USA - Blues System's North American debut at USITT, Phoenix was a great success, according to the company. The product range, manufactured in the UK by Global Design Solutions and specifically designed for backstage lighting applications in the working theatre, won the PLASA 2006 Innovations Award at its European launch last year and Blues System has already been installed at various venues in Europe.

TMB has been appointed the exclusive distributor for Blues System in the Americas, Asia and the Middle East. Said Chris Curran, TMB's architectural sales director: "Blues System is truly one of those 'why didn't I think of that?' new products. It solves many backstage lighting problems as well as offering options that were previously impractical. We were almost overwhelmed by the positive response at USITT and also by the various possible new applications that arose during con

Germany - ProLight + Sound will see a comprehensive range of Rosco products on its distributor Lightpower's stand and with partner CAST (C.Adolph & RST Distribution). The two companies will be showing different product lines with Lightpower focusing on Rosco's range of filters and CAST concentrating on projection.

Lightpower will show a selection of products including Permacolor, ChromaSleeve and E-Colour as well as the newly re-certified B1 for Supergel - still the most widely used colour filter.

Permacolor dichroic glass filters are specifically designed not to fade or shift colour. Rosco's manufacturing process also allows for precise batch to batch colour consistency. Permacolor filters are available in 24 colours and five standard sizes on durable borafloat glass 1.1mm, 1.75mm or 3.3mm thick. They can be custom cut in any size up to 342.9mm in diameter.

ChromaSleeve is

USA - APT will introduce its new coding technology apt-X Live, to US Broadcasters at this year's NAB show in Las Vegas. "apt-X Live sets a new benchmark of audio quality, low latency and error resilience," explains APT's commercial director, Jon McClintock. "The industry is demanding ever greater bandwidth efficiency and we sought to provide a solution which meets these demands without compromising on the core competencies associated with apt-X."

apt-X Live has already proven its audio quality in a series of independent listening tests where participants were unable to discern any difference between 24bit, 48kHz PCM Audio and apt-X Live, says the company. Shure Inc has signed a licensing agreement to incorporate the technology into its wireless live performance products.

(Jim Evans)

Sweden - The 2007 W-DMX product catalogue is now available for download at the Wireless Solution website www.wirelessdmx.com. The company will also have full colour print editions at Prolight & Sound in Frankfurt.

The new catalogue features the entire W-DMX Generation 3 line, the newest feature-packed product range for Wireless DMX. Generation 3 includes new and improved features such as easy overview of signal strength and battery power, plus full implementation of DMX over Ethernet.

(Jim Evans)

UK / German - Adding to its highly acclaimed S-4000 Digital Snake System, Roland Systems Group is announcing the S-1608/0816 Digital Snake System in a fixed 16x8 configuration. Based on the same 24 bit/ 96kHz low-latency REAC protocol used in the S-4000, the new S-1608/0816 features 16+8 high-quality, remote-controllable microphone inputs and 8+16 returns over a standard Cat 5e cable.

Consisting of the S-1608 Stage and S-0816 FOH units, the S-1608/0816 Digital Snake System is ideal for bands, rental/staging houses, and venues such as Houses of Worship and Theatres. It can also be used in conjunction with an S-4000 Modular Digital Snake System to create a 48-input, 16-return high quality digital snake. When used in pairs or multiples, the S-1608/0816 Digital Snake System can be used for extremely flexible split-stage or stage zone set-ups.

Designed to deliver the highest qualit

UK - 3M has announced the release of a new version of its leading digital signage software product, 3M Digital Signage Software - Network Edition (NE) version 3.5. The Network Edition 3.5 release builds on existing capabilities for scheduling playlists of multimedia files to play out on any screen anywhere in the world. It includes the introduction of new server-class software products that allow end-users to host their own network servers, expanded and enhanced Active Information Modules, enhanced network management functions, and augmented security features.

Highlights include 3M Digital Signage - Full Server, which enables end-users to host their own networks and enables full Network Edition functionality behind users' firewalls, internationalisation capabilities for multi-language support, and an application programme interface (API) that facilitates seamless integration bet

Germany - MA Lighting has expanded its grandMA range with a new member - the grandMA pico. The new console is specifically designed for the use in theatres and is similar to the grandMA micro. The hardware of the new console however has been optimised for the needs of theatres.

Similar to the bigger consoles of the grandMA range, a number-pad, a Go-plus, a Go-minus and a pause key are all present. One colour touch screen display, five manual faders, five physical playback buttons (on 128 pages), 1,024 DMX channels and free visualisation software make the grandMA pico the perfect introductory console, says the company.

Additionally it is also possible to connect one remote and up to four grandMA video stations. The console utilises the same syntax, windows and menus as the larger consoles. The new desk will be on show at ProLight + Sound in Frankfurt.

(Jim Evans)

Germany - Visual Productions, the makers of VisualDMX and Matrix Mania! will be presenting the Canvix dedicated Matrix Server at ProLight + Sound.

Visual Productions has "decided to allow their future generation of lighting control software to be led by the current market developments in lighting: namely LED technology". Canvix has been designed for the exclusive use with LED matrixes.

Working with the established hardware available from Visual Productions, Canvix tackles the control of matrixes with "a unique concept": instead of controlling the LEDs individually, Canvix bundles together all fixtures to form one whole canvas; a 2-dimensional area on which effects and graphics can be applied. This powerful approach allows for sophisticated video-alike visuals, as well as fast pixel painting for the easy creation of graphics, says the company.

By reusing c

Germany - Sunlite is showing a broad spread of its products at ProLight + Sound and reports that all the company's software products are 100% compatible with the new Microsoft operating system, Windows VISTA. All software have been successfully tested and work perfectly on this system, says Sunlite.

"As it is expected, all of our software will take advantage of the new Windows VISTA features in the future. Our engineers are already working on new releases that use these features, which will be launched throughout the year," adds the company.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Audio Codec Specialists, APT will unveil the latest addition to their new WorldCast IP Codec Range at this year's NAB. The WorldCast Eclipse is a multi-interface, multi-algorithm audio codec for a new age of broadcasting. It offers a professional and sophisticated platform for broadcasters interested in migration to IP, says APT.

The WorldCast Eclipse offers Ethernet, X.21/V.35 and ISDN ports providing access to a wide range of networks such as IP, Leased Line, Satellite, Microwave and Dial-up. Broadcasters can also choose from a selection of major coding algorithms such as Standard and Enhanced apt-X, MPEG 1/2 Layer II/III, MPEG 4 AAC, G.711 and G.722.All WorldCast codecs support SIP and SDP protocols which enable them to easily connect to all compliant IP codecs. All are designed around a DSP-based architecture to ensure reliability and avoid the instability associated w

USA - Zaxcom is now shipping the ZFR800 handheld digital recording microphone, a system optimised for use in radio interviews, broadcast journalism, podcasting, and any voice-recording application that "requires mobility and superior sound quality".

The ZFR800 records up to eight hours of uncompressed audio on a removable 2-GB memory card. An integrated time-code receiver allows users to jam time code and sync multiple ZFR800 units remotely. Featuring a professional look and feel, the ZFR800 provides an ergonomic, camouflaged control pad for easy one-handed control of all record functions. It can be used with any Shure screw-on capsule, giving users their preferred sonic quality, says the company.

"We're very pleased to be shipping our ZFR800 system and to better meet the needs of today's audio professional," said Glenn Sanders, president of Zaxcom. "T

Germany - High End Systems chose ProLight + Sound in Frankfurt to launch the newest member of the Wholehog family: the Road Hog, billed as a new breed of lighting console designed for speed and affordability.

Brad Schiller, HES Director of control systems development, says, "The Road Hog console has been developed as a lower cost alternative, allowing a wide range of users to experience the benefits of the Wholehog operating software. Its compact size and fast operating speed provide a sleek package that will fit nicely into various markets including corporate events, houses of worship, smaller touring shows and rental applications. We are pleased to strengthen the Wholehog family with another superb lighting console."

The Road Hog console provides 2048 DMX channels of control, offering fast performance speed. Two internal touch screens display data and allow quick a

Ireland - Abaltat reports that Abaltat Beat, a new software solution that works as both a beat calculator and a stand-alone rhythm machine, is now available for download from the company's website. This new picture analysis tool will be showcased at NAB2007.

Abaltat Beat reads and analyses the cut picture's edit decision list (EDL) using comparative analysis of beats-per-minute (BPM) and the edited rate of the picture to suggest a series of best-possible fits. This BPM can be played back in sync with the picture using a series of drum patterns included in Abaltat Beat. The time signature and tempo of the drum patterns can be adjusted (from 3/4 to 4/4, for example) to allow for a complete recalculation of the drum track to evaluate suitability of the music style to the edited video.

Abaltat Beat can export these results to a midi file, so the project can easily be sent to a mus

Germany - This week's ProLight + Sound in Frankfurt saw the release of Liquid Mix V2.0, a new software release for Liquid Mix, Focusrite's DSP-powered dynamic convolution mix solution, delivering 32 channels of EQ and Compression simultaneously

The new software release will be available for free to download early in April 2007 and delivers a number of improvements over the original software. The new release makes Liquid Mix a no-brainer for producers and engineers wanting classic vintage processing, but with the flexibility of the digital world, says the company.

Liquid Mix v2.0 now features an EQ side-chain on the compressor, providing an additional one-band EQ to be fed into the side-chain of any classic compressor emulation. Combined with the existing 'Listen' feature, this provides a solution for high quality de-essing and more creative compression.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Providing security integrators with an easier way to order full-featured enclosures optimised for today's most advanced network (NVR) and digital video recorders (DVR), Middle Atlantic Products introduced its new line of Configured NVR/DVR enclosures at ISC West 2007. Each Configured NVR/DVR enclosure is optimised with Middle Atlantic Products' most commonly requested thermal, cable and power management solutions and can be ordered using a single part number, allowing integrators to take advantage of significant cost, freight and labour savings, says the company.

The new Configured NVR/DVR enclosures are specifically designed to address the cable and thermal management needs of NVRs and DVRs. Each enclosure ships with Middle Atlantic Products' solutions for the essentials of any fully-integrated enclosure system.

"Now, instead of having to pick and choose from our c

Germany - Steinberg Media Technologies launched a new entry-level music studio at ProLight + Sound in Frankfurt this week. Sequel features studio-grade technologies within a "one-window" user interface that promises to "open up music creation and performance to anyone with a computer", and requires no knowledge of music or recording to produce great-sounding songs and mixes in just a few minutes, says the company.

"Sequel is a brand-new and exciting way to experience making music on a computer," states Arnd Kaiser, senior product manager for music technology at Steinberg. "Combining intuitive tools to record, edit, mix and perform music with great-sounding loops, instruments and effects, Sequel is the perfect first step into music production and performance."

(Jim Evans)

USA - Crown International's entire line of DSi Series amplifiers dedicated for use in cinema sound systems is now fully 'THX Approved'. The DSi Series joins Crown's current CTs Series and Macro-Tech 02 Series in being recognised by THX as amplifier ranges thoroughly tested and deemed appropriate for use in THX Certified Cinemas.

"The DSi Series marks a true turning point in the advancement of THX approved cinema audio systems as it is the first digitally integrated cinema amplifier that includes the DSP necessary for all loudspeaker processing requirements," says Stephen Morris, Crown director of marketing for cinema, touring and installed sound. "An abundance of crossover features are built into the DSi Series and each amplifier includes 20 presets, 15 of which are perfectly matched with JBL Professional's ScreenArray systems."

DSi Series amplifiers incorp

Spain - Barcelona dealer, Media Waves, has been steadily selling the Chromatec Q-Split into the Spanish market. Q-Split, the quad-quad split, combines up to four SDI video sources into one video output, and also allows source and aspect ratio switching. Additionally, it includes video alarm functions. The 1U rack frame can accommodate up to four quad splitters.

Jean Pierre Delaunay at Media Waves observes, "It's very interesting how different customers have applied this product. In one instance a customer is using it to increase the number of sources available to their multiviewer. Another customer uses the DVI-I output to feed cost effective TFT screens in non-critical areas, thus reducing their spending on SDI video monitors."

Michael Stevens & Partners sales manager, Simon Adamson, explains, "When designing Q-Split we wanted to make a highly space-efficient a

Italy / USA - An agreement has been signed between Columbus McKinnon in the US and Litec in Italy for the creation of a new line of electric chain hoists and for a cooperation in some R&D areas. Columbus McKinnon is the main worldwide producer of chain hoists for entertainment use. Litec, with its division EXE, is committed to developing new technologies applied to structures of the whole hoist and staging movement world.

According to Craig Johnston and Giuliano Luvisotto, managing directors of Columbus McKinnon and Litec respectively, the collaboration between the two companies will have an important strategic meaning in the development of their own products.

The first concrete result of this cooperation is the realization of an electric chain hoist, which is entirely BGV-C1 compliant. The new product will carry the EXE-Lodestar logo and will be distributed by Litec sales net

Germany - Philips Electronics announced a number of new product developments at ProLight + Sound in Frankfurt.

Philips has enlarged the MSR product range with Philips MSR Gold 700 FastFit and Philips Hi-Brite 750 FastFit. This rear load lamp base system has been codeveloped with Bender & Wirth. The benefit of this new lamp concept is not only a fast lamp replacement due to the unique lamp and lamp holder design, it also includes an increased brightness, provides the opportunity to reduce fixture size and weight, assures reliability due to pinch protection technology and has an excellent colour quality, says the company.

The new Philips Ceramic ST 500HR has a colour temperature of 3200K, "excellent" colour characteristics and homogeneous beam intensity. Light output of the Ceramic ST 500HR equals the light output of a Halogen 2000W light source.

In co-development wi

Germany - As a direct result of the trend toward simplification in public address installations Klotz Digital has developed substantial innovations to its Varizone digital Public Address and Voice Evacuation system. The Munich based company introduced its new VAB-Line at the ProLight & Sound 2007 in Frankfurt.

VAB-Line is based on the new components VAB1 Controller (Voice Evacuation, Announcement, Background Music Controller) and I-PAM (Integrated Programmable Amplifier Module). The VAB-Line has been particularly developed for small and mid-sized applications, such as hotels, schools, hospitals, office buildings, department stores and other commercial applications of the same size.

VAB1 is the main component and core of a simplified plug & play Varizone solution. It handles up to 51 inputs and 32 outputs providing the opportunity to play-out 32 different channels, thereof 8 pe

USA - The creation of high quality 3D images has "just got simpler", thanks to a new product launched by rendering experts ARTVPS. The introduction of RayBox means that, for the first time, leading 3D rendering technology is readily accessible to visual artists and designers looking to get more from 3D image creation. The compact and powerful rendering solution brings outstanding rendering performance direct to the desktop - faster and better than any other solution available on the market, says the company.

Brian Tyler, CEO of ARTVPS, said: "It is an exciting time for us. RayBox supports all the standard features of Autodesk's leading 3D applications, 3ds Max and Maya, ensuring quick and easy integration into any studio. A simple plug-in interface provides access to ARTVPS' physically-based rendering environment, which delivers real-world lighting, an advanced ma

UK - Allen & Heath has introduced a fourth control surface to the iLive digital mixing console system, joining the existing iLive-122, iLive-144 and iLive-176. The new iLive-80 is the smallest in the range of control surfaces, designed for smaller applications such as theatres, churches and touring bands.

Providing 80 control strips grouped in two sections, each with four banks, there is an LCD display with multicolour backlight above each fader for labelling and colour-coding channel information. The channel controls for preamp, filter and EQ are laid out across the top of the surface on rotary controls with LED indicators, while a colour LCD touch screen presents a graphical view of the processing and access to gates, compressors, limiter/de-essers, graphic EQ's and effects, as well as the automation and set up screens. Audio at the surface is available on four slots accommoda

USA - Elation Professional has launched a new control solution for LEDs and DMX systems used in permanent architectural and entertainment installations. Designed to mount unobtrusively on the wall, the trim, compact AR-32 Architectural DMX Recorder/Playback System can produce professional-quality light shows downloaded from any standard DMX 512 controller, says Elation.

Using the AR-32, operators can now run all of their DMX-compatible lights from one easy-to-operate unit. The system comes factory-programmed for LED fixtures operating in 3-channel or RGB mode, and it can also control automated moving lights and DMX-compatible dimmers and power packs.

Capable of recording and playback in real time, the AR-32 has the ability to record show fade and hold times directly from the DMX controller. Users can programme complex fades and specify multiple cue points in exacting detail us

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