USA - Green Hippo technical director and AViary product manager Sean Westgate will be holding a special seminar at InfoComm, discussing the capabilities of 4K+ in the real world, new mapping solutions and the challenges of displaying video in environments such as corporate AV, Retail and Installation.

The session will be taking an overview of the challenges faced in the world of high resolution digital displays, tackling both its problems and the solutions, including a presentation of Par4Keet, the flagship player of the AViary Video Tools range. We will also discuss our FlexRes codec

UK - At ABTT this week, LDR and UK partner Zero 88 (part of Eaton's Cooper Controls) will introduce the Astro LED followspot to the UK.

Designed for professionals, Astro offers a state-of-the art flat, clean beam. The double condenser optics system delivers outstandingly high resolution for both A/B size steel and film transparency gobos.

LED dimming is fast and accurate with 512 step resolution controlled from a single DMX/RDM or from a local control knob positioned on the rear panel of the unit.

Fabiano Besio commented , "The followspot is a real step forward in this market

UK - PLASA Focus is set to debut in two new European locations in 2014 - Brussels in November and Glasgow in December.

PLASA Events will lay down roots in two iconic European cities later this year. PLASA Focus events in Brussels and Glasgow represent a new era for the regional show format, which launched in Leeds, UK, in 2009. Having already expanded in to various North American cities, PLASA Focus: Brussels and PLASA Focus: Glasgow will answer market demand for more European events.

PLASA Focus: Brussels takes place at The Square Meeting Centre on 3-4 November. The show, which wil

UK - The Technical Theatre Awards, which celebrates the outstanding achievements of people working behind the scenes, has announced the nominees for this year's event as voting officially opens.

63 individuals and venues are nominated across 18 awards covering all disciplines of technical theatre, ranging from achievements in Stage Management to Scenic Artistry, Wardrobe to Make-up & Wigs.

TTA creator Ian Taylor announced the opening of voting for the awards at the ABTT Theatre Show on Wednesday 11 June, taking to the Philips Entertainment stand at 13:15 to celebrate with gathered g

USA - ArKaos PRO, Belgian software and media server manufacturer, will be exhibiting at InfoComm this week, with its exclusive North American distributor, A.C. Lighting on booth C5054.

The newly released ArKaos PRO MediaMaster 4.0 software will be on show for the first time in the USA, alongside ArKaos PRO's full range of media servers.

MediaMaster 4.0, the fourth generation of ArKaos PRO's software, brings more flexible protection via an optional dongle and many additional features. This ever-more powerful version of this favourite media server software still retains the simplicity

UK - Doughty Engineering has been awarded the ABTT 2014 Theatre Award for Engineering Product of the Year, following the introduction of its new range of Drop Arms, T Bars and H Frames at this year's show.

The range of complementary modular products was showcased on the Doughty stand and has been designed to allow designers to quickly create robust and professional lighting or scenic structures of varying drops and shapes.

Accepting the award from Olivier award winning actor Lesley Manville, Julian Chiverton, sales director of Doughty, said, "Until now, the Drop Arms, H Frames

UK - The 7th Knight of Illumination (KOI) Awards has announced a new venue for 2014: London's art deco Troxy theatre.

This year's awards ceremony, celebrating outstanding lighting design, is on Sunday 5 October, during PLASA London at ExCel, which runs 5-8 October. Troxy is situated ten minutes' drive from ExCel.

"We're thrilled that KOI will enjoy the luxurious setting of Troxy this year," says Pio Nahum of Clay Paky, which organises the event alongside the STLD, the ALD, and Ambersphere. "With beautiful surroundings comes an even more beautiful event!"

The gu

UK - In partnership with The Science Museum, Blitz is hosting a half day of seminars and demonstrations on Wednesday 2 July on the future of event technology.

Supported by manufacturers and experts in the fields of augmented reality, social media, and mobile applications, topics will include 'EventMetrics' attendee tracking and reporting, and augmented reality by Arcstream. Blitz will also be introducing the 'YourShow' (Google Glass) presenter experience for the first time in the UK events industry. Additional hands-on product demonstrations include 'Displaylite' touch tables and gian

UK - There are lots of things you can't rely on during an English summer in London: the weather, the traffic, the Underground and the price of a decent pint. But for those of us lucky enough to enter The Old Truman Brewery in London's East End, it was a simple matter to find consistency, reliability and a welcome thirst-quenching concoction to wet the whistle. The team at d&b audiotechnik's stand were on hand to offer a hospitable welcome to all.

This year's stand was something of a fresh departure from the mono-block colouring so characteristic of d&b audiotechnik. Gothic vaulted arc

UK - When Grillstock delivered a weekend full of BBQ-flavoured treats and good old-fashioned rock'n'roll bands and DJs at Bristol's Amphitheatre, they called on Bristol-based lighting specialists, Utopium, to supply its full stage production package. This included branded graphics, stage, sound, lighting and video walls to host headliners Fun Living Criminals and Hayseed Dixie, as well as other rockabilly favourites.

Utopium's hire and sales manager Ben Knowles commented, "It was great to work with the festival organisers putting together the full scale production to ensure it tr

UK - Aggreko, an official supporter of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, has awarded Showforce a contract to supply local event crew to assist with the deployment of temporary power across the Games' 14 Competitive venues for 17 sports and 16 non-competitive venues including the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) at the SECC, Glasgow.

Showforce was selected following a successful tendering process where the company demonstrated a longstanding commitment to investing in training and development to ensure optimum sustainability for any roles provided on the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealt

USA - At InfoComm in Las Vegas, Martin Professional introduced the MAC Quantum Wash and MAC Quantum Profile, the latest solution to provide brighter and more compact LED lights.

The MAC Quantum Wash features tight beams, "beautiful wash fields, a market-leading colour palette and uniform mixing that combines to accommodate the most demanding applications with brightness and perfection". Combining an impressive 750-watt of RGBW LED power with Martin's market-leading optical system ensures Quantum's 1:5 zoom operates with maximum output and superior performance.

"By com

UK - Orbital's new Nemesis distribution line of audio playback and control solutions took centre stage at last week's ABTT 2014 Show, with the Nemesis UMT-2D Multi-Button & MIDI to USB Converter being judged the Sound Product of the Year by the ABTT panel of peers and industry experts.

The award was presented to Orbital Sound's Richard Carter, part of the Nemesis design team, at a joint ceremony hosted by The Association of British Theatre Technicians and The Stage Management Association, at the end of the first day of the show.

Orbital MD Chris Headlam commented, "This is a gr

USA - InfoComm 2014, the annual conference and exhibition for professional audiovisual buyers and sellers worldwide, held 14-20 June in Las Vegas was visited by 37,048 professionals attending from more than 114 countries. This represents a 5.5 percent increase in attendance over InfoComm 2013.

"InfoComm is the ideal place to make AV purchasing decisions, connect with contacts and learn principles that will boost your effectiveness," said David Labuskes, CTS, RCDD, executive director and CEO, InfoComm International. "The marketplace strongly supports the InfoComm show, a

UK - As announced at the ABTT Theatre Show Awards, Peter Lambert has been presented with the ABTT Award for Technician of the Year 2014.

A leading production electrician since 1998 - when his break came working on ShowBoat at London's Prince of Wales Theatre for the legendary Richard Pilbrow - his many years of experience has made him one of the most sort-after technicians around.

Whilst working as a casual on the original 1983 West End production of Singin' in the Rain at the London Palladium, Peter studied for his City & Guilds 181 & 236(1) Theatre Electricians Cours

UK - Leisuretec Distribution are set to host a month of Interactive Days in July for their trade customers, in partnership with Audio-Technica and Allen & Heath.

Starting on 3 July with the subject of Wireless, attendees will cover topics such as UHF and digital technology, frequency bands, regulation, licensing and intermodulation, along with an overview of the Audio-Technica products and features. The session is designed for anyone who regularly uses radio mics.

Installation Products is the theme for the day for 10 July and it's designed specifically for installers and system inte

UK - The Institute of Sound and Communications Engineers (ISCE) has announced two new training courses to be presented by Tony Stacey MInstSCE. These will take place at Jurys Inn, Watford on September 9 and 10, commencing at 9,30am.

Open to all, the first session, entitled 'Introduction to Sound', is designed to enable delegates to gain a better understanding of what happens to sound after it leaves the loudspeakers.

People interested in this course will want to better understand how sound behaves but not necessarily the mathematics behind it. The course will begin by answering the

UK - Britannia Row Productions Training (BRPT) are offering a new programme of 1-day live sound training sessions at their London training centre from July through to 18 September. The scheme offers people in the live sound industry the opportunity to attend training in selected, specific topics, for example in system optimisation, RF, rigging and monitor mixing.

Training sessions are also available for Yamaha, Avid, DiGiCo and Midas digital consoles. Following the success of the first wave of one-day sessions taken up by a number of people from the UK and abroad, BRPT has expanded it

USA - Free registration is now open for PLASA Focus: Austin 2014. Taking place at the Palmer Events Centre on 9-10 September, this will be the second time PLASA Focus has returned to Texas since the launch of the event series in North America in February 2012.

PLASA Focus provides visitors with the opportunity to check out the latest products from some of the biggest names in entertainment technology. Companies already signed up to exhibit include: d&b audiotechnik, Chauvet Professional, TMB, Altman Lighting, Drape Kings, Harrington Hoists, Lightronics, Elation Professional, and Big H

The Netherlands - Showcasing new and innovative products and technologies as well as proven devices, Lawo will use this year's IBC to address audio and video broadcast, software solutions and workflow optimization issues

A world premiere to be held on Friday 12 September 2014 at noon will present the IBC audience in Amsterdam with a brand new audio mixing console that "extends Lawo's application range and rounds up the company's product portfolio". This addition to the product family boasts high performance and a new face, with an advanced feature set based on proven Lawo te

UK - PLASA London delivered its biggest ever visitor promotion campaign over the last 3 days, generating almost 3,000 new registrations and setting a record for registrations, meaning the show is now up 10% y-o-y on visitor pre-registration.

Commenting on the positive news, PLASA's director of events Christopher Toulmin says: "PLASA London continues to prove its relevance as demonstrated by the phenomenal take up over the last three days. PLASA London is a must attend event for the live entertainment technology industries. The show is in great shape and on track to grow in bot

UK - With BPM: DJ and Electronic Music Production Event co-locating with the newly formed PRO: Audio and Lighting Technology Show at Birmingham's NEC (13-15 September) RCF has opted to increase its presence in order to feature a wider representation from the Italian company's extensive portfolio.

Exhibiting on stand #G1, RCF UK's Phil Price states, "We have traditionally fared well at BPM among the DJ community; but we welcome the addition of PRO as it exposes our new portable/touring and install portfolio to an entirely new segment. This will give us the best of both worlds.&quo

UK - With the seventh Knight of Illumination Awards (KOI) set to be held at East London's Troxy on 5 October, KOI organisers report "a fantastic level of nominations" in both the Concert Touring and Events and the Television categories.

Concert Touring and Events is judged by independent industry professionals from journalism and rental companies while the Television category, supported by the STLD, will again be judged by television industry professionals. The Theatre category, fully supported by the ALD, continues to be judged by professional critics from the National new

Canada - The Virgin Mobile Presents Squamish Valley Music Festival site will be going fully cashless for the first time, working in partnership with Canadian access control and cashless payment specialists, Intellitix.

Produced by Live Nation Canada in partnership with Festival creators brand.LIVE Management Group, Virgin Mobile Presents Squamish Valley Music Festival takes place at the Logger Sports Grounds and Centennial Fields in Squamish, British Columbia, 8-10 August 2014.

In its fifth year, the festival will be welcoming its most impressive line up to date with a mix of top in

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