USA - Chauvet has released a distinctive LED blacklight fixture. The LED Shadow is an exclusive DMX blacklight combining high portability with the low power consumption and longevity of LEDs. It is fitted with 192 ultra violet LEDs averaging 100,000 hours of operation. The diodes are enclosed in a sleek, 2.5-inch thin plastic and aluminum panel. Total weight is less than 5 lbs (2.22 kgs).

Three channels of DMX control dimming and strobing capabilities as well as the activation of pre-set programs. All functions can also be triggered in stand-alone mode via dip-switches.

LED Shadow incorporates two sturdy brackets (for clamp and wall mount) and one extra power output to daisy chain units. For a more complete mobile show, this distinctive blacklight can also be linked to the newly

UK - As a result of their ever increasing success in the commercial and architectural lighting market, Dynalite Europe are expanding into other areas through the appointment of Nick Van Tromp as sales engineer to the audio visual market. Van Tromp comes from an HVAC and lighting controls background and with three years experience in the home automation industry, he is looking to work closely with custom installers who are wanting to distinguish themselves from others in this highly competitive market.

He says: "Dynalite not only offer a huge range of control products to suit virtually any lighting application but also have an array of user interfaces and integration techniques which are second to none in the market. Quite simply, what makes us stand out in this industry is our ability to do with ease the jobs that other manufacturers just can't do. We will be running a new

UK - Leading UK lighting rental company Siyan designed and supplied a lighting rig based on SGM moving lights for the BBC's Electric Proms shows. These were staged at the newly restored Camden Roundhouse.

The rig was a co-design by Bryan Leitch and Nick Whitehouse, with Siyan in the demanding position of working for the BBC Electric Proms team and promoters Metropolis Music, the latter of whom brought the High Wycombe based company in to light the series of shows.

Up to three artists were featured per night including music from The Good The Bad and The Queen (one of Damon Albarn's new projects), The Who, Paul Weller, Young Tiger, The Zutons, James Brown, The Magic Numbers and many more artists and musicians who performed new, unique work and collaborations.

Leitch and Whitehouse utilised 126 SGM fixtures of various different types including Giotto 400 series Washes, Spots an

USA - Bandit Lites is proud to be supplying lighting again for Montgomery Gentry's current tour. Released in October of 2006, their latest album Some People Change features twelve new tracks.

Lighting designer, Michael Shucher, said that the main objective for the MontgomeryGentry show was to portray a big look with a minimal amount of lights. The initialchallenge was to find lights that could compete with the arched video wall. Shucherneeded the lights to cut through the video wall while still being light in weight and not toobulky. He also wanted the lights to be hard edge and have rotating gobos. The Vari*Lite2500 achieved all of these requirements.

Shucher also found the High End Systems Studio Beams to be very beneficial. Heplaced them on the side towers to act as fans. The HES Studio Beams were also used towash various set pieces, which include anything from flyin

UK - Lighting Technology Projects (LTP) has completed the installation, programming and commissioning of a large eye-catching light-wall containing 380 ColorKinetics iColor Cove MX fixtures, at 111 Buckingham Place Road, Victoria, London.

The wall graces the impressive atrium entrance to a shared office block, housing several high profile companies and organisations. LTP was recommended for the project to the site's main contractors Simpson York by Nick Tolkein of Architainment, CK's UK distributor.

Each of the 380 sections of Cove MX - the highest intensity member of the iColor Cove family - measures 320 mm and utilises the latest in CK's Powercore technology. This simplifies the installation by integrating power and data management directly within the fixture, eliminating the need for external low voltage power or data supplies. Inbuilt power factor correction also significa

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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

UK - The busy Avolites sales team has been boosted with the arrival of two new faces - Simon Harris and Chakir Mustafa.

Mustafa joins as sales executive and will be working closely with Avo's Steve Warren and Koy Neminathan in developing and promoting Avolites sales worldwide. Fluent in Spanish and also speaking Arabic and French (in addition to English of course!) Mustafa will be covering these territories as well as the UK.

Before joining Avolites, he studied Spanish and Business Studies at Queen Mary University, London, whilst also working in the retail sector. He brings enthusiasm and a great sense of humour to the Avolites equation, and is "really looking forward to working with a great team, and so many exciting and innovative products".

Simon Harris joins as sales engineer and will be putting his fund of technical experience gleaned from working with comms g

Austria - Austrian performance art company Lawine Torrèn used the natural beauty of the Danube Valley as a vast backdrop for Leviathan, an unusual piece of theatre. Robust Lighthouse Technologies outdoor LED video panels were deployed demonstrating the successful integration of art, nature and technology.

Leviathan - staged in association with the Austrian Army - took place at various scenic locations along the valley. The story is based on the spread of the philosophical ideas of Thomas Hobbes and seamlessly combines art and technology to create an exciting choreographic deployment of heavy military machinery and people. This was interweaved with film and photographs of local history, all delivered from a huge Lighthouse R19 19mm LED video wall built on a military ferry, which cruised up and down the Danube.

The screen with dimension 8.5 x 6.4m (55sq.m) was con

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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

Europe - Meyer Sound has long been committed to providing the professional audio community with high-level training seminars that present scientifically valid information on both theoretical concepts and their practical applications. Continuing the steady expansion the company's education program has seen in the last few years, Meyer Sound's latest seminars are now coming to the European continent.

"Our goal with the Meyer Sound seminars is to impart accurate, real-world professional information to the audio community," says educational programmes manager Gavin Canaan. "By offering instruction from some of professional audio's consummate authorities, we aim to bring a vital frame of reference and an unparalleled body of expertise to our users."

One of the most important seminars is a two-part, in-depth course encompassing both system design and training on

Australia - Leading Australian lighting rental and production company Bytecraft has invested in a 10 channel Kinesys Elevation 1+ automation system. The system consists of 10 Elevation 1+ controllers, 10 1-tonne Liftket chain hoists, an Array PD-ES distribution module and Kinesys' proprietary Vector software.

Bytecraft's technical manager Darren Irving explains that they first became aware of the Kinesys system - one of the most popular, flexible and powerful movement systems on the market - after it was highly recommended by crews and rental companies both locally and overseas. "It's now also being specified on numerous shows, so getting one over here was a really logical step," he concludes.

Apart from the word-of-mouth recommendations, the functionality, ease of operation and competitive pricing all combined to swing the decision Kinesys' way, says the company.

Worldwide - Despite announcing his retirement from touring and producing records more than two years ago, worldwide rap superstar Jay-Z has found it hard to sit on his laurels; he's been constantly busy in the studio, and this Autumn has seen him cris-crossing the globe on a massive world tour. And handling all of his on-stage vocals every night has been an AKG WMS 4000 wireless mic system, supplied by his tour production manager Bryon Tate, after the original mic system used on the tour proved unsatisfactory.

Like a lot of rappers, Jay-Z 'cups' the mic on stage, holding it close to the capsule. When using other mics, this resulted in a huge boost in mid-range response due to the microphones' natural proximity effect, but the effect was not as noticeable with the WMS 4000 system, and so it won the day. It is thought that Jay-Z made the switch to AKG after Kanye West noticed simi

UK - With a champagne reception at chic London venue the Hedges & Butler Members' Club, London PA rental company Systems Etc celebrated its first decade.

Since it was founded in 1996, Systems Etc has increased its turnover 200-fold, expanded its workforce from two to 20, and acquired nearly £2 million of hire stock. The company's commercial trajectory has been determined by acquisition, to date three sound rental operators have been absorbed into the group portfolio. Systems Etc owner Bernard Mani says he's aiming for a 30% share of the UK's pro-audio rental market.

The origins of Systems Etc date back to 1990 when Bernard Mani, still at school, began building loudspeakers and using them on student productions. Leaving college at 18, equipped with an engineering qualification, he headed off to Spain. The scene there was one big party, and Mani's response was to put toget

Canada - Rental sound company P.A. Plus Productions recently provided a live audio system for Just Give Me Jesus, an event featuring Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of renowned evangelist Billy Graham, at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

The Just Give Me Jesus Series is a collection of unique events designed to be a life-changing revival for women. The most recent Just Give Me Jesus event took place twice over the weekend of September 29, drawing an average attendance of 17,000 per event.

Because the stage was located in the centre of the arena, John Lacina of P.A. Plus designed an "in-the-round" loudspeaker system that included 72 Vertec VT4889 full-size line array elements and 32 VT4887 compact models. This gave a total of 104 full-range Vertec enclosures in the system design, which was carefully formatted in co-ordination with four massive video p

UK - One of the UK's most historic stately homes - Hatfield House in Hertfordshire - has opened the Riding School Conference Centre in its magnificent grounds, complete with a QSC sound reinforcement system. The Old Palace at Hatfield dates back to 1485 and the Jacobean Hatfield House to 1607, celebrating its 400th anniversary next year.

The Riding School itself is an early Victorian building - but the new facilities show high quality refurbishment at its best, as designed by architects Brooks Murray. Today its use will be multipurpose - hosting a wide range of events from conferences to fashion shows and wedding receptions. The main atrium can accommodate up to 200 comfortably, with adjoining breakout/meeting rooms.

The contract for the audio visual installation was awarded to Hammonds AVS Ltd, who imaginatively deployed QSC AcousticDesign AD-S282 and AD-S52T loudspeakers, bo

USA - Since ETC's new Eos lighting control system made its official debut at LDI 2006 in Las Vegas and won the LDI 2006 Product of the Year Award for best debuting product in the lighting category, it has been drawing huge interest, the company reports.

In response to such a demand for information on Eos, ETC has introduced a new interactive graphic tour on their Web site - highlighting the innovative features and functionality that, they say, sets Eos apart from other control systems.

The Eos product tour allows viewers to see why this is the flagship system in ETC's new Complete Control line-up, says the company.

The European launch of Eos is expected in June 2007.

(Chris Henry)

The Netherlands - In Holland, the club Paard van Troje in Den Haag has just taken delivery of two new Soundcraft analogue mixing consoles for the smaller of its two venues. Although nominally a pop venue, the club's sound engineer Peter Kerkvliet explains that "our productions vary from hardcore, punk, metal, reggae, hiphop, singer-songwriter, americana to multimedia, presentations, debates, standup-comedy, theatre, lectures and so on. About 50 per cent of our activities are dance events."

With such a variety of presentation, one of the main reasons for his choice of Soundcraft MH3 and MH2 consoles was their versatility. "Often we do monitor-mixing from the front of house position, or FOH-mixing from the monitor position. Because of the dual-purpose set-up possible with both the MH2 and MH3, we have the option to swap desks. In most cases, the MH3 is used out fron

UK - Liverpool Culture Company's Special Events team excelled themselves with one of the most successful November 5th events ever, staging three spectacular firework displays city-wide which were enjoyed free by over 50,000 people. They have been staged in triplicate for some years to allow those all over the city and surrounding areas easy access to the displays. All three displays were designed and co-ordinated by Steve Boothman of Fantastic Fireworks, working closely with the Culture Company team including event manager Bill Howard.

Boothman put together a pacey soundtrack based on the theme of performance tying in with the city's Year of Performance. This encompassed dance music of all types - from Fatboy Slim to Swan lake to Ballroom Blitz - and a miscellany of sporting themes - all essentially 'performance' geared.

To add depth to the overall visual image and to enhance

UK - One of the UK's leading media agencies WWAV Rapp Collins recently sensed that they had not upgraded their multimedia infrastructure since moving into their impressive Riverside Building in Hammersmith eight and a half years ago.

"The whole experience is contained in our four showcase rooms, where our pitch work and presentations take place," said Group IT manager, Darren Watts. "The need for a new infrastructure was driven by our senior management." At the same time, he said, in order to impress clients, ease of use of any new system was of paramount importance."

A Plus Services were awarded the contract largely on the strength of work their project manager Martin Cowling had undertaken previously on the third floor of the building for one of the incumbent companies. "I decided that if the engineering and services side measured up, then A Plu

UK - Clear-Com a Vitec Group brand, the global leader of trusted intercom solutions, today announced the appointment of Jake Dodson as vice president of product management for Clear-Com Communications Systems. Dodson will be driving Clear-Com's technology strategy in Cambridge, UK and in Emeryville, California.

Dodson has spent more than 15 years managing successful product lines for telecommunications networks, and has brought over 15 new products to market from concept to production. As the founder of a telecommunications start up, as well as director of product management for two Silicon Valley-based companies, Dodson offers a wealth of executive experience to drive Clear-Com's strategic product development.

"We are excited to make this announcement, as Dodson brings a tremendous level of product management expertise to the Clear-Com brand," said Matt Danilowicz,

UK - AKG Microphones has linked up with myspace.com to promote its Unsigned Heroes 07 Battle of the Bands competition, which launched this month at Music Live in Birmingham.

The competition now has its own dedicated myspace page, making it easier for bands already promoting themselves through the website to log in and upload their demos.

Under the banner 'This Ain't A Competition - It's A Battle!', AKG Microphones is encouraging up-and-coming bands to enter the competition, which could win them a day in a recording studio with a named producer and the opportunity to play at a major festival in 2007. All bands have to do is submit an MP3 of their music for the judges' consideration. Bands must have a minimum of three performers and all songs must be original compositions, not cover versions of another artist's song.

AKG's Amanda Chester says: "We know there's a we

Germany - The new Berlin Hauptbahnhof is right in the heart of the historical 800-year-old city. The German capital's new central train station is an architectural masterpiece, and at over 900 feet long and as tall as a skyscraper, has caused more than a few awestruck passers-by to liken it to a "Cathedral of Rail Traffic". The long structure features a glass-lined outer hull that lets visitors see both the German Chancellery and the Reichstag buildings. The numbers are as impressive as the view: covering more than 70,000sq.m, and capable of hosting 2,000 trains and 300,000 commuters a day.

The opening celebration started with Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel addressing an exclusive crowd of 600 invited guests and went from there with performances from popular German bands, a multimedia mega-event titled Symphony of Lights - Welcome to Berlin, specially illumina

UK / Africa - Following on from the launch of their African Aid charity initiative in March this year, Zero 88 has been running a Teddy Bear Appeal in support of the AIDS orphanage they support in South Africa.

The 'Lean on Me' charity they support looks after babies orphaned by AIDS and tries to ensure all new additions to the centre and affected children in the local area get their own teddy bear.

Over the last few months they have collected bears from staff, customers and at tradeshows around the globe, and have just shipped in excess of 150 bears to the charity. Donations came in all shapes and sizes so there should be a suitable bear for each child.

On hearing about the imminent shipment of bears Tracey Jones, general manager of the 'Lean on Me' trust said: "This is wonderful news - thank you! We are truly blessed to have people like you and all involved in the Zer

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