Entertainment Technology Asia January-February 2012

Jan | Feb 2012

MICA (P) 045/09/2011 KDN: PPS 1663/08/2012 [022804]

MA Lighting at the Southeast Asian Games

Metallica chooses Meyer Sound

ArKaos drives Tsinghua University Celebrations

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08

FIRST WORDS

ntertainment technology asia

CONTENTS

VOL 13 ISSUE 1

MICA [P] 045/09/2011 KDN: PPS 1663/08/2012 [022804]

NEWS 10

Essential news from the industry

ENNOVATIONS 39

The 2nd PALME Futsal Tournament held at Sports Planet at the East Coast Parkway in December was a huge success. The event was a good opportunity for all of us in the industry to meet and have some fun in an informal environment. It was great to see so many people attending the event and it also illustrated the friendship and camaraderie that exists among all of us within the industry. There were 14 teams competing in the tournament, more than double the number from the previous year, which indicates the growing popularity of this event.

Needless to say, the competition was intense. In spite of this, everyone had a great time.

It was clearly evident that the organisers, IIR Exhibitions Pte Ltd, had spent a lot of time and effort planning and preparing for the event and it was executed flawlessly. As a participant in the event, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the team at IIR for all their work in organising this Futsal tournament. It has certainly brought all of us in the industry closer together and I look forward to seeing more of such events in the future.

One of the perks of my job is that I get to meet with exceptional individuals within the AVL industry. One such individual is Henry Saravanan, CEO of Synergy AVL. Henry was recently honoured at the Fourth ASEAN-China Young Entrepreneur Forum held in Hanoi where he was awarded the ‘Outstanding Young Entrepreneur Reward’. The award was in recognition of the outstanding job Henry has done in building Synergy AVL from a company offering a single product to a premier provider of solutions for the regional sound, lighting and event markets in under five years. Synergy AVL has been involved in numerous high profile installation projects throughout Asia. Their list of prestigious clientele includes the Sands Venetian in Macau, the VivoCity Amphitheatre in Singapore and the Shell Pusat Insani in Brunei.

Winning the ‘Outstanding Young Entrepreneur Reward’ is something that Henry truly deserves and it is a true testament to the power of hard work and a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Our industry needs more people like Henry Saravanan.

On behalf of the staff at Entertainment Technology Asia Magazine, I would like to wish all our readers a happy and healthy 2012!

James Bose Editor james@spinworkz.com

A round-up of new products in the market

EXHIBITION REVIEW 52

PALME Vietnam 2011

INSTALL 55 56 58 58 59 59 60 61 62 63 63 64 66 66 67 68 69 69 70

DiGiCo powers Powerhouse Theatre Robe gets upstairs at the Beresford Mipro at Hong Kong Club PR Lighting XL Beam 300’s in Jordan grandMA2 for Korea’s new musical theatre L-ACOUSTICS provides sound for ‘Mamma Mia!’ Bespoke Anolis Solution for NIDA Philips Selecon PL1 LED Luminaires shine in Sydney newsroom Sennheiser partners with @Live Kuala Lumpur Bosch supplies the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center SOTA opts for Clay Paky Medialon controls Mangrove Groove MA Lighting selected for Providence Maitreya Buddha Missionary Institute L-ACOUSTICS KIVA system brings Cabaret to life ETC puts The Edge on the cutting edge of lighting control Synergy AVL completes installati on of NAC’s Black Box Turbosound delivers for Hometown Cafe DTS lights the Gotenba Kogen Resort Dancing Fountain Electrosonic, Christie create fun at Kuwait 360 Mall

LIVE 72 73 74 74 75 77 78 79 80 81 82

NuQ delivers vocal clarity for Singapore’s A Cappella festival AFL Grand Final VIP’s Listen to Nexo, DiGiCo and Camco ‘We Are Scientists’ tours Asia with iLives Farnham hits the Road with Vari*Lite VLX Doha Tribeca Film Festival 2011 Oceania benefits from the Rugby World Cup Metallica wows 40,000 fans in Bangalore D.A.S. Audio drives ‘MeRadio rocks the Marina!’

Versatile MAC 101™ foundation of Cold Chisel lighting Southeast Asian Games go with grandMA2 Tsinghua University celebrates 100 Years with ArKaos

Publisher/Editorial Director Thomas Richard : thomas@spinworkz.com | Editor James Bose : james@spinworkz.com | Admin & Circulation Julie Tan : admin@spinworkz.com | Contributing Consultant Pushpa Veerappan | Freelance Correspondent Clarence Anthony, Audrey Anne Felix | Design & Productions By Jimmy Chin : jimmy@spinworkz.com | Printed By : Print & Print Pte Ltd Published By SPINWORKZ PTE LTD 51 Bukit Batok Crescent #06-10 Unity Centre Singapore 658077 | Tel: (65) 6316 2716 | Fax: (65) 63162715 | www.spinworkz.com Disclaimer Entertainment Technology Asia is published 6 times a year. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine is to be reproduced, whether mechanical or electronic without the prior written consent of the publisher. Views expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or the publisher. Unsolicited contributions are welcome but the editor reserves the discretion to use them. Whilst every care is taken to ensure the accuracy and honesty in both editorial and advertising content at press time, the publisher will not be liable for any inaccuracies.

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ntertainment technology asia

Community appoints Mittelmann International: Community Professional Loudspeakers has announced the appointment of Thomas Mittelmann as Director of Business Development, Asia-Pacific.

A well-known industry figure, Mittelmann most recently worked with Powersoft, successfully concentrating on global brand building and marketing while overseeing sales in the Asian region. However, it was during his years with Lab.gruppen when rapid growth led from managing all overseas sales to focusing primarily on Asia, prompting his relocation from Germany to Singapore in 2007.

Mittelmann previously had spent eight years with Community handling European sales.

His return to the company is well-timed as Community continues to see significant growth in international markets and expand its already comprehensive product range.

Thomas Mittlemann

Julia Lee, Sales and Marketing Director for Community, comments, “Thomas brings

invaluable international sales experience and market knowledge to Community. He is joining our team at a pivotal time for our company, which has been experiencing strong growth despite the economic climate. We’re excited to have him on board to help us grow our presence in the Asia-Pacific region, especially in important expanding markets like China and India.”

Thomas Mittelmann adds, “I’m very happy to be re-joining Community and in many ways it feels a bit like coming home; most of the same great people and spirit. But ten years is a long time and Community has grown on all levels and with a much expanded product range.

During this time I have also had the privilege of learning a lot, much of which I look forward to using in my new role and the markets I will be working in. Together we will serve the needs of the region even better, to the benefit of all existing and future Community customers.” www.communitypro.com

Tropical Queensland no sweat for Shure Australia: It can get mighty sweaty up in tropical Rockhampton especially if you’re frocked-up to the nines in costume for a musical. The towns’ Pilbeam Theatre is renowned for staging fabulous musicals throughout the year and the delicate subject of sweat can be an issue for the venues’ sound technicians.

Fortunately the theatre has purchased several Shure UHF-R wireless microphone systems which are not only compact and lightweight but also sweat resistant!

“The Shure UHF system has been very reliable,” commented Holly Newcombe, senior sound technician at Pilbeam Theatre.

“Sometimes we run up to thirty-two in one go and there’s never any issue. Occasionally we get a little bit of sweat on the microphones but it’s not a big deal as I just give them a wipe with contact cleaner and they’re fine – and believe me some of the people we get are quite sweaty!”

Shure UHF-R Wireless Microphone Systems master the high pressure and extreme conditions of theatre environments while delivering uncompromising sound. Rock-solid engineering and unparalleled RF performance provide sound professionals with all the features and flexibility they need to tightly control up to 160 systems for the most elaborate productions.

“We also have four hand-helds,” added Holly.

“We use the packs with the jack adapters for guitars and keyboards - we have a battery powered keyboard so that it can be wheeled on-stage during scene changes without any cables attached and I use two packs for my input. Also we have twenty-eight receivers

permanently installed in the rack and four in a separate case that floats as we do a lot of external gigs in the area that normally require a few hand-helds.” www.jands.com.au www.shure.com

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NEWS

ntertainment technology asia

High End Systems announces new distribution partner in Australia

Symetrix hires Jeff Sondermeyer

Australia: High End Systems has announced the appointment of newly-created Lexair Entertainment as its Australian distribution partner.

International: Symetrix have announced the hire of industry veteran Jeff Sondermeyer as Director of Engineering and Chief Technology Officer. Sondermeyer brings almost twenty years of experience to his new role. He split the first decade between Peavey Electronics and Mackie Designs as the Digital Design Leader for pioneering products and he spent the most recent decade with integrated circuit manufacturer Analog Devices (ADI) as Senior Field Apps Engineer. During his tenure at ADI, Sondermeyer helped Symetrix integrate ADI’s Sharc and Blackfin chips into Symetrix products.

Lexair Entertainment founder Alex Mair said, “High End Systems is one of the true innovators in our industry, delivering high quality products that deserve the best support services available. Lexair Entertainment will provide Australian-based sales, support, service and training for High End Systems’ full range of Wholehog lighting consoles, automated and digital lighting products.”

“We are excited to have Lexair Entertainment as a partner,” said Betsy Childers, Customer Service Manager of High End Systems. “Alex’s long relationship with High End Systems goes back many years and his company will provide customers with great sales and service locally in Australia. This partnership strengthens our commitment to customer service and excellence.”

Alex Mair

Mair brings his extensive industry knowledge and experience to Lexair Entertainment after previously working with Jands for over 10 years. www.highend.com www.lexair.com.au

Powersoft joins AVnu Alliance and one of the company’s founders. “We have been working in this direction for a while, as technical contributor to the AES, and now as a promoter member of AVnu alliance. On this basis, we think we can also successfully contribute to the efforts to ensure interoperable AVB products.”

Luca Giorgi (left) and Lee Minich

International: Powersoft announced it has become a promoting member of the AVnu Alliance, the industry forum that aims at establishing and promoting the IEEE 802.1 Ethernet Audio/Video Bridging (AVB) standards.

The Italian professional audio manufacturer specified that the move is part of the company’s plan to significantly expand its presence in the install markets, as well as producing future interoperable, AVBcompliant audio networking products.

“Powersoft firmly believes in standard protocols as a way to help our clients,” said Claudio Lastrucci, Powersoft ’s R&D Manager

Luca Giorgi, Powersoft ’s Pro Audio Business Unit Manager, stated, “Our clients demand true plug-and-play, affordable devices that can effortlessly recognise and talk with other devices in their network. We, at Powersoft, fully support the mission of AVnu Alliance, since we believe that open standards are the only way forward to provide customers with inexpensive, user-friendly solutions for their networked applications.”

“For a number of years, Jeff has been a major player in the pro audio industry, from his design-side engineering management experience with Peavey and Mackie to his applications engineering work for ADI,” said Symetrix founder and CEO, Dane Butcher.

“As always, Symetrix maintains an aggressive product development road map. We feel very fortunate at this time to have Jeff on board to manage the execution of our strategic product initiatives.”

“Having supported Symetrix for the past ten years, I have an appreciation for how the company works,” said Sondermeyer. “Dane has created a tight-knit team of dedicated people with the same passion - making superior products. It runs more like a family than a business and I really like that! My short-term goal is to join the excellent engineering team, fill in holes and increase productivity. My longterm goal is to continue fostering the culture at Symetrix that wins loyalty from contractors and other industry clients - superior sound, superior service, superior sales – just superior!

No hacks, no workarounds, no excuses – just excellence!” www.symetrix.co

“We welcome Powersoft to the growing number of AVnu Alliance members who are committed to interoperability and AVB standards,” said Lee Minich, AVnu Alliance Marketing Workgroup chair and president of Lab X Technologies. “Powersoft ’s collaboration in AVnu Alliance will better serve their customers and grow the entire market.” www.AVnu.org www.powersoft-audio.com

Jeff Sondermeyer

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ntertainment technology asia

Audio-Technica sponsor Yamaha 14th Asian Beat 2011 Singapore: Audio-Technica was an official microphone sponsor for Asian Beat 2011. This was the second consecutive year of AudioTechnica’s involvement in one of the biggest amateur band contests held throughout Asia. The objective of Yamaha Asian Beat is to promote Asian band talent and provide an avenue for the development of local music creativity.

Audio Technica was chosen for their high quality microphones. 6 x ATM610 hypercardioid dynamic microphones were used for the vocals providing outstanding isolation and articulate vocal reproduction.

2 x AEW-T6100 wireless microphones were used for the host with its AEW-R5200 receiver, 3 x AE5100 for the guitars, and an AE2500DE dual element microphone for the kick drum.

The dual element microphone has a dynamic capsule that delivers the aggressive sound of the beater and the condenser capsule that captures the round tonalities of the shell.

When both are combined, an excellent kick drum sound is produced. In addition, there were 3 x AE3000 for hi- hats and overheads were used; 3 x ATM650 for the snare and 5 x ATM350 for the toms that provided a natural sounding drum kit on stage.

Audio-Technica also provided a series of microphones and headphones as part of the prize packages for the winners of its Area Heat finals. The prize packages consisted of

a AT4040SM Studio Microphone Pack, a AE5400 Cardioid Condenser Handheld Microphone, a AE3300 Cardioid Condenser Handheld Microphone, five ATH-T500 T-Series Headphones and a ATH-PRO500 Professional DJ Headphone.

Teng Shaokai, Senior Regional Business Development Manager for Audio-Technica (S.E.A.) Pte Ltd, stated, “Local musicians should be given the opportunity to nurture their musical abilities and showcase their talents on a larger stage. Yamaha Asia Beat is definitely a good platform for our young talents to do so. Hence, Audio-Technica is proud to be part of this collaboration for the second year. We are looking into a long term partnership with them because we see the synergy between their objectives in promoting local musicians and our objectives to promote our brand to the local music scene.” www.audio-technica.com.sg

Eclipse Staging Services invests in new Martin MAC Aura™ versatility. I was very impressed with the new Aura light and had no hesitation in being the first company in the region to add these units to our extensive lighting stock. They have just arrived and are already being used by our team at the Live Nation DXB Beach Festival event at Nasimi Beach.”

The MAC Aura™

United Arab Emirates: Dubai-based Eclipse Staging Services has made an investment in Martin Professional’s award-winning MAC Aura™ wash light.

Darren Hodge, Eclipse Dubai’s GM, who made the decision to purchase the lighting fixtures, said, “Eclipse has been very happy with the Martin MAC 301s. They are constantly in use by our team and requested by clients for their

Kaohsiung and Taipei K-array Seminar with Sennheiser’s microphone support

The MAC Aura is a ground-breaking wash light with two independent illumination systems – multicolour beam LEDs and a backlight LED lens array – for an all new visual palette that takes the synthetic look out of LED. It is capable of producing new eye-candy effects plus functions as a highly capable single-lens wash with fully premixed colour. The MAC Aura won a PLASA Award for Innovation at the recent PLASA show. www.martin.com

Humphrey Tsai during the seminar in Taipei

Taiwan: Yamaha KHS, distributor of Sennheiser Greater China held two product seminars in Kaohsiung and Taipei on 23 and 25 August 2011 respectively. The seminar speaker was Humphrey Tsai, Assistant General Manager of Yamaha KHS in Brass, Combo and PA sales division. The two seminars, attracted large numbers of participants from rental and PA companies.

During the seminar, Yamaha KHS shared both theoretical and practical information with the audience. They demonstrated the sound quality and application through a live performance by a vocalist, guitarist and drummer with a full spectrum of Sennheiser and K-array products, from G3 wireless and wired microphone systems to K-array speakers. The ADN conference system was also demonstrated during the seminar by partnering with another Sennheiser Greater China distributor, Midimall. www.sennheiser.com.tw

The Kaohsiung seminar

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ntertainment technology asia

AIM Woodstock Production

Australian Institute of Music chooses ETC Australia: The Australian Institute of Music (AIM) has grown into a major player in education and training for the Australian music industry, performing arts and entertainment management fields. Recently this industry institution purchased two ETC Element consoles - one for the Pilgrim Theatre Sydney, for their Dramatic Arts program, replacing the Jands 48 channel ESP, and one for their multipurpose 220 seat auditorium in Foveaux Street replacing a Theatrelight Scenemaster 24.

The ETC Element control console is designed expressly for modest rigs and maximum hands-on fader control. It is based on ETC’s Eos control operating system but with a simplified feature set in an all-in-one package.

Jands conducted a training day for the students, with Rod McKinnon at the helm, and students were amazed at how quickly they could learn to operate the ETC Element console. “The training day that AIM conducted was great,” said Peter Loader, Technical Manager at AIM. “All the students and teachers that attended felt confident that they could operate and program the Element after the event. The Jands guys delivered a great teaching session which gave us all the confidence to be able to operate the consoles well. The students love that they can record their programming steps in their show and then come back maybe three weeks later and replay it, or get any other student to run it just by pressing ‘GO’.

So they programme their cues with the house rig and then they can come back at any time and operate it quickly and simply.”

up their recitals and saving cues and looks to memory sticks every day whilst contemporary students are rocking using the desk manually.”

The idea behind the ETC Element console is that it’s a great introduction console for operators who can graduate with relative ease to the Ion and then Eos as their careers progress or their shows get bigger.

The Element console has many features to facilitate the use of moving lights and programmable LED fixtures, a factor that was important when considering the purchase.

“Since acquiring the console, we have purchased a stack of PAR64 LED cans and the plan is to purchase some moving head profiles and washes in the near future,” confided Loader. “One thing I especially like about the console is the two computer monitors showing what’s live or what’s next. If you are thinking of purchasing a new desk, forget the sales talk, come and play with ours for a while!”

“The ETC Element saves staff a lot of time setting up each production by being able to recall programming or store programs without the threat of loosing any programmed work, and if an old rock dog/god like myself can program than anyone can”, said Loader. “It has forty channels which I can operate just like an old JL24! I’m very confident in using it both as a manual desk on live or for programming up a show. Theatre students are programming

www.jands.com.au www.etcconnect.com

AIM ETC Element Training

ntertainment technology asia

NEWS

MLA System wins Parnelli ‘IT’ Award International: At a well-attended dinner in the Peabody Orlando, which took place during the recent LDI 2011 show, Martin Audio’s MLA (Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array) system was awarded the prestigious Parnelli Indispensable Technology “IT” Award in the Audio category.

Hosted by comic legends Flo and Eddie, a.k.a.

Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan, the 11th Annual Parnelli Awards Dinner honoured Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Ed Wannebo, Audio Innovator Kenton Forsyth and Parnelli Visionary Jim Fackert, along with 24 individuals, companies and products that made significant contributions to the growth and evolution of the live production industry in 2011.

with its game changing cellular approach and powerful acoustic delivery in what appears to be a modest package. This award acknowledges the efforts of our engineering team for their commitment and bold and innovative approach to solving the audio ‘Holy Grail’.”

Hofkamp added, “In this, our 40th year in business, Martin Audio’s passion to lead by pushing the engineering boundaries for innovation and performance remains unchanged. The Parnelli is our third technical award for MLA to date and I am thrilled to see the buzz for this incredible system spreading throughout the U.S. market.” www.martin-audio.com

Managing Director Anthony Taylor and Director of U.S. Operations Rob Hofkamp were on hand to accept the ‘IT’ Award for Martin Audio.

(L-R) Rob Hofkamp and Anthony Taylor

Taylor commented, “It was a real honour to be recognised by our peers in the industry and particularly with such a prestigious award.

We are especially proud of the MLA system

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Robe on the A-Team Hall predicts enthusiastically that the ROBIN LED Wash 600 and the MMX Spot will continue to have a “huge impact” on shows and events in Hong Kong in particular, where the latest and most innovative production technologies are often rare to find. “That’s why we at Untitled Entertainment have been so keen to stick with production partners like A-team Plus, and I have always encouraged them to stay on top of the market in terms of technology”.

(L-R): Luke Hall, Harry Von Den Stemmen (Robe Sales Director), Ray Mok, Dick Kueng Tik Kwan (A-Team Plus Senior Lighting Technician) and Yuen Ho Yin (A-Team Plus Stage Pro Supervisor).

Hong Kong: Leading Hong Kong-based lighting rental company A-Team Plus has become the first operation in greater China to invest in Robe’s new ROBIN MMX Spot moving lights. This follows on from also being the first company in the region to purchase Robe’s amazing ROBIN 600 LEDWash fixtures at the start of 2011, where their first show was the highly anticipated 2011 Hong Kong Fashion Week.

Internationally renowned lighting designer and technical director Troy Daniel had initially been reluctant to use any LED fixtures on the HKFW show at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre’s Grand Hall. However when he saw Robe’s LEDWash 600 in action for the first time he was blown away! Ever since, if anyone tries to turn him on to another type of LED wash moving head, his immediate reaction has been “Let’s get serious, nothing beats Robe’s ROBIN 600 LEDWash”.

Fellow Australian and now Hong Kongbased Luke Hall, who is production manager and lighting designer for Untitled Entertainment Asia, one of the A Team’s top partners, thinks the same. Hall commented, “Our company prides itself on - where possible - using the latest green entertainment technology products, and we have chosen A-Team Plus to supply equipment for many of our shows as they can offer Robe’s LEDWash 600 and now also the ROBIN MMX spot.”

Hall has recently used ROBIN MMX Spots - the next generation 1200 series moving light fixture - on several shows in Hong Kong, including a sold out KITEC for UK dance/punk band Friendly Fires, and also for local Hong Kong metal band ‘DP’ for their album launch at the XXX Gallery. All members of the respective bands, their crew and the audiences alike were hugely impressed with the brilliant performance and sheer brightness of the brand new MMX.

Hall goes on to say that the MMX’s performance is “phenomenal”. While the fixture’s compact size and high brightness is one thing, the optical performance is in a league of its own, with variable control over the two animation wheels and remote control of the ‘hot spot’. “Using these lights really does take our shows in Hong Kong to an entirely new and creatively exciting level”.

A-Team Plus’s Managing Director and sole proprietor Ray Mok adds that their choice to change from their existing brand of moving light inventory from the past to now offering Robe moving lights was made after careful consideration. Having the best levels of after sales support was high on the agenda, and Robe’s Hong Kong, Macau & Chinese distributor Leafun helped swing the decision with “First class service and support at all times,” explained Mok. Mok first saw the MMX Spot in action on the Robe stand at Pro Light+Sound 2011 in Frankfurt, where it was one of a raft of newly launched products. “While certain market influences in Hong Kong seemed to be confused as to which way to go ... it was a crystal clear choice for us,” he said.

With property and warehouse floor space at a premium, they needed to continue the plan started earlier in the year, which involved replacing all the older, heavier and more expensive to maintain discharge wash fixtures with the ROBIN LED Wash 600.”

The choice was just as easy with the MMX! “The power to weight ratio beats anything else on the market and the fixture really speaks for itself. It is the new profile fixture that I want for the company,” Mok concludes. A-Team Plus is confident in its decision to invest in Robe over the last 12 months, and looks forward to extending the range and numbers of fixtures in the near future. www.robe.cz

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ntertainment technology asia

Robe ROBIN 600 LEDWash for official CHOGM photograph

The official CHOGM photograph

Australia: Twelve Robe ROBIN 600 LEDWash fixtures were supplied by the Perth office of leading Australian lighting rental company, Clifton Productions, to provide ideal lighting conditions for the official photograph of the 2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

The photo session for the 22nd CHOGM event, the largest gathering of world leaders ever in Australia, was staged in Pavilion 1 at the Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Official photographer Andrew Taylor and a host of national and international media and TV crews needed an even and consistent 4500 Lux level right across the podium on which the 50 world leaders - including Head of the Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth II were posed for the photo.

Clifton’s Martin McKinney was the lighting director for the shoot and he specified the 12 LEDWash 600s, which were rigged on three trusses, flown at two, five and eight metre distances from the stage.

Using LEDWash 600s allowed the Lux levels to be easily adjusted to meet the requirements. “The huge (15 - 60 degree) zoom range gives us the flexibility to cover

any scenario,” explained Clifton’s Perth Managing Director, Ed Matthews.

Using LED units also offered the massive advantage of keeping the temperatures comfortable, so the amassed Heads of State did not need to endure high heat levels that would have been output by using conventional fixtures for the task.

Cliftons - which has the largest inventory of Robe fixtures in Australia - won the contract to supply the lighting for the official photo shoot partly because they are a ‘preferred supplier’ to PCEC, and also based on their performance and reputation for excellence.

“The LEDWash 600s worked absolutely perfectly for the official photograph and Andrew Taylor was really happy with the results,” added Matthews. He goes on to say that in all environments in which Cliftons have been using their LEDWashes, they are proving a ‘real hit’ with LDs, crew and promoters with their light weight, smooth colour mixing properties and low power consumption. www.robe.cz

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Audinate partners with Inter-M

International: Audinate announced today that Inter-M, South Korea’s largest PA and installed sound manufacturer, has agreed to collaborate to produce a line of products that will feature Dante, Audinate’s patented media networking technology. Audinate is the creator of Dante, an audio networking solution that is built using standards based IP over Ethernet.

Inter-M has been building quality commercial sound and professional audio products with a single-mindedness of purpose. Known for their P.A Systems, S.R Systems, Consoles, Speakers, CCTV Systems, Wireless System, Microphones and DVR, Inter-M products are featured throughout Korea in stadiums, performing arts centers, office buildings and Houses of Worship. Inter-M is a publically listed company on the Korean Stock Exchange (KOSDAQ).

Lee Ellison CEO for Audinate. “Inter-M has an aggressive plan to connect their wide variety of products into an integrated system using Dante.”

“We believe having Dante in our systems gives us a definite competitive advantage,” stated Wonho Lee, Director of R&D at Inter-M. “We selected Dante because it provides us with an audio over IP solution today, and Audinate is the only company that can offer a viable transition path to AVB for the future.”

Inter-M plans using Dante end-to-end throughout their systems, from Danteenabled paging microphones, through mixers and distribution units, to Danteenabled powered speakers. www.audinate.com www.inter-m.co.kr

“Inter-M is a great brand in Korea and is expanding rapidly around the world,” said

Prolyte Campus kicks off!

International: Prolyte Group has just launched a new initiative called Prolyte Campus which aims to keep customers and users up-to-date with product information and in-depth knowledge of how to best apply Prolyte products. Prolyte products have always been a vital part of the Prolyte Group philosophy. In order to create awareness on the safe use of Prolyte products, Prolyte Campus brings together all elements in a complete program of learning activities.

Transferring knowledge and creating a dialogue with technicians worldwide is one of the goals for creating the Prolyte Campus. Finding out their needs and sharing experiences is a good base for creating solutions that work and this helps their customers to grow their business.

Creating the awareness that safe working practices are key to responsible ownership is another.

As a start, Prolyte Campus will offer existing activities, like the Black Book, how-tovideos, rigging courses and seminars.

New initiatives, like web-based learning content and networking opportunities will be developed. Prolyte users will be encouraged to share their experience and daily practice skills.

The official kick-off of Prolyte Campus was held on 30 November 2011 in Emsdetten, Germany, offering a sneak preview and a meet & greet with the Prolyte team.

Prolyte users are invited to join the Campus and actively share their ideas or experiences on www.facebook.com/ProlyteCampus, or by participating in or organising one of the seminar programs. They can visit http:// www.prolyte.com/support/prolyte-campus for an overview of the activities and to learn what the Prolyte Campus offers. www.prolyte.com

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MIPRO wins “First Brand Award” and “Taiwan Gold Medal Quality Product Award” Taiwan: MIPRO has been awarded the ‘First Brand Award’ and the ‘Taiwan Gold Medal Quality Product Award’ by Republic of China (Taiwan) Fine Manufacturers Association (FMA). FMA was founded by a group of scholars and professors with the aim of assisting the industrial manufacturers to develop products through academia-industry collaboration.

For a manufacturer to win the ‘First Brand Award’, it had to possess unique and innovative products, outstanding market share and brand recognition within the industry, international and domestic awards, patents and certifications, good sales performance and growth prospects, demonstrable commitment to customers and a commitment to the community.

For the ‘Taiwan Gold Medal Quality Product Award’, manufacturers had to demonstrate good product development, manufacturing innovation and the proper use of technology, product differentiation from competitors, quality standards and monitoring, strong record of growth, international and domestic

‘First Brand Award’

‘Taiwan Gold Medal Quality Product Award’

awards, patents and certifications, commitment to customers and environmental awareness, and a commitment to the community. www.mipro.com.tw

Light to make you look.

Innovative technologies, delivering solutions.

Philips Entertainment combines the leading Selecon and Strand Lighting brands, to bring light to life in our theatres, schools, studios, museums and galleries. We are dedicated to the continued development of energy-efficient and high-performance lighting and control systems. Our state-of-the-art solutions respond to the challenges of each project, effectively and responsibly. To learn more about how Philips Entertainment can help you create unique and engaging experiences for your audience or visitors: www.seleconlight.com and www.strandlighting.com.

Enhancing life with light

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Symetrix announces 2011 International Distributor and Rep Award winners

Get your wings!

MA onPC command wing – the sophisticated yet affordable extension for grandMA2 onPC ŧ Perfect solution for flexible and mobile programming ŧ Look and feel as known from grandMA2 consoles ŧ 2,048 parameters on-board ŧ MA 2Port Node onPC/onPC PRO for parameter extension ŧ Light, handy & rock solid: extra small housing and just 6kg ŧ Plug and play via USB: simply connect to your notebook ŧ Fully integrated into the grandMA2 system

(L-R) Hock Thang and Paul Roberts of Symetrix, Jun Zhu and Alan Ho from Sanecore Audio Ltd

International: Symetrix announced its International Distributor and Sales Representative Award winners for fiscal year 2011. For the second consecutive year, China-based Sanecore Audio Ltd won the International Distributor of the Year Award for the Asia-Pacific region.

“We’re doing everything we can to build DSP solutions for a wide range of applications,” said Paul Roberts, director of

Auvindo. “With the unbeatable sound quality of an XL8, an extremely easy to use control surface, very stable architecture and the networking capability of larger Midas digital consoles, all at a remarkable price, the PRO2 is set to change the Indonesian pro audio market.”

So – get your wings!

David Cooper, Midas Consoles (left) with Thomsen Phan, PT Gracia Auvindo

MA LIGHTING Asia Pacific Pte Ltd. 195 Pearl’s Hill Terrace #01-18 Singapore 168976 infoASIA@malighting.com www.malighting.com

www.symetrix.co

Midas PRO2 takes Indonesian market by storm

The brand new MA onPC command wing is the perfect solution if you are working as a lighting professional all over the world, running a small club or theatre, want to join the huge grandMA2 family or simply look for a smart backup or preprogramming solution.

Brand new MA onPC command wing – simply connect to your notebook running grandMA2 onPC via USB

sales and marketing for Symetrix. “But all of our efforts are for naught if our products don’t find their way into the hands of industry professionals. Therefore, we are grateful for the efforts and successes of our reps and international distributors as exemplified by Sanecore and are excited for 2012.”

Indonesia: The Midas PRO2 and PRO2C live audio systems were given their first Asian unveiling during the JAPEX Exhibition in Jakarta in November 2011. Midas’ Indonesian distributor, PT Gracia Auvindo, together with Midas’ David Cooper, demonstrated the new consoles in their booth.

“We are very proud to be the first to show the amazing PRO2 in Asia,” said Thomsen Phan, managing director, PT Gracia

“It’s an honour for me to help Thomsen and his team launch PRO2 to the Indonesian market,” said Cooper. “The response has been phenomenal and all is set for PRO2 to become the best selling digital console in Indonesia. Thomsen and the guys have worked extremely hard building the foundations for Midas Digital over the last few years and they deserve all the success that PRO2 is going to give them.”

A Midas distributor since 2008, PT Gracia Auvindo has supplied numerous PRO Series systems throughout the country, with clients including GBI Rock Surabaya, University of Bunda Mulia, Happy Sound Rental Company and JW Marriott, Bali. www.music-group.com

ntertainment technology asia

Tom Etra announced as Green Hippo’s new Technical Sales Manager Middle East: Green Hippo has appointed Tom Etra as their new Technical Sales Manager for the EMEA region.

As of Monday, 21 November 2011, Tom has started looking after key accounts across this territory and he has already added his own touch, by implementing a few new strategies.

Green Hippo’s Sales Director James Heron commented, “We are very pleased to be welcoming Tom into the team full-time and feel that his skills and knowledge of Hippotizer will be a great asset to the department and a driving force in generating new business for the company.”

Tom, who has a BA (Hons) degree in Technical Theatre from the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, has been with Green Hippo for the past 5 years. Tom’s previous role entailed

working closely within Green Hippo’s Special Projects and Support department. Special projects have been closely involved with a variety of high profile multimedia events which allow customers to think outside the box when it comes to designing their show.

“I feel this is a fantastic opportunity for me, and I am thoroughly looking forward to working alongside Green Hippo’s current dealer network and the exciting challenges we will face,” said Etra. “Green Hippo has a very dedicated team, who work hard to deliver innovative technology that pushes the boundaries of video playback solutions. I am proud to be a part of such a great company,” he added. www.green-hippo.com

New

G1150 - Pivot Arm A versatile multi-positioning arm designed to complement the Supaclamp

www.prolyte-asia.com - infopap@prolyte.com

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ntertainment technology asia

Apex Audio goes the Rightway in China

Apex Technical Director Renaud Schoonbroodti demonstrates how to operate the Intelli-X.

China: Belgium manufacturer Apex Audio joins a raft of leading brands in China as it moves its distribution for the area to Righway Audio Consultants.

“When we established Rightway, our aim was to offer advanced audio products to boost the level of product sales, engineering and systems integration of technologies into the Chinese market,” explained Monica Au, Marketing and Communications Executive at Rightway.

“Our first priority has always been the quality of the brands we work with. We distribute a variety of top brands under an exclusive basis, which fully satisfies the needs of the audio professionals. The demand for audio equipment, especially at a professional level, is expanding due to the development of the audio industry in Mainland China. To meet the various demands of our customers, we need to provide equipment with advanced technology,” she added.

“Apex is a professional audio manufacturer with more than 20 years of history. It was the first company to create a product that uniquely combined a graphic equaliser and multiple parametric/notch filters in a single device. With this unique technology, the Intelli-Series can process up to 192 kHz and is the only product we have seen of such a high standard. We believe Apex products, which can control SPL and protect valuable speakers, can fulfill most customers’ requirements. And that is one of the reasons why we chose to be the distributor for Apex,” Au said.

“In order to increase the sales channels and open the market for Apex in China, the first thing we need to do is to promote the brand and build a good image for Apex, since it is still very fresh to the market in China,” continued Au. “This will be through

a combination of advertising, exhibitions, online promotion and our network of high caliber dealers, contractors and system integrators throughout China. Of course, these dealers, contractors and system integrators are strictly selected. They must have excellent reputations and outstanding accomplishments as it is our goal to provide performance-based products with the very best customer service and support.”

This comprehensive approach is enhanced with sales and technical training, the first session of which took place in October.

“Rightway Audio consultants was honoured to invite Apex Technical Director, Renaud Schoonbroodti and International Sales Representative, Craig Lovell, to visit Guangzhou, China, to introduce Apex products to our sales and technical team and also share some experiences with them,” Au added.

“Craig gave a general product overview, introducing all the benefits and unique characteristics of Apex products. This was followed by a product demonstration, where Renaud showed us how to operate the Inteli-X. A Q&A session was included in the training, which made it more interactive. The training went extremely well and Rightway is excited about its future with Apex in China.”

“Rightway is one of the most respected distributors of audio products in China,” said Jeroen Sierjacobs, Apex Marketing Manager. “We are very pleased that they have chosen to distribute Apex products and, with Righway’s expertise, we look forward to becoming a successful brand in the region.” www.apex-audio.eu www.racpro.net

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Norwest Productions joins Adamson Energia exclusive Beta Partners list

TOUCH THE

FUTURE Chris Kennedy (left) with Peter Trojkovic

Australia: At the end of 2009, Adamson Systems Engineering embarked on a new project named ‘Project Energia’. It was conceived after years of analysing the inefficiencies found in current sound reinforcement systems and performance venue optimisation methods. The first ‘Project Energia’ speaker box to be released was known as the E15.

Energia will eventually become an AVBcompliant networked system using Class D amplifier modules and on board DSP. To make this all possible, Adamson Engineering have adapted a 3-phase release strategy to ensure a smooth integration of the technology.

Phase 1 - Mechanical Field Testing Phase 2 - Class D Amplifier, Power Distribution and Ground Control Field Testing Phase 3 - Network and Network Hardware Field Testing To assist Energia’s evolution, Adamson Systems Engineering has recruited the help of a few well-known and respected production companies from around the globe. Their job is to conduct mechanical field tests evaluating the transducers, sound chambers and mechanical elements.

Some of the companies that have joined up include Eighth Day Sound (US), Wigwam (UK), Big Daddy Entertainment (Indonesia) and MPM (France).

With Phase One under way, Adamson along with CMI Music and Audio announced that Norwest Productions had joined the group of beta partners with the purchase of an E15 beta system to service the Australasian market.

Chris Kennedy, founder of Norwest Productions who already had a large

inventory of Adamson systems including Y18’s, Y10’s and T21’s, stated, “Our Adamson Y18/Y10 systems are our flagship premium systems and demand for them has always been very strong. This is an opportunity we could not pass up.”

CMI Music and Audio has had success in achieving market penetration since becoming Australian & New Zealand distributors of Adamson, supplying systems to rental companies and facilitating several installations into churches, such as Hillsong Church’s headquarters in Baulkham Hills just outside of Sydney. “We’ve been having a good time with Adamson and are really excited about project Energia,” explained Peter Trojkovic CEO of CMI Music and Audio.

“We are very pleased to have Norwest join the exclusive Beta Partner testing group, as they are huge fans of Adamson and their enthusiasm is contagious,” he continued.

Adamson Systems’ founder, Brock Adamson commented on the new Beta partner, “Chris Kennedy and his team at Norwest have worked hard to help build our presence throughout the Asia-Pacific region. We hear nothing but great reviews about service, packaging and equipment performance whenever they are involved.

There is no question with anyone at Adamson, Norwest is the top choice for an Energia partner in Australia.”

TIGER TOUCH

POWER CUBE

PEARL EXPERT TOUCH

In Phase One, E15 systems have been found around the world on stages with Duran Duran, Bad Religion, Offspring and Linkin Park, just to name a few. More E15 systems will be used during this summer’s festival season in Australia.

Avolites:

www.cmi.com.au

(+65) 6287 9878 sales@tsm-int.com www.tsm-int.com

+44 (0) 2089 658 522 avosales@avolites.com www.avolites.com

Total Solution:

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Cooper Controls arrives in Singapore management lighting control brands in Southeast Asia.

“This new role builds our local presence in some of the fastest growing markets,” explained House. “It’s a very exciting time to be in Asia and a great opportunity to bring the Zero 88, iLight and Greengate brands closer to our customers.”

(L-R) Clarence Anthony- Editor AVL Times, Steve Rawlins – Owner LSI, Claire House, Soren Storm – Managing Director Martin Professional Asia.

Photo courtesy of Theodulus Raman

Singapore: Cooper Controls have announced the strengthening of their operations in Southeast Asia with the development of a regional office in Singapore.

Business Development Manager Claire House relocated to Singapore at the beginning of November to take up the newly created role, in which she will manage the Zero 88 entertainment, iLight architectural and Greengate energy

Over the coming months Claire will be strengthening ties with Southeast Asian customers to develop and support their business through regional events, training and local marketing initiatives, as well as raising the profile of Cooper Controls within the wider lighting community.

She got off to a good start, catching up with old friends and meeting some news ones at the launch of AVL Times last month!

For further information, Claire can be contacted by email at claire.house@ cooperindustries.com or call +65 9655 7705 www.coopercontrol.com www.cooperindustries.com

JM Rental’s 3D R4 LED display at LDI Show 2011 International: JM Rental and Lighthouse Technologies Limited were at LDI 2011 in Orlando, Florida from October 28 – 30, 2011, displaying Lighthouse’s new Video Blades LED video display technology and JM Rental’s 3D R4 LED display.

During the show, JM Rental had set-up their 3D R4 LED display at the size of 2.56 m W x 2.40 m H, and wowed the visitors with stunning stereoscopic 3D content. The 3D R4 LED display represents the future of 3D LED technology which has proven to be limitless for any event scale. Large scale events benefit from from the 3D R4 display because of its cost-effective Circular Polarisation 3D technology.

It is undeniable that 3D technology has been available for a while and its usage is expanding in the cinema, at learning centres and even in the home. Unfortunately, the fact is that there are only a few event companies that approach their clients with the idea of using 3D technology in live events.

“This is the second time our 3D R4 has made an appearance on the east coast within the past 6 months since the New

York Auto Show in April. 3D technology has been in the market for 2 or 3 years.

However, there are only a few event companies or production houses that pitch and succeed in proposing the idea of using 3D technology for live events. We hope that exhibiting here during LDI 2011 will give us an opportunity to introduce the 3D R4 panels for North and South America’s live events. The 3D R4 has proven to be one of the best 3D LED displays for public viewing because of its ability to offer the most impressive 3D pictures even in an environment which is affected by bright light. But as we always say, ‘Seeing is Believing’. The impact of 3D technology is difficult to judge on still photos or on videos. We decided to exhibit here at LDI 2011 so that our friends and partners from the AV industry, creative houses and the event management industry in North and South America, will have a chance to see and experience the virtues of the 3D R4 LED display by themselves,” explained Kenneth Yip, Head of JM Rental Limited. www.joinmerit.com

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Synergy AVL’s Henry Saravanan honoured at ASEAN-China Young Entrepreneur Forum

Henry Saravanan, CEO of Synergy AVL, receiving the ‘Outstanding Young Entrepreneur Reward’

Vietnam: The fourth ASEAN-China Young Entrepreneur forum took place in Hanoi, Vietnam from 12 – 15 October 2011.

This annual forum was organised by the VYEA who invited 400 guests from ASEAN countries and China. The main aim of this annual forum was to provide an opportunity for young entrepreneurs to exchange information, seek partners, boost cooperative activities and enhance economic ties between ASEAN and China.

Among the 400 invited guests were government ministers from the ASEAN countries and China as well as delegates.

Delegates got to participate in the forum to exchange their views, socialise and at the same time attend the Gold Star Award 2011 Ceremony.

Each year ASEAN member countries and China nominate successful entrepreneurs to receive the Outstanding Young Entrepreneurs Reward awarded by the VYEA forum. Nominees have to go through a thorough selection process whereby their business and social achievements are scrutinised. Their businesses are also examined to determine details such as total turnover, taxation, profit, staff strength and export turnover.

During the Award Ceremony, Mr. Henry Saravanan, the founder and CEO of Synergy AVL Pte Ltd, was called to ascend the stage to receive the ‘Outstanding Young Entrepreneur Reward’. When interviewed later, he humbly admitted that he was

not aware that he would be receiving any award, and was under the impression that he was only receiving a token of appreciation for attending the forum as a delegate.

“This is undoubtedly a great honour and accomplishment for Synergy AVL, my family, as well as me,” stated Saravanan.

“The nomination itself was a great honour, but to win the award was recognition of all the hard work that we have invested over all these years. I am glad all our efforts have been recognised by the business community. The award indicates that Synergy AVL is on the right path and this creates better business opportunities and also motivates my highly dedicated team to provide more efficient and innovative solutions to better serve our expanding list of satisfied customers.”

Synergy AVL was established with a simple business model to be a leading supplier of professional audio, lighting, video, staging and specialty lamps for Singapore and the ASEAN region. Over the years, the focus of the company has grown to include consultancy, turnkey integration, project maintenance, product distribution and direct retail. When Saravanan was asked what his vision is for the future of Synergy AVL, he modestly replied, “To be a household brand for all aspects of professional audio, video and lighting services throughout Asia.” www.synergyavl.com

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Harman training on Soundcraft range

India: Harman Professional India recently began its training schedule for providing sound professionals with essential tools and training on the Soundcraft range of digital mixing consoles.

An enthusiastic and diverse group of 40 sound professionals from the Bengaluru region were at the Catholic Club to attend the first in a series of training programmes conducted by Harman Professional India.

Organised by one of Harman India’s key authorised channel partners for the state of Karnataka, Acoustic Control Pvt. Ltd., the training programme witnessed a high level of discussion and interaction.

Acoustic Control specialises in providing professional sound, lighting, video system design and installation. The company distributes products from Harman brands such as AKG, Crown, dbx, BSS, JBL and Soundcraft. Harman India’s authorised distributor for professional products, Delhibased Hi-Tech Audio Systems, provided complete support for the training session.

During the training session, participants were given a complete overview of the Soundcraft Si Compact, Si Series and Vi Series digital mixing consoles. They also had hands-on experience in operating the consoles and were instructed by experts from Harman Professional and Acoustic Control. Stuart Dingwall, Applications Manager for Harman Professional Asia conducted the training programme.

Dingwall has vast international experience in tour, live and installed sound applications.

“We are pleased to enable a much awaited, essential seminar and training programme on Soundcraft mixing consoles for our customers and associates,” said Sanjay Mudartha, Director, Acoustic Control Pvt. Ltd. “It was very encouraging to note the high levels of interest among the participants,” he said. “We, at Acoustic Control, look forward to partnering with Harman India and Hi-Tech Audio systems on further training programmes on sound reinforcement and equipment handling through Harman Professional experts.”

“These training programmes are part of our ongoing strategy to get closer to our customers,” said Vibhor Khanna, National Sales Manager, Harman Professional India.

“We also intend to display and demo the latest and most advanced pro sound technology on a regular basis. There has been an overwhelming response to these training sessions.”

“We have received extensive feedback from pro audio professionals about the regional training programmes on the Harman Professional range,” said Rajan Gupta, Director, Hi- Tech Audio Systems Pvt Ltd. “This programme is just the start of a series of trainings sessions that we are confident will be of great benefit and interest to sound professionals across the country.”

In the coming months, Harman India plans to conduct more training seminars for professionals in the pro audio industry and will include other product lines like microphones, speaker management modules, speaker systems, signal processors, wireless systems, conference systems, cinema systems and line arrays.

“Harman in India is committed to providing audio professionals with the best in technical training, tips and support in order to enable customers to benefit from their Harman equipment,” said Ankush Agarwal, Marketing Manager, Harman Professional India. “The feedback we have received during these sessions are invaluable for our efforts in reaching our customer base.” www.harmanproindia.com

Stuart Dingwall

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C-Mark Digital Audio System used in stadium

Wireless done right!

China: A C-Mark digital audio system was recently used in the Hubei Eco-Sports Park Stadium, located in Jingmen, Hubei Province. The stadium was holding the thirteenth Provincial Games of Hubei Province.

The stadium utilises advanced steel structural suspension techniques and can accommodate more than 30,000 spectators. It has a detachable stage in the center and both the boom and the lights on the stage can be raised up to the roof. This provides the stadium with the flexibility to conduct any kind of event and ensures that the activities are carried out smoothly.

Sports events and artistic performances have different sound requirements.

According to the national standards, in sports games, the mid-frequency must be limited to within 1.7 seconds of its reverb time, while in artistic performances, it must be within a 1.4 seconds. To solve this problem, the stadium was carefully designed to take this into consideration.

A C-MARK professional digital network audio system was specially adopted as the main stadium sound reinforcement system, including C-Mark FH Series horn loudspeakers, T Series intelligent amplifiers and AudioNet digital network systems.

In the opening ceremony of the thirteenth Provincial Games, the C-Mark professional digital audio system provided the spectators with an amazing listening experience with its advanced digital audio technology. www.c-markaudio.com

Total Solution to launch Avolites Sapphire Touch and new range of Vari*Lite luminaires • Industrys most reliable wireless DMX/RDM system • Automated Cognitive Coexistence • Is not disturbed by and will not disturb other systems • Lowest latency in the industry at 5 ms • Link range: 500-1000 meters line-of-sight • Advanced 128 bit encryption • One button takes care of all setup

New range of Vari*Lite luminaires Avolites Sapphire Touch

Singapore: Total Solution plans to launch the Avolites Sapphire Touch and Vari*Lite’s new range of luminaires very soon. Those who are interested to attend the launch are requested to keep a lookout for the full launch information at www.tsm-int.com or email sales@tsm-int.com to get the details. www.tsm-int.com

For more information about LumenRadio’s wireless control products, please visit www.tsm-int.com

www.tsm-int.com • Phone: +65-62879878 • sales@tsm-int.com

They’re all grown and ready to hit the road.

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Fine Art holds First Training Course for overseas engineers

THE LITTLE ONES ARE NOW SHIPPING At less than 61 cm tall and only 20 kg, the VLX3 LED Wash boasts 6,000 lumens using 3 x 120W replaceable custom RGBW LED chipsets with a 10,000 hour source life, all with individual LED control.

Coming in under 64 cm tall and only 25 kg, the VL400 Spot provides 9,000 lumens of output from a 400W MSR Gold 400 Philips MiniFastFit ůĂŵƉ ĂŶĚ ŚĂƐ ϭϰ ĮdžĞĚ ĐŽůŽƌƐ ŽŶ ƚǁŽ independent color wheels.

All created under 64 cm tall and only 25.5 kg, the VL440, VL770, and VL880 Spot luminaires are complete with a 3-wheel CYM color assembly for rich, saturated colors. The VL440 uses a 400W MSR Gold 400 Philips MiniFastFit lamp to produce 9000 lumens of output, the VL770 has a 700W MSR Gold 700 Philips MiniFastFit lamp which produces 15,100 lumens of output, and the VL880 is complete with a 800W MSR WŚŝůŝƉƐ WůĂƟŶƵŵ ϯϱ ůĂŵƉ ƉƌŽĚƵĐŝŶŐ 19,000 lumens of output.

For a complete list of product features visit www.vari-lite.com.

www.tsm-int.com Phone: +65-62879878 sales@tsm-int.com

China: To offer better after-sales service and technical support for their VIP clients abroad, FINE ART held its First Training Course at their facility in Guangzhou, China.

This training course, which was proposed and led by General Manger Ms. Wong in September 2011, was co-organised by the foreign trade, engineering, HR, and marketing departments. In total, 18 engineers from 13 companies in Asia, Europe and America were invited to attend the course. Some, who were not invited, also took part in the course by paying the course fees and their travel expenses on their own.

On 15 October 2011, the course participants began arriving in Guangzhou.

They were received at the airport and sent to Guangzhou Mount River Resort Hotel.

The hotel is situated on Green Mountain and faces the HE LONG Reservoir. The hotel possesses beautiful scenic views of the reservoir and guests were able to enjoy the fresh mountain air. It takes just 10 minutes to get to the FINE ART plant by car. The participants were extremely satisfied with the hotel and its facilities.

The course began on 17 October. In the morning, participants were provided with an overview of FINE ART’s history and were given a guided tour of the performance hall, workshop and the CNC processing center.

This allowed the participants to understand the whole manufacturing process of FINE ART’s fixtures. They were impressed by the “5S” standardised production line and the fixtures. They were also treated to an amazing light show. In the afternoon, lectures were conducted on the fixtures’ components and their practical operation.

Fine Art’s engineers also brought several fixtures from the workshop to demonstrate to the participants.

2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7)

Fine II, III, SHARPY and other new products The layout of the fixtures Practical instructions on how the fixtures are operated Fixture components, disassembly, application and function Repair and maintenance Technical data settings and light effect adjustment Problems, troubleshooting and frequently asked questions

The practical sessions enabled the participants to ask questions about problems and difficulties they encountered while operating the fixtures. Conversely, the engineers were able to share their experiences in repairing the fixtures.

These sessions allowed the participants and engineers to exchange ideas freely and were very effective in helping the participants to solve the problems they encountered.

On 23 October, after the course had been completed, Fine Art arranged a one-day sightseeing tour of Guangzhou for the participants. They got to do some shopping, climb the Canton Tower, visit Beijing Road and taste some delicious food. Fine Art’s generous hospitality was much appreciated by the participants. On 24 October, the participants began their journey home but before they left, the staff at Fine Art gave them small gifts as souvenirs.

The week-long course focused on:

The training course was a success and it allowed the participants to get to know more about FINE ART and the products that they produced as well as how to repair them. Furthermore, the course also helped to create friendship and promote deeper understanding between the staff at Fine Art and the course participants. Fine Art intends to hold more training courses in the future.

1) Multi-media digital fixtures such as

www.fineart-light.com

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Strong turnout at 2011 Harman Workshop

Stuart Dingwall, Harman Professional Applications Manager (left) and Alwyn Lim, Harman Professional Technical Sales Manager.

Singapore: On Friday, 25 November 2011, Mahajak SKM Electronics Pte Ltd (Mahajak) held the 2011 Harman Workshop at the Mahajak SKM Building in Woodlands. About 100 people from the industry and the media attended the full-day workshop which was organised to educate industry professionals about Harman products as well as to celebrate the first anniversary of the partnership between Harman and Mahajak.

The workshop began with a presentation by Harman Professional Applications Manager Stuart Dingwall, who gave an overview of Harman and its popular brands like JBL and Crown. Dingwall talked about JBL’s history as well as the many commercial products within its inventory such as surface-mount speakers, ceiling speakers, pendant loudspeakers, portable PA systems and column speakers.

A highlight of his presentation was when he demonstrated how to use the JBL Ceiling Speaker Configurator, a free software tool available for download from the JBL website. During his presentation, Dingwall also gave a live presentation of JBL’s Vertec VRX900 Series Constant Curvature Line Array System. In addition to this, Dingwall also talked about the Crown range of products and specifically, their amplifier technology. Among the Crown amplifier products he touched on were the ComTech DriveCore Series and the I-Tech HD Series.

After a satisfying lunch buffet, the participants headed back into the training room for the afternoon session presented by Harman Professional Technical Sales Engineer Alwyn Wong. During his presentation, Wong talked about products from the BSS and dbx range, the technology behind these products as well as their applications. After the presentation was over, the participants were treated to a networking session accompanied with free beer sponsored by the organisers.

Glenn Lin, Sales Manager for Mahajak commented, “We are very pleased to see such as large turnout for this event. As you know, this is the First Anniversary of our partnership with Harman. We are very happy that so many people made their way here to Woodlands to attend this workshop and celebrate this special occasion with us.” www.mahajakskm.com www.harman.com

Stuart Dingwall addresses the audience during the live demonstration

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Audio-Technica celebrates 50th Anniversary With that, the glamorous night officially began with a toast of champagne from Matsushita and Chan. One of the main highlights of the event was a fashion showcase of Audio-Technica’s new products and more significantly, the 50th anniversary products that were launched. Unlike most fashion shows, Audio-Technica designed the ‘runway’ such that the models weaved through the audience while wearing the headphones, earphones and holding the microphones. This gave the audience an opportunity to have a close-up view of the products.

Vincent Chan (left), MD of Audio Technica (SEA) Pte Ltd, and Kazuo Matsushita, President of Audio Technica Corporation, toast Audio Technica’s 50th Anniversary

Singapore: 50 years since beginning humbly in a one-storey workshop handcrafting phono cartridges, Audio-Technica has grown into a worldwide audio innovator, branching out from modest roots in Japan throughout Asia, Europe and America.

On 2 December 2011, Audio-Technica (South East Asia) celebrated the 50th anniversary with a dinner at the Capella Hotel in Sentosa.

220 specially invited guests comprising of local and regional customers as well as the media attended the event. The dinner celebration was also the 4th leg of a chain of Audio-Technica global celebration events to commemorate this milestone.

Having made the rounds in Tokyo, Seoul and Taiwan, the celebration arrived in Singapore before it continued on to Guangzhou (China), followed by a stop at the NAMM show in Anaheim, USA in 2012, before finally ending back in Tokyo.

Kazuo Matsushita, President of AudioTechnica Corporation, flew in to Singapore to specially grace the anniversary event. In his welcome speech, Mr. Matsushita presented a brief overview of Audio-Technica’s history as it rode the wave of changes in the volatile audio landscape to become the established company it is today. He said, “We have grown in step with the growth of the audio industry, and we have been greatly affected by the downsizing due to digitalisation. To date, we’ve been through many crisis and can expect to be affected by a variety of factors in the future.” However, he added that with the mentality of ‘a company is its people’, the passion of the employees would continue

to be the driving force for the company to remain as one of the top audio manufacturers in the world.

That night was also an opportunity for the Managing Director of Audio-Technica (S.E.A.) Pte Ltd, Vincent Chan, to extend his heartfelt gratitude to his supportive partners in this region. Citing how Audio-Technica was able to transcend almost seamlessly from meeting the demands of analog vinyl records to digital Walkman audio players, he further emphasised the importance of maintaining a great business relationship. By working closely with the market, it would power the brand towards the next milestone. Chan said, “I am confident that if we approach these obstacles and opportunities together with the same spirit and the same drive we hold today, Audio-Technica will continue to venture purposely forward.” He left everyone with a quote from Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company. Mr. Chan quoted, “If everyone is moving forward together, then success will take care of itself.”

Out of the 33 products that were showcased, two were most noteworthy - the limited edition handcrafted AT4050URUSHI and ATHW3000ANV wooden headphones. Japanese artisans specially crafted the AT4050URUSHI by applying Maki-e painting and Urushi lacquer techniques on the classic AT4050 studio microphone. The end product is a combination of cutting-edge technology and Japanese tradition. On the other hand, the ATH-W3000ANV is the latest in the line of the famed W (Wood) Series. With only 2,000 pieces of this handcrafted Hokkaido Asada cherry wood headphone being produced, this traditional Echizen lacquer-finished design, along with the AT4050URUSHI, are set to be timeless collectibles.

All the guests were treated to a visual feast with an array of entertainment during the 8-course dinner. Singapore’s favourite local comedian, Kumar, charmed the crowd and tickled everyone with his usual brand of witticism. The night was rounded off by local Acappella boy band Juz-B. The group, one of the most memorable from Singapore’s Channel U Superband Competition, dazzled the audience with their clean rendition of pop songs and showcased the clear sounding Audio-Technica AE6100 microphones. www.audiotechnica.com.sg

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NEWS

TANNOY Product Seminar showcases latest range of speakers

(L-R) David Wong, EAS Sales Manager, Daniel Wong, EAS General Manager (Commercial), Graham Hendry, TANNOY Vice-President of AET Group and Francois Lay, TANNOY Export Sales Manager.

Singapore: On 8 December 2011, a product seminar was held by EAS at the Raffles Town Club to introduce the latest range of speakers from TANNOY. Industry professionals and members of the media were present for the event which was also held to commemorate 15 years of partnership between EAS and TANNOY. Francois Lay, Export Sales Manager for TANNOY, began the seminar by giving a brief overview of the history of TANNOY. TANNOY was founded in Scotland in 1926 and 2011 marked the 85th Anniversary of the company. TANNOY is one of the oldest and most prestigious audio brands in the world and the word ‘Tannoy’ appears in the dictionary as ‘a communications system with loudspeakers, used for making announcements in public buildings’.

After this brief historical overview, Lay went on to introduce the stylish DVS Series, TANNOY’s new range of surface mount loudspeakers. Designed for a wide variety of discrete small and medium scale sound reinforcement applications, the new DVS Series offers exceptional value and acoustic performance. These speakers are suitable for commercial, professional and residential applications where environmental durability and high quality sound reproduction are required.

The range comprises of 3 models – DVS 4, DVS 6 and DVS 8. Each is based around a point-source driver design comprising a 4”, 6” or 8” mid bass driver respectively, with a coaxially mounted 19mm (0.75”) high frequency section. The highly durable and scuff resistant, high impact ABS enclosure

is available in black or white painted finish.

The third part of Lay’s presentation focused on the OCV Series, which was TANNOY’s brand new range of ‘’open ceiling’’ hanging-pendant loudspeakers, designed specifically for high or open-ceilinged spaces such as airports, railway stations and malls. The OCV Series promises to deliver the renowned acoustic performance and exceptional value of the CVS Series but in an architecturally sensitive, self-contained, lightweight cylindrical enclosure. Available in black or white and comprising of two models, the OCV 6 and OCV 8, the OCV Series is built around a mid-bass driver (150 mm (6”) or 200 mm (8”) respectively) with a coaxially-mounted 19 mm (0.75”) high frequency section, all mounted in the cylindrical steel enclosure with mild steel powder coated grille. The DVS Series, CVS Series and OCV Series form TANNOY’s value range of loudspeakers.

Next up was Graham Hendry, VicePresident of TANNOY’s AET (Applications, Engineering and Training) Group – a new body just formed by TANNOY. Hendry began by introducing the new VX and VXP Series of loudspeakers. The VX and VXP Series build on the overwhelming success of the existing V Series range with an expanded line-up that includes twin driver configurations and new QCW (Q-Centric Waveguide) transducer technology for optimal tonal clarity, LF performance and greater pattern control. The VXP Series features Lab.gruppen’s new IDEEA (IntelliDrive Energy Efficient Amplifier) power module which provides new levels of

reliability and efficiency in the self-powered solution. Hendry also conducted a live demonstration of the VXP Series which allowed the participants to experience its outstanding sound. During his presentation, Hendry also provided the audience with live demonstrations of TANNOY’s VQ Series large format loudspeakers as well as the impressive effects of the Qflex steerable array loudspeakers.

The seminar was a success and participants were impressed with the virtues and capabilities of TANNOY’s latest loudspeaker systems. Before the seminar ended participants were allowed to examine the new speaker systems as well as pose questions to Hendry and Lay. www.tannoy.com www.easpl.com.sg

Graham Hendry talks about the features of the VXP Series

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ntertainment technology asia

IIR Exhibitions hosts very successful 2nd PALME FUTSAL Tournament

Team Sovis display their 3rd Place and Top Scorer trophies

The Champions, Team ESCO, with IIR Exhibitions Managing Director Rosalind Ng (third from left), IIR Exhibitions Director Anna Cheong (fourth from left) and IIR COO John Hassett (fifth from left)

Singapore: Fun, food and fabulous prizes were the order of the day as friends and colleagues from the Professional Audio, Lighting and AV industry gathered at Sports Planet at the East Coast Parkway on 16 December 2011 for the 2nd PALME FUTSAL Tournament. This was the second time that IIR Exhibitions Pte Ltd was hosting the event to give professionals from the industry a chance to network and enjoy themselves in an informal setting.

The response from the industry was overwhelming. Fourteen teams (an increase of 8 teams from the previous year) participated in the tournament which quickly became a hotly contested affair.

The teams were divided into two groups with the top two teams from each group progressing to the semi-finals. The losing teams from the two semi-final matches then competed for third place while the winning teams competed in the final for the PALME FUTSAL Trophy.

After six hours of intense competition, Team ESCO defeated Team MSE in the final by way of a penalty shootout to win the 2nd PALME FUTSAL Tournament in dramatic style. Team Sovis defeated Team Synergy to win third place. The top scorer for the event was Florin from Team Sovis with 7 goals. After the final match, IIR COO John Hassett and IIR Exhibitions Managing

IIR COO John Hassett (right) addresses the participants while IIR Exhibitions Director Anna Cheong looks on.

Director Rosalind Ng presented prizes and medals to all the participants. During the competition, a lucky draw was also conducted with the top 20 participants winning a prize. The top prize was an iPad 2.

Fabiano Besio, Co-Founder of LDR, who travelled to Singapore to participate in the event, commented, “The PALME FUTSAL Tournament has been a unique experience for me. It gave me a chance to meet with some of the most important industry players, all at one time, without the rush and pressure of a trade show. I also got to have a lot of fun.”

IIR Exhibitions Managing Director Rosalind Ng tells the crowd that IIR looks forward to hosting another FUTSAL tournament in 2012

www.iirx.com.sg

Team ESCO scores the winning penalty

Team MSE celebrate their 2nd Place finish

The winner of the lucky draw receives her iPad 2 from IIR COO John Hassett

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EVENTS CALENDAR

ntertainment technology asia

LIST OF EXHIBITIONS 2012 NAMM Show 2012

Palm / Install Expo 2012, China

Integrate Australia 2012

19 – 22 January 2012 Anaheim Convention Center Levels 2 & 3 and Hall E California, USA www.namm.org

24 – 27 May 2012 China International Exhibition Centre Beijing, China http://palmexpo.net

21 – 23 August 2012 Royal Hall of Industries & Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park Sydney, Australia www.integrate-expo.com

Integrated Systems Europe 2012

29 May – 1 June 2012 COEX Exhibition Centre Seoul, Korea www.kobashow.com

31 January – 2 February 2012 Amsterdam RAI The Netherlands www.iseurope.org

GET Show 2012 28 February – 2 March 2012 Guangzhou Pazhou Poly World Trade Exhibition Hall Guangzhou, China www.getshow.com.cn

KOBA 2012

Palm / Integrate Expo 2012 31 May – 2 June 2012 Bombay Exhibition Center Mumbai, India www.diversifiedcommunications.in

InfoComm 2012

BIRTV 2012 22 – 25 August 2012 China International Exhibition Center Beijing, China www.birtv.com

PLASA 2012 9 – 12 September 2012 Earls Court London, United Kingdom www.plasashow.com

Conference: 9 – 15 June 2012 Exhibition: 13 – 15 June 2012 Las Vegas Convention Center Las Vegas, USA www.infocommshow.org

Palme / Install Thailand 2012

Broadcast Asia 2012

Broadcast India

21 – 24 March 2012 Messe Frankfurt Frankfurt, Germany www.prolight-sound.com

19 – 22 June 2012 Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre Singapore www.broadcast-asia.com

Conference: 10 – 11 October 2012 Exhibition: 10 – 12 October 2012 Bombay Exhibition Centre Mumbai India www.broadcastindiashow.com

InfoComm China 2012

SLV Expo 2012

Prolight + Sound Shanghai

11 – 13 April 2011 China National Convention Center Beijing, China www.infocomm-china.com

20 – 22 June 2012 Singapore Expo, Hall 3 Singapore www.slvexpo.com

11 – 14 October 2012 Shanghai, China www.prolightsound.com

Palme / Install Middle East 2012

Houses of Worship Technologies Asia 2012

Conference: 18 – 21 October 2012 Exhibition: 19 – 21 October 2012 Las Vegas Convention Center Las Vegas, USA www.ldishow.com

China International Expo 2012 29 February – 3 March 2012 China Import & Export Fair Pazhou Complex Guangzhou, China www.soundlight.cn

Prolight + Sound Frankfurt 2012

1 – 3 May 2012 Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre Dubai, UAE www.palme-middleeast.com

Lightfair International 2012 9 – 11 May 2012 Las Vegas Convention Center Las Vegas, USA www.lightfair.com

16 – 18 August 2012 Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre Singapore http://housesofworshiptech.com

19 – 21 September 2012 Impact Exhibition and Convention Center Bangkok, Thailand www.installseries.com

LDI

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ENNOVATIONS

39

Martin release version 2.1.0 software

Martin P3-200 System Controller

Martin Professional has recently made available version 2.1.0 software for the awardwinning family of P3 System Controllers for LED screens. Compatible with the Martin P3-100™, P3-200™ and P3-PC™ System Controllers, the free-of-charge software includes a host of new features and improvements.

One of the key new software features is CAD Mapping Background, an extremely ergonomic feature that makes P3 System Controllers

even easier to use. CAD Mapping Background allows users to import a CAD drawing (stage, building, etc.) and then map LED video panels directly onto the drawing without the need to measure distances or angles.

Another key new feature is a Kinesys K2 Motion Control interface. By linking a P3 System Controller to a Kinesys K2 Motion Control System, real-world movement and/or rotation of panels can be tracked in real-time

by the P3 System Controller. This enables direct panel position and rotation compensation in real-time without operator intervention.

The Kinesys K2 Motion Control interface can be combined in a set-up with DMX in which a Kinesys K2 controls panel positioning and angles and a DMX lighting desk controls panel brightness, color temperature, etc. www.martin.com

Powersoft unleashes M Series DSP + ETH amplifiers

Powersoft is now shipping the new 2 and 4-channel M Series DSP+ETH amplifiers.

The M Series DSP+ETH adds exceptional functionality and control to the M Series amplifier platform, making it an excellent value for both production and installation applications.

“We are very excited to offer the M Series DSP+ETH amplifiers to our customers. With the available EQ and crossover filters, production and installation companies can reduce the size and weight for a variety of applications,” said Ken Blecher, EVP of Powersoft Audio Technologies Corp. “Imagine 2 bi-amplified monitor mixes of power amplification with processing in just 1 rack unit – or 8 bi-amplified mixes in just 4 rack units. The addition of DSP+ETH to the M Series product line gives the growing family of M Series users more flexibility and control in one rack unit.”

The M Series DSP+ETH models are available in three 2-channel (M30D DSP+ETH, M20D

DSP+ETH, M14D DSP+ETH) and two 4-channel (M50Q DSP+ETH, M28Q DSP+ETH) versions.

Both the 2 and 4-channel units provide two or four inputs and outputs respectively. In addition, each channel offers five bi-quad filters for system equalisation, two crossovers, eight bi-quad filters, and RMS and peak limiters eliminating the need for outboard equalisers.

Each M Series DSP+ETH amplifier is housed in a one rack unit, rugged metal case weighing in at only 16.3 lbs (7.4 kg). The four-channel models provide up to 1250W/ch. on 4 ohm loads, while the two-channel models offer a maximum output of 1500W/ch. on 4 ohm loads. Powersoft ’s patented bridgeable Class D outputs provide high quality sound, outstanding damping factor and, together with the switch mode power supply, optimal efficiency. This results in reduced operational costs from lower power consumption of both amplifier and external cooling and makes on-site AC mains distribution vastly easier,

especially for live sound applications. All M Series DSP+ETH models are able to drive 70V constant voltage lines directly without the need of transformers for installations.

The M Series DSP+ETH units can store up to four presets and recall them via a pushbutton on the rear panel. Presets can be created, stored and completely monitored utilising the Armonia Pro Audio Suite software with computer and amplifiers communicating over standard ethernet. The internal DSP engine delivers up to 114 dB(A) signal to noise ratio (analog in/out) with a 1 ms processing delay time. It also provides a complete set of limiters: Peak with variable ratio, RMS and frequency shaping RMS. www.powersoft-audio.com

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ntertainment technology asia

ETC releases aRFR app for Android users

aRFR screen shots

Following the popularity of ETC’s iRFR application for Apple’s iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, ETC has developed a similar application for Android devices - the aRFR. Available through the Android marketplace at https://market.android.com/details?id=com. etcconnect.arfr , the aRFR offers the same functionality as the iRFR and at the same price.

The app allows users to turn any mobile device into a touchscreenbased remote controller for Eos- and Congo-family control desks, Eos and Ion Remote Processor Units (RPUs) and the Congo Light Server.

Any user can download the program without factory hardware.

Security controls provided in the app prevent unauthorised access to lighting control systems.

Like the iRFR, there are two versions of the aRFR - one that supports Light Relief (UK) and one that supports Behind the Scenes (US and Canada/The ESTA Foundation). Both organisations provide aid for entertainment-technology workers faced with difficulties like medical emergencies. All of the proceeds from the sales of the iRFR and aRFR are donated directly to the charity selected by users.

A free aRFR trial app is also available, with identical functionality but which disconnects every ten minutes. After five days of use, the Connect button will no longer be available. This gives users a good idea of whether the app is suitable for them. aRFR requires Android V2.2 or higher and Eos-family software V1.9.6 or Congo software V6.1 or higher. www.etcconnect.com

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ENNOVATIONS

CM Man Guard Hoists for material handling Columbus McKinnon Corporation have introduced the newly designed CM Man Guard Electric Chain Hoist in capacities from 1/4 to 3 tons. The core of the Man Guard is the overload clutch and heavy duty rating, but the hoist boasts numerous features that set it apart from other hoists in this category.

All CM Man Guard hoists feature an open design which allows for quick access to the brake and wiring for easy maintenance and adjustments. Following in the footsteps of the popular Lodestar, the CM Man Guard comes standard with a heavy duty AC disk brake, precision gearing and eďŹƒcient electric

hoist motors that are precisely designed for each speed and capacity. The result is less energy consumption required to operate the hoist as compared to its competitive counterparts which makes the CM Man Guard more economical to operate while providing an environmentally friendly hoist alternative. The CM Man Guard comes with single speed or variable frequency drive as standard units. The rigid hook mounting (standard) is interchangeable to other mounting options (sold separately). www.cmworks.com

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ntertainment technology asia

Outline introduces GTO-LOW Bass Extension Cabinet

Outline has introduced its GTO-LOW bass extension cabinet. Designed as the dedicated bass extension cabinet for the GTO (Grand Touring Outline) Series line array speakers, GTO-LOW features the same dual 15-inch drive units, physical dimensions and rigging hardware as the standard GTO cabinet for easy transport, set-up and maintenance. The cabinets deliver the extended bass response necessary to enhance the sound quality of the GTO Line Array.

“The GTO-LOW is a remarkable addition to the GTO Line Array family of speakers,” said Tom Bensen, senior vice president and managing director of Outline North America. “The reflex ports are in the same configuration as the main GTO cabinets, which preserve the low-frequency continuity of the array when the cabinets are combined. This allows combinations of GTO and GTO-LOW to be deployed in a wide variety of ways depending on the application, venue and available space.

GTO-LOW and new GTO-DF cabinets make our best line array system even better.”

GTO-LOW modules have the same footprint and rigging hardware as GTO, so they can be easily incorporated within a GTO array to extend its overall height.

Depending on the exact configuration of cabinets, inclusion of GTO-LOW cabinets within a GTO array provides enhanced low frequency directivity and extends the low frequency response of the array. Benefits include the removal of unwanted low frequencies on stage, much greater control over low frequencies in reverberant spaces and more precise overall system control in acoustically challenging venues.

While the GTO-LOW has the same external shape as GTO to facilitate easy storage, transport and inclusion within GTO/GTOLOW combination systems, there are some significant internal differences. Because of its very high power handling and frequency response, the whole structure features extensive internal bracing and a single-piece front baffle to maintain structural integrity.

Despite all this extra internal engineering, GTO-LOW still weighs only 72 kg (159 lbs), including the rigging hardware, which uses Neodymium drivers that provide superior performance with lighter weight. This provides advantages in crew requirements, deployment, transportation and storage, enhancing the efficient use of the system in touring applications and providing realworld operational advantages to the user.

The GTO-LOW delivers a frequency response of (-10 dB) 28 Hz to 300 Hz or (±3 dB) 40 Hz to 225 Hz with power handling of 1,200 watts AES continuous and 4,800 watts peak. The frequency response of GTO-LOW is sufficiently flexible as it can be adjusted significantly through a range of values to suit various mid/high elements beyond standard GTO and can easily handle up to 200Hz. In standard mode, the frequency response of the GTO-LOW mirrors that of the low-frequency section of the GTO cabinet (50Hz to 100Hz), but the user may also choose to extend the range of the GTO-LOW cabinets down to 40Hz if the application requires. The maximum SPL at one metre for one cabinet is 131 dB continuous and 137 dB peak, with 143 dB continuous and 149 dB peak for a four cabinet array. Impedance is 2 x 8 Ohms. www.outline.it

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ENNOVATIONS

43

Litec launches new version of QX30S truss range A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) Ltd’s Rigging division, the exclusive UK distributor of Litec truss have announced the latest evolution of their most popular truss range QX30S. The new version, named QX30AC has been developed directly for A.C. Rigging in answer to requests from some of its most prolific customers and is a direct evolution of the most widely used truss from the manufacturer.

The primary feature of the new QX30AC is a change to the main chords of the truss, which now feature a 48.3mm outer dimension tube with a wall thickness of 3mm. Additionally, the diagonals have been changed to a 16mm x 2mm tube to keep weight down while maintaining maximum strength of the structure. This change makes the truss even more useful as a key rental product. The thicker wall makes the truss more robust to knocks and bumps and the 48mm O.D. means the truss can be used with common scaolding type fittings which, when used with 50mm truss chords, can cause damage to the truss.

The new design also results in an increase in strength of over 30%, which makes it almost as strong as Litec’s heavy duty end plated truss QD30S, but with a much more elegant design and much lower self weight. The new QX30AC series truss still employs the same end plate design and dual connection systems of QXFC fast connection kits or M10 hex socket head nut and bolt kits, ensuring full compatibility of trusses and accessories between the new and existing lines. www.ac-et.com

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ntertainment technology asia

DiGiCo’s SD9 gets Supercharged

Thanks to the future proof nature of its FPGA technology, DiGiCo’s SD9 is getting an amazing boost from software and firmware upgrades that frees up some more of the FPGA’s processing power.

With up to 100% more added on certain features, it truly makes the SD9 console feel like it has been supercharged. The upgrades expand the capabilities of the SD9 by a phenomenal amount.

In celebration of DiGiCo’s anniversary year, the upgrade will be free to all existing SD9 owners, and included with any SD9 console purchased up until the last day of Prolight + Sound 2012.

The SD9 Supercharged has a significant expansion in Chanel Count, Dynamic EQs, Multi-band Compressors and Matrix, with the addition of DiGiTuBes, Reorder of Busses and Multi-channel inputs (formerly only available on SD7).

Further new features include an expanded Aux Panel, increased dynamic functions such as a Duck option and expander for the Gate, a De-esser and two types of Knee for the Compressor. There are also new FX types with multitap, ping pong and stereo delay, with different delay times for left and right. A warmth button is provided on each channel for analogue emulation and two types of EQ have been added (Classic and Precision). There are now also standard template sessions.

Another new feature, Sets (previously only available on SD7T), has been enhanced to allow for ‘Set Spill’. This allows the user to create Sets and, with a simple button press, change the console layout to display members of that Set. This means that SD9 Supercharged has more features and functionality than any other console in its class. To coincide with this additional processing firmware release, DiGiCo is also offering a 72 mic input system at an introductory total system price. www.digico.biz

ntertainment technology asia

ENNOVATIONS

45

New and updated Wholehog Accessories

Digital and Automated lighting pioneer High End Systems, a Barco company, has announced a new Wholehog MIDI/LTC Widget and cosmetic changes to other existing Wholehog accessory products.

The new MIDI/LTC widget replaces the original LTC Widget and adds additional MIDI functionality with MIDI in/out/thru capability.

Packaged in a lightweight metallic black case, the Wholehog MIDI/LTC Widget connects to any USB enabled Windows PC, Road Hog console, or Wholehog 3 console to provide a single Linear Timecode input as well as MIDI input/output capabilities.

When used in conjunction with a Wholehog 3 console, Road Hog console, or Hog 3PC software, the new MIDI/LTC Widget provides a powerful level of timecode and MIDI functionality. This configuration provides an excellent solution for backup and show control applications.

All other Wholehog Widgets have also changed packaging to a modern, lightweight metallic black case. The single universe DMX Widget provides 512 channels of DMX via USB, while the four universe DMX Super Widget provides 2048 channels of DMX via USB. In addition to the cosmetic change for Wholehog USB Widgets, the DMX Processor

Precision control at your fingertips

The release of version 3.2.0 software earlier in 2011 added many new features to the already feature-rich lighting console range.

The new, updated cosmetic appearance of the Wholehog accessories remains compatible with the entire range of products including the Road Hog Full Boar, Road Hog, Wholehog 3, and Hog 3PC. www.highend.com

Keeping control of high performance systems is often a complicated undertaking. No matter how large or complex the sound system however, the new LM 44 from Lake will drive it with absolute precision, and minimum effort.

LM 44 is a powerful, compact, full-featured digital audio system processor with peerless credentials.

*Please note the racing steering wheel depicted is for artistic purposes only.

WWW.LAKEPROCESSING.COM

8000 (DP8000) will soon receive a stylish update. The updated DP8000 will feature a larger LCD screen and metallic black finish. All functionality will remain the same as existing DP8000 units as the change is purely aesthetic.

The LM 44 provides four analog input and four analog outputs, in addition to 8-in/8-out AES3 and 4-in/8-out DanteTM transport, while ILULĂ„ [[PUN MYVT [OL SH[LZ[ PTWSLTLU[H[PVU VM 3HRLÂťZ PJVUPJ Âş4LZH ,8Âť JVUĂ„ N\YH[PVU ;OPZ THRLZ 34 WLYMLJ[S` LX\PWWLK [V OHUKSL H ^PKL YHUNL VM -6/ HWWSPJH[PVUZ PUJS\KPUN HZ H TP_ TH[YP_ HUK M\SS Z`Z[LT ,8 JVUZVSL Z^P[JOLY VU SHYNL L]LU[Z PUZLY[LK ,8 MVY TVUP[VY Z`Z[LTZ -6/ [V Z[HNL KPNP[HS H\KPV [YHUZTPZZPVU HUK T\JO TVYL ILZPKLZ 0U JVUQ\UJ[PVU ^P[O [OL UL^ ]LYZPVU VM 3HRL *VU[YVSSLY ZVM[^HYL 34 ZL[Z H UL^ ILUJOTHYR PU WYLJPZPVU [\UPUN JVU[YVS HUK Ă… L_PIPSP[` PU WLYMVYTHUJL H\KPV +VUÂť[ Q\Z[ [HRL V\Y ^VYK MVY P[ [OV\NO :JHU [OL 89 JVKL MVY L_JS\ZP]L ]PKLV PU[LY]PL^Z ^P[O ZVTL VM [OL SLHKPUN Z`Z[LT LUNPULLYZ \ZPUN 34 [VKH`

*Please note the racing steering wheel depicted is for artistic purposes only

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ntertainment technology asia

Outline introduces new ATASI

Outline has launched its new Advanced Technology Audio System Initiative (ATASI).

ATASI is centered on Outline’s advanced iMode technology, as expressed in the Mini-COM.P.A.S.S. active line array system and iSM floor monitor systems. iMode technology embeds a Linux-based CPU — with integrated DSP chip, parameter control software, Web server and power amplifier — right into the speaker cabinets, thereby streamlining set-up and control by eliminating the outboard gear between the console and power amplifier. These systems combine to offer the house of worship, educational institution, theatre or other small to medium-sized venues exceptional sound quality, streamlined operation, space efficiency and AC mains and HVAC savings.

“With the advent of iMode technology, both the Mini-COM.P.A.S.S. and iSM speaker systems have been completely transformed from great-sounding, spacesaving systems into advanced technology platforms,” said Tom Bensen, senior vice president and managing director of Outline North America. “Because of the power and control possibilities of iMode, installations like a house of worship will benefit through efficient use of system

operators and engineers, the removal of side-of-stage amplifier racks and related heat- and power-draw issues, while offering the capability to shape and direct sound in any acoustic space. Outline’s ATASI has no match in the market and will deliver superior performance from installation to operation in any venue.”

The benefits of Outline’s ATASI are numerous, covering every aspect of a live sound installation. Through iMode, the audio signal, either analog or digital, travels directly to the cabinets, significantly reducing installation time and costs. As all system parameters can be addressed via any Web-enabled device, including iPad and iPad 2 through an Outline iPad app, an engineer, administrator or custodian can access system parameters from within the auditorium, an office or even from home, if necessary. An engineer can now stand on stage and tune the floor monitors by directly listening to them. The system is also tamper-proof, as everything the system needs to operate is enclosed within the speaker cabinets and is password protected. www.outline.it

Versatile and powerful Q-WASH™ 560Z-LED CHAUVET® has introduced the moving head wash luminaire Q-Wash™ 560Z-LED - ideal for highlighting specific areas or for flooding the stage with light due to its variable six-to-32-degree zoom.

Q-Wash™ 560Z-LED is powered by 91 threewatt RGBWA Cree LEDs and is designed to produce massive flicker-free output, while maintaining quiet operation. Its superior colour mixing provides a better spectrum of colour, from the most vibrant hues to subtle pastels. Quick pan-and-tilt speed works to get the fixture into position for great

effects. Q-Wash™ 560Z-LED also features three- and five-pin DMX connections. www.chauvetlighting.com

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Chroma-Q Color Charge Plus provides improved brightness The new Chroma-Q™ Color Charge Plus™ is a higher output version of the original battery powered, wireless DMX fixture. It is ideal for any temporary indoor lighting applications where wiring is a challenge or where install speed is critical, transforming a venue in minutes.

The Color Charge Plus utilises the very latest generation of LED and optics, resulting in 50% more output (900 lumens) than the original Color Charge (600 lumens) from the same size unit.

The Color Charge Plus fixture’s environmentally friendly design includes a recyclable long life battery cell and an interchangeable LED head for upgrading in the future. The highly efficient nickelmetal hydride (NiMH) power cell delivers up to 30 hours usage from a single charge and provides up to 1,000 charges - approximately double the life of lead-acid batteries. The fixture also features a built-in mains charger that enables it to continue to be used while charging, and a gas gauge showing the percentage and hours of usage remaining.

The Color Charge Plus features wireless solutions, wireless DMX control and syncing between units, allowing the connection of up to 170 fixtures on a single network. With a wireless range of 100m in a crowded room and 200m with a clear line of site, the Color Charge Plus is ideal for large indoor spaces. The unit’s wireless aerial also folds away discreetly for convenient transportation.

The plug and play fixture also features synchronised effects between units, slave modes allowing simple opposite a/b colour effects and a built-in stand-alone playback mode. The Color Charge Plus also utilises unique colour mixing and control management technologies providing a high quality light output.

The Chroma-Q RGBA engine has been developed to deliver a CRI of 92, for true colour balance across the spectrum and accurate tungsten white light emulation. The fixture utilises unique ColorSure™ technology for enhanced colour consistency across fixtures.

The unit also features smooth, theatrical grade dimming, making it suitable for a wide range of temporary entertainment and architectural lighting applications. Featuring a quick focus click mechanism providing stepped beam angles, the remote head can be quickly and easily positioned. For discreet usage, the unit features a black body and optional half hat snoot to hide the lens source from view.

The Color Charge Plus can be floor mounted or hung from truss via 1/2” nutsert and safely secured in place via a built-in Kensington lock slot.

For maximum practicality, the Color Charge Plus can also be mains powered and controlled via wired DMX. www.chroma-q.com

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ntertainment technology asia

DTS Lighting unleashes new JACK moving head projector The JACK is a high-powered, compact, lightweight moving head fitted with an advanced MSD Platinum 5R 189W discharge lamp, a wide excursion motorised zoom and ultra-fast and silent pan/tilt functions (colour change, gobo change, focus, zoom, iris).

It provides a powerful combination of sharp overlapping gobo projections (19 gobos), a variety of 18 colours plus 2-colour beams and eye-catching dynamic effects. The unit also features a new Tri-phase stepper motor technology for ultra-fast and silent pan and tilt movements: Pan 540° (2,5 sec); Tilt 270° (1,5 sec).

The JACK also combines a massive luminosity of 35,000 Lux at 5 m (4°), extremely uniform projection with luminosity regularly diffused at any point of the light beam. There is no need for a range of lights (Wash / Spot / Beam), the JACK does it all. The beam opening is: 1° - 4°

‘Beam’ projection; 4° - 34° ‘Spot’ projection; 35° - 46° ‘Wash’ projection.

The JACK has also been ergonomically engineered. Thanks to its compactness and lightweight (only 11 Kg), the unit is very easy to transport, install and store. In addition, it is very eco-friendly. The JACK generates 35,000 Lux using only a 189 W lamp achieving a good balance between performance and power consumption.

This versatile moving head is suitable for a wide range of applications, such as concerts, special events, fashion displays, corporate events, television studios, theatres, shopping malls, libraries, museums, exhibitions, clubs, buildings, monuments, houses of worship, resorts, theme parks and sport facilities. www.dts-lighting.com

Martin introduce Exterior 100 IP68™ and Exterior 50 IP68™ The Exterior 100 IP68 and Exterior 50 IP68 from Martin Professional are compact, fully weatherproofed luminaires built to withstand extreme outdoor and underwater environments. These super-rugged LED luminaires are designed for applications requiring superb colour mixing or high quality white light for narrow to medium flood and spot lighting applications.

The Exterior 100 and Exterior 50 emit a quality of light that traditional RGB systems can’t match. The addition of white in the RGBW colour mixing system allows for a wider colour palette for washes of vibrant shades to subtle pastels. When high quality white light is required, cold, neutral and warm white fixtures are also available.

A colour calibration system - a unique feature for lighting fixtures of this size and power – eliminates the uneven colour projection associated with many LED lighting fixtures.

The Exterior 100 and 50 emit like colours across all fixtures right out of the box, ensuring maximum colour consistency and uniform colours for seamless overlapping.

The Exterior 100 and 50 use pre-mixed LEDs, a superior colour mixing system compared to single-colour chips. Colour is fully blended before it leaves the lens so that individual source colours are not seen, very important for close-to-surface lighting applications such as wall grazing.

Martin Exterior 50 IP68 (left) and Exterior 100 IP68 (right)

Fully pre-mixed colour also eliminates the problem of colour shadowing when lighting objects or uneven surfaces, as well as the unsightly multi-colour look on the face of the fixture, both problems with single-colour LED fixtures.

This versatility in operation makes the Exterior 100 and 50 useful for a wide variety of applications such as fountains, pools, waterfalls, building facades, landscaping, cruise ships, or any environment where conditions are harsh.

Built to survive the toughest conditions and any type of weather, the Exterior 100 and Exterior 50 feature an extremely durable, weatherproof construction for use in all outdoor environments. An IP68 housing allows for use underwater, or semi-submerged, and because the luminaires are designed to stay cool out of water as well, they can be mounted completely exposed.

An ultra-compact housing means the Exterior 100 and 50 can be easily tucked away to discreetly highlight architectural details.

Designed to disappear into their surroundings, a choice of light shields provides for glare control, further reducing the visibility of the luminaires. Additionally, thin, low-voltage cables are not only easily hidden, they also make for a safer installation. www.martin.com

ntertainment technology asia

ENNOVATIONS

d&b audiotechnik launches its little E4 and E5 loudspeakers either the d&b D6 or D12 amplifiers and up to four cabinets may be driven by each channel of either amplifier. Firmware and software updates including the E4 are available for download under the relevant sections within support/downloads at www.dbaudio. com. These provide configurations for all current d&b amplifiers and the latest version of R1 remote control software. Firmware and software updates to include the E5 will be available in January 2012.

The E4 and E5 loudspeakers are specifically intended for mobile near field applications for speech and music reinforcement in theatres, conferences, industrial presentations and broadcast studios and as surround sound, delay and fill systems. Both can be used standalone or supplemented by different subwoofers from the E-Series.

Werner ‘Vier’ Bayer, Product Manager at d&b commented, “When we launched the E6 into the E-Series we thought at the time that this little loudspeaker was the final piece to complete the package since the introduction of the E12X and the cardioid B4 subwoofers.

However, these two new loudspeakers have proved us wrong. The E4 and E5 are great additions to this Series providing even further flexibility along with astonishing performance for their size. They really should be listened to, to be believed.”

The E-4 loudspeaker

The d&b audiotechnik benchmark E-Series comprises some of the smallest loudspeakers within the Black range of products.

They are highly compact and unobtrusive in their design, making them visually discreet yet audibly impressive for such small loudspeakers. In order to expand the offering within this Series, d&b has launched the new E4 and E5 loudspeakers that size wise fit below the recently launched E6, the successor for the venerable little E3. The E4 has been available since November 2011, while the release of the E5 is scheduled for January 2012.

The E4 and E5, the latter being a new design for the popular E0 in the Series, are lightweight two-way passive loudspeakers that employ a 4” and 5” LF driver respectively and a coaxially mounted wide dispersion dome tweeter. Both are mounted in highly compact enclosures and offer wide symmetrical dispersion patterns in the horizontal and vertical plane, while the cabinets may be mounted in either attitude. They have built-in passive crossover networks with a frequency response extending from 130 to 20 kHz for the E4 and 85 Hz to 20 kHz for the E5. The E4 and weighs in at 1.1 kg (2.4 lb) and the E5 at 2.2 kg (4.8 lb). They produce a maximum dB SPL of 115 and 117 respectively. The enclosures are injection moulded providing both excellent mechanical and acoustical properties and are coated with an impact resistant black paint finish. The front of the loudspeakers are protected by a rigid metal grill and incorporated into the rear panel is an M10 threaded insert to accept the Ball joint adapter, two NL4 connectors and a 2 pole push terminal.

The loudspeakers are weather protected and suitable for temporary outdoor use as standard, and as with all other E-Series cabinets are available for order with a special colour option. They can be powered by

The E-5 loudspeaker

www.dbaudio.com www.democracyforlisteners.com

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TECHNOLOGY

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ENNOVATIONS

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Flashline – Turbosound’s new large scale line array significantly raises the bar for concert and

festival sound power and authority, while the new generation Dendritic waveguides ensure that a phase coherent wavefront reaches all audience members with uniform frequency response.

Designed for concert tours and festivals, Flashline is a complete turnkey sound reinforcement system which delivers hi-fi sound quality to large audiences. Comprising modular line array loudspeaker elements, subwoofers, rigging hardware, and fully loaded and tested amplifier racks, Flashline

The power capability of the four frequency bands in the TFS-900H line array cabinet is exactly matched to each channel of the 20000DP four-channel DSP-based amplifier, resulting in near-perfect energy transfer to each of the eleven dedicated transducers. Flashline makes extensive use of paper cone transducers to deliver vocal frequencies and with the unique combination of Polyhorn and Dendritic technologies provides the sonic key to Turbosound’s new large scale line array loudspeaker system. www.turbosound.com

Christie adds new YK50 to its line-up

The award-winning Christie Nitro Solutions Integrated moving yokes and digital projector systems enable bright, high-quality video and lighting effects to be projected onto virtually any surface. Designed for staging and event applications, the Christie YK50, a compact dual-arm yoke, integrates with the Christie LX700 and Christie LHD700 projectors to provide 7,000 ANSI lumens in a professional moving digital luminaire. The combination of the Christie YK50 with either of these projectors gives you bright, realistically coloured, moving digital images, lighting and video displays – ideal for any small to midsize venue where space is limited or less brightness is needed such as museums, lobby displays, churches and planetariums.

Projector movement and control is managed using DMX512 protocol that lets you integrate and control lighting equipment and video projectors easily with the same console. These

versatile yokes can be flown, rigged or set up at floor level, according to application needs.

Famed lighting designer Bruno Corsini, one of the world’s leading lighting and AV designers, put the YK50 to the test. Of the Christie Nitro Solutions, Corsini said, “No other solution on the market provides such a level of flexibility and power. The Christie Nitro Series affords the brilliance of up to 22,000 lumens, which cuts through a lot of ambient and stray light from other sources and allows light engineers to break away from traditional frame modes for video shooting, projecting onto virtually any surface anywhere. This really offers new perspectives in lighting, video and events in general.” www.christiedigital.co.uk

Barco unveils next generation of multi-format processor

Barco have launched the new ImagePRO-II, a high performance video scaler, scan converter, switcher and transcoder in one. Converting any input signal to any output format, the ImagePRO-II is the most advanced multiformat processor for the rental and staging industry. The ImagePRO-II will be showcased at Integrated Systems Europe from 31 January to 2 February 2012.

Building upon the industry’s standard for signal conversion, ImagePRO-II raises the bar again as the most versatile and advanced allin-one video scaler, scan converter, switcher and transcoder. Signal interfaces have been expanded to include HDMI, DisplayPort and Dual Link DVI, all with HDCP support, as well as 3G HDSDI. Controlling the ImagePRO-II has been made easier with the addition of a USB port allowing firmware upgrades and system configuration backup and restore.

Further improving the ease of use, a webpage interface allows the unit to be remotely controlled from a PC or mobile devices.

“As the ImagePRO-II is the ultimate video tool box for professionals in the live event industry, it has been designed with the road in mind,” said Kevin Clarke, Director of Image Processing at Barco. “With features like field replaceable DVI connectors, 1 RU form factor and professional EtherconTM and BNC connectors, it supports the demanding environment of any live event. ImagePRO-II is built to withstand the abuse of the road as our customers have come to expect from all of our products,” he added.

Incorporating the fifth generation of the AthenaTM scaling – Barco’s customdesigned image processing technology – the ImagePRO-II offers higher resolutions (up to WQXGA), higher frame rates, higher quality de-interlacing with advanced motion adaptive processing, faster source acquisition, enhanced colour depth and native support for all the latest computer signals. Lastly, a dedicated menu supports easy set-up and configuration of LED walls. www.barco.com

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EXHIBITION REVIEW

ntertainment technology asia

PALME Vietnam 2011 draws strong interest The second edition of PALME Vietnam took place on 2-4 November 2011 at the Vietnam Exhibition and Fair Centre (VEFAC) in Hanoi.

This was the first time that the event has been held in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam and its second largest city. Its purpose was to bring more exposure to the northern part of Vietnam. The inaugural PALME Vietnam exhibition took place in 2010 in Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnam is the world’s fastest-growing entertainment and media market and the swift development in the country has resulted in tremendous demand for broadcasting, cable, satellite, new media and professional audio, lighting and audio-video equipment, services and technologies. The three-day event attracted large crowds of people from entertainment, broadcasting and media companies. The were also many visitors from large Vietnamese corporations who were looking to purchase the latest audio and video conferencing solutions.

Once again, PALME Vietnam attracted participation from many international manufacturers, systems integrators, distributors and service providers. Among the companies displaying their products

at the show were Audio Technica, Brahler, EAW, Extron Electronics, Meyer Sound, ROBE Lighting, Synergy AVL, TOA Electronics and Visitron. Not to be outdone, many local players also participated in the exhibition including Ba Sao Investment, BOSCH, Musicland, Viet Thuong Melody and Vistar.

The organisers of PALME Vietnam, IIR Exhibitions Pte Ltd, undertook a series of initiatives to stimulate interest in the exhibition. In addition to the Industry Networking Cocktail session on 2 November and the Digital TV Asian Conference Luncheons, some exhibitors such as DigiWorkz, Linear Acoustic Inc and Hao Sen University also conducted their own special showcases and product workshops featuring innovative solutions and cutting-edge technologies.

a lot of interest and there were many quality visitors as well. In terms of response, this year’s show was definitely an improvement over last year’s show,” he added.

Anna Cheong, Exhibitons Director at IIR Exhibitions Pte Ltd, was equally as enthused with the response. “Overall, many of the exhibitors were very happy with the show,” she said. “The local exhibitors were also very pleased and they are already looking forward to us holding another PALME Vietnam exhibition here in Hanoi.” www.palme-vietnam.com

Some of the exhibitors, such as Audio Technica, were very pleased with the response generated by the exhibition.

“The exhibition was good,” said S.K. Teng, Senior Business Development Executive, Corporate and Regional Sales, for Audi Technica. “We had a lot of customers interested in our products. The exhibition generated A live demonstration by D.A.S. Audio outside the exhibition hall

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Highlights from the show floor...

Audio Technica (S.E.A.) Pte Ltd The Audio Technica booth was filled with all their latest products which certainly impressed the visitors. Among the products on display were the AT846/C Cardioid Condenser Boundary Microphone and the AT846/O Omnidirectional Condenser Microphone.

These microphones are designed for midrange installations. Audio Technica is confident that these microphones will be in demand in developing countries like Vietnam.

Also on display were the ES Series ‘gooseneck’ microphones. These microphones are in the high end range and are targeted at the broadcasting industry. The phantom-powered

ES915C cardioid condenser gooseneck microphone is designed to plug directly into any standard XLRF-type connector. It features a small-diameter gooseneck and comes with the AT8109 windscreen, AT8474 isolation mount, AT8473 stand adapter and a threaded adapter In addition to his, Audio Technica also had their U857 Unipoint Series of microphones on display. These are basic microphones which are in the entry level range and are targeted at installations such as schools. www.audio-technica.com.sg

Audio Technica Senior Business Development Executive SK Teng displays the ES microphones

Robe

(L-R) Robe programmer Ales Gill, Robe Sales Director Harry von den Stemmen and Louis Teo (Robe SEA) with the Robin MMX Spot (black) and the Robin 600 LEDWash Pure White

One of the most prominent booths in the entire exhibition belonged to Robe who were out in full force to capture the Vietnamese lighting market. On display at their booth was the Robin 600 LEDWash in Pure White. This highly distinctive version of the best-selling Robin 600 LEDWash offers smooth output of white only variations. DayLight, WarmWhite or SmartWhite combinations of LEDs are arranged in 3 concentric rings for providing comprehensive and perfectly even wash coverage. This fixture is ideal for car shows, theaters and also for TV studios.

Another fixture on display was the Robin MMX Spot. This amazing fixture has similar light output to most existing 1200W luminaires and is based on the Robin advanced technology design that provides brighter, lighter, smaller and more efficient fixtures than previously possible. The key feature of the MMX is the ‘Dual Graphics Wheel’ - two fully controllable contra-rotating plates that can be positioned anywhere across the light path to produce unique visual effects. www.robe.cz

Synergy AVL The Synergy AVL booth attracted many visitors with their array of LDR fixtures on display.

One of the fixtures that captured a lot of attention was the Nota 18/36. This wide-angle 1000/1200W profile spotlight includes a highspecification double condenser optical system for clean, crisp gobo projection. Other features include 18°-36° zoom focus, a cranked fork to accomodate acute over-stage rigging angles and a double-microswitch interlock for safe lamp replacement.

Another fixture that drew in the crowds was the Canto 2000 MSR FF, an extremely compact and powerful 2K discharge followspot that utilises the power and flexibility of the Philips

2000 MSR FastFit lamp with LDR’s advanced optics and mechanics. The Canto 2000 MSR FF is an efficient, lightweight and extremely powerful followspot which is ideal for all longthrow applications.

The Canto 2000 MSR FF features the patented FastFit rear load lamp base system, which enables easy lamp replacement in difficult stage conditions. The MSR filling of the lamp guarantees pure, white light, whereas the short arc provides high beam intensity for professional entertainment lighting. www.synergyavl.com www.ldr.it

Synergy AVL CEO Henry Saravanan with the Canto 2000 MSR followspot (right) and the Nota 18/36 profile spotlight

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demanded. The highest quality sound was also a priority for Childs. “We really wanted something that sounded exceptional. We assessed several options but DiGiCo was the clear winner. There’s no question the console sounds excellent. It’s very clean and there’s so much head room.”

Ease of use has also impressed Tony, finding that the same user interface across all of the SD Series consoles has made training new operators a very simple affair. “I love the fact that if you’ve learnt how to use one SD console, you can use any of them. Guys who had learned on an SD8 transition to an SD9 instantly. Keeping console software the same is great for workflow - it just makes sense.”

Powerhouse Theatre exterior

Australia

DiGiCo powers Powerhouse Theatre Along the gorgeous Brisbane River in Queensland sits the busy and ever changing Powerhouse Theatre. As the name hints, the Powerhouse Theatre was built inside a decommissioned power station in Brisbane’s suburb of New Farm, originally constructed in 1940.

Decommissioned in 1971, the old power station sat dormant, becoming a shelter for the homeless as well as an impromptu location for filmmakers and graffiti artists. The building remained abandoned for almost two decades until 1989 when the Brisbane council regained the premises and decided to restore the building’s heritage. The decision was made to convert the interior into a performing arts venue in 2000 under the name of The Powerhouse Theatre. The venue then underwent a further stage of development in 2007 increasing audience capacity, adding a restaurant and bar as well as function and conference spaces.

The Brisbane Powerhouse is now considered a major creative hub hosting a vast selection of acts including theatre, music, comedy, film, visual arts as well as a number of festivals each year.

The Powerhouse venue is comprised of a main, flexible 700+ seat theatre (Powerhouse Theatre), a more intimate 200 seat apron stage theatre (Visy Theatre), an 800-viewer open platform (Turbine Platform), two restaurants, two terraces, a conference room, a number of rehearsal rooms and several offices.

The Powerhouse recently acquired two DiGiCo consoles for use across its spaces. A DiGiCo SD8-24 and SD9 were commissioned along with a DiGi-Rack and a SD8 MADi-Rack.

Tony Childs (Head of Sound at Brisbane Powerhouse), was after a set-up that was incredibly reliable and flexible, considering the diverse range of applications the venue

Powerhouse Theatre Caberet

Effects and snapshot abilities are also a welcomed workflow feature for Tony and his team. “ I’m starting to get into the effects too. I find that controlling dynamics are a breeze with the compressors and its all inside the console. I love the way snapshots and complete shows can be saved in the console.

It has cut our set-up time dramatically. It’s so fast and simple.”

Tony has also noticed that his team is now extremely eager to work given they will have access to DiGiCo which has made his ability to roster operators a much simpler affair.

“Engineers have been offering to come in to work because they love using the consoles.

They know that a lot of the big acts use DiGiCo and they’re excited to work. It’s helped us solve staffing issues.”

With both consoles operating day-in and dayout, feedback has been extremely positive on all fronts. “I’ve had bands and managers approach me several times now commenting on how good the sound has been. It’s great to have that kind of feedback.”

The interior

www.grouptechnologies.com.au www.digico.biz

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ntertainment technology asia

Australia

Robe gets upstairs at the Beresford Lighting designer Andy Mutton from Lightning Lighting in Melbourne, Australia, has specified 14 Robe ROBIN 300 LEDWash moving lights for a fantastic new lighting installation at the buzzy Beresford Hotel nightspot in Surrey Hills, Sydney, New South Wales. This is the first installation for these new fixtures and it’s in the Beresford’s famous 600 capacity ‘Upstairs’ venue, which has just been refurbished by new owners, Merivale.

Anything too large or bulky was out, as the headroom was only 5 metres. The stage is in the corner of the L-shaped room, so the fixture positions are not symmetrical and the LEDWashes are spread out over the room. It was the first time that Mutton had actually used the ROBIN 300 LEDWash, although he had used the larger ROBIN 600 LEDWash several times on other shows and was hugely impressed.

Mutton was asked to deliver a full lighting technical package which also features 8 Robe ROBIN 300E Spots, 3 Giga strobe and a Road Hog console for control - all supplied by Robe’s Australian distributor ULA . The lighting had to cover the stage, dance floors and seating areas for a variety of shows and events, from rock bands to DJ sets to corporate events. It needed to be able to create atmosphere, mood and excitement whatever the occasion and also the fixtures needed to be fast to keep pace with some of the DJ sets.

When the smaller 300 version came on-stream earlier this year, he thought it was perfect for ‘Upstairs’. “It’s a great fixture, with heaps of output and a good zoom,” he enthused, adding that he liked the fact that you can only see one colour coming out of the units due to their refined and homogenised light engine, a feature of the Cree multichip technology used across the entire current generation of Robe’s range of LED fixtures. “This was important because ‘multicoloured’ heads distract from

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the decor and furnishings of the venue,” he explained.

Mutton said that to see the source and the beam as one colour was a “way more creative” experience which adds to the whole process of building an imaginative and meaningful show. He also liked the wide range of whites - warm white, cool white, steel white, dirty white and lavender white.

The ROBIN 300E Spots were selected primarily for their wide zoom – 40º - which is a vital function to optimise lighting effects and drama in low-ceilinged venues. “This fixture has some good functions,” enthused Mutton.

“It lets you program half colours and the focus allows a hard edge to be put on the colour wheel so the colours split nicely.” He qualifies this by saying that this is not typical of all moving Spots and that half colour to another half colour is a good chase for live music applications. The venue is all about live music, so the lights need to complement the beat, dynamics and changes as much as possible.

Mutton has been a Robe user since 2004 and so is well placed to comment on the brand and its innovation. “Robe technology is solid, it holds up to constant movement. The LED fixtures are producing colours I haven’t seen before and this makes stages look fresh and invigorating,” he concludes. www.robe.cz

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ntertainment technology asia

Hong Kong

Mipro at Hong Kong Club 25th floors are exclusively for offices. Before the reconstruction, the Hong Kong Club building was located on Queen’s Road at the junction with D’Aguilar Street and was the last renaissance style building in Hong Kong.

Club members often hold training sessions, presentations and meetings in the building. A reliable wireless system with audio encryption was required that would protect the privacy of these meetings, presentations and training sessions and prevent eavesdropping. After consultations with the club’s board members, the MIPRO’s ACT-82 Digital Encrypted Wireless Systems was chosen.

The Hong Kong Club is a private business and dining club. It was founded in 1846 and has an extensive history. During the colonial era, the Hong Kong Club was a place for entertainment as well as for social networking. The current Hong Kong Club building is located between Chater Road and Connaught Road Central. It was reconstructed by Harry Seidler in 1984.

The building has 25 storeys of which 8 floors are used for club facilities while the 6th to

to meet the application requirements. Three AD-707a Quad-Channel Antenna Dividers and 2 AT-90W Wideband Antennas were also installed to maximise and stabilise the reception range. The club’s members have been highly impressed with the system’s sound quality, encrypted features and performance. www.mipro.com.tw

The ACT-82 Digital Receiver has digitally encrypted technology that offers excellent sonic quality through digital transmission.

In addition, the digital transmission is able to eliminate the annoying noise faced by all current analog-based wireless systems and it mutes interference when the signal quality is poor. Most importantly, this wireless system has the ultra-proof 128-bit digital encryption feature that prevents unauthorised listening to meetings or presentations in the club’s board rooms.

Inside the Hong Kong Club Building, 10 ACT-82 Receivers (20 wireless channels) are utilised

Jordan

PR Lighting XL Beam 300’s in Jordan association that performs in more than five countries with live television broadcasts.

PR lighting fixtures have been found lighting up many events around the world — but never before have they been involved in MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) ‘cage fighting’. This is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques as well as boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles.

In Jordan, Amman-based R.B. Live Productions, the PR Lighting distributors, have been building ringside ground support trusses for Cage Warriors, an international MMA

According to R.B. owner/operations manager Emad Al Rabadi, “Generic and FX lighting are among the most important elements of the show, especially for the fighters’ entrance and the red/blue colour changing (depending on the fighter’s corner).” PR Lighting’s fullyfeatured XL Beam 300 automated light has a major role to play with its long throw beam and advanced colour mixing system.

“I didn’t expect this degree of output from these fixtures. I was shocked by the brightness and lens quality. With the zoom function you can achieve different types of effects with the great CMY colour saturation and very fast and smooth movement. For the lighting designer it was the first time he had experienced the XL Beam 300’s, and since they were the main lighting effect for the show, he was more than happy with the impact, as were the promoters.” www.pr-lighting.com

Located in King Hussein Youth City, the New Boxing Arena is now the biggest boxing arena in Jordan. It was inaugurated recently with a six-hour-long Cage Warriors event, when around 2,200 people turned up for the event, which was televised on international sports TV channels.

Experienced British lighting designer, James Cameron Quigley, designed the set using 24 XL Beam 300’s to surround the fighters’ entrance with dramatic beam effects. Al Rabadi admits,

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Korea

grandMA2 for Korea’s new musical theatre Recently built, the Blue Square in Seoul, a major theatre in the Republic of Korea, relies on a MA Lighting system that combines grandMA2 and grandMA “Series 1” consoles.

The new building was specially designed to stage only concerts and musicals which differs it from most theatres in Korea that are built as multi-purpose halls.

Kim Hong Sik, CEO of Hansam System Co. Ltd., MA Lighting’s exclusive distributor in the Republic of Korea, commented on the choice of the MA products. “MA products are known as the most reliable and popular among lighting designers in Korea so it was an obvious choice to vote for grandMA,” he said. “Furthermore, we wanted a futureproof lighting control solution with plenty of headroom for upgradability to incorporate powerful new features and functionality. Also the grandMA2’s ability to seamlessly integrate video sources of all types into the visual equation, and making these straightforward

to program, was a reason to install these consoles.”

Altogether, 1 x grandMA2 light, 1 x grandMA2 ultra-light, 1 x grandMA full-size and 1 x

grandMA light were installed in the building to control a mixture of ADB dimmers and spots and Martin moving lights. www.malighting.com

Korea

L-ACOUSTICS provides sound for ‘Mamma Mia!’ The system is driven by L-ACOUSTICS LA4 and LA8 amplified controllers.

L-ACOUSTICS’ XTi Architectural Series has been designed and optimised for permanent and semi-permanent fixed installations such as musicals, where visual constraints require a discreet integration. This is accomplished with low-profile rigging and custom RAL colours to match architect and designer specifications.

Additionally, the sound quality is identical to the well-known and loved XT range. www.l-acoustics.com www.dreamsound.com

International hit musical ‘Mamma Mia!’ has opened at the cutting-edge D-Cube Art Center, Seoul. The theatre has been equipped

by L-ACOUSTICS’ Korean distributor, Dream Sound, with a K1 WST® line source and XTi coaxial system. This is the first permanent K1 theatre system to be installed worldwide.

Located within Seoul’s futuristic D-Cube City, the 1,242 seat venue has been equipped

with two hangs of eight K1s and two K1-SB subs, left and right of the stage, six KARAs as downfill, and two stacks of four SB28 subs in cardioid mode positioned on stage below the K1 hangs. Additionally there are four under balcony hangs of two KIVA WST® enclosures, while 32 8XTi coaxial speakers relay musical surround effects throughout the venue.

(L-R) Ms Lee Pyung Soon, Mr Kim Jae Hyun and Mr Lee Dong Hyun (D-Cube Arts Center), Cedric Montrezor (L-ACOUSTICS), Mr Do Sang Woo and Mr Jang Kyun Cheol (Dream Sound)

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Australia

Bespoke Anolis Solution for NIDA ago, has bold glazed walls, a dramatic sloping canopy and takes on beacon-like lighting qualities after dark. There were many challenges involved in lighting the foyer’s interior. The throw distance for the fixtures is over 10 metres, so it was essential that the output was the same as the previous scheme, whilst reducing energy consumption.

Anolis’ optimised light engine produces a fully homogenised light source across the entire colour spectrum, which was a primary factor in choosing the Anolis ArcSource 48 MC over other products, as they didn’t want to see any blockiness or pixelation in the source. Wright explains, “I also wanted plenty of headroom on the intensity front and as a result, our currently programmed lighting states are all around 50 per cent.” They are run via an Ecue control system.

The ArcSource 48 MCs fit nicely into the original PAR 56 housings at NIDA, producing more Lux than their predecessors, with convection cooling ensuring silent operation and each unit individually DMX addressable. The new lighting has transformed the look and feel of the foyer. With a virtually unlimited colour palette at everyone’s fingertips, the space can be themed and coloured for different events and occasions without needing additional equipment.

European LED manufacturer Anolis has engineered and produced a custom lighting solution for a new installation in the foyer space of the award-winning theatre complex at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney, Australia.

A new energy-efficient lighting scheme has been installed, replacing 28 recessed 500W PAR 56 halogen fittings with a brand new Anolis ArcSource 48 MultiChip (MC) fixture, specially designed by Anolis for this project.

The Anolis ArcSource 48 MC consists of twelve 10 Watt Cree MCE RGBW LED chips which enable full and seamless RGB colour mixing plus an excellent selection of ‘real’ whites in a variety of colour temperatures.

NIDA’s lighting supervisor Adrian Wright revealed that their goal was to significantly reduce in electricity consumption across NIDA’s public areas. They also wanted to utilise light sources that offered more versatility and dynamics than just a ‘standard white’ lighting scheme. The Anolis scheme uses 60% less power compared to the previous installation and further long term savings will follow due to the reduced ongoing maintenance required for LEDs. Wright and the senior management team at the theatre complex made their decision after considering several options and proposals for LED replacements, selecting Anolis for its quality, light output and the bespoke retrofittable design that is unique to the Anolis ArcSource 48 MC fitting.

The concept for the new ArcSource was designed and developed by Anolis in just 4 weeks, and delivered to NIDA by Anolis’ Australian distributor, the ULA Group. The building, designed by HASSELL in association with Peter Armstrong Architecture a decade

Wright concludes, “I’m impressed with the support from both Anolis and the ULA Group in enabling us to choose such an outstanding lighting fixture”. www.anolis.eu

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Australia

Philips Selecon PL1 LED Luminaires shine in Sydney newsroom

2011 was a big year for the Ten Network in Australia. Having instigated a number of adjustments to their programming lineup, the Network invested in a revamp of their Sydney newsroom and studio.

As part of the restructuring, Network 10 lighting director Pete Koole investigated ways to make his lighting rig more cost effective, reliable and easier to use. As part of his research, Koole discovered the Philips Selecon PL1 LED luminaire, of which he now owns 18, all fitted with wireless receivers. “I could see straight away the potential for the PL1 LED as my keylights in the news studio.”

The news studio is situated at the bottom of a 5-story atrium so not only does Koole have to contend with fluctuating colour temperatures from the changing ambient light but there’s also the unusually suspended lighting grid cluttered with acoustic baffles and other studio hardware to deal with. The PL1 LED wireless receivers require no DMX cabling.

However, being able to cable DMX from the receiver means each PL1 has become a little DMX ‘hub’ for the surrounding non-wireless luminaires such as his fluorescent soft lights.

In this challenging environment, Koole can achieve a total re-rig in a couple of hours as opposed to the 8hrs or more it used to take.

For Koole, the duty cycle of the lighting system demanded by the broadcast schedule was becoming an issue with his existing rig comprising single ended fluorescents and 250W MSR Fresnels. “The lights are on from 5am and then for the rest of the day are on and off in blocks ranging from 15 minutes to 3 hours until about 10.30pm. My main keylights average 10–12 hours per day. The beauty of the PL1 is that we can turn them on and off without worrying about the halogen cycle. With the MSRs we had to try and ensure that we ran them for at least 20-30 minutes to avoid failure of the lamps or components, but this wasn’t always possible and some of the other studio staff didn’t understand how important this was.” This duty cycle caused large maintenance overheads in running the studio. “The 250W MSRs we were using were a good light for their time and they worked well for me but I was getting very poor lamp life, about 1000hrs and so would be changing them every 3 months or so and at $230 per lamp. It was costing almost $1000 per year per fitting just in lamps.

Going ‘green’ has also long been a goal of the Ten Network so to reduce the power from 250W MSRs and 220W fluorescents to 90W for the PL1s was fantastic,” Koole added.

Reliability of the lighting system is important to the television industry and nowhere more so than the news. “We can’t have a set-up (without lighting staff available) where lamps

can fail or the presenter moves out of a light that has a precise hot spot and goes dark. The PL1s give me the reliability and coverage I was looking for in a light source,” he said.

Apart from the increased reliability and reduced cost of ownership offered by the PL1s, Koole also found a number of other advantages for the PL1 when used in studio.

“The spread is very even across the field, with many other sources there is a definite hot spot. I really like being able to pan the PL1 and if the presenter moves off the mark the intensity doesn’t change. This has been very nice especially in the case of chroma keys or when they are in front of large plasma screens.

The shaping of the beam can be almost like a soft edge profile, perfect for a keylight,” Koole remarked.

The ease of colour balancing the PL1 LED and integrating it into the studio rig was something that Koole found particularly easy.

“I got the TDs together and initially they were a little skeptical about the colour that they would see coming out of an LED. We colour balanced the cameras on the (reference) chart to the existing sources, took them out and then brought up the PL1s and then matched them to the colour of the old MSR sources.

I then swapped between the PL1 and the MSR and nobody could tell the difference on camera. Plus, I can now use colour if I need to on a show.”

One of the other interesting features that Koole has discovered in using a source that can be completely and accurately tuned for colour is that he is now able to counteract some of the coloured spill that comes off his sets (lit with LED strip) and onto the presenters’ faces.

If, for example, he’s getting a blue glow off a wall he is able to tune this out so that the face appears neutral on camera.

With a number of other studios and broadcast facilities around Australia using the Philips Selecon PL1, it appears as though there is new tool of choice for lighting designers, broadcasters and media organisations alike.

Close-up of the PL1 LED luminaires

www.philips.com

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Malaysia

Sennheiser partners with @Live Kuala Lumpur “What I like the most about the Sennheiser G3 system is, of course, its wireless capability.

Not only does it give complete mobility and freedom to our performers, it is also really clear in terms of sound quality. But what really amazes me is its ‘sound capturing’ sensitivity.

It is so sensitive, even our band was quite surprised by this. This proves how suitable Sennheiser is for the theme and delivery of @ Live KL,” Faisal continued.

The L-Acoustics ARCS speaker system flown above the main performing stage. The band performs popular hits with the Sennheiser wireless headset microphones.

In collaboration with @Live Group Sdn Bhd, Sennheiser Electronic Asia (“Sennheiser Asia”) and local distributor, Acoustic & Lighting Sdn Bhd, installed the complete audio and lighting systems in @Live Kuala Lumpur (“@ Live KL”). All Sennheiser microphone systems were sponsored by Sennheiser Asia, in part of a collaborative effort between Sennheiser Asia and @Live KL, making it Sennheiser Asia’s inaugural official equipment reference site in Malaysia. @Live KL is located between the iconic Low Yat Plaza and Federal Hotel within the entertainment district of Bukit Bintang.

There are three different areas within the premises, namely, the alfresco bar, the live club and the mezzanine floor. Located on the ground floor, the alfresco bar is a contemporary chill-out bar fused with Asian influence in its design and décor. The live club section is a large vast space with two bar sections on both sides, and a large performing stage in the middle. Tables and chairs are laid out in front of the stage area. The mezzanine floor overlooks the stage of the main club and is usually reserved as a spot for VVIPs. Mounted on the stage trussing are six units of L-Acoustics ARCS medium format line source speakers, with an additional six units of L-Acoustics SB18 bass reflex vents-tuned subwoofers positioned within the coves under the stage. The speakers are powered by two L-Acoustics LA8 amplified controllers.

Technical Manager Faisal N.A., commented, “I look for impact and dynamics in a sound system. We want a system that can deliver

The Sennheiser G3 wireless system seen at the @Live KL sound room

impact and power, but at the same time provide a dynamic coverage control sound to the whole sound delivery. Besides live sound for large concern systems, L-Acoustics also provides good sound for indoor premises. It is, as you know, one of the best brands for sound systems, so my expectations were definitely high. So far, the system is performing really well and this is consistent with the feedback from the crowd.” The @Live KL team decided to go with the L-Acoustics ARCS system as the management liked the sound of the speakers when they first heard it in another local club, SPACE KL. One can also find a string of Sennheiser microphone systems on the club’s performing stage. This includes four units of the ew 145 G3 wireless vocal handheld microphones and ew 152 G3 wireless vocal headset wireless microphones respectively, as well as seven pieces of the e 900 series drum kit microphones.

According to Kenni Koh, General Manager of @Live Group Sdn Bhd, “In @Live, we want the crowd to feel the true raw energy of a performance. @Live KL’s performance crew of 22 members, comprising of singers, dancers, and musicians – making them the largest ensemble cast of performers Malaysia has ever seen – will bowl you over with their diverse repertoire of pop, rock, urban and dance music in English, Chinese, Thai, Korean and Japanese. All shows are impeccably planned, choreographed, outfitted, and performed up to world-class standards. Add that to the musical mash-ups of resident DJs Bernard, John Woo and J-One, you will get an exciting mix of enjoyment at every turn.

We want to provide a memorable live music experience to our patrons everyday. That is what sets @Live apart!”

He further commented on the installed systems, “To deliver a rocking performance, we need a system that can support the capacity and the requirements of the performances. I really like how reliable Sennheiser’s G3 wireless microphone system can be. There is hardly any interference to the signal. Performers can bounce on the stage all they want, but Sennheiser can maintain a clear and consistent sound throughout the whole performance. We are very fortunate to have Sennheiser on board to support us with the microphone systems.” www.sennheiserasia.com

The Sennheiser logo is flashed daily on the LED wall at @Live KL’s performing stage area

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China

Bosch supplies the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center operations in all venues.

The implemented products performed reliably during the 14th FINA World Championships in 2011.

As the host of the 14th FINA World Championships, the sports center features a complex stadium and an aquatics center including an outdoor diving pool. In order to ensure that events of this kind are run smoothly, security factors and an efficient contingency plan should be taken into account.

The Shanghai Oriental Sports Center close to Huangpu River and next to the Expo Park in Shanghai’s Pudong New Area is an integrated sports venue mainly used for aquatic activities.

It covers an area of almost 35 hectares and has an arena with 18,000 seats.

Known as the “Sea Crown” in China, Shanghai Oriental Sports Center has installed a range of Bosch solutions to safeguard smooth

Bosch also provided the sports center with advanced public address solutions including Praesideo Digital Public Address and Evacuation systems, ceiling speakers and other cabinet loudspeakers which enables the audience from all sections to enjoy a clear divisional broadcast.

Over 1,000 cameras including Bosch Day/ Night Cameras and AutoDome Day/ Night Cameras were installed to achieve a 360-degree real-time supervision. www.boschsecurity.com

The sports center was equipped with a fully networked sound reinforcement system from Electro-Voice which is remotely controllable.

It features horn-loaded EVH speakers as the main sound system. The installation was completed with ZX and SX Series speakers. For the system drive, Precision Series amplifiers were deployed. Miking comprised of REV wireless systems, Polar Choise table top paging stations and N/DYM microphones.

Singapore

SOTA opts for Clay Paky According to SOTA’s lighting technician, Albert Wileo, “We got to know Clay Paky from a couple of friends from the entertainment industry in Singapore. After we tested the demo set of Clay Paky 700 Wash and Alpha 700 Spot HPE, we knew this was the brand for us. Besides being more affordable compared to other brands, it also has a very rich colour texture which works very well for concerts and stage performances.

Alan Loh (White shirt), Albert Wileo (blue shirt) and the SOTA crew

The School of the Arts (SOTA) is Singapore’s first national arts school to offer an integrated arts and academic curriculum for students aged 13-18 years old. The vision of the school is to nurture Singapore’s next generation of artists and creative professionals committed to the arts in a multi-cultural society.

Located on Zubir Said Drive, this school reflects the rich diversity of its artistic program with three different performance venues: Theatre, Concert Hall and Studio Theatre.

All three halls are suitably adorned with Clay Paky luminaires, which are used to enhance the performance and staging for certain plays and shows.

“Clay Paky is also equipped with beautiful gobos that can produce a wide variety of beams. And it doesn’t stop there – Clay Paky is also capable of producing extremely fast PAN and TILT movement. This will give a very fluid and natural movement to the lighting effect produced. And not forgetting its lightness and wide zoom capability,” continued Wileo.

The Clay Paky equipment – a total of 10 Alpha Spot HPE 700s and 11 Alpha Wash 700s – was installed by regional lighting and staging specialists Desisti Asia Pte Ltd. www.claypaky.it

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China

Medialon controls Mangrove Groove Medialon has been selected by ECA2, a Frenchbased company specialising in creating and producing major events and shows around the world, to be the main show control system on the ‘Mangrove Groove’ aquatic show, a brand new, stunning, 38-minute multimedia show in OCTBAY, Shenzhen, China.

ECA2 designed and produced ‘Mangrove Groove’ with the world’s largest aquatic stage ever built which covers an area of 5,600sqm.

Every evening, up to 5,000 spectators can celebrate the return of the birds in an amazing decor dedicated to the mangrove.

In ‘Mangrove Groove’, the Medialon Show Control system controls the following devices and effects:

Water:

- 2x water screens with a 50-metre base - hundreds of water jets and custom moving jets

Air:

- 5x geysers, compressed air to put sensitive equipment under positive pressure

Fire:

- 14x large flames via Medialon Artnet DMX MxM

Lighting:

- 1x grandMA2 console - 600x underwater projectors - 60x automatic projectors

Video:

- 5x Christie 35K and 2x Christie 20K projectors on lyre VIP via the Medialon Christie projectors MxM - 2x MODULO media players - 1x Dataton Watchout 4 system displays

Medialon Manager GUI (user interface)

Audio:

- 1x multitrack Tascam X48 via LTC - Internal audio player via the Medialon Local Media Player MxM

Laser:

- 5x laser projectors Thanks to the Medialon Manager Panel free user interface design tool, several Graphic User Interfaces (GUI) have been created. From a single touch of a button, the AV Technical staff can run the show (show mode), make video tests (test video mode), check the status of the devices (status mode), etc.

The Status mode is a very useful tool for technical maintenance. Based on a custom user interface, it has been designed to show the technicians the exact location of each device. Access buttons allow technicians to directly check the status of all the AV devices

Medialon Control Room

as well as 8x temperature sensors, 1x wind sensor, 14x UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply), pressure levels of water effects pumps and compressors, video projectors lamp status, useful lamp life span calculation and more.

For maximum reliability, 2x Medialon Manager units run synchronously creating a full redundant system that switches automatically at any time (even during the show) from unit

ntertainment technology asia

A to unit B or from unit B to unit A if any unit failure is detected.

The Medialon Manager has also been programmed to retrieve log files from devices located in different areas of the stage to help show technicians to immediately see if there is any issue with an AV device during the show and quickly help them fix the machines.

“The Medialon Show Control system helps us to run, to synchronise and to monitor hundreds of special effects. All of these devices interact with more than 50 actors, acrobats and dancers and it has proved to be a safe and reliable tool to achieve our interpretation of the life in the mangrove surrounded by an incredible amount of

mysterious and enchanting creatures,” declared Jean-Christope Canizares, ECA2’s CEO and Show Producer.

“During the last 30 years ECA2 has tested, installed and commissioned lots and lots of show control systems and we even had our own software called PILS that is still running satisfactorily in many shows all around the world, but when we decided to stop this product and switch to a solution from the market we went naturally to Medialon,” concluded Guillaume Duflot, ECA2’s COO and Technical Director.

‘Mangrove Groove’ is a permanent show running daily since the summer of 2011.

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Credits:

Creation (overall) – Engineering – Production (Turnkey) Direction, Production: J-C Canizares Chief of Operations & Technical Director: Guillaume Duflot from ECA2 Screenplay, Artistic Coordination & Show Direction: Sophie Poirier from ECA2 Multimedia Production & Show direction: Thierry Nutchey from ECA2 The Control system has been designed and engineered by ECA2, installed by French Integrator Adrem and programmed by Julien Ribes from Artabase. www.octbay.com www.eca2.com www.medialon.com

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Taiwan

MA Lighting selected for Providence Maitreya Buddha Missionary Institute the ideal location to promote the ideas of the Maitreya Great Tao religion not only in Taiwan but also beyond. The monastery is also designed to serve as a convention centre with a theatre hall (1446 seats). MA Lighting and its partner DLHG in Taiwan proposed a MA Digital Dimmer dimMA compact installation (the space saving alternative to the modular dimMA range) as well as a grandMA2 ultralight console for the theatre.

When travelling south from Taipei on one of the highways connecting the major cities in Taiwan, one has to pass through the city of Hsin-Chu. Hsin-Chu is known for its electronics industry, nurtured by the local universities.

It has one of the largest industrial parks in Taiwan. Far less known is the beautiful hinterland of Hsin-Chu which only a few of today’s travelers get to appreciate.

It is here that the Providence Maitreya Buddha Missionary Institute has set-up its new monastery. Designed as a centre for art, culture and self-reflection, the site was

Despite budget constraints, the theatre had to be equipped with a system that would not be outdated in the near future. The decision was made to rely as much as possible on commonly available parts, which are cheaper and offered flexibility.

ensured that communication channels during the project installation were clear and concise.

As the normal electrical installation in Taiwan is 110V, a couple of problems were expected but in the end everything was resolved.

“It was great to have Michael Adenau here to take a look. The circumstances have been pretty special and bringing in the founder and mastermind of MA Lighting shows how serious they are about their products. This gives us a lot of confidence in having made the right choice,” commented Mr. Yu from DLHG. www.malighting.com

Given this decision, it was clear that an Ethernet based distribution system was to be deployed, as the advantages like cost of installation and maintenance were much lower in the midterm. No specialised equipment was to be used which meant less specialists were to be employed. Presenting a system solution rather than a pick-and-choose approach also

Israel

L-ACOUSTICS KIVA system brings Cabaret to life down the sound image and fill the areas that the main array do not cover. Completing the L/R system were two ground stacked SB18i subwoofers per side. A centre array of nine KIVAs was used mainly as a vocal system.

The system has sufficient power to cover the entire theatre, which incorporates 700 stalls, a first balcony of 150 seats and a second balcony of 100, reaching the furthest seats of both balconies, plus the under balcony area.

L-ACOUSTICS’ Israeli distributor Lightone has supplied a KIVA ultra-compact modular WST® line source system to the 950-capacity Cameri Theatre in Tel Aviv.

The Cameri theatre uses L-ACOUSTICS coaxial products for its touring productions. Having found themselves happy with the brand’s audio quality, ease-of-use and reliability, the theatre decided to specify it for the refit, replacing an older system that couldn’t cope

with the more demanding productions.

Independent sound designer Eytan Gidron created the system together with L-ACOUSTICS’ tech support engineer Germain Simon, using the company’s proprietary SOUNDVISION 3D acoustic simulation software. Nine KIVA and three KILO low frequency extensions per side were flown as the main left/right ‘music’ system. Below each array is a single 112P self powered coaxial speaker, used to bring

Since installation, the Cameri’s new system has been in use on an exacting musical production of Cabaret. “The first thing I noticed after powering up the system was a clear and solid midrange, followed by a smooth, dynamic yet non-aggressive low end,” said Yishay Hamami, sound technician at the theatre. “The sub lows produced by the ground stacked SB18is merge very well with the flown system to yield a precise bottom end with minimum distortion. I was very pleased to step out from FOH during soundcheck and find that my mix translated evenly across the hall, introducing good frequency response coverage with lots of headroom.” www.lightone.com www.l-acoustics.com

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New Zealand

ETC puts The Edge on the cutting edge of lighting control the encoder wheel suddenly has discreet steps in it too. The attention to detail is staggering.”

Ibell describes the ION 3000 consoles as lovely little consoles which offer amazing bang for your buck! He particularly likes that ETC are very open to suggestions and actively pursue feedback. He believes that ETC has looked at what Strand users liked and incorporated that into their consoles. “That was very clever on their part as they are grabbing the market hand over fist,” he declared. “As ex-Strand users, we found the transition very easy.”

The ETC EOS 4000 console at the Auckland Town Hall

The Edge is the hub of performing arts and entertainment in Auckland, New Zealand, and it comprises five of the city’s finest venues - Aotea Centre, Herald Theatre, Auckland Town Hall, The Civic and Aotea Square. All of these diverse and distinctly unique spaces are located within minutes of each other in the Auckland CBD, and cater for all interests, from intimate theatre and large scale musicals to outdoor rock concerts.

The Edge had always used Strand consoles for their lighting control ever since the original Aotea Centre opened in 1991 with a Strand Galaxy console. The majority of the consoles were Strand 500 series, upgraded ten years ago, but they had all reached the end of their life and shows were at risk.

Malcolm Ibell, Head of Lighting at The Edge, knew this day was coming and he had been keeping a keen eye on the market offerings.

“I was searching for replacements that would not only work for today but would future proof us too,” he remarked. “It was down to the big three; MA Lighting, Strand and ETC. For me, the MA consoles are great rock ’n’ roll consoles but not so great for theatre and the new Strand consoles are not quite there yet and seem a bit fudged together.”

A major consideration for Ibell was the networking abilities offered by a console.

“Getting data around buildings is no longer hard DMX, it’s DMX over Ethernet and more specifically streaming ACN which I was determined we would look at,” he said.

“And that’s what we have ended up with – a complete streaming ACN network throughout

all of our buildings, all linked with fibre optics. It was also critical that it was not a proprietary network in that it’s just point to point networking without permanent nodes or gateways.”

Ibell required a network that in the future he could send different protocols down and plug in a different kind of gateway at the other end.

“I wanted a system that didn’t lock us into any particular network protocol,” he explained.

“ETC certainly fitted that requirement with their own current network control protocol system Net3, which has been incredibly reliable so far.”

As a result, The Edge took delivery of three EOS 4000 consoles, three EOS 4000 RPU, two ION 3000 consoles, two Ion 3000 RPU, six 2x20 fader wings, a 2x10 fader wing, a 1x20 fader wing, six Radio Remote Focus Units as well as output gateways and accessories.

All were supplied by Entertainment Lighting Solutions Limited.

A couple of years ago Ibell replaced a console with an ETC Ion which gave his crew the chance to become acquainted with the platform. “We realised that if something that small could be that powerful then going up to an EOS would be an amazing thing – which it has been!” he commented. “The operators report that the EOS is extremely user-friendly.

Things are logically grouped and it seems to have been very well thought out. Obviously ETC really listened to operators. For example, the encoder wheels are clutched and alter their feel depending what you’re doing. So if you have something with discreet steps in it,

According to Ibell, the Radio Remote Focus Units are constantly in use and, as the venues offer Wi-Fi, anyone with an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch has the ability to use it as a remote. “That’s incredibly useful especially the iPad remote which is an amazing piece of equipment,” said Ibell. “That’s all part of the network thing. As the network is one big network between all buildings linked via a fibre optic ring we have a centralised file server where everything is saved. That means we can pick up bits of other shows from other buildings.”

Ibell is eager to note how fabulous the training offered by Jands and ETC was with Alex Mair from Jands spending two weeks training his guys followed by ETC’s Josh Selander for a further two weeks. “It was utterly invaluable,” he stated.

Ibell felt that as The Edge is New Zealand’s largest and most influential arts centre, they have set a precedent by choosing ETC consoles. “Several venues and companies have been waiting to see what we opt for before they change their old Strand consoles and I believe that New Zealand will soon be ETC dominated!” www.jands.com.au www.etcconnect.com

The ETC Ion 3000 console

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Kuwait

Electrosonic, Christie create fun at Kuwait’s 360 Mall The 360 Mall’s Family Entertainment Center complex in Kuwait features an all-around immersive mall experience that offers top-ofthe-line rides, the latest video games and skill tests for the entire family. Created by Tamdeen Entertainment Company and designed by Concept i Design, the mall features extensive LED lighting that was designed, supplied, installed and programmed by Electrosonic.

In addition, the mall’s digital signage, video projection, special effects, audio and show control draws on Christie’s projection for what has become a ‘go-to’ destination.

Helping to put the ‘fun’ into the ‘Infunity Zone,’ with its assortment of rides, is a Christie DS+750, 7500 ANSI lumens single-chip DLP SXGA+ projector. Working in combination with GestureTek gesture-controlled tracking technology, this fires vertically down onto the floor to enable children to interact with the content of popping balloons and swimming fish.

Elsewhere, the Freeze Club with its North Pole motif, offers a unique venue for Kuwaiti teens with arcades, video games and simulators.

An interactive video wall at the entrance

features two flexible Christie DHD700 singlechip DLP HD projectors — again working with GestureTek cameras, tracking systems, and outputting 6500 ANSI lumens — allowing young guests to interact with the content, while low-lying fog is generated underneath the video wall itself.

a low-resolution wall, boasting over 2,000 meters of LEDs, wraps around the entire room and displays fire, rain, graphics and abstract patterns. A laser system, installed by Electrosonic, recreates the Aurora Borealis on the domed ceiling and is enhanced by smoke effects.

Extremely popular in visitor attractions, the DHD700 contains a unique, user-changeable, twin-colour wheel system offering high brightness and rich colour options, so that the presentation can be optimised according to whichever mode preferred. There is also a choice of six motorised HD lenses.

The complex also incorporates a 20 lane Bowl Room (plus separate VIP lanes), which includes 3,500 individual strands of colourchanging fibre in a nine-chandelier array, while the overall installation incorporates an advanced audio solution, with central and local control racks, while centrally-located Medialon servers control digital signage throughout the complex.

Creating further impact in ‘Infunity’, as many as 67 LED fixtures wash the games area and generate excitement with colour changes, while an entire wall of 18 displays forms an art installation in the middle of the zone’s large atrium. ‘Infunity’ also features what is believed to be the largest LED wall in Kuwait — a 10mm, 7.68 x 4.8 meter LED video wall.

Electrosonic have also injected the Freeze Club with 15 LCD digital signage systems to display advertising and information, while

Electrosonic’s scope of work in the complex spanned as many as 18 months.

The project not only showcased Christie’s projection flexibilities but also demonstrated Electrosonic’s expertise in weaving in an aweinspiring audio-visual solution with ease. www.electrosonic.com www.christiedigital.com

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India

Turbosound delivers for Hometown Cafe the cafe desired to project in the subtlest way.

Just about a minute’s walk from the popular Juhu Beach in Mumbai is the new Hometown Café, which is the latest restaurant from the China Gate group. The new venture, which occupies the space where ‘Deltalia” once stood, has a relaxed ambience that echoes a feeling of homecoming.

We all know that the ambience of a particular setting goes a long way in creating the atmosphere, and in the case of the Hometown Cafe, the well-planned audio set up has been a tremendous help in building the ambience.

The audio levels at the venue are set to just about the perfect range, delivering clear and crisp ambient music that’s not too loud, but also allowing people to stir up and get engrossed in interesting conversations.

lower indoor level. A further six Impact55T and one TCX-15B sub cover the open-air terrace.

The Turbosound Impact series was the client’s preferred choice of loudspeakers, reports Manoj Motwani. “They liked the sound at a couple of pubs we’d done, and liked the small size and tonal quality of the units. They sound like much larger speakers than they really are, especially when coupled with TCX-15B subs,” he said. “Also the typical SPL’s needed were 90-92dB with no distortion on weekend nights and small size was critical.” The combination works harmoniously to provide the perfect ambient sound reinforcement, helping to build up the kind of warm atmosphere that

Discussing team Narain’s experience of completing the project, Motwani said, “We’ve extended our services to the China Gate group in the past and have provided complete audio solutions for a number of their projects, so it’s been a great experience for us to work with them again. This project was unique in terms of the concept, and so we had to be extra sure about the equipment we planned to deploy. In the end, the install was completed quickly and smoothly, and the final result has definitely pleased us as well as our clients.”

The management at the China Gate group also confirmed their satisfaction with the manner and degree of professionalism with which the install was completed. They also confirmed that their regular patrons enjoyed the music and the ambiance as much as the food and beverages available at the cafe.

“It’s fantastic,” said Mr. Krishna, the owner. “I really like the speakers’ response for all kinds of popular music - including house, retro, rock or even country. I plan to use Turbosound in all my next projects.” www.turbosound.com

Mumbai’s Narain Pro Audio & Lighting Pvt Ltd has delivered the perfect audio solution with Turbosound loudspeaker products, and the sights and sounds of the venue suggests that the company has done a very commendable job. The set up consists of six Impact55T compact passive 2-way architectural speakers powered by NX Audio’s MT-601 MK2 power amplifier, and two TCX-15B single 15” compact bandpass subwoofers powered by NX Audio’s MT 800-MK2 amplifiers for the Japan

DTS lights the Gotenba Kogen Resort Dancing Fountain The Gotenba Kogen is a luxurious resort hotel with a beautiful view of mount Fuji, located in the city of Shizuoka, Japan.

The Japanese company Monarque recently completed the installation of a lighting system that lights the water jets springing from the hi-tech dancing fountain set within the resort.

Over 70 x DTS DIVE 36 underwater LED projectors create an extraordinary display of colours, perfectly matching the sinuous movements of water. www.dts-lighting.it

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Singapore

Synergy AVL completes installation of NAC’s Black Box Synergy AVL was awarded with the supply and installation tender for the National Art Council’s (NAC) ‘Black Box Theatre’. The installation was completed on 26 August 2011 and the theatre is ready for full theatrical production use.

As its name implies, the ‘Black Box Theatre’ has an interior that has been painted completely black and is 128 sqm in size. The simple black room is able to enhance the impact of any theatrical performance with the help of high quality sound and lighting. The previous ‘Black Box Theatre’ lacked that certain quality in their sound and lighting systems. Synergy AVL’s design and consulting team examined the existing systems and upgraded them with high quality equipment from their own inventory.

To extend the dynamics of the sound system, a combination of Outline EIDOS 15, EIDOS 12 and EIDOS 118SW subwoofers were installed.

The EDOS speakers are driven by Outline DPA 1004 digital power amplifiers and have proven to be well-suited to areas that require a permanent high quality installation sound.

Outline DPA 1004 digital power amplifiers

A Mackie 24-Channel Mixer, Shure SLX wireless handheld and headset microphone systems, and a Numark CDN55 Dual CD Player and Tascam cassette player complete the new installed sound system. It is now well-equipped to cater to a wide variety of performances that will be staged at the theatre.

The Synergy AVL team of experienced

professionals then carried out detailed photometric studies with the existing lighting system and compared it with Synergy’s design.

Synergy’s design consultants re-proposed the arrangement of luminaries so that the lighting coverage was evened-out and better overall illumination was achieved. Luci Della Ribalta professional lighting products from Italy were chosen such as LDR ALBA 8/22 Profile, LDR ARIA F1000 Fresnel, LDR ALBA 18/36 and LDR RIMA A500 par cans were installed and achieved astonishing results.

To satisfy the theatrical and dramatic requirements, DTS DELTA 10F LED lights were installed to provide the appropriate lighting effects. The Delta 10Fs were chosen for their high power LED colour effects that were suitable for the theatre. All the

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INSTALL

theatrical luminaries were connected through DDP1213 wall mount dimmers manufactured

by SRS Light Design. The built in thermal management and vario-speed fans in the DDP1213 design assures quick and long term operation of the theatrical luminaries. The high profile installation also incorporated Klotz Cables for all the power, audio, lighting and control cables for the project.

The theatre’s resident lighting programmer and operator are now given more creativity with the assistance of a new ZERO 88 ORB XF theatrical lighting console which was recommended by Synergy. This is the first Zero 88 ORB XF console install in Singapore.

ORB XF is an advanced console with 2048 channels and features twin-LED displays plus 60 faders allowing for control intensity and live sub master playbacks, making it ideal for live shows at the Black Box. The Black Box’s new lighting design is now easier to operate for rehearsals or daily acting classes, and allows for more artistic lighting. This enables the performers to touch the audience in a perfect synergy of ambience, art and emotion.

DDP1213 wall mount dimmers manufactured by SRS Light Design

www.synergyavl.com www.outline.it www.ldr.it www.srslight.sk www.klotz-ais.com www.dts-lighting.com www.zero88.com

The Zero 88 ORB XF console

Equipment List For National Art Council, Goodman Arts Centre’s Theatre 1.

OUTLINE Eidos 15, 15” 2 Ways Speaker

4

2.

OUTLINE Eidos 12, 12” 2 Ways Monitor Speaker

2

3.

OUTLINE Eidos 118SW, 18” Subwoofer Speaker

1

4.

OUTLINE DPA1004, 4 Ch Power Amp w/ Built In Digital Signal Processor

2

5.

MACKIE 2404VLZ3, 24 Ch Audio Analog Mixer

1

6.

SHURE SLX24/SM58, Wireless Handheld Microphone SM58 with receiver

1

7.

SHURE SLX14/PH30, Wireless Headset Microphone SM58 w/ Receiver

1

8.

NUMARK CDN55, Dual CD Player Rack Mount

1

9.

TASCAM 202MKV, Cassette Player Rack Mount

1

10.

LDR NOTA 8/22, 8/22 Profile Light

4

11.

LDR ARIAF1000, Fresnel Lighting Equivalent Model (PC1200, Aria PC1000

14

12.

LDR NOTA 1836, 18/36, 30/55 Profiles Including Model (1836, 3055)

16

13.

MONON PAR64, 1000W PAR64 Parcan

12

14.

LDR RIMA A500, Floodlight Cyclorama Light

16

15.

DTS DELTA 10F LED High Power Light

3

16.

ZERO 88 ORBXF, Lighting DMX Console w/ 2 LED Monitor

1 set

17.

SRS DPP1213WM, 12ch Wall Mount Dimmer

4

18.

MACOSTAR IDA12R, 12ch DMX Splitter

4

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NuQ delivers vocal clarity for Singapore’s A Cappella Festival

Now in its fourth year, Singapore’s International A Cappella Festival has established itself as a month-long vocal extravaganza featuring top groups from many countries and in various styles.

This year’s line up was again highlighted by some of the best European A Cappella groups such as the Real Group from Sweden with its world-acclaimed and multipleaward-winning music, comedy-flavoured Muttis Kinder and Suade alongside Vocado with jazz-infused a cappella. The Asian a cappella acts were highlighted by the Gay Singers from Hong Kong and performances

by Green Onion from Taiwan and FlexiTones from Malaysia.

Turbosound’s Singaporean distributor Consolidated Audio Networks was proud to support this year’s festival, which was held from 1 - 30 October 2011, with the leading youth groups and the country’s favourite A Cappella groups presenting their music alongside the international groups.

A selection of Turbosound speakers including the 15” two-way NuQ-15 and Milan M18 powered subwoofers were used for front of house duties, with 12” NuQ-12 two-ways used as stage monitors.

Xiang Ju Chan is the technical director for the A Cappella society, and was enthusiastic about the Turbosound system’s simplicity.

“The system is so easy to set-up and use,” he said. “Because the School of the Arts venue requires us to tear everything down after each continuous performance block, we had to set-up the system at least six times throughout the whole festival.

Therefore having a lot of boxes to set-up

would be difficult, considering that we only have one hour on some days to complete the set up and ensure that the whole system is working.”

“The RACKDP-50 amplifiers were so easy to patch up once I got the initial settings stored in during the first day. In fact we didn’t need to apply any EQ - just a 15ms delay to phase align with the subs was all that was needed. The NuQ-15s are powerful boxes with very even dispersion, and they gave plenty of level for the 200 seat hall with loads of headroom, and when they went loud it wasn’t harsh - which is due to the filters in the RACKDP-50s,” he said.

During Freeplay Duo’s sound check, Canadian singer Dylan Bell, who is also a sound engineer, commented that although the NuQ-12 monitors were running very loud and above the levels they normally experience, they weren’t overbearing or harsh sounding.

Chan reported that the NuQ-15 boxes had good definition across the frequency range.

“When we were mixing the vocal percussion and beatbox acts such as Freddy, we were able to get tight and groovy beats, not just the muffled-sounding beats which equalisation cannot solve.”

Chan also had praise for the Milan M18 powered subwoofer. “For its price point and weight it is amazing,” he commented. “It must be the neodymium drivers working their magic.”

All the performers were very happy with the system, according to Chan. “The Gay Singer’s sound engineer King Kong was very happy to see the NuQ system, and the group loved the sound,” he said. “The Real Group performed in the larger concert hall where we augmented

the main PA with NuQ-12 front fills, and many in the audience thought that the front fills sound better than the main house system. Too bad we didn’t have Flex Array or else I would have ordered the house speakers to be brought down!” www.turbosound.com

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Picture courtesy of ShowPower

Tsinghua University celebrates 100 Years with ArKaos Tsinghua University, China’s famous school of higher education and internationally recognised as the first or second best university in mainland China, is located on the west side of Beijing and surrounded by beautiful scenery. The university is well known in China for its famous alumni, such as the President, Hu Jingtao, the Nobel Prize winner, Dr. Yang Zhenning, and many other scientists and writers. To mark 2011 as the centennial anniversary for Tsinghua, a ceremony was organised on 24 April 2011 in Beijing, which was attended by most of the Chinese political leaders.

high quality local support and brings ArKaos media server technology to designers across mainland China.

“ShowPower has proven to be a very good choice as our distributor for this very important market,” said ArKaos Business Development Manager, Agnes Wojewoda.

“With their 20 years of experience, they are at the forefront of the Chinese entertainment industry, as confirmed by projects such as the Tsinghua University Centenary Celebrations.

We are happy to continue this great business relationship with ShowPower.” www.arkaos.net

Mr. Sha Xiaolan, the famous lighting and stage designer from China, contributed to the celebration by setting up a huge stage with an amazing visual show driven by ShowPower’s MTL media servers running ArKaos MediaMaster Pro. It was the first time Mr. Sha used the new MTL servers and he has been impressed by their powerful capabilities. He installed no less than twelve of these media servers and eight beamers to cover the 150m long projection area.

ShowPower’s MTL servers proved themselves by delivering a great performance on these huge screens, with ArKaos MediaMaster Pro playing 3D animations and beautiful visuals that amazed the audience. ShowPower, from Shenzhen, is ArKaos’ exclusive distributor for China. Its team of trained technicians provides

ArKaos and ShowPower management teams at ArKaos Distributor Meeting, September 2011.

(L-R) Michael Daun (ArKaos, Senior Manager), Shan Li (ShowPower, CEO), Agnes Wojewoda (ArKaos, Business Development Manager), Walter Zhao (MTL Stage Equipment & Entertainment, CEO), Marco Hinic (ArKaos, CEO)

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AFL Grand Final VIP’s Listen to Nexo, DiGiCo and Camco much and we find it really handy to have. It sounds exactly the same as the bigger SD consoles and we did the whole VIP event on it with ease.”

The visuals were also an elaborate set-up utilising a small handful of Advanced Audio’s extensive inventory. 8 x plasmas installed around the stage edge. Custom brackets were made by Advanced Audio so that the screens could be set onto stands for punters seated closer to the stage. 4 x screens and 4 x projectors were also utilised, which were being fed by 3 x cameras pointed at the stage, controlled by a vision switcher under the control of Advanced Audio’s second director Peter Rickman. “Pete is an awesome shot caller,” remarked Kirkland. “He really has a talent for it. I love watching him work.”

1 October 2011 ushered in the Australian Football League (AFL) Grand Final. A corporate VIP event was held to coincide with the Grand Final match and the bash was held at Hisense Arena in Melbourne.

With 1600 people attending in a cabaret style event, the program included a full luncheon, transportation to and from the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the final, along with live entertainment and canapés to round off the evening.

The Master of Ceremonies was Channel 7’s Jim Wilson and special guests included Nic Naitanui (West Coast), Luke Hodge (Hawthorn), Chris Judd (Carlton) and David Swallow (Gold Coast).

Advanced Audio were called in to configure and direct the entire AV set-up of the venue.

With a centre-stage set-up, there was a requirement for even sound that could be distributed 360 degrees. The choice was made to fly 4 hangs of Nexo, each comprising 3 x Geo S1210 and 1 x Geo S1230 with one array pointed outwardly from each corner. 4 x Alpha S2 subs were installed under the stage with one in each direction to ensure even bass response throughout.

Corporate cover band ‘Headspace’ was allocated 8 x Nexo PS15’s for foldback , with Camco powering the entire configuration.

Vortex 6’s powered the main systems with the amp racks at FOH while Tecton 38.4’s were installed under the stage to drive foldbacks and front fill.

A DiGiCo SD11 was used to mix the five-piece band while an iPad was used for playback of recorded material. Steve Kirkland (one of the directors of Advanced Audio) was very pleased with the sound and performance of the rig. “It sounded really great. The coverage was awesome, it was so even across the entire area. Speech intelligibility was excellent too.

Jim Wilson (the MC) was very happy with the set-up.”

Kirkland was also a big fan of the SD11. “The SD11 is brilliant. For the size, it just does so

Lighting was comprised of 8 x movers for the band and stage effects, 32 x Lumicraft LED panels for ambience, and 48 x Par 64’s for general room lighting. Lighting was all controlled via a laptop and a midi control surface.

A special mention from both Rickman and Kirkland go out to their crew for their work on the day also. “A big thanks to the fantastic crew. It makes the world of difference when we have a team of guys who know how to get the job done. We couldn’t do it without them.” www.grouptechnologies.com.au

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‘We Are Scientists’ tours Asia with iLive amid total chaos, including a domestic dispute that climaxed in a full bottle of beer exploding on the T112!” explained Walter. “The surface and I were both covered in beer and glass but the local techs cleaned up the desk whilst I ran to the stage to mix from my laptop for a few songs.”

WAS also performed on the main stage at the Java Rockin’ Land festival using an iLive modular system, also provided by Sumber Ria, who were managing the festival and had installed iLive systems on a majority of the stages.

The final show was at Fort Canning Park in Singapore with fellow US band, the Neon Trees, who were on tour travelling with a compact iLive monitor rig, comprising an iDR32 MixRack operated by a laptop, iPad, and a PL-6 fader panel.

We Are Scientists performing at Fort Canning Park

American indie rock band ‘We Are Scientists’ (WAS) recently completed a string of concerts throughout Indonesia and Singapore, specifying an iLive digital mixing system to manage FOH audio.

The tour started in Bali at the newly opened Temple of Enthusiasm venue where local

rental company, Sumber Ria, supplied the system, which comprised an iDR-48 MixRack with iLive-T112 Control Surface.

FOH engineer, Tim Walter, mixed both the support act and WAS. “It was the first time in that area that iLive had been used and the results were incredible, especially as it was

“Their FOH engineer was ecstatic to find an iLive-T112 in position,” confirmed Walter. “It was supplied by a local sound company, who were very impressed by iLive’s facilities, ease of use, and the incredible speed at which engineers could work on them.” www.allen-heath.com

Farnham hits the Road with Vari*Lite VLX Aussie icon John Farnham is celebrating 25 years of his all-time bestselling Australian album, Whispering Jack, with another return tour. This time he performs an opening unplugged set of familiar hits, followed by a full serve of the 1980s album that really changed it all.

When lighting designer Chris Newman began planning the tour he wandered down to PRG’s Melbourne warehouse to check out their latest gear and he came across the Vari*Lite VLX LED wash luminaire.

“I knew PRG had lots of new fixtures but I didn’t want to go down the LED track as I didn’t think they were a great light source,” admitted Chris. “They’re a good point source but I’ve never been that happy with the colour you get from LED fixtures. However, when I saw that they were a Vari*Lite fixture I thought that if anyone was going to get it right it would be them.”

The result was that Chris didn’t have to be strapped into a chair and forced to watch the PRG guys demonstrate the VLX fixtures. In fact, he came away thinking that they were a pretty good fixture!

other wash fixtures. They are also very quiet to run which is important as the first half of the show is acoustic or semi-acoustic. Their power draw is not as low as some LED fixtures but that’s not a problem in this situation.”

“They’re a fairly lightweight fixture which is ideal for this tour as we are playing theatres where weight is critical due to fly systems,” he noted. “They’re very bright and have good colour options with a much wider beam than

For the Farnham show Chris will be using thirty-two Vari*Lite VLX luminaires positioned overhead and upstage to deliver a stage wash. www.jands.com.au

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Doha Tribeca Film Festival 2011 In three short years, the annual Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF) - Doha Film Institute (DFI)’s annual celebration of film - has put itself firmly on the map of global cinematic events as a showcase for the best of Arab and international cinema.

The rush of excitement included the opening night’s world premiere of Jean Jacques Annaud’s ‘Black Gold’ co-produced by Tarak Ben Ammar’s Quinta Communications and the DFI. The glamour and glitz of the red carpet was heightened by the truly romantic setting of the main screening venue - Katara Open Air Theatre (KOAT) - being under the stars of the city’s Katara Cultural Village, overlooking the sparkling azure blue Arabian Gulf. In terms of aesthetics, it was a case of drive-in movie meets modern industrial masterpiece.

numerous other engineering challenges included the stage and screen end being built 25 metres into the sea.

Jeremy Thom

Construction

A massive technical production operation created and delivered the 2000-capacity Katara Open Air Theatre (KOAT) - DTFF’s main screening venue and one of nine movie spaces, seven of them temporary, used over the 5-day event. Michael Petrovich, DFI’s Head of Event Production, was the man on the top of the project delivery pyramid.

KOAT’s massive arched bespoke temporary structure was a spectacular feat of architectural ambition. It was designed by Jeremy Thom and built by Dubai-based Al Laith Event Services and Serious Stages from the UK. The main steel ‘Galaxy’ arch traversed the space majestically at 43 metres high and 86 metres wide.

For all its largeness, KOAT, particularly after dark also had a remarkable intimacy peculiar to movie houses. Its facilities surpassed the wish list of most permanent structures, and

project manager Ross Cameron, construction manager John Wilson and production coordinator/administrator Karen Jordan. The pair of 26-metre high arches, which caused such a stir in 2010, were again incorporated into Jeremy Thom’s design - this time dwarfed by the elegant 43-metre high double Galaxy arch towering above.

Ross Cameron

Al Laith Event Services created the first groundbreaking KOAT venue on the same site in 2010. In 2011, the position of the stage/ screen and the grandstand was flipped 180 degrees to allow the audiences to appreciate the fantastic ocean backdrop and the twinkling clutch of skyscrapers across the water on Doha’s evolving cityscape.

Once Thom had decided on the architectural look of the space, Jo Marshall asked structural engineer Dragan Kusmanov to design the components needed to build the main arch. This resulted in the manufacture of a phenomenally strong new trussing product by Al Laith and Serious Stages - the Galaxy truss.

Fifty-four 5-metre pieces of this were used.

The S355 grade steel was sourced in the UK and flown to Dubai where the sections were milled and welded, then trucked to Doha.

They were part of 94 trucks of road freight organised by Al Laith, together with four sea freight shipments and one air lift from the UK. The Galaxy, a double arch with 7.2-metre steel purlins bracing the two curved edges weighed 26 tonnes.

Heading up the Al Laith team was Jo Marshall - director of Al Laith’s Event Services division,

While it took the visual glory, there were a number of other practical, innovative and

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equally detailed elements incorporated into the whole KOAT structure. This included a staggering 1,600 square metres of covered air-conditioned backstage and an additional 1,100 square metres of underworld space of which 800 square metres was built from TSG HeavyDeck. All the staging, scaffolding and steel components used above or near the sea were double dipped in oxide paint before use, and underwent thorough daily checks for corrosion and beach erosion.

digital cinema projector on the market. The source material was stored on DoReMi digital cinema 4K enabled servers and Sony HD cam video decks, supplied via K2 Imaging in New York together with the digital projectors.

All the DTFF cinemas were equipped with an Alcon McBride flash player for HD flags, stings, trainers and short movies.

Audio

The stage itself was a 36-metre Al Laith offthe-shelf Space Building with a half dome added onto the back. The 20-metre long by 8.66-metre deep perforated projection screen, supplied by Showtex, was lowered into a trap door slot in the stage and flown into position when needed via 4 motors.

Thirty of Al Laith’s top scaffolders came out from Dubai and worked for the duration alongside about 40 locals from Qatar, all supervised by Al Laith’s foreman, Suresh Thapa, with Al Laith’s crew numbers peaking at 120 during the most intense periods of the build.

“We are extremely proud of being involved in DTFF, we built on all the things we learnt in 2010 and I think achieved a truly spectacular result,” commented Jo Marshall. “It is a great experience to work with individuals like Michael Petrovich and Jeremy Thom who have the imagination and confidence to push the technical and production envelopes and enable all of us to become part of creating something completely different.”

Projection

Projection experts Boston Light & Sound from the US supplied a crew of 19 technicians for the festival set-up. They supplied the 35 mm projection systems for KOAT as well as the film and digital projection rigs in the six other temporary DTFF screening venues, and were also responsible for the systems permanently installed in two other venues.

The KOAT 35 mm projectors were two highly customized Norelco FP20s with Strong 7Kw xenon lamp houses, operated as a redundant pair. The digital cinema projection consisted of two Barco 32B 4K enabled projectors with 6.5K xenon lamps, outputting 35,000 ANSI lumens - and considered to be the brightest

Jalal Dudin

Two audio systems were installed in KOAT one for the cinema surround and one for the live system that was used by pre-show artists and singer Leona Lewis, who performed on the closing night. These were both supplied by lighting and sound rental company the Creative Communications Group (CGG) run by Jalal Dudin.

The cinema system’s 5.1 surround sound system was a combination of L-Acoustics and EAW elements that was designed by Boston Sound & Light, and installed and engineered by CCG. Upstage of the screen were three hangs of L-Acoustics Kudos, and ensconced under the stage were 12 L-Acoustics LA18 subs, all driven by LA8 amps. The first surround and second surround stacks each comprised four EAW 760s, and at the back were eight arrays of two EAW 730s, all the way along the back of the top levels of seating, where they utilised the 100 degree dispersion of the cabinets to fill the space evenly. The EAWs were all driven

by Labgruppen PLM 10000Q amps.

On the stage were 36 wedge monitors, a mix of EAW and Meyer, and the cinema soundtrack was supplied by a Dolby system.

At 128 cabinets, it’s one of the largest outdoor cinema surround systems built to date.

The concert audio system was two left and right flown arrays of six Meyer Milos arrays, complete with EAW 850 side fills and NT29 front fills and two HP700 subs a side, ground stacked either side of the stage, together with four additional SL 1000 subs.

There was also a centre cluster of EAW 760 line array cabinets for the presenters and announcements, and the consoles were two DiGiCo D5s - for FOH and monitor mixes - and CCG supplied two Optocore fibre cables - one for lighting and one for audio control.

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Lighting

The huge task of architectural, interior, show and effects lighting design fell to UK based Adam Bassett who has worked on the DTFF from its start in 2009. The lighting statistics included 5600 lighting fixtures in total, supplied by CCG from Doha and PRG from the UK. This broke down to around 700 moving lights, 3100 conventionals and 1500 LED sources, with which they illuminated 17 different areas of the site.

Bassett ’s assistant LD was Miriam Evans. They worked with associate lighting designers Seb Williams and Gary Collins plus a team of 20, together with 69 PRG crew from the UK, 38 from CCG, local crew supplied by Gulf Crewing from Dubai and additional Doha local lighting crew. All of KOAT’s lighting equipment was supplied by CCG, just short of 800 fixtures in total, with another 124 illuminating various bits of the extensive red carpet area in front.

The two sides of the Galaxy arch were lit with a total of 72 Martin Professional Atomic strobes and 144 PAR 64s. At its feet, Griven Powershine D LED floods were installed to graze up the lower sections, with more on the centre and mid-way sections of the lower arches, pointing upwards to the Galaxy. The two lower arches were each toned with 22 PARs. KOAT’s low arches were used as rigging points for the main FOH moving light system for the stage and audience - a combination of Clay Paky Alpha Spot and Wash 1500s and 1200s - 27 in total on each arch - with Source Four profiles for task lighting the VIP stairways and for additional onstage key lighting.

Further moving lights were installed on the three stage arches - again a mix of CP Alpha Wash and Spot 1500s Alpha Beam 300s, CP Shot Lights and Sharpies.

KOAT’s exterior walls were lit with Alpha Beam 1500s rigged along the base and top, augmented with a colour wash from Griven Stroker LED floods on the floor.

KOAT’s arena lighting was programmed by Alex Passmore using CCG’s grandMA2 full size console, with another running in full tracking backup and a grandMA2 ultra-light which was used as an onstage tech desk. www.dohafilminstitute.com/filmfestival

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Oceania benefit from the Rugby World Cup It’s no surprise that Oceania Audio & Lighting in New Zealand was extremely busy last year with the Rugby World Cup and its associated events. And although the final has passed, there is no let up for the Oceania crew as many corporate and touring events deferred until after the World Cup. Fortunately, Simon Garrett, Oceania’s General Manager Lighting, took measures well in advance to prepare for the onslaught by purchasing new Jands HPC12 series dimmers (with contactor bypass) as well as additional Jands power distribution units and HPX dimmers. The HPC12 continues the Jands tradition of building rugged and reliable dimmers and provides an innovative solution for all dimming and power control needs.

“We’re moving over to a system that is more in line with Australian method whereby we build our dimmers and distro racks up for the show,” Simon said. “Remember that in New Zealand we don’t do long runs of shows. In fact, now it’s mainly just Auckland and Wellington, so the number of gigs a show does has not been a driver behind highly customised touring rigs.

However, we have just purchased another sixty-four moving lights and the HPC dimmers bridge that gap between a dimmer and a distro. It’s a Jekyll and Hyde; a PDS 12R power distribution unit one day and a HPX dimmer another day. So in terms of not having to

really customise our racks it gives me a whole lot more distro and/or dimmers at a push of a switch.”

The HPC12 with AirGap™ technology integrates both dimming and high current full-on and full-off contactor type elements on each channel to deliver true, any load performance.

The IRB Awards ceremony (pictured) took place at the Vector Arena in Auckland on the night after the Rugby World Cup 2011 Final.

The event utilised the Jands HPC12 series dimmers, PDS 12R power distribution units and DD8 DMX Opto-Isolators.

The Jands PDS 12R power distribution system is designed for fixed or mobile applications where three phase to single phase GPO power distribution is required.

“I quite like the PDS 12R because again they are great for our slam rack scenario – open racks where we put distros, dimmers and possibly a motor control unit, that are then loomed up,” Simon emphasised. “We used the opening ceremony as a catalyst to buy more individual components – such as eight Jands DD8 units - to build custom racks quickly, modular units to mix and match stuff around.”

Simon concludes that as expected with Jands gear, his entire new inventory has been rock solid. www.jands.com.au

“We made up our basic ‘slam racks’ which are 48 way with four DD8s so you have twentyfour DMX outs and forty-eight power or dimmers out,” explained Simon. “It really is a prep saving device so when you’ve got to roll stuff out of the factory real quick it’s a no brainer.”

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Equipment List: Main PA :

44 x Meyer Sound MILO 40 x Meyer Sound 700 HP subs 12 x Meyer Sound M3D subs 12 x Meyer Sound MSL4 (outfills) 08 x Meyer Sound CQ2 (infills)

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24 Meyer Sound MICA Line Array speakers

Side Fills

Metallica wows 40,000 fans in Bangalore For thousands of fans who had flown in from all over India, even from countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Phillipines, Sri Lanka and Thailand, it was the chance of a lifetime to watch one of the world’s most charismatic and popular rock groups ‘live’!

Naturally, preparation for an event of this size had started much earlier. As soon as Reynolds Sound & Lighting Services Pvt Ltd (‘Reynolds’) were contracted to supply the Audio, Lighting and Video for the event, they started to interact with the Metallica Production Team on all technical issues. Looking at the Technical Rider, they soon realised that this was going to be one of the most challenging international concerts they had ever done. Despite having worked with the biggest touring acts around the world including Deep Purple, Bryan Adams, Aerosmith, Black Eyed Peas and Scorpions, it soon became obvious that this was going to be a show that would require all their inventory and a lot more to achieve all the technical requirements.

Needless to say, after the security problems in Delhi, the Metallica production team were very worried about Bangalore. However, the technical team that flew down on the first flight on 29 October 2011 were extremely satisfied with all the arrangements. Metallica’s gear only arrived at the venue around midnight of the same day and all the gear had to be set up by the morning of the next day. Unfortunately, the band’s own MJF-212A monitors were completely damaged in the riots in Delhi, but luckily for them, Reynolds had a full inventory of the same monitors.

The obvious key to the show was going to be the Audio. Metallica’s audio system of preference was Meyer Sound. There were no multiple options in the technical rider

as normally seen in other acts. Reynolds’ inventory of Meyer Sound MILO and MICA line arrays, along with the MSL-4 and CQ speakers were just what the band was looking for. Reynolds used, for the first time in a single concert, over 56 subwoofers and another 4 subs on stage for sidefills. The thought of using so much of power in a single venue was just overwhelming, but when the band came on, and they saw the audience filling each and every square inch of the venue, they soon realised the need for every single watt of power in the venue. The system design sent by Reynolds Technical Director, Michael Furtado, designed on Meyer Sound’s MAPP online predictive software, was immediately accepted by the Audio Team of Metallica headed by Big Mick (FOH engineer) and Bob Cowan (Monitor Engineer).

Metallica’s lighting rider was all about washes!

Reynolds offered them Clay Paky Moving head washes and a few Clay Paky Spots to make up for the shortfall in washes which they readily accepted. Apart from a few strobe lights and molefays for effects, Metallica’s lighting designer, Robert Koenig’s also specified an MA Lighting grandMA 1 full-sized console and grandMA NSPs. Reynolds was able to fulfill this as they were the first company in India to use MA Lighting grandMA controllers.

Metallica’s LED backdrop was undoubtedly the “star” of the show. It consisted of a 20’ high x 60’ wide backdrop with fabulous fullcolour graphics deftly controlled backstage by Marcia Kapustin who was heading Metallica’s video team. It made a huge impact on the audience, with larger-than-life images completely dwarfing the huge stage, coupled with sychronised pyrotechnics. For Reynolds, it was a great honour to inaugurate this brand new LED screen at a Metallica concert.

10 Meyer Sound MICA speakers 04 Meyer Sound 600HP speakers 24 Meyer Sound MJF-212A monitors Metallica used their own Midas console.

For the opening acts, Reynolds provided a Digidesign Venue 96 Channel Mixer for FOH and a Digidesign Profile 48 Channel Mixer for Monitors Meyer Sound Galileo 616 Processors x 6 Reynolds Audio– Technical Director Michael Furtado with Navin, Suresh J., Michael Satyadas and Sohel Dantes and team

LED Video Screens :

Backdrop was a Liantronics 25mm 60’ x 20’ LED screen supplied by Reynolds Sound & Lighting Services Side Screens were 20x26’ LED Screens supplied

by Reynolds Sound & Lighting Services Delay Screen was 10’x14’ LED screen

Video Team – Suresh and team Lighting

80 Clay Paky Alpha Wash 1200 16 Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 1200 10 Robe 575 Wash XT 24 DMX Strobes 1500w 12 Molefay lights 8x8 08 Follow Spots 2.5 Kw 04 Look Smoke Machines 2.6 04 Look Unique Haze Machines 2.6 MA Lighting grandMA1 console Lighting Team led by Vijay Dominick, Sagainathan, Praveen and team www.reynoldsonline.com

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D.A.S. Audio drives ‘MeRadio rocks the Marina!’ reinforcement system included 8 D.A.S. Road 15A powered 15-inch, 2-way stage monitors and another 4 Road 12A 12-inch, active 2-way stage monitors. A D.A.S. Audio Avant 118A powered horn-bass subwoofer was used for drum fill.

While most of the loudspeaker systems were self-powered, the large format Aero 50’s were driven by a contingent of Lab.gruppen’s flagship FP 10000Q 4-channel power amps.

For amplifier monitoring and control, a Lab. gruppen NLB 60E NomadLink® Bridge and Network Controller was placed into service while D.A.S. Audio’s DSP-4080 4-input / 8-output DSP-based audio processor handled loudspeaker management chores.

As part of MediaCorp Radio’s 75th anniversary, more than 25 local acts took to the stage at Marina Promontory on Saturday, 5 November 2011 for better than 8 hours of non-stop music for the MeRadio rocks the Marina! Project - a celebratory concert where great music and friendship all came together.

With a capacity of roughly 5,000 people, the Promontory was rockin’. And to ensure great sound that everyone could enjoy, a top-flight sound reinforcement system consisting of loudspeakers from the Aero Series 2, Avant and Road catalogs of Valencia, Spain-based D.A.S. Audio were placed into service.

Singapore-based Showmakers (S) Pte Ltd, with over 15 years of event production experience and owners of a DAS Audio Aero 12A system, was contracted to provide sound services for MeRadio rocks the Marina! The D.A.S. Audio sound system deployed for the concert was large, as Juan Luis Garcia, D.A.S. Audio Asia’s Managing Director described. “We have an Aero 50 system in Singapore that is frequently used for touring throughout the Asia Pacific region and we certainly couldn’t leave

Singapore, our home market, short-handed, so we worked together with our local partner Showmakers to assemble a system well suited for this event.”

The system Garcia referred to included 16 D.A.S. Audio Aero 50 3-way, large format line array elements—flown 8 enclosures per side for the left-right house mains. For low frequency support, these clusters were augmented by 16 LX-218CA powered, high performance subwoofers that were ground stacked in a left-right sidefill configuration with 8 enclosures per side. To provide sidefill coverage for the artists onstage as well as coverage for those audience members immediately in front of the stage area, 3 clusters—each containing 4 Aero 12A powered, 2-way, mid-high line array elements—were deployed. The left-right sidefills were placed at the far left and right sides of the stage while the center hang provided frontfill.

The on-stage monitor set-up was equally impressive. This portion of the sound

Francis Tay, Showmakers’ Project Director, commented on the MeRadio Rocks The Marina! concert and the sound system that was deployed. “This concert included performances by Singapore’s top local bands, including singer, songwriter Don Richmond, Matthew & The Mandarins, Heritage, Douglas Oliveiro, and Jack & Rai, plus many more. The system that we, in conjunction with D.A.S. Audio, assembled really showed its versatility with all the different acts and their wide variety of musical styles.”

Jolin Lee, from D.A.S. Audio Asia marketing and sales, echoed Tay’s enthusiasm. “Being part of a MediaCorp event in the sparkling new Marina Bay area was, without question, a great showcase for our large format line array Aero 50 system. The MeRadio Rocks The Marina! concert was also a good opportunity for some of the best local bands and artists to experience a D.A.S. sound system, especially with the newly arrived Road stage monitors, which are new to the Asia region.” www.dasaudio.com www.showmakers.com.sg

A close up of the stage monitors

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Versatile MAC 101™ foundation of Cold Chisel lighting design Described by the Australian press as “everything a rock show should be,” iconic Australian band Cold Chisel’s ‘Light the Nitro’ tour played dates across the country from October to December 2011 with lighting design by Francesco Calvi.

Since the tour played at such a variety of venues - from large scale arenas to smaller amphitheaters, even circus tents - Calvi turned to Martin Professional’s compact MAC 101 wash light as the base fixture in a versatile lighting design. “We had serious weight restrictions in many venues, and truck space was also limited,” Calvi said.

“Because the 101s are so light, I was able to go with lots of them and keep the rig the same across all venues.”

Calvi used 150 MAC 101s as the foundation of his design with fixtures on eight towers per side for cross lighting and on five finger trusses that moved throughout the show, as well as on the floor. “I like the look of the 101s. They give me an ‘old school’ look that suited this band,” Calvi said of Martin’s remarkably small colour changer. “I am able to get a big PAR look as well as a lot of great movement when needed.”

Calvi mentioned the 101’s light weight, great output, good colour and extremely quick movement as exceptional features. With regards to the fixture’s ruggedness, he said, “We have subjected them to every climate possible and they have performed every night.”

Calvi also served as lighting operator on the tour, directing the show from an M1™, Martin’s popular, full-featured, yet easy-touse lighting desk. “This was my first use of the Martin M1 and it has been a real surprise for me,” Calvi said of the easy-to-learn desk. “It has proven to be a very powerful console.”

Calvi ran eight streams of DMX for the lighting via Artnet and two streams of Artnet for the media server. “We were running over 200 fixtures and it’s been very easy to get around.

It is a simple desk to learn and like all things, I am still learning as we go. I love the way it handles effects. Many of the things that I have been wanting over the years, it does well.

The layout of the console is great too and it’s surprising how much playback is actually available to the operator. I think I will be playing with the M1 for many years to come.”

Other Martin gear used on the show were MAC 2000 Profiles™ and MAC TW1™ tungsten wash lights. Lighting supply for the tour was by Chameleon Touring Systems who sourced their Martin gear from Martin distributor Show Technology.

“As well as local supplier Chameleon doing a great job, special mention should go to Show Technology. They are always supportive of any event I work on, without fail,” added Calvi.

Ticket sales for the 10-week “Light the Nitro” tour, the band’s biggest in 30 years, sold out in under a day.

Martin Equipment:

150 x MAC 101™ 24 x MAC 2000 Profile™ 10 x MAC TW1™ 1 x Martin M1™ 1 x Martin ShowDesigner™ www.martin.com www.coldchisel.com

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Southeast Asian Games go with grandMA2 The Southeast Asian (SEA) Games is a series of sporting events held every 2 years since 1959.

Its key objective is to boost cooperation and understanding between the countries forming the Southeast Asian region by promoting sports and healthy competition amongst young people.

he also wholeheartedly recommended the consoles to Mr. Hendra Lie, the owner of rental company Mata Elang and the undisputed ‘King of Stage Lighting’ in Indonesia.

Planning for the Opening Ceremony started many months in advance. Lighting consultant Bernard Chew chose grandMA2 consoles for lighting control because he knew of the size and importance of the show. Using grandMA2 onPC and grandMA 3D to plan and visualise the event, he was able to conceptualise the show and make necessary suggestions.

The Organizing Committee also brought in Paul Collison from Australia (well known and respected for his work in the Beijing Olympics, the Shanghai World Expo Opening, X-Factor Australia, the Opening Ceremony of the 2011 Rugby World Cup and Singapore’s National Day Parade to name a few). Collison was acting as a lighting supervisor whilst also helping the programmers working on the three grandMA2 consoles. “I was very impressed at the ability of the three programmers to change their ‘single cue per fader’ mentality and really grasp the tracking cue list abilities of the grandMA2 system,” he stated. “Timecode was an added complication. However, by the end, they saw the benefits of a sensible tracking sequence all cued to a single Timecode show. It certainly made a huge difference to the quality of the final show,” Collison added.

For him the support of MA Lighting was key.

Although a lighting programmer for more than 20 years, this was his first intensive encounter with an MA system. However, it proved solid and intuitive, giving him plenty of confidence.

Ultimately, it was the support by MA lighting that convinced him to choose the MA system.

Two grandMA2 full-size consoles, a grandMA2 light plus two MA NPUs (Network Processing Units) were provided by Mata Elang and Kompas TV. Kompas TV already had some experience with the grandMA2 desk but Mata Elang received their two grandMA2 full-sizes and MA NPUs just one week before the show.

“MA provided us with the fixture library in an instant and this kind of help was absolutely crucial to us!” confirms Chew. That is why

Mata Elang is the largest rental company in Indonesia and also provided over 1000 lighting fixtures, ranging from LED wash lights

Hosting the SEA Games for an unprecedented 4th time since its inauguration in Bangkok, Indonesia had high ambitions to be the perfect host and claim the trophy of being the most successful participating country. Careful planning went into choosing Jakarta and Palembang as host cities.

to moving lights to search lights as well as several large scale video screens. The fixtures were split into three ‘worlds’ to enable the three programmers to work independently on their own range of lights, the results of which were merged into one showfile running on Timecode. The added benefit was that if one console had failed, the system had a fully redundant backup. The show only used less than ¾ of the actual capacity of the system, and the MA NPU workload never exceeded 8%, showing its exceptional capabilities.

The system had 34 DMX outputs available straight from the factory, but the team decided to run a few universes over ArtNet as well, allowing these outputs to also benefit from the automatic fallover protection of the consoles.

Lighting Designer and main Operator Hadi Suroso commented, “The show was a great challenge for us as we had only just started learning the consoles. We were lucky to have Paul Collison there to teach us and the show turned out very well. I have to thank a lot of people involved with the SEA Games, particularly show director Mr. Indra Yudhistira, Paul Collison as our mentor, Bernard Chew, both the Kompas TV and the Mata Elang crews ... and most of all, my partners working on the consoles - Juni Purwanto and Dedy”. www.malighting.com

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KW SERIES The Next Step Authorized Distributor Sindo Exports Pte Ltd 8 Chia Ping Road #04-05 Jurong Industrial Estate S’pore 619973 Tel : +65-62682360; Fax : +65-62682390 Email : sindo88@singnet.com.sg Website : www.sindoexport.com

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