UK - WiSE (Women in Stage Entertainment), the industry organization set up to address the under representation of women in the backstage, technical and design disciplines of entertainment, smashed even its own expectations during PLASA 2010.

Co-founder Sarah Rushton-Read says: "During the show we shot past the 200 barrier in terms of membership and now have over 270 members and counting! It was great to meet and greet so many of our members on our own stand and we thank our sponsor Bryan Raven of White Light, Esther Heaslip and the White Light team for making this happen. The WiSE stand was heaving every day during Tea O Clock (4pm - 6pm), where WiSE members served tea and cakes to industry colleagues and other WiSE members. Of course we could not have achieved this without all the wonderful WiSE women who were prepared to - tongue in cheek - don their pinnies, bake some fa

UK - Audio visual rental company Terry Tew has become the first hire company to purchase a SoundField DSF-2 and DSF-3 digital microphone system for discrete-channel 5.1 audio capture. Within weeks of the digital SoundField mic arriving at the Terry Tew HQ to the north-east of London, the system was in such demand that managing director Tew has now purchased a second complete DSF-2/DSF-3 rig and a UPM-1 stereo-to-5.1 upmix processor as well.

"Anyone that does HD OB work for Sky is now required to use a DSF-2/DSF-3 system, and although Sky has rigged many of them permanently at some Premier League stadiums, not everywhere has one," reports Tew. "We received a few calls asking if we rented them, and I realised it would be worth our while to have a system.

"SISLive used our system this year at Wimbledon, and then our customers started using it so regularly that

UK - Stage Electrics has once again provided full technical production for the Guardian Hay Festival, held in Hay-on-Wye in the Brecon Beacons each summer. The world's leading literary festival, famously labelled by Bill Clinton as The Woodstock of the mind, has also exported its concept to create sister events in India, Columbia, Mexico, Spain, Maldives and Kenya.

In 23 years the event has grown from a number of venues in the picturesque town to a much larger greenfield site just outside. The site infrastructure is designed to ensure that visitors and guest celebrities alike enjoy the experience without traditional festival discomforts. Generous trackway and tentage ensure that encounters with mud, even in a wet year, are minimised; conversely, on sunny days there is plenty of space for visitors to relax on the lawns.

Content spans the literature readings and di

UK - A total revamp of the Baldwin Boxall website (www.baldwinboxall.co.uk) has just been announced. There is information on current product ranges with access to downloadable literature, however, there are also presentations, video and accreditation downloads available. In addition, general information on voice evacuation, emergency voice communication and a news page can be found.

Baldwin Boxall care very much about providing full documentation. With this in mind they have ensured that, as well as information on all current product ranges, older material is included too. Instruction manuals for 'out of manufacture' products can be quickly located, either by button navigation or via the site's useful search facility.

Commenting on the new website, Nick Baldwin, marketing director said, "Here at Baldwin Boxall we are all delighted with the finished article. During the des

India - The 19th Commonwealth Games in Delhi which finishes today is being broadcast for the first time in high definition - 26 Yamaha LS9 consoles are being used by outside broadcast specialists SIS LIVE to ensure that the televised audio is as good as the images.

SIS LIVE is Europe's largest outside broadcast and satellite uplink provider and is supplying production / coverage facilities and services to cover the Games. The company won the multi-million pound contract from India's public broadcaster, Doordarshan, part of Prasar Bharati, the Broadcasting Corporation of India.

Taking delivery of the 26 LS9-32 consoles from SSE Audio Group, SIS LIVE is using YG2/YS2 mini-YGDAI cards, also supplied by SSE, to seamlessly integrate the consoles with a huge Optocore network. The system is bringing 17 different track and field events from 12 different venues to a global television a

USA - The nearly 12m viewers of the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, telecast from the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles on 12 September, saw Sennheiser microphones and wireless technology deliver much of the excitement - at the celebrity arrival area, on the main stage, and across both the indoor and outdoor performance areas. The event showcased a mix of established artists and fresh faces, including Eminem, Rihanna, Paramore, Linkin' Park, Florence + the Machine, Drake, will.i.am, Nicki Minaj, among many others.

Host Chelsea Handler used a Sennheiser wireless microphone, as did all presenters. Wireless specialists Soundtronics supplied one dozen channels of true-diversity receivers, including EM 3532s, along with SKM 5000 and SKM 5200 wireless handheld transmitters.

Sennheiser was also featured in many of the night's performances. Eminem, one of the big award winner

USA - Entering its sixth performance season, the $64 million DeBartolo Performing Arts Centre at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, campus has recently upgraded its former audio system in the Leighton Concert Hall and now hosts a Soundcraft Vi4 digital console with BSS Soundweb London digital signal processing.

After many demos with the Vi4 and several other consoles, the Centre's technical crew unanimously agreed on bringing the Vi4 to Notre Dame.

"The Vi4 was the perfect investment for the centre's transition to digital sound," said audio engineer Joshua Ingle. "Everything from its ease of use and amazing sound quality to its sleek looks and size were considered, and the Vi4 fits the bill better than all the other choices."

The acoustics in the Leighton Concert Hall are world-class, with the ability to mechanically change wall surfaces and reverb ti

Australia - ARX has announced the release of its new MSX-12 4 in, 12 out ISO-transformer microphone/line splitter.

ARX managing director Colin Park said, "We developed the MSX-12 in response to requests for a smaller format version of our popular MSX-48 16 channel splitter. There's a growing demand for high quality Transformer Isolated Signal Splitting in smaller systems where three or four microphones or line signals are all that are required."

With four channels of three way splits the MSX-12s compact 1 RU package is designed for applications including houses of worship, conference centres, educational facilities and broadcast splitting.

The MSX-12 is a fully passive unit with no AC power required and the units inputs and main outputs are hard wired to pass phantom power from mixing consoles.

(Jim Evans)

Qatar - An L-Acoustics system has been installed into Seven, the new club at La Cigale Hotel in Doha, Qatar, supplied by L-Acoustics certified provider Venuetech.

The 1,000-capacity oval-shaped club has been installed with an unusual sound system based around a stereo configuration located in front of the DJ booth. This comprises two hangs of four dV-Dosc cabinets focused on the dance floor and four hangs of three Arcs medium format line source cabinets to cover the table areas around the dance floor. A further system of six distributed 12XT coaxial boxes cover a pillared area.

The club also features an unusual sub bass setup of six SB28 subs in a horizontal ARCS/SUB configuration, to deal with the very wide shape of the venue. This provides homogeneous sub/low frequency coverage all around the room.

The DJ, VJ and LJ all have personal monitoring systems of 12XT coaxials, an

USA - Mark Graham, formerly president of Crown International has joined Loud Technologies as CEO. Graham succeeds Rodney Olson, who over his two-year tenure as CEO successfully steered Loud through supply chain disruptions and the worldwide economic downturn.

"I'm immensely proud of Loud management's achievements over the past two years," commented Olson. "We simplified the company's organizational structure and brand portfolio; restored stability and added capacity to our supply chain; and solidified the Ampeg, EAW, Mackie, and Martin Audio brands' leadership positions through significant new product launches. Thanks to those efforts, Loud is now well positioned for growth as the world economy recovers."

"As both a former competitor, as well as audio industry veteran, I've closely followed Loud's moves over the years and have great admiration for the

USA - The recently introduced Crown Audio ComTech Drive Core series amplifiers are among a new generation of products at the forefront of Harman International's GreenEdge environmental initiative. Crown DriveCore series amplifiers are designed to be extremely energy-efficient, and use fewer resources in manufacturing.

At the heart of the amplifiers is Harman's new DriveCore amplifier IC chip. This chip, co-developed with Texas Instruments Incorporated exclusively for Harman, incorporates an unprecedented level of component integration into an IC that is smaller than the size of a postage stamp. Harman supplied the amplifier expertise, while TI provided the necessary high-voltage process technology.

The DriveCore chip combines the amplifier drive stage into the power output stage (along with additional audio-signal functions) - circuits that are typically much larger in size an

USA - With a congregation of approximately 8,000, Vineyard Church of Columbus is the largest church in Central Ohio. The church recently completed a dramatic overhaul of its multipurpose room and installed a new sound reinforcement system drawn from the catalogue of D.A.S. Audio.

Co-owned by Ed Whitney and Mike Hockenberry, Reynoldsburg, OH-based Metro Audio Video was contracted to design and install the church's new sound system. The sound reinforcement system that Whitney ultimately deployed consists of eight D.A.S. Audio Variant 25A powered, two-way mid-high line array elements, two Variant 18A powered subwoofers, plus three AX-V25 steel bumpers to hang the system.

Whitney discussed the challenges of the project. "Vineyard Columbus' multipurpose space is used for everything from meetings and banquets to small concerts. When the church decided to renovate, they wanted t

India - When this month's XIX Commonwealth Games took place in Delhi, all the action from track and field was broadcast throughout the world over digital fibre networks using more than 100 Optocore devices.

The network was commissioned by SIS LIVE who were awarded the multi-million dollar contract to supply production and coverage facilities and services to the Games.

Working with ZOOM Communications, South-East Asia's largest broadcast services company, coverage was provided for 17 different sports and outside races across 12 venues in Delhi.

SIS LIVE and ZOOM Communications both rented large consignments of Optocore digital and analogue network interfaces from UK sales and hire production company, SSE Audio Group.

In addition SSE provided SIS LIVE with a large number of Yamaha YG2/YS2 modules and 26 Yamaha LS9-32 consoles; the cards were used in conjunction with both the

UK - Early September saw London's Twickenham Stadium eschew its usual diet of rugby in favour of a high profile benefit concert for the Help For Heroes wounded serviceman's charity. With the much-vaunted live 'reunion' of Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow as its centrepiece, Sennheiser equipment and staff were there in force to help ensure this complex event went as planned.

Played to a capacity 60,000-strong crowd, the 12 September event saw Williams and Barlow joined by a high profile supporting cast, providing a day of suitably 'something for everyone' performances. These included The Saturdays, Pixie Lott, Alexandra Burke, Sir Tom Jones, Katherine Jenkins, Enrique Iglesias and, appropriately, the Band of the Coldstream Guards and ex-serviceman-turned-musician James Blunt.

Working closely with audio providers Brit Row and crew chief Derrick Zieba, Sennheiser UK provided a wid

UK - London's Radisson Blu Portman Hotel in Marble Arch was the venue for the AV Awards dinner held this year on 8 October, with more than 500 AV professionals attending the event. Electrosonic was the winner of both the Consumer Installation Award, and the Business Installation Award.

The Business Installation of the Year for 2010 was awarded to Electrosonic for the World Health Organization, SHOC Room in Brazzaville, Congo. The Brazzaville installation is a companion to similar facilities in Geneva and Cairo, which were also installed by Electrosonic. The project installation includes video conferencing and a video wall and demonstrated Electrosonic's ability to manage international projects, even where communications and transport lines are difficult. Electrosonic's project manager was Colin Rowley and project engineer was Sam Monk.

Consumer Installation of the Year went to

UK - Blaze has returned with a UK tour. Two years in production, Blaze has been an epic journey for the people involved: the brainchild of Dutch producer Eric Holman of pANdADDY productions, experts in bringing street and roots shows to the main stage have partnered up with dance heavyweight Anthony van Laast to create a spectacle.

Sound for the UK Tour, which follows on from a run in London and a successful tour of Holland, is provided by Cardiff based theatre specialists Stage Sound Services. "Our AXYS system was the obvious choice for this show" commented Phil Hurley, MD of Stage Sound Services. "The show requires a system with huge dynamic range and plenty of punch, but the danger is that you end up with something that's loud with no real definition or fidelity to it.

"From previous experience, on the UK Tour of The Who's iconic rock opera

USA - As part of a week-long tour throughout Florida to meet with audio professionals and volunteers in the house of worship market, the Soundcraft Studer AKG truck will appear at the Techxplosion conference in Clearwater, Florida on 15-16 October. The truck will showcase the latest world-class audio products from Soundcraft Studer and AKG.

The Soundcraft Studer AKG truck will feature several digital consoles including Studer's Vista 8 and Vista 5 SR and Soundcraft's Vi1 and Si1, while also introducing professionals in the US market to the new Soundcraft Si Compact console, which debuted in September at the PLASA show in London.

The 11th annual Techxplosion is designed for pastors, music ministers, media and tech directors and technicians, providing technical training in audio, video lighting and projections. Professionals of all levels are invited to engage in the multiple ed

USA - Rolling Thunder Studios in Traverse City, Michigan has installed a 5.1 monitoring system from Genelec.

For its new year-old facility, studio Owner Nick Vasquez has installed five Genelec 8240A Bi-Amplfied DSP Monitors and a 7270A Active DSP Subwoofer, purchased from dealer Sweetwater. The L-C-R array is mounted atop the control room's new Avid Icon D-Command console, and the rear surround monitors are wall mounted.

"These are great-sounding monitors," says Vasquez, who founded Rolling Thunder Studios 17 years ago and nurtured its expansion into new areas such as audio post production and scoring. "I travelled to Sweetwater, where my salesman Brian VanDeKeere and I listened to a lot of monitors, and the Genelecs just sounded better than any of them to me. They are the most versatile, in terms of being able to handle all kinds of music, as well as the most p

USA - Intelix recently announced the release of the DIGI-V3SD-T4, a professional-grade active distribution amplifier which distributes YPbPr video, stereo audio, and IR or RS232 control signals from a single source to four remote destinations via inexpensive twisted pair cable, such as Cat 5 or Cat 6.

The DIGI-V3SD-T4 features 1080i and 720p video performance, high-fidelity 20Hz to 20kHz audio performance, and IR or bi-directional RS232 extension up to 1,000ft when used with Intelix DIGI-V3SD series twisted pair receivers. In addition, the unit also features local monitor support and is linkable for additional remote destinations.

(Jim Evans)

Germany - Ahnert Feistel Media Group (AFMG) has released EASE Focus 2. This major upgrade to EASE Focus 1 adds a host of new features, including: 3D direct sound modelling with plan view and section view displays; simulation of digitally steered columns and other configurable loudspeakers, and modelling of multiple systems within a single project.

EASE Focus version 2 represents another stepping stone in AFMG's strategy to provide the pro-audio community with easy-to-use and accurate acoustic modelling software that is inexpensive or even free, says the organisation. The new version combines several years of feedback from Focus 1 users worldwide. In addition to 3D modelling of projects, which can now include multiple systems, Focus 2 empowers users to work with configurable loudspeakers such as digitally steered columns. It also supports the GLL loudspeaker data format and facil

UK - Graduation Day is a celebration and this year at Loughborough University it was one not to be missed. Bose and Mood Media worked to ensure the audio-visual technology in the Sir David Wallace Sports Hall was superb in terms of quality and sound delivery.

The facilities management team at Loughborough University had often hired a sound system for occasions when they needed to deliver speeches or make announcements in the hall. This year the decision was made to install a permanent system that would perform on Graduation Day, but was dual purpose and could also become the audio system for general sports hall activities and events throughout the year.

In-store media provider and Bose Pro Partner, Mood Media, was brought in to assist with specifying and installing the system.

Following a full day of audio measurements and reverberation tests in the sports hall, Bose enginee

France - Experienced Paris-based monitor engineer Laurent Midas has been mixing Christophe Maé's Autumn national arena tour for the first time on a Soundcraft platform, using both a Vi6 and a Vi2.

The sound man has been providing a reference mix for the best-selling French singer's backing band, including drums and bass, two guitarists, a keyboard player and two backing vocals. A fully equipped 96-channel Vi6, provided by French rental company Potar Hurlant, is assigned to the IEM's, with sends to the floor monitors (plus additional mixes for guest performers) from a Vi2 (supplied by Soundcraft's French distributors, SCV Audio).

Growing up in the studio environment and then developing his own home studio, Laurent Midas switched to live sound 15 years ago. He quickly made a niche for himself as a touring monitor engineer, winning a number of prestigious accounts. "Y

UK - Newcastle-based production company NiteLites have replaced their front line inventory of sub-woofers by investing in 24 of Martin Audio's WS218X twin 18in high-output enclosures.

This large-scale system was pressed immediately into service with two high-profile DJ arena shows in front of crowds of 10,000 people - first with David Guetta, who played Edinburgh's popular Royal Highland Centre at Ingliston, followed by DJ Tiesto's performance at Braehead Arena in Glasgow.

According to NiteLites director, Jamie Moore, both were exceptional shows which provided a great baptism for the speakers. "We had needed more subs to do some cardioid stacking - and with these shows coming up, coupled with the start of the fireworks season, we knew we were not going to reinvest in the brand we had been using previously."

Instead he opted for the WS218X. "This is one of the

Norway - Since founding in the mid '90s, pro audio specialist Presentation Data has established itself as one of the largest AV enterprises in Norway. Based in Oslo, where it has its head office, and Bergen, the service provider undertakes all types of installations - from clubs and bars to conference centres, churches, and hotels.

To drive its installed speaker systems, Presentation Data relies heavily upon Dynacord amplifiers. "They are so versatile, and with it extremely versatile," says Johan Hovde, sound sales manager. "That's why we use them for a very wide variety of installations. So far, we have had only positive experiences with them. The customer feedback, too, is highly positive."

Today, Dynacord amplifiers are providing the power required for announcements and musical playback in a large number of Norwegian fitness clubs.These include SATS and

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