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Six new products showcased at the Professional Lighting and Sound Association’s (PLASA) annual entertainment and technology show in London this week received top honours in the Show’s prestigious Awards for Product Excellence.

Living up to its reputation as the industry’s premier launch pad, the PLASA Show saw a record 56 technical innovations new to the market this year nominated for the Awards. All entries were featured in the New Technology Gallery, sponsored by Lighting&Sound International, which attracted enormous visitor and exhibitor attention and certainly took centre stage.

The awards were presented for Design Excellence and Technical Innovation in four categories: Lighting; Sound; Audio-Visual and Stage Engineering. The winners were presented with a PLASA Aw

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Community's CPL family of loudspeakers has grown by two this year, with the new CPL26 and CPL28 having made their industry debuts this month. Featuring IntelliSense driver protection, the duo is built to meet the aesthetic and performance demands of fixed installations ranging from restaurants and nightclubs to auditoriums and houses of worship. The compact, powerful enclosures perform with highly controlled directivity and sensitivity rated at 95dB at one watt/one metre.

Outfitted with a pair of 8" low frequency drivers, the CPL28, like the CPL26 (which houses dual 6.5" woofers), employs a two-way design using Community's UC-1 compression driver coupled with a newly-developed, 120° x 60° high frequency horn which can be rotated 90° to facilitate either vertical or horizontal mounting. While the frequency response of the CPL28 extends from 60 to 18,000Hz, the CPL26 ranges

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Following the terrorist attacks in the USA on 11 September, and in light of comments received from PLASA members, PLASA has organized an online Book of Condolence for members of the industry to record their respects for the victims of the attacks. The first messages have already been posted and the Book will remain open until the end of September, after which time the contents will be presented to ESTA for their archives.
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The first beneficiary of Light Relief was presented with a copy of CAST Lighting’s WYSICAD by Mark White, ETC’s regional manager for the UK and Ireland, on September 11 on the ETC stand at PLASA 2001. Julian Williams has been in the lighting business in various capacities for over 25 years, but for the past two years treatment for bowel cancer has prevented him from working. Part of his plan to get back into action is to learn how to produce stage lighting plans with AutoCad files and to then offer this as a service.

Tony Gottelier and Rick Fisher, co-founders of Light Relief, arranged for Julian to receive a copy of WYSICAD, the 2D and 3D visualization software program, with the co-operation of ETC and CAST Lighting. Then, when Glyn O’Donoghue, marketing director at AC Lighting, heard about the presentation, he immediately offered Julian a day’s training on the

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‘Ken's Bright Idea’ was the headline in the Evening Standard when Fourth Phase London projected Tory leader hopeful Ken Clarke's telephone number onto the outside of the Conservative Central Office in London's Smith Square. Following problems getting phone numbers to the voters, Ken Clarke's campaign party opted to project his phone number where as many members of the Conservative party as possible would see it. A press gathering was organized at the last minute and the operation was undertaken in true military style.

Fourth Phase London took the phone number to DHA Lighting where the file was modified in Adobe Illustrator, formatted to be run out on a film setter, run out, cut to size and mounted in slide frames. Then on August 22, a generator truck with James Hall and Tim Probert of Fourth Phase on board to operate a 6kW PANI projector, parked outside the Central Office.

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Marquee Audio has carried out a major installation at the Watersmeet Theatre in Rickmansworth. The company was awarded the contract by Three Rivers District Council after successfully tendering for the audio refit. The 481-capacity venue, which was built in the Hertfordshire town 25 years ago, stages a wide range of events, from spoken word, classical, jazz and pantomimes - as well as dinner dances, conferences and films.

The venue’s technical manager David Mead says that the new facilities at the venue, where the floor has a natural rake, will create more entertainment options. "In the past we have always had to sub-hire in equipment for any band requiring a PA."

Mead confirmed that while the old PA system, which had served the venue for 15 years, had been ripped out in favour of a Nexo PS15/LS1200, the existing Soundcraft Spirit Live 16/2 has been retained.

The N

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Tannoy has appointed Graham Hendry to the position of Engineering Director for Professional Products, where he will head the R&D department at Tannoy's main plant in Coatbridge, Scotland. Graham returns to Tannoy after two years with Northern Light where he was technical manager, responsible for project managing a range of installations. Explaining his reasons for returning to Tannoy, Hendry commented: "Working with Northern Light was a great experience. I had a chance to work on some prestigious projects including The Birmingham Rep, London Coliseum and The Broadway in Peterborough, which was gratifying for me personally. Working in the installation market allowed me to see the industry from a different perspective, something I couldn't experience working solely in manufacturing. To truly understand a customer's needs I believe you have to be one, and my time at Northern Light has

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After the first hectic day of this year's PLASA show, the cream of the DJ technology world gathered in the suitably stylish environs of London's AKA restaurant for the annual DJmag T-Scan awards ceremony. The awards recognize the true popularity of the latest DJ products amongst end users, voted exclusively by readers of DJ magazine. The 14 awards covered all aspects of the DJ world, with Mackie collecting the prize for Studio Monitor with their HR824. On hand to receive the award was Rick Bos, Mackie Designs product/marketing manager and Tony Williams, director of sales from Mackie UK. Rick Bos commented: "I am very pleased to pick up this award on behalf of the Mackie team who created this monitor, we feel that it really is the best in its field and so do the people that matter, the readers of Djmag."
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The Many Looks of Zeo

Delivering ultimate brightness and unique looks, Zeo’s distinct face design is defined by a central LED monolith and four reflectors, backed by four RGBW engines. As a blinder or strobe, Zeo promises powerful impact with 30,000+ lumens. With its sheer brilliance and playful effects, Zeo is ready to amplify the energy on any stage.

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JBL’s VerTec line array system added power and style to the Miss Moneypenny’s area of the VIP tent at the Ministry of Sound’s mega dance festival - Knebworth 01. The VerTec system was specified by Ministry of Sound production manager Dave Bradshaw and the 12 cabinets were supplied by Liverpool-based Ad Lib Audio.

DJs performing at Moneypenny’s on the night included Jim Shaft Ryan, Anton Debiage, Steve Coogan, Steve Miller and Nic Gillet - joined by thousands of enthusiastic clubbers. Ad Lib also used a dbx Drive Rack speaker management system to control the VerTec rig at Knebworth: they are currently the largest stockist of Drive Rack in the UK. Additionally, there were also two bars in the VIP enclosure, one of which was sponsored by The Blue Zone and also featured a JBL sound system. JBL and The Ministry go back nearly a decade as technical partners. The famo

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The Belgian coastal town of Zeebrugge recently hosted the annual Sand Sculpture Festival, attracting around 45,000 visitors. Every year a special theme is selected to capture the imagination of the 65 artists who design and create the scenes. The team went totally overboard this year and recreated a pre-historic environment with a touch of fun about it on the beach. The whole area is about a 1000sq.m in size, and visitors are free to walk between the dinosaurs.

Deltarent won the contract to provide the sound for the opening, attended by 8,000 people, including all national TV stations, and spec’d the Martin Audio W8 system which they purchased earlier in the year. Inside the exhibition they used the specially-weatherproofed Martin Audio Blackline F12.

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The STLD is running a seminar on the impact of the use of moving lights in television. The decision to run the seminar comes in light of new ITC guidelines, which are likely to be adopted by the BBC, which cover the effects of flashing and moving lights on people with epilepsy and assesses whether programmes are suitable for broadcast.

The seminar, which runs on Monday 24 September at AC Lighting’s new offices in High Wycombe, will feature Professor Graham Harding, an expert in the field of Photosensitive Epilepsy and designer of a flash/pattern analyser that provides an analysis of the effects of television lighting on the viewer. STLD Members are encouraged to take along examples of their work which may have failed under other systems and see if they pass under the new device. The seminar will also discuss the use of monitoring equipment that will affect the way programmes can

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A complete loudspeaker and audio test system is now available from Stephen Court - creator of Sound Check - one of the world's best selling test CDs. In the form of plug-in hardware, a CD-ROM for Windows and calibrated measurement mic, Speaker Check uses CLIO MLS technology which allows accurate measurements in ordinary room acoustics. The system converts a PC into a Pen Recorder and printer, Real Time Spectrum Analyser, Dual Channel oscilloscope and millivolt meter. It allows the measurement of frequency response, impedance curves, distortion v frequency, impulse response, phase response and a host of other useful speaker and audio system measurements.

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The range of software facilities at Vari-Lite Europe has been expanded to provide more powerful options for both visualization and off-line programming. In addition to WYSIWYG, AutoCAD and Vector Works, Vari-Lite Europe has added support for Visionary 3D, the off-line pre-programming software for the Virtuoso and Virtuoso DX control console family and the award-winning software package 3ds max 4.

The Visionary 3D, an off-line programming software package, emulates the main features of the Virtuoso console family (currently only available for the Apple Mac G3/G4) making it possible for lighting designers and operators to create and edit Virtuoso showfiles without the need for a console or a lighting system. 3Ds max4, a modeling, rendering and animation package, complements the core software packages by allowing the LD to realistically visualize a show. It’s the first time that 3D

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Since the end of 2000, DHA Lighting has been marketing its products direct through stockists in Europe, Scandinavia and Asia. Now with an international network of nearly 30 stockists, illustrating the company's growing international reputation and continuing its impressive rate of worldwide expansion, DHA Lighting's most recently appointed dealers are Audio Light Asia (Singapore) and Bon Studio (Greece). AC Lighting has also been appointed as a DHA stockist.

With a history dating back from the early 1970s, AC is one of the largest distributors of lighting equipment. Based in High Wycombe and Leeds, AC has long been a DHA dealer but will now stock a variety of products. As one of Singapore's leading lighting suppliers, Audio Light Asia has long been aware of DHA's products and services and will now stock a range of DHA gobos, moving effects and the Gecko. One of the largest distributors

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Eamonn McGonagle has been promoted to professional systems sales manager (UK) at Celestion. In his 18 months with the company, Eamonn has developed his territory in north-east England from a predominantly MI-based marketplace to include some of the UK’s leading sound installation companies and consultants. He will be building on that success with Celestion’s professional systems products throughout the UK. New marketing Eexecutive Jo Barker has transferred to marketing from Celestion’s sales department, where she has been for the last two years. In her new role working with Richard Vivian, she will be coordinating Celestion’s presence at trade shows and events, as well as the company’s product literature and press advertising.

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Utopium Lighting was part of a new production team working at the growing Ross International Festival supplying the lighting for 35 artistically diverse shows during August. The festival has grown year on year since it began in 1995 and this year, a giant 30m x 50m clearspan Roder structure was the festival’s main venue. With a capacity of 14,070, over 50,000 people attended the event nestled against the picturesque banks of the River Wye.

Utopium’s managing director Colin Bodenham worked with lighting designer Simon Tutchener, who designed the show and ran the desk for two of the shows - Vanessa Mae and Lulu - with Utopium’s crew adapting the rig to suit the other performances. Heading that crew were Stuart Farrell who ran the desk and Angus Chinn, who managed the power distribution and technical support. The team had their work cut out thanks to the run-rate of fou

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The LDI Show will go ahead as planned from November 2-4 in Orlando. In response to a number of enquiries following the events in New York and Washington, the organizers are keen to reassure people, through a statement posted on their website, that the exhibition will go ahead as usual. "We at LDI would like to express our deepest sympathy to all who are affected by the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Our thoughts are with you. We cannot let terrorists bring world business to a halt and we at LDI and Primedia Business Exhibitions feel it is very important that all businesses show their resilience. At this time, we do not foresee major disruptions for a smooth and successful show floor opening on Friday, November 2, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. LDInstitute is still scheduled to open on Monday, October 29."

If any exhibitors or visitors have a

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Marquee Audio has announced two new directorships within the company. The company’s popular and long serving Andy Huffer (pictured) has been promoted to the role of sales director. The move takes into account the broader sales platform that he has helped stimulate since starting at Marquee in 1995, notably increasing the Shepperton company’s penetration into the theatre, studio and AV conference markets.

A new arrival at the Shepperton-based company will be Glen Smith, who joins Marquee Audio as marketing director, with effect from October 1. With 26 years’ experience in the pro audio industry - including stints with Britannia Row, Tasco and TFA - for the past eight years Glen has been running secondhand audio sales company, ISE. At Marquee, he will be targeting the company’s Concert Division. Focusing on sound reinforcement companies, he will be devising a pa

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PLASA saw the launch of the Messenger XL - a new fully digital sidelobe-free speaker array by Hacousto International of Holland. Featuring the latest technology based on a patented algorithmic technique, the Messenger XL is ideal for background music and high quality speech applications, especially in reverberant acoustic environments where it is difficult to meet contractual speech intelligibility requirements.

The Messenger XL is completely software controlled allowing the lobe to be easily fine-tuned for specific types of application. Its tightly controlled beam can be shaped to meet application and environment requirements offering a precisely controlled listening field and high intelligibility with a minimum S/N ratio. Featuring a Q factor of 36, (140 by 1400) it compares very favourably with good horn loudspeakers, which are renowned for high Q factors of around 32 and noted for

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Crest Audio’s X-Matrix is a 12 x 2 matrix mixer, whose primary application is to add additional matrix mixes to the X-VCA console. It can also be used as a stand-alone matrix mixer. As a companion piece to the X-VCA console, it provides the facilities to create additional mixes from the eight sub groups and the Left, Right and Mono mix buses. In both applications, multiple units can be daisy-chained, offering almost unlimited expansion capabilities. Each X-Matrix can accept 12 line inputs (via multi-pin connector) from the X-VCA or from 1/4in TRS line input jacks, and generates two outputs which include insets, level adjustment and muting capabilities. The outputs appear on balanced XLR's mounted on the rear panel.

Expansion, applications and quality X-Matrix may be expanded both horizontally and vertically, turning X-Matrix on its own into a very versatile mixing system for spec

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Grand Central Recording Studios has recently purchased an Audient ASP510 surround sound management system to augment the post production facility based in Soho, London. Clients of this well-known studio consist of major advertising agencies and television production companies. The ASP510 interfaces with a Digidesign Protools and Procontrol system in Studio 3a, the music production suite catering for both stereo and 5.1.

Technical and financial director Ivor Taylor comments: "The ASP510 offers a solution for the problem of surround monitoring for a mixed stereo, surround and 5.1 set up. It is straightforward, easy to understand and well engineered with good back-up from the manufacturer."

Installing the ASP510 into this prestigious studio was also hassle free. "It came straight out of the box and it was all there, no hunting for any other parts or interfaces," Tay

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