Prolight + Sound 2019

from TPi May 2019 - #237

by Mondiale Media

Panic! At The Disco: Pray For The Wicked

EXPOPROLIGHT + SOUND 2019

Opposite: The ADJ team; Avid’s Chris Madden.

PROLIGHT + SOUND 2019

TPi hits the tradeshow floor to check out innovations from all corners of the live events industry.

Absen was centre stage with its latest touring product, the Aries Series, allowed the company to further exhibit its increased rental prowess with the capabilities of its award-winning Polaris Series.

A.C. Entertainment Technologies debuted a number of its highly knowledgeable staff willing to discuss all lighting, control, dimming and cabling needs. On show were a selective range of the latest entertainment technologies including from AC-ET’s in-house cable manufacturing facility, Tourflex Cabling, which makes high quality bespoke data, mains and multicore lighting cables.

Tourflex Cabling have recently invested in brand new state of the

art machinery to provide customers with a service that offers even more customisation options for their cabling and connectors, including overmoulding, engraving and different colours. Also on show were the Stage CL lighting console, featuring intuitive hands-on control with hue and saturation encoders per fixture, and a simple touch screen interface. Finally, AC-ET also showcase the Reel EFX range include the RE 5 Fan compact wind machine, with built in programmable DMX and the DF-50 Diffusion Hazer, one of the safest, cleanest and most efficient hazers in the entertainment industry.

Adam Hall Group’s Gravity presented the new Touring Series: the

PROLIGHT + SOUND 2019

Area 4 Industries’ Fabio Prada; ADB; Riedel’s Julian Bülhoff; The ArKaos team.

first ever stand series specifically developed for the professional rental market. The impressively rugged all-metal stands are built to withstand the roughest rigours of the road. In addition, the Gravity Touring Series are equipped with captive adjusters made of metal and other additional features to make life “on the road” noticeably more efficient.

Adamson Systems Engineering expanded its popular S-Series, a line of sub-compact, tour-proven loudspeakers. The latest additions

included the S7 ultra-compact two-way, full-range line array enclosure and complementary S118 subwoofer, plus the S7p and S10p two-way, fullrange point source cabinets. Together, the latest boxes offer a substantial increase in configuration options for standalone S-Series systems. “The S-Series family changed the face of Adamson, transforming it from a manufacturer of performance loudspeakers to a provider of complete system solutions,” shared James Oliver, Director of Marketing and Sales.

PROLIGHT + SOUND 2019

PROTOUCH STAGEOPERATOR

8,4“ Colour Touchscreen

ADB was present with a large demo and hospitality area (HALLE 12.0 stand E59), where visitors could meet and discover all the new products as well as some classic products.

“In recent years, we have decided to combine tradition and innovation by enhancing ADB’s classic know-how with a range of LED lights equipped with state-of-the-art technology for versatile, high-quality lighting, which is particularly in demand in theatres. Today, therefore, we know that our distributors and customers can not only count on our classic catalogue, with long-standing products such as the Warp and the timeless Eurodim dimmers, but also on control desks and LED theatre lights, which look to the future,” said ADB CEO Simone Capeleto.

ADJ debuted 8 new professional lighting products: Allegero Z6, Focus Beam LED, 15 HEX Bar IP, Vizi Wash 237, Saber Bar 6, Par Z MOVE RGBW, Encore Burst RGBW IP and the Encore Burst UV IP which were displayed for the first time on the company’s stand. The range of moving heads, IP-rated washes and an impressive motorised LED linear fixtures enhanced ADJ’s extensive catalogue of lighting equipment.

Allen & Heath highlighted some of its ultra-compact dLive touring systems. In recent years, dLive Wings systems have rapidly established themselves as one of the most popular options for compact touring. Central to the dLive Wings concept is the compact C1500 surface, which allows engineers to manage upscale shows from a 19-inch console, using its 12-inch touchscreen, 19 assignable SoftKeys and 12 faders over 6 layers.

“Going from a 36 fader surface to a 12 fader C1500 or a touchscreen can seem daunting at first,” commented Ben Morgan, dLive Product Manager at Allen & Heath. “But with a bit of planning and smart use of SoftKeys, it’s amazing how quickly engineers embrace the Wings concept and the freedom it brings. I hope we can encourage more people to explore the potential of ultra-compact touring at Prolight + Sound.”

ArKaos demonstrated its latest products including MediaMaster v5.4, Kling-Net, PRO DJ LINK - a project with Pioneer DJ - and its powerful new 4K media servers. Several leading lighting manufacturers used the potential and massive flexibility of ArKaos’s Kling-Net protocol to run and demonstrate the versatility of pixel-fixtures on their stands, including Robe, Claypaky, Elation, JB Lighting, Music & Light, and more.

Avid announced a new agreement with the UK’s largest pro audio services provider SSE

• Linkable Motor Distributions

• Integrated Software for System Configuration

• Password Management

• Group-Shutdown Functions

• Displaying of Positions and Destination Runs

• Load-Measuring with integrated Shutdown Functions for Over- and Underload

• Displaying each Drive Status Position, Load and Errors

• 15“ Touchscreen as Option

• Network-Based System Configurations avaialable on request

CHAIN HOISTS • CONTROL SYSTEMS • SOLUTIONS

info@chainmaster.de

CHAINMASTER BÜHNENTECHNIK GMBH Uferstrasse 23, 04838 Eilenburg, Germany Tel.: +49 (0) 3423 - 69 22 0 Fax: +49 (0) 3423 - 69 22 21 E-Mail: info@chainmaster.de www.chainmaster.de

PROLIGHT + SOUND 2019

Allen & Heath’s Lars Dietrich; Claypaky unveils the Xtylos; Christie’s Polly Bradley-Brock; The Celestion stand.

Audio to supply the UK’s major outdoor summer music festivals Avid VENUE S6L with live sound consoles as they look to upgrade their legacy Avid systems.

AV Stumpfl presented its latest products and solutions, including PIXERA mini, a flexible and ultra-compact version of its new powerful range of media servers, as well as its PIXERA v1.0 software, and the upcoming AT64-SHIFT screen system leg.

PIXERA is a 64-bit system for real-time media processing, compositing and management, built around the key theme of usability. Based on the same principles as the highly successful T32-SHIFT, the AT64-SHIFT can be used for much larger mobile projection screens.

While the T32-SHIFT is compatible with AV Stumpfl’s Monoblox32 and MonoClip32 projection screen frames, which means it can easily be combined with existing AV Stumpfl screen systems. Using the T32-SHIFT, it takes less than five minutes to assemble and adjust an AV Stumpfl mobile projection screen system, including height adjustments.

At the Ayrton stand, attendees were excited to see the new products and a new lightshow populated by Ayrton’s latest fixtures. This year’s releases, the Ayrton Levante and Diablo wash and profile fixtures, were in action for the first time alongside Khamsin, Bora, Ghibli, Mistral, Merak and NandoBeam, all of which illustrated the huge versatility, power and feature set of Ayrton’s expanding new Wash, Spot and Profile ranges.

Barco took some of its latest innovations on a Shape It. Show It roadshow that will see the company visit almost 50 events in cities across

Europe between April and June, starting at this year’s Prolight + Sound. The company’s range of new products included single-chip laser projectors for a wide range of market segments, the brightest 4K laser projector under 100kg, and even a sneak preview of an all-new mid-level laser 3 chip DLP projector. Visitors can also view the innovative Rigiflex; the powerwall you can roll up. Other products on show will be Direct View LED tiles and UniSee; seamless LCD video walls with bezel-less viewing and an innovative mounting system.

BlackTrax powered an interactive demonstration, designed by Meptik, to spotlight the power of real-time tracking and automation, and to check out the new features wysiwyg has in store.

BroadWeigh showed off its BroadWeigh TwistLink, which was centre stage, alongside the BroadWeigh Wind Speed Sensor.

Kelly Voysey, Sales and 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.”

Brompton Technology showed its new HDR solution by combining the power of its Tessera SX40 LED processor with ROE’s superb Black Onyx LED screens. 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 industry-leading processing features such

PROLIGHT + SOUND 2019

The Cadac consoles team.

as ChromaTune colour correction, On Screen Colour Adjustment (OSCA), and more.

“Our initial preview of HDR at ISE 2019 created a real buzz,” said Brompton’s Business Development Manager, Rob Fowler. “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 Proligh t+ Sound.”

Calibre’s new HQPro1000 4K/UltraHD scaler/switcher received its first public showing. The first in the company’s HQPro series along with the new HQPro1050 remote controller will be available for Q2/2019 delivery. “The HQPro1000 is the result of an extensive market research effort that revealed a real need for higher performance at lower price points,” said Willy Tsai, Managing Director at Calibre UK.

He added: “There is a whole market segment that is not being catered for – and we believe the HQPro1000 responds to what those customers are looking for by setting a new level of price/performance. It features extensive functionality that has traditionally been associated with a high price – and delivers it at a much more affordable level.”

Cadac showed a number of new developments, including a console ‘sidecar’, and console mirroring and bus VCA features in a preview of v6.0 CDC OS. The company’s booth features the full current range of CDC consoles, running on its MegaCOMMS dedicated music production audio network, which supports up to 3072 channels of the same ultra-high quality, fully time-aligned, phase-coherent, high-resolution audio, over distances of up to 2km.

Celestion confirmed the arrival of its new CDX14-2410 1.4-inch exit, high frequency compression driver. CDX14-2410 is the latest of Celestion’s ‘ultra-low noise’ compression drivers, featuring a patented phase-plug design which, together with a unique “deep-drawn diaphragm” results in more accurate sounding HF, exhibiting much lower distortion than many comparable devices already on the market. 

“In essence, the 2410 is a low profile, ferrite magnet version of the well-established CDX14-2420 neodymium magnet compression driver,”

commented Celestion Marketing Manager Ken Weller. “The ferrite magnet means it is not so light weight as the neo counterpart, however it delivers the same high levels of performance at a more cost-effective price point.”

Chauvet Professional drew large crowds throughout Prolight + Sound. The brightest attraction for visitors were the company’s new Maverick MK3 Spot and Maverick MK3 Profile LED fixtures. Supported by a marketing campaign built around a ‘take your breath away’ tag line, the new fixtures with their intense output, make them ideally suited for even the largest arena and stadium applications.

The new 820W fixtures also offer best-in-class in terms of their weight and dimensions, being lighter and more compact than any luminaire with a comparable output. Adding to their advantage is a wide range of performance features, including full-loaded static, rotation and animation effects. Both fixtures have a 6° to 54° zoom angle, the widest ever offered in the Maverick series.

“The show was great for us,” said Albert Chauvet, CEO of Chauvet. “We felt good going into this show, and the overwhelming reception received by our new Maverick MK3 fixtures more than lived up to our expectations. These fixtures are really going to raise the bar.”

This year Christie showcased the Christie MicroTiles LED, Christie Pandoras Box media server, Spyder X80 multiscreen windowing processor, and the newest addition to Christie’s RGB laser projection line-up, the D4K40-RGB projector. Christie staff will be available to share their technical expertise on designing end-to-end experiences that dazzle.

“Christie is excited to bring the latest in projection, display and processing technology to Prolight + Sound 2019,” said Karl Johnson, director of product management, CMP, Christie. “Live events demand agile, reliable and powerful technology, and Christie solutions are the epitome of these leading-edge solutions. Our technology works together seamlessly to deliver powerful experiences, and our first-rate service and support means that customers have Christie’s backing long after installation.”

Chroma-Q showed its latest range of LED Solutions. The Brute Force is a

PROLIGHT + SOUND 2019

d&b audiotechnik KSL; Movecat; Clear Com’s Jon Sparrow; Yamaha Commercial Audio.

powerful new, LED alternative to traditional light sources such as a quarter Wendy Light, made a big impact this year.

Capable of delivering up to 140,000 lumens and drawing just 15 amps at 240V, Chroma-Qs larger Brute Force 6 is a highly versatile, controllable fixture that could change users’ approach to lighting. After its unveiling at the show last year, the Studio Force II has been adopted in a number of studios. This high intensity, tuneable white LED wash batten delivers variable colour temperature, plus/minus green shift control, and can produce deep saturated colours when needed.

Claypaky Xtylos, the first ever laser beam moving light, was a great success. About 10,000 people attended the live demo shows at Claypaky’s stand. The success of the Xtylos video teaser was even more overwhelming. It received over 150,000 views on various social media channels.

The teaser undoubtedly led to a lot of industry professionals wanting to witness the innovative developments in light technology in this revolutionary new unit in person. It is a beam moving light that uses a revolutionary laser source specifically built for it, which is enclosed in a reliable, safe, completely sealed module. Many surprising new Claypaky products are debuting at ProLight + Sound 2019: Xtylos, Axcor Wash 600, Mini-B and CloudIO.

CODA Audio showcased its graphical user interface for LINUS products. LINUS Control V2. LINUS Control v2.0 is a complete departure from the previous LINUS Live v1.2 platform.

As well as new control software, new rewritten and restructured firmware has been developed to provide more stability, flexibility

and features. The LINUS Control v2.0 software provides a reliable and ruggedised application for the control and monitoring of the CODA LINUS amplification platform. It is optimised for both MacOS and Windows, for both tablet and native interfaces.

Bundled in the application behind the scenes is the device Firmware, Speaker Files, Control Logic and a 3rd Party UDP Control protocol that will allow for offline remote control of LINUS amplifiers from 3rd Party Devices, very useful in installation scenarios.

Complete Audio, inaugural adopters of Martin Audio’s MLA platform anywhere in the world back in 2010, continued to impress its clients with the multi-award-winning system. They worked with products, including 38 MLA, four MLD Downfill, 20 MLX subwoofers and 24 MLA Compact enclosures.

Venue capacities ranged from 8,000-18,000 (at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne), and therefore the rig was scalable. The left / right hangs consisted of between 12 and 16 MLA elements, depending on venue size, with one or two downfill boxes. Outfills were provided by 12 MLA Compact per side, and where required, drops of either 6 or 8 MLA elements provided delays at the rear. d&b audiotechnik introduced its bitesized B8-SUB. Standing only 170mm tall, the B8-SUB keeps a remarkably low profile yet boasts an exceptionally high performance to size ratio that provides a low frequency extension down to 43 Hz. The B8 pairs with the established d&b xC, xS and E-Series loudspeakers, with dedicated models for mobile (B8-SUB) and install (Bi8-SUB).

PROLIGHT + SOUND 2019

Elation Professional’s news stand; CLF Lighting; DPA Microphones’ Florian Kresse. Minuit Une’s Aurélien Linz; DiGiCo & KLANG:technologies; Chauvet Professional’s Ben Virgo.

Fitting comfortably in the tightest of spaces, the B8 is ideal for corporate environments, cruise ships, small venues and more. “The lower frequencies play an important role in the perception of speech and rhythm,” affirmed d&b Product Manager, Wolfgang Schulz. “Subwoofers have often been omitted from applications due to space constraints or the visually sensitive nature of a venue. Now listeners can get a full bandwidth experience everywhere, because it’s very easy to integrate the B8 anywhere.”

DiGiCo showcased new software upgrades for the SD12 and SD10 which take both consoles to a completely new level.

When the SD12 was launched, it raised the bar for a compact, affordable, multi- application digital console. It delivered DiGiCo sonic quality, had dual 15-inch touch screens and was the first SD Range console with a built-in recording interface.

Along with the SD12 96 chargeable upgrade, the new SD10+ upgrade comes free of charge. Only available for Core 2 consoles, SD10+ expands the already powerful SD10 from 132 to 144 input channels. Both upgrades continue DiGiCo’s commitment to providing continued additional value on clients’ original console investment.

DPA Microphones displayed a full range of microphone solutions for the live market, including its tiny subminiature 6000 Series that include an attractive and highly secure headset.

DPA also rolled out its other microphones that incorporate its CORE by DPA amplifier technology range. These included its 4000 Series of d:screet miniature lavalier, d:fine headset and now d:vote 4099 Instrument Microphones.

Doughty’s Fifty Clamp made its Prolight + Sound debut this year. Mark Chorley, Design Engineer at Doughty commented: “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,” explained Chorley so we are looking forward to gathering additional feedback as uptake increases. Doughty also showed its new Scaff Boom Arm and Heavy Duty Boom Arm at the show.

Eilon Engineering and AED group announced its new partnership, with AED appointed as the new distributor of Eilon products in the Benelux countries. The total product range of Eilon Ron StageMaster systems will be available for sale at AED Distribution.

“After testing and looking into all the most common systems on the market, the Ron StageMaster was the best choice for AED. We’re impressed by the easy and quick set up of the system that provides you all the data and reports you need,” said Bart De Smet, Rigging Advisor at AED group. Noga Eilon Bahar, VP Business Development at Eilon Engineering, commented: “We are happy to begin our cooperation with AED for renting, leasing, distribution and service of our Ron StageMaster systems in Benelux and beyond. This cooperation with AED, a well-known, established, total solution provider in the AV industry, is an important addition to the Ron StageMaster distribution network worldwide and a natural addition to AED’s line of products. I am sure that this cooperation will be successful and together we will make live events even safer.”

Elation Professional showcased the new luminaires in its popular Fuze and Paladin series. All new Fuze series fixtures include the Fuze Spot, Fuze Profile with a full coulor spectrum LED engine, and Fuze Profile CW with cold white LED engine, all automated LED moving heads. The Fuze Spot and Fuze Profile - designed for theater, television and a wide array of precision lighting applications - house a 92 CRI engine that utilises a 5-colour homogenised LED array of red, green, blue, mint and amber sources. The carefully tuned LEDs ensure accurate colour reproduction while delivering a powerful output of over 9,000 lumens. Virtual colour temperature, magenta / green adjustment plus colour gel emulation give designers access to an impressive LED color array. Compact, quiet and lightweight, both fixtures house a 7° to 46° zoom. Dual gobo wheels, animation wheel, frost, prism and iris round out their comprehensive

PROLIGHT + SOUND 2019

Vioso’s Emanuel J. Züger; The Spotrack team; The Madrix stand.

feature sets.

Attendees the the ETC and High End Systems stands were able to catch demonstrations of Augment3d, ETC’s new fully integrated 3D programming environment in Eos v3.0. This innovation lets users control and design in a three dimensional space as well as interacting with their fixtures through augmented reality. Also on show was High End Systems’ TurboRay, the newest automated fixture. Its distinctive appearance with a classic retro design and radial diffusers attracted many visitors to the High End stand. ETC’s Relevé Spot was another main attraction at this year’s exhibition. The moving light, specifically designed for theatre brings a calibrated four-colour additive mixing system and unique Ani-gobo wheel that creates textures like never before. It is an automated light that brings affordable, high quality colour mixing to smaller venues.

Funktion-One unveiled its latest technological development with the launch of Vero VX, which has been in development for the last three years, promises Vero sound for a wider range of venues and environments thanks to its more compact footprint.

Funktion-One founder Tony Andrews said: “We’re delighted to introduce Vero VX to the world. Since Vero’s launch in 2016 we’ve had a lot of interest in a smaller system that offers the same performance characteristics and ease of deployment. Through significant engineering innovation, we’ve managed to achieve that objective.”

The Vero VX system comprises VX90 full-range vertical array elements, V124 or V221 bass enclosures, amp racks, fly bars, transport dollies, ground stack hardware, cabling and Projection predictive software.

Global Truss and A.T.C. arranged a strategical relationship for heavyduty systems, stage roofs and special constructions.

Florian Schaaf from the Global Truss said: “Now we are able to rely on the long-time experience of A.T.C. in the field of professional solutions and special constructions. The first results of this partnership are already visible with the Multi-Tower-Basement, the new stage roofs as well as our innovative FOH. We are looking forward to the cooperation with A.T.C. on the technical and on the sales side. A win-win for the companies and the

customers.”

“We are looking forward to the cooperation with Global Truss where both companies’ abilities are merged,” said Thomas Wagner from A.T.C. “Global Truss is already really strong in the retail market and will be too in the professional market with our cooperation. The customer will profit from this cooperation and will receive a lot of innovative products in the near future.”

GLP occupied its biggest booth ever at Hall 12, enticed lighting professionals with its signature lightshows, choreographed by American Lighting Designer, Nate Files in addition to its trademark GLP beer, enabling LDs to chat informally at the bar with company representatives. Alongside the celebrations, was GLP’s riveting lightshow, highlighting the new KNV Dot and Line. The KNV Line consists of five single pixels in a row, in which form factor is maintained 1:1 and thus they correspond to five KNV lines in form and pixel distance of a KNV cube. But the centrepiece of this year’s show was GLP HIGHLANDER Wash, an impressive, traditional wash light based on a 1,400W discharge lamp, with a large zoom range, impressive field angle, full motion 4-blade framing system and fast iris. Another well received fixture was the new impression S350 Wash, which was also demonstrated on the active rig. Great interest was also shown in the new impression FR10 Bar, which will surely make its way onto major productions during the coming year.

Green Hippo is constantly improving the Hippotizer software, the latest version which was on display at Prolight + Sound added two widely requested features: Object to Output and BeatBridge as well as a host of smaller fixes and improvements.

Object to Output is a new way to manage displays in Hippotizer. Working within the powerful 3D toolset of SHAPE, Object to Output enables a surface in the 3D world to be sent directly to a physical output. 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 real-time, sound reactive effects. BeatBridge operates as part of the preset system, ensuring compatibility

PROLIGHT + SOUND 2019

The Le Maitre team; Meyer Sound’s Sonic Lounge; The Music&Lights stand.

with external controllers such as Midi and DMX.

KLANG: technologies introduced attendees as an immersive in-ear mixing into the SD-Range and the latest A3232 DMI for S-Series consoles. There was a first opportunity to experience a working version of their new control integration for immersive in-ear mixing; the bidirectional control of mixes and immersive pan positioning will allow monitor engineers to provide fully immersive IEM feeds as part of their normal workflow.

Kinesys showed its latest technologies in this specialist entertainment field at Prolight + Sound. Products highlighted will include Kinesys’ powerful new Vector control console, the innovative Apex hoist system and LibraCELL / LibraNODE load monitoring.

On the stand the company also flew a 75-inch screen over our stand using Apex and Vector Console, powered by Green Hippo media servers and Observatory London for the visuals.

L-Acoustics have the new ARCS A15 and A10 systems and companion sub KS21 deliver renowned L-Acoustics concert performance and reliability for audiences from 50 to 5,000 in an approachable, compact format that offers unlimited versatility and ease of use.

With the launch of the new ARCS product range, L-Acoustics introduces a new charter agreement offering rental partners meeting the ARCS standard system requirements the opportunity to join the official L-Acoustics rental network.

LANG AG offered additional special trainings the AV Stumpfl Pixera and the Analog Way LivePremier series in Lindlar as well as its brand new LivePremier series from Analog Way, which offers a comprehensive product line of modular and scalable 4K/8K multi-screen presentation systems and video wall processors for high-end staging and premium system integration.

Another highlight at the booth was its prototype, the Solutions4AV FlipUP-E. A mobile Samsung Flip, which has received various upgrades and is powered by the integrated EnergyPACK 500-12. The frame of the

display is available in various classy designs and the modified stand is now equipped with wheels.

Lawo’s exhibition setup at this year’s Prolight + Sound focused on IPbased products and solutions for theater and live applications. In a handson environment, visitors experienced Lawo mc audio consoles and Lawo IP routing systems as well as Lawo’s video processing units and audio-over-IP interfaces, including A_stage, the new members of the A_line family of WAN-capable stageboxes.

Le Mark had customers visiting all the way from Russia, Canada and even New Zealand. The PAL Label Challenge was a highlight of the event, with attendees trying their very hardest to pull apart our ultra-high-tak foam adhesive from between two flight case recessed label plates.

Le Maitre rolled out its Wireless Salamander Quad Pro flame machine to the tradeshow floor. As well as boasting its Proloom ignite system, the MVS Smart Hazer and the freezefog Pro low smoke system.

MA Lighting highlighted the latest features and functionality of its grandMA3 and dot2 lighting control solutions. Visitors experienced the latest preview version of the grandMA3 software as it progresses towards the V1.0 launch later this year. All grandMA3 models will be available for hands-on demo in Mode2 and Mode3.

Recent developments including new ways of colour control, visual ways of Phaser control, enhanced 3D visualisation or networking protocol implementations and much more are on display. MA’s product experts will be on hand to answer all of your questions. 

MADRIX previewed its first major software update at this year’s show, alongside the full range of hardware products for modern lighting control. Version 5.1 will bring native support for Blackmagic Design, NDI, and Spout to the award-winning pixel mapper. Operators around the world are already looking forward to these flexible new ways to work with video.

The Sonic Lounge hosted daily demonstrations of Meyer Sound’s new Spacemap LIVE spatial mixing platform, and an extensive display

PROLIGHT + SOUND 2019

Powersoft’s Davide Quarto & Sandro Soleri; Nexo’s Tim Bamber & Gareth Collyer; Robert Juliat’s Séverine Zucchiati; Whalberg Motion Design’s Frederik Lunde Jacobsen.

of Meyer Sound products, including the new ULTRA-X40 point source loudspeaker, first launched at ISE 2019 as the successor to Meyer Sound’s UPA loudspeaker.

MDG celebrated with the first presentation in Germany of its IP55-rated WPE Series of fog and haze generators. The ATMe WPE haze generator and Me1 WPE and Me2 WPE fog generators are rugged, non-stop, variable output, outdoor versions of their highly successful counterparts.

“The reception to the new WPE units was fantastic,” said Martin Michaud, MDG CEO. “Our European customers were very happy to see that the controllability, output, ruggedness and ease of maintenance they know in standard MDG generators is now available in weatherproof and dustresistant housings for all kinds of outdoor use.”

Music & Lights stand design featured the largest footprint to date and played host to over 400 luminaires in the popular PROLIGHTS arena along with the 20 new lighting products in the touring, studio and architectural markets also on display, which were launched during the event. The display area featured a new and innovative interactive touchscreen system allowing visitors to test fixtures at their own leisure, interact with the Music & Lights team. New fixtures on show during the show included: PANORAMAIPSPOT and RA2000.

Nexo collaborated with Yamaha on its DXRmkll speakers. “Working with Nexo was an obvious step in taking DXRmkII to the highest level of performance. Liaising closely with Nexo engineers at its state-of-the-art facility greatly contributed to the impressive SPL and unmatched reliability of these new loudspeakers,” said Yoshi Tsugawa, General Manager of the

Yamaha Pro Audio Division.

“As a result, they deliver enhanced performance and reliability, allowing them to meet the demands of a wider range of environments that require professional, high-quality performance in a compact, lightweight package.”

Jean Mullor, CEO of Nexo concluded: “It was very exciting to see the DXRmkII concept take shape and to contribute to the process. We are proud to have played a role in the DXR series’ development from its inception to the present, putting the finishing touches on the new upgraded lineup.” The full DXRmkII range will be available from June 2019.

Obsidian Control Systems showcased its NX 4 lighting controller and will be providing a first look at the new DYLOS pixel composition engine. Equipped with a range of professional features and using the latest in industrial components, the NX 4 is designed to handle even the largest show with ease.

With a well-arranged combination of motorised and manual faders, along with an array of playback buttons, the NX 4 offers 44 total playbacks in a compact yet extremely powerful package.

Optocore exhibited its innovative products and solutions for the transport of audio, video and control data by Optocore Optical Digital Network System at PL+S.

Osram marked its PL+S appearance by confirming that it will light up the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in Tel Aviv with its individual solutions, for the fifth time in a row.

A substantial proportion of all the moving heads in the International

PROLIGHT + SOUND 2019

The ShowTex stand; The Prolyte Group; Out Board’s Dave Haydon; The ROE Visual team.

Congress Center will be provided by Osram’s entertainment brand Claypaky. “We are very happy to be ESC’s official lighting partner again this year. Our lighting solutions will be individually aligned to this year’s show to stage the many musical highlights and create a fantastic and unique atmosphere with our lighting effects,” said Gunnar Eberhardt, Head of Entertainment and Architectural Lighting at Osram.

UK spatial audio specialist, Out Board showcased the latest evolutions of its groundbreaking TiMax immersive audio and showcontrol systems. Demos will feature the intuitive TiMax 500S software workflows including StageSpace for instant auto-calculation of adaptive localisation 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 delaymorphing algorithms to create totally transparent real-time localisation.

Out Board also previewed the all-new TiMax TrackerD4 evolution of their market-leading stagetracking showcontrol.

This year Portman Lights released its newest product, the P1 mini LED, the latest in its highly specialised range of products. Exhibiting a tungsten look and retro style to match Portman Lights’ existing product line but this time with full LED. Arranged in the same configuration and housing as the original P1 Retro Lamp, P1 mini LED combines 2 layers of light sources: a special 1800K linear filament and an RGBW glow that adds colour and enhances the creative possibilities of the new fixture.

“We are very excited to bring our new P1 mini to the market at Prolight + Sound,” said Portman Lights’ Business Development Manager, Dominik Zimakowski. “This is a ground-breaking product for us because, for the first

time, we have produced a full LED stage lighting fixture whilst retaining the truly vintage, halogen look. P1 mini LED provides that unique Portman Lights look that is so in demand for television and live performance yet answers the growing demand for LED light sources.”

Powersoft had a full suite of industry audio solutions, including the brand new X4L amplifier; the LOTO DSP 1-2 in / 4 out Advanced DSP board; the DSP-Lite ETH 1-2 in / 3 out DSP interface; and an update for its Snapshot Selector mobile app.

As the latest addition to Powersoft’s already enviable range of amplifiers, the X4L, has been created to drive modern high SPL woofers that require very high voltage in order to deliver their full potential. The product is specifically designed to deliver up to 300 V (peak) to the loudspeakers, which translates to more audible impact from the music itself.

PR LIGHTING displayed its highly efficient short-arc metal halide lamp, the XR 1700 Framing (PR-2887) which represented PR Lighting’s most powerful framing fixture yet and the flagship in its range, producing unprecedented light output.

Featuring four framing blades, it delivers a range of graphics in different sizes and shapes and a further four framing blades to give a full curtain effect. The whole module offers endless rotation to provide unlimited versatility - a major breakthrough.

PRG was once again present at Prolight + Sound, transforming the Frankfurt Festhalle into the PRG showroom. As in previous years, the design of the show has been created by Jerry Appelt and bright.

The company displayed its expertise in the fields of audio / concert touring, PRG special constructions and kinetics. Guests had the

PROLIGHT + SOUND 2019

Funktion-One unveils the Vero VX; The BlackTrax family; Robe celebrates 25 years.

opportunity to network with the team and discover more of PRG’s latest technologies and services.

In cooperation with Cybermotion and ROE Visual, Prolyte Group hosted a show every day, at every hour. Showing its unrivalled capacity in the design and build of complex truss structures, Prolyte Group displayed a range of heavy-duty trusses, and trusses specially designed for LED walls at the exhibition in Frankfurt.

Riedel gains further expertise and know-how in hardware and software-based participant management and engagement tools after acquiring shares in EvoCount. The partnership will generate numerous synergies in event technology, cost management, and logistics and complements Riedel’s wide range of services in the rental business.

“Guest management has become a core element of every major event. With the services of our new partner, EvoCount, we have again expanded our range of digital event solutions and optimised our ability to align all processes and services comprehensively in the event sector,” said Marco Kraft, Head of Sales in Germany at Riedel Communications. “Riedel continues to invest in the future and is working to develop even more synergies for our customers worldwide.”

“Riedel stands for innovation, vision, and growth. This collaboration provides us with an excellent basis for further expansion in the global events market,” said Tim Mertel-Blinn, Co-Founder of EvoCount.

Robert Juliat, which celebrates its centenary in 2019, presented its SpotMe system at Prolight + Sound Frankfurt international fair this week.

Robert Juliat’s award-winning SpotMe bespoke solution for followspot technology was demonstrated with a new interface, the SpotMe Maestro, developed in partnership with zactrack of Austria. SpotMe Maestro allows the SpotMe system to operate universally with all DMX lighting consoles on the market.

“With SpotMe Maestro we have made the SpotMe technology more widely available to all venues and events, broadening the protocol possibilities,” said Claus Spreyer, Robert Juliat’s Sales Director. “We are proud to be associated with zactrack - a major player in the field of position tracking, 3D-calculation and media control is.”

Robe celebrated 25 years with style and flair at Prolight + Sound Frankfurt 2019 with its largest and most dynamic booth to date – also one of the biggest in the exhibition – which provided a dramatic backdrop for the show-stopping finale of the ‘Lost Worlds’ trilogy of live shows, complete with seven dancers, a specially compiled soundtrack and over 300 of the newest Robe moving light fixtures.

ROE Visual will present new and existing products in an inspirational setting at the Prolight + Sound Exhibition, aiming to showcase its products creative capabilities.  

In cooperation with Brompton Technology, ROE Visual will show an HDR solution in a sneak-preview set-up, combining Brompton Tessera SX40 LED processing power and the superb Black Onyx LED screens.  

ShowTex reinvented itself to present its amazing stage fabric in motion with a brand-new stand, designed to spark creativity and inspire all visitors.

An asymmetrical display of red theatre drapes showed the infinite possibilities of the extra-wide Velours Delta. The dynamically layered curtains, including both a Wagner as a Venetian drape, were all DMX controlled through the latest ShowTex motor technology.

Behind it, a printed voile moving up and down on a HiSpeed Roll-Up system, appearing and disappearing for the intrigued audience. Additional circular infinity mirror with integrated High Output LEDs by ShowLED was a true selfie magnet. A skillful demonstration of how glassless GiantMirror foil can make a great eye catcher at any event.

The Spotrack team were on hand at PL+S to explain and discuss all

PROLIGHT + SOUND 2019

aspects of the hardware and software that comprise a system which is revolutionising the lighting industry’s approach to spotlight control.

Showcasing its ability to allow an operator to remotely control light from any location, with any number of moving lights as follow spots. Working in tangent with any moving light and any lighting console, in any performance space. Spotrack can be used in all entertainment sectors for live production from anywhere in the venue.

StageSmarts introduced its new C24 power distribution. The C24 incorporates all the core elements of the company’s larger and award winning smartPDU series that have serviced numerous arena tours and events since its launch just over two years ago. The C24 is designed to deal with the challenging loads that today’s LED lights and screens represent. Each of the 24 channels has a load sensor that detects possible overloads as well as accidentally disconnected loads.

Tourflex Cablin invested in brand new state of the art machinery to provide customers with a service that offers even more customisation options for their cabling and connectors, including over moulding, engraving and different colours.

Cabling and connectors can be over moulded and sealed in a thermoset material, making them highly resistant to fluids – ideal for outdoor use. The overmould makes products more robust to withstand shock, vibration, and continual flexing without damage to the termination point. Customers can also opt to have their company logos moulded onto their connector to clearly identify it as their property.

Another stand celebrating an anniversary was Vari-Lite with PL+S 2019 marking 25 years since the V*L5 won an Emmy award, which was proudly on display on the tradeshow floor.

Vari-Lite’s newer technology was also on show, including its VL2600 range, which comprised the VL6000 Beam, VL800 Beamline, and the new VL10BeamWash – a hybrid 550W discharge fixture with a large front lens and punchy effects offering. Also, on display was the company’s new concept/prototype VL6500 Washbeam, featuring radial diffusers on the

front face of the VL6000 Beam. Whalberg Motion Design attended the Prolight + Sound 2019 messe with many of its popular products including all of our DMX Winches, Track Runner, Mini Roll Down, Lifting Column, DMX Rotator, DMX Rotator with power outlet, Track Runner Upright with very positive feedback from all of you.

The company also showcased two brand new products in Frankfurt, including the Mini Track Runner (product file in process) and Winch 50 Double with Cat5 Cable (product file in process) in Hall 12.0 at stand C26.

Yamaha showed the latest updates to its digital mixing consoles and an updated range of loudspeakers on show, including the brand-new TF Series V4.0 firmware.

This adds a number of enhancements, including a Selected Channel View for even more intuitive, efficient operation, scene fade time function for added for scene management flexibility (particularly in theatrical applications), additional mute groups, expanded support for DZR-D and DXS-XLF-D series speakers and an extensive selection of new QuickPro Presets for a variety of microphones, in-ear monitors and speakers. The TF StageMix iPad app has also been updated.

Zero 88 highlighted 4 new multifunctional products, alongside its German distributor, Ultralite. These are Betapack 4 - one product with six dynamic variants; the ZerOS Server - one product with three different uses; new Data Distribution products – the first of a completely new range, and the latest ZerOS 7.9.5 software release for all ZerOS consoles.

Zero 88’s robust Betapack has served the entertainment and installation industry for 30 years. Betapack 4 builds on this heritage and experience with a solution for distributing both dimming and “hot power”, so ideal for a mixed rig featuring both tungsten and LED fixtures – all in one single, affordable device. TPi Photos: TPi www.pls.messefrankfurt.com

PROLIGHT + SOUND 2019

THE MONDO*DR AWARDS

The mondo*dr Awards 2019 went off with a bang thanks to a well-attended event and celebrations all round. Although it was only the third edition of the awards - that are solely focussed on celebrating the best fixed installation projects from around the world - attendees, over 400 in total, came from far and wide to share the celebrations.

Networking flowed, as did the drinks and nibbles, before guests were welcomed by the opening lighting and visual introduction that topped the evening bill.

The technical production for the evening was managed by GoTo Live - the same crew behind the TPi Awards. The ceremony was delivered by a vertical array of 8 TW AUDiO VERA 20s (4 per side) and 6 TW AUDiO VERA S32 cardioid

subs (3 per side), 2 TW AUDiO SYSRACK-X amps with a Powersoft X4 each side. For control, an Allen & Heath C2500 and an Allen & Heath CDM32 StageRack was utilised with microphones from Shure and DPA on the audio front. The lighting fixtures were provided by Robe, and were controlled via an Avolites Tiger Touch II. There was a Dicolor X-Plus LED display, too, which used an RGBlink T-ONE console and X3 processor/switcher for video processing and content management. mondo*dr’s Rachael Rogerson-Thorley and Jamie Dixon hosted the evening, with special guests from the category sponsors taking to the stage to present their corresponding awards. Congratulations to the 2019 winners! www.mondodrawards.com