UK / UAE - SES Entertainment Services, based near London, has appointed the newly formed RFW Trading LLC as its sole UAE distributor for its extensive range of power distribution products.

RFW, owned and managed by Fragille Wade, formerly of Dubai-based Protec, has tied up with SES to sell its products to an already extensive client base in the region.

Fragille Wade commented: "Having worked with SES's products for many years, I was pleased to be able to represent them in the region and supply a market that has an insatiable appetite for quality distribution equipment. There has been a significant gap in the market here for some time which we hope to be able to fill with a wide range of Power Products which we will hold in stock at our new warehouse in Dubai. We will be adding to our product range over the coming months and will be a one stop shop for the production and e

UK - G-LEC Phantom30 frames have been used for an interactive art exhibition at the National Railway Museum in York. For the installation, media artists KMA formed a bridge-like structure across the roof of the exhibition space using 13 2m x 2m screens, each of which comprised four G-LEC Phantom30 frames.

Artist Tom Wexler explains: "It was the railways which first created the need for standardised time across the country, so we came up the idea of an exhibition based on time, place and distance. We placed the 13 screens across the curved roof of the hall, with a thermal imaging camera at each end. The cameras captured people's movement and a few seconds of each person was looped. This was then shown on each screen in turn until the two people's images met in the middle.

"We specified the G-LEC transparent frames because we didn't want the screens to be too 'heavy' o

UK - Orbital Sound reports strong sales to the UK club scene, including new systems to London's 229 Club in Great Portland Street, and Brighton's Concorde 2. In London, 229 Club has invested in a substantial new sound system, designed around d&b audioteknik's Q1 line array complemented by Digidesign's recently launched SC48 mixing console, for its 620-capacity main room. In Brighton, Concorde 2 has extended its top-end sound system with the addition of the compact Digidesign Venue Mix Rack System, comprising the Venue Profile console and all-in-one Venue Mix Rack processing and I/O component.

Since opening in 2007, 229 has established itself as one of the UK's leading small to medium-sized venues, attracting acts such as Primal Scream, Keane, Gnarls Barkley and Razorlight. 229 came to Orbital Sound in early 2009, looking for a high quality and reliable sound system that delivere

USA - The National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky selected JBL loudspeakers for an upgrade to the Museum's Chevrolet Theatre. Exceptional Sound designed and installed the new system, providing the theatre with a 5.1 surround sound system complete with nine JBL loudspeakers.

Exceptional Sound has been using JBL loudspeakers for years and the company's past experience led it to select a series of two AM6200/64 and one AL6115 loudspeaker, with four AM6215s for front LR and rear LR and two ASB6128 subwoofers under the stage. The five-day installation provided the Chevrolet Theatre with "a flawless surround sound system".

"The JBL speakers proved to be the perfect solutions for this project," said Laran Philpott, owner of Exceptional Sound. "Each speaker allowed us to place them either vertically or horizontally depending on the space requiremen

Slovenia - Cvetli?arna Mediapark. located in the heart of the downtown area of Ljubljana is the most popular small/medium concert facility in the area. Featuring every musical style from hip hop, rock, heavy metal, and pop to a wide range of house and disco DJ's, Cvetli?arna Mediapark has a long history of hosting concerts and other entertainment events. Recently, the club upgraded its sound reinforcement system to better serve its customers and the acts that perform there. They opted for a sizeable system from the Aero Series 2 and Avant catalogues of D.A.S. Audio.

Litija, Slovenia-based MK Light Sound was contracted to handle the installation of the new sound system. Manager Mice Karov comments: "Cvetli?arna Mediapark has a capacity of 650 people. The venue is 21m long by 24m wide, with a ceiling height of about 5m and a permanent stage area. With crowds of this size, we

UK - Clear Vision Systems, supplier of installation tools and equipment for home cinemas and AV installations, announces the availability of the EZ-Snapjack, a professional, self-terminating, snap-on jack for Cat 5 and Cat 6 cabling. The jack can be fitted instantly, without a punchdown tool, making for less work and a more accurate termination and connection.

The reusable, time saving EZ-Snapjack is suitable for new or retrofit commercial network and home automation installations. With the EZ-Snapjack there is no need for eight punchdowns and the installer can repair damaged jacks on the spot.

A colour-coded wire guide is included to ensure that the conductors remain in place until the connector is snapped closed by hand to complete the connection. An adapter is available to allow the EZ-Snapjack to fit standard Euromod outlet plates.

"The EZ-Snapjack is an ideal addit

UK - Following the recent decision by Allen & Heath to alter the colour scheme of its Xone DJ range, leading London nightclub, Matter, has installed a new storm grey Xone:92 in its main DJ booth.

"The Xone:92 is an iconic product, one that I have been working with it for years. It has never let me down, despite having been in the hands of some really tough DJs," explains Matter's head of sound, Roberto Pieroni. "Although very familiar, all the controls on the new colour 92 appear easier to find thanks to a clearer layout and design; for example, the booth level can be more easily distinguished from the mix level. As ever, the sound quality is impeccable."

The colour change is purely cosmetic, and there are no alterations to the Xone range's design or performance. "The best thing about Matter's new Xone:92 is that the new colour perfectly matches our Te

Ateis UK is playing a major part in the expansion and refurbishment of ExCel London, a leading European exhibition and conference centre. As part of this important project Ateis is supplying audio processing and control technology for the public address (PA) and voice alarm (VA) systems used around the rooms and halls.

ExCel opened in Docklands in 2000, attracting international conferences and exhibitions due to its proximity to the City of London and rail and Underground links to the West End, with London City Airport not far away. After nearly ten years in the competitive venues market ExCel's owners decided to redevelop the original building and add more halls and rooms.

PA and VA systems are necessary in both areas, so Ateis UK was involved by Notifier by Honeywell and their customer installation company Unysystems to supply equipment and advice. Phase One of the project was comp

UK - Combining an emergency voice alarm system with digital audio PA, paging and BGM functionality, the new VM-3000 Series from TOA brings new levels of flexibility to the deployment of PA/VA in small to medium-sized commercial projects, all at an affordable price, the company says.

The VM-3000 offers a range of emergency functions, including built-in voice alarm and continuous speaker line monitoring without interruption of BGM distribution or paging announcements. All audio is digitally processed and controlled, resulting in PA broadcasting, paging and BGM delivery of consistently high sound quality and intelligibility.

The system is controlled by a choice of two System Amplifiers, and can be expanded using up to nine VM Extension Amplifiers, each of which offers six assignable speaker zone outputs to give a maximum of 60 speaker zones, each with its own programmable volume

Georgia - The Ambassador Hotel in Tbilisi has selected Traxon Technologies' LED lighting systems to create an iridescent atmosphere for its hotel's exterior, emphasizing the characteristics of its architectural design. The intention of the lighting project was originally devised by Georgian President Saakasjvili, creating an eye-catching skyline around the presidential palace of Georgia. The Ambassador Hotel is located directly opposite the palace.

The entire lighting design concept is defined by lighting design company Gelania. The entire facade is illuminated with LED lighting - 66 sets of Traxon Outdoor RGB Dot Strings serve to highlight the building edges, making it change colour continuously.

The installation company Tbilisi City Hall states: "We are happy with the Dot String, It is flexible, and also the connection system made our job easier during the installation.

Cape Verde Islands - Systems integrator IVC Media has announced it has been contracted to design and build a centralised AV, IT, resort security and access control management infrastructure using the latest fibre technology for the new luxury Tortuga Beach Resort & Spa in the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of West Africa.

Owned by The Resort Group, Tortuga Beach Resort & Spa will consist of a variety of bars and restaurants, pools and relaxation areas, a beach club, gymnasium, shops, 52 villas, 306 apartments, 14 hotel suites and a Sol Meliá brand Yhi spa. The resort will be operated by Sol Meliá. The £1.1m IVC network will provide multiple services to the resort including fast internet access, multi-channel high definition TV capabilities, video on demand, telephony, fire detection, door entry systems and CCTV all controlled by a remotely monitored, centralised manage

France - Anolis ArcSource Outdoor 36 RGB lighting fixtures have been installed in a 'winter garden' feature in the atrium at the newly refurbished and re-opened College Lucie Aubrac in Dunkerque, France - one of the country's first HQE colleges.

Haute Qualité Environnementale (High Quality Environmental) is the standard for green building in France, based on the principles of sustainable development first set out at the 1992 Earth Summit. The standard is controlled by the Paris based Association pour la Haute Qualité Environnementale.

The garden was an integral part of architect Wallyn Sézille Eurl's vision for the re-build, and lighting it enables the space to be enjoyed after dark in addition to bringing an exciting new dynamic to the space. Naturally they wanted to use LEDs for all the energy saving and environmentally friendly properties - low power an

UK - Installation contractor Matthew Dilley of About Sound had more than English Heritage and the Diocesan Council to contend with when fitting the new JBL CBT (Constant Beamwidth Technology) columns to St Benet's Church in Cambridge - the oldest church in the city.

In the event, the installer turned the situation to his advantage. "We welcome challenges and restrictions such as this," he stated. "I derive no satisfaction in trashing historic buildings. But what you don't want to see is a pulpit ahead of where you want to place your speakers."

Angela Tilby, vicar of the Anglican Franciscan Church and well-known broadcaster, had long been aware of the shortcomings of the old omni-directional system. It was when she was appearing as guest preacher at nearby St. John's, where About Sound had installed a webcast system, that she remarked on how refreshing it wa

Palestine - The only movie theatre in the West Bank town of Jenin has been closed since 1987. Now Ismail Khatib of Jenin and German documentary filmmaker Marcus Vetter plan to bring Jenin's cinema back to life.

Ismail Khatib and Marcus Vetter were inspired to take on the mission of refurbishing Jenin's historic cinematheque during the making of Vetter's documentary The Heart of Jenin. The film received the Cinema for Peace Award for Most Valuable Documentary of 2009.

Renovations are scheduled for completion in the spring of 2010. Gerriets, the theatrical equipment company, is donating materials. In August the theatre will host the city's first international film festival, which a number of prominent guests, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Mikhail Ghorbachev, and Roger Waters have already agreed to attend.

(Jim Evans)

China - Scarlet is no ordinary dance club; an unexpected juxtaposition of Spanish Colonial interior design as context to contemporary dance music. Scarlet is rightfully attracting the young and trendy of Shuzhou in ever growing numbers. Located in one of the most beautiful cities of Jiangsu Province on China's east coast, Shuzhou as a city is no stranger to fabulous architecture; its labyrinth of canals, stone bridges and pagodas rightly earned it the soubriquet 'the Venice of China'.

That's Spain, Italy and China in one breath, so perhaps we shouldn't be surprised to find Germany added to the mix, for when it came to audio, Feng Pan of Nanjing Li Te Mei Technology Co, Ltd recommended loudspeakers from d&b audiotechnik. "There is a recent tradition in China for dance clubs to install enormous PA systems," explained Pan, "much bigger than is needed. The owners of S

UAE - The Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world's tallest building, features Tannoy's of in-ceiling and in-wall loudspeakers integrated throughout the vast structure, on almost every single one of its 160 habitable floors.Over 5,000 of the Scotland-based speaker manufacturer's CMS Series in-ceiling loudspeakers have been installed, along with over 1,000 IW Series in-wall speakers.

The majority of the in-ceiling loudspeakers installed were CMS 501PI, which benefit from being supplied with a separate pre-install back can. These zinc plated, fully wired back cans are designed to be pre-installed into newly constructed, non-suspended ceilings leaving the product to be inserted at the final system commissioning stage of the install. This makes them particularly suited to large scale, potentially complicated new-build developments such as the Burj Khalifa, where the contractor needs to get

Italy - The Teatro Comunale di Bologna has some new players on its stage this year: Clay Paky Alpha Washes and Alpha Profiles.

The Teatro Comunale di Bologna was designed in the 17th century by Antonio Galli da Bibbiena, and was the first opera house to be built with public funds and hired out by the city council. Its bell-shaped auditorium consists of four tiers of boxes with a royal box and gallery. During its history, it has put on works by practically all the major composers, including Rossini, Puccini, Verdi, Wagner, Mozart and Donizetti.

Around the end of 2009, the lighting department managers / lighting designers Daniele Naldi and Andrea Oliva felt the need for a larger number of lights. Once they received the go-ahead and fixed budget from the Bologna city council, they turned to the major motorised spotlight manufacturers.

The Clay Paky Sales Manager for Italy Renat

UK - The Ashwin Street Christmas Street Party was part of a £750,000 London Development Agency funded project to revitalise parts of central Dalston. Organised by project architects MUF and J&L Gibbons - the event brought together local youth, community, performing arts, visual arts and creative industry organisations to create a snapshot of how the presently run-down area could be.

Arcola Theatre provided 18 PixelRange Micro Es and eight 50w birdies for the architectural lighting of the Colourworks and Print House buildings designed by Haberdashery London.

Arcola Theatre's David Salter reports, "The Micros were perfect for this event and produced the desired effect with ease. The event required a small unit that was easy to transport and discrete to install. The Micros benefit from an integrated power supply, silent operation and very low 31 watt power consu

USA - American Zoetrope, the film studio created and used by filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola since 1970, recently completed the mix of Sofia Coppola's upcoming film Somewhereusing their new Meyer Sound Cinema Experience monitoring system. This same system was used to mix Mr. Coppola's 2009 release of Tetro.

"I'm very impressed with the effortless power and clarity of sound of the Meyer Sound cinema system," says Francis Ford Coppola. "If only every theatre had a system like this, they would have the same remarkable experience I have on my stage."

The Meyer Sound Cinema Experience system, based on the Acheron screen channel loudspeakers, which has been installed in Zoetrope's mixing stage, is part of a complete, integrated cinema sound line that enables sound designers and mixers to achieve unprecedented range and clarity of sound - and for audi

Norway - The Norsk Film Institute (NFI) in Oslo is the axle upon which the Norwegian film industry revolves. And with over 2000 screenings a year in its Oslo premises, roughly half of which are previews of major international releases for press and cinema owners, having quality vision and sound facilities are a fundamental requirement. It is with this in mind that the NFI has recently installed the first of Alcons' new Cinema Ribbon Monitor Systems (CRMS).

The NFI's Lillebil Room (named after the famous Norwegian actress Lillebil Ibsen) is a 68 capacity screening facility, where a constant series of daytime previews and evening showings keeps its equipment and staff busy.

"The sound has to be fantastic because of the status of the NFI," says the facility's Jan Olsen. "I had been aware of the Alcons pro-ribbon technology for some time and was eager to try somethi

UK - Small businesses are hoping to beat the recession by stepping up their sales and marketing strategies, a new survey has revealed. After cutting operating costs to the bare minimum, many smaller firms are hiring sales staff, improving their websites and boosting marketing activities in an effort to tackle tough trading conditions.

Research carried out by the not-for-profit Forum of Private Business (FPB) also found that business owners expect their efforts will pay off. More than half (56%) of those surveyed expect to increase their turnover in 2010 and 44% believe their business will grow.

The findings are the first of the FPB's new 'economy watch' panel - a body of more than 350 members who are sharing their experiences as the economy heads away from recession. The panel is designed to provide an accurate and timely reflection of what small businesses are experiencing on

UK - In an extensive upgrade programme at Glyndebourne Opera House, Stage Electrics has equipped the world renowned Opera House with an ETC dimmer and control installation, and Avolites dimmers for the company's annual touring programme.

The existing dimmer, lighting control and highly customized working lights installation, commissioned in 1994, was approaching the end of its reliable life and a radical change was required.

The move also saw the first UK installation of ETC's new lower amperage Sensor dimmer modules with a 10A MCB, allowing the original low-diameter wiring installation to be reused.

Glyndebourne's technical team, with head of lighting Keith Benson, recognised that with spares and support likely to become unavailable, and the system generally ageing, it was time for a complete upgrade. Stage Electrics' technical project manager Nick Broad says, "We prop

UK - Nike chose the dramatic setting of Battersea Power Station for their 2010 Innovation Summit and Stage One was chosen - as the event's scenic supplier. Brought in by experiential and event management agency, Slice Events, Stage One were asked to provide the internal fit out for The Boiler House, a temporary venue installed within the power station.

This high profile event, launching Nike's new Mercurial Vapor Superfly II boot and the new National Team jerseys, required Stage One to work very closely with Slice, Patrick Donohue, Slice Events' design co-ordinator and the Nike design team, to deliver a themed environment in keeping with Nike's iconic brand.

"This project evolved greatly during the design and build process and we worked closely with the design team to accommodate any changes and offer practical construction solutions - demonstrating our can-do attitude an

UK - Llanelli- based PAI has completed the installation of a sound and lighting scheme for the new University of Wales Institute Cardiff (UWIC) Student Union building, located at the Cyncoed Campus, north Cardiff.

PAI has enjoyed a trading relationship with UWIC for many years, and its relationship with the SU's general manager Mike Davies dates back to the early 1990s, when he was running the main university of Wales Student Union building in central Cardiff.

The new bar and social area - called Centro - is an essential hub of the new building. PAI was approached to come up with ideas for the technical elements required for the two levelled multi-purpose space, which has a capacity of up to 400 people and includes a bar, lounge, dining and performance areas.

They needed a solution that would work for both day and night time usage and be capable of accommodating a variety of

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