USA - One of three convention facilities in the busy Boston area, John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Centre is an integral part of the city's historic centre. Boasting more than 190,000sq.ft of all-weather exhibit space, the 23 year old venue is presently several years into an on-going, multi-phase renovation project.

Currently the centre is completing an upgrade to its audio systems, courtesy of Boston-based Adtech Systems. As Adtech's Charles Crane explains, the project incorporates acoustical treatment and sound system upgrades to bring the exhibit halls up to NFPA72 code standards for voice evacuation and speech intelligibility.

"There are four exhibition halls on two floors," Crane notes. "Halls A and B are on one floor and can be combined; Halls C an

Poland - Gdynia Municipal Football stadium is the home to Poland's Arka Gdynia football club. With a seating capacity of roughly 15,139 spectators, the new facility recently received a large, networked audio-driven sound reinforcement system. To ensure even coverage across the stadium's multiple zones, loudspeakers from the catalogue of D.A.S. Audio were placed into service.

Sopot, Poland-based Mega Music's audio-visual installation division was contracted to handle the stadium's new sound system. Mega Music's Piotr Nowi?ski managed the project and discussed the challenges of the job, which involved the deployment of D.A.S. Audio's DR-12 2-way, full-range loudspeakers, the BiDriver Plus, which is a two-way, mid-high unit designed for long throw applications, and the company's CL-6T ceiling speakers.

"The D.A.S. DR-12's were our loudspeakers of choice to cover the audience

UK - Le Mark Group, based at Houghton Hill Industries, has been shortlisted for a 2011 East of England International Trade Award. These International Trade Awards, sponsored by Santander Corporate Banking are the only UK wide business awards to exclusively recognize the success of exporters, importers and those trading overseas.

Despite the challenges posed by current global economic conditions, UK companies like Le Mark are still very much 'out there' competing on the International stage and the 2011 International Trade awards celebrate these ventures & successes.

The 12 regional finalists will be invited to the UK final at a prestigious Gala Luncheon and Awards presentation at the House of Lords where three national award categories winners will be announced. Le Mark were selected for the SME category, as a company who shown outstanding International Trade achievement with a

UK - Rental company HSL has just taken delivery of 150 square metres of Martin Professional's latest lightweight EC20 20 mm pitch LED screen plus 48 panels of their LC2140 40 mm pitch surface in a major investment with the Danish manufacturer that also included substantial quantities of MAC moving lights, in total, worth close to £3m.

Most of HSL's new screen went straight into action at the 2011 Global Gathering dance festival, staged last weekend at long Marston Airfield, near Stratford on Avon. HSL supplied screen surfaces to the main stage and the Wax:On/hospitality arena, together with lighting for the main stage and five tented arenas plus the Terrace, once again working with lighting and video designers, Electric Fly.

HSL's Mike Oates explains that they have invested in the screen to satisfy the increasing demands of lighting designers who often now include scenic

UK - Flightcase and speaker solutions specialist Penn Elcom has acquired CLD Distribution, experts in cables, connectors, lamps and LED lightsources, and has completed a successful integration of CLD - which will continue with its own operation, identity and trading contacts - under the Penn-Elcom umbrella.

CLD Distribution was founded in 1984 as a wholesale business dedicated to lamps, lighting, audio and colour components and consumables for the professional lighting and sound industry, and is a leading supplier to installation and service companies. It is still headed by founder Nigel Howes and Sandra Connolly.

Starting in Loxwood, West Sussex, UK, the operation moved to the Penn Fabrication site in Hastings in 2000, when more space was required.

Penn-Elcom has been trading in both directions with CLD Distribution for about 20 years, in a healthy crossover relationship wh

UK - The team behind the UK's National Student Drama Festival are seeking entries and support for the first ever International Student Drama Festival, which will take place next year from the 22-30 June in the UK.

The NSDF12 - ISDF - being presented in conjunction with Sheffield Theatres, RSC, LIFT, The Old Vic Tunnels and Menier Chocolate Factory - will feature a nine-day celebration of young people's theatre featuring the best of British work alongside exceptional student productions from across the world.

The Festival is an opportunity for young people to come together and present their work on the world's stage to an international audience of theatregoers, industry experts and peers. Participants don't have to be studying drama to be a part of it - they just have to enjoy it and want to watch it and make it.

NSDF12 - ISDF will feature over 100 performances of 20 internat

Live Statistics - Box office takings for pop and rock concerts in the UK fell for the first time in more than a decade in 2010, according to a music industry report. PRS For Music said fans spent 12% less on face value tickets than in 2009. Part of the drop was blamed on the fact that acts including The Rolling Stones and Take That did not tour last year. And some major artists, such as Kings of Leon and Rod Stewart, opted to play in arenas instead of stadia as a result of the economic downturn, PRS said.

But the organisation, which collects royalties on behalf of songwriters, said this year's revenues were likely to bounce back thanks to Take That's record-breaking stadium shows and tours by Rihanna, Westlife and Justin Bieber. The report says, "It would be very tempting to look at these numbers and jump towards a knee jerk reaction that the live music bubble has burst. We

USA - Harrah's currently boasts 17 casino complexes across the United States, from New Orleans to Philadelphia, from Atlantic City to San Diego. In North Carolina it is Harrah's Cherokee Casino and Hotel that invites you to 'Come Out and Play'. Originally designed in 1997 with a 1,500 seat pavilion, the complex opened its new Event Centre in 2010. The primary function of this multipurpose venue is for touring acts. It can host an audience of up to 3,900.

The much larger auditorium required a reappraisal of Cherokee Casino's existing concert technology, particularly audio; their production supervisor, Ryan Hargis explains the rationale behind Harrah's decision to install a d&b audiotechnik J-Series loudspeaker system.

"The Event Centre is designed for concerts but will also host banquets and sporting events. Since the bulk of the events are concerts,we wanted to go with a

featured content

The Many Looks of Zeo

Delivering ultimate brightness and unique looks, Zeo’s distinct face design is defined by a central LED monolith and four reflectors, backed by four RGBW engines. As a blinder or strobe, Zeo promises powerful impact with 30,000+ lumens. With its sheer brilliance and playful effects, Zeo is ready to amplify the energy on any stage.

Iceland - The Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre in Reykjavik is a mammoth feat of architecture and acoustic design, housing a world-class music venue and meeting-presentation facilities inside a striking, asymmetrical glass facade. Keeping people informed and safe is important in any building but particularly for one the size of the Harpa, so an Ateis public address-voice alarm system is playing a crucial background role in the installation.

Work began on the Harpa in January 2007 but the project's future looked uncertain when Iceland's financial crisis began to bite. The Icelandic government stepped in to fund the building work, which was completed in time for the opening concerts on 4 and 5 May by the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, which, with Icelandic Opera, is resident at the venue.

The Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre occupy a total of 28,000sq.m of space.

Germany - Rental company satis&fy Werne has rolled out its L-Acoustics K1/Kudo WST line source system for several open-air festivals this summer. According to the company, this flagship rig has again demonstrated its festival-approved capabilities.

In early June, satis&fy rocked not only the Ring, but also the Park during the simultaneous German festivals. The company provided 24 K1s, eight K1-SB subs, 12 Kudos, 16 Kivas, and 40 SB28 subs for Rock am Ring, with a delay system of 64 V-DOSC cabs serving up a sweet sonic experience for the audience at the back of the festival grounds.

At the Rock im Park festival, satis&fy deployed 24 K1s and eight K1-SB subs, as well as 24 Kudos in side-hang clusters and 12 KIVAs for near-fill, with 40 SB28 subs enhancing the main PA's low-end performance. Here, the delay towers were equipped with V-DOSC, dV-DOSC and Kudo enclosures.

satis&fy

Brazil - First performed on Broadway in 1983, Baby - A Musical has recently opened for the first time in Brazil. Its run in Rio's João Caetano Theatre also marks the first use of a DiGiCo console on a Brazilian musical, with an SD8 the choice of sound designer Fernando Fortes.

The original production was nominated for seven Tony awards and has seen three subsequent productions, two in the US and one in the Philippines. Produced by Tadeu Aguiar and Eduardo Bakr, the new Brazilian version is being staged in Rio's oldest theatre.

"For some time I have been encouraged by friends like David Patridge in New York and Nick Lidster in England to try DiGiCo consoles," says Fortes. "This show was the ideal production and so I looked at the different options, settling on the SD8 as the right choice for the job."

Supplied by rental company Loudness Sonorizaç

Singapore - DPA Microphones has appointed newly-formed distributor UniAudio Asia for its products in the south-east Asian market. The Singapore-based distributor has signed an agreement that covers Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia.

Founded by former Sennheiser Electronic Asia sales manager Yusof Ahmad, UniAudio Asia will distribute key brands throughout south-east Asia. Mr Ahmad describes the philosophy behind his company as being "about people, people and people". Among those joining him at the company are Bryan Lee as head of sales, Thomas Sim as assistant sales manager, system engineer Wahab Jaffar, product trainer Charlie Yu and marketing and communications executive Amanda Tham.

Ahmad explains that brands within the growing product portfolio are intended to complement one another. "DPA completes the circuit with its fine-crafted miniature

The Netherlands - Philips has entered into a patent license agreement with Cooper Industries. The license provides Cooper with full access to the Philips' LED-related patented technologies that Philips makes available to the lighting industry through its LED Luminaire and Retrofit Bulb licensing programme.

"We are very pleased that Cooper has joined our licensing program. We believe having such an open and accessible license program is greatly assisting in accelerating the adoption of LED lighting and fostering the growth of the LED industry", said Arian Duijvestijn, general manager lighting at Philips Intellectual Property & Standards.

This license agreement with Cooper follows earlier agreements between Philips and more than 100 companies, amongst which key lighting players like Acuity Brands, Osram and Zumtobel. Philips' licensing program includes many LED luminai

UK - SES Entertainment Services on Stand number 1J-11, are running a competition at this year's PLASA show, with one lucky winner walking away with a holiday in Sunny Florida.

For every order placed on the stand this year, an entry will be placed into the competition to win a two week stay in a five-bed luxury villa in Kissimmee, Florida in 2012.

Just 10 minutes drive from the Gates of the Walt Disney resort in Orlando, Florida, the home sleeps up to 10 people and has a very large pool. Just off the highway 192, you will be in the heart of all the major attractions within a few minutes drive. The home benefits from four bathrooms, full air conditioning and a games room. Dates for the stay are subject to availability (Summer dates are still available) and the prize does not include flights or car hire. The value for entry is subject to a minimum spend of £250.00, but mult

UK - InfoComm International will continue its programme of support for the UK's AV rental and staging community when it hosts a range of education sessions at this year's PLASA show next month.

The sessions will take place at London's Earl's Court on Monday 12 and Tuesday 13 September. They will be led by Andre LeJeune, CTS, InfoComm's rental & staging staff instructor, who has more than 30 years' experience of staging and presentation and has been responsible for many large-scale productions for corporate clients around the world.

Topics covered will include 'Lighting for Video in the Large Meeting Environment', 'Audio Techniques for Corporate AV Events', and 'Project Management for Stage Labour'. Each session will last 90 minutes and will earn attendees 1.5 RUs (Renewal Units) towards continued InfoComm CTS certification. All sessions are free to attend.

Chris Lavel

USA - PLASA Events has announced its first ever PLASA Focus: Tech, a three-day audio/video/lighting workshop and live concert to be held 20-22 February 2012 alongside the recently announced PLASA Focus: Austin 2012 event.

PLASA Focus: Tech will bring together industry experts Richard Cadena (Automated Lighting: The Art and Science of Moving Light), Brad Schiller (The Automated Lighting Programmer's Handbook), Chad Yeary of Portal Designs, Damon Lang of Nomad Sound, and Coolux USA for a hands-on learning programme.

The workshop will include a lighting track with design, visualisation, and programming; a video track with video content design media server programming; and an audio track with audio system design live mixing. Each attendee will programme and/or operate the lighting, audio, or video for a portion of a live concert before an audience on the final night.

Italy - Over 90 Robe moving lights including the new Robin 600 LEDWash are the core lighting fixtures being used on the new series of Reazione A Catena (Chain Reaction), a popular Italian games show based on contestants finding hidden words, which is being recorded at C Cinecittà Studios in Rome for RAI TV.

Lighting is designed by Massimo Castrichella, one of Italy's leading TV LDs, who has an impressive 33 year track record with the country's top TV channel, also making him one of the most knowledgeable and experienced practitioners in the art of TV lighting.

The set is based around a completely spherical auditorium with a small stage and curved seating. The studio walls are white and therefore ideal for colouration and gobo projections from the lighting, and a series of curved ribbon like LED surfaces are threaded around the space. The lighting is rigged on three cir

UK - The LAX series mixers have a natural sound with outstanding parameters and optimal user-friendliness as well as maximum dependability in day-to-day operation on the road. This makes them an affordable solution for a broad range of applications, says the company.

Andrew Richardson, managing director of Adam Hall UK comments, "The DJ mixer series with its built-in preamp stands out because of its outstanding capabilities and complete function that will make any performance incisive and vivid, the perfect partner for your events."

(Jim Evans)

UK - SGM's CC-4 is a four-bank high-powered multiple LED washlight with an enviable power output. With its IP65 rating it is designed for architectural use.

Each of the four chassis contains 44 of the LZ4 RGB Cool White Emitter LED's and thanks to its new light engine it can deliver 21,000 lumens - providing more than three and a half times that of SGM's original Palco 5 LED, which was designed for the same purpose.

The CC-4 offers CTC and white balance control. Power consumption is just 4 x 400W and the lamp life is rated at 50,000 hours.

Housed in a black slim aluminium chassis lenses are interchangeable (via the Narrow, Medium and Wide lens kit) and the fixture boasts eight or 17 DMX channels. Set up is via an OLED graphic five-button display.

Other features include: Simple menu structure; upgradeable software (via DMX); IP65 rated; standard Neutrik powerCON connectors

UK - Batmink Distribution, one of the largest UK distributors of professional audio, lighting and effects equipment, will introduce a number of new products at PLASA 2011. New brands on show include Visage Lighting, Vector Audio, Pro-Flite Flightcases, Pro-Stage Portable Staging and Lumaform LED Illuminated Furniture.

Of particular interest is the Visage LED Multipar RGBAW - a new PAR unit that delivers a truly impressive light output from 18 x 8w LEDs. 12 x RGBW and 6 x RGBA 4 in 1 LEDs produce full spectrum colour mixing and control is achieved through DMX, auto programs, sound to light or master slave functions. The black multipar housing is more robust than conventional PARcan bodies and completes this tough, powerful unit.

Another brand making its PLASA debut is Lumaform. Offering a range of LED illuminated furniture in a variety of styles; Lumaform is at the cutting edge

UK - QSC Audio Products will feature their new KLA Series Active Line Array System at PLASA 2011. KLA is latest addition to the House of K Family of active loudspeakers, joining the ranks of the successful K Series and KW Series. With similar user interfaces and sonic performance characteristics throughout the family, the K Family models can easily be mixed and matched to suit a wide range of applications for installed sound, as well as rental and portable PA, says the company.

"With the House of K line, system integrators, designers and installers have an incredible arsenal of tools that they can utilize to meet the requirements of contemporary sound applications," says Ray van Straten, QSC marketing communications manager.

"Since their introduction, the K Family of products has continually exceeded our customers' expectations in terms of sonic performance, eas

Latest Issue. . .