USA - The Zero 88 range of Frog lighting consoles is becoming a popular choice for churches and places of worship across the United States. One such is Saddleback Community Church - a sprawling 120-acre campus in Orange County, south of Los Angeles. Started in 1980 by Rick and Kay Warren, it has grown from a seven-person bible study group to an average weekend attendance of 20,000 with 80,000 names on the church roll. It has also spawned the 'Purpose Driven Movement' - which has trained over 350,000 pastors and church leaders. Looking more like a mall than a church, Saddleback boasts six separate venues and seven distinct types of service each weekend. As well as a main worship centre and separate meeting rooms, the Saddleback campus uses three permanent tent structures as additiona

UK - Tony award-winning American composer, lyricist and virtuoso pianist Jason Robert Brown wowed London audiences last month with a four-night run at the intimate New Players' Theatre in London - with state-of-the-art sound reinforcement courtesy of EM Acoustics. The system, comprising three EMS-121 enclosures, two EMS-215 subwoofers, three I-1 front-fills, two EMS-81 delays and a single M-12 monitor, was powered by MC2 amplification and was supplied by Autograph Sound Recording to a specification from sound designer Mark Dunne.

Jason Robert Brown was joined for the production by several of the West End's most revered leading ladies, including Golda Rosheuvel, Clare Burt and Frances Rufelle in a cabaret-style performance of his most popular songs. "Although the performances consisted of just vocal and piano, the fidelity of the sound system was paramount to the production,

Germany - Europa Park, a theme park in Rust, near Freiburg, has seen the addition of a new hotel. The Colosseo Hotel was inaugurated this summer with a large party themed on ancient Rome: Italian actress Claudia Cardinale symbolically handed over the keys of the 4 star-luxury hotel to Roland, Jürgen and Franz Mack, the owners of the amusement park. The typically Mediterranean façades of the hotel served as backdrop for the the evening's programme, with Alpha Spot HPE and Alpha Wash fixtures from Clay Paky forming the centre of the lighting system.

Tent Event of Freiburg looked after the setting up of the light system. As well as the Alphas, Clay Paky's Stage Color 1200s, Stage Zoom 1200s, Golden Scan HPEs and Stage Scans were also used to create the ambience for the evening, providing an extensive range of effects. The Alpha projectors, here receiving their German debut, prove

The Netherlands - Dutch hire company Rombouts Showequipment placed an order for an impressive rig of Sound Projects' line array, Linex, with the first 32 Linex systems delivered in October, just in time to prepare transport cases and amp-racks - because 12 were booked the same day by Tom O'Brian, front-of-house engineer of the legendary folk group The Dubliners, for a gig in the beautiful Amsterdam Concertgebouw. An additional system was put up at the two-day Kraanpop festival hosting a selection of the most famous DJs.

Rombouts became curious after hearing that Linex rigs were used in Switzerland for concerts with Toto, Europe and Status Quo, at a heavy metal festival in Germany and also for a concert of jazz giant Joe Zawinul, the founder of Weather Report. The company conducted its own comprehensive comparative tests on the logistics and ergonomic qualities of the Sound Proj

UK - Vertigo Rigging utilized its new PLASA Award-winning InMotion 3D/Cyberhoist automation system for the first time on a live gig for BBC 3's The Big C Concert at Alexandra Palace. The system was specified by lighting designer Darryl Noad, who had seen the demonstration at PLASA and though it would be an ideal creative tool for the show which featured artists including Travis, Lostprophets, Goldie Lookin Chain, Razorlight, Lemar and Delta Goodrem.

The show's designer Peter Bingeman and director Tony Dickson were also keen to use the Cyberhoist system, as it would maximise time during their tight set-up and rehearsal schedule, and also be a flexible solution for moving certain set pieces in and out during changeovers, to get the next band's backline onstage.

Vertigo undertook the rigging for the event, project managed for them by Tom Roberts, who worked with a team of six Ver

UK - Audio Light Systems Ltd is a new company created to provide informed proposals and installations for design teams, contractors and clients. Utilizing the latest software, the company says it can design "technically outstanding and quality controlled installations on time and within budget". From conception to completion and training, this new company is offering consultation, installation and project management for new build, refurbishment and upgrade projects nationwide, covering audio, lighting, AV or specialist systems.

The company's core design team of Eddy O'Hare, Roland Chadwick and Trevor Cross have been involved in projects of all scales throughout the globe for the last 25 years and are familiar names in the installation and consultancy sectors. They are currently involved in projects in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

(Lee Baldock)

Worldwide - One of the more established scams in this industry is back doing the rounds again, demonstrating just how lucrative this particular con-trick must be. Persistence obviously pays.

If you exhibit at any of the key shows in the industry, you'll certainly be targeted: the pitch comes via an A4 form inviting you to update an online listing run by a European publisher. Because the listing is overtly linked to a particular trade show, you could be forgiven for thinking that the website in question is somehow endorsed by the organizer, when in fact it is nothing of the sort.

What it is, is a lesson in how to take advantage of people who are just too busy to check the small print. Through the two-minute act of updating and returning the form, which appears to suggest the service is free, you are actually signing a contract binding you to a three-year agreement, which will l

UK - Since becoming a certified Yamaha Digital Dealer earlier this year, A.C. Lighting's Audio division has sold through its entire stock allocation of DM1000 digital production consoles for the fourth consecutive month.

The supply of these consoles to companies operating in the live PA, recording studio and front-of-house audio environments reflects the multi-purpose nature of DM1000, with A.C. reporting customers ranging from the West Yorkshire Playhouse to production companies behind several leading popular music acts. Sharing all the major features of the award-winning DM2000 console, the DM1000 also offers 96kHz audio, surround monitoring, studio manager and DAW control.

Commenting on the company's sales success with the DM1000, A.C.'s Audio sales manager, Peter Butler, attributes this to matching the customer's needs with the most suitable product and offering a total

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Italy - A new roof has been built to host the 2004 MTV Awards, right in front of the Coliseum in Rome. The construction is manufactured by Prolyte, for Ital Stage, via Decima, Prolyte's distributor in Italy.

This latest system, developed in close cooperation between Prolyte and Ital Stage, is based on the standard B100RV truss and the new series of towers, the C52T. As the stage is based on standard elements, it is not only a very economic system, but is also easy to build, say Prolyte, with the whole construction designed and developed within two weeks.

The roof is constructed from five arches made of B100RV truss. A hinge in the bottom connectors and a pen-fork connection with a spreader plate in the top connections, gives the complete span the arch needed. Two steel wires per span absorb the arch thrust. The arches are connected to a standard sleeve block for the B100RV t

USA - Kansas City's historic Argosy Casino has recently undergone a complete renovation and is now in a new home. Sound-wise the casino has integrated a brand new way of processing, routing and controlling audio within this far more complex and demanding sound environment than the original facility. TSI Inc, the St. Charles, Missouri-based AV systems integrator that coordinated installation of the casino's AV system, made SymNet - the modular audio mixing, routing and processing system from Symetrix Audio - the hub of the casino's sophisticated audio system.

"As we began designing the system in July 2003, we realized we were going to need something with more control and flexibility, to do things with the audio system, than the old casino facility provided," says Mark Schultz, the TSI design specialist who helped coordinate the Argosy project. "With SymNet, we hav

UK - Edwin Shirley Staging, the international staging and structure specialist, has unveiled the first ever European Wine Tower. ESS acted as design co-ordinator and main contractor working closely with its client, Radisson SAS, to deliver this centrepiece Wine Tower for a new flagship hotel at Stansted Airport.

The structural challenge of the project was to deliver a tower capable of supporting the 6.5 tonnes of glass, four thousand bottles of wine and four flying performers known as 'wine angels'. Adding to the already stunning complexity of the project the air-handling system had to deliver chilled and warm air to individual wine cases throughout the tower, maintaining ambient working temperatures for the Wine Angels and ensuring that there is no condensation on the glass.

To make this complicated system work, every element of the tower had to be perfect with the largest

USA - US-based design firm Environmental Acoustics Inc (EAI) and Performance Audio Video Lighting & Stage Systems Inc (PAVL) have chosen Digigram's EtherSound audio bridges as the cornerstone of the audio distribution system in the new Student Life Center at the Lancaster Christian School, Lancaster, PA, USA. The signal routing flexibility of EtherSound networks and the low cost of standard Ethernet components like switches and Cat 5 cables were key for EAI and PAVL to design a highly flexible audio control system, which allows for operator control at four different locations and meets the budget requirements of this privately funded institution. EtherSound networks distribute up to 64 channels of 24-bit digital audio at 48kHz, plus control information, over a single Ethernet cable - with only 125 microseconds latency.

The challenges of implementing sophisticated technologies i

USA / The Netherlands - At the forthcoming Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) conference (26-28 January, Amsterdam) Clarity Visual Systems (stand 3110) will demonstrate its newest digital displays, first seen at the InfoComm 2005 show in Atlanta. The displays represent compelling alternatives to conventional display products, including CRTs and plasma-based models, say the company.

Among the products Clarity is featuring, Bengal is a 154.9cm ultra-thin rear-projection DLP display only 16cm deep, based on a technology collaboration announced with InFocus Corp. earlier this year. Other new products include Margay, a zero-mullion, widescreen 127cm ultra-thin rear-projection DLP display designed for multi-display signage and video applications; and Bay Cat - a high-resolution 116.8cm direct view LCD screen.

Clarity says it views Europe as a significant growth market, particularly

Denmark - Mach has launched a new range of medium-throw speakers for the installation market. The CM Series is a line of dedicated compact top boxes specifically developed to produce high SPL and controlled dispersion. Mach say it is suited to venues requiring audio clarity and high power performance such as clubs, bars, cafés, lounges, restaurants, churches, hotels, fitness studios, conference rooms and shopping malls. The CM Series can be used in combination with a subwoofer or as a delay speaker.

The CM 9, 12, 15 and 18 all feature a rotatable horn for optimum dispersion and can be easily switched from passive to active mode through a multi-pin connector. The range was co-designed by contractors for contractors, say Mach, with ease of installation in mind and as such features an innovative mounting system, which along with the rotatable horn, allows for total flexibility wh

UK - DT Productions has signed a licence with MCPS (the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society) which will allow DT/Soundnet to incorporate copyright music into its programmes for jukeboxes and background music services for European distribution. The licence enables DT Productions to take advantage of one tariff for all types of music based on a percentage of revenue. Previously, it was necessary to work with different rates depending on whether the music was for jukebox, background, DVD or video use.

MCPS developed the new-style licence - which has been specifically designed to take into account a range of usages - within 10 months of an initial approach from DT. "I am now licensed to copy tracks to my UK hard drive and to make physical copies for distribution throughout the EU, confident that publishers, songwriters and composers are getting paid," said Simon Davis,

UK - CIE-Audio, premier UK architectural audio supplier, has announced the launch of the B-52 loudspeaker range into the UK market. Seeing its official UK launch at November's 'Music Live' Show at the NEC, the US professional speaker range features more than 80 innovative, high end solutions for permanent installation, live performance, sound reinforcement and mobile DJ applications, say CIE.

CIE-Audio has been appointed as exclusive representatives for B-52 in the UK; the brand joins CIE's already extensive portfolio of key represented brands including Inter-M, Switchcraft, Armstrong i-ceilings, Chaiyo, Euromet and Amina. "We're extremely pleased with our latest appointment," says Chris Edwards, CIE-Group's marketing manager. "Over the past two years our involvement in the pro audio and AV markets has increased significantly and has become key to the continued g

USA - At the 20th Annual Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards, held on 30 October in San Francisco, Sennheiser and Neumann were honoured for their outstanding technical achievement. Neumann received an award in the category Microphone Technology / Studio for its TLM 127, while Sennheiser was awarded in the category Wireless Technology for evolution wireless G2.

Winners for Creative Achievement included, inter alia, the sound teams behind The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Radiohead's Hail to the Thief. In addition to 23 awards for Technical and Creative achievement, the awards ceremony witnessed the induction into the TEC Awards Hall of Fame of legendary filmmaker George Lucas and venerated producer/engineer Elliott Scheiner. In a surprise appearance, Janet Jackson presented the Les Paul Award to platinum producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

T

UK - Revisiting and refining technology first introduced in the RD3D, the world's first autostereo 3D notebook, the LL-151-3D is the first standalone display from Sharp to incorporate 3D LCD technology. The LL-151-3D is a stylish screen with clean lines, a narrow frame and adjustable height - and it delivers 3D images that are crisp, clear and projected through a parallax barrier straight to the naked eye, say Sharp.

The LL-151-3D can switch easily between 2D and 3D display mode for applications such as word processing, spreadsheets and e-mail. In 3D mode its 15" XGA (1024x768) LCD display allows a viewing clarity in which bright, clear pictures can be seen in fine detail. 370-nit brightness and 500:1 contrast ratio offer exceptional performance, say the manufacturer.

Sharp sees the LL-151-3D finding applications within the fields of drug discovery, medical imaging, mapp

UK - Xtreme Audio Visual has installed a complete audio visual package at Sky Nightclub for client Ware Leisure, including a new sound system from KV2 Audio. The main club is split into two rooms, Daylight, the main dance area and the Sunset VIP Lounge. Daylight presented an acoustical challenge to Xtreme having multiple levels of vaulted ceilings along with raised floor levels. To overcome these problems, Xtreme opted to use the KV2 ES Active driven system consisting of four ES1.0, two ES2.5, 2 x ES1.8 and two ES1.5, powered by four EPAK 2500s, using an Audia Solo for the processing and routing.

The system was designed in conjunction with KV2's Andy Austin Brown. Due to the layout of the venue, and the wide variety of events planned for the system, the design was far from straightforward, but Austin Brown's knowledge of the KV2 products enabled an audio solution for all the pro

Turkey - Biamp Systems reports that AVS in Istanbul, Turkey, has installed a pair of multiple-zone AudiaFLEX systems in the city's newest Volkswagen office and showroom. "To be chosen by AVS for such a prestigious installation as the executive office headquarters and showroom in Istanbul is truly a validation of the versatility and cost effectiveness of AudiaFLEX," said Romano Cunsolo, East European sales manger for Biamp. "It proves that Audia solves the dilemma of offering easy-to-use technology that is still powerful and flexible."

As one of the world's most highly recognized brands, Volkswagen insisted the Dogus Groupe, which manages dealers and service in Istanbul, have its headquarters showcase the newest cars in a state-of-the-art showroom featuring the most advanced technology. This technology was to extend to the executive offices in their main buil

UK - Essential Lighting supplied Martin MAC 2000 Washes and 7kW Ireos Pro Space Cannons to produce the large scale lighting effects taking place along the South Bank, the epicentre of the 2004 Poppy Appeal event. This included turning three bridges - Waterloo, Westminster and Hungerford - red, and supplying searchlights for both banks of the Thames between Waterloo and Westminster Bridges.

The lighting scheme was designed by Rick Hussey, who works regularly with Essential on all types of projects. It was co-ordinated for Essential by Martin Lubach and site managed by Barry Tofield. Overall production manager was Roger Oakley working for event producers The Bank. Oakley dealt with 16 regulatory bodies including MI5 and MI6 to get the necessary clearance to stage the event!

A total of 28 MAC 2000 washes were used to light the three bridges, complete with assorted lenses to optim

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