Singapore - Megachurches are becoming more popular in many regions of the world. Two of these outstanding buildings, the City Harvest Church and the Grace Assembly Church in Singapore, are employing MA Lighting control technology as part of their suitably impressive lighting systems. The City Harvest Church uses a grandMA full-size console, while the Grace Assembly Church a grandMA micro.
The consoles were applied to control conventional fixtures as well as moving lights and are ready to integrate video at a later stage. William Ng of City Harvest church points out: "I got to know grandMA in the US. The possibilities and the powerful performance were very impressive. Back home the recommendation of Desisti Asia, which offered comprehensive project support, and their after-sal
UK - Telex Communications (UK) Ltd reports that Independent Television News has installed a Telex/RTS Intercom for critical communications at their Gray's Inn Road headquarters in London. Stage 1 has already begun, with the installation of a 176 square ADAM matrix system for ITN's Master Control Room.
Providing facilities for some six studios, 16 Edit suites, graphics and content managers, Master Control is the hub of the ITN operation. As a live news broadcaster, ITN takes feeds from numerous OBs every day, and an essential part of their intercom requirement was a system to route incoming and outgoing lines at the touch of a button. The new TELEX ARP (Audio Routing Panel) developed for ITN achieves this, allowing fast switching with visual confirmation and reverse interrogation of routes throughout the complex.
Paul Flook Head of Broadcast Engineering ITN explained: "We
USA - The Queen of Hip-Hop and three-time Grammy Award winner, Mary J. Blige, is currently touring the United States in support of her current album, The Breakthrough. Travelling with a five-piece band plus three background singers, Blige's Breakthrough Experience Tour is outfitted with Sennheiser and Neumann wireless equipment, including microphones and G2 personal monitor systems, as well as antenna combiners.
Blige is a longtime user of the hybrid handheld microphone that combines a Neumann KK 105-S capsule with a Sennheiser SKM 5000-N transmitter. According to monitor engineer Ramon Morales, for this tour Blige has the Neumann capsule paired with the new nickel finish Sennheiser SKM 5200 handheld, which offers a redesigned user interface, mechanics and electronics compared to the previous model.
"The supercardioid 105 capsule is not for everyone," n
Spain - D.A.S. sound systems have recently been installed at the Royal Nautical Club of Tenerife - the most renowned sports club of the island, devoted to the development of sports such as sailing, tennis, swimming and basketball. The new sound installation was handled by Oscar Molowny Sonido e Iluminación, S.L, the Canary's based firm that specialises in the supply and installation of sound systems, which has confided in D.A.S. products over the last after 25 years.
The official opening of the headquarters of the Royal Nautical Club of Tenerife took place back in 1905, in an art nouveau building, designed by architect Mariano Estanga, situated in the façade of the Castillo de Pedro. The Club was reopened after the Spanish Civil War during the celebration of the 1941 May festivities on the island. At that early stage the building hosted bathrooms, a swimming pool, dressing roo
Belgium - XL Video Holdings and XL Video Belgium have moved into a massive new purpose-built HQ at the Plassendale Business Park near Ostend.
The specially designed 40,000 sq.ft building is been constructed on a 1.5 hectare plot of land acquired by the company 18 months ago, together with another adjacent 70,000 square feet, which is already reserved in anticipation of future expansion. Approximately 35,000 sq.ft the new space is devoted to warehousing, service and storage areas.
The remaining 5,000 sq.ft is an open-plan office, complete with a contemporary interior design created by Buro Belgium. Maximising natural light, the offices have also been acoustically treated and designed to limit noise interference between the different workspaces and areas.
"We want it to be as pleasant and stimulating a working environment as possible on all levels," explains XL Video
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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.
France - The latest in a series of significant new developments for digital console manufacturers, Innovason, the company is pleased to announce a partnership with Aviom, world leaders and pioneers in personal monitor mixing technology.
The initial interface between the two companies comes in the form of an Innovason Dio module, DioAV, which is easily installed in one of the two locations available on the DSP board of the Sy48 and Sy80 consoles. Two CAT5 connectors offer direct digital connectivity to two 16-channel networks and Aviom's signature Pro16 Personal Mixers via Aviom's proprietary protocol, A-Net.
A prototype DioAV interface was shown for the first time at the recent AES show in San Francisco with commercial availability planned for the first quarter of 2007.
Innovason Xavier Pion, director of sales and marketing, regards the partnership as a highly positive move
USA - The A.C. Lighting booth (455) at LDI 2006 will feature a host of new entertainment technology products. The Chroma-Q range of lighting fixtures and accessories on display will include the US tradeshow launch of the new Color Web 125, a higher resolution version of the modular, transparent LED webbing product.
Each Color Web 125 panel consists of 64 individually addressable colour mixing LED cells with a pitch of 125mm / 5", providing double the resolution per square metre compared to the original 250mm / 10" version launched last year.
The choice of panel resolutions makes Color Web suitable for more demanding visual effects applications and provides customers with a choice of products to suit their budget and display requirements.
Also on display will be the latest range of Chroma-Q Color Block LED accessories, including eight new colour options designed for
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Create new traditions – Cameo P6 - High Output Full-Spectrum Ellipsoidal
Cameo's P6 is a future-proof LED profiler with a powerful 600 W RGBACL engine and 16,000 lumens. It’s an energy-efficient replacement for 2.5 kW halogen profile lights in theatres and venues. With excellent light quality and natural colour rendering, it fits perfectly in theatres, musicals, TV studios, congresses, and live events.
With an LED life of 50,000 hours and low power use, the P6 cuts energy costs and supports the EU’s ‘Green Deal’ goals for climate neutrality by 2050. It also meets updated eco-design rules for lighting.
USA - The hit Broadway musical Sweeney Todd has just finished its Broadway run before going out on tour in the US next year. The award-winning Stephen Sondheim revival starred Patti LuPone and Michael Cerveris, with director John Doyle setting the action in a modern lunatic asylum, with a cast of 10 playing the roles of actors and band on stage.
Sound design is by Dan Moses Schreier, who was also responsible for the sound on the last three Stephen Sondheim revivals, with a Cadac J-Type Live Production Console taking a key role at the heart of the show's sound system.
Staged at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, the musical involved a delicate balance, featuring an intricate and highly lyrical score delivered at a cracking pace. Dan Moses Shreier explains:"This show poses an extraordinary challenge from the sound perspective, based on getting the balance between the voices
UK - This year's Security Excellence Awards attracted over 700 of the security industry's key figureheads to the Park Lane Hilton, London.
Following speeches by John Saunders (retiring chief executive of the SIA) and Vernon Coaker (the Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for security, policing and community safety at the Home Office), Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine hosted the ceremony, where 14 awards given out to the key achievers over the previous year.
Showsec managing director Mark Harding collected the Event Security Team of the Year award, as the company was recognised for it's achievements in the event sector over the previous year. Harding says: "I'm delighted that the criteria was for the 'best team', and am proud to accept this award for every member of the Showsec team who have contributed to a great year. We are committed to the ongoing improvement of standar
USA - High End Systems announces the release of version 2.0 software for the Wholehog 3 operating system. This software enhances and improves the popular platform, allowing users to connect Wholehog 3, Hog iPC and/or Hog 3PCs on the same network for total networking compatibility.
The new Wholehog 3 version 2.0 software allows the entire Wholehog 3 family of lighting control products to operate with the same level of functionality, DMX output capabilities and networking abilities. All platforms are now able to connect to each other and/or to DMX Processors (DP2000) and Timecode Processors (IOP). With this connectivity, the Hog iPC and Hog 3PC are now capable of unlimited DMX universes.
Version 2.0 software has undergone extensive testing through the High End Systems Software Testing Programme. Beta testers have been instrumental with this release as they have been able to test
Switzerland / Sweden - ELC have announced that Spectra Stage & Event Technologies AB has been appointed as their exclusive distributor for Sweden.
Mikael Uddh is the ELC product manager, and the full sales team are available for enquiries, from the four point of sales and distribution: in Stockholm, Malmö, Gothenburg and Gävle.
ELC Lighting say that they are "fully confident in the re-organisation of this sales structure,and we will be fully supporting Spectra Stage & Event Technologies AB in their activities".
France - Nearly fifty years after the film Ben Hur, starring Charlton Heston and winner of eleven Oscars, the epic story of the Jewish Prince has been brought back to life with a spectacular show at the Stade de France in Paris last month. The World Cup stadium at the gates of hosted 400 actors and extras who recreated the naval battle, the gladiatorial combats and the famous chariot race.
The main challenge for lighting designers Christian Bréan and Jacques Rouveyrollis was to cover with light the 11,000 m2 of surface area of the stadium - which was covered in compacted red clay.
"The lighting for this mega-spectacular required detailed study of the placing of the projectors around the entire oval that covers the Stade de France" - the two lighting designers explained. "It needed at least a year's work to plan and implement the lighting design.&qu
Germany - For its regular live coverage of the German Football League , the Arena channel's Make It Real team use some of the best technology available. 24 Vari-Lite VL500 80V Wash are attached in the mobile studio. Lighting control is done by a grandMA full-size, three MA Digital Dimmer 12 x 2,3 kVA and one NSP.
Seventy tons of equipment are transported every week from one town to another. "Our team consists of 40 people. They need two days to build up the studio," explains Jörg Privsek of Make It Real. "We want to get as close to the people as possible, therefore our system has to be mobile. Our set designer Jürgen Harsler arranges the seats around the studio stage to produce a stadium feeling. The lighting rig with its four pylons also reminds the spectators of this."
Lighting Designer Manuel da Costa adds, "Important for my choice o
USA - JBL Professional has introduced the Variable LineArray (VLA) Series loudspeakers, designed for permanent installations requiring high-impact sound reinforcement at throw distances beyond the reach of traditional loudspeaker designs.
"With the new JBL VLA Series, the installed sound industry now has a best-in-class line array loudspeaker series that addresses the need for high intelligibility, powerful high-impact sound, yet extraordinarily even coverage on a stadium-level scale, claimed Ted Leamy, vice president of installed sound, JBL Professional. "Systems integrators will benefit from loudspeaker arrays designed specifically for permanent, large-venue installs with the fidelity and performance capabilities of a powerful touring systems."
The VLA Series is based on the same engineering science used in the established Vertec line array product family, but
Italy/USA - Coemar is showing a range of new products at this year's LDI show including Infinity Wash, PinLite Led, and StripLite Led.
Infinity Wash XL has an innovative new LCD display which can be charged from an external battery in the new Philips fast-fit lamp with variable power from 800 to 1450 W. At narrow angles, it can get up to 30 times brighter than competitors, becoming the most powerful Wash on the market, claims Coemar.
StripLite Led is billed as "the perfect substitute for the popular halogen ribalte". It offers multicolour and white (3200°K) leds that guarantee infinite colours generation, plus the possibility to obtain warm white; the body is light and solid, and the electrical consumption is extremely reduced in spite of the elevated brightness.
PinLite Led comprises 12 multicolour leds designed to provide infinite colour generation, strobo ef
UK - Northern Stage Services has announced the appointment of David Cusworth as marketing and sales manager. Cusworth has over thirty years experience in the industry with Strand Lighting. When working for Strand he originally managed the Stage Equipment, and Drapes, Department, before being responsible for sales of lighting to the theatre market. He has also been responsible for the design, and sales, of lighting systems to the film, and TV, industry, working with the BBC, ITV companies, and other studios.
In addition to heading up Northern's sales and marketing team Cusworth will be available to customers who require a consultancy service, be it from general advice on an existing theatre, or studio, to the design, and specification, for new installations.
Australia - One of the most watched television programmes in Australia, the award-winning AFL Footy Show, delighted its audience recently with a flawless live broadcast of its 2006 Grand Final edition with the aid of LED video technology supplied by Lighthouse Technologies.
An estimated national audience of over 1.49 million viewers tuned-in to watch the show's 2006 AFL Grand Final broadcast which aired on Australia's Channel 9 (GTV-9) television network last month.To mark the occasion, the network created a spectacular studio set, located at the Rod Laver Arena in the heart of Melbourne's city centre.
As part of the set design, over 130 Lighthouse LED video panels were strategically deployed around the stage to create a number of R4, R10 and R16i/o high-definition video displays which were used to project vibrant images of the event. This included the showcasing of foo
UK - Since her first appearance at a Prince's Trust concert in 1996, Imogen Heap's combination of electronica, alternative pop and rock and Euro-pop has gained critical acclaim and a loyal fan base both from her days with band Frou Frou and as a solo artist. For her month-long tour of UK venues during September and October, sound rental company ESS employed part of its new Turbosound Aspect system.
Gary Brookes is the front of house systems engineer for ESS alongside Mike Benson, Imogen's front of house engineer, and Darren Connor who handles the monitor position for ESS.
At the Brighton Dome the system comprised eight TA-890H mid/high cabinets flown two wide by two deep a side, plus five TA-890L vertically ground stacked with two TSW-718 double 18 subwoofers aside. "We're using the older 718s to emphasise the real low end," explains Brookes. "This is a little o
UK - Adlib Audio supplied Californian hard rockers AFI (A Fire Inside) with a JBL VerTec PA system for the UK leg of their ongoing Decemberunderground tour. The Liverpool-based company, had previously worked with AFI's FOH engineer Pete Keppler on David Bowie's 2003 Reality tour.
With the itinerary covering a host of gigs from Nottingham Rock City to Brixton Academy, the Adlib crew - Hassane Essiahi and Richie Nicholson - knew to be prepared for all eventualities and for the wide discrepancy in venue sizes. The VerTec proved its worth on stages large and small, demonstrating its very flexible and workable floor stacking options on some of the smaller shows.
For Brixton, they utilised 10 flown VT 4889 elements per side, together with eight floor-stacked JBL VerTec 4880 subs. These were run in conjunction with two of Adlib's own FD full range cabinets per side for
USA - QSC Audio are celebrating a summer season which has seen them take full advantage of the massive construction programme taking place in the fast developing Chinese market.
By being able to offer QSC-based solutions from the Californian company's extensive product range, their territorial distributor, Beijing-based Prime Connections Inc (PCI) has successfully tendered for a number of contracts. In particular, they report that QSC sound reinforcement and network control systems have been supplied to a number of conference centres, sports halls and stadiums.
Founded in 1724, Beijing No. 2 Middle School has become the most prominent school of its type in Beijing. With its concept of all-round education, high-quality staff and advanced facilities it has produced many star pupils.
Asked to participate in the provision of a pro audio system for its newly-constructed sports ha
USA - JBL Professional is celebrating a double victory after its products came first in both loudspeaker categories at this year's Mix Foundation for Excellence in Audio Awards. Over 750 industry movers and shakers attended the Awards held in San Francisco during the recent AES Convention.
JBL Professional's LSR4300 won the Best Studio Monitor Loudspeaker category, while the company's VRX932LA won the category for Best Sound Reinforcement Loudspeaker.
Martin Seidl, JBL's director of sales, Europe, says: "Everyone at JBL is very proud that our hard work has been reflected in the votes of Mix magazine readers, who have chosen to endorse LSR and VRX as industry-leading successes. We were especially delighted to receive two of the most prestigious Awards in pro audio in front of such an esteemed crowd."
The LSR4300 Studio Monitor is designed to provide accurate mixes i