from the property development and engineering sector, whilst Katie has a strong sales background, developed across the IT industry.
Managing director Richard Cuthbert comments: “These are very exciting times at GDS. We’re moving forward on a number of new fronts, so it’s essential that we keep pace with progress as we continue to expand the business. Charlotte’s appreciation of engineering and technology and her previous work in taking forward projects in the architectur

Italy - Powersoft has appointed Thiago Terra as application engineer (rack amps). Terra joins the team to support the company’s business growth - acting as a bridge between the market and Powersoft’s product development unit.
Thiago joined Powersoft in June and is based at the company’s Italian headquarters in Scandicci, near Florence. The role will also see him travel around the world to conduct training and seminars and to support other engineers, as well as visiting distributors, customers and trade shows to deepen knowledge of Powersoft’s Touring and Install line and Armonía software.
At HQ, Terra will work side-by-side with the research and development team to strive for constant improvement to Powersoft’s hardware and software products - identifying and fixing bugs, bringing new ideas to the table and providing worldwide support for Rack Amps.
An

UK - EM Acoustics is shining the spotlight on its new HALO Arena large-format line array system at PLASA 2018 (Stand U61), which will be shown with its dedicated transit chariot. Nominated for a PLASA Innovation Award, HALO-A has enjoyed a busy summer season including a series of successful demos at London’s LH2 rehearsal and production studios, convincing testing in Norway, and a recent outing at Silverstone for the MotoGP. Further demos will also be taking place at the G Live arts centre in Guildford on 11 September for anyone who would be interested in hearing the system prior to PLASA.
HALO Arena is built on the same core “maximum headroom” design intent as the highly successful medium-format HALO-C system, but it takes overall SPL capability to a level suitable for much larger applications, whilst still maintaining consistent performance throughout the SPL range.<

UK - The PLASA 2018 seminar programme includes a Safety First presentation by Helen Goddard, fellow and director of The Institute of Sound & Communications Engineers (ISCE), which takes place on Tuesday 18 September, 14:00-14:45 hrs in the Fast Track Theatre.
Helen will be outlining the ECS Certification Scheme and how it affects audio engineers working on sites and in venues. She will also describe how sound engineers can become accredited for this growing Health & Safety and core competencies standard within the construction industry.
A recognised ECS trade card is increasingly requested by clients and main contractors in order for operatives to gain access to sites and venues for equipment upgrades and routine maintenance. The ISCE is the only dedicated provider of ECS cards to sound industry professionals.
The 45 minute seminar will outline the

Canada - Since its inception in 2013, the Glowfair Festival in Ottawa has grown substantially with the two-day event attracting roughly 60,000 people this past June. The name itself is an indication that lighting is an integral part of the event hosted along 10 full blocks of Bank St. in Ottawa.
As it has for the past five years, Ottawa Special Events (OSE) provided a substantial package of Elation lighting fixtures for Glowfair - some drawn from their own inventory and others rented from Christie Lights. In all, nearly 100 Elation fixtures were deployed, a combination of Platinum HFX hybrid moving heads, ZW19 LED moving head beam/wash effects, compact ACL 360i beam effects and SixPar 200 LED Par lights.
This year the festival featured performances by EDM act Cash Cash, Virginia to Vegas, Iskwé, Ria Mae and others on the main stage, as well as DJs and street artists

Germany - The television programme Let’s Dance has been a perennial fan favourite throughout Germany. Now in its 11th year, the show, which features 14 celebrities and their professional dance partners competing for a coveted trophy, has added even more colour and glamour to its presentation by expanding its lighting rig to include 12 Chauvet Professional Maverick MK1 Hybrid fixtures.
Lighting designer David Kreileman explained why he specified the 440W moving fixtures for the programme: “For one thing, the price-performance ratio is remarkable, and that's no exaggeration. A further factor is that the Maverick MK1 Hybrid that we are using on this set is unique and unbelievably versatile. Above all, I would single out the CMY colour mixing system, which is superior to fixed colour images.”
As a hybrid fixture with advanced optics, overlapping 8-facet and 4-

USA - Created to bring the high-energy of Lucha Libre professional wrestling to the United States, the sports and entertainment media firm Aro Lucha produces a number of live events and television productions.
Led by founders who have already achieved success in the professional wrestling industry, the production team understands they must create a dynamic environment that can match both the passion of the fans and the wrestlers taking the ring. Working with their partners at UNO Branding, Aro Lucha decided to enhance the impact of their design even further with the addition of a high-resolution video wall using a FLEXCurtain HD 6.25mm LED video solution from PixelFLEX.
“This is a relatively new production design as we only started the company in late 2017,” says Jason Brown, chief executive officer, Aro Lucha. “When we decided to launch the promotion, we wanted

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