USA - Community Professional Loudspeakers reports that John T. Wiggins, Community's vice president, will retire after a distinguished career spanning 41 years with the company.

Wiggins joined Community's founder, president and chief engineer, Bruce W. Howze in 1971 and became a partner in 1972. He has held multiple roles during his time at Community, including VP of sales, VP of Marketing and his current position as VP of business development.

Throughout his career with Community, Wiggins has worked closely with countless audio luminaries, contractors, consultants, musicians, film studios, NASA, professional sports venues, motorsport tracks, cruise ships, themed entertainment and amusement parks, and government organizations.

Wiggins is a member of SMPTE, ASA, AES, TEA, IAVM a

UK - Harting's new Han-Fast Lock PCB termination system provides simple solder-free push-fit single-wire connection to printed-circuit boards, greatly enhancing the ease and flexibility of power distribution for entertainment equipment such as lighting dimmers, power supplies and winch/hoist motor controllers.

User benefits include the fact that power-line terminations can be taken from any point on the printed-circuit board without the need for tracks to be extended to one specific connection area. As a result, costs are reduced because of the simplified design and savings in real estate. This approach also eliminates the possibility of concentrated "hot spots" and therefore allows higher currents to be handled.

The easy "push/click" Han-Fast Lock PCB termination fits securely in the standard plated-through hole with pad and can handle up to 60 A for discr

UK - Lighting designer Tim Routledge used Philips Vari-Lite VL3500 Wash and Spot Luminaires to deliver a powerful and dramatic backdrop for the World War Z action film premiere after-show concert by Muse, held at London's Horse Guards Parade.

Epic and apocalyptic, Routledge's lighting design not only took care of the stage but the buildings and park surrounding the area to create an eerie, experiential evening of atmospheric entertainment for the 15,000 Muse fans attending.

Routledge - who was the lead lighting programmer for the London Olympics Opening and Closing Ceremonies - specified a massive 100 VL3500 Wash luminaires to wash the full expanse of the Horse Guards Georgian buildings and the audience with intense, bright blasts of colour.

"We positioned the VL3500 washes around the quadrangle, up-lighting the buildings with some of the throws only 2m from the

USA - grandMA2 full-size consoles are heading out on the road with Tim McGraw as the country superstar kicks off his Two Lanes of Freedom 2013 tour in support of his new namesake album. McGraw's tour will play 30 cities across the USA. It follows his successful joint Brothers of the Sun tour with Kenny Chesney, last year's highest-ranking country tour in Billboard's list of the top treks of 2012.

For McGraw's latest show Premiere Global, which has been a vendor for the artist for the last decade, supplied two grandMA2 full-size consoles.

Everything in the show, including the video content, is triggered by the grandMA2; a backup unit is also on hand. "We had a multi-user interface for two programmers," says lighting designer Pat Brannon. "They could save to the same cue files at the same time, and that was great. The main feature is the video interf

The Netherlands - Leiden NL based Audio van Hooidonk, one of the country's most respected and historical rental firms, took delivery of yet another Outline Doppia II 9075 + DBS 18-2 set.

Just one year after company owner Anton van Hooidonk attended an Outline demo at The Audio Specialists headquarters, they ordered a second Outline Doppia II set. More specifically, the system in question is made up of four Doppia II 9075 and four DBS 18-2 subwoofer systems. All are driven by Outline's T-Series amps, whilst signal processing is handled by an Outline Genius 24

Anton van Hooidonk explains, "When I heard this FOH set for the first time, I could not believe that such small lightweight cabinets were able to produce such an amount of SPL without any compromise in headroom and fidelity. Now, having worked for a year with our first Outline set, we wanted all our gigs to experience

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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 - Elation Professional has introduced the EZ6, a high-resolution 6mm indoor LED video display panel whose affordable price, light weight and modular quick assembly make it suitable for visual displays at nightclubs, concert venues, live stages, exhibit halls and public spaces who want the excitement of a video screen without overstepping their budgets or getting bogged down by complicated installations, says the company.

Powered by high-quality Tri-Color 3528 SMD LEDs, the EZ6 will impress viewers with its uniform colour, high contrast and sharp, clear picture, making it a video superstar. It features 6mm pixel pitch, 1,800-nit brightness and 960 Hz refresh rate, producing high-definition graphics, text, logos or images -- limited only by your imagination! Wherever it's used, the EZ6 offers reliable performance and easy setup. The 22.7" x 22.7" (576mm x 576mm) squa

UK - A special customised version of ShowLED Animation supplied by UK Distributor S+H Technical Support is being used on the current David Ian Productions and Ambassador Theatre Group UK and Ireland touring version of the hit Priscilla Queen Of The Desert The Musical.

The Animation Cloth has been supplied to the tour's video contractors XL Video after being specified by their project manager Ed Cooper.

It measures 8m wide by 7m high and was specially manufactured by S+H for the tour with a 130mm grid matrix of pixels as opposed to the standard Animation Cloth where this is random.

The modifications were needed to display the specific Priscilla content being played through it in a certain manner to give it a very 'clean' finish.

The Animation Cloth is flown mid stage and is in for the first 15 minutes of the show, until the famous Priscilla bus is revealed.

It come

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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

UK - Sennheiser has released new headphones specially created for conference and visitor guidance systems. The lightweight HP 02, NP 02 and EP 01 headphones provide "the perfect complement to the audio specialist's existing solutions for the market", and were unveiled for the first time at InfoComm in Orlando, USA. They feature optimum speech intelligibility and reliability as well as high hygiene standards.

Clear and intelligible sound is essential for successful communication, whether in a meeting, at a governmental summit or during a factory tour. The Sennheiser conference and visitor guidance solutions help customers get their message across - even in noisy environments. "Being optimized for speech, the flexible HP 02, NP 02 and EP 01 headphones perfectly round off our conference and visitor guidance portfolio," explained Jens Werner, portfolio manager at

Canada - Meyer Sound has been named the official sound reinforcement sponsor of the Montréal International Jazz Festival 2013 in cooperation with Montréal-based Solotech. Solotech will provide festival-wide audio support using a variety of Meyer Sound systems, including a Leo linear large-scale sound reinforcement system for the festival's largest stage, Scène TD.

Ranked by Guinness World Records as the world's largest jazz festival, the Montréal International Jazz Festival will span 10 days starting Friday 28 June, featuring 3,000 artists who will perform over 1,000 concerts, including 300 free shows.

"Our main goal is to maximize the quality of the experience for every festival goer," says André Ménard, artistic director for the festival. "Working with Solotech and Meyer Sound gives us a peace of mind in that respect. The co

UK - The new Amanda Restell Academy of Dance Harlequin Activity sprung dance floor has helped to transform an antique shop in Leigh-on Sea, Essex, into cutting edge dance studios as part of the relocation of the Amanda Restell Academy of Dance - one of Essex's premier dancing schools.

Founded in 1994 with just two classes and six pupils, the Amanda Restell Academy of Dance has grown over the last 20 years and now schools more than 600 children from the age of two. As part of its expansion and to accommodate the growing student numbers, Amanda moved the academy to the former antiques shop at the 100 year old Elmworks Studios building.

During a complete renovation and modernisation programme to bring the new studios up to 21st century standards for safety and comfort, Amanda turned to Harlequin Floors for their expert advice.

Harlequin supplied over 150m2 of Harlequin Activity

Germany - Over 200 Robe moving lights helped rock the house and showcase the very best of Berlin's sizzling, emerging DJs and techno, house, electro and minimal talent who made some serious summer noise in four aircraft hangars at the Templehof Airport site for A&P's 2013 Berlin Summer Rave.

The party was enjoyed by a capacity audience of 20,000 with a production lighting design created by Martin Kuhn. The Robe fixtures were central to the night of action in the Ostfunk, Planet Bass and House Floor arenas.

Berlin and Mexico based Kuhn - a high profile designer with vast experience working across multiple disciplines - was commissioned by event promoter A&P on this occasion to create a fantastic visual ambience for the Summer Rave.

He has used Robe products in his work for some years. He specified the brand on this occasion for its flexibility, reliability and the wide

USA - Originally built in 1949, San Antonio's Freeman Coliseum has hosted everything from rodeos, boxing and hockey to expositions, circuses and concerts over the years. Now, Bexar County and the facility's management team are in the middle of a multi-year initiative to update the venue, the most recent phase of which included the addition of a new ARCS Focus arena loudspeaker system installed by L-Acoustics certified provider LD Systems.

According to Garth Hemphill, sales engineer for LD Systems' Houston office, Nelson Wilcox served as the project manager with project engineering handled by Tom Smith and Whit Whitworth. Following a careful evaluation of the 11,700-capacity arena's needs, the LD Systems team worked closely with Andrew Nagel, L-Acoustics' head of application, install, to ultimately specify a system comprised of 40 ARCS Focus enclosures paired with 16 SB18i subs.<

Israel - Waves Audio's popularity is growing among live sound engineers. One front-of-house engineer who has recently adopted Waves' SoundGrid live platform is Tom Wiggans (UB40, Squeeze, Wet Wet Wet, and Roni Size & Reprazent), who is currently using SoundGrid and Waves plugins on tour with Irish alt-rock mainstays The Cranberries.

He notes, "I ended up using SoundGrid especially for problem solving. The most impressive thing for me is the Waves C4, since it is the first multiband compressor that I have used that I can actually hear working when making the subtlest of changes. I use it on the main vocal, backing vocals and bass. I also use the GTR3 guitar amps and stomp pedals on the DI outputs."

He continues, "I like to work at getting the source as correct as possible and apply effects/dynamics as a last resort, but in cases where this isn't possible Waves pl

UK - Creative England invites PLASA members to the 'Creative England crew night' in partnership with Equity on Thursday 11 July from 6pm-8pm at The Sharp Project as part of the organisation's nationwide programme of networking evenings for industry professionals working in film, TV and digital media.

"Hosted by the Production Services team we aim to bring together crew, production and facility companies with broadcasters, talent executives and film makers as well as those in the digital and creative market," says a statement.

Creative England is a national agency that invests in and supports creative ideas, talent and businesses in film, TV, games and digital media. The engaging event is being held in partnership with Equity, the performers' trade union, as part of its on-going relationship with Creative England. This collaboration for the Manchester event provides a

UK - The Pet Shop Boys have received rave reviews for the first two dates of their 2013 Electric tour. Capital Sound Hire deployed its Nexo STM system for the shows in London and Manchester, the largest they have undertaken to date, using the first three-wide configuration of the modular line array, requested by FOH engineer Holger Schwark.

For both the O2 Arena and MEN Arena, Capital's sound design presented a main left/right system in a 'double bass' configuration, with each array having a hang of 15x STM M46 main cabinets in the centre, and two hangs of 15x STM B112 bass units, one on each side of the mains. The out-fill arrays covering the sides of the arenas used 15x M46 main cabinets per side. There was also a flown line of nine STM S118 subs per side, and nine S118s ground-stacked per side.

Holger Schwark explains his decision to go with STM for the two concerts. "

USA - Along with LeBron James & Co., some other sharp shooters were on hand to ramp up the excitement at the Miami Heat's NBA championship celebration - Platinum Beam 5Rs from Elation Professional. Fifty-four of the Elation ACL effects thrust hard-edge, fast-moving beams overhead and onto the stage at American Airlines Arena, as the team received its championship rings in front of its most devout fans.

The breathtaking lighting design, which captured the thrill of a hard-fought victory, was created by David McCranie, using gear supplied by Everlast Productions.

"Elation is honoured that our Platinum Beam 5Rs were chosen to light up such a spectacular event as the Heat's victory celebration," said Eric Loader, director of sales for Elation Professional. "The Platinum Beam has been one of our 'winning' lights since it was introduced, and we're proud to have it ass

UK - The BroadWeigh load monitoring system provides essential measurements of force to help operatives avoid overload of design parameters.

UK technology company Mantracourt Electronics has launched a new range of load monitoring equipment that targets the requirements of the entertainment industry.

Mantracourt's BroadWeigh system provides accurate, wireless, real-time load monitoring of stage equipment and has been designed to assist rigging professionals within the entertainment sector.

Central to the design of the system is a wireless shackle equipped with a high accuracy load pin that is able to report data wirelessly to a computer or a handheld display. The system is able to monitor multiple loads and trigger an alarm should a load exceed a preset parameter.

"BroadWeigh has been especially developed for riggers to provide simple, effective, accurate and easy to u

Australia - Chauvet Professional Nexus 4x4 impressed again with its capabilities and reliability, this time at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney, spicing up Timomatic's first live performance of his new single Parachute. Nigerian-born Australian singer-songwriter and dancer Timomatic gained fame as a contestant on So You Think You Can Dance Australia. His debut single Set It Off was certified triple platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association.

Josh Moffat of Events Infrastructure designed, operated and specified the lighting equipment, and also supplied the visual technical support for the 2013 State of Origin Game 1 pre-game entertainment. Moffat also has a long-standing relationship with the event producers at Time Square Productions in designing unique looks that work for both television and the live audience. Showtools International supplied the Ne

UK - Manchester-based dbn Lighting helped to bring an ancient legend to life for a landmark event in the UK's first City of Culture, Derry Londonderry.

dbn designed and supplied rigging and lighting for a breath-taking recreation of the famed Loch Ness Monster - which played a starring role in the Showdown on the Foyle finale to the weekend-long celebrations entitled The Return of Colmcille.

Showdown on the Foyle was a specially commissioned public performance written by Frank Cottrell Boyce, created by Walk The Plank and played out over 30 hours on the streets of the UK's City of Culture. Artist Francis Morgan's water bound Loch Ness monster ensured a gripping finale for the tens of thousands of spectators gathered along the banks of the Foyle River, with dbn's lighting bringing the beast to life in spectacular fashion.

The showdown saw Colmcille, a key figure

Australia - Each year, Sydney's famous landmarks take centre stage at Vivid Sydney, a two-week celebration of light, music and ideas. Headlining the show are the glorious sails of the Sydney Opera House which becomes the canvas for a spectacular display of architectural mapped projection.

The Electric Canvas has been responsible for the Sydney Opera House projections over the last four years of Vivid, providing the projection technology, technicians and architectural templates that are the backbone upon which the creative content is produced. Each year the guest artist is provided the appropriate templates, format and workflow to create their work for delivery by OnlyView media servers that feed the large array of high-powered projectors.

The Electric Canvas is also solely responsible for the day-to-day operation and maintenance of the projection system's pixel-a

South Africa - The MA VPU (Video Processing unit) recently underwent a complete technology change. MA's Rene Berhorst, accompanied by Michael Althaus, presented training at DWR Distribution, South Africa recently. It was aimed to bring users up to date with the power of VPU over an intense three day period.

"The VPU is the right video tool to offer users," commented Althaus. "And judging from the good feedback, it really is exciting what is achievable.

"The VPU has many functions and possibilities and is an ideal tool for lighting people. As key users already know the grandMA2, they don't have to learn something new or learn new languages. This makes it quick and easy. Next to the functionality, it's the integration we are highlighting. Setting up the server takes fifteen minutes, this saves at least an hour."

The MA VPU allows videos to be displayed

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