UK - British rock band Razorlight have completed the UK leg of their 2006 tour, enhancing a minimalist stage set with the addition of live action screens, video and effects projection, all supplied by London rental company, PSL Music.

For all shows, PSL set up a 40ft wide white drop centre screen, using a Catalyst digital media server playback source, operated from front-of-house lighting control. Featuring black-and-white stills, moving graphics and effects, as well as simple colour washes, projection on the main screen was fed by PSL's new Barco SLM R12+ units.

Under the direction of crew chief Rod Martin, PSL also supplied a four-camera PPU system and operators Simon Hudson and Bruce Selkirk. Additionally, three mini-cams on the drumkit of Andy Burrows gave video director Ste

Poland - Duran Duran performed a corporate gig in Warsaw, Poland in the second half of September, with plenty of input from grandMA. Lighting Designer, operator and programmer for the concert was Pawel 'Spider' Pajak. To control his rig he specified one grandMA full-size, one grandMA light, grandMA onPC with NSP and grandMA 3D.

"I decided to use the grandMA control and pre-programming system because it always gives me an opportunity to save a lot of time on the venue," states Pajak. "I've used grandMA 3D to set-up the stage positions for the lights and then to program all the necessary presets, effects and looks. Then I've started to create the whole lighting for each song. In this project my co-programmer, Tomasz Szwelicki, and I used the "world function" to work separately on two consoles . . . it saves a lot of time. This was an advantage because I ha

Australia - Based on the life, songs and music of the entertainer and songwriter Peter Allen, and performed for the first time in 1998 in Sydney, The Boy From Oz has just closed after a sell-out three-month Australian tour. This new production of the original musical especially designed for arena format venues (more than 10,000 people), include a 25-piece live orchestra and 100 singers from the Australian Girls' choir. Australian V-Dosc Partner, Jands Production Services, was chosen to design and supply the sound reinforcement.

Sound designer Michael Waters, who won a Helpmann Award for Best Sound Design for Dusty the Musical, specified a turnkey L Acoustics V Dosc system which includes 36 V Dosc, 27 dV-DOSC, 4 ARCS and 18 SB218 subwoofers.

Jim Straw, general manager of Jands Production Services, stated: "The Boy from Oz is a complex and ambitious are

UK - Formula Sound has followed up the successful launch of its new FF-4000 modular mixer by announcing that the unit is now available with a factory-fitted Pro X Fade crossfader from Eclectic Breaks (Ebsel). This new crossfader has been receiving highly enthusiastic reviews in the media, and its inclusion as an option on the FF-4000 (and also on Formula Sound's larger 6-channel FF-6000) reflects the growing reputation that these FF Series mixers are enjoying among the DJ and club market.

"We weren't surprised at the great reaction that the original FF-6000 6-channel mixer received from the DJ community when it was launched in 2005," commented Formula Sound's Barry Penaligon. "The mixer was designed in conjunction with Funktion-One and a panel of leading DJs. We took the DJs' comments on board and provided the things they asked for such as larger control knobs on

Worldwide - As The Who begins its world tour with rave reviews and a packed calendar of gigs in the US, the grandMA begins its work behind the scenes controlling innovative lighting design that puts the group in the forefront of artists performing today. The tour, which has been dubbed Uncut. Uncensored. Unrepentant, features "the first new Who music in 20 years," according to lighting designer Tom Kenny.

"There are six new songs and a mini-opera in the middle of the show. When we went into it, Pete Townshend asked me to treat the show in a very different light - literally. He wanted it to look very different from what we've done in the past, but we couldn't use haze or smoke since Roger Daltry has a smoke allergy."

The result is a "unique-looking show, very high tech, very 2006," says Kenny. "There are different types of backdrops, re

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USA - Nemetschek North America announced today that ZZYZX, Inc., has released ESP Vision 2.2, which supports VectorWorks Spotlight with RenderWorks 12.5 and includes the modeling plug-in for the Macintosh platform.

"The release of ESP Vision 2.2 is a big step forward for Macintosh users," says Kevin Linzey, VectorWorks Spotlight product manager. "The new plug-ins will allow VectorWorks Spotlight users to work with VectorWorks on their preferred platform right through the export process to ESP Vision. Macintosh users will no longer have to reopen the VectorWorks file on Windows just to export to ESP Vision. Windows users will also benefit from the improved interface, better data handling, and increased performance of the new plug-ins provided with ESP Vision 2.2."

Version 2.2 now uses enhanced Move, Scale, and Rotate tools to enable Vision users to design si

Worldwide - ETC (Electronic Theatre Controls, Inc.) has begun to fulfil orders for its Congo jr lighting control console, which was introduced to the world at the PLASA and LDI 2006 trade shows.

Now beginning to ship worldwide, Congo jr is the compact version of the larger Congo console, with all of the processing power of its bigger brother. With its full-featured Congo functionality - identical channel and output counts as well the same potent operating software - Congo jr handles lighting rigs filled with conventional lights, moving lights, LEDs, media servers, and other DMX-controlled multiparameter devices. Congo jr also features the convenient modularity of an optional Master Playback Wing, which accesses all 40 multipurpose masters of the main console for full playback functionality.

Congo jr is part of the new generation of ETC consoles that master the reality of multi

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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.

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UK - Advanced Audio & Vision Ltd (AAV) has completed the latest phase of an audio visual project for BBT Thermotechnology UK in Worcester.

Part of the Bosch Group, BBT (better known for its Worcester, Bosch Group brand) is the largest supplier of heating products in Europe, with an estimated turnover of approximately €2.5 billion. Around 1,800 personnel work for the UK division, many at the headquarters, based in Worcester.

Last year, as part of a £3.5m expansion project, the company commenced work on building an 'Energy Atrium' to showcase high efficiency and renewable energy products, as well as develop meeting room and conference facilities. By the time AAV Ltd were invited to take over the project at the start of the year, the AV fit out had become something of a fast track proposition. Tasked by BBT's IT and Network Project administrator, Gary Whenman with equippin

USA - Symetrix Inc, a provider of signalprocessing technology for the installed sound, broadcast, and recordingmarkets, announces the appointment of Paul Roberts, director of domestic andinternational sales.

Roberts spent eight years as inside sales manager for Symetrix from 1995 to2003. He is returning from Loud Technologies, Woodinville, Washington wherehe worked in sales management for the past two years. "I'm thrilled to beback at Symetrix at this particular moment in our proud 30-year history,"commented Roberts. "The acknowledged breadth and depth of our four brands,Symetrix, SymNet, Lucid, and AirTools have poised the company for evengreater growth and expansion. I'm especially excited about the newIntegrator Series and its first product, the Zone Mix 760. The 760 isdesigned to meet the needs of restaurants, hotels, and similar venueswithout any unnecessary

USA - Solid State Logic, a manufacturer of analogue and digital audio consoles and provider of creative tools for music, broadcast and post production professionals, has announced the hiring of Fadi Hayek as national sales manager, Workstation Partner Products.

Hayek comes to SSL from Yamaha Corporation, where he served as national sales manager for Steinberg products. During his 11-year tenure at Steinberg Media Technologies, which continued through its 2005 acquisition by Yamaha, Hayek was instrumental in the planning and development of the Nuendo platform. Prior to Steinberg, he worked as a recording engineer at several New York studios and served in a management role at Sam Ash Music, also in New York.

"The idea of Solid State Logic claiming its place in the digital audio workstation market is what attracted me," Hayek comments. "It clearly has a role to pl

UK - The Arts and Entertainment Technical Training Initiative (aetti) has announced a new qualification. The Awarding body Edexcel has approved their submission for a BTEC Award in Sound. The approval lasts until 2011. The first course will be delivered at the Assembly Rooms in Derby in February 2007.

The new Sound course will sit alongside the existing BTEC qualifications; Technical Skills in Live Entertainment and Stage Lighting, Rigging and Operation.

Loughborough College's head of enterprise and workforce development, Chris Garner, says: "The original proposal required some altering to suit the Edexcel criteria for a formal award and I would thank the aetti members for responding quickly to ensure that the delivery of the programme can proceed as planned. If the BTEC in Sound is as popular as the existing Lighting course then we would expect more than a 150 technician

USA - Wybron has announced that its InfoTrace System won a New Product Award at the 2006 Worship Facilities Conference and Expo (WFX) held in Dallas, Texas. This award recognises the InfoTrace system as one of the most innovative new technology products to hit the houses of worship market.

The WFX award marks the third new product award bestowed on Wybron's InfoTrace system in the past three months. During the PLASA and LDI trade shows, Wybron also won new product awards for InfoTrace. This is the first time any product has won all three awards in one year.

"We are very pleased that the worship market has recognised Wybron's contribution of innovative value-added lighting solutions," said Larry Turner, CEO of Wybron. "We are focused on this marketplace and its need for state-of-the-art lighting technology that enhances congregants' experience."

The InfoTr

UK - Every year, British digital signal processor manufacturer XTA Electronics rewards those of its distributors that have achieved the most significant business growth for XTA products over the previous year, known as the Xemplary Territory Awards.

This year saw Ampco Belgium, Sennheiser Canada, R&A Services in China, Prodance from the Czech Republic, SC Sound APS in Denmark, Estonia's Eventech, TM Audio from Holland, Pro Audio & Light Systems in Russia, Swiss distributor Decibel, Turkey's Sevcan Electronics, Group One from the United States and PAXT in the Middle East and Africa all take awards back from PLASA.

"We've got an extremely good distribution network," says XTA marketing manager Guy Lewis. "This means the companies that won awards have done exceptionally well as sales have been exemplary on a global scale."

PAXT's Tim Pollard agrees: "We

Eastern Europe - Over 400 visitors attended four ISE Roadshow events in Eastern Europe which concluded at the Istanbul Hilton last week. The organisers reported that attendee levels exceeded all expectations and the events attracted positive and enthusiastic comments from both visitors and sponsors alike.

Mike Blackman, ISE managing director was delighted with the results, which justified the decision to take this event beyond the existing European frontier. "Attendance was excellent and initial feedback has been extremely positive. We had visitors who came ready to talk and were prepared to do business. They brought with them an optimistic approach to the exciting opportunities in the AV and electronic systems industry. These events have demonstrated to us how influential and exciting the Eastern European and Turkish markets are for our industry. In every location attendee

UK - The Light Viper 32/8 digital line system has provided The X-Factor sound supervisor Robert Edwards (of Video Sound Services) with a neat fibre transmission solution, overcoming the obstacles created by a complex set at Wembley's Fountain Studios in an environment rife with RF.

On Edwards' recommendation, production company talkbackThames purchased the Light Viper system to cover signal transmission from mic to desk, and for talkback via returns on the latest series of the reality show.

With transmission to ITV1 and ITV2, VSS were looking for a more efficient means of delivering the sound from the studio floor to the control room, and turned to a FiberPlex Light Viper VIS-1832/VIM-1832 fibre-optic snake to create far more effective tie lines over greater distances.

Light Viper's fibre optic system offers immunity to ground loops, RFI, EMI and electromechanical noi

Italy - A&AG S.r.l., Italian-based manufacturers of the Kind range of high quality professional power amplifiers, has introduced the DSP Board-1 input card that can provide all of the functions of a loudspeaker system crossover/controller without the need for an external processor.

Suitable for KDL, DDX and DQX series amplifiers, the 2-in / 3-out processor has crossover, EQ, compressor and delay functions, providing a cost effective and tamper-proof system solution for most applications. The card is programmed by PC with the provided software, giving a high quality graphic interface for logical and easy access to all settings and functions. Facilities, such as 'copy left' and 'copy right', speed up the process by allowing parameters to be set for one channel and transferred to the other at the press of a button.

The input card utilizes 24-bit (26-bit inner processing) with 48

UK - ETC is making good use of its new premises with two Congo training courseslined up before the end of the year. Each course lasts two days, allowing delegates to learn about Congo and its sibling, Congo jr and will take place on 22-23 November and 6-7 December.

Training will be hands on, with no more than two people per console, and space for only ten percourse. This is in addition to courses which run throughout the year, offering technical training in how to set up, operate and repair all ETC's products.

Day one introduces users to Congo and Congo jr, covering all the majorfunctions and allowing them to navigate the console and to program bothfixed and moving lights, including creating dynamic effects. The second dayfocuses on the software, editing and using multiple sequence lists.

The Playhouse at Gypsy Corner, as the demo theatre is known, is the stunningfoyer of ET

Europe - During the summer months VisualDMX was used at several festivals around Benelux. From Wesley in Concert at the IJssportcentrum in Tilburg, to the ID&T Sensation VIP rooms at the Amsterdam Arena, VisualDMX is becoming the preferred choice of software controller for many freelance programmers, especially when requiring a Matrix controller, says the company.

Tom van den Heuvel also used VisualDMX and Matrix Mania! to great effect at the TMF Awards VIP after show party on a 12 x 7 metre LED dance floor. Van den Heuvel felt compelled to use VisualDMX because he believes Matrix Mania! is "powerful and very easy to patch and make into a matrix: doesn't matter if its small or big as you can adapt easily and quickly the size and the patterns of the programmed images too."

At the open-air Mystery Land festival, VisualDMX came into its own with the programming of Allar

Italy - Link Srl, has introduced the CVS LKSPKAL 12/3 U2A2 - a new line of intelligent self-powered speaker cable that includes a 12/3 double shielded power cable, two AES individually jacketed and shielded pairs and two colour coded UTP Ethernet lines, featuring Link's cross-spacer (CAT6 style) construction. These cables are specifically designed for self-powered loudspeaker systems that incorporate CAT5 control and/or signal connectivity.

JBL Professional utilises numerous sets of Link's new CVS LKSPKAL 12/3 U2A2 cable in 23 metre (75 ft) lengths for its portable touring sound systems that are used for onsite customer evaluations, including Vertec DP Series and the new Venue Performance Series powered, network-compatible products. "The growing number of JBL systems in the field was Link's inspiration to develop this new hybrid cable," says Marco Piromalli, president

Germany - The sun has set and the Mercedes Sprinter door closed for the last time this year on the Tannoy & Friends Tour 2006 in Germany. This year the Tannoy tour team was the strongest it has been to date, with special guests Panasonic, Shure, Crestron and Simax all on board and presenting their latest new products. Kicking off in Frankfurt on 17th October, the tour travelled clockwise around the country stopping at seven cities in nine days! (Frankfurt, Remscheid, Hamburg, Berlin, Halle, Munich and Stutgartt).

Celebrating 80 years in business this year, Tannoy presented their latest products to feature their renowned Dual Concentric drive unit. Since its invention six decades ago, the Scottish-based loudspeaker manufacturer's point source drive unit technology has been constantly refined. The latest incarnation of the 'Dual', a miniature 4" version, is used in the highly

UK - Stardraw Control, the multi-award winning control application from design and control software systems developer, Stardraw.com has been named as a finalist for the Technology InAVation 2007 award in the category of Most Innovative Control Product for Commercial Use. The nomination coincides with the landmark 5,000 user tally, an astonishing achievement in just over twelve months when the product was still only in beta form.

Stardraw's marketing director, Rob Robinson, is delighted that Stardraw Control has qualified as a finalist for the inaugural Technology InAVation Awards which will be held at the forthcoming ISE show in Amsterdam next February. "Stardraw Control has already been recognised at several prestigious industry awards, and the Technology InAVation nomination serves as further testament to the truly innovative nature of the product," noted Robinson. &

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