UK - Hosted by Selena Gomez and with a show stopping performance by Lady Gaga, who walked away with multiple awards, 6 November saw the great and the good of the contemporary music industry descend on Belfast's Odyssey Arena for the 2011 MTV European Music Awards. Sennheiser radio equipment was in use by a number of the show's performers.

As in previous years, the live sound design for the show was by Derrick Zieba, with audio equipment for the performances supplied by Britannia Row Productions.

Actress and singer Selena Gomez used a 'custom bling' Sennheiser SKM 5200 mk II with a N

The Netherlands - At ISE 2012, Analog Way will exhibit a selection of its powerful solutions. Di-VentiX II is a multi-layer mixer scaler seamless switcher with universal analogue and digital input/output and full high resolution digital processing. It can display up to seven layers: four live sources, one Frame, one logo and one mask. Live layers can be customised.

Eikos is a multi-layer mixer scaler seamless switcher offering up to 12 inputs including four fitted with SDI and two fitted with DVI-D. Eikos offers three operating modes: Multi-Layer Mixer, 12 by 2 Seamless Native Matrix

Super Star - Madonna is to perform during the interval at next year's Super Bowl, it has been confirmed. The singer will take to the stage at the game on Sunday 5 February at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Her performance is expected to coincide with the release of her 12th studio album and she will collaborate with a team from Cirque du Soleil. Broadcast around the world, more than 162m viewers tuned into last year's half-time entertainment which featured Black Eyed Peas.

Parking Protest - Musicians and actors held a protest in London's West End against Westminster Cit

UK - The UK government has more than doubled the budget available for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies - from £40m to £81m.

The increase, which was announced in the latest London 2012 quarterly economic report by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), comes from the £9.3bn public purse, which is in theory meant for building, infrastructure and security, while the ceremonies is paid for from the privately-raised funds of the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games - money raised from the IOC, ticket sales and sponsorship.

Spain - The domed roof of La Esfera (The Sphere) is a distinctive feature of the city of Alcobendas, north of Madrid, Spain. Hosting a variety of live entertainment, a recent major upgrade of the venue has seen a Yamaha / Nexo digital audio system installed.

Half-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, the €650,000 project included new dressing rooms and public cloakrooms, upgraded entrance facilities, an improved electrical system, a higher stage and all-new stage lighting and sound.

The venue is almost constantly in use by performances which showcase a wide range of loc

Czech Republic - The J.K. Tyl theatre in the Czech Republic city of Plzen (Pilsen) is one of the city's most historic cultural landmarks. Built in 1902, the impressive building honours the city's outstanding theatre tradition, which is second only to that of the capital, Prague. The theatre has recently benefitted from a significant audio system upgrade which has seen the installation of a new Innovason Eclipse GT digital mixing console and a sophisticated EtherSound digital audio network.

Muscdata, exclusive distributor in the Czech Republic for the Innovason brand, selected cable fr

Cyprus - Adamson's exclusive distributor in Cyprus, ProSonic Audio-Lights, recently installed a Point Series system in the Joko Restaurant, located in the city of Nicosia. Its bright and open space promise a pleasant and warm atmosphere. The sounds to compliment the flavour of the establishment, features the full and warm sounding Adamson Point Series cabinets throughout the venue.

he design consists of eight Point 8's and four Point 115 subs for low frequency extension. The Adamson M Series Processor is used for control and the entire rig is powered with Lab Gruppen C Series amplific

Germany - Fohhn Audio AG has released the A-1 live, a new portable stereo USB audio interface that has been specially developed to "enable high-quality, trouble-free transmission of audio directly from a computer/laptop to a professional sound reinforcement system", without the need for additional hardware such as a mixer or DI box.

Primarily designed for live sound applications and permanent installations, the A-1 live is a stand-alone USB device equipped with balanced XLR stereo outputs and a galvanically isolated USB connection. These features enable audio to be directly

The Netherlands - Ateis Europe will showcase a raft of new solutions at ISE 2012, while its new IDA8 fully compliant public address voice alarm system makes its ISE debut.

The IDA8 system has already been deployed at Silverstone's Formula One racetrack and London Underground's new Paddington station with considerable success.

The IDA8 is a 'one-box' solution that runs open DSP software. It boasts IP connectivity and features an IP microphone to maximise this facility. In addition it offers remote diagnostics for easy configuration and enhanced systems operations.

Also featuring as

UK - Musician and composer Kathryn Tickell has been using DPA 4099 instrument clip mics, supplied by UK distributor Sound Network, for her Northumbrian Voices project, which has been touring the UK.

Northumbrian Voices is based on interviews and recordings made with family members and shepherd musicians from whom Tickell learnt tunes and songs. Three generations of musicians perform in a reflection of strong communities, their music and collective stories. Three violins, which are being played alongside such traditional instrument as Northumbrian pipes and melodeon, are

The Netherlands - dnpdenmark will have a strong presence on the stand of their German partner, Comm-Tec Germany at this year's ISE Show in Amsterdam, showing significantly enhanced versions of Supernova products, alongside the Zenith rear-projection screen, which was seen for the first time at last year's show.

These will include an upgraded Supernova Core Screen, with new frame and mounting; an improved version of the Supernova Flex Screen, and the Supernova Flex Classic with IR remote (as an alternative to its RF remote).

These refinements are expected to have a considerable impac

UK - Console manufacturer DiGiCo once again returns to ISE alongside the brand's Dutch distributor TM Audio, with its complete range of consoles that "addresses every part of the installation market, from the largest multi-purpose complex, to the smallest theatre".

The SD7, which will be joined on Stand I H90 by the SD10, SD8, SD9 and the smallest in the range, the SD11, is the first digital mixing console to use Stealth Digital Processing - now be found in the entire SD Range. Its flexible bussing structure features a possible 128 busses and 256 processing paths, plus a 32

The Netherlands - Barix AG will unveil its Annuncicom PS1 Paging Station at ISE 2012 show in Amsterdam early next year. The compact, elegant device gives commercial businesses, office buildings, educational institutions, medical facilities and others a simple, fully-integrated hardware solution for paging and intercom over IP, says the company.

The PS1 features two backlit push-to-talk buttons, volume control and a built-in speaker and microphone, giving security guards, receptionists and other operators a simple way to make announcements to an entire facility. The device's IP address

UK - ML Executives, one of Europe's leading full service event production facilities, has announced the expansion of its audio hire department with an investment in a complete d&b audiotechnik J Series Loudspeaker system.

ML Executives have worked on a range of top live music events over the last 25 years, building up a vast amount of experience in the field. However, in order to supply the speaker system of choice for some of the company's clients, ML has been working closely with industry specialists Azule Finance to quickly expand its hire inventory.

Neil White, project manager a

USA - Situated on a hilltop between the Chesapeake Bay and the Blue Ridge Mountains, McDaniel College's tree-lined 160-acre campus has been called one of the most beautiful college campuses in the US.

One of the most visited buildings on campus is Baker Memorial Chapel. Constructed in 1958, the historic brick building hosts weekly worship services, campus-sponsored events including seasonal concerts, guest speakers and presentations, baccalaureate and invocation services, as well as frequent weddings and memorial services for alumni and current students.

When the college's administr

The Netherlands - Magenta Research will introduce a wide-range of new and improved products at Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2012 in Amsterdam.

ISE 2012 marks the official public debut of upgrades to Magenta's MultiView line, which has served - for over 10 years - as an adaptable, top performing solution for the distribution of Pro-AV signals over UTP cable.

MultiView II's enhancements are all designed to make it even easier to replicate 1080p resolution (and higher) video at distances to 610m. MultiView II products on display will include the MultiView II DVI, T4, STx and XRTx tr

Romania - For over 50 years, the National Stadium in Bucharest was the venue for all home matches of the Romanian national football team. In 2005, it was decided to tear the stadium down and construct a new one in its place. The new Stadionul National, which was three years (from 2008 to 2011) in the making, is an ultra-modern, multifunctional arena designed for both major sporting events and concerts.

Satisfying the highest international standards, the stadium is capable of accommodating over 55,000 spectators, including 3,600 VIPs. If needed, the total capacity can be expanded to 62

Mexico - Thanks to a special three-way collaboration between three rental companies, El Estadio Azteca (the Aztec Stadium) in Mexico City was filled with Nexo Geo line arrays for two major live shows.

Starting with L/R arrays of Nexo Geo T for the main PA, with a bone-shaking 18 CD18 subs stacked in front of the stage, the system also used long arrays of Geo D for the out-fill. Halfway down the stadium field, two delay towers each carried an awesome 18 Geo T array with four CD18, ensuring that those at the back of the Aztec Stadium heard just as much PA as those in the front.

These

India - Close by the popular Juhu Beach in Mumbai is the new Hometown Café, the latest in restaurant brands from the China Gate group. The new venture, which occupies the space where Deltalia once stood, has a relaxed ambience.

Mumbai's Narain Pro Audio & Lighting has delivered the audio solution for the Hometown Cafe with Turbosound loudspeaker products, and the sights and sounds of the venue suggests that the company has done a very commendable job. The setup consists of six Impact55T compact passive two-way architectural speakers powered by NX Audio's MT-601 MK2 power amplif

The Netherlands - Technomad will show "the world's first completely weatherproof, all-in-one, self-casing portable PA system for the commercial pro audio market" at ISE 2012 (31 January-2 February, RAI, Amsterdam, The Netherlands).

The DragonFly, adapted from Technomad's rugged military technology, is designed for mobile pro audio and staging events that require outstanding audio quality, lightweight portability, quick set-up, ease of operation and durable construction for outdoor events, says the company. The wea

Serbia - This month sees dBTechnologies announce the appointment of Sky Corporation as the exclusive distributor of its product range in Serbia. It was dBTechnologies' sales area manager Gianluca Dalessandro who closed the deal. "I'm very impressed by Sky Corporation. They handle everything from rental to retail, organise events, logistics and are able to offer every kind of service to meet all needs. It's a huge company," he says.

"It is a long time since I have felt as much excitement as I do about starting this partnership with dBTechnologies," comments Sky Corp

Europe - Outline has confirmed a new distribution partnership which will service key territories in eastern and central Europe. Outline Central-Europe Ltd is the brainchild of Tamás Fazekas, CEO and owner of Zaj System House based in Budapest, and whose association with Outline and their products stretches back to the mid-90s.

Outline C-E breaks with the traditional national distribution model in that it is a territorial representative for the brand, responsible for Outline sales, service and support in no less than ten separate countries - Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania, Czech

UK - Studiomaster and Carlsbrohave announced the appointment of Ben Millson as regional sales manager across both brands.

Millson, whose appointment is with immediate effect, comes to the Studioking Group Europe owned companies from AVSL Group, where he was UK south east regional field sales manager, with responsibility for MI, DJ and pro audio brands. Prior to this he was with Adam Hall for five years, where he oversaw development of the LD Systems brand in the UK.

"This is a very exciting time to be joining Studiomaster / Carlsbro, with amazing new products set to expand and

UK - With long experience in research and development, the last six at XTA, Richard Fleming has been promoted to the role of application and support manager at XTA. Fleming's past includes 20 years working in R&D, with companies including Klark Teknik and Laney / HH Amplification.

"I believe the best way to really appreciate what the working environment is like for both our equipment and the people who use it is to be there at the sharp end with them," he says.

"I attend a lot of trade shows and at pretty much every one I'm first in and last out. It's also very import

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