Columbia - Medellin-based rental company Genesis Producciones is owned and run by Juan David and has just moved into new warehouse premises in the south of the city.
It’s in one of the industrial areas with lots of space - for future expansion - and panoramic views of the surrounding mountains. It’s a move that takes Genesis to a new level of operation. Also upping the game, two years ago Juan and his team decided to start investing in Robe.
This was shortly after AVcom Colombia was appointed as the country’s distributor, and it was a decisive move with 48 Spiiders making up the first purchase, followed this year with 48 MegaPointes.
Juan decided to go with Robe for two major reasons. The first was that from about 2 years ago, the brand started appearing so regularly on band and artist riders that it was not possible to ignore.
The second one was that he knew the tech support and backup he’d receive from AVcom would be second to none as he’d already been a client of theirs for some time for other brands and audio kit. “It needs both these aspects to be right - the brand / hardware on one hand, and also the support and service on the other,” he explains.
Around 70% of Genesis’ work is in the live music sector, with the other 30% being corporate and industrial events. They have provided production for a string of international artists visiting Colombia recently, including Radiohead, Depeche Mode, Green Day and Roger Waters, and all of them have accepted their MegaPointes and Spiiders.
“I’d always known of Robe a

UK - Scottish synth-pop trio Chvrches went on a stepped-up UK tour in support of their latest album, Love is Dead (see LSi March for the full production report). Glasgow-based concert audio supplier FE Live designed a d&b audiotechnik KSL System to deliver the group’s journey through pop, indie and EDM to audiences in venues of varying capacity.
“Having used the d&b GSL System for the first time in America last year, I was excited to specify the new KSL System for our UK shows,” says Chvrches’ FOH engineer, Paul ‘Gal’ Gallagher. “I’ve been a huge fan of the J-Series over the years and despite how good that is, I was blown away with the massive headroom and clarity in tricky rooms this new system offers - it’s a huge leap forward.”
Gallagher says that the key to sonic success with Chvrches is separation and clarity. “The challenge is to keep the sound punchy and loud with the combination of electronic and vocal mix. The KSL System has so much power it’s almost frightening, making the vocal gain quite exceptional. The clarity and directivity is on an altogether higher level.”
FE Live’s MD, Ryan McIlravey, is touring with the band as system tech. He designed a KSL touring package of KSL8 and KSL12 cabinets, which could be simply scaled up for larger venue dates. The main touring package consisted of 20 KSL8, f

Europe - Audio-Technica (A-T) has extended its distribution partnership with Apart Audio to include Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland from April.
A-T has acted as Apart distributor in the UK since 2015 and also represents the brand in France and Spain, supplying from Audio-Technica’s EU warehousing facilities in Montfort, Netherlands as well as Leeds, UK.
Logan Helps, Audio-Technica’s Apart brand manager, comments: “We’ve seen great success with Apart in some exciting projects throughout Great Britain in the last three years and I’m pleased to be able to work alongside our partners, both existing and new, to replicate that success throughout Ireland in the coming months.”
Robert Morgan-Males, CEO of Audio-Technica Europe, adds: “We’re delighted to be building on our established relationship with Apart Audio and taking on distribution in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. We look forward to increasing the brand’s profile in the territory, working in concert with local partners in what we view as a market with great potential.”
To allow Irish pro audio resellers, consultants, designers and integrators the chance to ‘meet the brand’ and get hands-on with the latest product, the recently-announced Apart Innovation Tour will come to both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in June.
The seminars will showcase new Apart Audio products, including the Mask and Kubo series speakers and Prezone preamplifier/mixers. Also covered in the sessions will be a look at using EASE (Enhanced Acou

Germany - AV Stumpfl will present its latest products and solutions at Prolight+Sound, including Pixera mini, a mobile and ultra-compact version of its range of media servers, as well as the Pixera v1.0 software, and the upcoming AT64-Shift screen system leg.
Pixera is a 64-bit system for realtime media processing, compositing and management, built around the key theme of usability. A radical new interface logic enables even first-time users to intuitively understand the main software mechanics.
The flexibility of the Pixera API will be demonstrated during the exhibition by showing the successful integration of Panasonic GeoPro, an advanced system for black level compensation that is part of Panasonic's latest generation of high-performance projectors.
In addition to the new software, AV Stumpfl will also present their new Pixera one and Pixera two media server systems and the upcoming Pixera mini. The new media server models are compact all-around solutions that use the latest processor technology and offer many à la carte options for specifying hardware components, input cards and/or software upgrades.
AV Stumpfl will also give Prolight+Sound visitors a system preview of the upcoming AT64-Shift screen system leg.
AV Stumpfl CEO Fabian Stumpfl comments: "A great number of our customers quickly adopted the T32-Shift after it became available in 2018. At the same time as this system's success grew, many of the same customers requested a solution that would accommodate the use of large mobile projection screens. With the AT64-Shift, we ar

Germany - Green Hippo will demo the latest Hippotizer software, which adds two widely requested features - Object to Output and BeatBridge.
Object to Output is a new way to manage displays in Hippotizer. Working within the 3D toolset of SHAPE, Object to Output enables a surface in the 3D world to be sent directly to a physical output. In conjunction with new texture mappers, mix-modes and composition system, Object to Output introduces a new workflow for display management in Hippotizer, allowing users to seamlessly integrate moving set elements, map a single video across many displays and dynamically adjust the perspective of content.
In addition, V4.5 introduces BeatBridge, a new component that simplifies programming by allowing Hippotizer parameters to react to audio input. It’s a fast and easy way to create, in realtime, sound reactive effects. BeatBridge operates as part of the preset system, ensuring compatibility with external controllers such as Midi and DMX.
Montane+ RTX is a new version of the tried and true Montane+ Media Server. Using the latest computer technology, Montane+ RTX offers unmatched Notch performance, scoring up to 38,500 Notchmarks. Offering two Display Port 1.2 outputs, up to eight channels of live capture and an included two-year Notch Playback License, the Montane+ RTX is the go-to generative media server.
Axis is a new fibre-optic based automatic alignment system designed by Green Hippo offering an alternative to existing camera-based alignment systems. Axis offers key advantages compare to a camera-based syst

Germany - Claypaky is set to unveil a number of new products, including a moving head light with a laser light source, at Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt.
Xtylos, a compact beam moving light with a laser source, features an RGB additive colour mixing, where coloured light beams are as bright as a white light beam. The Xtylos “opens up new, surprising prospects for the development of the entire entertainment lighting world”, says the company.
Axcor Wash 600, the versatile light part of the Axcor LED moving head range, fits a four-blade framing system and works with any lens type. The fixture is available with PC (standard), Fresnel or Clear lenses. The three types are interchangeable and can be purchased separately.
Mini-B is the smallest LED beam light ever made by Claypaky for the professional market. Although it weighs just 7kg and measures only 34cm, Mini-B features the most modern optical and electronic technology. The light source is based on 40W Osram RGBW LEDs and its central LED may be controlled separately from the external ring of LEDs.
CloudIO is an IoT device which provides technicians with complete diagnostics for Claypaky fixtures. When the lights run checks after use, the unit collects data on hours of lamp life of each fixture, the conditions of various components in the units and update firmware, simply by connecting to the cloud. The CloudIO is equipped with a retrofit system, which allows it to be fitted to most of Claypaky lights.
HY B-EYE is the latest development in the B-EYE range, with the same successful feature

Germany - High End Systems has announced the three teams that will be competing in the Hog Factor final at Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt on 3 April.
These are AKA (UK), Vienna Illuminates and STEX (both from Austria). The lighting programming contest will take place on the High End Systems booths in Hall 12.1 from 5pm.
Each team will provide a performance lighting piece programmed on a Hog console to a specified song via a Capture visualization file.
Attendees are invited to join the crowds at the High End stand (B41) on Wednesday 3 April at 5pm for the latest instalment of Hog Factor. The shortlisted teams will be pitted against each other to win exclusive prizes and the sought-after Hog Factor Prolight Champion accolade. The winners will be selected by a judging panel of industry lighting designers.
Visitors to the show can discover a selection of the newest products by High End Systems in Hall 12.1. Product specialists will be on hand to deliver demonstrations and provide expert insight into High End Systems’ pioneering automated lighting technology.
Attendees can look out for the latest fixture by High End Systems - TurboRay. This new fixture in the company’s FX range offers a classic retro look with its radial diffusers, and can be used as a narrow-angle wash light or as a powerful hard edge beam that produces beautiful aerial effects and more.
Also on display will be new fixtures SolaFrame 1000 and SolaSpot 3000. The SolaFrame 1000 offers a diverse feature set and is available in ultra-bright and high CRI versions. SolaSpot

UK - UK Rigging has switched its equipment rental software to HireHop. Due to UK Rigging’s rapid growth they needed flexible and powerful software to manage their inventory and productions, as well as assign and manage crew to various jobs in different regions all over the country.
After testing numerous other systems, UK Rigging concluded that HireHop was best suited to their needs, due to its ease of use and scalability, as well as having the added advantage of being in the cloud. They also worked alongside HireHop to help them develop a new crew scheduling resource planner, tailored to assign crew to multiple jobs in different regions quickly and easily.
HireHop’s director Keith Jacobs says: “We are pleased with the result of our collaboration with UK Rigging, and are extremely grateful for all the input they have given us, enabling us to develop such a powerful resource planner that many other users can also use. It is also an honour to have yet another well-known and respected company join the ever-growing line-up of prestigious HireHop users.”
Phil Leavers of UK Rigging says: “Our previous software was becoming a hindrance rather than a help. We needed something that was scalable, cloud based & powerful, yet easy to use for everyone across the company with minimal training.
“With our ever-expanding hire inventory and increased demand for our crew bookings department, HireHop ticked all the boxes and their customer support has been outstanding. Thanks to the work flow within HireHop it has allowed us to streamline our oper

USA - Parker McCollum’s debut album was entitled The Limestone Kid, a reference to the nickname he earned as a teen working on a ranch in remote Limestone County. Although his first LP scored only regional success, McCollum’s second effort reached the Top 20 of Billboard’s Country Charts.
December marked another milestone, when he performed for sold-out crowds at the House of Blues in Dallas and Houston. Supporting him at those shows was a lightshow designed by Richard ‘Wookie’ Whitley and Josh Peikert that featured a collection of Chauvet Professional fixtures, supplied by Hoopty Lights.
Run by lighting director Jarret Reynolds, the lightshow for McCollum’s Dallas and Houston performances was on five 45” x 30” carts, three of which were 4.5’ tall, while two were 6.5’. A pair of Rogue RH1 Hybrids was mounted on the top of each cart. The taller carts also had two Rogue R2 Wash fixtures under the Hybrid units and STRIKE 4 multi-formatted fixtures attached to each of their sides.
Positioned behind the drum and keyboard risers, the taller carts allowed light from the Rogue and STRIKE units to be shot over the performers on stage. This made it easier for the designers to generate added excitement with aerial effects.
All three of the shorter carts, which were arranged with the drum and keyboard risers across the upstage deck, had Nexus 4 x 4 panels positioned on them. The centre cart had four panels configured in a square, while the two outer carts had two panels side by side. The Nexus panels on these carts cre

UK - PLASA Focus Leeds has announced its line-up of seminars and speakers for this year’s event, taking place on 14-15 May at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds.
Alongside the sold-out show floor with brands from across audio, lighting, AV, and staging, the seminars and training sessions provide opportunities to pick up essential technical know-how and gain insights into notable industry developments.
A programme highlight looks to the Royal Albert Hall, which recently received a multi-million-pound audio system upgrade. Ollie Jeffery, head of production and technical at the Royal Albert Hall, and Steve Jones from d&b audiotechnik will discuss their technical process and reveal how the new system is already impacting the audience experience.
Renowned audio consultant Roland Hemming is presenting a series of seminars, kicking off with an introduction to voice alarm systems in which he unpacks the design and installation of emergency audio systems. He will then explain the position of BSI concerning standardisation of voice alarm systems and how Brexit may affect matters. Finally, Hemming will present an overview of digital audio networking, through its history to modern day standards.
Continuing on a theme, Dante return with a Level 2 training session, ideal for those already familiar with Dante. The training will cover redundancy, clocking, latency and multicast, giving attendees the skills to create more advanced systems.
Chartered engineering consultant James Eade will present two seminars on electrics. One which de

UK - Sound masking specialists Cambridge Sound Management (CSM), recently acquired by Biamp, has appointed Polar as its exclusive UK distributor.
CSM’s award-winning QtPro and DynasoundPro technologies are designed to help organisations of all sizes protect speech privacy, reduce noise distractions and increase workplace productivity by meeting the challenges presented by the architecture of settings such as open-plan and private offices, call centres and lobbies.
CSM’s proprietary technology works by adding a low level, unobtrusive background sound into an environment. This ambient, specially optimised sound masking drastically reduces the intelligibility of human speech to promote a workplace that is measurably more acoustically comfortable and private without sacrificing architectural design.
More than 20,000 installations around the world already utilise CSM products across education, government, corporate, healthcare, financial services and retail applications giving director of integrated solutions at Polar, Stuart Leader, good cause to regard CSM as an important addition to its portfolio.
“Cambridge Sound Management’s sound masking solutions are the best on the market. The need for room acoustics solutions is, if anything, a growing area of our business, as the demands on architects to produce aesthetically pleasing and sustainable buildings within tight budgets can mean that room acoustics are not always at the forefront of design. Whilst large open spaces, full of hard surfaces, can look great and appear to promote a social

Germany - Robe celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and its high-profile stand (hall 12, stand D10) will reflect this journey.
There will be another spectacular live show, which will feature the concluding chapter in Robe’s Lost Worlds trilogy, which began in London at PLASA 2018. The show will play every hour on the hour and the accompanying lighting design will be utilising products from all the latest Robe product ranges.
Robe uses the strategic importance of the expo and its cosmopolitan international visitor base to highlight several important new products.
The T1 Profile, launched at LDI 2018, is specifically designed to fulfil the challenging requirements of three very diverse disciplines - theatre, television and touring - in one comprehensive fixture.
The new MSL (Multi-Spectral Light) LED light source is impressively bright, yet the T1 Profile is full of theatrical subtlety. With CMY colour control, a radical new custom colour creation system and wide ranging CCT control from 2700K to 8000K, all variations of colour are possible!
A closed optical system prevents dust and dirt, and the precise needs of theatrical dimming are catered for with Robe’s ultra-smooth 18-bit dimming system, while the high CRI provides the natural and harmonious skin tones so fundamental to theatre and television / film applications.
The T1 Profile FollowSpot has a digital camera on the head and can be connected to the RoboSpot BaseStation as part of Robe’s popular remote follow spotting system which is perfect for use in thea

Germany - UK-based automation manufacturer Kinesys will show its latest technologies in this specialist entertainment field on stand C98 in hall 12.0 at Prolight+Sound.
Products highlighted will include Kinesys’ powerful new Vector control console, the innovative Apex hoist system and LibraCELL/LibraNODE load monitoring - an invaluable tool to ensure that all static and dynamic loads are constantly and precisely monitored in real-time.
The popular DigiHoist fixed speed chain motor controllers and Kinesys’ industry standard Elevation range of vari-speed hoist drives will also be prominent on the stand.
Visitors will be invited to try out the new Vector console - to control a dual hoist Apex system flying a large screen above the stand.
Apex and Elevation hoists will also be available to control - via the console - for a side by side comparison of their performance and features.
Kinesys’ Vector control console provides a comprehensive control solution with a dedicated inbuilt PC running its well-established Vector software.
Users can programme, edit and run automation cues via dedicated console buttons plus all the advantages of having a 15.6-inch backlit LCD display with capacitive touch screen, rate-wheels, joystick and dedicated and illuminated stop/start buttons.
A dimmable backlit keyboard makes working in low light more practical and there is a trackpad for direct access to Vector’s core features.
The hardware provides functionality including RFID login, integrated Estop and DMH/Enable bar, a dedicated medi

Germany - Ahead of its official launch this summer, Brompton Technology is giving existing and potential customers another chance to get a sneak peak of its new HDR solution by combining the power of its Tessera SX40 LED processor with ROE’s Black Onyx LED screens on the ROE Visual stand 4.0 C60 at Prolight+Sound 2019.
The SX40 is Brompton Technology’s highest-ever capacity processor and offers support for full 4K screens at 60Hz with 12 bits per colour output, a zero-latency up/down scaler that matches the source to the screen, plus all of Tessera’s processing features such as ChromaTune colour correction, On Screen Colour Adjustment (OSCA), and more.
Used in combination with the Tessera XD distribution unit, which is a sophisticated single box solution designed to manage the complications of mass cabling that can arise with large LED display systems, the SX40 provides a cost-effective yet powerful system that will support the biggest, brightest and boldest LED projects.
“Our initial preview of HDR at ISE 2019 created a real buzz,” says Brompton’s business development manager, Rob Fowler. “So we’re delighted to be able to offer our customers another sneak-peak ahead of the official launch this year by partnering with ROE Visual at ProLight+Sound.”
Brompton will be revealing more information about HDR at InfoComm this coming June.
(Jim Evans)

Germany - Wireless LED lighting manufacturer Astera will use the strategic importance of the Prolight+Sound exhibition in Frankfurt as a vibrant meeting place and European entertainment technology hotspot to launch some new products and showcase its most popular current ranges on stand C20 in hall 12.1.
The new Helios range of LED tubes - smaller, lighter, brighter and more portable than ever - is launched at the expo - available like all Astera products - with “an assortment of accessories to cover every rigging and positioning eventuality”.
Helios tube has all the features and functionality of the popular TitanTube in a smaller, lighter and more transportable package - a neat and powerful little tube which can be mounted in places where a TitanTube might be too long or impractical to rig.
This is also the first time at Prolight+Sound that Astera will show its best-selling TitanTube LED batten product which was launched last summer.
Other highlighted flagship products will include the AX1 PixelTube, the AX3 LightDrop, the AX5 TriplePAR and the AX10 SpotMax.
These powerful, flexible and easy to use products are making a big impact in the worlds of film, video, promos and television as well as in a whole range of events, rental and staging applications and some more esoteric public arts projects.
(Jim Evans)

Germany - BroadWeigh, a leading brand from Mantracourt Electronics, is exhibiting on four of its product partners' stands. The BroadWeigh TwistLink is set to take centre stage, along with the BroadWeigh Wind Speed Sensor, both of which will be set up in demonstrations on the stands of Hof Alutec (Hall 12.0, E49), PSRig (Hall 12.0, C80), Sonoss and Louis Reyners who are exhibiting together (Hall 12.0, C94). And with representatives from BroadWeigh on hand too it's an opportunity for anyone who needs some expert advice on how and why they should monitor their loads.
Kelly Voysey, sales & marketing manager at Mantracourt commented: "Prolight + Sound is a very important event for us in that it puts our brand in front of a truly international audience. We have been supplying load monitoring equipment for years, but it's only relatively recently that entertainment riggers have started to embrace the concept.
“With the necessity to prove due diligence on all projects, riggers now are really interested in knowing the weight distribution of video walls, and complex lighting rigs and to understand how the elements can impact on outdoor events to the point that the readings change from minute to minute.
“So as well as being at Prolight + Sound to exhibit our new products, we're also looking forward to engaging with potential new customers and providing any information they feel they need about the importance of monitoring their loads, but also to hearing their opinions and learning from them.
"Behind Broadweigh is a team of talented engineers wh

USA - Elation Professional’s latest innovation in its Artiste series is a 45,000-lumen LED profile light capable of projecting “some of the most gorgeous colours ever produced by an automated LED luminaire”.
The Artiste Monet’s colour palette is possible due to an innovative SpectraColor LED engine that uses traditional CMY colour mixing and adds variable RGB flags for richer, more saturated primary colours. In combination with variable CTO colour correction, the Monet produces colours that were previously impossible to achieve. The wide colour gamut is achieved by seven colour-mixing flags with 16-bit precision. A six-position fixed colour wheel with UV and high CRI options round out the Monet’s colour range.
“With its massive output, absolutely stunning colour spectrum and precise optics, the Artiste Monet is the brightest and most feature packed framing LED fixture produced to date,” states Elation product manager Matthias Hinrichs. “With an amazing quality of light and sheer power from the custom 950W LED engine, we managed to support the designer’s need for high lumens, rich colours and precision out of one fixture with no compromises.
“LED profiles truly have arrived with Monet radically exceeding the performance and colour quality of any discharge fixture on the market. The fixture’s continuous rotation framing system and SpectraColor array is a testament to Elation’s success as a true R&D leader and innovator in entertainment lighting.”
The fixture has the power to cut through at even great distances in

USA - Michael Bublé’s world tour, An Evening With Michael Bublé, in celebration of his 10th studio album, Love, marks the singer’s return to touring after a two-year hiatus. It is a major production with an intense schedule, with 12 performances already taking place in just the first two weeks of the tour. The inaugural show opened at the Amalie Arena in Tampa Florida on 13 February, from where it will travel to arenas throughout North America until April, then on to Canada, Europe and Australia later in 2019, and onward into 2020.
The show has a ‘big band’ feel to it and the elegant set, designed by international entertainment architects, Stufish, provides a stylish backdrop for the Canadian crooner. “It’s all aimed to focus on the man and his music,” explains Bublé’s long-term show and lighting designer, Kurt Wagner, who has worked with Bublé for the past 14 years. “The design style is very much to paint a picture with some dramatic set pieces and, mainly, static lighting. Our aim is to create a beautiful frame that presents Michael back to his audiences in a production that puts the accent firmly on his music.”
The lines of the set are clean and sophisticated with cool, light grey colour tones and a brushed cement-type finish which, Wagner says, is ‘a great surface on which to paint with light and projection’. Central to the main set is an expansive elliptical area seating 38 musicians on four levels on either side of a central staircase, backed by a semi-circular wall that echoes the curves of the other set elements.

UK - Backstage Academy has been shortlisted for an Educate North Award in recognition of its industry partnerships.
Based at Production Park in Wakefield, the live event production educational facility is a finalist in the Business/Industry Collaboration HE/FE Sector - one of 19 categories. Now in its fifth year, the Educate North Awards is an awards event which celebrates, recognises and shares best practice and excellence in the education sector in the North.
In their awards submission, Backstage Academy highlighted the substantial impact their industry partnerships have on the development of their students. The institution’s partnerships take a variety of forms including product support from manufacturers of live events technology, masterclasses & specialist training from industry professionals and work placement opportunities.
“We are delighted to be recognised for our industry partnerships. Our entire ethos centres around employability, and therefore specialist industry collaboration is vital,” comments Backstage Academy industry partnerships director, Miles Marsden. “It is gratifying to be recognised for our partnerships with industry. They are central to everything we do here at Backstage.”
The Educate North Awards’ search for the region’s best university, further and higher education sectors culminates in a gala award night at the Hilton Hotel on Manchester’s Deansgate on 25 April.
(Jim Evans)

USA - Continuing Fred Foster’s legacy of caring for entertainment technology professionals in need, ETC presented Behind the Scenes with a cheque during USITT for $14,937.81, representing the most recent proceeds from the company’s iRFR and aRFR (Radio Focus Remote) applications. Since the launch of the iRFR in 2009, ETC’s mobile app sales have now generated almost $370,000 in donations.
The iRFR and aRFR mobile apps enable convenient, touchscreen-based remote control for Eos family consoles and controllers. You can learn more about the apps from the ETC website and download them from the iTunes or Google Play stores.
“Behind the Scenes provides great relief to members of the extended entertainment production industry family who are dealing with financial hardship due to injury and illness,” said Kate Foster, ETC’s marketing scenic designer, upon presenting the cheque on the USITT show floor. “We at ETC are proud that our app sales can continue to support their efforts.”
These funds come at a critical time for the charity, which is experiencing a significant increase in applications for assistance, with many from individuals in extremely dire circumstances. “We are seeing so many individuals with medical bills that have wiped out their savings, and their inability to work due to illness or injury means they can’t cover even the most basic expenses such as rent and utilities,” comments Rick Rudolph, chair of Behind the Scenes.
On accepting the cheque, Rick expressed the Foundation’s deep gratitude for ETC’s ongoing c

Germany - UK spatial audio specialist Out Board is showcasing the latest evolutions of their TiMax immersive audio and show control systems.
Demos will feature the intuitive TiMax 500S software workflows including StageSpace for instant auto-calculation of adaptive localization objects directly from a map of the venue; and TiMax HARDCore FGPA, a powerful new dsp engine for the TiMax Soundhub platform, which adds extended delay-matrix memory and ultra-smooth dynamic delay-morphing algorithms to create totally transparent real-time localisation. Out Board will also preview the all-new TiMax TrackerD4 evolution of their market-leading stagetracking showcontrol.
TiMax TrackerD4 is billed as affordable, dependable and portable, addressing a current price/performance gap in the market with enhanced levels of speed and precision at a range of cost levels offering enhanced ROI across wider applications. With its long-established vocal-localisation processes now further integrated within the TiMax SoundHub software via OSC control, the responsiveness of the new D4 also opens up, for the first time, the reality of highly cost-effective lighting and multimedia stagetracking control.
Regular on-stand demonstrations will pull all of these technologies together into engaging and seductive spatial experiences.
Alongside bespoke multitrack arrangements of Greig concertos, as well as electronic music compositions and sound effect beds, a panoramically immersive Beethoven's 5th will accompany a specially licensed appearance of the viral internet sensation, L

Germany - The new Doughty Fifty Clamp will make its Prolight + Sound debut next month. The bigger brother of Doughty's best-selling Twenty Clamp, the Fifty Clamp will be on display in hall 12.0, stand D84.
Mark Chorley, design engineer at Doughty comments: "We are really excited to hear what people visiting the show have to say about this new clamp. Early indication is that it's a bit of a game changer. Some of our customers have already told us that the extra 30kg is going to make a big difference."
The Fifty Clamp has TUV approval, a SWL of 50kg and has been designed to fit tube diameter 38mm - 51mm. It is made from pressure die cast aluminium which prevents damage to thin wall truss. It is captive with M10 or M12 bolts and comes supplied with an M10 fixing kit. "It's already available to order," says Mark, “so we are looking forward to gathering additional feedback as uptake increases”
Doughty will also show its new Scaff Boom Arm and Heavy Duty Boom Arm at the show. The Scaff Boom Arm has been designed in response to customer demand and is very much a 'get out of jail' item, set to become an essential part of any took-kit. Mark continued "It will allow the user to make their own boom arms out of materials that they have to hand, in the event that they find themselves on site and suddenly needing a boom arm of a certain length."
The Scaff Boom Arm will take 48mm aluminium barrel or scaff tube which can be cut to size depending on the requirements of the particular project.
The Heavy Duty Boom arm is capable of taking the weight o

Germany - Highlite International will be present during Prolight+Sound 2019 in hall 12.1 at stand C90 and C91. Here, Highlite will showcase the latest entertainment solutions and innovations from Showtec, DAP Audio, DMT Dutch Media Tools and Infinity Intelligent Light.
Showtec is going to be present with various new products including a sturdy, powerful range of outdoor lighting solutions, an energy efficient blinder and a very special ‘Special FX’-unit which is nearly invisible.
The Infinity Furion family has expanded and will showcase their latest additions. Visitors will also have the possibility of getting hands-on experience with the Infinity Furion S601 full feature moving head.
DMT presents its latest video mixer and scaler, the DMT D1. It makes video scaling and mixing more accessible and intuitive than ever before. The DMT D1 is equipped with the latest technologies and innovations which makes it truly an all-in-one video processor. The integrated touch screen makes accessing the different functions an easy task.
DAP Audio is going to showcase the active speaker range, the Pure-Series and the Gig-143 mixer – user-friendly 3HE digital mixer with a bright OLED screen and a lot of professional features, designed for all users.
(Jim Evans)

India - Bangalore-based freelance lighting engineer, Guru Somayaji, recently worked on a production designing shows for premier local live music venue and festival / events production company, The Humming Tree.
One recent show was the concert for rising Indie artiste, Prateek Kuhad, when PR Lighting fixtures unexpectedly came to the rescue. The design brief for the show was that it should be ‘minimal and space like’, and the visual brief was to bring together the stars through the signs of the Zodiac. The show was to have been operated by the artiste’s lighting engineer, Mumbai-based Abhishek Roy.
“Using this brief, I wanted to design a rig that would have a lot of colour wash, and spots that would focus on key moments from various positions,” said the LD. “I settled on specifying 16 Spot fixtures, 24 Wash fixtures, 10 Profile Spots, eight Par Cans and four Blinders along with four haze machines. In addition to this, we decided to have a 36ft x 12ft LED Wall.”
The Humming Tree then sought the right partner to supply equipment and it was decided that Reynolds Sound & Lighting Services Pvt Ltd was the right company to supply equipment for the production.
But then disaster struck. The concert was washed away by heavy rain, and the original lighting inventory was soaking wet and no longer fit for purpose. The concert was therefore rescheduled for two days later.
“We quickly had to rework the designs, as now we had less than 24 hours to bring down the existing rig and replace it,” Guru Somayaji recalls. “I remember F