The Netherlands - Rotterdam's centuries of history as a major international port make it a fascinating place to visit, and nowhere sums up the city's appeal better than the Rotterdam Port Experience, a new visitor attraction that opened its doors late 2008.

Located on the waterfront under Rotterdam's spectacular Erasmus Bridge, Rotterdam Port Experience (RPEX for short) uses various projectiondesign 1080p HD projectors in four areas: the entrance lobby, elevator and two cinemas to wow tourists, local schoolchildren, retired former port workers and business people alike with a series of multimedia displays designed to showcase the city's unique history, diversity and range of trading activities.

Rob Haarlem, managing director of DEP B.V., was hired to turn the RPEX team's creativ

UK - The A.C. Entertainment Technologies Ltd. stand (S-D2) at the PLASA Focus show in Leeds will feature new innovations from leading brands including Chroma-Q & GLP and product highlights from the ranges exclusively distributed by the company in the UK.

The A.C. Lighting division will be displaying a selection of products from the Chroma-Q LED range. Following the success of the Chroma-Q Color Block LED fixture with rental companies and end users alike, the manufacturer has combined the product's core elements of modularity and versatility with new single colour RGBA optics, 530 lumens output (almost double the original model) and theatrical grade dimming to create the exceptional feature set of the Color Block 2 fixture.

Other Chroma-Q LED products featured include the Color Punch fixture for a 'punchy' light output from an extremely compact unit. In addition, the stand feat

UK - Purple Audio has been selected to provide sound to both stages at the new Indie Guitar festival for 2009. The festival located in Ascott Under Wychwood, Oxfordshire will feature some great artists including Starsailor, British Sea Power, Holloways and many more including a headline act yet to be announced.

Davies Roberts (managing director, Purple Audio) told L&SI: "I am extremely pleased that this new festival chose the high quality audio route instead of using the cheapest. This shows that they have the right attitude towards making their festival a success long term."Purple Audio will be supplying a Funktion-One Resolution 5 system to the main stage along with a Funktion-One Resolution 4 system to the second stage. The new Funktion-One RM18 stage wedges will feature as monitoring for the festival, along with Midas and Audient analogue sound desks.

(Lee Baldoc

New Zealand - System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian recently took the stage with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra (APO) to reinterpret his first solo album, Elect the Dea, a pairing that presented the arrangements quite differently from those heard on the record.

"My belief is that music is a universal medium," Tankian said not long ago, perhaps offering at least a glimmer of insight into his performance with the APO. "It's a wave. It's an energy. And, it's a way for us to communicate. I think music comes from the universe, and it's not something that songwriters create. At best, we're skilled presenters."

Performing live, Tankian has chosen Shure wireless products for everything from his guitar and vocals to in-ear personal monitors.

"I like to move around a lot onstage, so being wireless is extremely important," he explains. "I

South Africa - Gearhouse South Africa continues a busy start to 2009 supplying lighting, sound, video, staging and power for the 2009 Coca Cola Zero festival, staged on two sites in two cities - Riversands Farm in Johannesburg and Lourensford Wine Estate, Cape Town.

This provided an opportunity for Gearhouse Media and Lighting divisions to utilise the latest version of the Green Hippo Hippotizer HD digital media server for the first time. This was specified for the event by Gearhouse director Tim Dunn and made available by UK-based Green Hippo.

The event was headlined by Oasis and Snow Patrol, and also featured Panic! at The Disco plus six Africa-based bands - The Dirty Skirts, Zebra & Giraffe, Casette, Foto na dans, aKing and One Day Remains.

The overall production design included a series of onstage LED screens, which, combined with the content run through the Hippotizer w

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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

USA - ClearOne, the US-based conferencing system specialist, has been awarded approximately $9.7 million in damages by a Federal Court in Utah, following judgement in the trade secret misappropriation case the company brought against WideBand Solutions Inc and Biamp Systems Corporation. Biamp plans to appeal against the judgement.

Biamp Systems has been involved in a court case between ClearOne Communications, based in Salt Lake City, and WideBand Solutions, filed in 2007. The case claims WideBand Solutions misappropriated ClearOne's intellectual property. Biamp Systems was named as a co-defendant in the case, based on a license agreement between WideBand Solutions and Biamp Systems.

The United States District Court of Central Utah in Salt Lake City issued a permanent injunction prohibiting WideBand Solutions from any use of the intellectual property, including the AEC-2W algo

UK - MTR launch the first mid-priced digital wireless system for guitars from Dutch company stageClix, called the stageClix Jack.

This digital system has no compander or squelch control (because none is needed), and it has a CD quality frequency response from 20Hz-20kHz. Also, it works in the 2.4Ghz band - legal world-wide, and miles away from the under-threat VHF and UHF. It employs a patented 'Triple Diversity' technique meaning it transmits/receives on three separate frequencies simultaneously - so practically zero chance of dropouts, says the company.

Available in the UK from 1 May, the stageClix Jack will be followed by three more stageClix products: a beltpack version for keyboards, microphones, wind and brass instruments, guitars and basses, body mics, piano mics and drum mics; a 19" 1U powered rack housing for up to four assorted receivers, and an affordable in-

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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 - On April 5, 2009, the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Evaluation Commission began their official inspection visit to Chicago. The host city for the 2016 Games will be announced on 2 October 2009, in Copenhagen, Denmark.

During the visit, the Chicago 2016 bid team revealed its vision for a spectacular Summer Games experience in the heart of the city. In preparation, the team called on expertise from a number of local companies. Shure Incorporated and the Chicago office of On Stage Audio (OSA) were asked to provide technical assistance with wireless microphones used during the event.

"Shure is honoured to support the effort to bring the Summer Olympic Games to Chicago in 2016," said Tom Krajecki, Shure's industry relations manager. "Shure was founded in Chicago in 1925. We've been involved in major entertainment and sporting events here, at the Olymp

UK - Lift Turn Move (LTM) and Litestructures have announced a partnership, aimed directly at providing complete Trussing, Staging and Support Solutions to the rigging and live production industry.

Under the agreement, LTM will have core stock ranges of LitePro 290, LitePro 390 and 520 Pro trussing for immediate dispatch, whilst Litestructures will have access to LTM's acclaimed range of LoadGuard Hoisting Equipment and Guardian Control Systems. A direct working relationship between the two companies will mean technical advice and first class customer service is only a phone call away.

Dan Holme, entertainment sales manager for LTM comments: "We are delighted with the partnership between our two companies. The move into having truss on stock is a logical step towards the one stop solution we are working to achieve for our customers. We can now supply truss as well as the h

UK - Audio will have a strong presence at this year's ABTT Theatre Show, with first-time exhibitors L Acoustics, the SSE Group and distributor Red Square Audio, Cuk-Audio, Loh Humm Audio, Midas alongside Sound Technology, d&b audiotechnik, Cadac, Allen & Heath and Polar Audio, Duran Audio and Martin Audio among those exhibitors already confirmed.

The exhibition, which takes place at the Royal Horticultural Halls in Westminster, London from 10-11 June, sold out at the end of April, with pre-registrations 20 percent up on the same time last year, say the organisers.

The ABTT Theatre Show director, Roger Fox, commented, "We're very pleased to see how the audio contingent of the show has grown over the years. It highlights the value that audio can add to modern productions, enhancing the experience through special sound effects and immersive sound reinforcement. The companies

Europe - American songstress Pink has recently embarked on a high profile world arena tour to promote her latest album Funhouse. And monitor engineer Horst Hartmann is manning a Yamaha PM1D.

Starting in March, the tour has already visited Europe and is currently in the midst of 16 UK and Ireland dates before heading off for a mammoth 60 shows in Australia. It will then come back to Europe, the UK and Ireland for a second round of gigs - with the PM1D at every one.

The PM1D was the first digital console that Horst learned and it remains his favourite. "When I made the transition from using analogue consoles, I had all the usual doubts," he says. "So I approached Yamaha for some training and I found the transition very straightforward. I like the fact that it has enough physical controls, you're not having to scroll through endless menu screens because you'

Argentina - D.A.S. Audio reports that Argentina continues to showcase a large number of live events featuring D.A.S. Audio's Aero sound systems. Thanks to the efforts of professionals such as Ariel Marti, from Marti Audio, the country has undoubtedly become one of the best references of Aero line array success in Latin America, says the company.

Aero systems were on tour with Soledad Pastorutti's and at the Chamamé National Festivities. Soledad's tour, which kicked off in the city of Santa Rosa on 19 September and ended in Villa La Angostura in February, also helped the needy since all profits will be donated to different charities in each of cities where the shows took place.

As part of the 100-year celebrations, 'La Sole' has already given a series of recitals mainly in Patagonia that were attended by a total of more than 45,000 people. The Aero systems have been tour

UK - Allen & Heath, will be exhibiting its digital mixing systems at the forthcoming ABTT show in London this June. For the first time at the show, the British manufacturer will be exhibiting the new iLive-T Series compact digital mixing system, along with the recently launched audio interface plug-in cards, which enable the system to interface with popular standards, including EtherSound, ADAT and Aviom.

Evolved from the successful flagship iLive digital range, the iLive-T Series has all the performance and power of the original iLive in a new lightweight, affordable package. The T Series comprises the fixed I/O iDR-32 and iDR-48 MixRacks and iLive-T80 and iLive-T112 Surface options, which are connected by a single CAT5 cable using Allen & Heath's ACE link.

An iLive system from the flagship range will also be displayed on the stand, and Allen & Heath will be showing the ZED-R

UK - Harman International's mixer group has made senior personnel changes to further extend Soundcraft Studer's position in the global audio markets.

Studer's Executive VP of sales, Bruno Hochstrasser, will retire at the end of 2009, making way for Adrian Curtis, previously VP Sales for Soundcraft, to take on the mantle for both Soundcraft and Studer. Curtis will assume this position immediately whilst Hochstrasser will remain within the sales team for the remainder of this year to ensure an effective hand-over.

Andy Trott praised Hochstrasser for his 37 years' service to Studer "Bruno epitomises Studer's resilience and drive for innovation; he managed the business during the days when every top studio in the world had a Studer reel to reel tape machine, then, when the recording market changed dramatically during the 90's he transitioned the business into the world's lead

Australia - In March 2009 Mandylights' designer Richard Neville was once again charged with the task of designing the entire party site for the infamous Mardi Gras party - the largest gay and lesbian dance party in the world. Working with the Nations United theme of the festival, Neville's designs for the five rooms reflected the international theme of the party and scenic items found around the site.

Neville chose to use a purely Vari*Lite moving light rig for the main venue - Royal Hall of Industries (RHI) - which looked spectacular for all ten hours of the party. The venue took on the theme of It's a gay world after all complete with elaborate set and giant rotating technicolour globe in the centre of the space. The RHI's lighting design took a different turn this year, with Neville choosing to lower the trim height of all the trusses to create a less cavernous

Europe - Bosch Security Systems has announced the first emergency sound system to be fully certified by TÜV to the new EN54-16 and ISO 7240-16 safety standards.

Now, with release 3.3 of the Praesideo software, the company has extended the functionality of the system to ensure full compliance with these new standards.

An example of the extended functionality includes new zone-status indicators that show a fault status when any failure of equipment or cabling prevents a specific zone from being addressed. Other functionality extensions relate to voice alarms, outputs to fire alarm devices and managed evacuation. Furthermore the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) of the system has been upgraded to EN50130-4 levels for alarm systems and, with that upgrade, both hardware and software fully comply with the obligatory and optional requirements of EN54 and ISO 7240.

Certification

UK - Cooper Controls has announced the launch of Version 2 of the powerful LightFactory PC based lighting control software.

Version 2 brings major changes to the underlying software engine, increasing the power of the software and providing a more sophisticated operating platform for future releases. Utilising a host of Ethernet, USB and Software accessories, LightFactory offers the power of any lighting desk from a familiar user interface.

The launch of Version 2 also brings a host of new features and a new aesthetic design providing a more intuitive and powerful set of tools for the user.

A new fixture library engine provides a hybrid of 100% dynamic fixture and generic fixture control and inherits almost 2000 fixtures from the Zero 88 library. This means that not only can LightFactory handle complex fixtures with any number of attributes but can also control fixtures of m

Spain - RCF is opening a new sales office in Spain. It will be based in the Madrid area and will ensure a direct distribution and on-site support to the Spanish pro audio community.

Rafael Gonzalez has joined the RCF team and will be the RCF Spain's director of sales for professional audio products.

Alberto Ruozzi, RCF director of sales, commented: "Rafael is a very high profile sales manager with a vast experience on the professional market having dealt with many brands in his career. M.I. and professional audio retailers, rental companies, installation companies, will have now access to products directly from RCF company headquarters in Italy and, thanks to Rafael's great expertise, to an unsurpassed level of support pre and after sales."

(Jim Evans)

The Netherlands / UAE - Prolyte has announced that Neumann & Mueller Dubai has taken up the distributorship for Prolyte in the UAE. German originated company N&M has seen an extensive growth over the last decade, resulting in an organisation with 15 German and three international branches.

N&M will now distribute the complete range of Prolyte products, including trussing, staging and Prolyft hoists and can rely on a large stock supply in Dubai.

Jens Giessler from N&M stated: "Based on our sound reputation as rental and productioncompany, we are extending our services to sales as well. In our Dubai office we have a dedicated and trained sales team, led by Michael Thyssen. Prolyte not only has an extensive product line, their focus on high quality products combined with excellent support and technical know-how, is exactly what we like to offer our customers".

With th

Australia - The Capitol Theatre Tamworth, New South Wales, is a 402-seat purpose-built proscenium arch theatre, located in the new Centrepoint Shopping Complex in the town. The Theatre shares its foyer and bar facilities with Forum6 cinemas.

Theatre consultant Richard Stuart was engaged to plan and oversee the fit-out of the theatre. He explains: "Originally the theatre was going to be a large cinema but halfway through construction they developed the idea of making the largest cinema a live theatre. Consequently the building design was put on hold for a while whilst the theatre design evolved. As the developer started to think about theatre equipment and machinery, I was brought in as Theatre Consultant for the project although the building structure was well and truly locked in design-wise."

The main issue to be addressed was turning a large rectangular box cinema

USA / Germany - Wildfire Inc, the California-based the UV (or "black light") effects and fixtures specialist, has appointed Trendco GmbH as the exclusive dealer of Wildfire products in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

"We are very proud of the international growth our business is experiencing," says Wildfire president John Berardi. "Trendco will do an excellent job bringing the Wildfire magic to customers in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. The people at Trendco recognise the importance of good customer service and integration. They operate on the understanding that technology is only as good as the people who design, select and apply it - or as they put it, 'Technik kann nur so gut sein, wie die Menschen, die sie auswählen, einsetzen und bedienen'."

"We are very excited to add the Wildfire brand to our line-up," says Martin Wickel, w

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