Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
Doughty - Banner - from 6 June 2025

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Germany - Berlin-based production company Complete Audio has become the first to purchase Martin Audio’s new compact line array (W8LC). The company’s managing director, André Rauhaut, placed the order for 12 W8LC enclosures (including rigging frames and amplification) with Martin Audio’s German distributor, Atlantic Audio, during the recent ProLight+Sound exhibition in Frankfurt, where the system was unveiled.

Complete Audio are no strangers to Martin Wavefront technology. Their rental inventory already includes 20 Wavefront W8C top boxes, 8 Wavefront W8CS subs, 20 Wavefront WSX subs, 8 LE12JB floor monitors and 10 LE700A floor monitors - all powered by Martin Audio/Lab Gruppen amplification.

Explaining the reasons for the purchase, Rauhaut said: "We needed to invest in a line array, as many of our competitors in Berlin already have one and we needed to

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UK - The Institute of Sound & Communications Engineers (ISCE) is sponsoring an industry-wide invitation workshop on 31 March in Watford, with the aim of setting up a certification body to combat what is seen as the current trend of falling installation standards. Representatives from across the public address, voice alarm, sound, fire and insurance industries are being invited to attend.

Further details of the workshop are available from Cathy Makenzie on 0151 639 5211 or via e-mail at the address below.

(Lee Baldock)

Doughty - Banner - from 6 June 2025

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UK - A full house gathered at PNN Hammersmith Palais this month for the star-packed NME Carling Awards 2003. The evening saw the night’s winners such as Coldplay, Ryan Adams and Oasis picking up awards with The Datsuns and Noel Gallagher playing live.

Creative Technology, working through production company Reality Ltd, provided technical reinforcement for the live event and enabled MTV2 and Channel 4 to screen the recorded highlights from the following day. CT were contracted to provide all the display, recording and playback equipment for the event, along with all the video graphics elements. The main focus was a 7 x 5 panel Barco i8 LED screen, which was ground supported centre stage.

A component GVG PPU, with four Sony D30 cameras, handled the recording and playback elements. One camera was used for follow-on shots, a second camera, fitted with a standard lens, was de

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USA - High End Systems has announced that Altman Lighting Inc will receive a worldwide non-exclusive license for specific patents belonging to automated lighting manufacturer High End Systems Inc and Richard Belliveau. The agreement finalized today relates to the use of LEDs in lighting products. The patented technology offers significant advantages to the user. Altman will make use of this in their soon-to-be-released Spectra Series luminaires: a line of LED products and advanced patent-pending technology that offers a virtually endless palette of color possibilities to enhance any theatrical or architectural setting.

As part of the same agreement, High End Systems will receive non-exclusive rights to Altman's patents concerning digital stage and architectural lighting technology. Mike Wood, chief technology officer of High End Systems, comments: "We are delighted to have

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UK - A new concept in realistic visual effects is being launched this month. Scene Change, which creates digital video effects, aims to bring the latest in lighting techniques to the theatre.

At an open day on March 25 at the MacOwan Theatre, Earl's Court, Scene Change, a specialist creator of still and animated digital video images, will demonstrate how life-like effects can be brought to the stage. Technical Director Nigel Sadler says: "It's already been embraced by nightclubs, but it's the next big thing for the theatre. This year, we're likely to see it begin to take off in the world of theatre lighting."

"There's so much more that can be done with it. We can create 'real' rain, 'real' snow, moving water, a sun rising -the possibilities are endless." The theatre world has been slower to pick up on the technology, whose uses include visual displays at cl

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USA - Symphony Hall, home to the Boston Symphony Orchestra for more than one hundred years, recently upgraded its house audio capabilities with, among other things, a new L-Acoustics loudspeaker system. Steve Colby of New Hampshire-based Evening Audio Consultants was selected to head up the retrofit. To assist him on the project, Colby, a senior sound engineer for the Boston Pops as well as a frequent engineer and consultant for the Boston Symphony, chose to assemble a group of seasoned professionals, including both Mark Brosnan and John ‘Klon’ Koehler of Greenfield, Massachusetts' Klondike Sound.

Suspended above the proscenium, the new system features a central cluster of seven L-Acoustics V-Dosc enclosures with a pair of dV-Dosc small-format/downfill array elements hung beneath. Both the V-Dosc and dV-Dosc array elements incorporate a patented Dosc waveguide to fac

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Spain / Belgium - D.A.S. sound reinforcement systems were in use recently at the Davis Cup eliminatory tournament between Spain and Belgium. Held at the ‘Olympic Tennis’ sports complex in Seville, the event drew a crowd of over 5,000 tennis fans.

Seville-based Klarson, run by Sergio Clarasó Estebe was in charge of installing the sound systems at the event. D.A.S. DS-12 12" two-way systems were used to provide coverage in the three large bleachers and lobby areas. Installed in the press conference rooms were the ultra-compact DS-8 full-range systems that use an 8" low frequency transducer with a 1.5" voice coil.Klarson specializes in the rental of sound, lighting and audio-video equipment for all types of live events, including sports events. Segio Clarasó, proprietor of the company comments regarding the sound of D.A.S. products: "I depend on th

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France - Auvitran SARL - Audio Video Transcoding - is a new technology company recently formed through a spin-off of ex-Digigram SA employees, Yves Ansade, Wlodek Sielski and Jeremie Weber. All three were involved in both research and design, as well as commercial development, at Digigram.

Auvitran will design and manufacture audio, video networking and computer-based solutions and products. Having recently signed a full IP licence with Digigram for its EtherSound technology, Auvitran will focus on this technology over the coming months, as Yves Ansade, who will be the managing director for Auvitran, explains. "Having been heavily involved in EtherSound’s development whilst with Digigram, we were keen to exploit this technology through adding value with our own EtherSound-based products, as well as offering services to other companies in our industry who may wish to l

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UK - Saturday 8 March saw Manchester’s production community uniting to show their support for peace, on the occasion of the ‘Don’t Attack Iraq’ event organized by Manchester Coalition Against the War. Consisting of separate marches from the North and South of the city, together with one from Salford, the event culminated with some 12,000 people converging on a rain-soaked Albert Square to hear a packed programme of speakers, plus acoustic performances from Elbow and Josephine Oniyama.

The event was managed by Jon Drape Event & Production Management, with production management and trucking provided by Andy Stratford at Walk the Plank. With a budget of just £50 to cover fuel, Jon and Andy appealed to Manchester’s production supply companies to come up with the goods, a call that was met with overwhelming support.

So it was that Manchester Light & S

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UK - Raycom has completed the design and installation of an elaborate radio system for the new Corinthian Television facility in Chiswick Park London. As the leading supplier of professional wireless solutions, Raycom custom designed a robust frequency plan which allowed the use of a complex mix of radio equipment.

The supplied system included four Raycom RTB3211 talkback base stations. One base station is shared between Studios 1 and 2, a second is in the Green Room covering all the downstairs areas outside the studios, the third is located on the roof performance area and the fourth unit is used for the outside performance area. The latter two base stations used ‘down-firing’ antennas to contain the coverage of the radio signals.

Raycom also supplied and programmed 21 Icom IC-F22 UHF radios with belt packs, headsets, cases and chargers and other ancillary equipme

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UK - Former Audio-Technica sales manager Rod Geary has joined forces with Chris Collings of Aspen Media to create Gearline Marketing, a professional sales management company working in the entertainment technology and commercial installation markets which provides face-to-face contact with a dealer or contractor on behalf of manufacturers or distributors.

Geary explained the reasoning behind the new venture: "Having studied the success of commission-based manufacturers’ representatives in the United States, I believe that with our integrated approach - the right team and the right lines - our model will be very successful in the UK. The salaries, cars, overnight stays, pensions and all the other associated costs make a single line sales team very expensive to maintain. Out-sourcing sales to Gearline Marketing cuts the supply channel costs for manufacturers and distrib

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UK - Few in the entertainment and installation industries can have failed to notice how LEDs have transcended their original role as indicators, to become true illuminators. They are 90% energy efficient (compared to just 10% for tungsten), can be made to produce a ‘daylight’ white light, are virtually unbreakable, have life spans of up to 100,000 hours and produce minimal heat. They are poised to become the standard light source, taking over from incandescent sources in many applications, from traffic indicators to street lighting.

Wavicle is a new company set up by former lighting designer and technician Nick Cooke to deal in torches, lanterns and headlamps based on the latest advances in LED and electroluminescent light sources. The advantages offered by LEDs are combined in these products to produce lightweight hand-held lighting instruments. The user benefits by

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Australia - Port Fairy, a coastal village south west of Melbourne, Australia, held its annual Port Fairy Folk Festival over the March Victorian Labour Day holiday weekend, and this year the event was attended by over 15,000 people, entertained by more than 130 acts including 20 international acts.

Performers came from as far as Ireland, Scotland and the USA to join well known local performers such as Jenny Morris, Joe Cameleri, the Waifs and David Bridie for the four-day festival. Powa Audio were contracted to provide sound and lights for four of the seven stages, with Phaseshift Productions supplying the lighting.

Well known lighting industry figure Dave Jackson was engaged to design and operate Stage 2 for the festival. Drawing on the experience of previous years he built a design based around subtle projections and soft moods. X.Spots (eight in total) were selected as the k

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UK - Lumileds LED technology has been used by lighting specialist Tryka LED Ltd as part of a project to light the outside of the new M Club in Belfast. Developed as an additional element to the overall M Club launch, the external lighting project was designed around the building, with the glass windows at the front of the club providing the ideal basis for an LED lighting system. Initially tested on a single window, the design was finalized by PSD Electronics, who worked with Tryka to achieve the desired control and effects.

The project utilizes the Tryka Strip Module 36 in two different lengths - 22 strips at 1200mm and 34 strips at 1700mm. In total, 2016 Luxeon LEDs, 672 each of RGB, have been used to light the external fascia of the M Club. By using a standard silver film over the interior of each window, together with a sealed 'light box', Tryka was able to create a dramatic

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UK - On Monday 24 March 2003, the nva organisation, one of the UK's most successful independent arts charities, will unveil two major outdoor lighting schemes for the Glasgow College of Building & Printing and the Glasgow Tidal Weir at Glasgow Green.

Both schemes have been designed by David Bryant of Spirit Design UK, and are part of Glasgow City Council's Lighting Strategy for the City. nva began to develop artist-led lighting designs for buildings having been awarded a grant of £95,000 from the Scottish Arts Council National Lottery Fund. A number of keynote buildings, structures and architectural details were and partnership funding was acquired through Glasgow City Council's £2.4m lighting strategy and from the building owners themselves.

The two lighting schemes being launched this spring are the most ambitious to date and will set a benchmark for urban lighting design

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UK - Asked to provide sound services for American legend Arthur Lee and Love, Worcester-based RMPA considered that the UK tour would offer a relatively gentle opportunity to ease themselves back into the rock and roll rental market. Instead, Lee's profile went through the roof, with the star being mobbed by MPs amongst others, and shows selling out all over the country.

Arthur Lee and the band he fronted, Love, are acknowledged as one of the finest and most influential groups of the late 60s, their psychedelic-folk masterpiece, Forever Changes, regularly appearing high in polls of the greatest albums of all time. Their comeback tour included several weeks in the UK, with RMPA providing an Electro-Voice system with Midas control when required.

"The show was already challenging," says Rick Bailey of RMPA, "featuring a rock band plus eight-piece orchestra on stage.

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UK - This week has seen the launch of The Marketing Business, a company which offers SMEs in the entertainment technology industry, the full range of marketing expertise, from business development and export advice to corporate identity and public relations.

The Marketing Business is an informal association of three companies which together have over 60 years experience in the entertainment technology business and which individually are recognized as experts in their field: PE Consulting, Harmer PR and The Wells Partnership. PE Consulting was formed in 2002 by Peter Ed, previously marketing director for ETC Europe and business development manager for Strand Lighting. Peter’s experience will be of great benefit to companies wishing to expand their business by moving into exporting or into new market segments by combining tried and tested marketing techniques with in-depth k

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UK - As Trevor Nunn's reign at the Royal National Theatre ends, DHA Lighting has just concluded work on three major productions at the theatre. Tom Stoppard's The Coast of Utopia, Nunn’s revival of the Cole Porter musical, Anything Goes, and the director’s swansong, Shakespeare’s Love's Labour Lost, all called on the expertise of DHA staff as well as the company’s products. DHA has a long association with the theatre and has contributed to many prestige productions. The company’s founder, lighting designer David Hersey, has himself lit a number of acclaimed shows over the past 30 years.

DHA was called upon last summer to work with Hersey and set designer Bill Dudley on Stoppard’s The Coast of Utopia, nominated for four Olivier awards, including best set design and best lighting design. With Anything Goes, exp

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UK - The Canford Group has announced a big increase in profits. Pre-tax profits rose from £142,000 in 2001 to £545,000 in 2002. Figures released recently show that while total sales fell by £1.25m in the last financial year, profits substantially increased.

The fall in sales was largely down to a decline in sales to France and Germany, reflecting weak European demand, and a planned reduction in low margin business, but exports overall remained stable and contributed just under 30% to the group’s turnover. Sales to the Middle East were particularly strong, trebling to £600,000, whilst sales to the Irish republic were also good thanks to the completion of a £1m contract with the Irish police. NEAL, the security side of the Group’s business continues to strengthen.

Gross margins improved by just under one per cent, and interest costs were substantially reduced as

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UK - The education market has traditionally been a strong business area for Strand Lighting thanks toits diverse range of products suitable for use in Educational facilities of all sizes. The introduction at PLASA last year of a wide range of new controls and dimmers aimed at this market has further enhanced the company’s product range, and in support of this, Strand has now launched a new website dedicated to the Education Market and those who specify products for it.

(Ruth Rossington)

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UK - A recent comprehensive install in the Soho Cafe Bar in Christchurch, Dorset, by the CPS Group is an impressive example of the often complex brief such installations require. "Our brief was to install a sound system which was truly multi-purpose," explains Richard Colegate of the CPS (Complete Production Solutions) Group.

"The venue is a fashionable wine bar/pizzeria which has three distinctly different clientele types. On weekday daytimes the system is required to provide a low-level background music source throughout the whole venue at an even level with even coverage. With things livening up considerably on weekday evenings, the system then provides dance floor music levels on the main dance area, and bar/club style programme material throughout the venue. This also has to cater for DJs doing personal appearances some nights. Friday and Saturday night are,

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UK / Germany - PCM, the UK-based specialist in lifting, moving and flying equipment, used the recent Frankfurt ProLight+Sound show to launch its new sales and manufacturing operation for special Columbus McKinnon Lodestar hoists to the German market. PCM is renowned for establishing the Lodestar motor as an industry standard in the UK and Europe. This started in the early 1990s, and the company continues to be the most proactive European supplier and stockist for these industry standard hoists.

This latest strategic move leaves PCM’s German sister company, Augsburg-based Pfaff Stage Technologies (PST), free to concentrate on the design, sale and installation of major special projects. Recent examples of PST’s work in this area include a project for the Flora Theatre in Hamburg, a huge new theatre to which PST supplied 24 customized electric winches.

PCM’s man

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UK - TSC Music has retained it highly valued ‘Investors In People’ recognition for a record third time.The Crawley-based company, which produces professional business music compilations and systems to high street shops and corporate brands across the UK, has become the only company in its market to earn this status and successfully maintain it three times in a row, after satisfying IiP inspectors during the company’s recent reassessment.

Having surpassed necessary key indicators, the IiP standard helps TSC to continue working more closely with its staff to monitor and develop employee skills in an effort to becoming a more customer-focused organisation.

Chairman and managing director Neal Abdool, said: "We recognize staff as our most valuable asset and with the right nurturing and appropriate training they make the difference that counts in TSC achieving

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Hong Kong - Hong Kong's famous Cathedral of Immaculate Conception has recently completed the installation of their new state-of-the-art audio system. Nestled in the foothills of Hong Kong Island overlooking Victoria Harbour the Cathedral has served as the religious and social centre for the Island's sizeable Catholic population since it was completed in 1888.

The lead contractor for the installation was Hong Kong's Pacific Audio Supplies who made extensive use of the Bose Modeler and Auditioner design programs in the design and consultative stages of the project. Featuring an innovative Loudspeaker System constructed from multiple Bose FS32SEs in a line array configuration the system is powered by a combination of Bose and Carver power amplifiers.

All Loudspeaker Feeds from the console output groups are equalized with ARX EQ60 1/3rd octave graphic equalizers. Bose ‘doubl

  1. Q1 Production Technologies - new brand with 35 years of experience
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  3. AVW’s top performance at the RNT
  4. ARB all set for move to new premises
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  6. White Light/Rosco ImagePro session
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