Hungary - The end of January saw Chromasound, DiGiCo's Hungarian distributor, invited to demonstrate the advantages of DiGiCo consoles at the MPRT - the Hungarian Professional Technical Event Company.

Founded at the beginning of 2014 and based in the Hungarian capital of Budapest, the MPRT was set up to help train and educate those working in the theatre, cinema, television, radio and concert touring industries.

Chromasound was invited to introduce DiGiCo consoles to its members during an eight week series of events, where it worked alongside eight different brands.

"We were

Argentina - BALS - Buenos Aires Live Show - one of the best known rental and production companies in Argentina, specializing in sound and lighting for large shows, concerts, festivals and tours, recently purchased their first Robe Pointes.

The company was founded in 1992 and occupies a large warehouse space in the Caseros area of Buenos Aires city, with around 17 full time employees and around 40 regular freelance technicians and engineers.

BALS also works in other parts of Latin America, most notably Paraguay and Uruguay, and they service the technical requirements worldwide for ac

USA - Electrosonic has opened a new office in the San Francisco Bay Area, which will support Electrosonic clients in the region and serve as a resource for new business development. The Bay Area office is located in Livermore and features 3,000sq.ft of office and warehouse space.

"We are very excited to announce the opening of our new San Francisco Bay Area location," says Jim Bowie, president of the Electrosonic Group. "Over the last few years, Electrosonic has steadily increased the number of our Bay Area clients. This office will support them, keep pace with their ev

UK - Series 2 of the Endemol UK/Remarkable TV show Two Tribes, hosted by Richard Osman, is using projection from XL Video.

Working with production designer, Dominic Tolfts, and production manager, Jessica Enderby, XL Video's film & TV manager, Jeff Bailey specified one of XL's high brightness Barco HD20 projectors along with a Repro H projection screen to create the main question screen for the centre of the Two Tribes set.

The Barco unit provides sufficient output to ensure good visual clarity amongst the studio lighting, and Bailey once again selected a Repro H screen surfa

The Netherlands - Shure Distribution UK (SDUK) used ISE 2015 to focus on awareness of the importance of RF spectrum availability for all users of wireless microphones. Under the slogan 'Losing Your Voice', SDUK are aiming at the growing market of professional and semi-professional users of RF technology, from the conference audio and systems integrators at ISE to live performers and organisers of commercial and non-commercial events.

The goal is to better inform this wide range of users about the growing challenges to the unhindered use of wireless microphone systems as a result of co

USA / UK - Ashly Audio has announced the appointment of Sound Directions as its exclusive distributor in the United Kingdom. The Chessington, Surrey-based company will distribute Ashly's entire line of products, including Ashly's networked multi-channel amplifiers, Protea DSP-equipped amplifiers, and customizable user interfaces, such as Ashly's iPad app.

Stanislas Boivin-Champeaux founded Sound Directions in 1998. "From the very start, we've worked closely with our customers to demystify the vast array of technologies that are available in the installed A/V market," he said

UK - HSL supplied lighting equipment and crew to the current UK tour by X-Factor winner Sam Bailey, who followed up her 2013 win and subsequent Christmas number one with her chart topping Power of Love debut album in spring last year.

This was her first headline tour and it visited a selection of venues including theatres and concert halls, with an eye-catching lighting and set design by Andy Hurst.

Andy's aesthetic for the stage was based on classical theatrical / cabaret club looks with a contemporary twist.

A sumptuous red Austrian drape upstage was paired with matching

USA - The Krewe of Endymion Parade, started at City Park and Orleans Avenues in New Orleans, and from there took visitors on a journey that figuratively at least reached far beyond the confines of the Crescent City. Built around the theme Fantastic Voyages, the largest and most legendary of New Orleans' Mardi Gras parades, featured floats depicting 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Gulliver's Travels and other tales of transcendent journeys. Accenting it all, along with 2,650 masked revellers tossing beads to the crowds are video Panels from Chauvet Professional and Gey

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) Ltd.'s Video division has supplied the first Green Hippo AViary magpi video playback solution in the UK to Alton Towers Resort, to drive the visual and interactive displays in their popular CBeebies Land - one of the theme park's newest attractions.

Home to a range of themed rides and live entertainment, CBeebies Land is an immersive experience for children and young families. The five-acre site within Alton Towers Resort offers opportunities for kids to interact with some of their favourite characters and TV shows. In addition to rides, CB

USA - CMT's live Ultimate Kickoff Party launched the first College Football Playoffs with a glittering show, which also marked the US TV debut of Clay Paky's new Mythos fixtures, a highly-advanced hybrid light which serves as a 470-watt spotlight and an extraordinary beam light.

Production designer/lighting designer Mike Swinford obtained 146 Mythos fixtures from Nashville-based Morris Light & Sound, which offers a large inventory of the new lights. As a spot, Mythos has an outstanding large beam and zoom optimized for focusing; as a beam light it remains parallel for its entire lengt

UK - Northern Stage Services Ltd, the specialist lighting, sound and stage solutions provider, has completed the acquisition of the business of Lancelyn Lighting and Lancelyn Theatre Supplies.

Northern Stage Services Ltd, whose client list includes the RIBA award-winning Liverpool Everyman Theatre, Brio Leisure and Manchester Communications Academy, acquired the business on 16 February 2015, enhancing its overall offering to be UK-wide spanning the theatrical, architectural and construction sectors.

Northern Stage Services Ltd managing director, Patrick Colin, comments: "Lancel

Germany - Michael Althaus, the former managing director of MA Lighting, has launched a new distribution company in Germany, called Visionstage. The company begins with two exclusive brands in its distribution portfolio - Ayrton and Oxo, while "a few more exciting brands will follow soon," says Michael.

Michael says he is convinced that there is "a huge demand for innovative and sustainable solutions and disruptive technologies - paired with high sales quality, years-long experience and outstanding customer service."

Visionstage will have two fully equipped showro

USA - While there were talks of a winter storm brewing for Nashville, the city was all about bikinis and great music as Sports Illustrated chose Music City to launch the 2015 Swimsuit Edition.

The Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau hosted the event where lighting designer John Lucksinger and production manager Chris Lisle worked with Bandit Lites to provide lighting for the A-List event dubbed as Swimville.

Swimville was held on Broadway with six bands performing a free show each day on Wednesday and Thursday. More than 15,000 people came out on the first day alone to s

Indonesia - No fewer than 40 units of SGM P-5 TW (tunable white wash lights) and 40 units of Q-7 W (white flood, blind and strobe), fitted with eight-way Barndoors and Accessory Holders, were recently acquired as part of the light inventory for the Indonesian D'Six Studio, which is owned and operated by PT. Prima Global Indomedia.

Technical & operations director of D'Six Studios, Lemmy Ibrahim says, "I carried out intensive research online and I discovered SGM's LED products." He then contacted SGM's Indonesian distributor Goshen Electronics, and SGM's area sales manager Han

USA - Known for its professional productions throughout Northwest Missouri, the Robidoux Resident Theatre recently produced the musical comedy Spamalot. Brought on by the director of the show, Jeff Stover, assistant professor/technical director at Missouri Western State University, was asked to create a lighting design that could match and enhance the whimsical satire of the show itself. To accomplish this, he wanted to be able to take the design to an extraordinary level, so he brought on the additional support of VL440 Spot Luminaires from Philips Vari-Lite.

"With Spa

Singapore - Illumi Run is the first event of its kind in Asia. Taking place in Singapore, participants are splashed with Illumi glow water as they set out on their race route, passing through different colourful glowing zones before ending up at the finish line. An after-party dance area then features a massive assembly of DJs.

For the recently held second consecutive run, event production house Showmakers Pte. Ltd. supplied P-5 wash lights from SGM, adding brightness and intensity to the party zone. Technical director from Showmakers, Louis Wong informs, "These lightweight, vers

UK - Battery powered wireless LED manufacturer Core Lighting has recently seen the power and versatility of its FLOOD30 products applied in a slightly different arena - the highly popular world of equine sport / leisure.

Two recent sales have resulted in the provision of practical solutions for two different equestrians, Andrea Brown based in Liphook, who runs the Hampshire Young Riders riding school, and Lindsey Nash, a Devon based horsewoman who is currently training up her young dapple grey purebred Arab, HS Casimir, for the world of endurance riding.

Andrea needed a bright, robu

UK - Robe was again a major sponsor of the TPi awards, supplying their latest moving light technology including 38 x BMFL Spots, 46 x Pointes, 32 x LEDBeam 100s, 21 x CycFX 8s and 70 x PARfect 100s plus an MDG theONE hazer in a design by Jack Sayer from Hawthorn, lighting rental partner for the 2015 event. Jack worked closely with Hawthorn project manager Tom Ring.

The annual jamboree - produced by TPi Magazine, part of Mondiale Publishing Ltd - honours the technical and creative achievements of the live production / event industry over the preceding 12 months - seriously upped the an

USA - At the 57th Annual Grammy Awards held at Los Angeles' Staples Centre, audio manufacturer Sennheiser once again delivered reliable and detailed wireless audio to a host of world-class recording artists including Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Beyoncé, Madonna, Tony Bennett, Annie Lennox, Miranda Lambert and many others.

Sennheiser user Sam Smith scooped up four awards, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Album; Ed Sheeran performed a guitar-centric, stripped down version of his blockbuster Thinking Out Loud, singing through a S

Poland - Entertainment engineering expert Triple E has designed and supplied 12 of its Chaintrack systems for the newly opened world-class concert hall in Katowice, Poland - a new venue for the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR).

The new building is billed as a concert hall with 'perfectly-designed acoustics'. In addition to smaller spaces and an atrium, at the heart of the building is the 1800-seat Great Concert Hall, which is shaped in a hybrid form mixing classic 'shoe-box' and more recent 'vineyard' designs.

The 12 Chaintrack systems, which were supplied with Spira

Canada - Two nearly identical venues have become the first theatres in Canada to be equipped with the Meyer Sound Lyon linear sound reinforcement systems: Edmonton's Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium (NAJA) and Calgary's Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium (SAJA).

Both long-time Meyer Sound users since 1983, the 2,538-seat auditoriums selected Lyon as they looked to upgrade from their trusty M2D line array loudspeakers, a decision made jointly by Mark Belkie and Paul Schmitz, technical coordinators for audio at SAJA and NAJA, respectively.

"In our extensive listening and asse

USA - One hundred and eight of Solaris LED's new Mozart lighting fixtures are featured in the spectacular show designed by Eric Wade of FOHShow LLC for the 2014-15 Usher UR Experience World Tour.

Commenting on the diminutive RGB fixtures' versatility and impressive intensity for their size, Wade says, "Mozarts absolutely rock. We're using them for internal set lighting, behind panels on ladders and straight forward open as an effect type instrument. They're extremely versatile, giving many different types of looks, and they're extremely cost effective. I can have several hundred

USA - Production Resource Group LLC, (PRG) one of the world's leading providers of entertainment and event technology solutions, has announced that it is combining several business units to create the PRG Music Group. This new division will be under the leadership of Mickey Curbishley, CEO PRG Music, and will focus on providing integrated video and lighting solutions for tours, festivals, and concert events around the world.

"We are bringing together leading industry veterans, technology experts, and the operational know-how of PRG Concert Touring, PRG Nocturne, and Chaos Visual

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