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UK - Orbital Sound has launched a novel collect-and-recycle scheme designed to encourage the responsible processing of used dry-cell batteries. Aimed at touring theatre productions and West End shows, which consume large numbers of batteries to power radio microphones and other portable equipment, Orbital's new service gives theatres an easy option for meeting their legal duty-of-care responsibilities for the safe disposal of all battery types.

As part of the scheme, Orbital has designed a custom case specifically for the safe storage and transit of used batteries. Tim Sherratt, technical director of Orbital, explained: "We are all prioritising environmental concerns and, after canvassing opinion within many theatres, felt the timing for this service was absolutely right. Rec

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UK - TOA Electronics Europe returns to the International Firex show this year with the most comprehensive range of audio products it has ever offered to the fire and security communities. The company will show a range of solutions for public address and voice alarm as well as emergency evacuation applications, with the emphasis on networkability, scalability, and ease of use.

"All of TOA's PA/VA systems have fireman's microphone options, and are easy to integrate with fire detection systems," says Brett Downing, sales & marketing director, TOA Europe. "That makes International Firex the perfect place to demonstrate not just the technology inside our products, but the way in which they make life simpler for installers and end-users alike."

Among the highlights on TOA's Firex stand will be the new VM-3000 PA/VA system, designed as a cost-effective solution fo

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Germany -, Prolyte will debut four new products at ProLight&Sound in Frankfurt.

Prolyte Space Roof is a a modular roof system; Prolyft Mark IIIis the latest version of the Prolyft hoist; Prolyft Controllers are a new range of high-end but affordable controllers, and there will also be more in the Prolyft Rigging hardware line.

Also on display will be established Prolyte trussing products and Stage DEX.

(Jim Evans)

PLASA Show 2025 - Banner - June-Aug 2025

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Canada - When Christie Lites (Toronto) began working on plans for lighting the General Motors booth at the 2009 Canadian International Auto Show (CIAS), keeping the budget lean but replicating past year's successful design elements was a tough order to fill.

Located in the show's main exhibition hall at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the GM booth covered a sprawling 84,600sq.ft. On display were 104 cars and trucks from all of the company's brands -- a myriad of offerings including Saturn, Saab and Hummer.

The original plot called for in excess of 500 fixtures to light the exhibit but the budget demands spoke to a more limited scope. Still, the overall visual integrity needed to be respected, with a solid balance between base light levels and visual punch for the featured products.

"Our inventory runs at a very high level in late winter due to the significant deman

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UK - PLASA Focus will provide visitors with an opportunity to see an important UK product debut from PRG Distribution. The revolutionary product from SpotlessLight will also be revealed at PLASA Focus, Leeds.The Spotlesslight attaches to your digital projector and uses it as the light source; it then emits and reads infrared light to detect and track performers or objects on a stage within the projector's throw area.

The onboard engine then processes this information in real time in order to instruct the projector to map projected light back on to the performer or object - even while the performer is moving. Additionally, the Spotlesslight can function in the reverse mode (projecting only around the object or performer), or a combination of both modes. The light projected back on to the performer can be white light or it can be from Spotlesseffects - hologram-like special effect

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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

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UK - Built to function as a theatre, conference centre and meeting point for the Findhorn Foundation and Community in Forres, North East Scotland, the Universal Hall represents an amalgamation of architecture, art and functional performance. Designed by British architect George Ripley, the building's unusual specification includes a hand-carved stone exterior facing, magnificent stained glass entrance and geodesic roof construction where five enormous wooden ring beams hold up the roof.

A true community project, construction of the centre took place over a 10 year period from 1974 to 1984. A mainly volunteer-based workforce numbering literally thousands of people either living at or visiting the Findhorn Foundation Community took part in the building work of the pentagon-based project. Inside, an auditorium area was designed to seat 280 people, with the potential for a total of

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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

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UK - Russell Brand is currently on a world tour complete with Sennheiser E935 microphone.

"It's a big challenge getting spoken word to 16,000 people in the MEN," suggests Rory Madden, owner of sound and light company Sonalyst and a veteran touring sound engineer in his own right. "If the audience miss one word in the punchline, they've lost the entire joke. You've got to have the right equipment.

"Al Ashford, our front of house guy, and myself went through all the mics together and we were very happy with the Sennheiser mic. The clarity of spoken words seemed to be a lot better than through the other mics, especially in these vast arenas."

Brand's Scandalous tour returns to the UK for its conclusion at the O2 Arena on Friday 7 April.

See Sennheiser UK at PLASA Focus, Leeds - 28-19 April 2009.

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UK - FeONIC Plc, the UK audio technology company, has announced the launch of its latest F-Series range of Audio Drives that are able to transform everyday building, office and household surfaces into high quality audio speakers.

Unlike traditional speaker technology that relies on a moving coil, the F-Drive is powered by an exceptionally powerful magnetostrictive smart material that when placed on a resonant surface - such as a table top, glass, plasterboard or metal sheeting - causes the whole surface to vibrate, thereby turning it into a high quality loudspeaker with omni-directional, evenly distributed output, say FeONIC.The performance stats for the F-Series are likewise significant, it being able to range from 80Hz to 20Khz allowing it, for example, to match the performance typically experienced through a high-end home entertainment surround sound system.

However, the co

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UK - White Light has announced the launch of Fusion 672 from Illieum, which the company, as exclusive UK distributor, will exhibit at the forthcoming PLASA Focus, Leeds (28-29 April 2009).

Billed as "the next generation of LED lighting effect", Fusion 672 is a rugged, lightweight batten - just over 1m long and weighing just over 3kg - each Fusion 672 contains 432 (72x6) individually controllable tri-colour LEDs with an ultra-wide viewing angle. Battens can be arranged in any pattern with the units oriented horizontally or vertically, packed tightly together or spaced apart to allow lighting through the array. Fusion 672 can serve as a video display, a lighting fixture, a light sculpture or anything in-between, say White Light.

Setup of even the most complex systems is easy: units are daisy-chained together by standard Cat5e cable. The layout of the units is specified

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USA - Loud Technologies has announced that it has restored production for a number of significant EAW and Mackie product lines that were impacted when one of the company's contract manufacturers ceased operations in late 2008.

Specifically, the company resumed mass production on all SKUs of the EAW AX, JF and NTL series in March. Production also began on a portion of the Mackie VLZ3 series in March, with the balance of the series entering full production in April.

"We've made incredible progress in restoring supplies in just three short months," commented Jim Stewart, chief operating officer at Loud. "In the process, we've added significant capacity and sophistication to our supply chain that will support the next phase in the company's growth."

In January, 2009, Loud restored production for the EAW KF and SB loudspeakers at a company-owned facility, as w

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USA - For the fifth time in as many years, Texas-based LD Systems travelled to Las Vegas in December for the 50th annual Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (WNFR), a 10-day event many consider the Superbowl of rodeo. LD has partnered with the WNFR since 2004 as the event's exclusive light and stage producer. 2007 marked the first year that LD also supplied sound reinforcement for the event.

Last year, LD used an Electro-Voice XLC rig to provide smooth, intelligible coverage at the 18,500-seat Thomas and Mack Centre on the campus of the University of Nevada Las Vegas. This year the WNFR returned to the Thomas and Mack Centre, and so did LD Systems' XLC rig. But with the added precision and power of NetMax N8000 system controllers with FIR-Drive, and XLC127 loudspeakers with DVX woofer upgrades.

The system, comprising XLC127DVX cabinets and XLC215 subs in two-over-six combinations,

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Germany - City Theatrical products will be on display at ProLight&Sound on the stand of its new German distributor, LTH.

Products on display will include SHoW DMX, the wireless DMX system, and two new LED lighting fixtures: the iW Blast TR Lighting Kit (a variable colour temperature white LED lighting kit for film, video, and photography), and the MasterBlast (an RGB LED party and event light equipped with battery power and wireless data).

Also on display will be the AutoYoke, a professional quality automated yoke for the ETC Source Four and other lighting fixtures, along with a range of lighting accessories. Representatives from City Theatrical will be on hand to demonstrate Lightwright, the lighting paperwork tool, and all the other City Theatrical products.

(Jim Evans)

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USA - Xantech Commercial has announced the appointment of Denver-based Anew Communication Technologyas the new rep for the Rocky Mountain Territory of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, eastern Idaho and eastern Montana. The announcement was made by Rick Seegull, Xantech director of business development.

Anew C.T. has been successfully representing Xantech Commercial in the southern California/Las Vegas/Arizona territories, with headquarters in Denver and staff in Utah.

"We are pleased to expand Anew's responsibilities to now include the Rocky Mountain territory," stated Seegull. "They have done a fantastic job for us in their other territories, so to widen their scope to these states is a logical step to grow Xantech Commercial sales in the region. We look forward to continuing our working relationship with them in this capacity."

(Jim Evans)

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Double Take - A new version of West Side Story, in which the cast use two different languages, has opened on Broadway. The tale of lovers from rival gangs has been part translated into Spanish to reflect the fact that half the story is set in a Puerto Rican community. Dialogue between members of the Shark gang is now in Spanish and several of the songs have also been translated. Director Arthur Laurents said, "I wanted it to be more like life and that's what they speak in life."

Club News - The head of Britain's biggest nightclub operator predicted that half the UK's estimated 2,700 nightclubs could fail over the next 18 months. Stephen Thomas, the chief executive of Luminar, told The Times that there would be "a lot of closures", forced by the effects of the recession, but he expected many to re-open under so-called pre-pack administrati

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UK - grandMA full-size continues to be the lighting console of choice for most current major UK ice skating productions, including Lunchbox Productions' Cinderella On Ice tour, starring the Imperial Ice Stars. The console was specified by Sydney-based lighting designer Gavan Swift when the tour kicked off in New Zealand and Australia in June 2008 and is being operated day-to-day by Paul Mansfield.

Swift chose the desk because the rig features two High End DL2 moving projectors and a number of Martin Professional moving lights. Each DL2 has 170 parameters, so they needed a console with the power and flexibility to programme these and all moving lights easily.

The grandMA is also controlling six DMX scenic clocks which keep real time and were specially built for the production.

Cinderella On Ice is produced by James Cundall, Tony Mercer, David Atkins and Vladisla

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USA - Frequently associated with boardrooms, houses of worship, and distance learning, Shure Microflex MX391 boundary microphones once again made the transition to professional basketball as the mic of choice for the 2009 NBA All-Star Game.

Played this year at US Airways Centre, home of the Phoenix Suns, the game went to air with the able assistance of David Grundtvig, senior audio engineer, for the event. A 10-year sound crew veteran of the roundball matchup, Grundtvig used a dozen MX391s taped directly to the floor around all sides of the court perimeter to build his broadcast mix. Orchestrating his efforts from behind a digital console, he is one of the originators of the audio blueprint, having refined it over the years to bring an added element of realism to viewers at home.

"What we're putting over the air is essentially the same as the real, live experience that yo

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UK - Blink TV, a leading supplier of video screens and visual content to the live music industry, has recruited two key new staff to drive its growth strategy.

Carmela Iandoli joins as programming editor, a newly-created role designed to expand Blink's pre-show entertainment offering to appeal to artists from all music genres. Blink is known for its work with pop acts, but recent projects with indie bands such as Keane and Snow Patrol signals its intention to broaden its client base.

For Snow Patrol's current tour Blink created bespoke pre-show entertainment tailored specifically to the tastes of the band and its fans, including music selected by the band set to time-lapse photography of the stage being set up. The resulting imagery builds anticipation within the crowd prior to the band's arrival on stage. The package includes targeted advertising which helps offset the signif

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UK - OHM will be featuring its compact sound systems at the forthcoming PLASA Focus including the BootiQue, described as "the ultimate small venue solution".

The BootiQue is a packaged professional sound system in a box. The 10" active band-pass subwoofer is powered by a 200W amplifier with two 85W amplifiers, contained in the same cabinet, to power up to eight BootiQue speakers. The amplifiers have an auto power facility which ensures complete silence from the speakers when no signal is present. Input gains can be set independently for the bass and mid/high and the input sensitivity selector ensures that a range of signal sources can be used including CD, computer or MP3. Input connectors are Phono, USB, RJ45 and iPod mini jack. Other controls are ground lift, phase reverse and EQ. Additionally, a fire alarm mute connector enables the BootiQue to be installed int

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Germany - GLP has recruited Mark Ravenhill to develop closer relationships with Global Key Players within the entertainment lighting industry, in particular lighting designers, key customers, decision makers and other important personnel. Mark Ravenhill brings a vast knowledge of the lighting market to GLP and will ensure that the focus on customers increases.

Ravenhill said: "From their base in moving head fixtures, GLP have really stepped out of the shadows with the Impression range, showing that the ability to meet customer demands with innovation and passion is alive and kicking in our industry. I am really looking forward to being a part of this tight-knit team with these values at their core."

The Impression product range is genuine German engineering and already a standard in the industry - in the USA the Impression is sold through Elation Professional and in

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Brazil - Launched in 1990 as a small music technology shop, Quanta Brazil has grown to become one of the country's leading audio distributors, with a network of almost 400 official retail dealers. DPA will be handled by the company's Quanta Systems division which is focused on audio production products, providing integrated A/V solutions, training, consultancy and after-sales support.

"As a big fan of DPA mics myself, I know they will match perfectly with our high end lines of mic preamps and recording systems," says Quanta Brazil's sales and marketing director Adinaldo Neves. "Our customers are already as excited as we are and we already have commitments from broadcasters, theatrical sound designers and recording engineers from all over Brazil."

DPA co-founder Morten Stove adds: "We have been looking for a partner with the right product portfolio and

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