UK - UK distributor Fuzion plc will be showing production GEO T2815 cabinets for the first time at the PLASA Show in London, starting this Sunday, 7 September. The T2815 gives the NEXO GEO T Series Tangent Array System a fully integrated and coherent downfill capacity, rarely available from high output line array systems.

It uses passive radiators to achieve the same cardioid pattern as the GEO T4805, the other full-range high-output loudspeaker at the heart of the GEO T Series. As a consequence, the horizontal dispersion is consistent throughout the operating band (although in keeping with its nearfield application, the T2815 produces 120° H compared with the T4805's 90° H). The T2815 downfill box has been used in demanding festival and concert situations in France and the UK.<

Denmark - In order to take increased advantage of the recent agreement of co-operation between Seelite and Procon MultiMedia AG, Seelite A/S has hired Mikkel Behrend as AV project manager.

Behrend, who was formerly key account manager at ComTech Holding A/S, will begin at the company in October, and will be responsible for AV solutions for fairs and shows, presentations, events and festivals, areas where the company can now offer single source technical solutions including lighting, sound, AV and stage setting.

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

UK - PMC, manufacturer of professional monitor and audiophile speaker systems, have announced the appointment of Boxer Systems Limited, as the company's new UK sales dealer for the broadcast, film and post production sectors.

Based in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, with offices in Glasgow and a newly opened Soho showroom in the heart of London's post production community, Boxer Systems specializes in the representation, distribution, and systems integration services of high quality, high performance digital products for the broadcast, film and post-production.

Rapid growth in the Boxer Systems' broadcast and video systems integration business, has led to an increasing requirement to specify suitably high-resolution monitor systems as part of the package. Group marketing and sales director Jon Phillips explains the choice of PMC: "In servicing a large part of the London based p

UK - German loudspeaker manufacturer d&b audiotechnik has announced the introduction of the D12 Amplifier, a new electronics platform at the very heart of the company's system concept. d&b have long been champions of the 'system' approach, where integration of all the components is fundamental to providing users with flexible, efficient, predictable and reliable tools for their work.

The D12 Amplifier is a two-channel power amplifier specifically designed for use with d&b loudspeakers; digital signal processing is incorporated, as are both analogue and digital signal inputs. Digital elements are specified and constructed to achieve audio performance meeting, or exceeding, that of analogue devices. Loudspeaker specific controller functions for the d&brange are implemented within the DSP, and both channels have independent user definable four band parametric equalizers and signal

UK - As in the year 2002 VXCO Lighting Systems Switzerland again has an own stand at PLASA in London. The company will present news around the DMXCreator computer lighting controller. The newest interface in the product range, the DMXCreator 512 Basic, will be the highlighted product. This product also is nominated for the PLASA award for product excellence.

The combination of the DMXCreator software and the three DMX512-interfaces results in one of the most powerful PC lighting controller on the market, say VXCO. Running on Wiondows, the DMXCreator software is packed with features usually reserved for large and expensive lighting consoles. Features include 3D Visual Emulator, Effects Generator, Track-effects Editor, 16 multi sequences, MIDI control, Position-Memory, scene crossfade control, DMX512 input recording, physical master. Each DMX controllable device has its own custom

UK - Now that Blur has played a final encore in a field in the north of England, it is possible to look back on the remarkable first season for Nexo's GEO T Tangent Array System, which, within its first six months of production, has played its part in front of over 700,000 music fans in Europe alone.

This is an impressive debut for a new stadium sound system and a reflection of the confidence of 'early adopters' like SSE Hire (UK), Melpommen (France), DPA SoundCo (Denmark) and Show Company (Singapore) that they have put GEO T directly into high-profile live situations such as the Glastonbury Festival.

In the UK, the season of large summer festivals has been dominated by SSE Hire and the GEO T system. Over two consecutive weekends in August, the SSE team services four music events, the Virgin-sponsored V2003 held in Weston Park (north England) and Chelmsford (south-east England

USA - Color Kinetics Inc (CKI) has announced two additions to its patent portfolio, which now comprises 19 issued US and international patents, with more than 100 patent filings in process. The new patents cover innovative methods of controlling LED sources for entertainment and aesthetic purposes, say the company.

US patent number 6,577,080 is a utility patent called 'Lighting Entertainment System' that covers many entertainment and educational applications of Color Kinetics' core technology. The patent covers the use of lighting tracks encoded into any media, including video, radio, CD, broadcasting and networks, as well as the decoding from that media to provide illumination control. For example, a home theatre system might integrate LED-based lights to generate customized effects that correspond with movies or music.

US patent number 6,608,453 is a utility patent called 'M

UK - The PLASA exhibition has traditionally been the launching pad for the latest in innovative lighting products from Martin Professional and this year's show will be no exception. Martin heads to Earl's Court with an array of new products including three new MAC luminaires, new club effects, and the first light in Martin's new Mania series of DJ products. Also on hand will be Version 1.0 of the new Maxxyz controller and other new control products.

New luminaires include the MAC 550, fully loaded with features to redefine standards for a mid-range, 400W moving head. The 550 features; multiple graphical options including a gobo animation system, two eight-slot colour wheels, motorized 14-30° zoom and a multitude of other features all wrapped within the award-winning design of the MAC 2000. Also on show will be the Entour, Martin's 250W automated profile spot. This unit includes

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UK - Receiving its world premiere at the Royal Opera House on 7 December, the opera of Sophie's Choice presented the opportunity for Triple E to design a new type of system for a travelling projection screen.

Composer Nicholas Maw was first inspired by seeing the movie and intended the opera to have a cinematic effect - fluidity accompanied by a certain realism. When Maw told designer Rob Howell that he had written one note to ring out with every mention of the Holocaust, the Olivier Award-winning designer decided there should also be one element in his treatment of Auschwitz that should be present in every scene, so that by the time the storyline arrives at the infamous camp, the audience sees it at its most complete, though it was there the whole time. He chose an angle - 16°: "I was looking at photos of Brooklyn taken in the '40s and photographs of Auschwitz a

Uk - Le Mark Group is using new state-of-the-art CO2 Laser Technology linked with a new double-layered, cross-linked polyacrylic film to create a new, hard-wearing road case label which comes with a lifetime guarantee. Manufactured in Germany by the company's industry technology partner BDF Tesa, the new concept road case label is designed to last the life of the case itself.

The labels are highly durable and engineered for high wear applications. The new process uses a Penn Fabrication dish as a platform for a new laser-etched system. Clients can choose from highly durable natural colour process or colour laminate combinations. Tesa polyacrylic film is temperature stable up to 270°C and complete barcode receptive.

Le Mark can be found at PLASA on stand N49.

(Lee Baldock)

UK/Netherlands - Het Muziektheater is one of the most prestigious theatres in the Netherlands and has an international reputation. The theatre offers residencies to the Netherlands Opera and the Dutch National Ballet and is home to the Holland Symphonic. The venue is both a producing and receiving house.

The Muziektheater has four stages, each one 16.2m by 13.5m in size: one principal stage on which the performance takes place, and three assembly stages, where the scenery can be set up or stored, with approximately 60 percent of the scenery pieces hanging in the fly tower.

Het Muziektheater has 102 fly-bars, each 24m long. Renovation of the venue began in 1997 when a mechanically operated flying system was installed. At that time the type of fly-bar used had several disadvantages, for example they were very heavy, they tended to flex laterally, and diagonal bracing could cause

UK - Rola-Trac laid 15,200sq.m of ground protection - the largest single system the company has ever laid in the UK - for Massive Attack's 'home town' concert in Bristol's Queen's Square. To mark the 100th date of their current world tour, Massive Attack returned to their home city of Bristol on Bank Holiday Monday, to play to a sell out crowd of 19,000 people in Queen's Square.

Promoters Metropolis Music brought in Nine Yards to manage the production located in one of Bristol's best-known landmarks. The site was obviously not designed for hosting concerts, so the production team liased with Bristol City Council and had to be especially considerate of their environment. Hence it was decided to cover the whole area with Rola-Trac to achieve effective protection.

Guy Wightham, Rola-Trac's project manager, had to plan and execute installation of the system. Site visits two weeks

UK - Bosch Security Systems has announced the availability of Intellivox PA loudspeakers, which incorporate Digital Directivity Control (DDC), which allows the loudspeaker's sound output to be 'shaped' under PC software control to match the requirements of any venue. This makes them ideal for both general public address and emergency voice evacuation systems in venues such as large halls and exhibition centres, public buildings and entertainment venues, railway stations, airports, churches and cathedrals. The extensive integrated remote monitoring also makes Intellivox loudspeakers extremely reliable and suitable for use in emergency evacuation or voice alarm systems to IEC 60849 and BS5839 part 8 standards.

Each individual loudspeaker in the line-array has its own Class-D amplifier and can be driven independently under the control of a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), resulting

UK - CP Sound has completed a new sound and LED lighting installation at the Terraces Bar & Grill in Brighton for Glendola Leisure. The circular building, on the site of the old Seaworld, was originally erected four years ago as part of the Aquarium Terraces project.

Essex-based Pembroke Design was appointed to create the interiors. As a totally separate element to the sound design of the project, CP's Colin Pattenden decided to show their new side-lit, etched substrate LED panel to the designers, who sought an eye-catching form of bar illumination and were suitably impressed to order 10 to go at the rear of the bars.

The CP Sound LED panels are all etched with an attractive montage of pebbles. Four sit behind the upstairs bar and six at the rear of the downstairs bar. They are made from a special 10mm thick white, clear glass with polished edges to allow the passage of light

UK - Adlib Audio supplied sound systems for all five stages at Liverpool's famous Mathew Street Festival, now the UK's largest free annual outdoor music festival and celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. 300,000 people crowded into Liverpool city centre for the August Bank Holiday Monday.

The festival also merged with the conclusion of the week-long International Beatles Convention, which saw presentations, talks, seminars and markets dedicated to every possible aspect of Liverpool's best known export. Adlib were also responsible for servicing all the sound needs of the Adelphi Hotel, the Royal Court Theatre and the Barcelona Club where hundreds of the Best of Beatles bands from all over the world performed. Adlib employed over 40 crew, working around-the-clock in shifts at the various sites used by the two events.

Run by Liverpool City Council's Cultural Events Departm

UK - A.C. Lighting has announced its exclusive worldwide distribution deal for the new TourSpot and TourWash moving light range. Delivering a specification which until now has only been available in top-of-the-range moving light models, the products set a new standard in affordable, high quality intelligent lighting.

Both the 575W discharge spot and wash models are supplied with quick-release fixing clamps, plugs, lamps and safety bond. On the performance front, both models have been put through rigorous on the road testing. Features common to both ranges include 540°/320° pan and tilt with feedback, strobe and dimmer. The TourWash 575 also includes a CMY colour-mixing system with an additional eight-way colour wheel; remote zoom control (16° - 28°) and a directional lens for beam shaping. Notable features of the TourSpot 575 include a rotating wheel with seven gobos, a remo

UK - PLASA is emphasizing the importance of training development via the PLASA Professional Development Programme (PDP).The format for this year's education programme at the PLASA Show has changed to offer a wider choice with sessions ranging from technical workshops for technicians through to business seminars for freelancers and company start-ups.

The industry seminars have been expanded to cover a wide range of topics on current debates including 'Theatrical Fog - Knowing when Enough is Enough' and 'White Lighting versus Colour in Architectural Application'. Conversely the masterclasses will provide a forum for industry experts to share their knowledge. Speakers will include Brough Skingley from English Heritage on 'Lighting Up The Past - the Conflict Between Historical Accuracy and Modern Technology' and Bruce Jackson of Lake Technology on 'Sydney Olympics' Audio Design.'

UK - Ray Balcombe has joined the ever-expanding Stagetec team as education consultant. He comes onboard just in time for PLASA and just ahead of the Slough-based lighting and audio sales and installation specialists' major move to Bracknell.

Balcombe was previously working at Redbridge Drama Centre in East London. As a specialist in theatre and educational markets, his role at Stagetec will encompass education, theatre and drama sectors, focusing on development and cross-fertilisation within these vertical markets. He has an excellent track record, having trained at LAMDA and worked on tour and in the West End with major theatrical productions including Billy, A Chorus Line, A Little Night Music, Hair and Godspell.

Balcombe has also worked around the world as a theatre lighting designer and as an LD and technical director for major corporat

UK - This year's PLASA show at Earls Court will see the introduction of a number of new and improved products from Strand Lighting - including additions to the company's dimmer range, a new tool for lighting designers and updates to its operating software.

The LD24 is a new version of the company's popular LD90 family of dimmers: its new design is aimed at cost-conscious facilities that need basic DMX control combined with a high quality digital dimmer. Strand's new SLD Sinewave dimmer will also be presented for the first time and on stand will be a working demonstration unit with a range of loads that will allow users to see the features of the new dimmer first-hand. These include true sinewave output for quiet lamps and accurate control; SST dimmer modules which can dim a wide range of loads including incandescent, inductive and capacitive devices from a fraction of a watt to

UK - Gemini 12X48, the first of a new range of products from Multiform Lighting since its merger with Light Engineering, is scheduled for release on the Light Engineering Multiform stand at PLASA.

This budget-priced desk features 12-channel 2-preset mode, 24 channel wide mode and 48 memories, including 20 chases. Easy to programme and edit cues, the desk is aimed primarily at the small theatre and educational markets, but its compact size and aesthetic design should make it an attractive choice for any small DMX-controlled installation.

Light Engineering Multiform is on stand F10.

(Ruth Rossington)

USA - Crown International recently announced that it has received ISO 9001:2000 certification of its Quality Management System. Crown president Blake Augsburger commented: "Our Quality Management System was designed to keep us on track as we develop and market products and services that are of the highest quality, and that exceed our customer's expectations. We have made it a priority to put this system in place, and to manage our business with a focus on quality."

Crown originally achieved certification to the ISO 9002:1994 standard in 1999. This new version of the ISO quality standard places a greater emphasis on top management involvement in the Quality System, as well as a focus on continual improvement. The company's Quality Management System will be re-examined every six months to ensure on-going compliance with the standard.

(Ruth Rossington)

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