UK - Within the last quarter, Blitz reports that it has invested over £1m in new video, sound and graphics equipment. On the video front, its projection fleet has been significantly extended by the addition of four Panasonic 20K units, three Panasonic D211OXE units and two Barco W8 units, together with a variety of lenses to suit different environments. Additional new video hardware includes 28 video scan converters, 20 Marshall and HAA monitors, and a range of DVI equipment.

The Audio department has added a range of loudspeakers, including 30 d&b E6 units, and a number of QLab playback systems.

The Graphics department has upgraded its fleet through two HD3000 Clarity systems, two Hyper X3.1 Chryon upgrades and 40 channels of Watchout V5.

Paul Hutton, managing director at Blitz, commented, "This investment will ensure we can deliver the very best on a whole host o

PLASA, the leading entertainment technology trade association, has issued the following statement in the wake of the tragic incident in Toronto on Saturday.

"PLASA extends its deepest sympathies to the family of Scott Johnson and our fervent hopes for the speedy recovery of those who were injured in the stage collapse in Toronto over the weekend.

"It has been the mission of PLASA's Technical Standards Program since its inception in 1994 to make the industry a safer place to work through the development of Technical Standards. As part of that program, ANSI E1.21 - 2006, Temporary Ground-Supported Overhead Structures Used To Cover Stage Areas and Support Equipment in the Production of Outdoor Entertainment Events was first released in 2006.

"Since the tragic accident in Indianapolis last summer, PLASA has focused on making the industry and governmental authoriti

Australia - Allen & Heath has appointed a new Xone distributor in Australia. The award-winning range of Xone DJ mixers, DJ controllers and DJ headphones will be exclusively distributed by the Hills SVL Group.

Don McConnell, audio division manager for the Hills SVL Group, commented, "We are delighted to be involved with the Xone team. They offer some truly innovative products and it's obvious that the developers are passionate about the DJ market and the needs of both professional and up and coming DJs. We look forward to a long and successful relationship."

"By joining forces with a partner that shares our passion for fabulous sounding products and truly great service, our alliance with Hills SVL will continue to build Xone's reputation in Australia," comments A&H regional sales manager, Bardy Hayes.

(Jim Evans)

UK - A new service offering the AV industry a method to trade used, rental and ex-demo equipment in Europe has officially launched. Nearly New AV is to concentrate on both the buying and selling of used audio visual equipment.

This service is designed to give manufacturers, rental companies, integrators and end users the chance to access used AV equipment at much reduced prices than compared to brand new stock, as well as also offering a vehicle for them to sell off underutilised and older products also.

Nearly New AV's business manager Stuart Johnson explained, "This initiative has been designed with the aim of supplying a growing market for high quality used AV equipment; helping rental companies supplement their fleets and save money by investing in those products that they use the most.

"Installation companies will now have top of the range used equipment readi

UK - Sennheiser UK has announced that, from 1 June 2012, it will be the official distributor for Avalon Design products in the UK and Ireland.

Used in many of the world's top recording studios, Avalon products include rackmount pre-amplifiers, channel strips, equalisers, compressors and DIs, employing pure Class A circuits to deliver detailed analogue sound.

As well as featuring on albums by some of the world's leading artists, the distinctive silver front panels and oval Vu meters of Avalon processors are a familiar sight in the racks of front of house engineers, adding a high quality touch of analogue warmth to both vocals and instruments for a wide range of touring acts.

"Avalon and Sennheiser share a common vision in striving to be the benchmark for audio excellence," says Paul Nunnington, Sennheiser UK product manager. "Avalon preamps in particular are th

USA - As the curtain rises on the 2012 season of Shakespeare in the Park at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, Masque Sound, a leading theatrical sound reinforcement, installation and design company, is celebrating its 50th anniversary of providing audio equipment and services to the theatre for one of New York City's most beloved traditions.

Shakespeare in the Park moved to its permanent home at the Delacorte Theater in 1962 and since then, New York natives and visitors alike have enjoyed free Shakespeare performances each summer season. The majestic, open-air theater has a seating capacity of 1,800, and each season more than 100,000 people attend performances produced by The Public Theatre.

"Masque Sound has enjoyed a long and successful relationship with The Public and Delacorte theaters and their summer productions of Shakespeare in the Park," says Den

UK - The 2012 edition of JHS's legendary annual trade Event came to a close on Wednesday 13 June and is being hailed as a resounding success.

The hands-on MI and Pro-Audio trade show saw attendees from across the industry turn out to see, hear and test out new product, pick up some deals, watch artists play, mingle with a number of industry stalwarts, and go home with extra profits.

The two marquees, the demonstration theatres and outside areas were bustling throughout, and visitors were entertained by music across three live stages, with electric sets played by the likes of Oliver/ Dawson Saxon, Jerry Donahue, John Verity, virtuoso acoustic offerings from the legendary Gordon Giltrap and

Raymond Burley, and a quirky Stylophone performances from Youtube sensation Brett Domino.

A stack of new products were on display, including the latest mixers, powered and passive speaker

UK - Lighting designer Lucy Carter has used Philips Selecon's new PLCYC1 LED luminaires to create an evocative environmental design for the Royal Opera House's production of Max Richter's new chamber opera, Sum.

The world premiere was staged in the Royal Opera House's Linbury Studio, Covent Garden. Set inside a specially built room the audience and performers were arranged on four sides of a centrally located sunken orchestra pit. The room, comprising four high walls each of which feature a built in video screen, are washed throughout with various colours to denote the changing mood and atmosphere of each story.

Carter chose to use sixteen of the newly launched PLCYC1 LED luminaires, supplied by Stage Electrics, to define the mood of each piece as she explains: "I needed a fixture that could give me multiple colour choices, wash the walls and the room but not deman

USA - Attero Tech, an AV networking specialist, and Audinatehave announced today that Attero Tech is now an official Audinate Authorized Implementer for Dante technology.

"The adoption of Dante technology has been accelerating rapidly in the market and we have more and more requests from OEMs to integrate Dante into their products" say Mike Sims, director of marketing and sales of Attero Tech. "Adding Dante to our portfolio of networked solutions will enable us to offer our customers a Dante solution today, while providing a seamless migration path to AVB."

"Attero Tech has a reputation for it quality and experience in the AV networking industry, as they are clearly recognized as the leading CobraNet implementer for the past six years," states Lee Ellison, Audinate' s CEO. "The combined knowledge of our two companies will help facilitate our

Germany - As a premium manufacturer of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems, Sennheiser is intensifying its global commitment to fighting product piracy. The clear focus of all measures is the protection of both customer and brand.

"Customers are being deceived in a criminal way with counterfeit products. With the clear intent to defraud low grade products are being sold as 'branded' products," explains Volker Bartels, of the executive management board. "The sound quality of the counterfeit versions falls far short of the strict quality standards of genuine Sennheiser products. Furthermore, because these fake products do not undergo any of the stringent quality checks of the genuine articles, damage to the user's hearing may potentially be an issue."

In future, Sennheiser product-packaging and the products themselves will be protected w

South Africa - dBTechnologies has announced the appointment of Viva Afrika Sound & Light (Pty) Ltd as the exclusive distributor for all product lines in the territory of sub-Sahara Africa.

Director Bernhard Pienaar comments, "dBTechnologies fit in perfectly with our company vision - to offer high quality loudspeakers at competitive pricing to the South African market. Viva Afrika and its team are looking forward to a long and fruitful relationship with dBTechnologies."

Bernard Pienaar and co-owner Luis Madiera set up the company over 20 years ago in which time it has grown to distribute a range of professional audio products including amplifiers, mixers, signal processors as well as loudspeakers and loudspeaker systems.

Gianluca Dalessandro, dBTechnologies export area manager was instrumental in securing the agreement. He says, "Bernard and Luis are two great

UK - A record attendance was posted for the 34th ABTT Theatre Show on its move to the Old Truman Brewery venue in East London.

Over the two days of the event nearly 2,000 visited the show - up five per cent on 2011 - previously itself a record year. There had been early indications that the ABTT Theatre Show's move to the Old Truman Brewery would encourage visitors this year, and the final statistics indicated the highest attendance ever, say the organizers.

Already buoyed by record pre-registrations (up 6% on the previous record level), the organisers were "delighted" with the visitor turnout. The show also fully sold out all exhibitor space. A number of visitors had travelled from Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and the USA as well as those from all parts of the UK and Europe.

Running alongside this year's Theatre Show, which included a wide range of exhibitors

UK - Parc Eirias is a newly developed £6.5m multi-purpose venue for community, cultural and sporting events in Colwyn Bay, North Wales. Opened in November 2011, Parc Eirias is a cornerstone of the regeneration plans for the area. The large indoor centre includes conference and classroom facilities for business and commerce events, an indoor training ground, gym, high performance sports analysis facilities and an international standard pitch.

The site incorporates two grandstands offering covered seating for up to 2580 people and terracing for a further 3500, a hi-tech TV broadcast room, two commentator boxes and nine multi-purpose units which are used for conferencing and hospitality on match days. The venue recently put on its first major events, hosting the Six Nations under 20's tournament home matches and the Olympic torch relay celebrations.

Leading integrator Marti

USA - Robe moving lights were chosen by lighting designer Alex Blagg for the recent Alison Krauss & Union Station (AKUS) US tour, which saw the multiple Grammy Award winning bluegrass and country singer/songwriter play 3000 - 7000 seater venues and festivals across the US.

Lighting equipment was supplied by Knoxville, Tennessee based TERI Productions and co-ordinated for them by Brad White. Blagg has worked with AKUS for around ten years, and his creative starting point for this design was the fact that Krauss likes a very intimate atmosphere onstage which is conducive to her music and style of delivery.

The call was for subtle texturing and colouring of the environment, with different layers of illumination which could be added to or stripped back to the look of the performance space as necessary.

The set consisted of a set of black velvet drapes and white sharkstooth gauze

UK - Centrepiece of the recent spectacular celebrations for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in London, UK, was a massive concert staged just in front of Buckingham Palace around the Queen Victoria Monument, which was lit by Durham Marenghi and broadcast live worldwide on the BBC.

Six grandMA2 consoles and over 200 Clay Paky moving lights were utilised in programming and lighting this part of the event, which included a stellar line up of UK artists and performers.

Marenghi specified Clay Paky moving lights for the stage, while his associate LD and lead programmer Tim Routledge chose two grandMA2 full-size consoles (live and tracking backup) to control all the stage lighting on the night.

grandMA2 control was picked for its flexibility and stability - it is the preferred control platform of both Marenghi and Routledge - and has proven itself time and again on major events like th

USA - Visitors to Nashville this 12-14 July, will have access to two simultaneous business events. Summer NAMM (www.namm.org/summer/2012) and PLASA Focus: Nashville (www.plasafocus.com/nashville) have arranged for attendees to easily gain access to both events with just one badge, and at no extra cost.

PLASA Focus: Nashville 2012 is one in a series of regional events that cater to those who supply and use technologies and services to the event, entertainment and installation industries. The Nashville edition was purposefully planned to take place leading up to, and during, Nashville's premier music products show, Summer NAMM. The cooperation between the two shows will bring professional lighting and live sound exhibits to Nashville, alongside NAMM's hugely successful trade show.

Summer NAMM brings together over 400 musical instruments and products with buyers from around the w

Switzerland - Above the clear waters of Lake Geneva, in the small village resort of Caux overlooking Montreux, the locally-nicknamed 'Cinderella's Castle' hosts an annual series of conferences hosted by CAUX-Initiatives of Change.

An independent officially recognised Swiss foundation, the body works to promote peace, prevent conflicts, build trust and encourage intercultural dialogue and ethical conduct in business. CAUX-Initiatives of Change is a member of Initiatives of Change International, an NGO in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations and participatory status at the Council of Europe.

Their summer seminars in Caux draw people from all over the world, in what was until 1946 the grand Caux-Palace Hotel. A magnificent and peaceful setting, but one whose acoustic legacy has proved a major downside for its current use.

UK - Currently the majority of Tallescope users are finding it difficult to comply with the Work at Height Regulations 2005, as they do not have an effective method of rescuing a person who becomes incapacitated in the raised basket.

A number of groups have been looking at this problem recently, to try to find a solution; generally, these have relied upon using fixtures and fittings in the lighting grid, so would only be applicable in theatres having those items.

Aluminium Access Products (AAP) recently asked for a meeting with the Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and outlined two possible methods for such a rescue. Both methods require adjustments/additions to the Tallescope but, once applied, can remain fitted during storage and use, so will always be there should they be required. Crucially, neither method relies on

Slovakia - The 2012 Miss Universe Slovak Republic was staged at the National Tennis Centre in Bratislava, and saw an aesthetic departure from previous years with a stripped back, streamlined, high-tech look onstage with multiple LED walls and panels and a shrinking perfective set.

Martin Kubánka was once again the lighting designer - his fourteenth year of Miss Universe SK! The lighting equipment included a substantial Robe moving light rig - supplied by Q-99, Slovakia's leading technical production and rental operation.

Kubánka was given an open brief as to how to light the show. He used Daniel Šichman's raw, stripped back set as the visual starting point, complimenting it's clear linear cuts and shapes with a futuristic styled lighting rig to match.

The set and all the high brightness LED elements also had an impact on how the show was lit. Bright lightsources were need

Australia - Channel 9 productions Today Show, Mornings and A Current Affair have recently moved into their larger Studio 22 at the Sydney Channel 9 premises to share the studio with Wide World of Sport, Sunday Footy Show, Australia's Funniest Home Video, The Footy Show plus other shows. This studio can produce between up to nine hours of live television seven days a week so with this in mind, the decision was made to upgrade of the studio control room.

As well as a new vision switcher, production area and studio floor upgrade, the studio control room now houses a new MA Lighting system comprising of two grandMA2 light consoles, a MA NPU (Network Processing Unit), a MA onPC command wing and a grandMA2 fader wing. The installation was completed in only a few weeks and training was given for those in the lighting department who had n

UK - Chroma-Q Color Force 72 RGBA LED battens were specified by award winning lighting designer Paule Constable for the new Cameron Mackintosh UK and Ireland touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of The Opera.

Paule's prolific design portfolio includes creating lit environments for the highest profile international theatre and opera productions, and her work is renowned worldwide for its experimentation, invention and creativity.

She had not used Color Force products before, but sought a powerful, well sized lightsource that could be utilised as an even spread 'soft light' tool to illuminate the numerous cloths and drapes that give Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber's classic musical its period flavour and ambience.

Paule was impressed with the information available about the Chroma-Q Color Force range, so initially contacted Chroma-Q's exclu

USA - In order to keep the ETCP examinations fresh and current, the Subject Matter Experts have written new questions for the Theatre Rigging examination. ETCP is set to launch these questions 1 September, 2012.

To gather the statistical data necessary to properly score the exam, it is essential that as many theatre riggers as possible are tested during the month of September. To further this initiative, the test administration fee of $675 for groups of 10 or more will be waived for the month of September. Candidate application fees will still apply and score reports will be delayed during this time.

A new test form was also created for Arena Rigging and will be launched 1 July. Registered candidates and those interested in applying can assist in gathering data for these exams by testing at one of the 190 computer-based testing centres during that month.

ETCP will send a pro

USA - Lighting professionals and retailers can get a firsthand look at Elation's latest products in the company's new 'real life settings' showroom during a special open house and 'road show' stop on Wednesday 18 July. The open house, which runs from 11 am to 4 pm for dealers and 4 pm to 8 pm for end users, features hands on demonstrations, programmed light shows, free swag and give-away raffles for some of Elation's leading products.

Since the open house will be held in Elation's new showroom, visitors will have the opportunity to see the company's lighting and video products in realistic settings that mirror real world applications. The recently completed showroom has a full stage setting as well as a simulated broadcast studio and architectural display featuring our sister company Acclaim lighting products.

"Our new showroom has been designed to allow visitors to see h

France - Hire company Concept Audio has joined the growing list of Adamson's Energia beta partners. In addition to their new acquisition, the long-time Adamson partner also carries Y18s, Y10s, T21 Subs, SpekTrix and M15 monitors in their inventory.

Pierrick Burgin and Hugues Mongrand are founders and the managing directors of Concept Audio. "The Y18 did not disappoint, our techs and customers were in heaven", comments Burgin recalling the early days of line arrays. As Adamson started to make the new Energia system's details public, Concept Audio kept in close contact with Adamson's French distributors DV2, about becoming a member of the Energia Network. Recently Concept Audio had the opportunity to join Project Energia and jumped at the chance.

The first Concept gig with the E15 system was Spring Fest promoted by FM Radio Allouette, taking place outdoors for a

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