The Netherlands - Orion has announced it will be taking a booth at this year's Integrated Systems Europe exhibition (1-3 February 2011, Amsterdam), using the opportunity to preview the seventh generation of its Infinite Plasma range at the show for the first time.

Orion is the world's leading independent videowall manufacturer, with a successful range of bezel-less plasma technology in the UK and European market. The company says that this year's ISE will feature a preview of the new seventh generation of the technology, offering increas

Denmark - Martin Professional has announced the release of V2 software for the P3-100 System Controller, which the company says "puts this award-winning LED video screen processor even further ahead of the competition".

Martin says it has added a host of new and advanced features, including an improved user interface. The V2 software will run on any P3-100, with no need for any hardware upgrades, the company says.

Highlights of the V2 software include: LED video screens with different pixel pitches (resolutions) can now be combined on one P3-100 System Controller - the P3-

Hong Kong - Lighthouse screens was chosen to be one of the focal points at MAHA2010, one of Malaysia's biggest public events, held between 26 November and 5 December.

The Malaysian Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism Show (MAHA) is claimed to be the largest event of its kind in the region. Taking place every two years at the Malaysian Agro Exposition Park in Serdang, it showcases the best of the country's food growing and production industry.

The 6 x 5 panel (6.12m wide x 3.8m high) screens were supplied by Selangor-based Nova Spectra Sdn Bhd and had signals simultaneously rou

UK - A.C. Special Projects were approached by London's Southbank Centre to specify and supply a high power outdoor gobo projector to provide a visually impactful logo above the entrance to the Hayward Gallery's trendy Concrete cafe and late night bar, which takes its name from the building's striking 1960s architecture.

Based on the available throw distance to achieve a 6m wide projection of the logo, the company specified a Griven GoboStorm IP65 rated outdoor gobo projector with a powerful 575W metal halide lamp and high precision zoom optics to achieve the required image size, brigh

Italy - Italian fashion designer Valentino SpA recently commissioned a Lighthouse screen installation in Milan.

The 5 x 2 panel (6.4m x 0.97m) P10 i/o SMD screen has been installed in the company's Milan showroom. While not open to the public, the venue is where all the company's Italian resellers can see the latest products, so it has to present the garments in the best possible way.

The screen was installed by Lighthouse technicians, along with a TV One scaler and LIP-HDI processor, in a space specifically designed around the P10 panel dimensions.

Content is created and edited b

Egypt - UK-based projection specialists The Projection Studio were commissioned by Cairo production company PromoSign to create a large format projection show for the Opening of the 16th Cairo Arab Media Awards staged at Media City in Cairo.

The Awards were aired live across 18 countries. The 13-minute piece was part of a visual spectacular including fireworks, that was projected onto a full-size scenic replica of the old Cairo Stock Exchange building (also known as the 'Bourse') which is part of one of the current film sets being utilised at the studio.

Ashton became involved in th

The Netherlands - Lighthouse LED screens are at the centre of a new trend in the Netherlands for art installations, which is taking the concept of large exterior screens and making them interactive.

With the majority of large exterior screens used for advertising and public information, there is a sense of disconnection - an almost Big Brother-esque omnipresence that the viewer has no influence over. These new installations are trying to redress that balance, making the viewer an integral part of the screen's output.

One such installation is Between You & Me, located outside

UK - Black Light's hire team has helped a video production company achieve a dark and compelling look for its latest piece of work - a video for up-coming Scottish band Kid Adrift.

The video, which was made by Edinburgh-based Cagoule Productions, is for the band's latest single A4 in Ecstasy. It features two boxers battling it out in a down-at-heel ring.

Black Light supplied all the lighting for the video production. "The Lighting designer has worked closely with us in the past and knew he could rely on us to deliver the right equipment in a quick and efficient manner, a

USA / Australia - Intelix has partnered with Ness Corporation to better serve the Australian audio-visual market. Effective immediately, Ness is stocking and supplying Intelix hardware, including their HDMI, digital signage, security and audio/video over twisted pair solutions.

"Ness is an ideal partner in Australia," says Steve Cohan, Intelix CEO. "Their exceptional support, extensive product offerings, and numerous stocking locations cover over 95% of Australia's population, making them a leader in the datacom, security, and commercial and residential AV markets."

UK - Worcestershire-based communications and events management firm drpgroup reports that it is creating 12 new roles within the business.

The drpvideo team is looking for new video producers and directors keen to get started in the industry as well as both Midlands and London based editors. The drpdigitalmedia team is looking for a senior web developer, graphic designers and a presentation designer/operator to join the busy team. drpevents is looking for senior level event management staff to help deliver projects for new clients and the drptechnicalservices team is looking for produ

UK - High-brightness F32 series DLP projectors from Norway's projectiondesign can be found at the heart of a new training facility at the Cobham, UK offices of control and automation manufacturer, Crestron.

"Education is a huge part of our market. Our own business is no different and we've invested in the best communications technology throughout our new training and education offices," says Jamie Blakemore, UK sales manager at Crestron UK. "These are used throughout the year to train and educate our staff, partners, consultants, architects, technology suppliers and cus

UK - PEL Services has recently completed one of its most sophisticated audio visual installations for Syngenta International Research Centre in Berkshire.

Syngenta is one of the world's leading companies with more than 25,000 employees in over 90 countries. 800 staff are employed at the Centre in Berkshire, which is the company's largest site for agrochemical R&D.

As part of an efficiency drive to increase productivity and site usage, Syngenta put into place a three part programme, which included improving communications, the main focus of which was on making The Elements Building a

USA - Hitachi America Digital Media Division Division has announced the appointment of Debra Beckman as western regional sales manager. Beckman will be responsible for overseeing sales of Hitachi 3LCD projectors in the Western United States.

Debra Beckman has an extensive background in sales management. Previously, she worked as sales manager at Lumens Integration, where she was responsible for the company's higher education document camera business. She has also worked at SMK-Link Electronics and Incline Corporation, and she has led her own advertising and consulting firm.

"De

UK / USA - The New Year sees the launch of the enlarged PLASA trade association, following the formal merger between industry trade bodies ESTA and PLASA on 1 January.

The merger has created one of the largest networks serving the industry worldwide. Operating from regional offices in Europe and North America, PLASA now has a membership of 1100 businesses, organizations and individuals working across the entertainment, events and installation industries, giving it a substantial worldwide industry voice.

The move also greatly strengthens PLASA's position of leadership in the developm

UK / The Netherlands - TV One will be demonstrating the C2-8000 Series, a new range of dual channel processors with universal inputs and three internal scaling engines at ISE 2011. Using TV One's CORIO 2 Technology, these smart units provide bi-directional conversion of up to 12 inputs of digital and/or analogue video and also include features such as seamless switching, dual picture-in-picture windowing, chroma and luma keying, logo insertion, Tri/Bi-level sync Genlock input, scalable background and more.

The C2-8000 System features multiple DVI-U input modules that accept DVI, RGB,

UK - Media Powerhouse, one of the UK's leading AV rental services companies, has announced that Special Project Solutions (Special Projects) has joined the Group. Special Projects is a problem solving company whose services span the entertainment and industrial sectors, covering technical project management, design translation, bespoke fabrication and mechanical and lifting solutions. Being a part of Media Powerhouse Group will strengthen the specialist technical management and system integration expertise in both companies, say Media Powerhouse.

Special Projects was formed in 2007 by

UK / Australia - The Prototype Tour, Top Gear Live's most ambitious and complex stage show to date, is about to export its delights to Australia, the culmination of a tour that is playing to over 300,000 spectators across seven cities around the world. London video and projection services specialists Bluman Associates has used advanced projection mapping techniques to create virtual stage sets for the event.

Produced by Brand Events, Top Gear Live is the live arena show for the award-winning TV programme Top Gear. Featuring stunts, special effects and block

USA - Liberty AV Solutions has appointed Alan Richards as the company's new Eastern director of sales.

Now responsible for overseeing all aspects of sales activity conducted throughout the region, Richards comes to his new post with over 20 years of experience within the AV industry. Formerly with Jerusalem, Israel-based Kramer Electronics, where he served as VP of sales for the US market, Richards will make New Jersey his home base of operations on behalf of Liberty.

Richards effectively replaces Liberty's former Eastern director of sales Dan Reich, who has taken on new responsibil

UK - Systems integrator IVC Media has today announced it has been awarded the £1m contract to design and build the AV infrastructure for the new facility at The University of Exeter Business School.

Working closely with the university's consultants and main building contractors BAM, IVC Media will bring together the traditional AV and IT world to provide an integrated solution which has the capacity to grow with the future requirements of the university's students and its business clients across the globe.

IVC Media will equip all the teaching rooms, boardrooms and theatres wi

Qatar - The State of Qatar has recently celebrated achieving a production capacity of 77m tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas and Stage One were invited by Tim Elliott from the Qatar office of international production company WRG, to provide their technical expertise for the official celebrations.

Stage One were asked to create an in-the-round performance environment for the 45-minute celebratory show, which included a 360º seating block, 360º projection screen (160m x 10m) to the rear of this, a central pool that was used as a performance area and 20 different Qmotion control

France - 80s rock group Indochine wrapped up their Meteor Tour at the Palais Omnisport de Bercy in Paris on 14 and 15 September, 2010. For the two final shows at the Palais Omnisport de Paris-Bercy, no fewer than 10 Christie projectors were installed by the technical services company, Alabama, so that every one of Indochine's 34,000 fans could simultaneously enjoy a show embellished with animations, archive footage and live video on two lateral screens.

The whole system was run by the light console using a Catalyst media server synchronised to the show's timecodes. The media server st

USA - David Taylor, the theatre consultant and lighting designer, died in Taipei, Taiwan on Monday, January 17. He was 48. He died falling from the 14th floor of the Howard Plaza Hotel. Early newspaper reports suggested that the death was a suicide; however, updated reports indicate that the police have refused to speculate on the cause of death. A full police report is said to be pending.

A popular, well-connected, and highly involved member of the industry, Taylor was born in London. He studied theatre aesthetics at the University of London, followed by attendance at the University

UK / The Netherlands - TV One will be demonstrating their new LM-1920R and LM-1520R at ISE 2011 next month.

These are colour LCD Monitors for the professional market. Their respective sizes are 19" and 15" diagonally and they are housed in rack mount housings that tilt up or down to optimise the viewing angle. This is particularly beneficial when circumstances necessitate that the monitors be mounted above or below normal eye level. Also included is an integrated swivel stand on the rear of both units to allow table top use if desired.

Both models feature high brightness,

USA - Elation Professional has introduced the Antari F-3 Fazer. This new DMX-compatible 800W water-based dry fog machine comes integrated in its own steel flight case. The F-3 Fazer's case design also makes it easily stackable, so it can be packed up and transported with no fuss and hassle - and ready to roll anytime the show goes on the road, says the company.

Featuring Antari's pump system, it produces "a fine, dry fog with minimal fluid consumption". For example, just one liter of fog liquid will provide five hours of continuous fogging, so each bottle of fluid lasts long

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