Italy - XL Video provided a range of video solutions including 60m widescreen projection and control, cameras/PPU and crew, together with LED screens and general AV support for Cisco Live 2014 in Milan Italy, working for event producers George P. Johnson.

The four day event was staged in the MiCo Milano Congressi conference centre in downtown Milan, currently the largest purpose built congress centre in Europe. Cisco Live is the industry's premier education and training event for IT, networking and communications professionals.

XL's team was project managed by Nick Askew and Steve Greetham, who collaborated closely with Ben Hawkins, Dave Johnstone and John Carss from George P. Johnson. The team worked together to design the projection system for the 3,100 capacity plenary sessions and co-ordinate the logistics needed to make it happen. XL also supplied AV to 37 breakout areas.

UAE - The team at Eclipse Staging Services will be further strengthened from March 2014 by the arrival of Martin Lubach, who has been appointed as the company's new general manager.

With 30 years of experience in the entertainment industry, Martin - a graduate of electronics and electrical engineering from Edinburgh University - worked for two years as commercial director at PRG UK. From 2011 - 2013 Martin took an active role in contributing to the company's growth strategy through proactive sales, management and leadership of the specialist sales team.

After joining a small lighting company known as Essential Lighting in 1998, Martin - due to his technical capabilities - helped the business grow very quickly and became technical director and shareholder; working on any technically demanding jobs but also on warehouse procedures to create a more efficient machine. After the ac

USA - AVnu Alliance, the industry consortium that certifies Audio Video Bridging (AVB) products for interoperability, has announced the first AVnu-certified AVB series of switches from Extreme Networks. The Extreme Networks Summit X440 Series of stackable switches has passed all testing for certification and will now bear the AVnu-certified Logo.

"We are thrilled to announce the first AVnu-certified family of switches from Extreme Networks. This is just the first of many AVnu-certified products to come, but an important start. We are proud of Extreme Networks' dedication to furthering the momentum of AVB," said AVnu Alliance President, Rick Kreifeldt. "The Alliance chose to do more than simply connect products together and check that they can connect and stream. Instead, we developed a robust set of hundreds of conformance tests that ensure devices implement AVB s

UK - West Midlands-based video production and rental specialists Central Presentations Ltd. (CPL) supplied projection for two sets of curved screens plus control on the massive Maxxis Tyres stand at the 2014 Autosport International exhibition at Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre (NEC).

CPL - who are also based locally - were working for stand building and managing company Yo Yo Display which sets up this stand in different formats worldwide. Maxxis was launching its latest generation of VS01 performance tyres at the exhibition and showcasing the various cars, motorbikes, drift and off-road vehicles it sponsors.

It was the first time that CPL has worked for the company, and everything was co-ordinated through CPL's project manager, Jimmy Smith.

Most of the stand elements were curved - a concept following and accentuated the natural contours of tyres.

The first area of

South Africa - Kilowatt AV - a leading creative and technical support supplier to the event and advertising industries - and Sight and Sound - an audio visual, lighting, staging and video rental specialist - have joined forces to establish Kilowatt Investments Holdings. The move will establish the group as one of the top five technical event support companies in the country.

According to Group CEO, Dillon Jearey, the collaboration increases the companies' market share across the small and larger events markets. "Up to now Kilowatt AV's primary focus has been concept and production support of premium events. This move forms part of our ongoing quest to distinguish ourselves from our competitors as it allows us to expand our offering to include day-to-day technical elements for smaller events."

Jearey maintains that the partnership is strengthened by both companies' so

UK - LCA - Lights, Camera, Action - a one stop shop offering a range of film, television and broadcast lighting equipment, accessories & consumables, will be showcasing the latest technology solutions from their extensive portfolio of exclusive and other leading brands, at BVE London 2014, Excel (hall/stand A06).

As the exclusive supplier in Europe for the Cineo Lighting product range, LCA will showcase for the first time at BVE London the new Matchstix - a series of small, versatile remote phosphor light sources developed in conjunction with Litegear. Matchstix are optimised for flawless, flicker-free control with a Litegear Litedimmer.

From K5600, an LCA UK exclusive - the stand will showcase the Alpha 1600 and Joker 1600W HMI fixtures. Both models come complete with high speed 1,000Hz, flicker free ballast.

As the exclusive UK distributor for Filmgear, LCA will demonstrat

UK - XL Video supplied LED screens for two high profile stands at the 2014 ICE Totally Gaming international business gaming exhibition, which attracted record visitor figures from the world of pro gaming for three days at London's ExCeL Centre.

The stands involved were Aristocrat and Microgaming, and the delivery of the LED screens, processing and control was handled by two XL project managers, Jacqueline Rice (Aristocrat) and Andy Mayneord (Microgaming).

Working for stand designers Expoteam, XL supplied a curved Pixled F-11 screen that formed a dynamic back wall to this stand for slot machine and gaming systems specialist Aristocrat's prominent stand.

The screen was 43 tiles wide by eight tiles high - approximately 19m wide by 3.6 high - and ensured that there was plenty of drama and visual excitement, which was great for attracting people onto the stand.

The back screen

Brazil - Young Brazilian sertanejo rhythm singer Lucas Ferreira staged a huge show in Lençóis Paulista in the outskirts of São Paulo - his birthplace - to film his first ever DVD. The venue was in a disused warehouse in the industrial district of the city.

An eye-catching lighting scheme was created by LD Leonardo Oliveira using 50 x Robe Robin Pointes and 40 x Robe Robin LEDWash 600s.

Leonardo had full creative freedom for the shoot, and adapted his lighting ideas and style to suit a large industrial venue.

He was asked onboard as LD by musical producer Ivan Miyazato, and rental company Showdesign from São Paulo provided all the rental services, set up and support.

Three trusses above the stage were each rigged with eight Pointes and seven LEDWash 600s, and for backlight from the sides, five LEDWashes were rigged in two special left-and-right structures.

The other n

Belgium - Barco and AED Studios, part of AED group, have officially inaugurated 'Barco Virtual World', a virtual experience events hall at the site of AED Studios in Lint, Belgium. The 1.000sq.m hall is equipped with 10 of Barco's high-brightness HDX-W20 projectors and a 90m long screen - the largest in the Benelux region - to provide an immersive virtual experience in full HD.

A longstanding customer of Barco, the AED group purchased the renowned Eurocam Mediacenter in 2013, renaming it AED Studios. The 55,000sq.m site is home to an extensive range of film studios (45sq.m < 3000sq.m), each offering an enormous array of multifunctional possibilities. "The studios perfectly complement our rental, sales, repair, logistics and leasing businesses," says Glen Roggeman, CEO of AED Studios. "When buying the studios, we immediately dreamt of converting one of the halls in

USA - Following the success of his 2011 EPIC 1.0 tour, Eric Prydz knew his EPIC (Eric Prydz In Concert) 2.0 shows had to raise the stakes of EDM visuals, and therefore collaborated again with show designers, technical specialists & content creators Immersive to realise a world-class audio/visual sensation.

Hailed by the world's press as an example of boundary-pushing design, London and New York-based show designer Immersive created an enormous set incorporating LED screens rather than projection surfaces, lasers, holograms, smoke machines and other visual effects.

Reviewing the show, the LA Times praised EPIC 2.0 for "raising the stakes for how artists present dance music live, in ways unique to their own aesthetic"; LA Music Blog commented, "The seamless marriage of deft live mixing and visual spectacle was magical to behold; I can only hope this

Germany - Avolites and Avolites Media are powering up the latest stable of products to be unveiled at this year's Prolight + Sound.

The show promises to be Avolites' biggest presence yet. Avolites and Avolites Media will take their own dedicated stand at Frankfurt - Hall 11.0 Stand D40 - but will also be exhibiting with longstanding friend and partner, Trendco, also in Hall 11.0 B41A.

Avolites Media will showcase the new S-Series Media Servers, along with the latest generation in the Infinity line, the Ai Infinity EX series.

The Ai S2, S4 and S6 media server are the latest server systems from Avolites Media and offer two, four and six Display Port / DVI outputs respectively. They feature 3rd generation PCI Express motherboards, graphics cards and RAID SSD drives for unrivalled performance along with 4K Ultra HD capability in the S4, S6 and S8 servers. The Dual Processor, hi

UK - XL Video reports the creation of a new 'Centre of Excellence' for media servers and control systems. The team, whose expertise will be available to clients of XL Video worldwide, will be led by Christian Dickens, media server and control systems manager at XL Video UK.

Christian, who has recently joined XL Video, has almost 20 years experience in audio-visual technology. For the last six years, he has specialised in the field of projection mapping and media servers, and it is this expertise that makes him the ideal leader for XL's new team. Before joining XL, Christian's projects included projection mapping Nokia's Secret Room at Mobile World Congress 2013 and Veuve Cliquot's interactive display at Selfridges London.

"Joining the XL Video team is an amazing opportunity," commented Christian. "I am excited about being a part of the 'Centre of Excellence' and

Belgium - Barco and AED Studios, part of audiovisual specialist AED group, officially inaugurated Barco Virtual World, a virtual experience events hall at the site of AED Studios in Lint, Belgium.

The 1.000sq.m hall is equipped with ten of Barco's high-brightness HDX-W20 projectors and a 90-meter long screen - the largest in the Benelux - to provide an immersive virtual experience in full HD. As a technical partner of Barco Virtual World, Barco is happy to help AED Studios to push the limits of projection and corporate event infrastructure to create a unique experience for AED's customers.

A longstanding customer of Barco, the AED group purchased the renowned Eurocam Mediacenter in 2013, renaming it AED Studios. The 55,000sq.m site is home to an extensive range of film studios (45sq.m < 3000sq.m), each offering an enormous array of multifunctional possibilities.

"The st

Russia - Moscow-based AV company, Proton Centre, specified six Allen & Heath rackmount Qu-16 digital mixers to be installed in the Main Media Centre at Sochi's Olympic Park during the recent Olympic Games in Russia.

The Main Media Centre catered for more than 2000 members of the international media accredited to cover the Competition, and more than 6000 television and radio broadcasters from around the world.

Proton Centre designed the AV system and supervised installation works, whilst its partner company, Sochi-based Tomlux+, completed the sound and video installation on site. The Qu-16s were supplied by Allen & Heath's Russian distributor, MixArt.

The Media Centre's AV systems were based around the Qu-16 mixers, which were selected for their ability to provide the wide functionality and flexibility needed to complete various tasks, and meet the diverse requirements of the

USA - Litepanels, a Vitec Group brand and provider of LED lighting for the broadcast and production industries, has announced the release of its new Sola 4 Traveler KitTM. Designed specifically to accommodate the needs of shooters and productions on the go, the Sola 4 Traveler Kit includes three Sola 4 LED Fresnel fixtures in a rugged, ergonomically designed, trolley-style hard case.

Customised for safe and easy transport from location to location, the Sola 4 Traveler Kit weighs only 65 pounds (29.5 kilograms). The three fixtures included in the kit can be easily deployed for a traditional three-light set-up, and the kit's custom foam insert is expandable to allow for the addition of a classic Litepanels 1x1.

Litepanels' Sola 4TM is the smallest DMX controllable LED Fresnel on the market. The daylight-balanced LED offers the controllability and light-shaping properties inheren

Germany - ArKaos PRO will show its complete range of media servers at Prolight+Sound 2014, marking the first European showing of all three servers side by side.

Comprising the Stage, Studio and Stadium servers, this range offers up to two-, four- and six-outputs respectively with features and controllability that meet any challenge or project requirement.

Newly presented at Prolight+Sound is MediaMaster 4.0, the latest and ever-more powerful version of ArKaos PRO's media server software. MediaMaster 4.0 brings more flexible protection via an optional dongle and many additional features, yet retains the simplicity of operation familiar to its users.

A completely redesigned licensing system allows the user to register and deregister any machine remotely from their own account so MediaMaster 4.0 is not restricted to use on only one machine.

MediaMaster 4.0's long list of new

USA - Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers were given a dazzling backdrop to their performances at the Super Bowl XLVIII Half Time show at the MetLife Stadium, New Jersey, on 2 February by Bob Barnhart's spectacular lighting.

Barnhart, of Full Flood, LA, incorporated 220 Ayrton MagicPanel 602 fixtures into his design to enhance the vibrancy and dynamism of the performances on stage.

The MagicPanel fixtures were arrayed in two massive, raked banks which flanked the performance area and served to extend the visual impact of the stage within the massive 82,500-seat stadium. The MagicPanel banks were arranged in two 'chevron' shapes which were mounted on custom-made risers that rose from 4" at the front of the stage to 11" at the back with each row staggered to sit 6" (15cm) higher than the one in front.

At Mars' request, the show was to replicate an atmosphe

UK - Following the success of last year's events, A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) Ltd's Video division - the exclusive UK dealer for Green Hippo media servers and LedGo video display solutions, and an official partner for Christie Digital projectors - are holding more UK video open days in conjunction with these leading brands, on Tuesday 1 April (AC-ET North, Leeds) / Thursday 3 April (AC-ET South, High Wycombe).

The events will showcase the latest innovations from these marques at the forefront of video production in the entertainment sector, as well as demonstrating how these complementary technologies together provide versatile video system solutions.

Green Hippo's Hippotizer media servers range continues to develop new features and components, ensuring its footholding as the market leader in video and media control solutions. Products showcased include the new Rac

Europe - In response to growing industry demand, PLASA Events Ltd has announced that two new PLASA Focus events will take place in Europe during 2014.

The first of these new events - and the first PLASA Focus to be staged in mainland Europe - will take place this summer, when PLASA Focus: Brussels open its doors in the heart of Belgium's capital city, on 1-2 July. PLASA Events reports that initial interest from exhibitors has been very positive, with over 30 companies already applying for space in Brussels, including brands such as ADJ, Chauvet, d&b audiotechnik, Robe and Shure.

Having introduced the successful PLASA Focus event model in Leeds, UK, in 2009 and subsequently in various cities across North America, PLASA has long been aware of the market's desire for more of this type of event in Europe. The BeNeLux region was one of the first to be considered for a regional mark

Benelux - Vivitek has announced a new distribution agreement with Sanel for Belgium and Luxembourg.

"Sanel's reputation for excellence and their expertise in the audio visual market have been central to Vivitek in choosing Sanel," " says David Zrihen, sales manager Vivitek. "With the enthusiasm of the Sanel team, their market development skills and support for the dealer, we expect to see solid growth for Vivitek in the Belgian and Luxembourg market."

Sanel is a Benelux-oriented company that provides and advises AV integrators, AV rental companies and digital signage specialists. Sanel is known as a distributor of amongst others Panasonic, and Sanel's core products are projectors of all sizes , professional LCD and plasma monitors, digital signage solutions and video conferencing, as well as a whole range of peripheral products for AV integration.

Vi

Rich Pickings - Taylor Swift has returned to the top of Billboard's annual list of music money makers, a title she held in 2012 only to relinquish last year to Madonna. The 24-year-old earned $39.7m (£23.8m) in 2013 from a combination of music sales, royalties and touring, according to the trade publication. Country star Kenny Chesney rose three places to second place, while Justin Timberlake came third. Rock acts Bon Jovi and the Rolling Stones round out this year's top five.

Homecoming - Hit musical Book of Mormon is due to play Salt Lake City for the first time next year, near the location of the Mormon church's headquarters. It will run from July to August at The Capitol Theatre, less than half a mile from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' flagship temple. Written by South Park's Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the show pokes fun at two naive m

UK - Event technology specialists Blueprint were recently tasked with the challenge of providing dynamic lighting to enable British chart topping artiste Katy B to make the video promoting her next single, Crying For No Reason.

And so they turned to their inventory of next generation LED tools from SGM, notably the 120 x 2m long LT-200 3D pixel tubes. This was accompanied by 60 of SGM's ILD controllers and a lot of SGM extension cable.

Said Jacob Swan-Hyam, producer at RSA Blackdog, "The tubes added great depth to the video bringing what would traditionally be 2D video out into the space, and allowing the camera to track in through the tubes."

Toby Shipway, Blueprint's SGM technician, added that the SGM LT range of products are incredibly bright for their compact size but still have the finesse to work at much lower intensities making them suitable for film

Scandinavia - Christie has announced the appointment of Trond Solvold to the position of sales consultant for Scandinavia.

Trond Solvold brings has almost 20 years of experience in the Nordic proAV market. He was previously business development manager at eyevis Nordic AB, selling to distributors and integrators. Prior to that he was business development manager / sales manager for projectiondesign AS. He is fluent in Swedish and Norwegian, and also speaks English, Danish and German.

Solvold will play a key role in developing the business products channel as well as the control room and immersive / simulation markets in Scandinavia. This will include focus on Christie's ever-growing value-for-money LCD and 1-chip DLP projector product lines, and also Christie Brio, a presentation and collaboration solution for single and multi-site workplace meetings.

"I am delighted to

UK - MultiTouch has announced the London launch and permanent showroom for its MultiTaction iWall interactive videowall solution. Launching officially on 2-3 April, as part of UK partner Engage Production's new FLUX Innovation Lounge, the MultiTaction iWall will be showcased to both the trade and the press.

"MultiTaction iWall is the new standard for interactive walls in corporate and public spaces, and we're delighted to be able to showcase it permanently in London," explains Hannu Anttila, vice president of business development at MultiTouch. "Engage have created a hotbed for innovation, insights and technology within the FLUX Innovation Lounge, making it the ideal residence for MultiTaction iWall."

To make MultiTaction iWall ready to use straight out of the box, MultiTouch supplies the MultiTaction Experience application, a scalable multiuser application

Latest Issue. . .