UK - Since its launch in June 2006, demand for a PC version of Solid State Logic's Duende has grown steadily. SSL has responded by announcing the imminent availability of Duende for PC and new generation Intel processor Apple Mac users. New versions of Duende will be released to the public in November 2006.

Duende was exhibited working on both PC and Mac systems at the recently concluded 121st Audio Engineering Society Convention in San Francisco.

The Duende is a powerful DSP platform that functions within an audio workstation environment, offering SSL audio processing and access to a thriving online mentoring programme. Duende is a signal processor based on the algorithms found in the SSL C series of digital production consoles.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Orbital Sales has provided a CSC Audio Playback Software solution to the London stage adaptation of the hit movie Dirty Dancing, currently playing in the Aldwych Theatre. The show is based on the 1987 film, with screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein adapting her film script for the stage.

The show's sound designer, Bobby Aitken, chose the CSC Software after an extensive evaluation between other solutions and is using the product to replay sound effects and music tracks. The system is controlled from the production's main console and outputs to multiple speaker zones including an onstage "gramophone" for realistic "rehearsal scenes".

CSC is gaining rapid adoption within the theatre community due to it's powerful, yet easy to use interface, says Orbital. It has recently been deployed on a variety of productions including, It's a Fine Life(Queen's

UK - AMPC has appointed Julian Sleath to lead the technical and operational aspects of the performance consulting practice.

Over the last seven years, Sleath has been the client representative on the design team of the Toronto Opera House. He also worked on the restoration of the Theatre Royal and the construction of a technical and rehearsal centre in Glasgow.

AMPC has just completed its fastest project - a 1500 seat opera house in the Palace of Peace in Kazakhstan with Lord Foster- designed and built in 21 months. This follows the openings of two RIBA award winning buildings in the UK; the Menuhin Hall at the Yehudi Menuhin School and the Egg Children's Theatre in Bath.

Julian Sleath comments, "I have been fortunate to be able to work with many great performing companies and technicians from around the world. Now is my chance to be part of creating great performance s

UK - Shure Distribution UK, distributor for Shure, QSC Audio, Phonic, Sound Devices and Radial will be exhibiting the latest audio technology from the manufacturers in its portfolio at Music Live 2006 on stand C40.

Shure Distribution UK will be running a free prize draw on each day of the event. Visitors will have the opportunity to win a limited edition Black Beta 58 microphone complete with cable and stand. All they have to do is enter their details with Shure on the stand.

Shure's premium KSM9 vocal condenser microphone will be on show in wired form. It features a dual diaphragm design and time-saving set-up features like automatic frequency selection and automatic transmitter sync.

Shure's all new Performance Gear Wireless Systems, on show for the first time at Music Live, combine sound quality and stage-proven endurance with advanced features like internal diversity ant

UK - As the 'convergence' between lighting and video becomes ever more integrated, UK rental house XL Video, supplied 76 VersaTube LED lighting fixtures and a Catalyst digital media server system to the final leg of Maximo Park's A Certain Trigger Tour.

Lighting designer Stevie Marr specified the VersaTubes and the Catalyst, with the Tubes also forming the main architectural element of the performance space upstage of the band and stretching right out to the sides of the stage. The VersaTubes were attached to 18 vertical sections of A-type trussing - four per tube - clamped to the two onstage chords of the truss.

Marr produced all the video content used to drive the VersaTubes himself, as part of his masters degree in Graphic Design (specialising in Interactive Media) at the Arts Institute of Bournemouth.

The Maximo Park tour was project managed for XL by Jo Beirne, a

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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

Belgium/Dubai - Barco reports that it has signed its largest contract ever for a fully integrated, creative LED solution. The contract with Emaar, developer of the world's biggest shopping mall in Dubai, is worth over 24 million euro. The LED displays will be used both to inform and entertain visitors of the Dubai Mall. The Mall will officially be opened in September 2007. Deliveries for the installation will take place in 2007.

The contract for Dubai Mall includes a total of 571 square metres of LED. The Mall will host over 1200 outlets, spanning in excess of 336,000 square metres of retail space, and will also include an array of leisure pursuits, including an aquarium, fashion show arena, gold souk and Olympic size ice ring.

Emaar executive director Rashid Doleh comments, "We have selected Barco as we are convinced that the quality and creativity of their solutions is

USA - Home Automation, Inc. (HAI) continued its commitment to the security industry by making several major product announcements at the ISC in New York. HAI's security and home control Omni family of controllers are all now CP-01 compliant, HAI is shipping a new glass break detector as part of its Wireless Security line, and the flagship OmniPro II controller is now available in a Spanish version.

"The security industry has been, and continues to be, an important market for our products," explains HAI President and CEO, Jay McLellan. "We now have an entire controller line which we introduced last year, called Lumina, to integrate lighting and automation to existing security panels, we've added the CP-01 compliance to all of our UL-Listed Omni controllers for the reduction of false alarms, and we continue to expand our wireless security line, as well as our intern

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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.

www.cameolight.com/p6profile

USA - Barry Manilow, a regular act at the Hilton in Las Vegas, is adding several tour dates to his schedule through January of 2007. Bandit Lites is working with lighting designer Seth Jackson, to provide the lighting.

For the hard-edge fixtures, Jackson has opted for a combination of VL2500s and Martin Mac2k Performances. For the 2ks, he added in the Patrick Woodroffe Gobo package to give some new variety to the light, which he says made a world of difference. Jackson also uses Syncrolite B-52s along with Mac 300s and Mac2ks.

The show is packed with video- including an upstage LED wall that is 30 feet wide, and then another 40 feet of Low-Res panels (built by Screenworks). It became essential to match the video with a lot of lighting, in order to cut through a backdrop that produces a fair amount of light on its own.

Jackson uses Morris Leasing's ESP Vision Studio in Nashvi

UK - Visits to project sites by judges of the Lighting Design Awards 2007 will start in early November and continue until the end of January. They will assess each site on all its merits including aesthetic, functional and technical.

This thorough evaluation process ensures that all projects are assessed on the excellence of the lighting design as a whole rather than relying solely on possibly misleading photographic evidence. The long list is compiled by the judging panel from written and photographic submissions put together by all the entrants.

The presentation ceremony of the Lighting Design Awards takes place at the London Hilton Hotel on Park Lane on Thursday 15 March 2007. The black-tie ceremony is a highlight of the lighting industry's calendar. The Lighting Design Awards is organised by Emap, the publisher of Lighting magazine, and the Institution of Lighting E

Germany - The Index in Schüttorf is one of the ten largest discotheques in Germany. With around 4,000 square metres of floor space, it attracts around 7,000 punters every weekend. It reopened recently after seven months of refurbishment, including the installation of the world's largest ice bar which extends over 850 square metres and composed of 320 tonnes of ice. In addition to the Ice Bar, there are three other sections, named Main, Tender and Goldfish, each with its own ambience.

"We see this as a disco of superlatives," says Index managing director, Holger Bösch. His plan is for the Index to function as a disco at the weekends, whilst remaining available during the week for corporate functions, wedding parties and other events. "We aim to offer guests the optimum experience, so nothing less than the finest equipment will suffice,"

UK - Audio-Technica is hosting a prize draw on its stand C50 at Music Live with Audio-Technica endorsees Breed77. There will be five winners, each of whom will each be drawn by a member of the band. Entry flyers will be available throughout the opening day of the show (Friday 3rd) on the Audio-Technica, Playmusic and Sound Control stands.

Prizes will include Audio-Technica ATH-EM7 GM headphones, as well as tee-shirts and autographed copies of the band's new album In My Blood. Breed77 are performing on the Music Live stage at around 2pm, before arriving on the Audio-Technica stand, where they will also take part in a question and answer session with visitors about why and how they use Audio-Technica microphones live on stage.

(Jim Evans)

Denmark - Noerrebro Micro Brewery was the first micro brewery to open its doors in Copenhagen. With a combination of a restaurant, bar and lounge, the venue attracts customers who appreciate gourmet food and a range of beers in a cool and rustic atmosphere.

With background music during the day, lounge levels at night and DJ sessions during weekends, the lounge required a sound system that delivers well at background level, but still provides convincing dynamics and involvement when pushed by the DJ's.

A lot of work went in to the visual design and ambience of the venue and the sound system. In order not to compromise the clean visual impression, four aluminium finished Cornered C6TRM boxes were discreetly installed horizontally in the corner between ceiling and walls. Crossed at 80 Hz, the top-boxes only call for a minimum of sub bass support and a customised 8" active su

Germany - Popular, chart-topping German teenage rockers Tokio Hotel have completed an extensive tour in support of their "Schrei" (Scream) album,using Robe ColorWash and ColorSpot 1200E AT fixtures at the core of their lighting rig.

The 24 ColorWash 1200E AT, 12 ColorSpot 1200E ATs, plus eighteen Robe StageBanner 10 ATs were specified by lighting designer Gunther Hecker. Hecker - also the inventor of the StageBanner - who developed an attractive, flexible and unusual design with the 18 StageBanners, with each holding a reversible screen. The banners, each measuring 1 metre wide with a 10 metre drop, were all rigged off the back truss.

This overall design created a projection screen for custom produced video content that could either be displayed on a "standard" black background or onto the banners set at 90° - which had the effect of increasing the perc

South Africa - Stage Audio Works has been appointed as the exclusive South African distributor for the Chroma-Q, Tourmate and Tourflex entertainment technology brands. Under the agreement the company will supply the Chroma-Q Color Block and Color Web LED ranges, and Tourmate Multilock connector and Tourflex Datasafe cable ranges, backed up by full product demonstration, training and technical support.

Stage Audio Works is a supplier and installer of live entertainment and live event technology solutions to rental companies, theatres, television studios, schools, houses of worship and installations in South Africa and Southern Africa.

The Chroma-Q Color Web LED display matrix is available in a choice of 125 and 250mm cell pitches to suit different budgets and display requirements. The Chroma-Q Color Block, with its modular 'building block' design, offers many possibilities for

USA/Germany - Color Kinetics Incorporated and ARRI Inc. have announced an agreement through which ARRI, one of the world's largest manufacturers of motion picture equipment, will use Color Kinetics' technology and intellectual property to develop a line of LED-based studio lighting products. Slated for availability this year, the products will be ARRI's first to incorporate LED sources - delivering the benefits of efficiency, durability and digital control for film lighting applications.

"Given their visual impact and colour capabilities, LEDs are perfectly suited for many uses in film and broadcast, and we're excited to pursue new product ideas that these sources inspire. Color Kinetics' technology, knowledge and experience combine for a powerful advantage, and we look forward to adding this new category of advanced lighting products for our customers," said Franz Kra

USA - Aviom provided members of the film, broadcast and house of worship communities with a an early look at its forthcoming Pro64 audio networking product line during a preview event held at Hollywood Sound Systems in Los Angeles. As part of the event, Aviom also presented its newest technology to the L.A. Chapter of SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers).

Aviom's Pro64 Series of audio networking products allow contractors and installers to transport multiple channels of streaming audio over Cat-5e via A-Net, Aviom's high-speed audio network.

"This event was an outstanding post-AES introduction for our Pro64 Series to the many important industry players based in L.A.," says Jason Frenchman, Aviom's director of marketing. "Hollywood Sound Systems was an incredible host who provided us with a tremendous forum to demonstrate and discuss our uni

USA - HME has introduced two new pro audio accessories - the HSI6000 Headset Interface and the Antenna Splitter/Combiner - for more expanded use with the DX Series Wireless Intercom Systems.

The HSI6000 Headset Interface allows users to connect a standard 2.5mm cordless or cell phone headset to an HME BP200 beltpac. This adapter makes it more cost-effective for users of the HME DX Series Systems to replace headsets or add new users.

"We're constantly creating new ways to add more flexibility to our wireless systems so customers can have more options on interface components while maintaining the amazing digital sound quality of the DX Series," said Rick Molina, product manager of HME's pro audio division.

The 2-Way Antenna Splitter/Combiner expands the normal signal coverage area of the DX Series Wireless Intercom Systems so users can communicate in places that onc

Sweden - BSS Audio is at the centre of an ambitious new media and music production complex in the centre of Gothenburg. The 70-year-old four-storey Brew House, which at various times functioned as the Apotekarnes brewery and Ethnographic Museum, began its conversion to a creative centre specialising in film and music production back in 2002 - the result of an initiative floated by the Business Region Göteborg.

Designed to encourage collaboration and networking, the facility also incorporates a restaurant, conference room, and the large 600 sq. metre Stena Arena. The complex has been developed at a cost of 50 million Swedish kronor (£4 million) and operated by HIGAB (Hantverks-och Industrihus I Göteborg AB). It already boasts full occupancy, the 60 resident companies from the fields of music, movies, media, entertainment and education all able to interact.

However, it w

UK - Following the popularity and professionalism of the last two annual shows, Stage Electrics once again worked with the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) to present the Stage Electrics Tradeshow in Cardiff in mid October 2006.

The company reports that 2006 again saw an increase in numbers attending the show, with visitors travelling from all parts of Wales and the surrounding English counties.

This year, the RWCMD Bute Theatre had a new look, with the central section occupied by Stage Electrics with four 50" plasma screens showcasing the company's product range. On the theatre seating block, which previously has been hidden behind drapes, a high level café area was constructed. Manufacturers occupied the stand positions around the end of the theatre space ensuring that they all had the maximum opportunity to interact with visitors.

Leading industr

USA - Strand Lighting chose LDI to introduce its next generation of Light Palette controls consoles which comprises three new models.

The Classic Light Palette offers the Palette OS graphical interface in a compact console. Each desk supports two standard dual playbacks and 12 submaster/playbacks for flexible control and operation. Dual video displays provide key data for programmers and the powerful point and click graphical interface speeds production.

Light Palette Live adds 48 submasters, allowing users to quickly run a live performance with lots of hands on control.

Light Palette VL features 24 submasters and a 100 key keypad that allows the rapid selection of moving lights, control channels providing easy touch selection and programming for moving lights. The VL, like the rest of the range also supports large touchscreen panels for added control and flexibility.

The

UK - Two of Digidesign's most experienced sound engineers this month became the first to pilot the newest addition to the Digidesign Venue family, the D-Show Profile console.

The compact desk, which was previewed at last month's PLASA Show in London, was used on two special showcase product launches 24 hours apart. While Joe Campbell was working with one on monitors for Chris Rea at London's Bush Hall, the following night across town Chris Madden was preparing for the Sugababes arena tour next spring with a media show at the 100 Club to announce the trio's new greatest hits package - Overloaded: The Singles Collection.Backed by a live band, the Sugababes' 80-minute show in front of an invited audience was filmed by a video production company for a forthcoming DVD, and Madden synced the audio to video (using the Digidesign SYNC I/O), multi-tracking the set using the Pro To

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