Germany - It's easy to hide behind a wall of superlatives: bigger, heavier, brighter, bolder, sharper; and for Creative Technology this years' Eurovision Song Contest was all those things and more; but it's the little details that put the polish on this project, says CT.

"The spectacular creative design from Florian Wieder and Jerry Appelt stretched us in places we'd never been stretched before," said head of CT's Dusseldorf Office, Alex Klaus, and the man responsible for running the project.

The Wieder/Appelt design was dominated by a 1250sq.m expanse of Spider 30 LED scr

Macau - Opened in May 2011, Galaxy Macau was billed as Macau's first integrated leisure and entertainment resort, designed to help the region achieve its aim of becoming a diversified 'Global Centre of Tourism and Recreation'. LED screen manufacturer Lighthouse Technologies had successfully acquired the contract for the provision to the resort with a series of visual elements.

Lighthouse's first involvement with owner Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG) was at the beginning of 2008, when it supplied two LED screens to GEG's flagship StarWorld Hotel and Casino in Macau Peninsula.

Lighth

UK - Calibre UK's HQView520 is a scaler/switcher/scan convertor designed to "address the very latest trends in AV system design and integration".

The HQView520 switches, scales, scan-converts and edge-blends multiple images - also performs warp mapping so that those images can be projected onto curved screens.

The new HQView520 will also perform sub-pixel precise image alignment for stacked pairs of projectors used for 3D applications.

Like the other products in the HQView500 series, the HQView520 has a 3G-SDI input and output capability, as well as backwards compatibili

UK - Le Maitre created a spectacular finale to the 2011 UEFA Champions League final at Wembley. As Eric Abidal lifted the cup for Barcelona, the skies above the arch lit up as a host of gold and silver mines and comets were fired some 220m into the air above the 90,000 capacity stadium below. This was the first time pyrotechnics have ever been fired from the famous arch and Le Maitre were "delighted to have been chosen".

The pyro display was the culmination of months of hard work for Karen Haddon, events director at Le Maitre and her team.

"The size of the task cannot

UK - Contracted by production manager Richard Bullimore and Playful Productions, Creative Technology (CT) has been chosen to provide full video solutions for the London West End production of Shrek The Musical.

CT's Barco 20K FLM R20 projector is located on the front of the Circle and positioned side on to ensure the audience's view is not restricted. With the beam deflected 90° via a mirror, the images are projected onto various stage elements providing life and texture to the set components and props. A 13m2 10mm LED screen, also provided by CT, is flown upstage to add to

UK - Goboland UK has chosen ABTT 2011 to launch its new website. The new user-friendly layout gives easy access to "all the information you need about Goboland gobos and products including the Black Steel Gobos, the famed Credit Crunch Gobo, GoboSlides, film slides, Black Holes, Tweakers and its bespoke etching service, Gobo Creative". Details of Goboland UK's specialist services for image size calculation, keystone distortion and pincushion correction and its Green Scene gobo recycling scheme are also to be found here.

To coincide with the new website, Goboland UK is also p

Belgium - ArKaos has announced its new hardware A30 media server. Built for the MediaMaster software, the A30 is the result of the latest research made by ArKaos in terms of raw performance but also structural strength, vibration protection and heat tolerance, says the company.

The case has been designed to allow a very efficient air flow. Several fans, protected by a dust filter, are located at the front of the case and can be easily serviced without opening the rest of the case. This is done through a special door that gives access to both the fans and the filter without exposing an

USA - Liberty AV Solutions, a division of WESCO Distribution has acquired Middleton, Wisconsin-based Intelix, a manufacturer of AV components and software. The move follows a successful conclusion to negotiations between Intelix and WESCO Distribution - Liberty's parent company - to acquire Intelix outright for an undisclosed sum. Liberty joined WESCO in 2006 as part of WESCO's acquisition of Communications Supply Corporation, of which Liberty is a subsidiary.

Liberty is an audio/visual (AV) supplier of solutions-based products ranging from bulk wire and cable to equipment enclosures

UK - The Point at Lancashire County Cricket Club recently teamed up with one of their preferred AV partners, Blitz Communications, to bring a complimentary training course for professional event organisers to the North West for the first time.

The day was dedicated to introducing a range of bespoke Blitz products and new technologies that assist organisers in making their events more cost effective, sustainable, interactive and innovative, and at the same time creating opportunities to generate additional revenue.

Commenting on the masterclass, sales manager at The Point Peter Ash s

UK - Saville Audio Visual provided the staging and AV facilities for the Premier League 2011 National Youth Development Conference at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton. Keynote speakers included Sir Alex Ferguson and Everton's David Moyes plus guests including Sir Trevor Brooking. The event also incorporated the annual Premier League Youth Awards.

The 90ft-wide stage set featured three 16'x 9' screens, with video projection mapping in the centre section. This created a versatile branding solution which changed throughout the event. A newly installed production and edit suite at Saville Man

Italy - IBM Software Executive Briefing Centre in Rome has been designed to achieve a perfect space where visitors can experience the company's technology first hand thanks to an innovative video wall powered by Christie projectors.

This is not just a simple video wall, it is interactive, it can display Picture in Picture or be used as a white board. It gives IBM executives a platform to showcase IBM's software technologies and systems, with a broad application context helping visitors realise the capabilities of innovative technologies and systems.

Peter Dardarananda, manager at IB

USA - Audinate announced the introduction of Dante Netspander at InfoComm 2011 this week.

Dante Netspander allows scalable digital A/V networks to be built without current constraints. For the first time, Dante Netspander makes it possible to deliver tightly synchronised networked audio across subnets in a Layer 3 TCP/IP routed network, says the company. In addition Dante Netspander uses Dante's zero configuration networking capabilities to enable devices in a routed network to be discovered and easily managed. Dante Netspander will be made available as a powerful software application

USA - Christie unveiled at InfoComm 2011 the newest members of its MicroTiles solutions family, the Christie i-Kit touch interactivity kit, powered by Baanto ShadowSense, and the Christie JumpStart software and media server.

The Christie i-Kit, billed as "a breakthrough multi-touch interactivity kit suitable for large format displays", attaches to the perimeter of any large arrayed display up to 16 x 6, including Christie MicroTiles, allowing multiple users to interact simultaneously with a rectangular video wall with sufficient resolution and speed to support finger-based g

Malaysia - At the Malaysian Grand Prix, part of the Formula 1 World Championship, Mercedes GP Petronas held their high-profile annual event. In partnership with Anglo-Swiss watchmaker Graham London, they arranged a party with music, fashion and much more at Simfoni Lake in Kuala Lumpur's City Centre.

The 'Mercedes GP Petronas Formula 1 Team' celebration was organised by CD to raise awareness of premium partners Mercedes and Pretonas as well as serve as a business opportunity for Mercedes Benz Malaysia and Petronas clients and business associates.

Working with CD Events, Kumar Shan a

UK - A.C Entertainment Technologies Video division and real-time media display experts, Green Hippo joined forces at the 2011 Museums & Heritage exhibition to show for the first time in the UK the new JigSaw stand-alone software.

Held in the Brompton Hall of London's Earls Court exhibition centre, the show attracted a wide range of visitors - including AV professionals and designers from the world of museums, tourist attractions, heritage venues, theme parks and edutainment - who turned out in impressive numbers to see the latest technologies, products and services available for their

China - At this year's Palme Beijing exhibition, Shanghai based lighting and video company Kupo Shanghai Co welcomed Green Hippo director James Heron.

Arranging speeches and seminars at the show, Kupo, who have been working with Hippotizer for several years, presented the range of media servers to existing and potential clients. Various projects done with Hippotizer in China, such as the Nissan stand at the recent Shanghai International Automotive exhibition, and others from around the world, were showcased to illustrate Hippotizer's capabilities.

Targeted mostly towards technicians

USA - On 15 June at the InfoComm show in Orlando, Xantech presented Bensalem, Pennsylvania-based firm APA Music& Pictures with a special plaque commemorating the two-millionth installation of Xantech products and thanking them for their years of Xantech use.

The recent installation was performed at Mount Laurel, New Jersey's Twelve Thousand Building Conference Centre, housing training room and boardroom spaces for TD Bank. Xantech products, including the WIC1200Web Intelligent Controller and CWTC1010.4-inch Wireless Touch Controller, now form the foundation for the A/Vdistribution in

USA - PLASA Events, an operating division of PLASA - the lead international membership body for those who supply technologies and services to the event, entertainment and installation industries has announced its first regional event in North America. PLASA Focus: Austin 2012 will be held 22-23 February, 2012 at the Renaissance Austin, Texas.

Modeled after the highly successful PLASA Focus: Leeds (UK), which recently broke previous attendance records in its third year, Focus: Austin will bring together members of the entertainment technology community to do business and network in a r

The Netherlands - Philips Digital Cinema Xenon lamps are specially designed to meet the demands of today's digital cinema projectors. Each lamp is customised by projector model to maximise projector performance and to provide the required light output for 3D presentations.

In addition to large-screen applications, digital projectors are now also increasingly being used for small screens and/or 2D applications. In order to respond more effectively to the specific requirements of those applications, Philips has extended its current Digital lamp range. The new Digital Cinema Xenon lamps

UK - Central Presentations (CPL), West Midlands and Bristol, UK, based AV rental specialist co-ordinated and supplied a full technical production package encompassing video, lighting & sound for the Overkill stage at the 2011 Glade Festival.

The completely sold out two-day event returned to the summer festival calendar in a new location, Houghton Hall near Kings Lynn, Norfolk.

Overkill at Glade 2011 was project managed for CPL by Nick Diacre from the Bristol office. It is the second year that CPL has supplied the complete stage production package to Overkill and the fifth year that

Asia - This summer Green Hippo is focusing on expanding their Asian market share with various Green Hippo staff visiting old and new customers across the region.

Green Hippo's strategy includes sales manager Samantha Bailey spending time in Xian doing an intensive course in Mandarin before attending PALME Beijing with sales and marketing director James Heron back in May. Bailey comments, "One of the key issues we have found dealing with China is the language barrier. Learning to speak Mandarin, whilst certainly challenging, will reap long term benefits for the company and result

Denmark - When the TietgenSkolen school in Odense began its search for a new large-scale media display solution, dnp partners, Audio-Visuelt Centrum, Denmark recommended dnp's Supernova Infinity optical front projection screens to the architect who was leading the search.

Morten Rasmussen, key account manager at Audio-Visuelt Centrum (AVC), explains, "The new screens were intended mainly for displaying computer presentations and TV programmes. A traditional fixed-frame screen was one option they considered, but the architect objected to the blackout blinds this would require. A b

France - Christie has announced the appointment of Dominique Denis to the position of market development manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa for Nitro Solutions.

While maintaining his role as events sales manager for France, Denis will also be responsible in his new role for developing Christie's Nitro Solutions range of moving yokes for video projection and LED and Xenon lighting systems, for the EMEA market.

"Dominique's appointment is an affirmation of the substantive work he's done in the events market since he joined the company in September 2006 and reflects Ch

France - On the occasion of its television debut on TNT and to mark its new positioning within France, the financial information radio station, BFM Business (NextRadioTV group), was outfitted with an ultra modern set. A core part of the decor, the Christie MicroTiles video wall reinforces the visual experience that focuses on financial information.

After 10 years on the FM band, BFM became BFM Radio in order to minimize any confusion with BFM TV, a continuous news channel that is also part of the NextRadioTV group. At the end of the first half of 2010, BFM Radio was broadcasting on so

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