UK - Next in line to receive DiGiCo's Stealth Core 2 upgrade is the SD8 and the smaller framed SD8-24, which will also be able to benefit from the company's latest processing and application code.

The versatility and competitive price point of DiGiCo's SD8 has made it popular in every area of audio industry, from concert touring, theatre and broadcast to larger scale corporate events. With Stealth Core 2, SD8 becomes even more of a force to be reckoned with, says the company.

As with the entire range of SD series, this upgrade will be an option is due to be released this summer.

(Jim Evans)

Europe - SGM has announced the launch of the POI range of IP65-rated LED lighting fixtures. Designed for permanent outdoor installations in both entertainment and architectural applications, the POI fixtures feature extremely bright and powerful colours and a resilient housing to protect them in outdoor environments.

The new permanent outdoor installation products from SGM are based on the familiar standard fixtures with the same optical performance and electrical components, but optimized for permanent outdoor installations. Engineered to endure even the most extreme weather conditions, the POIs take on rainy days, icy winters, dusty winds, extreme heat and salty sprays of seawater - eliminating the need to shield off the fixtures to protect them from the elements.

All POI fixtures come standard with a five-year warranty. A patented dehumidification processor prevents con

China - Allen & Heath's GLD-112 digital mixer has been installed in the new Wanhe Grand Theatre, the first of its kind ever built inside a big shopping mall in China.

Situated in the Wanhe Shopping Mall in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, the venue covers an area of 1500m

USA - Even with the chill of winter still hanging in the February air, the Music City Centre was a bloom with more than 150 exhibitors of luscious gardens, long sought after antiques and illustrious guest speakers from the design world for the Antiques and Garden Show of Nashville.

The keynote speaker for the multi-day event was Academy Award winning actress and lifestyle maven of GOOP Gwenyth Paltrow. Bandit Lites provided the lighting package for the horticultural happening with Chris Lisle Lighting Design.

Using an array of par cans and lekos with varying lenses, associate designer Erik Parker worked with vendors to learn what aspects of their gardens to enrich with illumination.

"Often the gardeners would have a piece that they would like to stand out, or a vibe that they were going for in their garden, but otherwise very little direction was given," said Parker. "

USA - Barco, the official projection provider for the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, brings to life several key virtual reality and art installations at the New Frontier exhibition with its large venue projectors and presentation switchers. The world's largest independent film festival also uses Barco digital cinema projectors in all 23 of its movie theatre venues for official screenings.

For more than 30 years, Sundance Institute and its Sundance Film Festival (SFF) have served as a springboard for independent filmmakers. Its New Frontier exhibition showcases innovative installations that explore the expansion of cinema culture and new forms of storytelling in today's rapidly changing media landscape. At this year's Festival, New Frontier delivers an engaging exploration of the intersection of art, film and multimedia technology, relying on Barco projectors and image processing

Germany - The Aurora Group is set to make a significant impact at the world's largest lighting exhibition by unveiling 'Lighting 3.0' for the first time on the European Mainland, along with previewing 13 new products and launching two product catalogues.

Lighting 3.0, the culmination of more than 30 years' experience, is "the next generation connected solution that includes Internet of Things-ready luminaires, deployed as a result of Aurora's partnership with Gooee, the IoT platform provider for lighting".

Neil Salt, managing director of Aurora's IoT Division, said, "A series of new products will be previewed on our fully interactive stand, as well as a demonstration of 'Gooee Inside' which enables luminaires to intelligently transmit information (for example around human engagement or energy usage) direct to a delegate's mobile device.

"A connected ecosystem of device

USA/Europe - Elation's Platinum FLX hybrid moving head is growing in popularity among rental companies and lighting designers in the US and Europe with sales of the award-winning multifunctional fixture soaring since hitting the market last fall.

Rental companies across the US, Canada and Europe have discovered the value of the beam/spot/wash fixture, which is also finding its way into a variety of installation projects thanks to its versatility, performance and value. In the U.S., a growing number of rental companies have added the Platinum FLX to their inventories including Atomic Pro (Vermont), Dynamic Productions (New York), Elite Multimedia (Nashville), Kinetic Lighting (Los Angeles), Main Light (Delaware), and StageTech (Los Angeles).

"From a rental house standpoint, we liked the concept of having a hybrid fixture because it can fit a broad range of applications," st

USA - As one of the few NFL football teams to own its own broadcasting network, the Carolina Panthers are well equipped to serve their fan base. The Panthers Radio Network broadcasts game day programming, a post-game show and a variety of special programs. Selected programmes are also streamed at panthers.com.

Broadcasts are mixed on an Allen & Heath Qu-16 digital mixer which travels with the team to away games. Technical Producer Harrill Hamrick sets up the system and mixes the broadcasts. His goal is to create an engaging live program by seamlessly combining local sources like the play-by-play announcer, locker-room interviews and crowd microphones with remote announcements and advertisements fed over a tie-line from the Panthers' broadcast station.

Hamrick had used a 16-channel analog mixer for several years. "The analog mixer was old enough that I knew I needed to repl

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UK - Aurora Lighting Hire is working alongside lighting director Chris Rigby as the award winning Chatty Man returns with another golden sofa full of celebrity guests.

Now in its 16th series, the show continues to be recorded live in front of a studio audience at the ITV London Studios and features a flexible lighting installation, easily adaptable between interview, comedy skits and cutting edge musical performances.

Aurora has once again provided Chris with and array of fixtures, including Martin Aura Wash units used to illuminate the guest sofa area and provide additional wash across the set flats. The LD is also making good use of an extensive LED package that has been incorporated throughout the set, with Pulsar Chromabatten 300 and Chromastrip X3s used to full effect, perfectly complimenting the glamorous look of the show.

To highlight the action on the pe

Thailand - Popular with tourists worldwide, Pattaya is home to some of the most renowned nightlife in Thailand, as a result of which venues need to deliver the best quality entertainment to ensure they stay ahead of the pack. L-Acoustics pulled out all the stops to ensure that Bone, a brand new nightclub and live venue, would enjoy optimum sound quality.

Tanapat 'Tony' Mongkolkosol of Vision One, L-Acoustics' Thailand distributor, first became aware of the project in 2014. Along with the local representatives of three other leading audio manufacturers, it wasn't until a year later that Tony was invited to submit a design for the club's audio system - and he was given just three days.

"When I first heard about the plans for Bone, I invited the owner to see our L-Acoustics installation at Siam Pic-Ganesh Center of Performing Arts, which he was very impressed by," says Tony.

USA - Waves Audio has announced a series of hands-on training sessions for the new Waves eMotion LV1 software mixer, taking place at the new Wavesland facility in Franklin, Tennessee. The Wavesland complex is a new centre for coaching programmes in professional audio. The ground floor of the complex, an LV1 mixing facility, is now open for hands-on training sessions on five eMotion LV1 consoles.

eMotion LV1 is a digital mixing console for front-of-house, monitor and broadcast engineers. Powered by Waves SoundGrid technology, this software mixer "delivers the superior sound quality for which Waves is renowned, as well as the quick workflow needed in demanding live environments"

Starting March 28, 2016, Wavesland will host small-group, hands-on workshops on mixing live with eMotion LV1. This is billed as "an exclusive training opportunity for select live engineers who can le

USA - Genelec recently hosted the Boston Section meeting of the Audio Engineering Society at its USA headquarters in Natick, MA, on Tuesday, 8 March. The meeting featured a presentation titled 3D Audio - An Intro, From the Bottom Up to a standing-room-only crowd, which included AES president John Krivit and president elect Alex Case, among other AES members, students, and Boston-area engineers and producers.

3D Audio has become one of the most widely popular topics among audio engineers and industry professionals in recent years, and this latest AES event to delve into the topic was led by Genelec USA marketing director Will Eggleston, who discussed the changes and challenges in the delivery of multichannel audio and the future of 3D audio. The evening's demonstrations featured a Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 monitoring setup including multiple Genelec subwoofers, Genelec Smart Act

UK - Lighting designer Jon Smith turned to an Elation Professional lighting package of ACL 360 Bars, Platinum Series moving heads and Cuepix blinders for Texas pop punk band Bowling for Soup's 'How About Another Round' UK Tour in February. The tour, basically an encore tour to the band's farewell tour of two years ago, sold out at every stop with crowds of up to 3,500 fans.

Jon Smith has worked with Bowling for Soup for the last five years, but took the reigns as lighting designer for the first time on this tour. "My idea was to create a pub on stage, an idea that the band really liked," he said. "We used lighting effects and had customized beer barrels that shot out flames. It was a unique set that made for an intimate pub feel." Jon worked with set builder Mair Burgess to put the set together, using local businesses and suppliers to create the touring show.

Although the

Belgium - Painting with Light's Luc Peumans energised a creative team to deliver video content for a striking 3D digital set and lighting design for the highly acclaimed Judas TheaterProducties staging of Helene Fourment, a new musical centred around Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens' young muse, which played at the Fakkeltheater, Antwerp, proving a big hit with both critics and the public.

Luc had previously worked with director Martin Michel, and was delighted to collaborate with Judas TheaterProducties whose award-winning work is recognised for its innovation and original style. Painting with Light's Michael Al Far created the video content and Jeroen Opsteyn was associate lighting designer and also programmed the lighting with Luc. All worked very closely with set designer Arno Bremers.

The production had already decided they wanted digital scenery, so needed th

New Zealand - The 53rd Halberg Awards - recognising New Zealand's top sporting achievements - was a collaboration between the event's lighting, audio and LED screens supplier, Oceania, broadcast partner OSB and broadcaster SKY TV which runs the show and manages content for the three-hour live telecast.

Thirty Robe BMFL Spots and 20 x Pointes graced the lighting rig this year among other fixtures, all of which were rigged in the Vector Arena, Auckland.

The red carpet came alive with the great and the good of New Zealand's sporting community, 1,400 of whom rocked up for the occasion to see the All Blacks rugby team, cricketers Kane Williamson and Brendon McCullum, golfer Lydia Ko, all Blacks coach Steve Hansen and many more collect their prizes and accolades during a fun and emotion filled evening.

The BMFL Spots were right at the heart of the lighting scheme which in tu

Austria - The Vienna Konzerthaus is the latest addition to a select group of world-renowned European concert halls that have chosen steerable Meyer Sound CAL column array loudspeakers. The Konzerthaus will use its new CAL systems for voice announcements, concert narrations, and incidental music. Other venues installed with CAL include Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, Konzerthaus Berlin, and another esteemed Viennese institution, the Musikverein.

"With CAL, we have excellent coverage of the entire hall with installation at one point," says Ingeborg Doblander, head of technical production for the Konzerthaus. "By placing both CALs behind the golden leaf grilles at the center of the venue, we solved the time alignment problems that were present in the old system. This resulted in in very good STIPA [Speech Transmission Index for Public Address] measurements."

The CAL systems were c

Romania - Prolyte Group, renowned manufacturer of trussing and staging systems, officially open its new purpose-built factory in Piatra Olt, Romania, with a series of opening ceremonies this week. Distributors, press, governmental authorities and stakeholders were invited to join the celebrations at the new, ultra-modern manufacturing location.

"Prolyte started to translocate all its manufacturing facilities to Romania as part of a long-term plan in 2010. The commissioning of the new factory is the final and most important phase of this plan, consolidating all its European manufacturing capacity into a 5.000sq.m facility, with scope to expand to 16.000sq.m," the company says.

The new production facility features brand new automated production equipment, new welding jigs and state-of-the-art product lines. In addition, the building contains industry-leading employee welfare

UK - Martin Audio has appointed Dom Harter as Managing Director with immediate effect.

An experienced business leader with a deep history and passion for pro audio, Dom's remit will be to build on the success of the Martin Audio brand and help grow this success across multiple markets worldwide.

Dom has an impressive CV for someone still relatively young, with multiple pro audio roles including serving as both Director of R&D as well as Sales Director with Turbosound before joining Harman's Mixer Group with several roles including Global Sales Director/VP for Harman's Mixer BU.

"Pro audio has been my entire professional career having worked for some of the best known pro audio brands alongside a number of prestigious installations, one off events and tours", said Dom.

"It is an honour to lead the Martin Audio team", he continued. "It is a brand of tremendous pedigr

Germany - Contour Veranstaltungsservice has just invested in 30 Clay Paky 100 Show Batten AS units. Besides the AS units, the company also used 14 new Show Batten 100s, with symmetric optics, at Wirtschaftstag 2015.

The Wirtschaftstag is a business forum that takes place annually at the Frankfurter Jahrhunderthalle. It is considered the barometer of the German economy and this year's theme of Wealth - Freedom - Security: scenarios for a changing world brought together - once again - prestigious speakers such as Jean-Claude Juncker, Sahra Wagenknecht, Niki Lauda and others. The event was moderated by Sandra Maischberger and Udo van Kampen.

The moving Show Battens were used to illuminate the horizon of the highly original stage, designed by Contour for this event. Project manager Stefan Kevenh

USA - For members of the burgeoning computer and video gaming industry the highest honour is to win a D.I.C.E. Award. Founded in 1992, the award, which is determined by ballots cast by the 23,000 members of Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, has the likes of Super Mario as well as newcomers like Dragon Age Inquisition.

Its acronymous name stands for "Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain." The four words aptly describe the games that were up for D.I.C.E. Awards at this year's ceremonies. They also reflect the spirit of the lightshow created for the event by creative designer Chris Wu and lighting designer Chris Lose.

The two designers turned the D.I.C.E. Awards stage at Mandalay Bay into an all-embracing immersive environment that was evocative of a scene from the most transformative computer game. A collection of heavily pixel mapped ÉPIX Bar 2.0 LED fixtur

USA - When fire swept through the offices of Chicago's Second City comedy club in August 2015, it was no laughing matter. While most of the damage was front of house, the comedy club that gave a start to the careers of Tina Fey, Dan Aykroyd and Stephen Colbert was facing a long closure and loss of revenue.

Then came the serious business of restoring the lighting systems on the five stages that - while not directly damaged by the fire - suffered the secondary effects of smoke and water. DesignLab's CEO Larry Schoeneman reports, "We were already working on an architectural design for them, so we put a rush on bringing the stages up to code. After the shows closed each night, we would bring in new plugging strips."

"We needed to come up with dimmers in a hurry, and fortunately we now stock a lot of Unison packs, so we were able to come through quickly," says ETC Midwest regio

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