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14 June 2024

USA - Void Acoustics has announced the launch of several new products. Attendees at InfoComm will be the first to experience new additions to the Venu V2 series, the Cyclone 208i subwoofer, and the KROME surface finish on stand C9507 and demo room N120.

The KROME finish delivers a visually striking range of products suitable for high-end venues and comes in a range of colours, including black, gold and silver. This includes top-of-the-range systems such as the Incubus, Air and Nexus series.

Void is also introducing three new Venu V2 series products at InfoComm, expanding its popular line. V2 additions include Venu 118 V2 – an 18” low distortion subwoofer with a compact form; Venu 218 V2 – a double 18" low distortion high output subwoofer and Venu 14 V2 – a compact 13.5" coaxial speaker with controlled dispersion and enhanced sonic properties.

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14 June 2024

Sweden - At Eurovision 2024, senior technical director Ola Melzig and his team, including designer Florian Wieder, accented the lines of the stage in the Malmö Arena in bright, bold and brilliant colours with 524 COLORado PXL Bar 16 motorized battens from Chauvet Professional.

Acquired through the company’s Swedish distributor Interlite, and supplied by Niclen through Creative Technologies, the IP65 rated, pixel mappable RGBW battens were “pretty much everywhere” according to Melzig. Lighting designer Frederik Stormby used the fixtures to outline the arena on three different levels, in addition to accenting the contours of the set from the ground to the ceiling and providing backlighting for the acts.

“Fredrik’s design was all straight lines, so these fixtures were perfect to outline it with lovely colours and dynamic looks,” continued M

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14 June 2024

USA - Attendees can explore the capabilities of CAST Group’s BlackTrax at two manufacturer stands: Fulcrum Acoustic and d&b audiotechnik.

Fulcrum Acoustic will showcase their immersive audio solutions by integrating BlackTrax's real-time tracking with their Fulcrum One software. Fulcrum One is a complete software environment for designing and modelling sound reinforcement systems, immersive audio installations, and room acoustics. Its user-friendly interface also allows for the tuning, optimization, deployment, and control of conventional and immersive audio systems in one application. This integration will demonstrate the seamless synergy between advanced tracking technology and sophisticated audio design, offering attendees a glimpse into the future of immersive sound experiences.

Meanwhile, d&b audiotechnik will highlight the integration

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14 June 2024

France - The Royal Opera of Versailles, part of the famous Palace of Versailles, was inaugurated in 1770 and is also known as the Théâtre Gabriel. The interior decoration by Augustin Pajou is constructed almost entirely of wood – for enviable acoustics – and painted with a faux marble technique.

After years of neglect, the venue was transformed by two complete restorations – the 1,200-capacity main room was re-gilded in 1957 and the stage and machinery were revamped in 2009. Since then, it has been busy hosting an annual programme of concerts of baroque music, operas, and ballets.

More recently, a major lighting upgrade comprising 40 x Robe T2 Profiles was delivered in two batches by Robe France, an initial purchase of 30, followed by another 10 x T2 Profiles, which they liked so much that they purchased 12 x TX1 PosiProfiles.

Hosting

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14 June 2024

France - Permanently moored on the river Seine in the heart of Paris, Mademoiselle Mouche provides breathtaking views of the Eiffel Tower from its rooftop party space. Guests enjoy a signature menu from the Paris Cocktail Club alongside DJ sets delivered by a newly installed Nexo sound system.

To provide the power and headroom combined with the all-weather performance required in the outdoor space, the Novelty Paris agency of AV technology specialists the Novelty-Magnum-Dushow group designed and installed a Nexo ePS Outdoor system featuring two ePS12 with two eLS18 subs for the main DJ system, and eight ePS8 with four eLS600 subs for delays and coverage of a VIP zone. Cabinets are finished in white to complement the chic design of the venue.

Amplification and processing are provided by Dante-equipped Nexo NXAMP4X2Mk2 (X 1) and NXAMP4X1Mk2 (X 2) Power

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14 June 2024

Belgium - Since its establishment in 1965 as the city theatre of Ghent, NTGent has maintained a prominent role in the Flemish theatre scene. The venue delivers high-quality productions that are both artistically challenging and socially relevant, utilising lighting solutions from ETC.

Operating across two distinct realms, NTGent (also known as Nederlands Toneel Gent) crafts original theatre pieces and hosts external performances at its venues. For their original creations, which frequently tour internationally, NTGent prioritises a versatile lighting setup capable of adapting to diverse venues worldwide. Conversely, visiting performances rely on more traditional equipment, albeit with a preference for cutting-edge technology.

During a recent interview, Dennis Diels, head of lighting at NTGent, shared insights into the theatre's operations and its dec

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13 June 2024

USA - LynTec, a wholly owned subsidiary of Chauvet has announced the acquisition of Juice Goose, a company that manufactures and distributes electric power distribution, conditioning, and control equipment.

“LynTec couldn't be more excited about the reputation and deep customer relationships Juice Goose brings, with solid products that perfectly complement our existing lineup,” said Mark Bishop, president of LynTec. “Now, regardless of how big or small the installation, we have the power solution for the job, whether that’s four circuits for a conference room or 500 circuits for an arena.”

Juice Goose was founded in 1983 and was one of the first companies to provide power conditioning products specifically for the audio industry. Since, the company has developed and maintained a reputation as a reliable supplier of electric power management

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13 June 2024

USA - At this year’s InfoComm, Brompton Technology is unveiling three new members to its panel manufacturer partner programme.

Following the announcement of ROE Visual as the founding member and diamond partner, Brompton has now extended the programme to include gold and blue partnership levels. INFiLED and Absen join as gold partners, while Pixreal becomes a blue partner.

“Brompton launched the scheme earlier this year to help us forge long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with LED panel manufacturers we are working with extensively. It is great to be able to welcome INFiLED, Absen and Pixreal into the programme,” says Richard Mead, CEO of Brompton Technology. “These partnerships reinforce our mission to deliver LED video processing compatible with any high-quality LED panels, backed by our industry-renowned 24/7 technical support.

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13 June 2024

Belgium - Arto Company is a rental and full technical production, based in Wavre, the French-speaking region of Belgium and working across the concert touring, festival, live event, and corporate sectors.

Their first Robe purchase was in 2019, and since then the inventory has expanded dramatically with the latest purchases being 16 x iFortes, 48 x LEDBeam 350s and 18 x Tetra2s, which join over 100 other Robe fixtures in the house, including 24 x Esprites, 48 x LEDBeam 150s, 18 x T1 Profiles and two RoboSpot systems.

“We started observing that Robe was a clear market leader, and the products were increasingly appearing on artist riders,” explained Arto’s lighting team manager Alain Meys, “and so that constant demand for the products made us take notice and realise that we needed to invest in what people were requesting.”

He and the l

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13 June 2024

USA - Taking Back Sunday lighting designer Eric Price is the first to tour with Elation’s new SŌL I Blinder, integrating the tiny yet impactful LED light into the rock band’s set on their current North American outing. Celebrating their new album, 152, the tour kicked off on 19 May in New Orleans and continues through the summer.

“I was looking for a low-profile blinder to skirt the risers, set pieces and steps -something powerful, functional, and small enough to put on a pipe for easy travel, install and pull - and the SŌL fit the bill,” Price said. First shown at the LDI tradeshow in December, the SŌL I Blinder is not only compact and versatile enough to seamlessly integrate into virtually any stage setting, its RGBLAW LED engine offers full-spectrum colour and packs a punch at over 8000 lumens. Its modular design, coupled with a variet

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13 June 2024

Australia - Northside Wizards is a successful basketball team based in Brisbane which runs sections for men, women, and juniors. Competing in the NBL1 Central, Australia’s second division basketball league, the team’s home fixtures take place at the Northside Indoor Sports Centre in Zillmere, where the Wizards recently took steps to improve the game-day experience of fans by improving the audio provision on their main court.

The Wizards have been clients of Brisbane-based supplier Brisbane Sound Group (BSG) for more than 25 years, and consulted with the audio, visual and lighting specialists about the best way forward. With its experienced sales, install and hire departments, BSG is a one-stop shop that can meet the audio needs of a wide range of settings. BSG Installation and project manager, Josiah Kerridge, took account of the venue and designed a sys

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13 June 2024

UK - Following the successful launch of its PF Talks podcast from Strawberry Studios in Manchester, Production Futures has expanded the format to include in-person interviews from a new facility at the FIX8Group HQ, also in Manchester.

Whilst retaining the former studio for conducting and broadcasting remote interviews, the new larger set can accommodate multiple visitors for live and recorded chat, adding significantly to the breadth of content offered to young people and newcomers to the production industries. PF Talks is a series of interviews with inspirational professionals around the world who work across the whole spectrum of the entertainment production industry, particularly those committed to making a real difference to newcomers by ‘paying it forward’.

Hannah Eakins of Production Futures comments: “PF TALKS is a popular feature of al

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13 June 2024

Europe - Following the first collaboration with RME, the Digiface Ravenna, DirectOut has added the USB.IO, a USB audio interface module to their Maven and Prodigy platforms. Based on the USB 3.0 core by RME and using their low latency technology, the USB.IO benefits from high performance Windows and Mac drivers.

The collaboration introduces a new USB-C version of the interface that provides an impressive 128 channels I/O at standard sample rates (1FS), while the entire range from 44.1 kHz to 192 kHz is supported. This development eases the integration of DirectOut’s converters and multifunction processors into computer-based production systems, on tour and in the studio.

A feature that comes with RME’s drivers is the inclusion of RME's TotalMix FX software. TotalMix FX offers an extensive range of mixing and routing options. From up to 128 separa

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13 June 2024

Europe - Shure has announced its updated, newly designed low-profile WL18Xm professional lavalier condenser microphones, including the cardioidWL185m, supercardioidWL184m, and omnidirectionalWL183m, for use with wireless bodypack transmitters.

The refreshed portfolio builds on the legacy and performance of existing Shure WL lavalier microphone technology, offering full and accurate sound quality with an improved presence response. The WL18Xm line delivers enhanced specifications for optimal compatibility with modern wireless systems and is specifically designed for speech and presentation applications in corporate, education, and worship environments. 

“Our WL series has been the go-to lavalier solution for decades, known for reliability, durability, and full, accurate sound. As wireless technology continues to improve, we saw an opportunity to in

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12 June 2024

UK - The inaugural Profile Awards were held on Thursday 6 June at the Alexandra Palace Theatre. The event was attended by some 200 guests, of which half were reportedly lighting designers or members of their teams.

Created and coordinated by Durham and Jennie Marenghi in association with the ABTT, the ALPD and the STLD; The Profile Awards recognise lighting design excellence in theatre and television in the UK. Headline sponsor for the 2024 event was Ayrton.

The Theatre Awards were judged by UK theatre critics and were not open to nominations whereas the Television Awards were judged by broadcast professionals and could be nominated by anyone.

Winners of the Theatre Awards are as follows . . .

Outstanding Achievement in Theatre sponsored by Chauvet Professional: Simon Wilkinson for Ragnarok,

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12 June 2024

UK - The Association of British Theatre Technicians’ Annual Awards took place on Wednesday evening, 5 June, after the first day of the ABTT Theatre Show 2024 at Alexandra Palace, London

The evening started with drinks served outside the Londesborough Room before attendees took their positions, filling all the seats leaving standing room only, to celebrate those people and products making a difference to the industry.

Ted Moore, director of Rental Services, said of the Awards: “TAIT are really proud to be here once again to sponsor the ABTT Awards, which I truly believe is one of the best award presentations anywhere in our industry. We wish all the nominees good luck and give congratulations to whoever the winners may be.”

The five highly sought after Awards for Lighting Product, Sound Product, Engineering Product, ‘Widget’ and Stan

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12 June 2024

USA - When fans of Noah Kahan come to see one of the shows on his We'll All Be Here Forever North America Tour - assuming they can get tickets to this largely sold-out trek visiting stadiums, arenas, and amphitheatres across North America between 26 March and 19 July - they’ll see six musicians on stage. What they’ll hear, though, in addition to Kahan’s folky-pop melodies and piercing lyrics, are literally dozens of instruments.

“Everyone plays like 15 instruments each,” says tour monitor engineer Clark Wright, being only slightly hyperbolic. “One person plays a fiddle, 12-string guitar, mandolin, and banjo, and everyone is just constantly swapping instruments. Aside from drums, I think the minimum that someone plays is three instruments and the most is seven or eight. This really is a band of multi-instrumentalists.”

Managing that matr

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12 June 2024

Germany - PRG was one of the first users worldwide to use the Cameo ORON H2 IP65 hybrid moving-head with phosphor-laser engine in a live production. The laser moving head provided beams and effects on the main stage of this year's OMR Festival 2024 in Hamburg.

PRG and lighting designer Ben Marquardt (QConcept) placed eight ORON H2s on the floor in front of the huge projection screen on which all the talks and presentations in the large hall were projected. The ORON H2 thus accompanied the eagerly awaited appearances of OMR top guests Kim Kardashian, Robert Habeck, Jeff Koons, Rick Rubin and many more.

"The ORON H2 is a special spotlight," says Ben Marquardt. "With its razor-sharp, narrow beams, it is perfect for prominent stage looks and fan effects at the speakers' entrances, but also as a static 'spotlight' when the focus is fully on the talks."

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12 June 2024

USA - Audinate Group has announced Dante Ready licensing for their Dante AV-A and Dante AV-H networked video solutions. Dante Ready is a licensing programme that allows original equipment manufacturer (OEM) products to ship with Dante installed but not activated, enabling the end customer to add channels of Dante audio and video to supported products in the field.

“With Dante Ready licensing, our OEM video partners can now extend the reach of Dante AV across a wider range of product SKUs without incurring additional licensing costs,” explains Wim Roose, senior product manager at Audinate. “Moreover, Dante Ready brings Dante audio and video channels to cameras, encoders, and decoders already shipping and installed in the field with a firmware update.”

Dante Ready provides a flexible way to enable and expand the connectivity and interoperabilit

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12 June 2024

USA - 64 Audio has announced the launch of the Aspire 4 universal in-ear monitor, designed for musicians and live music professionals.

“Aspire 4 is a four-driver performance monitoring tool with the same sonic characteristics and technology worn by the world’s greatest performers using 64 Audio custom in-ear monitors,” says Vitaliy Belonozhko, 64 Audio founder and chief executive officer. “Whether you're just getting into monitoring with in-ears, not ready for customs, need a backup set, or simply prefer generic fitting products, Aspire 4 offers best-in-class sound and ergonomics.

“With live music at the forefront of 64 Audio’s tuning criteria, do we make a highly accurate unforgiving studio monitor or a contoured device that helps musicians hear themselves more effectively?

“As with many of our monitoring tools, the answer is s