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10 May 2024

UK - Penn Elcom, the manufacturer of flightcase hardware, racking, speaker component, cabling, LED lighting and other related elements, is celebrating 50 years in business. Founded in 1974 by Roger Willems, initially focusing on metals and anodising, the company has expanded and diversified over the five decades and is now producing and supplying an array of vital entertainment industry related infrastructural elements, which are fabricated from bases in the UK, US, Germany and China in a tightly co-ordinated operation involving over 600 full-time employees.

“So many fantastic people have contributed to making Penn Elcom what it is today,” says Roger. “Their collective personalities, foresight and diligence have helped shape the strong brand identity that sees us achieve this landmark anniversary. I want to say a huge and sincere thankyou to each and e

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10 May 2024

UK - Pro-audio service provider 22Live has completed its d&b SL-Series offering by adding GSL to its hire inventory.

Having now completed its first full year of operation 22live continues to assert itself in the pro-audio rental market as a major force for the future. 22live was appointed as a d&b audiotechnik rental partner in early 2023 after making initial investments into XSL and KSL line array packages.

The company achieved successes in 2023 with these d&b systems being deployed to tours - Tori Amos Ocean to Ocean, Madness C’est La Vie, and events such as Lionel Richie & George Ezra at Chepstow Racecourse. In 2024 the drive for large scale touring utilising d&b has continued with the Pendulum arena tour, and now with d&b GSL in stock, 22live is well positioned to continue its growth, offering services

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10 May 2024

Australia - Seamless AV has chosen Prolights' Astra Wash19PixIP to update its inventory in response to the increased demand for outdoor installations. Alex Moffat, director of Seamless AV, consulted Show Technology, the Prolights distributor in Australia, for the selection of new IP projectors to be included in the inventory.

The choice fell on Prolights' Astra Wash19PixIP. The Astra Wash19PixIP was designed to be a workhorse for any large, outdoor stage or installation, offering a robust and sealed mechanical assembly but keeping the same features and performance as its indoor version.

"We have found the units to be robust for outdoor work and they have not missed a beat,” commented Moffat. "They are amazing as a wash unit and having the LED outer ring makes them look stunning as eye candy for back-of-stage looks. The four to 54-degree zoom makes

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09 May 2024

UK - PLASA Focus Leeds returns to the city’s Royal Armouries from 14-15 May with two sold-out show floors and a bigger-than-ever programme. A record number of people have registered to attend the popular trade show, which promises to deliver an abundance of brands from across the pro audio, AV, lighting and staging sectors alongside a packed programme of seminar sessions, panel discussions, training events and more.

On the show floor, over 200 brands will span two halls, with Ambersphere proudly returning as headline sponsor. Many of the exhibitors will showcase their latest products, with several UK debuts to look out for.

Lighting brands include Avolites, Beamz, Chauvet Professional, Elation Professional, ETC, GLP, Highlite International, Martin Professional, Prolight, Robe, Roxx, TMB, and Vari-Lite.

Pro audio brands include Allen & H

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09 May 2024

UK – The Profile Awards, dedicated to TV and theatre lighting design, will take place on 6 June at Alexandra Palace. In the run up to the inaugural ceremony, the judging teams are hard at work whittling down the many shows and productions they have seen to select their winners.

Theatre Awards chair, David Benedict explains the process: “The theatre section of The Profile Awards is judged by eight of the UK’s leading theatre, dance and opera critics. Every single new production we see is automatically eligible for consideration.”

He continues: “At our lengthy judging session, we drew up a long list of 30 pieces of outstanding lighting design from the literally hundreds of productions we saw in person across the year. That list was then whittled down to a shortlist of 18. From there, we chose to salute the work of eight of the most exciting t

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09 May 2024

Bolivia - Adam Hall Group continues to expand its international sales network. With STD Pro Audio, the event technology vendor headquartered in Neu-Anspach, Hesse, has gained a new distribution partner in Bolivia. STD Pro Audio has already successfully implemented projects with Cameo in the past and is now the exclusive distributor for Adam Hall Group’s lighting technology brand in the Bolivian market.

Based in Cochabamba, STD Pro Audio was founded in 2011 by Wilson Reynaga López and has quickly developed into a leading vendor of event technology in Bolivia. In addition to distributing lighting and audio technology, the company also acts a service provider in the live event and installation markets. Milestones include upgrading the lighting technology at Teatro Internacional de Oruro, including the installation of Cameo moving lights.

“With Came

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09 May 2024

Greece – Audio & Vision has been appointed as distributor for 1 Sound throughout Greece. With headquarters in Athens and experience working on projects in renowned music halls, theatres, and more, Audio & Vision has cemented its status as a leading destination for high-end audiovisual solutions and expertise in the Greek market.

With a rich history of providing top-tier services and representing other AVL brands, Audio & Vision has strategically expanded its offerings featuring the 1 Sound brand for the installation and live sound markets.

“Audio & Vision, true to the principles of innovation, excellence, and high expertise that it has set since its inception, has chosen to partner with one of the world’s leading loudspeaker manufacturers. We are thrilled because we found in 1 Sound exactly what we were looking for and more,”

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08 May 2024

France - HOF has confirmed the appointment of Sonoss as a sales partner for France. The Lille-based company markets and produces products for the stage, architecture, commercial and event sectors.

Philippe Coudyser, CEO at Sonoss, says: “Founded in 1984, our company has a large of experience in live event technology. We are looking forward to working with HOF as we know HOF as a reliable company that develops and manufactures high quality products tailored to the needs of our markets. Thanks to our location in Lille, at the crossroads between Paris, Brussels and London, we can assist our customers with any national or European project.”

Edwin Duivelaar, export & sales manager at HOF, adds: “We are delighted to have found in Sonoss an established and recognised partner who shares our ambitious growth objectives.”

Sonoss will offer

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08 May 2024

UK - South London-based production house Subfrantic has acquired two new DiGiCo consoles - a Quantum 225 and Quantum Pulse 338 with 32 Bit SD Racks.

Founded in 1993, Subfrantic supplies high end solutions to many different situations. Its long client list includes houses of worship, live events, festivals, touring, conferences, and even carnival floats for the Notting Hill Carnival.

Subfrantic Studios, developed post-pandemic in 2021, is the company’s rehearsal and recording facility which shares a warehouse and rental inventory with the production side of the business. The studios are a set of spaces for touring musicians and technicians, but also support upcoming artists and engineers. The building has been designed around the needs of the whole team, providing facilities for work and wellbeing which are a real bonus for touring engineers and art

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07 May 2024

UK - Cornwall-based audio design firm, Union Audio, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month, and to mark the occasion, a limited edition of 10 gold versions of its flagship rotary mixer, the orbit.6, will be available.

Union founder Andy Rigby-Jones began his audio career on the assembly line of pro audio manufacturer, Allen & Heath. With a passion for DJing, and a keen practical knowledge of engineering, it was not long before Andy had devised the beginnings of Allen & Heath’s first DJ mixer, and the Xone, was born.

Launching his own business dedicated to bespoke analogue audio design, Andy formed Union Audio in 2014, collaborating with leading names in the DJ and sound reproduction field, including Richie Hawtin’s Play differently, MasterSounds Audio and TPI.

In 2022, the company reached a major milestone with the release

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07 May 2024

UK - The Power of Events is releasing results to date of its Schools Engagement Programme pilot in the East of England. Launched in January 2024, the pilot aims to refine the process of inspiring the next generation of event professionals, by introducing pupils aged 13-18 to the dynamic range of opportunities within the events industry.

In the Spring term, the programme has so far engaged over 3,000 pupils from 17 schools, significantly enhancing their understanding of the events industry as a viable career path. The engagement numbers rose to a promising 65% average in pupils' awareness of the sector and career consideration post-presentation, up from an initial 2% pre-presentation.

Following this initial success, The Power of Events is set to expand the programme across additional regions in the UK, starting in the Autumn term in September 2024. Th

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07 May 2024

Poland - Robe supported the 2024 Scena Jutra (Stage of Tomorrow) two-day symposium in Warsaw, which this year changed up to a new venue inside the city’s Palace of Culture & Science in downtown, one of Europe’s tallest buildings.

The sixth edition of this growing two-day event featured over 120 speakers, both international and from across Poland, who gave a series of presentations or joined lively panel discussions. These embraced an eclectic variety of topics all related to production design, visual and sonic art also embracing architecture and built spaces, plus several more esoteric but related subjects.

While the designated exhibition area provided a backdrop for Robe to showcase some of its latest tech, the vibe was more about stimulating ideas and exploring the adventure of possibilities that might be achieved now and in the future thro

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07 May 2024

Rio Beach Party - Madonna put on a free concert in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night with throngs of fans flocking to see the pop idol on Brazil's Copacabana beach. "Rio, here we are in the most beautiful place in the world," she declared, as the performance got under way. The show was the final stop on the 65-year-old's Celebration Tour, celebrating her 40 years in music.

More than 1.6m fans were estimated to have attended the show. Crowds of fans were seen dancing along to Madonna's songs played from speakers on the stage, hours before the American superstar arrived. In what many have called a "historic" show, Madonna impressed the audience with multiple set and costume changes and light displays. The signer performed some of her greatest hits, including Nothing Really Matters, Like a Prayer and Vogue, and was joined on stage at o

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03 May 2024

Europe - Renkus-Heinz continues to reinforce its presence in southern Europe with the appointment of SeeSound as its exclusive distributor for Spain and Portugal.

Based in Barcelona, SeeSound has been providing professional audio solutions for the AV market in Spain and Portugal since 2004. With a team of over 30 professionals boasting extensive experience and knowledge of the latest generation products in their portfolio, SeeSound provides comprehensive guidance tailored to real project needs, integrating products, processes, and professionals.

In addition to the regular training sessions and open days hosted by the company, SeeSound has invested in a 1500sq.m Experience Centre to offer demos and allow customers to see products in context to help facilitate the decision-making process.  

SeeSound audio product manager, Carles Ribó, commen

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02 May 2024

USA/Canada - Solotech has announced a strategic collaboration with ROE Visual, with the purchase of over 5,000sq.m of LED tiles, including 4,500sq.m of identical Carbon LED tiles, which is the largest single-batch of LED tiles ever recorded.

“CB5 has become the industry standard for global touring over the last five years or so. With the addition of such a large quantity of ROE CB5 Mark II LED display to our already substantial offering, the team at Solotech will continue to deliver the most spectacular projects on the global stage”, states Mickey Curbishley, Solotech president, live productions division, USA, UK.

Grace Kuo, global sales director at ROE Visual, adds: "We've enjoyed working closely together with Solotech, a company that shares our passion for innovation and commitment to client satisfaction. This is a testament to our mission of p

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02 May 2024

The Netherlands - Metropool Poppodia van Twente is a music, pop and cultural organisation based in the Twente region of the Overijssel province in east Netherlands. It offers a vibrant programme of live music, dance and club nights and other events, and is adjacent to the train station for public transport access.

The venue has been investing in Robe moving lights over several years, and the latest batch was just recently delivered by Benelux distributor, Controllux, comprising LEDBeam 350s, LEDBeam 150s, T1 Profiles and T11 Profiles.

These are added to the existing Robe LEDBeam 150 and Viva CMY fixtures, now totalling an impressive 44 moving lights in the 800-capacity Main Hall with 16 in the venue’s 200-capacity small hall.

The newest lighting fixtures have delighted the technical team of nine including lighting specialists Dion Moldovan

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30 April 2024

Late Opening - Comedian Peter Kay and indie rock duo the Black Keys have rescheduled dates at the Manchester Co-op Arena due to the venue still not being “ready”. The £365m venue, which is meant to be the biggest indoor arena in the UK, was meant to open on Tuesday 23 April, with Kay set to perform an opening show. But the date has been pushed back several times amid safety problems and technical setbacks.

Writing to his fans on X on Friday, Kay said: “To everybody with tickets, my apologies once again but unfortunately the Co-op Live still isn’t ready and so, as yet, remains untested for a large-scale audience. Consequently, they are having to reschedule my two shows yet again (I know I can’t believe it either).”

On Monday the arena said that Kay's performances would take place on 29 and 30 April, but that has now been moved to 23 and 2

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29 April 2024

UK - Almost a decade in the making, containing stories never before told and pictures never before seen, and written with the insight of someone who was at the very heart of it, A Sense of Theatre, a remarkable new book providing a unique, eye-witness account of the birth and subsequent triumph of Britain’s National Theatre, launches to the public on 1 May 2024.

The book is the final work of the pioneering lighting designer, theatre consultant and author Richard Pilbrow, who, with his work on the book complete, sadly passed away at the end of last year.

This is history he was uniquely placed to record: in 1963 he was chosen by the National’s first director, Sir Laurence Olivier, to light the opening shows of the new National Theatre company at the Old Vic theatre. From there he quickly became involved in the planning of the new National

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29 April 2024

South Africa - The recent hosting of the international AV Alliance's annual three-day AGM in Cape Town set the stage for a convergence of global talent, innovation, and collaboration. Industry leaders, sponsors and technical experts from around the world gathered at the Westin Hotel to exchange ideas, showcase expertise, and chart the course for the future of the event solutions industry.

Hosting this pivotal event for the second time was Gearhouse Group, technical supplier and AVA's local member. At the heart of this year's AGM was the unveiling of AVA's educational initiatives and the establishment of its Education and Outreach Committee (EAOC). Charged with collating educational materials and crafting a user-friendly Learning Management System, the EAOC aims to equip AVA members with the tools needed to address current industry challenges, cultivate talen

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29 April 2024

Australia - Fordtronic AV, a dry hire company in the AV solutions industry for corporate events, has expanded its inventory with the Astra Hybrid330 and the EclProfile CT+ from Prolights.

Jonathon Ford, general manager and chief AV technician at Fordtronic, relied on Show Technology, Prolights distributor in Australia, to purchase new moving head fixtures. “We weren't sure what we wanted,” admits Ford. “We'd been sub-hiring from other suppliers in town but knew it was time to purchase our own fixtures. Gareth [at Show Technology] thought that these hybrids were well suited to the corporate work that we do -and he was right!”

The Astra Hybrid330 has already been used in various contexts, enhancing event atmospheres and accentuating venue architecture with targeted lighting.

“We got a custom-made gobo made with a company's logo so the

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29 April 2024

USA - ESTA’s Technical Standard Programme has announced seven documents now in public review. These documents, along with their respective public review forms and instructions, are available from the TSP’s Public Review Documents download page, found at https://tsp.esta.org/publicreview. Return the public review form, and any comments you may have, before the deadline shown.

BSR E1.31, Lightweight streaming protocol for transport of DMX using ACN

This draft is a revision of ANSI E1.31 – 2018, which describes a mechanism to transfer DMX512A packets over a TCP/IP network using a subset of the ACN protocol suite. It covers data format, data protocol, data addressing, and network management, including support for both IPv4 and IPv6. It also outlines a synchronization method to help ensure that multiple sinks can process this data concurren

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25 April 2024

Europe - CAST Group of Companies has announced HUB (formerly KulTechDesign) as the exclusive distributor of BlackTrax in Hungary.

“What initially attracted us to BlackTrax was its ability to create tightly integrated designs and experiences, where the technology blends seamlessly into the background, facilitating a fully immersive and responsive environment where the audience and performers' focus remains in the creative realm. Its outside-in tracking and simple integration with lighting consoles added another level of excellence, which is incredible to witness,” says Peter Perjési, co-founder of HUB.

“BlackTrax is readily available for clients, and since hosting demos at our facility, the technology has already been used in two concerts, opening new perspectives for attendees and birthing fresh creative ideas for clients.”

HUB has f

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24 April 2024

USA - Bose Professional has announced the launch of a new US sales organisation, marking a milestone in the newly independent company’s evolution.

For over 50 years, Bose Professional has developed audio technology that allows systems to be easily designed, installed and operated for performance and commercial applications. Today, their systems can be heard worldwide in workplaces, houses of worship, universities, restaurants, retail stores, hotels, performing arts centres, stadiums and more.

Acquired in April 2023 by Transom Capital, an operations-focused private equity firm, Bose Professional retained its core engineering, product management and marketing teams at launch and has been building and expanding its autonomous operations and infrastructure at a rapid pace over the last four quarters.

The new sales model includes a robust mix of

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23 April 2024

Canada - PK Sound has welcomed Calgary-based live production house Unlimited Video Staging (UVS) to its growing partner network following the company’s investment in a T8 robotic line source system. UVS has already taken advantage of T8’s Multi-Axis Robotics to mitigate noise pollution while still delivering high-impact live entertainment in densely populated urban areas.

“UVS has a longstanding reputation as a national leader in video production technologies and services, so when we decided to expand our offerings into live audio, we sought cutting-edge solutions that would elevate the experiences we deliver for our clients and partners,” says Aaron Buchanan, founder and CEO of UVS. “PK Sound’s robotic line arrays sound incredible and offer an unprecedented degree of control in shaping acoustic coverage to the contours of any venue or environmen