UK - The Welsh weather may have thrown its worst at proceedings, but spirits at The Ryder Cup 2010 were certainly not dampened, with Colin Montgomerie's Team Europe swinging their way to victory on the greens and fairways of The Celtic Manor's course. Providing support to the tournament, audiovisual services company Creative Technology (CT) deployed the technology for its match play relay requirements, including a number of Lighthouse Technologies' Rn7-ER LED screens.

A centrepiece of the on-course visual facilities was the 18th Studio screen. This comprised 20 (w) x 8 (h) panels (20.32m x 6.08m) of Lighthouse Rn7-ER 7mm outdoor enhanced resolution LED screen hung off and below the Sky TV studio. Visible from both the club house and the main hospitality area, this screen, along with two Rn7-ER IMAG screens measuring 6 (w) x 5 (h) panels (6.096m x 3.81m) each, was utilised for bo

Switzerland - As the Basel Tattoo's celebrated its fifth anniversary this year, it also marked the fifth time that the event has used TiMax delay-matrix processing and showcontrol software to make the marching players' audio localise to their movements on stage and also fix potential musical timing problems presented by the large scale of the arena.

An import of the famed Edinburgh pageant which also uses TiMax, the Basel Tattoo is staged outdoors in front of the 18th century Kaserne Hof barracks next to the Rhine. Various collections of marching or dancing performers are spread out over a 70m by 25m parade arena surrounded by audience seating on three sides.

Swiss sound designer Thomas Strebel this year specified a TiMax2 SoundHubR32 which received MIDI preset control and twelve groups of MADI audio from a Soundcraft Vi6 console, comprised of over 32 radio mics plus CD and ha

France - APG reports that TH Audio, a major rental company in the south-west of France, has invested in heavily in APG with the purchase of a complete Uniline compact line array system and associated hardware as well as a DMS26 digital loudspeaker processor and the optional network cards.

The move is part of a significant expansion for the Mont de Marsan-based pro audio specialists, who, in addition to the Uniline system, have also invested in a new Eclipse digital mixing console from Innovason, new outboard equipment AND new premises.

"It's fair to say that our feet have barely touched the ground these last few months," said TH Audio's Thierry Avignon. "However, we've also been incredibly successful, so we're not complaining!" The summer season has seen shows with noted French artists such as Jacques Higelin and San Severino, as well as Jamaican reggae art

UAE - Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, the world's largest indoor theme park, opened its doors to the public on 4 November. It features more than 20 rides and attractions beneath its iconic 200,000 m² red roof.

Unusual Rigging & Engineering were involved in two particular projects at Ferrari World, one outside Galleria Ferrari, where three different red Ferraris have pride of place, hung on platforms on the walls as works of art. Placement was critical, requiring not just detailed measurements, but also a system that would enable careful manoeuvring for the final placement of the platforms.

Unusual's project manager, Leon Ingram, devised a hoist system which comprised a run of square truss and a runner beam carrying two hoists for each platform, thus enabling fine adjustments to be made both laterally and vertically.

The bare platforms were first offered to the wall and positioned

Poland - The Chopin Museum in Warsaw has been completely re-invented by the Italian architectural partnership of Ico Migliore and Mara Servetto.

"From a technological point of view, this was our most ambitious project yet," says Servetto. "We knew that we wanted to integrate all the sounds, visuals and interactive technologies together, but we also wanted to do it in a way that offered a very human experience."

On entering the exhibits, each visitor is given a unique RFID card which allows them to personalise their experience, interact with the various displays, and ask questions of the museum's electronic data archive. There is no set order in which the exhibits should be viewed; on the contrary, visitors are encouraged to choose their own route, with the RFID code sensing their location every step of the way. Each room relates to a different aspect or era

The Netherlands - Now in its 26th year, the Night of the Proms European Tour, kicked off at the Antwerp Sportpaleis. Lighting design by Geert Vanhout, set off by ShowTex stage curtains, tracks, and motion systems have been key ingredients since NOTP's beginnings and this year's edition is no exception. 15,000 fans on the opening night of NOTP 2010 attest to that.

A new twist on the classic string or cord curtain, are the custom ShowTex Spaghetti projection 'screens'. A total of five of these double layered flexible stage curtains each measuring 8.5m high x 5m wide feature as projection surfaces with a 3D element. The projected images not only appear sharp and lively from any location in the venue, but also allow freedom of movement through the string curtains and images.

Also supplied by ShowTex is the black Molton 15m x 50m backdrop to performances by NOTP 2010 stars Grace Jo

UK - Visitors to the press launch of designer Paul Smith's Spring and Summer 2011 collection in London were treated to a high-definition display on a video wall made up of nine 60-inch Sharp LFD panels. The display utilized Sharp's PN-V601 professional LCD panel with an ultra-thin bezel just 6.5mm wide, giving viewers a 180" wall of high-definition content to observe.

Paul Smith used four of the screens to showcase backstage footage from their new spring/summer 2011 catwalk collections for men and women . The remaining five screens played exclusive short films made by Sir Paul himself, including one of him riding with the Rapha Condor Sharp pro-cycling team. The versatility of the video wall allowed for six different films to be displayed at once creating "a fully immersive viewing experience".

Sir Paul Smith commented, "We are looking to work more and more

Russia - Some 62 miles to the west of the Urals, in the federal district of the Volga, lies the city of Ufa, capital of the Russian republic of Bashkortostan. The largest Russian Orthodox church in the city is around 100 years old and capable of accommodating congregations of up to 1,500. The building has a colourful history, having functioned, variously, as a prison, an aircraft workshop, and a cinema in the course of the communist period.

Now the church has been renovated from the ground up and equipped with a new sound system from Electro-Voice. One of the most awkward factors for the acoustic engineers here was the reverberation time, with RT60 beneath the central dome extending to several seconds, severely compromising intelligibility. However, Ufa-based First Install Company, confident in the assistance of Electro-Voice's Russian partner Ruton S, was undaunted by the chall

Ireland - Pearl AV is the first customer to snap up the new V-1600HD Live Video Switcher from the Roland Systems Group. Pearl's new unit went out to work on the day it arrived, and, within weeks, has become an integral element of the company's HD platform.

"Our visuals department are delighted to welcome the V-1600 to our HD product range," says Pearl's MD and founder Frank White. "The mixer integrates perfectly with our existing HD projection stocks; we were the first company in Ireland to purchase HD 18K lumen projectors, and now, with the V-1600HD, we can offer true HD vision mixing seamlessly from source right through to our hi-brite screens."

TheYouth Citizenship Awards, produced as a TV programme starring guest performers Jedward, provided a solid test for the V-1600HD in its first few weeks. Pearl's production team, led by technical director Paul Cav

UK - POLARaudio has announced that with immediate effect it has been appointed exclusive distributor in the UK and Ireland for CobraNet interface provider Attero Tech.

Indiana-based Attero Tech LLC designs and manufactures a range of in-wall CobraNet input and output interfaces that allow integrators to provide clients with cost effective solutions in distributed audio systems. Attero Tech's range of microphone/line level input and output panels offer robust connection to CobraNet networks and are designed to work together or with third party manufacturers devices.

Polar audio's technical director Jon Dew-Stanley commented, "Polar Audio is delighted to represent Attero Tech in the UK and Ireland, the products complement many of our current brands such as XTA, MC2, Australian Monitor and Biamp, assisting us to provide and design UK integrators with intelligent and cost eff

USA - After more than 40 years together ZZ Top continue to tour worldwide. In 2010 they continued the long tradition of Bandit Lites, also 40 plus years old, as their illumination supplier. Tour manager Pablo Gamboa, production manager Rob Kern and long time lighting designer Chris Stuba all worked with Bandit VP Michael Golden through the year to "deliver Texas to the world".

Stuba's design involves VL 3000 Spots, VL 3500 Washes, VL 2500 Spots, MAC 2000 Washes, Atomic Strobes, Color Blasts and Grand MA consoles. Bandit Jeff Archibeque travels the world keeping continuity to Stuba's crew, wherever the show may be.

(Jim Evans)

India - Allen & Heath's Indian distributor, Sun Infonet, recently completed a series of training sessions in three key locations - Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Calcutta - targeting customers who are ready to move from traditional analogue to digital solutions.

"I thought there was a very good knowledge of digital and IT solutions, and several engineers who had operated competitor digital consoles were keen to come and compare their experiences," comments Allen & Heath product manager, Leon Phillips.

The seminars were split into three areas - ZED, GL and iLive/iDR - attracting over 100 attendees selected from Sun Infonet's customer base comprising live PA owner/operators, dealerships and installation contractors with broadcast experience.

"Digital mixing is in its infancy in India," says Sun Infonet's director, Neeraj Chandra. "However, enthusiasm is high

Switzerland / UK - The members of Take That are lending their support to Hear the World, alongside more than 40 high -profile celebrities, helping to raise awareness about the importance of hearing and the consequences of hearing loss.

With the original line-up recently reunited, following the return of Robbie Williams, the hugely successful pop group are the latest names to support Hear the World, a global initiative launched by hearing system manufacturer Phonak, and will join stars like Jude Law, Elle Macpherson, Annie Lennox, Sting and Peter Gabriel.

As part of their support, each celebrity has been photographed by musician and campaign photographer Bryan Adams holding the Hear the World pose - with one hand cupped behind their ear to convey conscious hearing.

"Hearing is something that we rely on every day, even more so being musicians. To lend our support to this

Italy / Denmark - At a press conference in central London last night, RCF Group's Arturo Vicari introduced Peter Johansen as the new head of R&D at Italian lighting manufacturer SGM. The founder of Martin Professional, Johansen returns to the lighting industry after an absence of more than a decade. Based in Aarhus, Denmark, and joined by eight of his former R&D team, Johansen will oversee parallel development of a series of conventional discharge moving lights and LED fixtures.

The Dane says he had no intention of re-entering the lighting industry once his 10-year non-compete contract had expired; however, after meeting Arturo Vicari, managing director of the RCF Group (of which SGM is a part), the deal was struck. "I could see they would be great guys to work with - but I only agreed to join SGM on the understanding that I could get my old team back," said Johansen.

USA - The world's first installation of the Meyer Sound MINA line array loudspeaker is to be found in the Tupelo Music Hall in White River Junction, Vt., a live concert venue which opened in early October.

"The sound in the room is incredible, really," says Tupelo Music Hall owner Scott Hayward. "For example, last night Marc Cohn was trading licks with his guitar player and it was astonishing the detail you could hear. It was like being on the stage no matter where you were in the room."

Connecting audiences with music is the founding purpose of Tupelo Music Hall, a 4,000sq.ft space inside a former railway freight depot. New acoustically treated walls and original hardwood flooring enclose a space devoted to the ultimate experience of live music.

"For rooms like this, Meyer Sound absolutely nailed it with MINA," states Scott Tkachuk, system desi

USA - Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla. launched a bold new educational initiative earlier this summer with the opening of Full Sail Live, a 22,000sq.ft multi-use performance venue. At the heart of the facility's technology is a flexible, 65-cabinet Meyer Sound reinforcement system that can be reconfigured for concert, spoken word presentations, or cinema and multimedia surround applications.

For director of audio programmes Dana Roun, the selection of a Meyer Sound system was driven by a careful balance of technological and educational considerations. "The audio system had to be second-to-none in performance and versatility," he notes. "We had to satisfy every imaginable scenario, from full-tilt, high SPL concerts to precise acoustic music, plus guest speakers, surround visual presentations, and theatre in the round. The Meyer Sound system certainly deliv

UK - The drpgroup has realised its challenge to complete 30 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects in its 30th anniversary year. The business has also managed to implement 30 environmental improvements to its activities, benefiting both the company and the clients it works with. The drpgroup launched 30 separate challenges of each kind at the beginning of 2010 with the 30 CSR projects and 30 environmental improvements the driving force behind the whole 30th anniversary initiative. The aim was to complete all the '30s' by January 2011, but the team have delivered on the challenges with months to spare, says the company.

The 30 CSR projects were completed following the sponsorship of and participation in the annual Springboard Awards for Excellence due to take place this November. Throughout the year the drpvideo team has slept rough to raise awareness of homelessness for

USA - The Texas Rangers hauled in a massive Daktronics mobile LED display and hosted a fan-appreciation rally just days after losing the 2010 World Series to the San Francisco Giants.

The video displays, provided by GoVision , Daktronics rental partner, were at the centre of the celebration, offering hundreds of fans in attendance a larger-than-life view of the participating players and coaches, as well as highlights from the season.

GoVision brought in three huge mobile screens for the festivities, including its massive 19' x 33' 'GoBigger' unit - the world's largest mobile LED screen, featuring Daktronics HD-16 LED video technology. The company also brought its 9' x16' GoBig and 9' x 12' GoTron units, to make sure every fan had a front-row-worthy view of the celebration.

"Like everyone else across North Texas, we were riveted by the Rangers' postseason run, and absolu

Singapore - Robe and Anolis lighting fixtures have been specified and installed into three separate busy clubs in Orchard Tower, 400 Orchard Road, a well known landmark on the Singaporean night scene for those who enjoy serious pole dancing and drinking culture.

The three clubs - Queens, Crazy Horse and Top 5 Disco - all owned by Helen Yap, have all recently had their lighting upgraded to keep pace with the latest technology. This has been specified by technical manager Dave Rock who has been involved with various venues in Orchard Towers for the last 25 years.

In Crazy Horse, Yap specifically wanted the dancefloor illuminated, so Rock looked at the options and received some demos, including from Louis Teo of Lighting & Sound Distribution, the local Robe and Anolis distributor. He wanted a quality, energy efficient lightsource that would produce rich deep colours, and chose An

USA - Since its inception, the Woodruff Arts Centre in Atlanta has grown into one of the most dynamic centres for the visual and performing arts in the South. Today the centre includes the Alliance Theatre, High Museum of Art, Young Audiences, 14th Street Playhouse and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. The Alliance Theatre, now in its 42nd season, is nationally acclaimed and the recipient of the 2007 Regional Theatre Tony Award.

Clay Benning, resident sound designer for the past 11 years uses Dante Virtual Soundcard and a Dante-MY16-AUD card for productions on the Alliance Stage and on the smaller Hertz Stage. Using the Dante Virtual Soundcard he can now bypass a FireWire connection, using Ethernet instead, which future-proofs the solution and in turn saves money in the long run.

The Alliance's setup includes an Apple Mac Mini, running DVS and Figure 53's Qlab v2 software, and t

Panama - The Rommel Fernandez Stadium in Panama City is considered the most technologically advanced stadium in Central America. Seating 32,000 spectators for soccer games and other sports and live events, the recently-opened stadium boasts a wide-array of professional AV equipment to enhance the consumer experience.

Technomad supplied 35 Noho C loudspeakers as part of a multi-zone audio system designed and installed by systems integration firm Extended GM of Panama City.

The goal, according to Hernan Gonzalez O'Farrill, president of Extended GM, was to design a robust, user-friendly audio system that offered various coverage options for full or partial sound reinforcement depending on the event. O'Farrill and his team conducted a venue-wide analysis in advance of equipment selection, collecting the necessary calculations to ensure uniform sound through the venue.

"We n

Europe - Rock band Supertramp has embarked on the Supertramp 70-10 European tour to celebrate its 40th anniversary. The band is performing greatest hits from 11 studio albums with the help of an L-Acoustics K1 line source system, provided by German rental company and Rental Network Agent Sirius Showequipment.

The L-Acoustics system consists of 24 K1 boxes with eight K1-SB subs, 36 V-DOSC and 12 dV-DOSC cabinets,18 SB28 subs and a stage monitor system of 115XT HiQs, all driven by LA amplified controllers in 14 LA-RAKs. Such a versatile system means that the configuration can change depending on the requirements of the venues hosting the tour's 35 concerts.

For example, at the Olympia Halle in Munich, 12 K1s and four K1-SBs were flown per side, with three dV-DOSCs beneath each for down-fill. The system also included two hangs of six SB28s, an additional six SB28s as groun

China - DiGiCo mixing consoles are currently enjoying increasing success in China. Following on from their key role in the opening of the iconic Canton Tower, further DiGiCo mixers are making an impression elsewhere in the country.

Situated in Guangzhou, the same city as the Canton Tower, the Intown Live House is a live music venue and bar which hosts a wide range of music. Rightway Audio - DiGiCo's China distributor, who used an SD8 and SD9 on the Canton Tower opening ceremony - introduced the venue's owner, Pan Zhibing, to the DiGiCo SD9.

"It's a special venue and we paid great attention to the design of the audio system," says Rightway Audio's Stanley He. "Mr Pan used to work in the audio industry and so knew what he wanted from the system. The console had to be powerful and flexible, but also very compact. He immediately knew that the SD9 was the right choic

USA - Family Church of the Southern Tier, located in Jamestown, NY, recently moved from its original, small sanctuary to a new worship hall. For the new facility, the church chose Turner Specialty Contractors to install an entirely new audio, video and lighting system featuring an Aviom Pro16 Digital Snake and A-16II Personal Mixers.

A presentation by the local Aviom sales rep from McFadden Sales sold Randall Turner, owner of Turner Specialty Contractors, on the Aviom Pro16 digital snake and A-16II Personal Mixers, which he purchased for Family Church of the Southern Tier and is considering for other projects. The speedy installation of the snake, ease of use of the personal mixers, and overall reliability of the entire system also made a positive impression on him.

"The Aviom Pro16 digital snake is a very trustworthy system," says Turner. "The best part is, the

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