USA / UK - Cooper Controls reports that the Orb theatrical lighting console from Zero 88, ended a successful introductory year with a trip to New York City, starring alongside actress Nicola McAuliffe in the production A British Subject.

A British Subject was originally performed at the Pleasance during the Edinburgh Festival and was directed by Hannah Eidinow and produced by Pleasance Theatre Trust. Following an initial consultation and training with Orb specialist Richard Lambert, lighting designer Mark Jonathon and assistant George Bishop chose the Orb for pre-programming prior to their acclaimed festival run.

"As someone who has used the Frog 2 for a number of years, the power, versatility, and user friendliness of the Orb made it a no brainer to bring it across for the show. Once again the support from Zero 88 has made this production an incredibly pain

UK - Award-winning drummer Johanne James is the latest signing to Shuttlesound's artist endorsement programme for Electro-Voice microphones, flying the flag for the new EV PL Series in particular.

For three years in a row, Johanne James has won the Classic Rock Society Award for Best Drummer of the year, earning his place among the best drummers in the UK. He is no stranger to the limelight, having played a variety of stages from small venues to major festivals around the world, performing with the likes of Dream Theater, Psychotic Waltz and Pain of Salvation. James is best-known as the 'engine room' of Threshold, a veteran band on the progressive metal scene, and has recently formed his own hard metal three-piece, Kyrbgrinder, as a means of sharing his own style of hard driving, infectious melodic rock.

Johanne James will be giving the new EV microphones an exhaustive road te

UK - Following the Le Bourget Airshow in June 2009 and the Dubai Airshow in November 2009, eight Christie 3-chip DLP HD10 projectors will give visitors at airshows around the world an insight into the Airbus history books and the lowdown on its future A350 wide-body jet.

A four-minute immersive experience designed and produced by Master Image Films will be staged at the Singapore Airshow in February 2010, followed by Berlin, Hamburg and Farnborough. The film will breathe life into an aircraft that has only ever been modelled in 3D using computer-generated graphics.

The project began in March 2009 when Master Image Films (Toulouse), an Airbus partner for 20 years, was asked to design a system to allow Airbus to spread the word about its future A350 wide-body jet and use the world's largest airshows as a platform to announce the start of production.

To design and complete the

UK - Llanelli, Wales- based Vaughan Sound Installations (VSI), part of the PAI Group of companies, has received SAFEcontractor accreditation status.

VSI is a specialist in sound, lighting and AV design, specification installation and integration. The PAI Group also includes sister companies Lighting Technology Projects, PA Installations and Link-AV.

SAFEcontractor is a leading-edge accreditation scheme that assesses the health & safety competency of contractors and service providers, designed to help industry improve its safety record. The SAFEcontractor programme recognises the very high standards of health and safety practice existing amongst UK contractors.

VSI's application for SAFEcontractor accreditation was driven by the need to establish a uniform standard across its business. It is expected to enhance the company's ability to win new contracts, and the commitment to

Belgium - Jands Europe has appointed Inytium as its exclusive dealer in Belgium and Luxembourg for the Vista lighting control range. Under the programme, Inytium will fulfil all dealer aspects, including stock supply, demonstration, training, technical support and backup.

Inytium is a supplier of professional-grade lighting, sound and media control solutions to the Belgian theatre, show and scenic design markets. Recently rebranded from Blue Squares Sales and Distribution, the company has links with the industry dating back over 20 years. As a supplier of leading brands including Adamson, Clay Paky, MDG, Robert Juliat and Zero 88, the company was looking for an innovative lighting control solution to complement its existing product portfolio.

Thierry Renard, CEO of Inytium, comments: "It made sense to look for a hi-tech console to complete our range. Jands has an excellen

The Netherlands - UK-based Visual Acuity will be presenting LEEDership in AV / IT Design, Understanding the Latest Green Standards and Delivering Best Practices to Meet Them as part of the InfoComm International education sessions taking place on the 3 February 2010 at Integrated Systems Europe at the RAI, Amsterdam.

Blair Parkin, MD at Visual Acuity comments, "This exciting, fun and informative session will start by debunking the myths around climate change and put the science into context for a technology based audience. The LEED green building certification programme will be explained in detail along with an outline of reasons to use it and an examination of its effects on the AV / IT profession."

A case study based on the world's largest green building, the California Academy of Sciences and some practical AV / IT methodology will be presented alongside de

China - After the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, where they provided the lighting for the Olympic Fencing Hall of National Conference Centre, Spotlight is now present in the most important cultural centres in China including the Guanzhou Opera House, the Chongqing Grand Theatre and the Concert Hall in Shenzhen.

In November 2009, the Italian manufacturer -together with some Senior Chinese stage-lighting designers such as Professor Liang Hongzhou - staged two seminars on Lighting Design and Lighting Technology organised by Shanghai LasLead Technology.

Located on the riverside of the Pearl River, the Guangzhou Opera House will resonate the high notes of Chinese Opera as a lasting monument to the New Millennium. Designed for the 2010 Asia Games, this big cultural project on the South of China covers an area of 46,000sq.m with 1,800 seats and a multifunctional digital hall w

The Netherlands - Swiss digital signage manufacturer SpinetiX will be showcasing a live digital signage system that represents many projects in operation around the globe today on their stand at ISE 2010.

The HMP100 Hyper Media Player will be integrated with the Poster Digital 1.0 web-based digital signage management software tool from Madrid-based engineering company, Tecnilogica Soluciones Avanzadas.

"Poster Digital 1.0 has been created with the HMP100 in mind," says Jorge Gutiérrez, MD at Tecnilogica Soluciones Avanzadas. "The failsafe Poster Digital 1.0 software is able to control most of the configuration parameters of the HMP100, as well as the content and interactive features of the HMP100 in real-time.

"An easy to use interface designed by one of Spain's leading user experience designers Jesús Gorriti ensures that basic digital signage tas

UK - The recent closure of EDC, Britain's largest optical disc manufacturing plant, has left many UK music industry professionals without an established supplier of CDs and DVDs. However, in the wake of the shut-down, a former EDC manager has founded a new business - Quick Discs Limited - which seeks to restore manufacturing capacity and to provide continuity of service to musicians, distributors and record labels across the country.

Based in Blackburn, near to EDC's original site, Quick Discs has been launched by Grant Mitchell, who had worked at the company for more than 20 years. When, earlier this year, the decision was taken to close EDC's Blackburn facility and to move all operations to Germany, Grant recognised that many UK music producers - one of the company's primary customer groups - would be left without a specialist supplier. He therefore resolved to create a new bu

UK - London entertainment technology installation experts Viba Sound has completed the installation of sound, lighting, video and CCTV for the new designer pool bar and music venue Miss Q's in west London. The use of an all-Nexo sound system allows this basement venue to co-exist happily with its residential neighbours.

Miss Q is a 420-capacity pool bar, diner and live music club/saloon in Earl's Court, west London, which adds a contemporary twist to retro 'Beat' Americana and is defined by its rock 'n' roll interior and heady mix of live music, pool, classic American diner-style food and hard liquor.

The venue is the latest venture from Nick Valentine and the first venture for Eddie Bloom, son of Jamie Bloom, former owner of the legendary Rainbow Theatre. The concept, interior and branding of Miss Q's has been created by Paul Daly Design Studio, the firm behind high-profile p

China - The Sixth World Chinese Entrepreneurs Summit in Macau was hosted at the Venetian Hotel Convention and Exhibition Centre in October with 1300 delegates representing 35 countries. The summit was collectively organised by the World Chinese Entrepreneurs Alliance, the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Bureau, China International Trade Promotion Committee and the Taiwan Business Association. The number of participants exceeded all previous years, being the largest gathering of delegates at this convention to date.

In order for all delegates to gain the messages brought by the speeches and presentations in a clear and precise way it was important that the audio system was of high quality. The dBTechnologies DVA Line Array system was provided and installed by Cyber Audio Engenharia.

Cyber bought their first DVA Line Array system more than a year ago from distributor Guangz

USA - Musical-instrument and sound-equipment innovator Peavey Electronics and software and hardware platform specialists Muse Research and Development have established "a collaborative strategic alliance" to introduce innovative new products to the global marketplace.

This partnership brings together Peavey's 45 years of research, development and VST software innovations, as well as its extensive global distribution network and manufacturing capabilities, with Muse Research and Development's technology-based product designs. By utilising each company's core competencies, the companies will bring to market innovative new products beginning with the flexible MuseBox musical instrument and effects box.

"We are very excited to establish this relationship with Muse Research and Development," said Hartley Peavey, founder and CEO of Peavey Electronics Corporation.

Sweden - Stockholm City Hall is one of Sweden's most famous buildings, not only for its National Romanticism architectural style, 10,000 pipe organ and 106m high bell tower, but also as the setting for the annual Nobel Prize banquet. Recently the building's council chamber installed an Ampetronic induction loop system to aid its hard of hearing visitors and staff.

The building's council chamber, or Rådssalen, has been the seat of Stockholm local government since 1923, with seats for 108 councillors and a balcony that can accommodate 200 members of the public.

Although the council chamber had an induction loop, it was proving very troublesome with less than adequate coverage, so Stockholm-based audio specialists Sennberg AB were asked to design and install a replacement.

"I was asked to do an analysis of the existing loop system because there had been a lot of complaint

Ireland - Dublin's National Concert Hall (An Ceoláras Náisiúnta) is the premier venue in Ireland for classical concerts and also the home of the RTE National Symphony Orchestra. Recently, its long-serving analogue Yamaha PM5000 mixing console was replaced with a digital PM5D-RH, which had to be installed in just one night.

Originally constructed for the Dublin International Exhibition of 1865, the building was converted into the central building of University College Dublin (UCD) when the National University of Ireland was founded in 1908. With UCD gradually relocating to a new campus in the 1960s, part of the building was converted to a music venue and reopened as the National Concert Hall in 1981.

Having done many years of sterling service, the replacement of the PM5000 with a PM5D also saw the addition of an LS9-16 mixing console and two SB168-ES stage boxes for the hall

Spain - The Unesco World Heritage Committee met for its 33rd session last June at the Seville Conference and Exhibition Centre, bringing together representatives from 21 countries. This is the first time that the Committee has met in Spain. Attended by 1,500 people, the event was organised to study applications from possible new locations to be included in its World Heritage List.

During the event Spanish company SAC Audiovisuales was responsible for the central HD projection covering an area of 20 x 6m, for which it used two Christie Roadster S+20K projectors.

The meeting was held in Hall 2 at the Seville Conference and Exhibition Centre, comprising an area of 7,200 m2. SAC Audiovisuales was commissioned with producing and preparing the whole event, including projection, lighting, audio, translation, video, CCTV, IT equipment, AV design.

Gonzalo Palacio, manager and partner

UK - The Pandemonium Tour by The Pet Shop Boys is the first touring show to use Britannia Row's 'new' X-Line system, which has recently been turbocharged by the implementation of EV's FIR-Drive (Finite Impulse Response Filters) technology.

[FIR-Drive is the name that EV gives to its entire range of FIR offerings, including FIR-capable processing hardware, custom FIR speaker setting files and related software.]

"The FIR-Drive products have given X-Line a new lease of life, it's like a different system," says Jerry Wing, technical head of Britannia Row Productions. "X-Line always was a good rock 'n' roll system, but the FIR filters have unleashed something that was hidden - as well as being raunchy and loud, the system now has finesse and clarity."

Brit Row debuted its FIR-enabled X-Line at the Classical Brit Awards with system designer Derri

UK - The Minotaure complex in Vendôme has bought a new Outline sound reinforcement system, comprising 12 Mini-COM.P.A.S.S. speakers and two SubTech 218 SP subwoofers, controlled by an Outline Genius 26 unit.

Located in the centre of Vendôme, the 'Le Minotaure' complex has a total area of 1,500sq.m. It hosts a 769-seat theatre hall, a multi-purpose hall (holding 400 people seated and 600 standing), several smaller meeting rooms and a naturally illuminated foyer for exhibitions. Le Minotaure was inaugurated in 2002, and has hosted numerous shows since .

The theatre hall suffered from poor acoustics. The coverage was uneven, and the stereo image unbalanced. In 2009, it was decided to replace the front of house reinforcement system.

Several systems were compared - among them, a Mini-COM.P.A.S.S. vertical line array, lent by Outline's French distributor Audio2. This system pass

South Africa - Gearhouse South Africa supplied technical production for the first Cape Town Aqua Festival, a lively three-week arts event, presented by MNet and produced by Hunta Live, that featured a series of world class performances by local and international artists. This took place on a purpose-built floating stage moored in the North Wharf area of the busy port's Victoria & Albert harbour.

The 2000 capacity seating stand - supplied by Havaseat (a Gearhouse company) - was on dry land. The three weeks of the event spanned the peak festive holiday season, and included the resident AquaCircus, a special daily performance devised by Zip-Zap, a local circus school dedicated to developing the skills and potential of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Other highlights included the H2Opera, AquaJazz, AquaBallet and concerts by a wide range of artists

Nigeria - The Experience, a non-denominational gospel music concert in Lagos, has grown to become by far the largest music event in Africa. A Woodstock-sized throng estimated at 450,000 jammed into the Tafawa Balewa Square and spilled over into an adjacent cricket field for a spiritual celebration featuring 14 American and Nigerian gospel artists, including headliners Kirk Franklin, Phil Driscoll, and Bebe and Cece Winans.

The event's ongoing sound system supplier, GQ Acoustics of Lagos, pampered the enlarged crowd this year with an expanded Meyer Sound system that had been boosted with more Milo line array loudspeakers and 700-HP subwoofers, plus a new complement of problem-solving JM-1P arrayable loudspeakers.

"The main venue is an open quadrangle about 170m across, with the stage on one long side, grandstands opposite, and three-story pavilions on the short side

USA - Prism Sound and SADiE and PMC are sponsoring The Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing's third annual Grammy Week event, to be held at the Village Recording Studios in West Los Angeles. Set for Wednesday 27 January 2010, this event honours excellence in music, audio, and the professionals who work behind the scenes to create great recordings.

As part of 2010 Grammy Week, the P&E Wing will be celebrating the music of Island Records and its founder Chris Blackwell, whose vision and commitment brought to the world the music of artists such as Desmond Dekker and the Aces, Nick Drake, Melissa Etheridge, Grace Jones, Bob Marley, Roxy Music, Cat Stevens, Toots and the Maytals, U2, Steve Winwood, and many others.

The event, entitled Catch a Fire is named for Bob Marley's first album, which is a 2010 inductee into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Honorary chairs for the eve

The Netherlands - Mojo Barriers brought 2009 to a close with three different public events in three cities across Holland, delivering tailored crowd barrier systems to each one.

New Year's Eve celebrations in Rotterdam and Amsterdam and a Christmas charity event in Groningen brought together tens of thousands of people in each city with each presenting different challenges for crowd safety. International barrier company Mojo Barriers worked with production companies on each events to supply tailored barrier systems to ensure each event was safe.

For the double New Year's Eve events Mojo Barriers used two teams to work in both Rotterdam and Amsterdam. In Rotterdam a floating stage on the canal hosted a music concert and The Production Factory commissioned Mojo Barriers to install 750m of barrier along the canal bank. 20,000 people attended and the Mojo team used their experienc

UAE - On 4 January 2010, the opening ceremony of the tallest tower in the world took place in Dubai. The recently renamed Khalifa tower is 828m and boasts 162 floors. Defying the technical challenges associated with such a construction, EMAAR Group revealed to the world its expertise in building engineering.

With such a building, the associated opening ceremony had to be as impressive as the tower itself. Dubai based Prisme International was selected to organise the complete event. Prisme designed a lighting set based on more than 300 Space Cannon, spread all around the building, and also installed on 17 terraces.

Prisme International has worked for several years with France-based Sonoss, French dealer of Luminex equipment. Following a request from Prisme, Sonoss and Luminex supplied a complete network solution to transport all lighting datas, all over the ground level, and in

USA - There has been a lot of TV coverage recently concerning the Dallas Cowboys giant video displays at their new stadium in Arlington. The $40m, four-sided, high-definition Diamond Vision video board, which is built by Mitsubishi Electric, uses 22,000 TDK-Lambda ZWS power supplies to light the 25 million Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) needed to create the image on the screen.

As part of the team's move from their previous home in Irving, the recently opened $1.1bn stadium sports a retractable roof from which the world's largest HDTV screens hang. The four panels, which together weigh 600 metric tons (600,000kg), are suspended approximately 30m above midfield. The sideline panel stretches from one 20-yard line to the other and measures 21.76 x 48.32m; it has just been recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest High Definition (HD) video screen.

Alr

UK - Software developer Stardraw.com has appointed audio visual technology distribution specialists RGB Communications as the exclusive distribution channel for their design/documentation and control products throughout the UK and Eire. The agreement is effective from 1 January 2010.

According to Stardraw.com marketing director Rob Robinson, the move represents an exciting step forward. "RGB Communications is a company that specialises in providing solutions, not just products and, having formerly distributed some very well-known control brands for the best part of two decades, what they don't know about control systems isn't worth knowing.

"We are extremely flattered that, after careful deliberation and extensive product evaluation, RGB Communications has concluded that Stardraw Control 2010 is the right platform on which to provide the next generation of control so

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