USA - Stanton has introduced the DJ Pro 3000 professional headphone, which it says include the best of its previous models - includng swivel and folding capabilities for maximum comfort and a detachable cord - and add new features such as high- and low-pass filters and blue beat LEDs, complementing the silver look. With a pair of 50mm Neodymium drivers capable of handling the high headphone output of most DJ mixers (and the low frequency response needed for precise mixing), the DJ Pro 3000s are capable of reproducing a wide frequency range clearly and accurately, while the built-in low and high-pass filters can be adjusted to taste, making it easier to mix off the kick drum or hi-hats.
Designed for maximum comfort, the DJ Pro 3000s employ a spring-loaded rotating ear cup that makes it easy to wear them single-sided or in a shoulder rest position. The 10ft cord is detachable for safe and easy storage, and comes with a ¼" elbow (90°) connector and a 1/8" adaptor.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
UK - ACCO Multi Media Group has announced an initial three models in its range of Nobo digital multi-media projectors. All are based on Texas Instruments' market-leading DLP technology, offering high-end features and technology and significant price comparability with analogue LCD projectors.
The Nobo X20M, X11P and S11E are exclusively specified by ACCO to meet the requirements of users in the business, presentation and education market sectors. Portable, lightweight, compact designs, they offer performance specifications that include high luminosity and contrast ratios, almost silent operation, high reliability, long operating life and virtual plug and play operation, say ACCO.
All three models feature the Texas Instruments DLP, 12º double data rate Digital Mirror Device (DMD) chips, progressive scanning, Pixelworks image processing, 4:3 and 16:9 ratio display modes, PAL, SECAM, NTSC and HDTV compatibility, digital keystone correction, VGA, component, S-video and composite video inputs, PC/Mac compatibility, on screen display menu adjustment, magnesium alloy housing, wireless remote control with laser pointer, front and rear positioned remote receivers, and Kensington security slot.
Top of the range is the Nobo X20M, providing high resolution, high contrast imaging and a 2000 lumens brightness rating. The resultant sharp image quality without pixelization, makes the X20M suitable for all AV applications. A top-of-the-range Silicon Image 504 Digital Video Processor is used for ultra-high performance progressive image scanning. The superior imaging of the X20
UK - Creative Technology was the sole technology provider for Sub Postmaster 2003 (the annual Post Office and Convenience Retailing Show) at Wembley Exhibition Centre this month. The lighting design, by CT's project manager Rob Merilees, made extensive use of LED lighting technology using the new Color Blast 12 fixture by Color Kinetics (CT is the first company in the UK to stock the units).
The Color Blast resembles a 12" x 6" flat panel and utilizes high output LEDs to project a 21° soft edged beam. Merilees said: "The RGB colour mixing enabled us to provide an exact colour match for the client's Pantone references."
The main feature of the stand was the walk-through tunnel, which ran the full width of the stand and was dominated by vibrant slowly fading colour changes from the Color Blasts, with graphic displays on the 10 plasma screens. The canopy feature, which provided a roof over the stand, was lit using the new Thomas Pixeline LED battens, with extensive gobo treatment using Martin MAC 250+ flown from steel hoops, which provided the main structural support for the stand.
While CT supplied a complete technical package, the stand build and design was subcontracted to Devonshire House Associates who, in the words of Merilees, "did a stunning job", producing a high quality structure within very tight time constraints. Perhaps what impressed the client the most was how closely the finished stand resembled the initial client visuals, produced in conjunction with DHA.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
UK - The Observer newspaper celebrated the launch of its new glossy music magazine at Dave Stewart's recently opened and much-heralded multimedia music facility in Covent Garden, the Hospital. The launch of the Observer Music Monthly, attended by 800 music luminaries and members of the press, was the first event to be hosted by the Hospital Group, and was thus an inspired choice of venue for the Observer. The event's organizers turned to Sound Division, who have since become the Hospital's preferred audio supplier, to specify and provide all the necessary control, sound and staging equipment.
It was important to get everything absolutely right for an event of this nature. Sound Division's Chris Baxter, who designed the system, commented: "There was a huge amount riding on this launch for everyone concerned. Knowing how much money has been spent on this venue, all eyes were on the Hospital to see how they'd handle the event, and of course given that this was the launch of a new music magazine, a lot of those eyes belonged to the press! It was crucial for everyone that we got this right."
In addition to the state-of-the-art DJ equipment from Pioneer, Allen & Heath and Vestax, Sound Division also supplied all the staging and a JBL sound system. Baxter said: "The evening was a great success. The venue was just amazing, and I think all the guests were suitably impressed - I know I was! I'm really looking forward to the official opening later on this week, which we're also going to be doing."
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
UK - Explosive 'skarcore' band, Capdown are a Milton Keynes-based foursome whose mix of ska, hardcore, reggae and punk tunes has gained the band a massive following. Their recent month-long, sold out UK tour featured support from XTA's Series 2 processors.
Front-of-house engineer Wayne Hyde commented: "We were playing small to medium-sized UK rock venues, mostly using the in-house PA systems, I was therefore at the mercy of whatever each venue gave us. For some shows there was a separate monitor desk, but on the smaller gigs I had to mix monitors from FOH."
Hyde needed a four-way monitor system on stage ("suitably loud", he says) and then the house PA and relevant FOH mixing desk with standard outboard racks. Hyde commented: "We carry all our own A-T microphones, live 'mastering' gear and the XTA dynamics. I have two of XTA's G2s [four channels of gates], which are inserted over our kick drum channel, rack tom and floor tom. Two C2s [four channels of compressors] inserted over the two sub-groups for the drum kit [excluding hi-hats and overheads]: the first, over sub-group one, compresses the kit; whilst the second on sub-group two is set for minimal limiting. The sub-groups, whole kit and cymbals are then run in mono."
Compressor three is inserted over the bass DI channel and complements the uncompressed bass mic'd channel. The fourth is used for the main vocal, while some other gating and compression for other sources is applied with the in-house gates and compressors. Hyde was impressed by the;level of control this set-up offered
UK - Synelec UK has appointed London-based Net-Logix as a new trading partner. With headquarters in the city, Net-Logix offer 25 years combined experience in the IT industry, with particular emphasis on dealing room applications and command and control centres. They offer a range of professional IT services designed to increase the operational efficiency of financial and investment institutions.
Head of Synelec UK, Steve Murphy, said: "We have been very impressed with the company and the combined experience of the personnel in offering turnkey solutions for control room applications.
Net-Logix MD, Adam Clark said: "We look forward to a long and successful trading relationship with Synelec UK, it is important for them to have a strong partnership in the UK and we believe we can offer that. We have been designing command and dealing rooms for a number of years and with TFT and video-wall integration becoming a huge attraction to the financial and telco markets, Synelec's turnkey network display systems will fit well into our portfolio, and our objective to provide a one-stop, end-to-end solution. Synelec is already first choice for a number of other hosting organizations and with new products continually being launched will have huge appeal for the majority of trading floors in London."
At the same time Clark confirmed that in conjunction with Synelec, Net-Logix will offer ongoing support to all existing CCC Network Systems customers.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
UK - Following the successful launch in 2003 of the first ever Museums & Heritage Awards for Excellence, created to celebrate best practice within museums, galleries and heritage visitor attractions, plans are now well underway for the 2004 event. The organizer of the Awards, the Museums & Heritage Show Ltd, have announced support from Dulux and The Independent newspaper for 2004. The new partnership will ensure next year's winners receive both industry acclaim and wider public recognition.
Taking place from 12-13 May 2004 at Earls Court, to coincide with the opening of the Museums & Heritage Show, the 2004 Awards will also include two new categories to ensure all areas of the industry have the opportunity to contribute. With a host of UK-based contractors and suppliers working on exciting projects throughout the world, the new Award for Excellence Overseas, supported by UK Trade & Investment (formerly Trade Partners UK), will celebrate the major contribution being made by professionals in the UK to new build, expansion and refurbishments within museums, galleries and heritage visitor attractions world-wide.
Other categories for 2004 include Awards for marketing, the best new product or service, education initiatives and use of technology. The Classic Award will once again be awarded to a museum, gallery or heritage attraction with a project or exhibition that has been established for 10 or more years and is still growing in terms of visitor numbers and interest. The Awards will be judged by a panel of industry experts and will once again be presented at a high p
USA - With sales of its automated fixtures reported to be at an all-time high, Vari-Lite has appointed industry veteran Charlie Hulme as regional sales manager for the Western United States. Hulme has proven success in providing entertainment lighting systems for the concert touring, theatrical, architectural, corporate theatre, retail, nightclub and houses of worship market segments.
"We hit a home run with the Series 3000 fixtures," said Vari-Lite vice-president of sales Bob Schacherl. "The demand is amazing. I've seen nothing like it in my 20 years in the automated lighting industry. Because there are so many lighting professionals out there desiring Vari*Lite products, it was extremely important that we bring in someone who understands the industry, the tight deadlines and who knows what it takes to ensure that our customers' needs are met."
Hulme has spent seven years in the automated lighting industry with High End Systems, during which time he served as regional account manager for the mid-Western USA, special projects manager and also as sales manager for architectural projects. Most recently he was sales engineer for the System Integration Group at Audio Visual Innovations.
"It's an honour to join Vari-Lite, considering the role the organization has played in the industry over the years," Hulme said. "Given the history of innovation, commitment to quality and depth of resources available, I'm confident that the company will continue the tremendous growth its seen since it started offering products for sale only a few
UK - Major rental company Knight International has added Coemar Pro series 575 yokes to its hire fleet, as well as a batch of Hungaroflash strobes and Antari X series effects machines, all supplied by Kent-based distributor Coemar UK.
The Chelmsford-based company has a heavy and varied workload, with a busy wet hire programme and a burgeoning cross-hire arrangement with another Coemar-based house, Terry Tew Sound & Light. Aside from servicing a number of one-off spectaculars, Knight International is also prominent in the Asian market.
Proprietor Phil Knight told us: "Coemar are a good investment for us because of their competitive pricing and good optics. Scanning mirror technology has had its day and there are certain things we need out of moving yoke systems, mainly price and reliability. I have known the people at Coemar UK for many years, and once we had evaluated the fixtures it was an easy decision to make."
Knight is equally complimentary about the Antari and Hungaroflash kit, describing the latter as "the best strobes I have seen." Knight has also purchased eight Alkalite Chameleon Par 36 strips, run off the Chameleon electronic controller ideal for television work, from the Coemar UK sister company, Lighting Effects Distribution. Knight continues: "Back-lit with a camera and star filter they produce an excellent effect. We bought the Chameleons initially because they are also excellent for lighting lecterns, which is very useful in our corporate work."
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
Germany - The 'Deutsche Oper am Rhein' in Düsseldorf has modernized its lighting equipment with transtechnik Lichtsysteme. Düsseldorf Opera House used their summer break this year to realize phase two of their modernization process and expand the lighting control system in both the stage and front of house. With moving lights, colour changers and dry-ice machines now an established part of theatre life - no longer confined to the traditional realm of rock concerts - Düsseldorf's goal was to have as much flexibility as possible in their Ethernet/DMX control network. At the heart of the new lighting control system lie two transtechnik Lichtsysteme Prisma NT consoles and the intuitive Libra operating system controlling the moving lights and colour changers. The new solution also features a 24.3" TFT channel monitor and a Digiplus digital auxiliary console for the programmable controllers in the building, operating over a Profibus DP signal. This system offers simple and safe operation and regulation of the main switches of the houselights, power sockets and other light sources that require to be switched on and off or to be regulated.
The dimmer room of the Düsseldorf Opera now contains 16 dimmer cabinets, each with a main processor and an auxiliary processor for reliable and redundant control of a total of 660 2.5kVA and 48 5kVA channels. The entire lighting control system is networked using Ethernet/DMX technology, providing flexible yet safe operation and allowing the lighting director to constantly monitor operating status throughout the system, right thr
UK - The Cross Keys in Yarm, Cleveland, recently under new ownership, has emerged from a comprehensive refurbishment as one of the most stylish and contemporary pub/club venues in the north-east. The Grade II-listed public house has been given its technical make-over by Music Marketing Services, which has installed new lighting and Martin Audio sound systems throughout.
Pete Varey of Music Marketing Services, who installed a Martin Audio Blackline PA system upstairs in the Cross Keys' nightclub, explained: "It was entirely the client's choice; they'd heard a system at a club in Middlesborough and wanted one for themselves." Four F15 high-performance compact two-way cabinets are flown above the new flashing dancefloor, with two S218 sub-bass bins built into the walls below the mid/high cabinets. Eight ultra-compact EM26 boxes provide infill.
Downstairs in the Keys Bar, another extensive Martin Audio installation includes ten EM26 two-way enclosures and four EM15s. Throughout the venue, Music Marketing Services has used top-end Pioneer DJ equipment, once again the choice of the client. Varey commented: "The venue needed to have a PA system that would be equally at home with '70s-style night-clubby music and glam rock, and also with serious dance music on club nights. Also, the bar area on the ground floor required a system which would sound good at high levels in the evening but equally as good at low levels during the day - a good reason for choosing the Martin Audio EM range. I was delighted when the client requested Martin Audio Blackline, because
UK - Leading pro lighting and audio sales specialist Stagetec UK and its sister distribution company have moved into new, larger premises in Bracknell, Berkshire. The companies' new address and contact details are: Stagetec UK Ltd, 9 Bilton Industrial Estate, Lovelace Road, Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 8YT, UK. Tel: +44 (0)870 224 7808, fax: +44 (0)870 224 7818. E-mail and web details are given below.
The move addresses the need for more space and the recent expansion of the team. The purpose-built unit is being customized for Stagetec to meet the growing demands of its business and workflow. The site includes a large, open prep area for equipment to be tested and set-up before being dispatched for installation or sale, and dedicated areas for both the audio and lighting elements of Stagetec's business, plus large demonstration and training areas. The offices are also designed and equipped to deal with Stagetec's proactive sales, fast response and administration culture, say the company.
Stagetec will officially launch the new building at a pre-Festive Season open day.
(Lee Baldock)
UK - Large format projection specialist E//T//C UK supplied two different corporate events at London's Billingsgate old fish market with widescreen projections. Both events, which were staged on concurrent evenings, were produced by GSP. The first, titled the Emerging Markets Ball featured a Brazilian theme, and the second, the Swaps Ball, was a fantasy theme involving Billingsgate, fish and 17th century London life. Scrolling artwork for both was created by E//T//C UK's Ross Ashton and Paul Chatfield.
The two PIGI 6kW projectors were positioned on 'the Bridge' of the venue, which partially separates the main hall into two halves. They were beaming onto a 25m wide by 7m high screen and soft-edged down the middle. Two video windows were incorporated in the artwork to allow logos and video images to be dropped into the panoramic montage.
Artwork for both shows was loaded into both projectors beforehand and then the appropriate images were run for each show using the PC-controlled PIGI OnlyQ system, programmed by Karen Monid and operated by Bob Kronman. Naomi Sadka, project manager for GSP said: "Working with E/T/C UK and the large format projection was fantastic; it set the scene and created really dramatic effects."
(Lee Baldock)
UK - The Mirror Mirror Ball is one of the annual fund-raising events underwritten and primarily sponsored by high street retailer Next. This year's event was in aid of The Healing Foundation, and was held, as usual, at the Grosvenor House in London. Rick Bailey of RMPA was responsible for the Electro-Voice XLC PA system which carried the performances of Bryan Ferry, Liberty X and Robbie Williams' Swing Band to the furthest corners of the Great Room, and the 1000-plus dinner guests.
The event was notable for its comprehensive use of the latest Electro-Voice RE-1 microphones. FOH engineer Rick Bailey said: "We used the EV mics exclusively, the 767 heads are brilliant, offering far more separation and definition than other well-known models, also the RE-1s are very easy to set up; even with 20 channels of RF in the room, including eight IEM systems, the ClearScan software quickly finds an available channel."
In the wide but shallow Great Room, Rick Bailey had set up two compact hangs of six XLC127s. Mounted on the eight floor-stacked X-Line subs, four 1152 infill speakers took care of the guests on the far sides of the room. The rig was driven by 12 of E-Vs Precision Series remote-controlled amplifiers, and mixed from a Midas Legend buss-linked to a Venice stretch console and Bryan Ferry's own production system. Ferry's FOH engineer 'Pickle' mixed his set from a Midas XL4 with a further XL4 in use on monitors.Bailey explains: "We linked all the boards, using the Legend as master control over the K-T Helixes. More Helix channels were used for EQ
UK - Entec Sound & Light has launched a visual/video division with the purchase of a RADlite digital media server from Projected Image Digital. This will go into immediate use on the forthcoming Jools Holland tour, specified by LD Simon Honnor.
Entec's Noreen O'Riordan says that apart from its immediate use on the Jools tour, they also picked RADlite to add another element to their expanding range of LED fixtures - which includes the - James Thomas Pixelline - as it runs their Pixeldrive control software. "All those associated with RADlite - David March at Projected Image Digital and Simon Carter and Emma Long from IRAD - were incredibly helpful, and took time answering all our questions at PLASA," she said.
At PLASA, LD Dave Byars (Blur) gave an impressive hands-on demo of Pixeldrive in action on the James Thomas Stand, and talked over his own show experiences of using RADlite. O'Riordan and her colleagues decided that Projected Image Digital offered the best support and guidance necessary to help them set up the new division within Entec. "With PID as consultants, we're can give the best possible advice and digital imaging options to our clients," she said.
Having an in-house video facility will mean Entec can supply even better-value technical packages to the one-truck tour, and also to one-offs and showcase events, where a production manager can source sound, lighting and video from one supplier, say the company. Projected Image Digital's David March is looking forward to working with Entec and with Simon Honnor on the two-month Jools Ho
Brazil - One of Brazil's most successful bands, Chiclete com Banana (literally 'chewing gum and banana'), has recently a Midas Heritage 1000 mixing console as part of its powerful mobile PA set-up. The 'Trio Eletrico' in which the console is installed is a development unique to Brazil and a concept that Chiclete com Banana helped to formulate.
Midas's Brazilian distributor, Henry Spong of Libor (honoured with a lifetime achievement award from Klark Teknik at the recent distributor conference in Italy), explained: "Chiclete com Banana are legends in the Brazilian music scene. They've been going since 1980 and, many gold and platinum discs later, are just as popular now. The band were keen to find a way to bring their music to the people and so ended up being key elements in the development of the modern 'Trio Eletrico' which is essentially a large truck with a stage mounted on the top and walls of loudspeakers built into the sides. Unique to Brazil the Trio is a complete powerful mobile PA system that was originally designed for the huge street carnivals that are so popular here, but is now used for many open air events."
Spong continued: "The latest Trio constructed by Chiclete com Banana was christened Tiranossauro Rex, and this is the truck for which sound engineer Wilson Silva specified the Heritage 1000. He'd seen the desk in action with a PA rental company and was very impressed with the sound and the automation system. Its compact frame size was a further bonus as space inside the truck is limited. I'm pleased to say that once the desk was i
UK - Newmarket Nights - Friday evening meetings with live concerts featuring popular bands and entertainers - have become a leadin attaraction of the summer season at the UK's world-renowned racecourse, Newmarket. The concerts, which draw in sizeable audiences, are organized and managed by Liz Hobbs Events Management, which looks after entertainment events at racecourses up and down the country.
For this year's Newmarket Nights, Liz Hobbs approached LiteStructures to provide the stage, lighting and sound. Having taken LiteStructures on board to build a set for Status Quo's performance at Newmarket last year, Hobbs decided that it would be able to provide exactly the type of permanent stage she required for the five-week duration. Martin Featherstone, LiteStructures' sales executive for the Midlands explains: "Liz Hobbs came to us with the brief of providing her with a stage which would fit perfectly between the two grandstands. She wanted to create a dressing room area beneath the stage, as well as incorporating a public footpath underneath one side of the stage since visitors to the show needed access to the bar and eating area at the back of the grandstand."
To meet the requirements, LiteStructures supplied the company with a Midi stage, part of its outdoor range of staging, which incorporates LiteStructures' AstraLite trussing with its standard LiteDeck system. "Because of the location of the Midi stage, we made some minor adaptations," said Featherstone. "We extended it to the front and the rear, and elevated it to a maximum height of
Russia - Moscow's world famous Bolshoi Theatre has recently installed a number of Clay Paky Stage Zoom 1200 and CP Color 400 projectors, adding to its existing conventional lighting system. The theatre's lighting designer, Damir Ismagilov, explains how the new fixtures were integrated into the existing rig: "The Stage Zoom 1200s are often used with other theatre lights, in performances or scenes requiring up to 1,000 lights per scene. However, they are even more characteristic on their own, when creating contrasting lighting effects, for instance. These new professional moving body projectors offer a designer so much more creative freedom - I can change the direction of light far more quickly and precisely during a performance, but the most important thing is that Stage Zoom 1200 is also extremely powerful! For example, in the 'Patibolo' scene from the opera Khovanshchina by Mussorgsky, a beam has to illuminate a stump on stage with utmost precision from a height of 12m. Stage Zoom does this job easily and effectively, which would otherwise be very difficult with ordinary projectors."
Ismagilov continues: "We don't look for 'spectacular' effects in the Bolshoi and fixed colour lighting is rarely used. However, we have used a lot of graphic effects, including two gobo wheels, one of which has a rotating gobo which can be indexed in any way you like. In our particular case, we used light to depict the texture of rocks or the effects of water, fire or leaves in an innovative way. We used interchangeable Stage Zoom gobos to achieve these effects,
Colombia - Colombian artist Juanes, currently enjoying enormous popularity, recently staged two large concerts in the cities of Neiva and Villavicencio in his home country, prior to beginning a tour of Spain. His latest album 'Un Día Normal' (A Normal Day), has sold more than a million copies around the world and he has won three Latin Grammy Awards, including the recognition as Best New Artist of the year.
Sound for the events was provided by People Sound directed by Samuel Puentes. The FOH system consisted of 32 D.A.S. Audio ST-2000 systems and 20 ST-2000 systems for the delay towers. All speakers were powered by Crest amplifiers and processed by a Dynacord digital signal processor, while a Midas Legend console was sued to mix front-of-house, while an Allen & Heath ML5000 handled monitors.
At the Neiva concert, the main PA was complemented by a front-fill system comprised of eight powered Compact 2 mid/high units aimed to provide additional coverage for the near field. On stage, People Sound provided four ST-15s for stage monitors along with four R-215s, assigned to drum and side-fills.
Ramón Franco, D.A.S. representative in Colombia, was on hand to provide factory support for People Sound. He comments about the performance, "During the sound check, the sound engineers for Juanes were very pleased with what they were hearing from the systems. During the concert, the sound was very good, with a lot of punch and very clean."
(Lee Baldock)
Germany - G-LEC Europe, manufacturer of the G-LEC LED Curtain, has taken the first step towards setting up an international sales team with the appointment of Christoph Müssener as sales director. Previously sales manager with Trendco, where he worked with major brands such as Wybron, Avolites and Radlite, Müssener brings substantial knowledge and understanding of the entertainment industry to the company. Müssener will manage international sales and act as co-ordinator for the international offices, currently France and G-LEC's UK representative office at Fourth Phase, London.
Lars Wolf, G-LEC's managing director, who will devote more time to the development of the company, said: "The G-LEC brand is growing fast. We had a tremendous response at PLASA 2003, plus we are looking forward to showing at LDI next month, and Christoph's experience and dedication will help us consolidate our growth both in Germany and internationally."
(Lee Baldock)
UK - HFM Lighting, specialist in the design and supply of advanced lighting solutions, has further expanded its operation with the appointment of Mick Scullion as sales manager. Scullion (Jaggy) who previously headed up PSL Lighting as part of the giant PSL group of companies brings over 20 years' experience and a wealth of expertise gained across both the corporate and live touring industries to the HFM organization.
Commenting on his new role, Scullion told us: "Moving on from PSL will allow me to get back into what I enjoy most - working closely with clients from the outset of a project, providing practical and creative lighting solutions. I'm looking forward to channelling my expertise as part of HFM's experienced team and working with new clients across a variety of challenging applications."
HFM's managing director Hugh Frazer-Mann explained: "I've known Jaggy for many years and I'm delighted that he's joined the HFM team. His appointment further strengthens our position to offer informed and realistic advice for the most challenging live events or installations."
To further facilitate the growth of the company into its seventh successful year, HFM will be moving premises early in 2004 to provide increased warehouse and administration space.
(Lee Baldock)
USA - Crown International has released an IQ Network software application for Pocket PC-compatible devices. Called Pocket IQ, this is a free application which allows audio control of TCP/IQ-based networks to be controlled from a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant).
Stephen Morris, director of marketing for Installed Sound, Touring and Cinema markets for Crown commented: "This new application makes the IQ Network even more flexible and user-friendly. With Pocket IQ, you can easily walk around and make system adjustments with an off-the-shelf PDA that you may already own and use."
Pocket IQ works together with Crown's free IQwic software suite, enabling Pocket PC PDAs with Ethernet connectivity to control and monitor the audio functions of devices on an IQ Network. IQwic allows users to develop custom control screens for the Pocket PC, which are then imported into the Pocket PC program running on the device. Both IQwic and Pocket IQ are available for free download to users via the IQ website, given below.
With Custom Control Screens, users can set up a common set of controls and meters to make it simple and easy to fine-tune their system. For instance, a consultant might place common controls for filters and delays on a custom control screen in IQwic beforehand, then make final adjustments via their PDA as they move about the space while commissioning the system on site. Currently, Pocket IQ supports devices running Pocket PC 2002 on the ARM processor. This includes (among others) the HP iPaq 3855 and iPaq 5450.
(Lee Baldock)
UK - Architectural lighting specialist i-Vision has developed a new LED solution to meet a challenging brief for the Coffee Bar at Topshop, one of the larger retail outlets in the high profile £540m new Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham. LED strip lighting was specified by Christopher Rowell to light a series of polyester fabric sails, designed and installed by tensile fabric specialists Architen Landrell. i-Vision's Luke Dodd worked in close collaboration with Rowell to achieve the desired result. Architen's client was Cube Music, concept designers of the Coffee Bar area - a chill out space where shoppers can re-energise or just have some space away from the fray for relaxation and socialising.
The brief was for the sails to be tinted red. The problem was that nothing could hang down below a very shallow series of rafts (housing cabling and control equipment) suspended in the ceiling or in the gaps between the rafts, where the generic environmental lights were fitted, nor could anything be attached to the floor. It was clear that conventional lighting of any sort for the sails was not viable, so Rowell asked i-Vision to devise an LED mounting that fitted into a 200mm channel which could then be bolted onto the single 'shotgun' extrusion holding the top of the sails. These extrusions were then hung below the rafts. The LED solution also had to be achieved within the budget that had originally been allocated for using conventional spotlight fixtures.
i-Vision produced the LED strips using high-brightness Luxeon emitters with 25 x 8 degree lenses, on white PC
UK - Elections for the Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA) executive committee are set to take place during November. Employees of Full UK member companies are currently being invited to put themselves forward to play a key role in the future direction of the Association.
This is a pivotal time for PLASA as it reviews its long-term goals, and with issues such as safety, training and legislation high on the agenda, those who stand will be able to directly influence the way these aims are met, and the way in which PLASA moves forward.
Letters have been sent to all eligible members, inviting representatives to stand for the three places available, which have arisen as a result of the stepping down of long-serving members Mick Hannaford (LightProcessor), Sammy de Havilland (Deco Leisure) and Neil Darracott (Total Fabrications). If you feel you can make a positive contribution for the benefit of PLASA members, you need to return your nomination form no later than 14 November.
Even if members don't plan to stand, they should exercise their right to vote. A list of candidates will be sent to all Full EU members in mid-November with voting closing on December 1.
If you have any queries or wish to know more about what's involved, please contact Norah Phillips at the PLASA office on +44 (1323) 410335.
(Lee Baldock)