Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
Doughty - Banner - from 6 June 2025

Video and AV

Details
UK - Devon-based drapes, starcloth, LED and visual effects specialist S+H Technical supplied its new LED Stair product to the red carpet launch of the 2013 series of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.

The LED Stair was specified by the show's designer Patrick Doherty for the launch event, which was staged at Elstree Studios, Borehamwood UK.

The 11th edition of the massively popular series has moved to a new much larger home at Elstree, and for this, Doherty has again specified S+H's Pea-light starcloth.

For the launch event, Doherty wanted something visually different and spectacular, and the idea of constructing a functional and practical set piece - that also came alive with kinetic motion, energizing the presentation space - ticked all his boxes.

S+H's robustly engineered LED stair product is made up of 122 x 244 mm panels with a high resolution pitch of 7.6 mm, wi

Details
UK - The LS-Live production rehearsal arena in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, was the chosen film location for pyrotechnics and special effects company Le Maitre, who used it to shoot product demonstrations for around 50 promotional videos.

Le Maitre needed a large studio space that could provide enough height for their higher effects such as the Mines and Comets, as well as Falling Stars, Cascades and Waterfalls, and they needed full blackout. The 17,664 sq ft rehearsal arena in South Kirkby was a suitable location with a height of 54 ft to the underside of the gantry. LS-Live's in house rigging company Knight Rigging Services were also on hand for the rental of two chainhoists and a power controller for the day.

Said Le Maitre's Sally Dobinson,"The location at LS-Live was perfect for us, with 54 ft height space it offered a unique opportunity for the higher effects which we

Doughty - Banner - from 6 June 2025

Details
UK - ArKaos, Belgian-based pioneers in interactive video technologies, will be exhibiting in the White Light Zone on Stand E56.

The ArKaos team will be demonstrating ArKaos MediaMaster which recently toured the world with The Killers' Battle Born tour, mixing live camera feeds with visual content in real time across a complex array of multiple surfaces and video walls. New for the show will be MediaMaster 3.2, the latest software version which brings even more new features. MediaMaster 3.2 is available to existing MediaMaster 3.0 users as a free upgrade.

Also on show will be ArKaos Stage Server Pro which this summer was used to create a spectacular 3-dimensional overhead video wall at Belgium's famous Pukkelpop Festival. Three Stage Server Pros were used to animate a ceiling of the Boiler Room using SGM 3D Graphic Tubes in one of the largest media server installations to date.

Details
UK - PLASA London 2013, which takes place at ExCeL London from 6-9 October 2013, is putting out a final call for entries for the 2013 PLASA Awards for Innovation, before the deadline of Friday 27 September. More than 25 entries, ranging from audio interfaces and lighting controls to Ethernet switches and luminaires have been approved so far. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in the new AudioLab Arena on Monday 7 October at 6.00pm.

The PLASA Awards for Innovation recognise products that advance the industry by demonstrating a new style of thinking, improving technical practice or taking a key step forward in terms of safety. All successfully vetted products are judged against one another on the strength of their innovation alone.

Companies and products in the running include:

• Altman Lighting (STAND F40) - UV LED Spectra CYC - A 100W cyclorama/wall wash lumina

Details
UK - PLASA London 2013 will host a plethora of global, European and UK product launches for the pro-audio and entertainment lighting industries at ExCeL London from 6-9 October 2013. Many of the new products on show are also candidates for the 2013 PLASA Awards for Innovation.

Chris Toulmin, Head of Events, PLASA London 2013, said: "Visitors come to PLASA London expecting to see the latest products and technologies, and they will not be disappointed with the wide range of exciting product launches at the show. We are proud that so many manufacturers choose PLASA London to launch their new products to the market."

Here is just a selection of the new products that will be on show at PLASA London 2013:

Avolites (STAND M10) will launch a range of wings to extend the capabilities of all of its Titan consoles - the Sapphire Touch Wing, Sapphire Media Wing a

Details
Germany - Laserworld has launched a new product range, the Proline Series, to fill the gap between the budget solutions of the Club Series and the more professional Pure Micro Series.

Two power levels are provided in a first step - the PRO-700RGB with up to 700mW power, and the PRO-1300RGB with up to 1.300mW power. In contrast to the Club Series projectors the Proline units come with the bright 637nm red, which increases overall visibility. The small housings and the light weight make the units perfect for applications in nightclubs, bars or for mobile DJs. Due to the compact setup and versatility they are also suitable for rental companies.

The units of the Proline Series come with fast and angle stable 40kpps scanners. As an extension to the product range, an "advanced" version of the Proline lasers is available. These systems have the additional full analogue modu

Details
UK - In perhaps one of the more unusual live music projects this year, electronic music artist Scanner has teamed up with the Heritage Orchestra for Live_Transmission: Joy Division Reworked. The project is a musical and visual reinterpretation of the work of one of the UK's most influential bands.

Live_Transmission sees a selection of Joy Division songs deconstructed by Scanner and reinterpreted by the "ferociously non-classical" Heritage Orchestra to a backdrop of dismantled Joy Division imagery.

Visuals for the show were provided by Matthew J Watkins of the Beat13 collective. To display these atmospheric images, XL Video supplied front projection on to a screen behind the orchestra using a Barco FLM HD20 projector. A gauze screen in front of the orchestra was used for rear projection images supplied from one of XL's Barco SLM R12+ projectors.

The co

Details
UK - Over a couple of summer evenings way back in 1989 a small group of friends performed Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band to raise funds for the care and support of children suffering from life-limiting or terminal illnesses. Today, The Pepper Foundation is a registered charity which raises funds for The Pepper Children's Nurses who provide care 24/7 for children throughout the Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire area. The Pepper Rock Event Show is performed each year over two weeks in the Centenary Theatre within Berkhamsted School in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire.

The annual event is staffed entirely by volunteers. Andy Mahaffey, head of lighting at Blitz Communications has been the show's lighting designer since 2004/5: "Each year has a theme to it and, in this 25th Anniversary year, it's 'The Best of British'. Over time the show has grown both in perf

Details
UK - When the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series visited Wales for the UK leg of their global cliff diving championship, XL Events was on hand to ensure all the action was captured for the crowds of excited spectators.

With competitors diving from a height of 27m from the top of the Pembrokeshire cliffs, XL Events needed to ensure that spectators in both of the cliff viewing areas had an excellent view of the 14 divers from nine different countries.

To achieve this, XL Events installed two Lighthouse R7 LED screens, one at the top and one at the bottom of the cliffs, and each measuring 5 x 3m.

XL selected the R7 screen for this outdoor project as it is weatherproof, robust and its high brightness and shaders make it the perfect choice for use in sunlight. The screens were installed by Sandro Bruni and Jan van Geet, who also operated cameras during the two-day event.

The co

Details
UK - Projection and LED screen rental house Anna Valley has made a "major investment" in Avolites Media's industry-leading Ai Infinity servers and the Sapphire media controller.

The West London based company - which delivers cutting-edge visuals technology to some of the UK's biggest shows including X Factor, Million Pound Drop, Britain's Got Talent, and many events, conferences and award shows - is working closely with Avolites Media to offer the industry powerful solutions to push the boundaries of on-screen displays.

"Having looked at the marketplace we wanted to select a media server that would be user friendly and at the same time have plenty of future capabilities," says Anna Valley's Shaun Wilton. "The extended features combined with a familiar user interface were a great fit."

The Ai Infinity features an incredible 8 Full HD outpu

Details
UK - PLASA London 2013 is ready and raring to go, with new attractions, free seminar sessions with high calibre speakers and excellent networking opportunities all lined up for the visitors from all sectors of pro audio, lighting and stage technologies. Those that have not yet registered can still save 50% off the door price by signing up at www.plasashow.com. Over 15,000 industry professionals have already registered for this year's PLASA London event, which takes place at the ExCeL Centre, London from 6-9 October 2013.

PLASA London is supported by Platinum Sponsor Robe Lighting, Gold Sponsor Martin Professional and Silver Sponsor Clay Paky.

Chris Toulmin, Head of Events, PLASA London 2013, said: "Our move to ExCeL has given us and our exhibitors the scope to truly get bigger, brighter and louder. We are very proud to unveil the AudioLab feature which brings the latest a

Details
UK - Creative Technology has introduced the G10 Carbon Fibre LED system which will be promoted at PLASA London 2013 (Stand E70).

CT's latest innovation is a full colour, high brightness, super lightweight 10mm LED display weighing a mere 11kg per m2. At less than half the weight of previous comparable systems the G10 offers massive advantages in terms of production opportunities and reduced freight costs, says the company. The extraordinary weight saving means a native resolution HD screen measuring 207 m2 can be built weighing only 2.3 tonnes. Alternatively typical on stage effects and Imag screens for touring applications of 5x3m (16x9') will weigh less than 225kg(500lbs). Screens can now be tracked, rotated and flipped using simpler rigging and mechanics, greatly reducing production costs and increasing impact.

The light weight and low volume design has similar advantages i

Details
Germany - With the MA VPU light (Video Processing Unit), MA Lighting has developed a smart and compact video control offering nearly the same performance as the successful MA VPU plus and MA VPU basic. Only 2HU height, the MA VPU light features sophisticated hardware and proven MA software. Furthermore the in-built screen displays all essential information about the status of the MA VPU light.

Additionally MA has enhanced its MA VPU plus and MA VPU basic in comparison to the MA VPU light. All MA VPU will now offer Full-HD (MA VPU plus MK2 6 layers, MA VPU basic MK2 4 layers, MA VPU light 2 layers - which are rendered in parallel). Also MA VPU plus MK2 and MA VPU basic MK2 are now equipped with 3 x DVI-outs instead of two as with the prior version, while the MA VPU light offers 2 x DVI-outs and 1 x VGA-out.

All MA VPU have common features enabling all videos, still images and 3

Details
France - XL Video was one of the principal worldwide technical production suppliers to Roger Waters' seminal The Wall Live world tour, which finally wrapped in Paris on 21 September with a sold out Stade de France show, exactly three years and one week after its opening show in Toronto in 2010.

Richard Turner, the tour's video director worked closely with XL's project manager Phil Mercer throughout, together with tour director Andrew Zweck and creative and video content director Sean Evans. The production featured both stadium and arena versions.

The show visuals were projected onto the wall by 36 of XL's new Panasonic PT-DZ21K 20K projectors - divided into nine screen areas - each covered by a quad stack rigged on standard Leyher scaffold platforms at FOH.

Seamless edge-blending was achieved by custom manual shutters clamped onto the scaffold towers. Physical shutter

Details
UK - MultiTouch Ltd has announced that the new Cornerstone 2, the company's own software development kit (SDK), will be available free of charge and supports hardware platforms other than MultiTouch's own MultiTaction Cell product line.

The new version, released 3 October, will be "a ground-breaking product in the world of advanced interactive displays, providing for the first time a free set of tools to take full advantage of MultiTaction Cells' scalability and advanced object and pen tracking features". The support for third-party hardware allows great flexibility for deployment and reuse of Cornerstone-based applications on a wide range of multi-touch displays from other manufacturers.

In addition to making its updated SDK free, MultiTouch has ensured that the new Cornerstone 2 also includes a far greater arsenal of tools to build the next generation of interactiv

Details
Armonk, NY - October 4, 2013-Production Resource Group, L.L.C. (PRG) will be demonstrating their innovative proprietary products as well as debuting new products at the PLASA 2013 show, October 6 - 9 in London. PRG will be on Stand R20 at the ExCeL London Exhibition Centre, where attendees can get in-depth demonstrations of new, ultra-portable lighting and media control products, two new compact UV blacklight luminaires, PRG's award-winning automated luminaire line and control console range, as well as PRG Nocturne's LED video module products.

PLASA 2013 attendees will get an opportunity to try out the compact V276 on Mac control interface and Mbox® Studio, a software-only version of the popular Mbox Extreme® media server, both of which are available for sale. Both products are designed for use with a user-supplied Apple Mac computer. Individually these solutions are feature-ri

Details
Following a second hectic day at PLASA London 2013, a packed audience gathered yesterday evening in the AudioLab Arena to congratulate the winners of the PLASA Awards for Innovation, sponsored by Lighting & Sound International magazine. The winner of the prestigious Gottelier Award was also announced at the ceremony.

The PLASA Awards for Innovation recognise products that advance the industry by demonstrating a new style of thinking, improving technical practice or taking a key step forward in terms of safety. During the show's opening two days, 45 new products were judged 'live' by an independent panel of expert judges who toured the show floor to view each product presentation.

Eight awards of equal standing were presented, as well as the PLASA Award for Sustainability, to the following winners:

Clay Paky for the A.Leda B-EYE K20

The judges said, "The B-EYE had a &q

Details
Malaysia - Two of Malaysia's leading rental companies came together this summer to ensure Metallica's first-ever concert in the country would be a memorable event. By merging their Meyer Sound inventories, Kuala Lumpur-based EHQ Projects and Selangor-based SES Sound & Lighting created a massive, 146-loudspeaker system based around Milo line array loudspeakers.

"There were no delays, but the sound was clear and very loud even 100m back from the stage," recalls Jay Neil, technical director of EHQ Projects. "Afterwards, I had people telling me it sounded like a CD on a great stereo."

In order to cover an audience of 30,000 in Kuala Lumpur's Stadium Merdeka, the two companies configured a system of 72 Milo loudspeakers, including 40 for main hangs, 30 for side hangs, and two for out-fills. Front-fill was provided by 12 M'elodie line array loudspeakers, and 40 7

Details
Record Sales - Tickets for next year's Glastonbury Festival have sold out in record time, according to organisers. Michael and Emily Eavis issued a joint statement confirming all 120,000 remaining tickets had been sold in just one hour and 27 minutes. They said they were "blown away" by the numbers logging on and were "genuinely sorry" that so many had missed out. Ticketing website See Tickets had earlier apologised to customers on Twitter for "technical difficulties". The site, which had been managing the sale of tickets for Glastonbury, wrote that the issues had led to "a very difficult half an hour" before the site stabilised, later adding that it was selling 3,000 tickets a minute.

Prices for the 2014 event had been increased by £10 to £210, plus a booking fee, but festival-goers could pay a deposit of £50 before sett

Details
USA - Harman Professional has announced the appointment of Brian Friborg to lead US sales, group-wide as USA vice president of sales, Harman Professional. Friborg, who previously held the position of president, Americas for Martin Professional, immediately assumes responsibility for sales and support of Harman Professional audio and lighting technologies in the United States. He will report directly to Scott Robbins, Harman Professional Executive Vice President, Worldwide Sales.

"Empowering dealers with not simply the best technologies and systems but also the best programmes and people is central to our approach here at Harman Professional," Robbins said. "This commitment requires us to evolve and, just as we have added the Martin Lighting brand to our portfolio, add quality and value wherever possible."

Brian Friborg joined Martin Professional in 1999 and

Details
UK - The first ever Technical Theatre Awards (TTA) - celebrating the best of 'behind the scenes' skill and talent - were presented at a well-attended ceremony at the PLASA Show at London's ExCel.

Fifteen awards were announced on the Theatres Trust stand in the midst of the PLASA hubbub.

Sponsored by AVW Controls, dbs Solutions, Load Cell Rental, Mayflower, Philips Entertainment, PLASA, Production Resource Group (PRG), StageBitz, Stage Jobs Pro, The Fifth Estate Ltd and Triple E, the TTAs are also very kindly supported by Lighting&Sound International and The Theatres Trust.

Host for the evening was prolific multi award-winning lighting designer Rick Fisher, perhaps best known for his work on Billy Elliot the Musical and An Inspector Calls. Recent credits include Great Expectations at Bristol's Old Vic, The Herd at The Bush Theatre, and Inside Wagner's Head at the Linbury Stud

Details
UK - XL Video was again highly active at the ever-vibrant Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year, reflecting the increase in productions and imaginative ways to integrate video into the plethora of inventive new performances. This year video and projection systems were again supplied to The Pleasance, and for the first time to C venues.

For C venues, one of Edinburgh's leading independent venue producers, curating and hosting the Fringe's largest theatre-based programme, equipment was deployed in eight venues across three sites - C venues' Chambers Street base, C nova and C Aquila.

For The Pleasance, 34 shows featured video elements in 15 different performance spaces.

All of this was project managed for XL Video by Ed Cooper and overseen on site by three hard-working technicians who kept pace with the lively mix of drama, dance, physical theatre, musicals, cabaret, circus and v

Details
Italy - Widely regarded as the educational, scientific, financial, and political hub of Northern Italy, Trento is proud to boast of its excellent college - the Opera Universitaria. Ranked as first in the country by the Ministry of Education, Opera's mission is to ensure that a student's full potential can be realised - whether that stems from sport, academic work, or the arts. After enlisting the help of AV integrators A&T Multimedia, and distributors, Adeo Group, the college's new theatre has been equipped with a comprehensive technical installation, enabling complete control over audio, lighting, and video.

Opera's consultant specified that the theatre must be multi-functional, and that the technical system needed to offer standalone use by anyone, trained or not, without the assistance of the college's AV department. As a result, A&T was required to design a system which allo

Details
Russia - Cosmo AV, a specialist in the creation of video mapping images, participated in the third Moscow International Festival The Circle of Light which took place from 4-8 October 4-8, 2013.

Amongst the symbolic locations selected for the 2013 editon of the festival - which includes the Loujniki Olympic complex, the Tsaritsyno Park and the Manege - there is a particularly iconic one that evokes all the cultural influence from the Russian capital: The Bolshoi Theatre.

Cosmo AV was tasked with elaborating the content projected on the façade of this building, which acted as a screen, playing the audiovisual creations from the Cosmo AV teams.

Onlookers witnessed two dream-like shows which lasted for a total of 12 minutes, with mixed video and computer generated images, supported by a soundtrack revisiting masterpieces from some of the world famous classical music comp

  1. R&B Group scoops AV Awards double
  2. Man Booker Prize books Blitz
  3. XL Video supplies Lawrence memorial concert
  4. A positive PLASA for AC-ET
  5. ArKaos Pro creates waves at Pukkelpop 2013
  6. Green Hippo's James Valpy - The Hippotech
Page 291 of 329
Astera - Large MPU - June 2025
Sennheiser - MPU - June 2025

Latest Issue. . .