Vari-Lite Inc has added another option to its award-winning VL1000 ERS luminaire, making the automated lighting fixture even more adaptable for a wider range of applications. By offering the VL1000A ERS with either a standard or long-life arc lamp, Vari-Lite has increased the versatility of the fixture while lowering the unit's operating costs.

Customers who order VL1000A fixtures can specify whether they prefer the standard or long-life arc lamps, and Vari-Lite will ship the units accordingly. Because the long-life arc lamp is electrically identical to the standard model, no modifications to the fixture are required. Customers who own VL1000A luminaires can order long-life lamps for fast and simple drop-in replacement. The long-life lamps provide 2,000 hours of operation, double that o

Leading sound production company, Capital Sound Hire, have purchased their second line array system inside a year. The company was unable to extend their long relationship with Martin Audio the first time around as the High Wycombe-based company was still developing their own system. But that recently changed. Explained managing director, Keith Davis: "We had a client who wanted to use a line array system last year, which forced us to go a different route. But once Martin were able to demo their new W8L we were convinced.

Trialing the W8L on the Hear & Now tour, Vodafone Ball and dates with Blue, the engineers noticed how impressive the system sounded. "Now everyone who hears it just goes ‘wow’." The different characteristics of the two proprietary line array systems Keith believes will increase their already heavy concert, classical and corporate work schedu

Loudspeaker manufacturer Renkus-Heinz Inc has appointed beyerdynamic UK as its new distributor for the UK and Ireland with effect from 1 September 2002.

Renkus-Heinz products will join beyerdynamic’s other distribution brands on its stand (F34) at the forthcoming PLASA Show (September 8-11). On show will be the new ST/STX Series of professional powered and unpowered loudspeakers, the Reflex Series, including the new RFX101 and RFX151 cabinets and new Reference Point Array solutions. The ST/STX Series is the culmination of 20 years of R&D by Renkus-Heinz into high performance loudspeaker and array technology, with a built-in CobraNet input option, and third-generation Class D amplification in the ST Series.

John Midgley, MD of beyerdynamic UK, commented: "Renkus-Heinz is one of the most genuinely innovative loudspeaker manufacturers in the world, with a string of pioneering

Electro-Voice has introduced new RACE software for the Electro-Voice Dx38 - one of the best-selling digital sound system controllers on the market. For this update (which can be downloaded free of charge from www.electro-voice.de) all the factory presets have been thoroughly revised, including both the 50 permanent factory presets in the Dx38 and the additional presets included with the RACE editing software which ships with the device. In addition to the 50 most common combinations of the current loudspeaker series FRi, Rx, Xi and X-Array, the folder named ‘Factory’ contains 25 additional presets, whilst the 50 ‘Old’ presets can be found in a separate folder. Most of the presets have been pre-programmed with the acoustic data of the relevant loudspeakers (phase and frequency response), so that each time the user

Formula 1 always draws the crowds, but the one-hour queues currently forming at the Orange-Arrow team stand indicate something even more exciting. "Essentially it’s a full-size F1 car simulator designed to emulate the real-time aural and visual sensations of actually racing, and some of the physical sensations as well, while the machine remains absolutely static," says Andrew Riley, managing director of The Oxford Sound Company, contracted by designers and builders Independent to Internet Ltd (i2i.net) to provide the exciting and effective audio environment for this machine.

The simulator is a replica of an existing Orange-Arrows three-seater racing car used to take a very privileged few around racing tracks for a real white-knuckle experience. Each seat in the simulator is fitted with multiple LF shakers, while the driver wears a full helmet with head-up display and st

Set in the heart of Cheshire is Warrington's brand new performing arts venue, the Pyramid Centre. It is scheduled to bring the very best in dance, drama, music and comedy to the area and will host its official opening at the end of October this year.

The centre is aimed at all levels of performance from internationally acclaimed professionals to local school children. It reflects this versatility by offering an impressive array of facilities, including six performance spaces, an artist suite, three artist studios, a technology suite, four media studios plus hospitality suites, a restaurant, a reception and box office area. In addition to being a state-of-the-art entertainment venue, the Pyramid Centre will also host a range of corporate events and conferences.

With such a broad spectrum of potential uses for the venue, versatility was paramount for all equipment supplied for the proj

Several members of the creative and technical teams involved in the recent Jubilee Celebrations have been recognized in a special honours list announced on Monday. All the honours, announced the day after the Queen Mother's birthday, are from the Royal Victorian Order, a decoration which is a personal award for services performed on behalf of the Sovereign. Amongst those honoured with an LVO (Lieutenant of the Victorian Order) were Alan Jacobi of Unusual - the main contractor for the central weekend events; Party in the Palace event producer Robbie Williams and Simon Brooks-Ward, director of the Royal Windsor Horse Show. Mark Fisher, creative director for the Queen’s concerts and Wilf Scott of Pyrovision, the company which handled the pyrotechnics, were awarded MVOs (Member of the Royal Victorian Order).

A comprehensive report covering the Jubilee events in central London runs in

Pioneer has released a silver version of its professional DJ mixer - the DJM-600. The new stylish DJM-600S, will satisfy consumer demand for a funky silver version of this superb mixer. The excellent product boasts many innovative DJ friendly features, giving DJs even more creative scope for the ultimate live performance!

Developed in conjunction with professional DJs, the DJM-600S takes sound mixing to the highest level. Its superb functional design will fit effortlessly into any club environment, and with creative features will reinforce Pioneer's leading position in the fast developing world of mixing. The DJM-600S offers all the high quality and reliability usually associated with the Pioneer product range, but takes product performance to a different dimension. With an impressive range of powerful effects, including auto filter, delay, echo, auto pan, auto transformer, flanger, pi

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ETC Halcyon Silent

High End Systems Halcyon Silent builds on ETC’s legacy of fanless automated fixtures by incorporating features from the highly sought-after Halcyon family. Halcyon Silent perfectly balances silent operation with brilliant output of 18,400 lumens and high-impact features. 

For more information visit us at www.etcconnect.com

Hayden Laboratories, exclusive UK distributor for Denon audio products, has introduced three new high-end DVD players for the professional market. The DVD-1600 combines Denon's expertise in the field of hi-fi and digital technology in a product that extracts the full potential of DVD-Audio at an affordable price. The DVD-1600 features RGB Output via the SCART and inbuilt Dolby Digital and DTS Decoders, making it an ideal upgrade for older pre-DTS Cinema systems. The 1600 features an Audio Only mode when playing DVD-Audio sources that ensures noise doesn't affect the purity of the audio signal. The machine's high sound quality is consistent and reliable due to it's well tried-and-tested audiophile parts! The DVD-1600's audio is capable of reproducing a dynamic range of 144dB, with an extended frequency response from 2Hz to nearly 100kHz. This is theoretically nearly 50 dB more than a CD,

Sennheiser UK has announced the line-up of acts who have won through to the finals of its Unsigned Artists Competition 2002 and who will all be playing on the main stage at the Bristol Balloon Festival this week-end in front of a potential audience in excess of 10,000 people.

They are Fineline from Coventry, Austin from Watford, The Hazey Janes from Dundee, Eastertown from Bristol, Stonefish from Bradford and Dready and the Mighty Steppers from Birmingham. The final, run in association with Hype Party Planning, South West Audio and GWR 96.3FM, will see all six finalists perform live on the Festival stage. The final winners stand to walk away with £2,500 in cash and the same amount again in evolution microphones, plus an additional £500 worth of Sennheiser headphones. Each of the runners up will receive £500 in cash, £1000 worth of evolution microphones and Sennheiser headphones to

Baltic, the major new international centre for contemporary art in Gateshead which opened just a few weeks ago, has been supplied with a significant Nexo Alpha E system from LMC Audio complete with custom cabling and metalwork from Kelsey Acoustics.

Situated on the south bank of the River Tyne, Baltic lies at the heart of the regeneration area of Gateshead Quays. Formerly the Baltic Flour Mills, a disused 1950's grain warehouse, its transformation into BALTIC, a leading international contemporary visual arts space, indeed one of the largest spaces for contemporary art in Europe, was a £46m project funded largely by the National Arts Lottery fund. Tom Cullen, Multi Media manager at Baltic, was clear on his choice of Nexo right from the start. "I've been a fan of Nexo since 1986 when they came out with their first wedge monitor," he explained. "The quality of the sound kn

For their summer show ‘Eclipse’ at Blackpool Pleasure Beach’s Globe Theatre, production company Stageworks chose to use a Yamaha DM2000 for the sound-mixing desk. The world-famous leisure complex decided to purchase the DM2000 because they needed a desk that offered multiple outputs and inputs, and gave the flexibility of choice for onboard and outboard effects. "We scouted around for a mixing desk that would meet our particular requirements," said Vinnie Holme of Stageworks: "We needed a desk that would give us playback with live vocal, and with a minimum of 8 outputs. With the DM2000 we can e-cue each track and the whole desk can, if necessary, be run by an operator. It gives significantly improved sound and is exactly what we wanted for the show."

In the event, the DM 2000, supplied by The Music Company of Bradford in conjunction with LMC Audio

XL Video supplied live video production equipment for the recent Oasis shows at Finsbury Park, to a specification from Cheese Film & Video. The Oasis video show was a collage of two elements - onstage screens/pre-recorded footage, and side screens/live camera shoot. There was an occasional crossover of the live footage onto the onstage screens.

The onstage graphics material was conceptualised by Oasis’ lighting designer Mikey Howard, and designed and created by Richard Turner and Claire Oxley, working closely with Howard. As the band’s artistic director and lighting designer, Howard wanted to create an integrated visual scheme that mixed both lighting and video medias. The show’s camera design was undertaken by live video director Dick Carruthers and his company Cheese Film & Video. Carruthers employed Dave Wright as Cheese’s live producer, to deal generally wit

Coe-tech will use PLASA 2002 to cement its exclusive UK distributorship of Robe Showlighting products from the Czech Republic, as well as taking an active part in the Studio Due stand - another quality brand for which it is the UK distributor. The spectacular Coe-tech stand lightshow is this year designed by top LD Vince Foster (Kylie, Jamiroquai, Basement Jaxx, et al.) and will demonstrate the Robe range in full creative flow.

Robe products are already well known to many moving light users and installers as they have been a prolific OEM supplier over the past five years. Robe has now decided to sell direct, and Coe-tech is an integral part of the direct dealership network. Robe is launching a complete new series at PLASA - the Advanced technology (AT) series. (For full details see our earlier news story on 30 July).

PLASA 2002 also sees the launch of Studio Due’s new XS (Exce

PLASA 2002 sees James Thomas Engineering celebrate the world launch of a new series of solid state lighting fixtures using high brightness LEDs. The first three models of the extensive Pixel range are The Pixelpar 660 - a Par 64-sized fixture, The Pixelpar 87 - a Par 36-sized equivalent and the Pixeline 1044 batten - a solid state lighting batten. The Pixel range is designed for a wide range of entertainment and leisure industry applications including architectural, retail, installation, clubs, bars, restaurants, sports venues, and live shows and events and theatre.

The team at James Thomas has spent the last 12 months developing the new products, and conducting considerable market research into the advantages and uses of LED lighting. The Pixel range has an unsurpassed silent, non-mechanical, additive colour-mixing system and the fixtures can produce stunning and

Glastonbury festival organizers are justly patting themselves on the back for what they claim has been the best Glastonbury in 10 years. Aided by the weather and increased security measures, Glastonbury 2002 was hailed as a resounding success after the crime and gatecrashing problems of previous years. Around 100,000 people attended, and host Michael Eavis said he was so delighted with the peaceful atmosphere and standard of organization that he was considering the possibility of increasing the capacity to 120,000 for 2003.

Things went equally well from an audio point of view. Rick Bailey of RMPA, who was responsible for sound on the acoustic stage, had a particularly successful festival. Headline acts included veteran rocker Robert Plant, the Waterboys and talented young Irish accordion player, Sharon Shannon. Bailey opted for his conventional Electro-Voice X-Array PA configuration wi

Combining the ruggedness of Shure’s legendary SM line with the studio quality audio of a Shure condenser, the SM86 handheld vocal microphone will make its European debut at this year’s London PLASA Show on the stand of distributor HW International.

The SM86 has a cardioid polar pattern and a wide frequency response of 50Hz to 18kHz. The mic additionally delivers high gain-before-feedback and a tailored frequency response for a clear reproduction of vocals. Additionally the SM86 is equipped with an integral two-stage windscreen and pop filter and has a built-in, three-point shock mount, which virtually eliminates stand and handling noise. The microphone requires phantom power for operation and is housed in a rugged, silver-coloured, enamel-painted enclosure incorporating a steel-mesh grille.

Standard accessories offered with each unit include a microphone clip and vinyl st

Arbiter Pro Audio has supplied Liverpool-based sound installers Over Audio with a JBL VerTec line array system for Luminar Plc's latest Liquid venue - just open in Hanley, Stoke. Complete with ASB6128 subs from the JBL custom shop, this is the first ever JBL VerTec club installation in the UK. The VerTec system, originally designed for live concerts and touring applications, has previously been used at the Ministry of Sound in Bangkok - which also has a Luminar interest. Last year, VerTec was utilized on the Ministry's own UK college and university tour, where it was very well received.

"JBL products are always developing, and this was the perfect opportunity to put the latest technology into practice," states Over Audio's Mike Boylan, who has been dealing with both Arbiter and Luminar Plc for many years, and has used JBL products in six other Liquid venues. All the Liquids

ARX Systems, well known for their large range of innovative signal processing solutions, has introduced the new MSX 32 active microphone/line splitter. Active microphone and line splitting has a number of benefits over passive splitters, primarily improved sound quality, noise figures comparable to the best microphone inputs, increased resistance to RFI, consistent microphone load and, where required, total signal Ground isolation between outputs.

The MSX 32 consists of eight channels of actively buffered ultra-low noise microphone/line splitter. Each of these channels has four electronically balanced splits, two on the rear panel, plus two more on the front panel. All four output splits have the option of transformer balancing if required.

A 'Link' switch links consecutive channels providing an ultimate maximum of 32 outputs from a single input, ideal for multiple press splits. Each

QSC Audio promoted Barry Ferrell to the position of senior product development manager. Prior to this newly-created position, Ferrell served as the cinema market manager for the company. In his new capacity, he will oversee all product development initiatives and serve as the principal liaison between sales, marketing, and engineering to ensure the smooth delivery of new products to the various markets served by QSC.

Throughout his 12-year career with QSC, Ferrell has held a variety of positions including applications engineer, eastern regional sales manager, amplifier product manager, and cinema market manager. This wide range of experiences made him the leading candidate to spearhead the company’s product planning efforts.

Taking Ferrell’s place as cinema market manager is Francois Godfrey, who was previously the cinema product specialist providing in-field technical su

Leading design and documentation software specialist Stardraw.com has launched an Affiliate Program in a move that is designed to add value to the websites of all Affiliate members. The program, which is free to join and open to everyone, allows Affiliates to earn income from all online purchases at www.stardraw.com that result from a click-through from their site. The process is simple: having registered to become an Affiliate, Stardraw then supplies a link that is unique to each Affiliate to place on their website. Any customer that follows the link will be identified and logged, and any purchases they make will be attributed to the Affiliate's account. Commissions will then be paid on a quarterly basis.

According to Stardraw marketing director Rob Robinson: "We're very excited about the Affiliate program because it is such a simp

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