USA - Intelix has announced the release of the DIGI-VGASD-8X8e, a professional-grade switcher which combines Intelix's twisted pair extender technology with a comprehensive audio/video matrix.

The DIGI-VGASD-8X8e provides eight analogue VGA video inputs and eight stereo audio inputs which are distributed in any combination to eight twisted pair outputs. In addition, the matrix interlaces bi-directional RS232 and IR commands onto the same twisted pair cable, thereby allowing the remote control of the audio-visual destinations connected to the matrix. All of the video, audio, and control signals are transmitted up to 1,000 feet over unshielded twisted pair cable, such as Cat 5 and Cat 6.

The matrix supports resolutions up to 1920x1080, features true hi-fidelity audio, and is compatible with third-party control systems.

The DIGI-VGASD-8X8e is designed for digital signage, educa

UK - Cooper Controls has announced Software Version 2.5 of the LightFactory PC based lighting control software.

Version 2.5 adds considerable power to the product with a number of major enhancements, including streaming ACN support and the ability to assign colour filters to channels for easy reference.

Cue lists can now run in LTP (default), build or HTP mode; Chase and matrix (LED) effects can now run on LTP (default), Build, HTP or Inhibit mode. The track sheet supports full editing of any channel in any cue.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Harman Professional Systems Development and Integration Group (SDIG) has introduced HiQnet System Architect Version 2.3. In doing so, SDIG significantly improves the performance, functionality and user interface of System Architect, which, according to Adam Holladay, senior market manager, Harman Professional Systems Development and Integration Group, makes System Architect more useful, more effective and more efficient.

"SDIG is singularly committed to improving HiQnet System Architect on every criteria at every opportunity," Holladay says. "We regularly examine the user experience, the performance engine and hardware integration and we religiously seek out new ways to improve each. With version 2.3, our base of 30,000 registered HiQnet users will see advances in the look and feel of the software, the speed and efficiency of the software and operational fun

Sweden - LumenRadio has announced that it will commence regular shipments of the award winning CRMX Nova Flex products. A new version of the control software, SuperNova 1.2.0, has ben released at the same time to enable all the features of the Flex product line.

CRMX Nova Flex won the PLASA Award for Innovation 2010 with a revolutionary new approach combining protocol conversion and wireless signal distribution; allowing easy cross-use of equipment from multiple manufacturers.

"The interest in and demand for CRMX Nova Flex after winning the PLASA Award for Innovation have been huge; far exceeding our expectations," says Anders Ardstål, VPO at LumenRadio. "By the time we wrapped up beta testing, every beta tester wanted to keep their systems and we also had a very long list of orders from excited distributors and dealers. We are rapidly ramping production to mee

Switzerland - SpinetiX has announced that it is now shipping its Fusion content management software and HMP200 Hyper Media Player.

Fusion is SpinetiX's new digital signage software application designed to dramatically simplify the implementation of small-scale signage projects. Now installed within every SpinetiX HMP Hyper Media Player, Fusion allows content to be managed via a web browser interface and can therefore be accessed either locally or remotely using a PC, Mac, Linux or iPad platform or indeed any combination of these. Once connection to the Player has been achieved, content can be uploaded, edited and published with minimal technical skill and in record time.

"In the world of digital signage, small-scale and single-location rollouts are very different from one another," says Serge Konter, marketing manager, SpinetiX. "Our objective with Fusion was to

Spain - The eighth Annual Produccion Profesional & Produccion Audio Awards took place at the IFEMA Trade Fair in Madrid last month. At the event, the Philips Vari-Lite VLX Wash luminaire was honoured with the 'Best Product for Lighting and/or Scenery' award, and Vari-Lite authorized sales dealer EES was on-hand to accept the award on behalf of Philips Vari-Lite.

"We were thrilled when we were told the VLX Wash had been chosen as a finalist, but when we heard it had actually won the award, we were exhilarated," said Nacho Acha-Orbea, president of EES. "We are delighted to know that both the lighting industry and voting jury members are as enthusiastic about the VLX Wash as we are. With no doubt this was a memorable night and it was our sincere pleasure to accept the award on behalf of Philips Vari-Lite."

"We could not be happier with the outstand

France - The recent JTSE show in Paris was the occasion for loudspeaker manufacturer APG to introduce their concept of what has been termed the 'Uniline Solution'. The Uniline compact line array system is the flagship product of APG's new generation product range which also includes the SMX15 monitor speaker and the new DX Series compact, low profile multipurpose loudspeakers.

APG's managing director, Gregory Dapsanse comments, "The Uniline Solution is a comprehensive, multi-layered network that we have put in place to optimise the exploitation of Uniline in the marketplace."

At the first level, it comprises rental companies who already own a Unline system and who are APG-certified Uniline users. The second level is rental companies who don't own a system themselves, but are nevertheless certified Uniline users who can sub-hire a Uniline system whenever necessary. T

USA - At the NAMM Show in Anaheim in January, Sennheiser is presenting the new MK 4, a large-diaphragm true condenser microphone. This cardioid microphone, which is manufactured in Germany, is Sennheiser's first large-diaphragm side-address microphone and focuses on giving the best possible sound quality rather than technical extravagance, says the company.

The MK 4 with its nickel-coloured finish was developed for professional users in project studios, but is equally well suited for other recording environments and is tough enough for use on stage, adds the company.

"In the development of the MK 4, we invested every euro in getting the best possible sound," says product manager Sebastian Schmitz, "and we focused on the key elements of a good studio microphone to ensure that we can offer the MK 4 to our customers at an attractive price."

The MK 4 has a la

USA - The Lycian 1250KB has gone into production following a "highly successful" unveiling at the LDI show in October.

The 1250KB, utilising an 80 volt 1200 watt Philips Fast Fit tungsten lamp as its light source is by far, the brightest non-discharge followspot Lycian has ever produced. Although originally designed for studio use, the 1250KB has theatrical applications due to its high output. The consistent 3250°K colour temperature and flicker free beam makes the followspot ideal for HD television, says the company.

Its compact size makes it small enough for theatre coves or box boom positions. Controls include a two lever variable focal optical system, a nichrome heavy duty iris with insulated top mount control knob and gobo slot. Also included is a square shutter control with independent horizontal and vertical shuttering. A six colour top mounted colour boom

UK / Netherlands - TV One will be demonstrating its range of Multiviewers at the ISE 2011 exhibition being held in Amsterdam between in February. Various demonstrations of visually creative four-window and eight-window displays will be shown on individual monitors, hi-lighting the CORIO2 video processing technology that is exclusively developed by TV One.

Using 3G-SDI and DVI CORIOview four-window processors, TV One will demonstrate the simplicity of viewing and controlling up to eight separate images on one video screen. A touch-screen panel installed with the free CORIOtool Suite software will be set up on the stand and visitors will be encouraged to get 'hands on' and see for themselves how easy it can be to control multiple Multiviewers and their various integral features.

The CORIOview Multiviewers accept composite video, component video, RGB, DVI and 3G-SDI signals in or

USA - Meyer Sound has announced that it will exhibit at the forthcoming NAMM Show in Anaheim, scheduled for 13 -16 January 2011. This will mark the company's first formal participation at NAMM in more than 14 years.

Rachel Archibald, director of marketing at Meyer Sound comments, "Our presence underscores Meyer Sound's commitment to serving not only touring sound companies but also rehearsal facilities, music venues, musicians, and beyond."

"We are excited to have a company of Meyer Sound's calibre participate at the NAMM Show this year," said Joe Lamond, president and CEO of NAMM. "Both of our organisations share the desire to honour the best and brightest in the pro audio field through the TEC Foundation."

Meyer Sound will also become a Platinum Sponsor of the TEC Awards, to be held in conjunction with the NAMM Show on Friday 14 January.. Meye

The Netherlands - DiGiCo is returning to ISE alongside the brand's Dutch distributor TM Audio. This year, as well as its flagship SD7 and mid-sized SD8 desks, the entry level SD9 and the new SDRack, launched at PLASA2010, the company will "demonstrate DiGiCo's commitment to the install market".

The newest addition to DiGiCo's SD Series of consoles is the SD9. This complete, integrated system includes the mixing surface, a D-Rack digital stage interface and Cat 5E digital multicore. As with all DiGiCo consoles, it has the additional ability to simultaneously record 56 channels direct to your favourite multitrack software or DAW.

Also on show will be the new 192KHz SD Rack. This is the first I/O rack for any mixing console that offers multiple format sample rate conversion and allows up to an amazing 448 I/O, in any combi

Denmark - Martin Professional has announced the latest addition to its Tripix range of products - the Tripix Wash.

The Tripix Wash is a IP66 lighting fixture that features pre-mixed LEDs and custom lenses, which eliminate unwanted colour separation. The result is no colour shadows and a broad palette, including "stunning whites, subtle pastels and vibrant saturated colours".

The Tripix Wash is suitable for installations such as flood lighting the sides of buildings or uplighting applications requiring high output (1400 lumens) from a narrow source. Available in very narrow, narrow, medium or wide beam angles, the Tripix Wash also works seamlessly with the existing Tripix linear fixtures - Tripix 300 and 1200.

All Tripix fixtures can run in parallel on the same line of slim and robust cabling from a choice of indoor or outdoor IP66 power supplies. Control is via eit

USA - American DJ has introduced two remote control LED colour par cans, PRO38B LED RC and PRO64B LED RC, and two remote control LED colour bars, Mega Bar 50RGB RC and Mega Bar LED RC, which can be operated from distances as far as 15ft away (direct line of sight).

Each of the four fixtures comes packaged with a hand-held wireless infrared American DJ LED RC remote controller that gives users command over functions that would normally require a DMX controller or the operation of an onboard control panel by hand.

"All you do is aim the infrared remote at the fixture, and total control is at your fingertips," said Scott Davies, general manager of the American DJ Group of Companies. "You can change colours via RGB mixing, change the DMX addressing, or even designate a fixture as a 'slave' in a Master/Slave configuration - all from a distance of 15ft.

"Freedo

Belgium - ShowTex has announced a range of ecological velvet theatre curtains as part of its environmental policy plan.

The Shakespeare and Molière flame retardant cotton velours developed by ShowTex are the first in the industry to be awarded OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification.

For almost 20 years, the OEKO-TEX Standard 100 has been acknowledged as a comprehensive and verifiable method for ensuring that textile products and the supply chains that create them do not use hazardous chemicals such as pesticides, carcinogenic dye stuffs, heavy metals, or other concerning substances that can hurt people and damage the environment.

The OEKO-TEX Standard 100 is a certification tool for 'greening' the total textile supply chain. The certification can be applied to every phase of production, from fibre to fabric to finished products, confirming that all elements are free from harmf

The Netherlands - TV One will be demonstrating its range of 3D processing capabilities at the ISE 2011 exhibition being held in Amsterdam in February.

3D processing will be shown throughout the Exhibition on the TV One Stand with dynamic demonstrations of CORIO products being fed live video from two standard 2D 1080p cameras sources. These two inputs will be processed within the TV One unit to produce a single 3D image of live video which will be output to a 3D monitor.

The ability to insert picture-in-picture windows of 2D images such as logos and computer graphics so that they appear 'floating' in front of a background 3D video source will also be shown during the exhibition.

Other 3D processing features available include independent scaling of existing 3D resolutions and transcoding between the various types of 3D resolution

UK - ETC has released new software for its SmartFade range of lighting control desks, including a number of new features - such as native support for LED fixtures with up to seven colours.

Previously, if an entry-level lighting desk was able to control LED fixtures at all, it provided only the most basic support for red, green and blue. As manufacturers add further LED colours, more advanced control is necessary - this means that a SmartFade ML desk is now able to control ETC Selador LED fixtures, which contain up to seven different colours.

Other updates in SmartFade v3 include: a completely redesigned stack, in which cues can be recorded in any order, then played back in the correct sequence; over 3000 personalities, more than double than in previous versions; when the stack is on, the displays in SmartFade ML now include the step name and the running times; consoles are now

Canada - Cast Software has announced the release of wysiwyg R26, for members only. The release is now available for download.

R26 has been designed to give the user a better experience on many planes - with a heavy emphasis on Reports and Presentation, says the company.

R26 gives the user a solid platform of spreadsheet tools, improving the data experience for the user and improving efficiency in creating paperwork. R26 is also the international debut of some new dimensioning tools - radial dimensioning, arc length, and a new Protractor Tool. Cast software development has also made developments in the virtual environment, adding the ability to use the 3Dconnexion mouse for true 3D flyovers on 6 Degrees of Freedom - X, Y, Z, and Pitch, Roll, and Yaw.

R26 now has the ability to put the user directly into digital space with the 3Dconnexion mouse, using all of the six Degrees of

UK / Sweden - Milab Microphones has announced a collaboration with Rycote, the British manufacturer of industry-standard microphone windshields and suspensions. The first fruit of this closer working relationship is a custom version of the Rycote InVision USM (Universal Studio Mount) suspension for the Milab SRND 360 surround microphone, and further Milab-specific Rycote products are currently at the design stage. To fit the large 60mm barrel of the Milab SRND 360, Rycote designed a modified version of the USM - the standard version accommodates any large-diaphragm microphone from 18 to 55mm in diameter.

At the heart of the USM, the microphone mounting ring is acoustically decoupled from the rest of the suspension by the use of Rycote's patented vibration-resistant Lyre clips. Made from a non-elasticated thermoplastic which can be bent completely out of shape but always returns

USA - The Control Protocols Plug Fest celebrates its second anniversary with another Fest being held in January 2011 in conjunction with the Technical Standards Programme meetings at the Marriott Solana in Westlake, Texas.

As a result of the continuing popularity and growth of the programme, the Plug Fest will fill a larger space at the Marriott, and the event will be lengthened by half a day, running Friday, 21 January from 16:00 to 22:00; Saturday, 22 January from 09:00 to 23:00; and Sunday, 25 January from 09:00 to 22:00. The event, originally created to support ANSI E1.20 RDM (Remote Device Management) two years ago has since expanded to cover all CPWG protocols, including the popular ANSI E1.31 DMX over Ethernet protocol.

The Control Protocols Plug Fest will be an informal event, with the only people around to see the equipment work or fail being engineers and technicians

UK / USA - Big screen and videowall specialist PSCo is launching an exciting new LED technology from US manufacturer NanoLumens, which is not only flexible, but also thin, lightweight and extremely efficient in its power consumption.

NanoLumens is a display technology innovator that has designed and manufactured a flexible digital LED display that can be curved in convex or concave formations, flexed around walls and wrapped around large columns. The screen is lightweight and thin, which means it can be hung simply from ceilings, with very little infrastructure. Incredibly, they can be used in locations where large, heavy and fragile flat panelled displays are impractical to install or projection systems are unlikely to work.

PSCo is currently offering the technology as a 112" screen, designed for both indoor and outdoor use. In the longer term the products will be able t

The Netherlands - Orion has announced it will be taking a booth at this year's Integrated Systems Europe exhibition (1-3 February 2011, Amsterdam), using the opportunity to preview the seventh generation of its Infinite Plasma range at the show for the first time.

Orion is the world's leading independent videowall manufacturer, with a successful range of bezel-less plasma technology in the UK and European market. The company says that this year's ISE will feature a preview of the new seventh generation of the technology, offering increased brightness and contrast, an even smaller seam gap and high quality colour reproduction. The stand will showcase the whole range including models to suit both rental and permanent installation applications.

Stuart Holmes of UK distributor PSCo explains: "This will be the first time that Ori

The Netherlands - Alcons Audio is showing the latest of its audio systems at ISE 2011 in Amsterdam (1-3 Feb 2011), including the CR1ultra-compact three-way system, CSS3 ultra-compact Digital Cinema surround system and Q-series scalable ribbon array.

The company's systems have been installed in a range of high profile locations worldwide, including CDKG Railway Moscow, Denmark's Esbjerg Performing Arts Centre, Sydney Riverside Theatre, Universal Pictures London screening room, the Norwegian Film Institute, BAFTA London, the Fraunhofer Institute of Digital Media Technology in Germany, ZOO Film studios in Chile and the Finnish Film Archive, so are sure to be a show highlight.

The CR1 is provides medium output, high quality cinema and A/V sound reproduction and is recommended for cinemas, screening rooms, boardrooms, dubbing stages,

Denmark - Martin Professional has announced the release of V2 software for the P3-100 System Controller, which the company says "puts this award-winning LED video screen processor even further ahead of the competition".

Martin says it has added a host of new and advanced features, including an improved user interface. The V2 software will run on any P3-100, with no need for any hardware upgrades, the company says.

Highlights of the V2 software include: LED video screens with different pixel pitches (resolutions) can now be combined on one P3-100 System Controller - the P3-100 (V2) does all the scaling for you; Easily adjustable colour temperature (white balance) of screens; Undo and redo buttons; rotation of content on any video panel or group of panels to any angle; Easy-to-select groups of panels; Layout and quick-addressing wizards; additional video-presets; and a

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