Entertainment Technology Asia July-August 2012

July - August 2012

MICA (P) 045/09/2011 KDN: PPS 1663/08/2012 [022804]

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W-DMX™ Powers Vangelis Concert in Doha D.T.S Lighting's Silvano Latteo PALM China 2012 review

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06

FIRST WORDS

CONTENTS

VOL 13 ISSUE 4

MICA [P] 045/09/2011 KDN: PPS 1663/08/2012 [022804]

NEWS 08

Essential news from the industry

ENNOVATIONS 29

The Copying Conundrum At the recent PALM Exhibition in China, I spoke with several western manufacturers who had accused Chinese companies of making copies of their products. I was curious to know what they were doing to prevent copies of their products from being made.

Some of them told me that they were considering legal action against those Chinese companies. However, they also informed me that it was very difficult to sue these companies in China. Taking legal action would be very complicated, expensive and time consuming. There was no guarantee of success.

Some of these western companies had chosen to speak directly to the Chinese companies who were making copies of their products to persuade them from doing it. Unfortunately, this approach has also generally not been successful.

It is clear that taking punitive action against companies who make copies of the products of other companies will never completely eradicate the problem. Copying, unfortunately, is here to stay and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it.

MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVES 36

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PALM Expo China 2012 PALM Expo Mumbai 2012 shows impressive growth PALME Middle East celebrates 10th Anniversary in style

INSTALL 66

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“The only way to stay ahead is innovation,” said Menze van der Sluis, Managing Director of Prolyte Products Asia Pacific. “Provide your customers with new products, service and know-how.”

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James Bose Editor james@spinworkz.com

Houses of Worship Technologies Asia 2012

EXHIBITION REVIEW

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Manufacturers could benefit from this advice. By constantly innovating, providing good service and proper consulting, leading manufacturers will have a big advantage over companies that simply copy their products.

Silvano Latteo, President, DTS Illuminazione srl

EXHIBITION PREVIEW

How, then, can leading manufacturers deal with this problem in a positive and proactive way?

Van der Sluis feels that most customers today are interested in more than just a good price on a product. “What happens more and more now is that people don't just buy your products, they need consulting,” he said. “Providing proper consulting is the edge that will help us keep our customers. If a customer buys a copy, the only thing he can expect is a good price. In order to get the job done properly, he needs good products, good service and good consulting,” he explained.

A round-up of new products in the market

Shroom Lounge rules the night with coolux IDR installed in the Torch of Doha Japanese Spa Resort Hawaiians rebuilds with QSC LIFE and DYNACORD VariLine enrich Beirut’s nightlife NEXO plays star role at the Arena of the Stars Martin Audio MLA is first system to cover Tokyo Dome — without delays MIDAS PRO6s are best bet at Casino du Liban Whitlam Theatre gets upgrade to an Electro-Voice PA System Darling Quarter flicks the switch on Massive Digital Canvas Gasworks Arts Park lead the way with ETC Source Four Fresnels Anolis and the Droplet DiGiCo SD11 aids Australian Education

LIVE 76 77 78

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J Davis Prosound & Lighting Chosen for Jaihind Malayalam Film Awards Vari*lite shines the classics MA onPC command wing makes its debut at the Easter Show Clay Paky shines a light on Bahrain’s Path of Pearls W-DMX™ at Vangelis Concert in Doha Eristoff Invasion 2012 pulsates with D.A.S. Audio GLP Spot One enjoys perfect Hong Kong debut with Cantopop Stars Young Talent Time delves into Pandora’s Box Kenkaato makes big impact for Katara Hospitality Rebranding Event Okinawa Qs up for basketball Cold Chisel benefits from Harman JBL VERTEC® V5 Presets

Publisher/Editorial Director Thomas Richard : thomas@spinworkz.com | Editor James Bose : james@spinworkz.com | Admin & Circulation Julie Tan : admin@spinworkz.com | India & ME Editor Ram Bhavanashi | Digital Platform Writer Rosalind Tan | Design & Productions By Jimmy Chin : jimmy@spinworkz.com | Printed By : Print & Print Pte Ltd Published By SPINWORKZ PTE LTD 51 Bukit Batok Crescent #06-10 Unity Centre Singapore 658077 | Tel: (65) 6316 2716 | Fax: (65) 63162715 | www.spinworkz.com Disclaimer Entertainment Technology Asia is published 6 times a year. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine is to be reproduced, whether mechanical or electronic without the prior written consent of the publisher. Views expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or the publisher. Unsolicited contributions are welcome but the editor reserves the discretion to use them. Whilst every care is taken to ensure the accuracy and honesty in both editorial and advertising content at press time, the publisher will not be liable for any inaccuracies.

8

NEWS

CHAMSYS whips its magic in Singapore

Singapore: CHAMSYS may not be a familiar name to the lighting professionals in this region, but across the sea, CHAMSYS is renowned for its innovativeness and creativity in bringing new standards and developments to the lighting console industry. Determined and eager to bring their ideas and concepts to South East Asia, CHAMSYS appointed SLT Asia as a distributor for their products in this region to reach out to professional lighting designers and programmers. Acoustic & Lighting System, a respected distributor of sound and lighting equipment in the same region, in turn collaborates with SLT Asia to realize CHAMSYS’ objectives and aims.

A seminar was held on 23 April 2012 in TAB SINGAPORE to display two Chamsys models – MQ 200 and MQ 100 + playback wing functionality. The seminar was attended by 30 people within the industry. The seminar was conducted by Sebastien Jurkowski, a respected figure in the lighting industry. In 2008, Jurkowski was invited to South East Asia as a lighting consultant for Zouk Nightclub.

Since then, he has remained a constant figure in the local scene. He has been involved in stage and lighting design projects such as @live Group Malaysia, Hennesy Artistry, G Circuit, Zouk Fest 2012 and more.

During the seminar, he touched on topics such as the common problems faced by lighting programmers, solutions provided by CHAMSYS products, the functions and technical aspects of the products, past project references and the future outlook for the company.

With strong hardware design and unique positioning by utilizing software developers that doubled as lighting designers, CHAMSYS successfully established themselves as a serious industry player within 5 years.

CHAMSYS’ mission is to deploy the latest

technology to the lighting console market with the ultimate aim of providing better performance by eliminating the barriers and obstacles associated with traditional consoles.

With this event, CHAMSYS aimed to demonstrate the ease-of-use and efficiency of their consoles. Many of the participants commented on the user-friendliness of the consoles. One of the lighting designers at the seminar commented, “If you want my opinion, I think this product is rather user-friendly.

This actually carries a lot of weight. In this fast-paced industry, time is of the essence.

The easier and more user-friendly a product is, the higher the reliability and effectiveness associated with it. And of course, it can save plenty of time as well!”

“Patching of luminaries media rerun is much easier and faster than my existing console. I see a lot of potential in this console. A very power-packed machine indeed,” added another participant. www.chamsys.co.uk www.acousticnlighting.com www.sltasia.com

Soundassist Entertainment purchases Allen & Heath GLD 80 Digital Mixing Console Malaysia: Soundassist Entertainment (SAE), a complete rental house for professional audio, lighting and visual equipment, including stage & truss works and generator sets, has become the first company in Malaysia to purchase the Allen & Heath GLD 80 Digital Mixing Console complete with the AR2412 I/O Rack.

SAE was established in 1998 and founded by its director, Klvinz Thevandran. Based in Petaling Jaya, SAE started as a music machine company. They specialise in the rental of equipment for international conferences, exhibitions, annual dinners, product launches and private events.

great advantage to us,” said Klvinz.

“The amazing thing about the GLD 80 is that it is a complete compact console,” added Klvinz. “You will be stunned exploring what it can handle. What really makes us happy compared to other brands is the total solution it is designed with, in terms of a designated I/O stage rack configuration and a CAT 5 cable system. That certainly is crucial to us bearing in mind the short timeline given for set-up time. Gone were the days the technical team would have to lay & coil up a 100-metre multicore snake cable.”

(L-R) Mr Idhaykumar (Systems Engineer), Klvinz Thevandran (Director) and Mr Arimalam (Senior Audio Engineer)

console also has great headroom within the faders.”

There were several reasons why SAE decided to invest in the Allen & Heath GLD 80. Firstly, the company felt that it was time to invest in a proper digital console and the Allen & Heath GLD 80 offered the perfect package. Secondly, SAE also wanted to go with an established brand when it came to such an investment.

“The positive thing is that our company’s staff and clients are pleased with the current technology we carry.” Klvinz continued. “It is now, for sure, a 5-star technical requirement in all our events. I have always encouraged my staff to carry out total customer satisfaction, not only in the products that we provide, but also in our service during show production.”

“I would have to say that the console comes in a very attractive design, not forgetting the funky colour it reflects on a purple band. Above all it provides our company with a total audio solution within a reasonable and affordable price. After reading all the information on the product, we could not wait to be the first to own it,” Klvinz concluded.

Thirdly, the current industry requirements for even simple events required a great deal of outboard gears for inserts and so fourth. This was made simple with the GLD 80 package.

“You have it all in there, within a touch screen platform and it is truly user-friendly. This is a

Mr. Arimalam, Senior Audio Engineer for Soundassist Entertainment, commented, “The console truly amazes me with its high end preamp that produces high quality audio in terms of clarity and warmness. I have never heard this before from a digital console. The

The console was sold to SAE by A&H’s distributor in Malaysia, Yosim Technology Sdn Bhd. www.yosimtech.com www.allen-heath.com

THE Sky IS NO LIMIT As tall as you wish, as powerful as you wish, as flexible as you wish!

The new VERTUS active line array is a skyscraper of sounds, ideal for live performances and also fixed installations

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• True line array modular technology in elegant enclosures with an aluminium extrusion design • An independent Class-D tri-amplification system with DSP and switch mode power supplies allowing great dynamics and power • Long distance sound projection and even SPL distribution towards the audience • A dedicated active subwoofer with a bass-reflex design and birch ply enclosure • Professional Neutrik XLR signal links and POWERCONN sockets • A rapid latching system that doubles or triples the speaker column, allowing an increase of SPL and vertical directivity

Possible configurations CLA 604A (400+100W) Active Line Array Speaker CLA 208SA (600W) Active Subwoofer

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10

NEWS

Philips Vari*lite host technical training seminar in Hong Kong and Seoul Attendees received printed material on the service of Vari*lite fixtures as well as access to the service portion of the Vari*lite website.

At the end of the course, participants were required to sit for an examination. Those who completed the course and passed the examination were certified to perform warranty service on all Vari*lite luminaires.

Participants from the seminar in Hong Kong

Hong Kong and South Korea: On 15-19 April 2012, Philips Vari*lite simultaneously held two comprehensive technical training seminars – one in Hong Kong and one in Seoul. The seminars offered practical training and live demonstrations on a range of Vari*lite luminaires including VL2500 Series, VL3000 Series, VLX, VL1000 Series and VL880.

Approximately 30 people including technicians, students, lighting designers and

industry professionals attended the Hong Kong seminar which was held at Entertainment Design & Technology Lab of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. The seminar was conducted by Vari*lite Technical Training Manager Todd Kessler and involved hands-on training on Vari*lite luminaires. Participants were instructed on how to disassemble the Vari*lite fixtures to the sub-assembly level as well as maintenance and trouble-shooting techniques.

Kessler commented, ”It was, as it always is, my pleasure to conduct this training class at HKAPA. Training for our customers and product users is very important to all of us at Philips Entertainment. It allows for a continuing wider audience for our fixtures which not only helps us, but also helps the designers that rely on our products for the events they are involved in, all around the world. I’m personally very grateful to everyone at HKAPA and Prosperity Lamps for their work in making such a successful session. I can’t wait to head back!”

The participants at the seminar found it to be very informative and very helpful. All of them were in favour of attending more Vari*lite training seminars in future. www.varilite.com

DTS Lighting and Showtec hold technical seminar

(L-R) Henry Ang, Franco Zaghini and Ruben Rizzo

Singapore: D.T.S. Lighting and Showtec Communications, distributor of D.T.S. products in Singapore, organized an exclusive technical seminar on the latest D.T.S. products at the Zirca Club on 8 May 2012. Over 100 professionals, technicians, industry executives and media personnel gathered to test the high tech D.T.S. products including the JACK, the NICK NRG 1201 and SCENA LED 150.

These fixtures have attracted interest from professionals and the media for their advanced features and efficiency.

embody ultimate technology and unique Italian styling. We consider JACK, NICK NRG 1201 and SCENA LED 150 the true innovative solutions for any professional job. They are unique, ultra-bright, have extra-wide zoom range, are super-light and ecofriendly.”

The event started with an opening address

by Franco Zaghini, D.T.S. Vice President of Sales. Henry Ang, Managing Director of the Showtec Group, joined Zaghini on stage and thanked the participants for attending the seminar. This was followed by a video presentation featuring live events and installations from around the world utilizing D.T.S. products. After that, Zaghini and Ruben Rizzo, D.T.S. Technical Assistant, conducted a comprehensive demonstration of all the fixtures and answered many questions from the audience.

Henry Ang, who was pleased with the training session, said, ”I think users will be very impressed with these fixtures. We’ve been getting good comments about them. They are unique and we are very excited about them.”

Zaghini commented, “The new D.T.S. products

Ruben Rizzo explains the features of the JACK

Photos: Clarence Anthony www.dts-lighting.it www.showtecgroup.com

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12

NEWS

ShowMedia Production invests in Turbosound Flex Array System with proven virtual point source technology in one product range, providing the flexibilty to adapt to widely differing venues and audiences.

SMP’s Turbosound Flex Array System in action at Toa Payoh Hub

Being a new company, SMP initially wanted to purchase a full-fledged loudspeaker system. They decided on a Turbosound system because they had prior experience with Turbosound loudspeakers and were impressed by their sound quality, durability and ease-of-use. They contacted the local Turbosound distributor, Consolidated Audio Networks (CAN), who recommended that, based on their needs, SMP should purchase a small format array system of six hangs a side and subs initially but with the option to expand the system as SMP grew.

Singapore: Showmedia Production (SMP), a local rental and staging company, has invested in a Turbosound Flex Array Loudspeaker System. The Flex Array System is designed for medium scale line array applications and takes advantage of its low weight in requiring only a single one-tonne motor to hang a column of up to 16 cabinets from a single flypoint. Flex Array combines elements of line array theory

David Toh, one of the co-founders of SMP, said, ”I have been in this industry for more than 20 years. When I was a young boy, I worked for a company that owned a Turbosound system.

Since then, it has been my dream to own a Turbosound sytem. CAN made us quite an attractive offer and so we decided to get the ‘Turbo’. Turbosound has a good reputation in this market and I am confident in this system.”

David Chiam, the other co-founder of SMP, was also pleased with the purchase of the Turbosound Flex Array syatem. “I like the system because it is easy to configure and the price was right. It is a medium scale array so it is very suitable for us because it fits into all the ballrooms in Singapore.”

Chad Batchelor, Managing Director of Consolidated Audio Networks, commented, ”SMP’s investment in a Turbosound Flex Array System indicates the confidence that people in Singapore have in Turbosound products.

Turbosound is well-recognised in Singapore as a market. The brand has held its prestigious mark and is so well-respected. We’ve also received great support from the Turbosound factory who played a part in this sale. We worked as a family with them to get this done.”

The Turbosound Flex Array System purchased

by SMP was first used at an event at Toa Payoh Hub on 25 April 2012. www.smp.sg www.can.sg www.turbosound.com

Project Vaults purchases QSC KLA12 Line Array System Singapore: Project Vaults, a one-stop solution for events, has purchased a QSC KLA12 Line Array System. As a one-stop solution for events, Project Vaults assists clients in all aspects of planning and organizing events in general. Project Vaults is based in Singapore but has offices in six other countries in Asia.

It specializes in exhibitions, conferences and trade shows.

The KLA12 Line Array System is designed to be used exclusively as a fixed arcuate line array.

Each KLA12 speaker is set at a 90° horizontal by 18° vertical splay angle, allowing 90° vertical coverage arrays to be configured using only five boxes (most other solutions require six). Housed in a rugged ABS enclosure that results in both light weight and long-term durability, the KLA12 features a 12-inch low frequency transducer coupled with a 1.75inch compression driver. KLA’s unique selfcontained SOLO™ (Single-Operator Logistics) Rigging System enables users to quickly assemble (and disassemble) the line array in a fraction of the time without the need for special tools or external hardware.

The KLA12 Ar-Q™ (Arcuate Equalization) processing enables users to quickly tune the array, making appropriate frequency compensation adjustments based on the

number of boxes. QSC’s proprietary Intrinsic Correction actively adjusts time, frequency and amplitude response to achieve a maximally flat bandpass target.

Darwin Jalil, Group Executive Director of Project Vaults, commented, “We first experienced the sound of the KLA12 System in the US while we were doing an exhibition there. When we returned to Singapore, we made enquiries with the local distributor, Sindo Exports, and purchased the system.”

Darwin Jalil (left) and Koh Huimin of Sindo Exports

Darwin also explained what attracted him to the KLA12 System. “What attracts me is the simplicity of assembling the whole system. The KLA 12 System is a plug-and-play system and the locking mechanism within each speaker is conveniently built in. When we do shows, we frequently have restrictions in terms of setup time. The KLA 12 System saves us a lot of set-up time. Furthermore, the quality of the sound is excellent. It gives a very full sound in terms of the angle of throw for the speakers.”

In addition to the KLA12 Line Array System, Project Vaults also purchased 2 KLA181 subwoofers to complement the system.

The KLA181 subwoofer has many advanced features like DEEP™ DSP algorithm, GuardRail™, Auto Standby, balanced line-

level XLR input with an XLR “Thru” connector, Attenuation Control and LED indicators. The KLA181 subwoofer also includes a polarity switch to optimize summation between subwoofer and top-boxes.

Darwin has been very pleased with the purchase of the KLA12 Line Array System and the KLA 181 Subwoofers. “The KLA12 System has helped me to save a lot of manpower cost and the cost of maintenance is also simpler and cheaper. It is a cost-effective solution and it delivers good quality sound.” www.projectvaults.com.sg www.sindoexport.com www.qsc.com

14

NEWS

Turbosound’s Asia Sales Manager, Chris Gooddie, presents Turbosound’s history and product line-up

Star Hollywood’s purchase of Flashline triggers launch event for the system in Asia Thailand: The first Saturday of June, saw Turbosound launch its flagship large scale line array PA system, the Flashline, for the Asian market. The event saw sound reinforcement companies, engineers and Turbosound distributors from Taiwan, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Korea, and Singapore gather to see and hear a representative Flashline rig demonstrated outdoors at Star Hollywood’s brand new Bangkok facility. Star Hollywood has the privilege of being the first company in Asia to purchase the Flashline as part of its inventory.

The event started off bright and early with a welcome and introduction speech from Star Hollywood’s owner Diane Klomchitcharoen followed by Turbosound’s Asia sales manager, Chris Gooddie, presenting Turbosound’s company history and current product line-up, as well as details of the day’s system set-up.

Before breaking for lunch guests were treated to a tour of Star Hollywood’s new premises, which will officially open on 1 September 2012. The new multi-function building serves to provide broadcast, recording, distribution, warehousing, training and concert hall facilities.

After lunch, audio demonstrations of the system continued outdoors, with the systems configured to allow demonstration of either Flex Array or Flashline in isolation, or together with Flex Array acting as out-hangs and in-fills.

Delegates took the opportunity to test the PA with familiar recordings from all genres of music, with the system performing flawlessly.

The demonstration consisted of 18 Flashline TFS-900H tops, 12 Flashline TFS-900B subwoofers in central pairs, five Flashline TFSRacks, six Flex Array TFA-600H out-hangs, two TFA-600L out-hangs, six TFA-600HW in-fills, one each strapped on top of six central pairs of subwoofers. Turbosound laser inclinometers were used to align the four arrays, ensuring perfect trim height and grid angle from the results of the EASE prediction for the site.

Turbosound’s Asian systems architect Howard Smart’s EASE modelling and fine tuning on the previous day paid dividends. He said, “Before the demo some of the guests asked why Star Hollywood hadn’t fielded their whole Flashline inventory (which amounts to approximately twice that of the demo system).

Once I fired up the system it was clear that the EASE Focus simulation was 100% correct,

and that Flashline’s power and clarity easily outperforms other systems in its class. Putting up any more would have been a pointless exercise. Flashline is a pleasure to work and and an amazing experience to listen to.”

The event was a great success, thanks to Star Hollywood’s immaculate organisation and hospitality. www.turbosound.com www.starhollywoodbkk.com

The outdoor audio demonstration

16

NEWS

Apex Audio appoints South Korean Distributor South Korea: Audiences in the South Korean entertainment market now have a new era of high quality audio to look forward to, with audio processor manufacturer Apex Audio having appointed Dream Sound - one of the country’s major equipment supply companies - as its distributor in the region.

Jeroen Sierjacobs (left) is very pleased to appoint Dream Sound as the regional distributor

Established a decade ago, the Seoul-based company services a wide range of productions, from live concerts to major corporate events, as well as supplying equipment to installations

including theatres, schools, railway stations and other public buildings.

“Dream Sound is one of the highest profile audio companies in South Korea and we are very pleased to appoint them as our distributor in the region,” said Apex marketing manager Jeroen Sierjacobs. “We are looking forward to working closely with them to bring the benefits of our processors to the country’s venues and live events.” www.apex-audio.eu

The Thorn Birds make their inaugural debut in Vietnam Vietnam – The Thorn Birds stole the limelight as they put up a stunning acoustic performance during the recent “Live for Sound” event, which also saw the introduction of ElectroVoice’s (EV) Live X and ZXA1 speakers.

As Vietnam’s latest endorsed EV artiste, The Thorn Birds which comprises three energetic youths - guitarist Nguyên Thành Các, and two vocalists - Lê Nguyên Quỳnh Mai and Trãn Hài Châu, applauded the EV microphones (RE320) for complementing their vocals and performance. Highly pleased with EV, they said, “EV products have provided sounds so real and vivid that our voices are raised to new heights.”

With their newly minted titles as EV endorsed artistes, The Thorn Birds look forward to putting up even better performances with the promise of new quality sounds.

Terence Ng, General Manager, Bosch Security Systems Indochina, said, “Bosch believes in supporting young and promising artistes in Vietnam to achieve fame and popularity in the entertainment industry. We are confident

that our EV products will give them an edge in achieving their dreams.”

During the event which was held in a stylish bar-restaurant, the audience of about 70 were also introduced to the Live X and ZXA1

speakers. Live demonstrations allowed them a fully immersive “Live for Sound” experience which left many highly impressed. https://www.facebook.com/pages/TheThorn-Birds/338686652865088

Prolyte introduces new i-line partner at PALM China show The i-line range and policy were introduced at the PALM China show last year. The i-line policy - underlining the importance of not only supplying quality products at the best prices, but backing this up with excellent availability and the best service and support possible has proven to be very successful.

China: During the PALM show in Beijing recently, Prolyte Asia Pacific announced that it has added another i-line partner for the Asia region. With the addition of Dynamic Source, based in Bangkok, Thailand, the Asian i-line network now has 5 partners.

The Prolyte X and H trusses, MPT towers and standard StageDex are now in stock for immediate delivery in Asia and Australasia, as well as Europe.

i-line Partners for Asia & Australasia are: Modern Stage, India modernstageservice.in Tongsuh, Korea www.tongsuhtech.com Dynamic Source, Thailand www.dynamic-source.com Specialised Stage Engineering, Australia www.stageengineering.com Metro Productions, New Zealand www.metro.net.nz www.prolyte.com

Dramatic sound. No big deal.

Typical system for 2000-capacity house, powered by just two NXAMP4x4 amplifiers

NXAMP processing intelligence with NEXO's advanced GEO S12 cabinet design creates the most cost-efficient, highperformance sound system choice on the market for theatre and auditorium installation. It takes just two NXAMP4x4s, with remote EtherNet control, to power a system for a 2,000-capacity house, including RS18 subs and PS Series stage monitors.

A comprehensive range of TUV-certified brackets and flying hardware ensures installation of an S12 system is never a drama.

Find out more at www.nexo.fr

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NEWS

Audio-Technica sponsors 心情溶剂 (XQRJ) Regional Chinese Song Writing Competition Singapore: Audio-Technica sponsored the microphones and prizes for the 14th Xin Qing Rong Ji (XQRJ) held by the National University of Singapore. This is the third year in a row that Audio-Technica has sponsored XQRJ, and the sponsorship value has increased each successive year.

XQRJ is one of the largest Chinese song writing competitions mainly for students in both Singapore and Malaysia. Launched in 1998, the objective of this competition is to provide a platform for students with interest in music to express their creativity in song writing and it also serves as an avenue to promote originally composed Chinese music by young talents.

Audio-Technica strongly feels that the XQRJ song writing competition has great potential in promoting the local music industry and thus supported this annual event.

Audio-Technica‘s high quality microphones consisting of six Artist Elite® AEW-T6100 vocal microphones and two ATM610

wired microphones were provided for the contestants. Three AEW-R5200 wireless receivers were also provided. The Artist Elite® line microphones are specially designed for the live-sound industry to bring out the clarity of each individual’s vocal chords. One AE2500 instrumental microphone was used for the kick drum, three ATM350s for the toms and three ATM650s used on the snare, percussion and amps. Two AE5100 instrumental microphones were used as the drum overheads and another two AE5100s were used for the guitars.

Besides sponsoring an array of microphones for the event, Audio-Technica also sponsored the prizes. The winner received a prize package worth $288, including a pair of ATHWS70 headphones. The second prize was the ATH-SQ5 heaphone worth $208. Two ATHRE70 headphones were also awarded for the third prize and Best Lyrics Award.

special award, was the ATH-PRO5MK2 headphones. The winner of this category is the contestant who wins the most votes from the audience on the night of the competition itself.

Teng Shaokai, Senior Regional & Corporate Business Development Executive (S.E.A.), stated, “Local up and coming song writers should be given the opportunity to nurture their musical abilities and showcase their talents. XQRJ is definitely a good platform for our young talents to do so. Hence, AudioTechnica is proud to support this Chinese song writing competition.” He added, “We also look into a long term partnership with them because we see the synergy between their objectives in promoting local musicians and our objectives to promote our brand to the local music scene.” www.audio-technica.com.sg

The Most Popular Choice Award, an award initiated by Audio-Technica as an additional

20

NEWS

D8 transforms Malaysian F1 circuit with L-ACOUSTICS Malaysia: Malaysian rental company Digital Aid, more popularly known as D8, has become an L-ACOUSTICS Rental Network Agent, with the purchase of a KUDO WSTÂŽ line source system with SB28 subwoofers from local distributor, Sennheiser Electronic Asia.

D8’s system has already been used at several festivals and events including Future Music Festival Asia and Zouk@Sepang, both held at the Sepang International Circuit Formula One track outside Kuala Lumpur. These one-day events transformed the Formula One track into an outdoor party for thousands of airpunching ravers, with emphasis on the best sound, lighting and production to showcase the live international and local dance acts. www.l-acoustics.com www.sennheiserasia.com www.d8projects.com

Sennheiser supports Hong Kong Youth Band Sounds Competition 2012 Hong Kong: Following the success of Youth Band Sounds Competition 2011, Sennheiser again sponsored the contest this year.

Organized by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, Youth Band Sounds Competition 2012 held its qualifying round on 20 May at HKFYG Tsuen Wan Youth SPOT and finals on 2 June at Chai Wan Y-Square respectively. Many local amateur bands and enthusiasts participated in this contest.

With the support of Sennheiser G3 Vocal & Instrument microphones systems such as 4

sets of ew G3 135 wireless vocal microphones, 4 sets of e 935 wired vocal microphones, 2 sets of e 901 and e 902 kick drum microphones, 4 sets of e 904 drum microphones, 6 sets of e 905 and e 906 guitar amplifier microphones, 2 sets of e 914 overhead microphones and 2 sets of Neumann KM 184 Hi Hat ride microphones, the 13 teams performed exceptionally well in the final. Renowned judges Davy Chan, Kevin Li, Sammy So and Adky Wun could listen to participants clearly by wearing professional monitoring headphones such as HD 25 Originals, HD 25 II, HD 25 C II and HD 205.

The Champion, RAIN IN TIME, was excited to receive a Sennheiser cash voucher worth HK$7,000 including one set of e 945 vocal microphones. During the contest, a game was played. Two people from the audience who could play the drums were invited to the stage and HD 229 headphones were given to them.

They had to listen to a short clip of music. and then they had to play the music on the drums.

HD 220 Originals and CX 280 headphones were given to both the winner and runner-up. www.sennheiser.com.hk

PHILIPS MSD Platinum 15R

Tel: +86-20-3995 2379 Fax: +86-20-3995 2330 Http://www.pr-lighting.com E-mail: info@pr-lighting.net

PHILIPS MSR Platinum 35

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NEWS

IT’S THE REAL STAR BE A FAN. 100% Excellent Italian Technology

Sennheiser at 2012 Shanghai Midi Music Festival China: The Shanghai Midi Music Festival was staged at Shanghai Century Park from 21 -22 April this year. Over 18 international and local bands performed during the festival attracting thousands of music lovers.

KR 200, KO 70, KH 4 and KS 4 were used to project the beautiful music. The stage deejays wore Sennheiser HD 25-II or HD215 headphones and used Sennheiser evolution microphones. The audience enjoyed the music and danced freely with the beat.

The annual Midi Music Festival is one of the biggest and most famous music festivals in China. The first festival was held in 2000 in Beijing. Every year the festival has a theme.

This year, the theme was “PM2.5” which calls on people to protect the environment.

Sennheiser also provided 6 headphones including 4 sets of CX 95 and 2 sets of HD 228 White for the lucky draw at the game zone of the festival. The Sennheiser logo was displayed on the posters at each side of the electronic music stage and at the games zone.

As one of the sponsors, Sennheiser supported the electronic music stage “Yuan”. K-array speakers including KH15,

Full-range, 12-inch, two-way, bi-amplified speaker system, equipped with two Class-D amplifiers (900W EIAJ) and controlled by the newest Montarbo DSP processor which provides FIR filtering (Parallel Processing FIR alorithm) in order to provide our customers worldwide with the best solution.

HF driver with a 1” throat and a 1,4” voice coil. Wide dispersion (80°Hx60°V) constant directivity horn. Cascode Conversion for Dynamic Extension. Cabinet in birch plywood.

100% made in Italy. You gotta listen to how it sounds.

www.montarbo.com | www.palcoplus.com

www.sennheiser.com.hk

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NEWS

Stanley Community Hall

LDR and Macostar create lighting solution using LED and tungstenhalogen technology Hong Kong: Can LED and tungstenhalogen technology co-exist ? In terms of efficiency, LED lights are undoubtedly more efficient than halogen lights but in terms of performance (colour rendering, consistency of colours ) tungsten-halogen lights are better. LED lights can successfully be used in many applications but they have more restricted applications in theatres and TV studios.

Macostar’s Derek Chow and LDR’s Fabiano Besio have successfully combined conventional tungsten-halogen lamps and state-of-the-art LED technology developed

by Macostar to produce a lighting solution for two auditoriums in Hong Kong – Lei Tung and Stanley Community Hall.

acoustic & lighting system MALAYSIA Tel. +603 - 8075 8990 Fax. +603 - 8075 8266 Email. acoustic@alhq.com.my SINGAPORE Tel. +65 - 6423 0682 Fax. +65 - 6423 0683 Email. info@acousticnlighting.com THAILAND Tel. +662 - 769 8199 Fax. +662 - 769 8195 Email. veera@alhq.com.my INDONESIA Tel. +62 21 29078794 Fax. +62 21 29078968 Email. info@acousticnlighting.com

www.acousticlighting.com

“We often come across challenging projects,” commented Macostar VicePresident Francis Fung. “The Hong Kong Community Center decided to revamp the two auditoriums because their lighting was thought to be inadequate and outdated for current needs.”

In answer to this, a complete lighting solution based on a combination of LDR nota tungsten-halogen profiles, alba LED 200 W profiles and Macostar LED fresnels was provided. The Macostar LED fresnels and the wide beam alba LED profiles were positioned on top of the stage while the short beam angle alba LED 200W profiles were used on the front stage.

So far, these are the first two auditoriums in Hong Kong designed around LED and tungsten-halogen technology but LDR and Macostar expect to see more in future.

“The right light source in the right place is the secret and the correct combination of tungsten-halogen and LED lamps helped to provide the perfect solution. This is not an opinion but a matter of fact, “ said LDR cofounder Fabiano Besio. www.macostar.com www.ldr.it

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NEWS

Soundcheck benefits from HARMAN’s JBL VerTec® V5 DSP Preset Tunings

Soundcheck's JBL VERTEC line array system with the new V5 VERTEC preset tunings at the Coca-Cola Concert ng Bayan.

Philippines: Soundcheck is one of the Philippines’ top audio contractors and has handled the live sound for artists including Rihanna, Chris Brown, Incubus, Beyoncé, Linkin Park, Christina Aguilera and many others. The company has used HARMAN’s JBL VerTec® line arrays since their introduction, in situations from indoor corporate events to outdoor shows for major international touring acts.

Soundcheck just upgraded to JBL’s new V5 VerTec preset tunings and its clients are hearing the improvement.

acoustic & lighting system MALAYSIA Tel. +603 - 8075 8990 Fax. +603 - 8075 8266 Email. acoustic@alhq.com.my SINGAPORE Tel. +65 - 6423 0682 Fax. +65 - 6423 0683 Email. info@acousticnlighting.com THAILAND Tel. +662 - 769 8199 Fax. +662 - 769 8195 Email. veera@alhq.com.my INDONESIA Tel. +62 21 29078794 Fax. +62 21 29078968 Email. info@acousticnlighting.com

www.acousticlighting.com

“We installed the V5 DSP presets in all of the VerTec VT4888 and VT4888DP line arrays in our inventory, and in the speakers’ DrivePack DPDA input modules,” said Jaime Godinez, owner and chief engineer of Soundcheck. “After installing the V5 upgrade and testing the speakers by running pre-recorded music for them for hours, we sent them out for a major local show right away. We went through the show without a hitch—and have since done more than 60 shows with them including a few large open-air concerts.”

“When JBL introduced the V4 presets a few years ago I felt that they had given new life to the VerTec system. But the improvement offered by the V5 is even more significant,” Godinez continued. “The improvement in clarity, balance and coverage have made me fall in love with our audio system all over again. But most importantly, my clients are noticing the difference between our sound and that of the competition.”

“No comments I can give can adequately convey the experience of actually hearing the sonic improvements that V5 provides,

especially in an open-air environment,” Godinez noted. “I’ll try by giving one example. Last March, I was mixing the Coca-Cola Concert ng Bayan at the SM Mall of Asia, which celebrated 100 years of Coca-Cola in the Philippines. The concert featured around 20 performers and I brought 32 VerTec VT4888’s for the main front of house.”

“The sound was so transparent and ‘in your face’ that many times during the night I had to double-check to see whether my near-field monitors were off or on, as the sound from the VerTec arrays seemed to be coming from that close.”

Godinez pointed out that he has to add more gain to the VT4888’s using V5 to keep some mixing consoles from being driven too hot. “It’s just something you have to pay attention to,” he said. “With V5 you might have to make an adjustment to the gain of the DriveRack modules compared to the settings you’d use with the V4, to make sure the gain between the board, speakers and the rest of the system is optimized.”

“Another big benefit we found is that using the V5 presets enables us to set the systems up faster,” Godinez concluded.

In addition to their compatibility with JBL VerTec DrivePack® DPDA input modules, V5 preset tunings are available for Crown VRACK amplifier packages, JBL HiQnet Performance Manager™ and HARMAN HiQnet System Architect™ V3.0 software and the Powered by Crown system control app. www.harman.com

NEWS

CAE Cable appoints Acoustic & Lighting System as Malaysian distributor Malaysia: CAE Cable has appointed Acoustic & Lighting System (A&L) as its distributor in Malaysia. CAE GROUPE is a reputable and experienced cable maker from France, specializing in cables, connectors and assemblies for TV broadcasting, medical institutions, schools and concert halls.

Through this agreement, LCAE and S2CEB Cables that are widely used for audio-video broadcast, will be distributed in Malaysia to end users of the various industries. CAE Cables have been rigorously tested and certified by TEXTRONIX. Yeo Kim San, Chief Executive Officer of A&L, said, “Once again, A&L is very proud and honoured to welcome another reputable brand into our ever growing list of reliable, prominent and quality-driven brands. We look forward to distributing CAE Cables to our huge existing market of customers throughout Malaysia. We are confident that with the addition of CAE Cables, A&L will be further strengthened to serve our customers.”

Regional Sales Manager of CAE ASIA, Don Giam, has been overseeing the S2CEB distribution network in the Asia Pacific Region

for four years and was happy to welcome A&L into the fold. “A&L is not only well established and customer-focused, but they are very proactive in the market. We’re looking forward to working together for the long term,” he said.

CAE Cable’s list of products includes microphones, speakers, multi-pair, fiber optics and video cables. CAE also has their own range of connectors from XLR to BNC and pre-made cables. www.acousticlighting.com www.cae-groupe.com

Jack for all trades!

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NEWS

Total Solution's service department is a boon to the industry SINGAPORE: In 2005, Total Solution Marketing Pte Ltd made a bold decision to set-up a Service Department so as to provide after sales support to clients. This meant setting aside precious real estate space, investing in equipment and, more importantly, investing in personnel by sending them for training to be certified to carry out servicing.

Today the Service Department has grown from its initial two to eight, which includes two warehouse assistants who have also been trained to handle servicing. Almost 50% of the staff strength of Total Solution Marketing is up of their service department.

acoustic & lighting system MALAYSIA Tel. +603 - 8075 8990 Fax. +603 - 8075 8266 Email. acoustic@alhq.com.my SINGAPORE Tel. +65 - 6423 0682 Fax. +65 - 6423 0683 Email. info@acousticnlighting.com THAILAND Tel. +662 - 769 8199 Fax. +662 - 769 8195 Email. veera@alhq.com.my INDONESIA Tel. +62 21 29078794 Fax. +62 21 29078968 Email. info@acousticnlighting.com

www.acousticlighting.com

“We always knew that every customer gets frustrated with equipment downtime as it means they cannot get a return on their asset investment. However this became more evident to us when we started our own LED rental division in 2004. We felt the exact frustrations our clients felt as we had the gear but we could not optimise it on some occasions due to repairs downtime.

From then on we were determined to invest heavily to build up our own service center despite knowing that this will primarily be a cost center to our organisation.

Most importantly we wanted to provide an additional assurance to our clients in ensuring that any equipment downtime is minimised and to provide periodical maintenance so as to ensure that their equipment lifespan is extended. I believe

we have been vindicated with our decision as it has proven to be a boon for our customers,” says Glenn Wong, Managing Director of Total Solution Marketing Pte Ltd. Service Technicians are sent to the respective factories for product training and learning to trouble shoot problems.

Today, the service department is currently the Authorised Service Centre for Vari*Lite, Robert Juliet, Avolites, ChainMaster, Selecon Lighting, Strand Lighting, Le Maitre, Chromalux LED, Longman and Coolux.

“Our service department stocks a full range of spare parts. Together with the services provided by our trained technicians, clients are served very quickly. There is less waiting time for spare parts to arrive from the manufacturer's offices or for that matter to send the equipment to the manufacturer as we are fully capable of handling any faulty equipment. This has translated into higher customer confidence in purchasing solutions from us,” says Glenn.

“We must pay tribute to our technicians as well. They are very customer serviceoriented and have good working attitudes as there are times where they have had to respond promptly to last minute support requests.” www.tsm-int.com

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Harting unleashes Ha-VIS preLink

HARTING Ha-VIS preLink® offers a new installation concept for data network cabling according to ISO/IEC 1180.1, ideally suited to heavy duty theatre Backstage and Upstage usage areas. This technology simplifies cabling, saves installation time and enables extensions and conversions without

incurring significant interruptions of existing operations. The data cable is first assembled in the preLink® termination block which then simply snaps into the preLink® standard RJ45 jacks or optional HARTING plug modules. The preLink® cables can either be terminated in the field or factory supplied pre-terminated in a reliable, performance guaranteed, pretested state – the link before the link – the Ha-VIS preLink®. Installation flexibility is enhanced by easy replacement and drag through in narrow ducting of the small crosssection preLink® cables, allowing future-proof upgrades from Cat 5 100 Mbit/s up to Cat 6 EA 10G performance.

HARTING offers a patch panel for installation in 19” cabinets or frames in accordance with IEC/DIN EN 60297-3-100 (DIN 41494-1). Up to 24 individual Ha-VIS preLink® RJ45 socket

modules or RJ Industrial® 10G couplers can be mixed-loaded into the patch panel. The users benefit from the flexibility that allows them to decide for themselves whether they want to work with pre-terminated cables or patch cables. To complete the theatre installation solution options HARTING also offers a HaVIS preLink® IP 20/30 AP Box for mounting on walls and pillars. It is even possible to mount on DIN rails acc. DIN EN 60715. The AP Box simply consists of two housing sections and preLink® RJ45 modules. The AP Box is preassembled and is quick and easy to install.

Cables can be fed in from above or below.

Both RJ45 ports have angled outlets and can be labeled. www.harting.com.sg

Community redefines the Column Line-Array – again!

Community’s new ENTASYS 200 redefines performance for small format column line array loudspeakers by utilizing a twoway design, complex frequency shaded LF crossover networks, and the proprietary “ENTASYS” convex-curve HF to provide unrivaled intelligibility, output, and consistent beamwidth up to 16kHz. ENTASYS 200 is a versatile family of attractive, affordable, easy-to-install two-way column line-array loudspeakers for indoor and outdoor use. There are four ENTASYS 200 models ranging from the smaller ENT203 and ENT206, designed for delay fill and confined spaces, to the larger ENT212, and the extended-length ENT220, tall enough to provide solid control of the LF beamwidth without the need for additional columns or external LF extensions. All four models have well-controlled and consistent dispersion characteristics, minimizing the reflections that hinder intelligibility and performance.

ENTASYS 200 loudspeakers have the sonic definition, intelligibility, and output needed to directly replace point-and-shoot loudspeakers in many applications.

Usable both indoors and out, each ENTASYS 200 model can fulfill an exceptionally wide range of applications. All models include a 70V / 100V internal low-distortion autoformer for constant-voltage applications and a pan-andtilt mounting bracket.

Like the original groundbreaking three-way ENTASYS column, the new ENTASYS 200

loudspeakers are attractively designed in an architectural compact shape and can be ordered in black or white finishes. The durable polymer enclosure may easily be painted by the installer to match specific room décor.

Community’s highly-advanced crossover technology and proprietary physical driver design provide the same consistent, nonnarrowing beamwidth control first found

in the original ENTASYS. The two larger ENTASYS 200 models also employ multiway LF frequency shading to achieve lowfrequency pattern control and consistently wide midrange vertical beamwidths. All models benefit from excellent intelligibility while maintaining exceptionally flat phase and frequency response. www.communitypro.com

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ENNOVATIONS

Barco releases ‘light-on-demand’ projectors for rental and staging

HDF-W22

HDF-W26

Barco have added three heavy-duty and high-definition three-chip DLP projectors to its rental portfolio. The brand-new HDF-W22 offers 22,000 lumens light output, the HDF-W26 clocks in at 26,000 lumens and the HDQ-2K40 generates no less than 40,000 lumens. What’s more, Barco’s previously released HDX-W18, HDF-W26 and HDQ-2K40 projectors will be available with a unique adjustable brightness feature later this year.

Thanks to this ‘light-on-demand’ technology, rental partners have full flexibility to tune the light output of their projector to the specific needs of their customer’s event.

“By adding three new members to our rental projector fleet, we now cover the entire spectrum of large venue projectors, ranging from 10,000 to 40,000 lumens light output,” says Wim Buyens, Senior Vice President of Barco’s Entertainment division. “So, we can meet virtually any customer requirement in the highly demanding rental and staging industry. What’s more, thanks to our unique light-on-demand technology, rental companies can standardize their fleet on a few projector models, tune the light output to the requirements of the event and limit the running cost of their projector fleet.”

Thanks to the innovative light-on-demand technology, rental companies will only need three projector models to generate any brightness level from 10,000 lumens right up to 40,000 lumens. In this way, they have full flexibility to tune an event to their customers’ needs with the smallest possible rental fleet.

Barco rental partners can maximize both client satisfaction and return on investment. When programmed to output lower light levels, the lamp will, of course, have a longer lifetime.

The heavy-duty HDF and HDQ projectors are built for the live event industry and have been designed with the road in mind. Thanks to their rugged metal chassis, extended wireless control features, built-in image processing technology, preview mode and Xenon lamp, these high-brightness projectors are perfect for large venues and events.

The projectors equipped with the light-ondemand technology can be programmed for a specific light output using Barco’s Projector Toolset software or by entering a specific code in the user menu on the projector. When combined with the optional GSM module, users can adjust the light output remotely by simply sending a text message (SMS) with the code to the projector.

Like the HDX projector family, the new HDF and HDQ projectors are equipped with on-board image processing technology that’s based on Barco’s renowned ImagePRO signal processor with Athena scaler, offering high-quality and flexible scaling capabilities. A reference in the events market, the state-of-the-art image processing technology boosts creativity and decreases the time it takes to get sources on screen the way users want. All of Barco’s HD rental projectors – including the HDX, HDF and HDQ families – are equipped with Xenon lamps and a high-contrast optical engine that

guarantee vivid colors and present audiences with crisp, stunning images on every occasion.

The HDF-W22 and HDF-W26 come with a WUXGA (1920x1200) resolution, while the ultra-bright HDQ-2K40 offers a 2K (2048x1080) resolution. The projectors are controlled via a user-friendly, built-in colour LCD screen with a preview mode – or, users can easily control their projector via a smart phone or tablet computer. And, thanks to the straightforward user interface, they can be set up in no time.

The HDF projectors will be commercially available as of Q3 2012, while the HDQ will be available as of Q4 2012. The Barco light-ondemand technology will be available through a simple firmware upgrade as of Q4 2012. www.barco.com

HDQ-2K40.jpg

ENNOVATIONS

ETC begins shipping Sensor3 Power Control ETC has begun supplying its latest style of power control product, Sensor3, which was specifically introduced to address the changing needs of venues.

Reaching the market at the same time as mainstream LED lighting fixtures, such as ETC’s Source Four LED, the ThruPower modules are designed to work with Sensor3 to provide a perfect power control solution for the growing variety of loads, allowing selection of constant, dim or relay modes.

ThruPower modules are a convenient, multi-configurable solution for modern theatres. Venues which already have Sensor and Sensor+ dimming systems can simply upgrade to the latest CEM3 processor.

The CEM3 processor provides good Sensor3’s integrated design means fewer immunity to mains power disturbances parts for fewer failures, while plug-in like voltage and frequency fluctuations and modularity allows for more configurability, each channel of the ThruPower modules has customisation and easy maintenance. The an in-built RCD breaker. Sensor3’s RideThru new processor unit adds a larger graphical and BatteryPack options ensure power to display and a numeric keypad, making the CEM3 processor if the mains power system setup and management simpler fails. The system configuration is backed E-Tech PLCyc half May 2012 20/4/12 2:55 PMup Page 1 processors on the network, on other than ever.

meaning that any processor replacement is quick and easy. “Sensor3 Power Control is ideal for theatres, broadcast studios, concert and performance halls – be they newly designed or retrofits,” concludes Product Manager Jake Dunnum. www.etcconnect.com

A new dawn in stage lighting.

Introducing the PLCyc1 LED luminaire The Philips Selecon PLCyc1 LED seamlessly blends intense washes of colour on your cyclorama. Using LED source technology combined with a properly shaped asymmetrical reflector, the PLCyc1 delivers consistent light distribution without the compromising performance of vertical or horizontal spreader lenses.

For more information, go to www.seleconlight.com

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ENNOVATIONS

HARMAN’s AKG Perception headphones expand on leading Perception Microphone Series

K44

With a large selection of microphones, ranging from dynamic models, condensers and wireless solutions for the stage and recording, HARMAN’s AKG’s Perception Series has built a strong reputation for quality, providing highvalue to artists, producers and engineers since its launch in 2005. AKG’s new Perception Headphone series extends the Perception line, offering an entire range of solutions for enthusiastic musicians and engineers. Three new headphone models, the K44 Perception, K77 Perception and K99 Perception, deliver AKG sound quality, a great design and comfort level at an affordable price.

“It is AKG’s continued mission to offer the greatest in professional audio to industry professionals and the Perception line completes our range of affordable, highquality headphones and microphones,” stated Thomas Stubics, product marketing manager, recording and broadcast, AKG. “The Perception Headphones Series offers musicians a vast range of opportunities when choosing the perfect head piece for their respective needs.

All three over-ear models provide powerful,

K77

clear sound for accurate listening experiences in the studio or in live settings.”

The over-ear, semi-closed design of the K44 Perception provides a powerful low end and clean highs for an excellent sound, ranging from project studios to home recording. The K77 Perception is an over-ear, semi-closed headphone with powerful and convincing sound at an amazing value – ready to use for home or project studios. Both products include comfortable leatherette ear pads and a self-adjusting headband for extended wear, without discomfort and a 3-meter fixed, straight cable and convertible jack.

K99’s high-performance, over-ear, semi-open headphones combine excellent sound quality with an astounding price-to-performance ratio. Its large, 40mm speakers provide a natural, uncoloured sound, ideal for the studio. K99 Perception is lightweight and selfadjusting for a pleasant fit for long sessions. www.akg.com www.harman.com

K99

ENNOVATIONS

33

Powersoft releases Armonia 2.3.0.

Since its first release in 2009, Armonía Pro Audio Suite™ has been a new and unique bouquet of tools dedicated to significantly improving sonic performance and system reliability. The software is designed for remote control and monitoring of Powersoft amplifiers. System engineers can easily perform on-line or off-line system set-up and tuning, real-time management and monitoring of all vital functions from a remote PC via a single intuitive graphical user interface.

The brand new Armonía 2.3.0. release includes a set of features that improves both usability and increases integration with the Powersoft product portfolio. Thanks to the improvement of the Graphic User Interface, Armonía can easily control and monitor a complex system in a smarter way.

LivingWorkspace™ is a component that allows a quick overview of the whole system status on the workspace obtaining information about signal presence, muting, gain reduction and clipping instantaneously. Link state and alarms state are also visible looking at the amplifiers’ icons (border and background respectively).

It is now possible to identify the amplifiers at a glance directly from the “Remote Entities” window.

Using the same window it is easy to check the firmware version and to receive notifications in order to keep the amplifiers always updated.

There is complete integration of the Powersoft rack amplifiers product portfolio with the M Series and the Ottocanali in their DSP version.

Powersoft power modules have also been integrated allowing control and monitoring of a mixed system consisting of passive and active speakers with the common Powersoft Class-D technology.

The Network Manager allows quick and easy handling of a multi-network interface through functions of device start, stop and discover.

A terrific effort has been made to provide users with a simple tool allowing monitoring and control of a complex system from a single window as this is mandatory in real-time touring applications or in large permanent installations.

“We consider this release a milestone in the development of Armonía,” stated Claudio Lastrucci, R&D director of Powersoft. “A further challenge in creating software which allows system engineers to efficiently maximize interaction between amplifiers and loudspeakers.”

Armonía 2.3.0. Pro Audio Suite™ is now available for download from http://www. powersoft-audio.com/aforum/. www.powersoft-audio.com

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ENNOVATIONS

CHAUVET® introduces powerful COLORado™ Zoom Tour

CHAUVET has announced a new addition to the popular COLORado™ series, the COLORado™ Zoom Tour high-powered wash luminaire. COLORado™ Zoom Tour features a variable eight- to 28-degree zoom that serves to highlight specific areas or flood the stage with light. Its massive output, produced from thirty-seven 2- and 3-watt RGBW LEDs, outshines everything in its class. COLORado™ Zoom Tour is capable of even colour mixing at close range and features built-in color temperature presets for quick access to pre-

mixed shades of white. COLORado™ Zoom Tour has secure Neutrik® powerCON® in-andout, as well as direct three- and five-pin DMX input and output connectors.

Two variants of the COLORado™ Zoom Tour, COLORado™ Zoom WW Tour and COLORado™ Zoom CW Tour incorporate warm and cool white LEDs for better, purer whites and increased selection of colour temperatures — from warm and inviting ambient lighting to crisp and cold shades. COLORado™ Zoom

WW Tour has 30 warm and seven cool white LEDs to emulate an incandescent light source, while COLORado™ Zoom CW Tour has 30 cool and seven warm white LEDs to mix seamlessly with ARC-source fixtures. Both fixtures have a colour temperature range of 3,400K to 5,700K, with COLORado™ Zoom CW Tour the brightest at 5,700K and COLORado™ Zoom WW Tour at 3,400K. www.chauvetlighting.com

HARMAN’s JBL Professional introduces AWC82 and AWC129 Compact All-Weather Loudspeakers At InfoComm 2012, HARMAN’s JBL Professional introduced the AWC Series of compact, allweather loudspeaker systems, bringing worldclass sound quality and high sound level capability to today’s outdoor applications. The AWC Series’ wide-range, smooth frequency response and high sensitivity ensure highfidelity music reproduction and superb projection of clear, intelligible speech.

The AWC82 is a very compact, 8-inch, 2-way coaxial speaker with compression-driver high frequency, wide 120 x 120-degree coverage and 250 Watts power handling. The AWC129 is a 12-inch, 2-way coaxial speaker, also with compression-driver high frequency, focused 90 x 90-degree coverage, and 400 Watts of power handling. Both speakers can be operated as direct low-impedance (8 ohm) or on a 70V or 100V distributed line via built-in 200 Watt low saturation, multi-tap transformers.

Components feature Kevlar® reinforced lowfrequency drivers and high frequency compression drivers with a unique patented design and high temperature polymer diaphragm for high output levels with low distortion.

Enclosures come in light grey or black and are paintable to match the requirements of the application. AWC components are highly weather-treated and a 3-layer grille with vapour-barrier backing minimizes direct rain contact with the system transducers. The recessed terminal compartment is protected by a panel cover and a water-tight gland nut fitting. A U-bracket is included. The system’s IP-56 outdoor rating and wide, smooth frequency response makes JBL’s AWC speakers ideal for projects such as racetracks, school stadiums, theme parks, fairgrounds, skating rinks and swimming facilities, as well as for arenas, general public address and a variety of other indoor and outdoor applications.

“The high power 8-inch and 12-inch lowfrequency drivers, derived from JBL’s Control 328 and Control 322 high power, large format in-ceiling systems, combined with a new generation of compression driver, utilize the internally contoured pole piece and the entire driver cone to form a large diameter waveguide for the high frequencies,” said Rick Kamlet, Senior Marketing Manager, Commercial Installed Sound, JBL Professional.

The AWC129WT

“Those factors, along with high-slope crossovers, provide exceptionally consistent pattern control from a very compact system.

These coaxial drivers allow these speakers to be extremely compact while really packing a punch in both sound level and audio quality.” www.harman.com

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35

SoundTube introduces “Weather Extreme” Surface-Mount Speakers SoundTube Entertainment has introduced a line of premium “Weather Extreme” outdoor surfacemount speakers, the SMiWX series. Offering the same high performance and ease of installation as the company’s SMi offerings, the SM500i-II-WX, SM590i-II-WX and SM890i-WX speakers are designed to withstand wet weather conditions even under direct exposure.

The SM890i-WX speakers

All SoundTube speakers with WX technology are built using non-corrosive materials (stainless steel or aluminum) for all exposed metal components including grilles, screws and mounting systems. The speakers also feature WX Weather Guard™, a dual layer hydrophobic material inside the speaker grille designed to keep water from the drivers and internal electronics in even the most extreme weather conditions. The material greatly reduces water penetration through grille openings without compromising sound quality or performance and has been granted an IP44 rating.

The SM890i-WX is an 8” high-SPL surface-mount speaker with an 8 inch treated fiber driver and an offset 1.42 inch compression horn.

The speaker’s patented BroadBeamHP® waveguide technology delivers a consistent dispersion pattern for maximum intelligibility and edge-to-edge coverage. A proprietary tool-free Stealth™ bracket with an integrated internal wedge cam allows stable and precise aiming from 0 to 90 degrees. The speaker includes a 150-watt low insertion loss transformer and an easily accessed six-position tap switch for 25-, 70.7- and 100 volt operation plus transformer bypass. The SM890i-WX is UL 1480 UEAY listed.

The SM590i-II-WX is a 5.25” high-power coaxial surface-mount speaker with a 5.25 inch polypropylene woofer and a 1 inch hornloaded convex titanium dome tweeter mounted to a proprietary cast-aluminum baffle and heat sink. Its BroadBeam HP technology and 87.5 dB average sensitivity offers high output capabilities with superior high-frequency dispersion. An easy-access six-position tap switch allows quick selection of 25-70.7- and 100-volt applications with transformer bypass. A new SoundTube-exclusive bracket mounting system with vertical and horizontal pivoting allows the SM590i-II-WX to be aimed anywhere within the installation space.

The SM500i-II-WX is a 5.25-inch coaxial surface-mount speaker with a 5.25 inch polypropylene woofer and a 1-inch convex titanium tweeter with FerroFluid™ cooling. Its patented BroadBeam® waveguide technology delivers a consistent dispersion pattern up to 10 kHz. SoundTube’s proprietary bracket mounting system with vertical and horizontal pivoting allow the SM500i-II-WX to be aimed anywhere within the installation space. A six-position tap switch is provided. www.soundtube.com

36

MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVES

Silvano Latteo

President D.T.S. Illuminazione srl

Since it was founded in June 1980, DTS Lighting has grown considerably. The Italian company started in a 1,000 square metre facility making lamps for domestic use and commercial spaces but it now occupies a 12,000 square metre production facility in Misano Adriatico producing a range of 25 product lines and over 400 articles suitable for all uses.

Much of this success stems from the vision and drive of its President, Silvano Latteo. In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Technology Asia Magazine, Latteo talked about his background in the lighting industry, the philosophy behind the design of the company’s products and the secret behind their success.

ETA: Why did you decide to enter the professional lighting business?

SL: Call it Italian entrepreneurial spirit.

We founded DTS and started work in June 1980, in a 1000 m2 facility, making lamps for commercial spaces. Refining our production capacities, we became the suppliers of several giants in the lighting technology sector. This

collaboration meant achieving very high standards of precision in the construction of optical units and other critical components of lighting systems.

At that time, we were four young brothers with the shared passion of helping D.T.S. grow and of creating our own products. For us, every target we reached became a new starting point. So we invested everything we had, setting up our own R&D department, expanding our facilities and buying our first numerical-control machines. It was a bet that paid off.

ETA: What is the philosophy behind the design of DTS Lighting’s products?

SL: D.T.S. is an Italian company. D.T.S. products are 100% designed, engineered, manufactured and assembled at the D.T.S. plant in Italy using the latest design tools available and advanced automation, including numerical-control machines and robots. So, I dare say that each D.T.S. product embodies ultimate technology and unique Italian styling.

ETA: What are the reasons for the success of your company?

SL: I believe that one of the main reasons is that D.T.S. is perceived as a reliable partner, not just as a producer. Selling a hi-tech product means offering a value that goes beyond the product itself. That’s why D.T.S. provides professional consulting for the choice of the best products for different needs, and an acknowledged comprehensive after-sales assistance.

ETA: D.T.S. manufactures a wide range of products. Is there a product that you are particularly fond of?

SL: Today D.T.S. addresses both professional and architectural markets, offering a range of 25 product lines and over 400 articles suitable for all uses, from concerts to clubs and from theatres to architectural installations. Usually, the latest products that you designed are the ones you are most proud of.

Take the new high-power compact moving head, JACK. It embodies the radically new 3-fixtures-into-one concept that we launched: no need for a range of lights (Wash / Spot / Beam); the JACK does it all, from longthrow projections to large wall washing. The custom-designed zoom actually allows any application. In fact, the beam opening goes from 1° to 46°. Also, JACK weighs only 11.9 kg.

The market has acknowledged that JACK is a really innovative product. It’s become a bestseller in a matter of weeks.

D.T.S. Products are designed, manufactured and assembled in Italy

The JACK

ULTIMATE TECHNOLOGY UNIQUE ITALIAN STYLING

T E H Z I G I 1 G L 0 R 2 1 R E G U R N E YOCK - N JA

G I R

JODBLY L NA IEN

IO CO-FR S S FE • E

ROR-LIGHT P A E

R • SUP O F S GE

N RAN O I T LU OOM

SO-WIDE Z L NA RA

IO T • EXT S S FE IGH

PRUOLTRA-BR •

JACK

3 fixtures in one (Beam / Spot / Wash)

In Hong Kong: D.T.S. Illuminazione Asia Limited Flat 5, 8/F, Harbour Industrial Centre, 10 Lee Hing Street, Ap Lei Chau, Hong Kong.

Tel. +852 3113 4101 - Fax. +852 3113 4103 info@dts-lighting.hk

In Singapore: D.T.S. Lighting Singapore Pte Ltd 182 Gul Circle Singapore 629630 Tel:+65 68633400 - Fax:+65 68632280 www.dtslighting.com

NRG 1201

From PC Beam to very wide Wash projection

Head Office: D.T.S. Illuminazione srl Via Fagnano Selve, 10-12-14 - 47843 Misano Adriatico (RN) Italy - Tel. +39 0541611131 Fax +39 0541 611111 - www.dts-lighting.it info@dts-lighting.it

38

MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVES

D.T.S. Lighting was involved in the National Day Parade in Singapore

ETA: What are D.T.S.’s goals for the Asian market in terms of sales, turnover and brand image? How do you intend to achieve these goals?

SL: We are quite successful in many important Asian countries. Our goal is to further improve the brand awareness. We are doing it with the support of our local distributors, and by appointing new dealers where needed. We also conduct many technical seminars in the region. The relationships with new, important companies improves our credibility as reliable partners. We also are involved in big installation projects that give us wide visibility in the Far East.

On the contrary, copies of your products shouldn’t be allowed under any circumstance.

The best way to protect our intellectual and technological properties against copying is by patenting any valuable innovation. On this matter, the Chinese government could maybe take a stronger position to abide by the international rules.

ETA: DTS Lighting has been involved in events throughout Asia such as The National Day Parade in Singapore. How do these events help to enhance DTS Lighting’s branding and image?

The Asia market is very stimulating, because the scope of the projects ae often very big, and the technological and artistic standards are usually very high.

SL: Joining those big projects with our products and with on-site technical support give us wide visibility in the Far East. We take into account that very often hundreds of D.T.S. fixtures are installed in a single show. Their continuous performance and reliability under the harshest conditions is the best publicity we could get. One of our most valuable assets in this field is the collaboration with Showtec Communications, and the close relationship with Henry Ang, Showtec's President.

ETA: Does D.T.S. experience problems with companies making copies of your products?

What is D.T.S. doing to address these problems?

ETA: With the rising cost of labour, does D.T.S. intend to continue to manufacture their products in Italy or are you going to establish a manufacturing facility in Asia?

SL: It’s normal that when you market an innovative product, other companies take a close look at it. It’s part of the game.

SL: Definitely not. Our firm belief is that resources, production procedures and internal

ETA: Do you face any problems or challenges doing business in Asia?

SL: We always see opportunities, instead of problems: it’s a positive state of mind.

organization must always be oriented towards total customer satisfaction. That can only be attained through very high product quality.

Keeping the whole production process inhouse lets us have a firm control over quality.

ETA: Do you think LED lamps can completely replace discharge or halogen lamps in the future?

SL: Some time ago it looked like LED sources would soon replace discharge lamps. But after the latest developments in discharge lamps, with new models such as the 5R and the 15R, that provide high levels of luminosity and reasonably low power consumption, the game is still open. Having taken into account the parallel improvements in the LED’s power, I believe that LEDs will replace discharge lamps, but over quite a long period.

ETA: What are your predictions for the future of the lighting industry?

SL: The future of the lighting industry depends more and more on innovation. Our goal is to develop and market smart fixtures that dramatically upgrade the way you light. www.dts-lighting.it

exhibition preview

39

Announcement

Date of exhibition has been shifted from August to 04-06 October 2012 Venue: Marina Bay Sands, Hall A, Singapore Dates: 04 – 06 October 2012 (Thur-Sat) Opening Hours: 11am on all three days Closing Hours: 8pm on first two days and 6pm on last day Inaugural exhibition technologies segment

provides

Almost anyone involved in the audio, visual and lighting industry will agree that the “Houses of Worship” segment has seen significant growth over the last few years.

Installing audio and lighting systems in a place of worship is not new but the sophistication of the systems that are being installed is. This phenomenon has also reached the shores of South-east Asia. Effect lighting systems, full-fledged broadcasting capabilities, highly sophisticated audio systems as well as digital signage systems, LED screens, high-end projectors and projection screens are now being specified for worship venues.

With so many distractions in the world today, capturing the attention of worshippers has become even more critical. Worship venues are embracing audio,visual and lighting technologies to ensure that their message is being heard. There are also more practical reasons. For a smaller venue that may not have sufficient capacity to accommodate all

networking

and

knowledge

worshippers or during special ceremonies where the overflow of worshippers has to be taken into consideration, audio and visual technologies play a critical role.

The equipment by themselves only provide half the solution. Operating the system to get the best out of the system is the other half of the solution. In almost all instances operating of the audio, visual and lighting system in a worship venue is handled by volunteers.

Training and keeping them updated will ensure that the systems are operated optimally.

Thus the inaugural Houses of Worship Technologies Asia conference and exhibition provides a platform for the introduction of technologies, knowledge upgrading opportunities through manufacturer training as well as independent seminars and networking opportunities. As a dedicated segment exhibition, visitors can be assured that the focus of the exhibitors, exhibits and

platform

for

growing

worship

the conferences are tailored to their needs. It is an opportunity not to be missed.

Seminar and Conference progamme Complementing the exhibition are a range of seminar and conference programmes, which visitors can take advantage of. These includes basic lectures on audio video and lighting which are useful for volunteers who are just getting into operating the various systems. There is also a topic on setting up of a Mosque Sound system by Ahmad Tekin Topuzdag from Saudi Arabia who has been involved in a number of prestigious mosque sound installations. Another topic of interest is the conference and panel discussion on Church Worship Technology Systems Design and Implementation. There will also be on the exhibit floor demonstrations and talks by manufacturers held regularly. For fuller details please visit the website.

40

exhibition preview

HOUSES OF WORSHIP SEMINAR SERIES Advancing learning, upgrading of skills and updating of technology Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

As houses of worship explore different forms of outreach to bring the message to their media and technology-saturated members, they search for new products, new innovation and fresh ideas. Worship facilities mature into larger facilities and implement use of technology to remain culturally relevant and communicate directly to today’s congregations.

They create further developments, additional projects, and seek consultancy from experts.

Consequently, these houses of worship need to train their volunteers and staff members how these new technologies work. Often, these volunteers and staff members are asked to operate available technologies as a means for them to serve.

However, these people may not always have the proper skills to effectively use the equipment they are charged with.

Houses of Worship Technologies Asia 2012

provides the industry with an ideal platform that will educate and train worship teams on the use of today’s technologies for houses of worship.

Complementing the exhibition are a range of seminar programmes, which visitors can take advantage of. All sessions and discussions are dedicated to everyone from new volunteers to seasoned professionals and are aimed to provide basic learning and advanced methodologies on how to deliver the worship message the best way possible at the houses of worship.

Featuring professional musicians, engineers, producers, and consultants who have worked with thousands of places of worship in the region who are uniquely qualified to train sound and praise teams of any congregation, this 3-day seminar will surely help volunteers in worship technology systems to communicate and facilitate worship more effectively.

Highlights • The only event focused in houses of worship in the Asia Pacific • Basic instructional classes on audio console, miking, lighting system design, camera skills, and planning and designing the audiovisual systems • Advanced courses on multisite, lighting effects and broadcast installation - tailored for those who are exploring to update and renovate their existing systems • Special segment for the mosque sound system and a mosque’s specialists panel discussion to be facilitated by Mr. Ahmad Tekin Topuzdag of Saudi Arabia • Special segment for the church technology system and a church’s specialists panel discussion to be facilitated by Mr. Robert Soo of Singapore • Un-paralleled speaker panel • A wide choice of sessions across three days: 2 hour-lectures, panel discussions, case studies and expert opinions www.housesofworshiptech.com

42

EXHIBITION REVIEW

PALM Expo China 2012 Review With a new venue, an impressive track record and new highlights to attract visitors, PALM Expo China 2012, which was held from 24 – 27 May 2012, appeared to be set for an impressive showing. However, some exhibitors and visitors left the show feeling a little underwhelmed. Most of their comments were centred on the Expo’s new venue, the New China International Exhibition Centre in Beijing, which drew praise and criticism from the thousands of attendees.

PALM Expo China 2012 was moved to its new venue for 2012 because the previous venue, the China International Exhibition Centre, which was closer to the heart of the city, was scheduled to be torn down. “The new venue is the largest, newest and most advanced exhibition hall in Beijing. With more than 200,000 sqm of exhibiting space and modern facilities, it is ideal to accomodate the show’s expansion this year,” said Juri Tan, Exhibitions Director for IIR Exhibitions Pte Ltd, the jointorganisers of the Expo.

Many exhibitors agreed that the new venue’s modern structure, better facilities and spaceefficient layout were an improvement over the previous venue. “The new venue is more spacious and cleaner than the previous venue.

It also has better facilities, a more consolidated layout and more restaurants. The seminar rooms were also decent,” said Wynne Cheung, General Manager for ETC Asia.

Jens Poehlker, Sales Director for MA Lighting Asia Pacific, concurred with that opinion. “I think the exhibition halls are very well suited.

The previous grounds were a little scattered with halls here and there. They were also a little old and dusty. You also have a train station here which is something that impressed me.

This new venue has a very good environment, I have to say, so congratulations to the organisers for this.”

However, some exhibitors felt that the venue’s location, which is about a 40-minute drive from the heart of the city, was a deterrent for some international exhibitors. “This location doesn’t offer us the opportunity to take our customers out for dinner or sightseeing because we are far from the city. For this reason, some international exhibitors are not here,” said Fabiano Besio, co-founder of Italian lighting company LDR. “When you organise an exhibition, these factors have to be taken into consideration,” he added.

Some exhibitors were also unhappy with the lack of transportation options to the new exhibition venue. Although it was closer to the airport than the previous venue, the remoteness of the location meant that some visitors found it difficult to find taxis to take them from the venue to their hotels or to the city. “I believe that any exhibition has to take into account transportation to and from the exhibition venue. In this case, the

transportation options are rather limited,” said Besio.

Michael Muenz, General Manager – Asia, of GLP German Light Products, also bemoaned the transportation problems at the new venue. “The transportation system was bad around the Expo,” he said. “Sure, there is a train station close by but the taxi system, especially, was not organised at all. Taxi drivers were asking rediculously high prices and some didn’t even want to drive you to some locations that were too close to the Expo.”

In response to the comments about the transportation situation around the new Expo, IIR Exhibitions Managing Director Rosalind Ng, commented, “We had organised shuttle buses from all the official hotels to the exhibition centre as well as 40 shuttle bus pick ups at the train stations from the city to the show venue.

However, it appears that it is insufficient due to the high traffic so we will have to increase the number of shuttle bus pick ups next year.

We will also look into ensuring more publicity for the shuttle bus services as many may not have been aware if it. There are always teething problems when going to a new venue. I would also like to highlight that with regards to the venue, we did not have much choice as some halls at the old venue have already been torn down thus it was not able to accommodate our space needs. Palm Expo has grown by 30% this year, from 85,000 sqm

EXHIBITION REVIEW to 110,000 sqm, and therefore we had no choice but to move to this new hall which has good infrastructure compared to the old halls, although the service standards of the venue need further improvement. There are also no other venues in Beijing that has the space that can accommodate exhibitions that are over 100,000 sqm.”

According to IIR, a total of 47,013 unique visitors attended compared to 50,571 last year with a total visitorship of 156,378 and 211,000 respectively. The drop in revisits is likely due to the travel distance to the venue. However, over time, the organisers feel that attendees will become more familiar with the venue and this should improve.

There were some exhibitors who felt that the remoteness and inaccessibility of the new exhibition venue may have had an impact on the quality of visitors to the show. “There are better facilities in China than this here,” said Harry von den Stemmen, Sales Director for ROBE lighting. “I can also add that our distributors have commented that the quality of the visitors is not as good as last year.

They tell me that there are more visitors in a generic way but the ones that were expected to be here are not attending.”

To encourage visits to the exhibition IIR had some new initiatives this year - the hosted buyers program and the business matching program which was a success in match-making buyers and sellers at the show and to attract more quality visitors. Both exhibitors and visitors participating in this business matching service find it invaluable as it helps to connect buyers and sellers on the show floor allowing business meetings to be scheduled both on line and on-site. Other major activities that took place was the China Entertainment Technology Association Annual Industry Meeting that gathers over 1000 distributors, manufacturers and end users from all over China in addition to several technical seminars and conference which were held throughout the exhibition as well as the Outdoor Line Array Demonstration.

The Opening Ceremony

Muenz also felt that the remote location may have had an impact on the number of visitors to the show. “The show itself was very quiet in my opinion. The first day was good. It was busy all day long and there were lots of interesting and highly professional customers as well as a lot of our international customers from other countries. The remaining days were much more quiet. Maybe the remote location had an impact but I think overall, the number of visitors was less than previous years.”

In spite of this, some exhibitors thought otherwise. They were generally pleased with the quality and quantity of the visitors.

Stephen Huang, Managing Director of MILOS Guangzhou Co. Ltd., commented that this year’s PALM Expo was one of the best yet in terms of quality and quantity of visitors.

The MILOS team saw many professionals, individuals and companies working in rental and staging, together with owners, operators and managers from all types of venues and installations. About 80 per cent of the new contacts were from China.

To some international exhibitors, the most troubling part was the preponderence of local companies exhibiting copies of their products. Muenz commented, “One scary thing, for an innovative manufacturer as we are, was of course to see again a number of local manufacturers exhibiting nothing else but copies. It is sad to see you cannot stop them.”

Von den Stemmen also noticed that there were many manufacturers making copies of ROBE's products. “You see many direct copies of our fixtures here. At least 20 companies here are making copies of our products.”

Søren Storm, Managing Director of Martin Professional Pte Ltd, commented “We prefer not to exhibit in shows where copies of our products are exhibited.”

In response to this, IIR contends that there are measures in place to prevent the infringement of intellectual property rights.

Firstly, all exhibitors are required to sign an IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) contract before they are allowed to exhibit at the show. According to this contract, exhibitors are required to withdraw from the exhibition and remove all their exhibits if they are found guilty of infringing on the intellectual property rights of another company's products by the IPR officials. Secondly, all exhibitors at the

43

show are subject to the Protection Measures for Intellectual Property Rights during Exhibitions as established by the Government of the People's Republic of China. Thirdly, to ensure that PALM Expo's buyers are buying from authorised agents, PALM Expo prints and distributes the International Brands and Authorised Agents Listing (IBAA) Handbook to visitors during the exhibition to highlight to visitors the original manufacturers’ products.

IIR Exhibitions, Managing Director Rosalind Ng states that as Organisers, “we try our best to put measures in place to prevent copy products at the event, and help companies to understand the local laws and procedures, and have engaged the IPR lawyers on site to help companies.”

Rosalind Ng feels that the issue with copy products is not just a problem for our industry but for many industries who have dealings with China. We feel that the government has to become more actively involved and more stringent about copyright issues – this will be the only way to resolve the problem.

The new venue, with its modern structure, efficient layout and better facilities is certainly an improvement over the previous venue.

However, its remote location poses problems with regards to dining and transportation.

Perhaps, this will be sorted out in time as the area surrounding the venue is developed further.

Although the new location did not meet the expectations of some exhibitors, there were others who were extremely pleased with it.

The MILOS team commented, “MILOS has exhibited at PALM Beijing since 2006. In that time, the company has established many long term and on-going relationships and built a solid regular client base in China, in the process further extending its reputation for excellent products and service. The new modern exhibition centre near the airport also proved a big success, further raising the profile of the exhibition and offering many additional facilities.”

On IIR's part they have indicated that they will look into the transportation and venue issues and work towards creating a better experience for exhibitors and visitors for the next edition. www.palmexpo.net

44

EXHIBITION REVIEW

beyerdynamic introduces new products for the Chinese market

beyerdynamic Managing Director Wolfgang Luckhardt (left) presents a bottle of wine to the CEO of Digi Power (middle)

During Palm Expo China 2012, beyerdynamic held a press conference on 25 May at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. The German audio powerhouse introduced new products to the Chinese market and announced that it was expanding its collaboration with its Chinese partner Digi Power.

The press conference began with an opening address by beyerdynamic Managing Director Wolfgang Luckhardt who stated that PALM Expo China was the second most important show for beyerdynamic after Prolight + Sound Frankfurt. He went on to give an overview of beyerdynamic’s sales performance for 2011. Total worldwide sales grew by 14% and there was large growth in Asia, the Middle East, South America, Germany (over 20%) and the USA. Unfortunately, there was stagnation in the rest of Europe.

Luckhardt then gave an overview of the best-selling products worldwide. He went on to announce ambitious sales targets for 2012 for each business unit: conferencing products – 10% growth pro audio products 10% growth consumer products – 15% growth After that, Luckhardt went on to discuss the challenges that lay ahead for beyerdynamic.

The first priority was to develop exciting products by having the future in mind. He felt that keeping the right balance between ‘installed sound’ and ‘box business’ was the key factor for the company’s success. beyerdynamic also had to create more products with ‘coolness’.

Luckhardt targeted a capacity increase for the factory in 2012 by utilizing a ‘one piece flow’ production technique. The factory also had to employ ‘Kanban’ – a production

process that was flexible and produced only what was needed. Luckhardt ended his speech by stating his philosophy: Ideas, passion and good partners are always important!

After Luckhardt’s speech, Michael Kinzel, Director of Marketing & Sales for Asia/Pacific/India, came on stage for his presentation. He announced that beyerdynamic and their current Chinese distributor, Tongbo, will discontinue their partnership and a new Chinese partner will take over in the summer. Since 2009, beyerdynamic has been collaborating with Chinese partner Digi Power in the field of consumer products in China and Taiwan.

On 1 July 2011, Digi Power officially takes over the distribution of professional audio products, as well.

Kinzel informed the audience that the opening of new points of sale across China in cities like Shanghai, Nanjing and Guangzhou had resulted in substantial growth in headphone sales. The top selling beyerdynamic headphones in China were the T50p, T1, T5p and DT 1350. Total sales growth within Greater China in 2011 was 25%.

Looking ahead, Kinzel said that beyerdynamic was facing a challenge to satisfy the huge demand in China for products handmade in Germany. However, he noted that beyerdynamic’s distribution channels are poised for further growth. beyerdynamic will continue with 2 specialized distributors in China – current distributor Digi Power and another one to be named shortly.

Following this, Thomas Halbgewachs presented some of the new products that

EXHIBITION REVIEW

45

TOUCH THE

FUTURE Michael Kinzel, Director of Marketing or Asia/Pacific/India (left) makes his presentation.

beyerdynamic were introducing to the China market including the Synexis Tour Guide System, the Revoluto microphone and a new version of the Steno S4 recording and conferencing software called ‘Covert’.

Germany. The Custom Series microphones are the first real interactive headphones in the world. Users can customise the headphones to suit any situation and use it with any devise.

After this, Halbgewachs made a detailed presentation of the Quinta Wireless Conferencing System and introduced the Custom Series microphones which were being launched for the first time outside

Halbgewachs also introduced the TG1000 Wireless Microphone System and the Headzone Virtual Studio Software.

TIGER TOUCH

www.beyerdynamic.com

DTS Lighting wows visitors with JACK and NICK

POWER CUBE

(L-R) Tommy Cheung (Sales & Marketing Director Asia Pacific), Manju, Vicky, Thomas Taddei (Sales Support), Franco Zaghini (VP of Sales) and Eric with the JACK (centre).

Over at the DTS Lighting booth, there was strong interest among Chinese visitors for the new JACK and NICK NRG 1201 moving heads.

The JACK is a high-power, compact, lightweight moving head. It features a wide excursion motorized zoom allowing any application from long-throw projections to large wall washing. JACK generates huge luminosity and extremely uniform projection using only a 189 W lamp; power consumption is just 230 W. JACK comes equipped with the ‘FPR’ (‘Free Pan Rotation’ - patent pending) system, which allows limitless pan rotation, in either direction, never having to reverse motion.

According to DTS Lighting, the NICK NRG 1201 is the most efficient LED moving head wash light ever produced and, thanks to its specifically developed optical group, it has an exceptional brightness/consumption ratio. It is equipped with 30 high-power full-colour LEDs (RGBW) and features 8°50° motorized zoom with a high-efficiency optical system enabling it to be used as a PC Beam or a very wide wash with ultra-fast and silent Pan/Tilt. NICK NRG 1201 (FPR) is also equipped with the “FPR” system and is suitable for top professional applications, such as tours and special events. NICK NRG 1201 is also available as NICK NRG 1201 CT (30 Full White LEDs, 2700°K - 6500°K). www.dts-lighting.it

PEARL EXPERT TOUCH Avolites: +44 (0) 2089 658 522 avosales@avolites.com www.avolites.com

Total Solution: (+65) 6287 9878 sales@tsm-int.com www.tsm-int.com

46

EXHIBITION REVIEW

FBT exhibits Vertus CLA line array system a compact PA solution.

It is easy to carry, modular, ready to use in just minutes with no-compromise in quality. It is capable of being integrated into any environment or installation requiring high-quality sound and controlled directional characteristics.

The FBT booth

Among the many products on display at Italian audio manufacturer FBT’s booth was the Vertus CLA line array system. VERTUS CLA is a light and compact modular line array system created for both live and fixed installations, comprised of two products CLA 604a bi-amp two-way active column speakers 400 + 100W RMS and CLA 208Sa active subwoofer 600W RMS.

Compared to the traditional two-way speakers, the sound is distributed much more evenly throughout the audience, both in outdoor and in indoor environments. The CLA cylindrical wave front boasts the pleasant effect of present and precise forwardly projected sound. Even acoustic feedback towards microphones is reduced. www.fbt.it

VERTUS CLA is a true professional line array system for the musician looking for

GLP showcases Impression X4 and Wash One

Michael Muenz, General Manager – Asia, of GLP German Light Products, with his arm around the Impression X4 (foreground) and the Impression Wash One behind it.

Taking centre-stage at the GLP booth was the latest addition to the award-winning Impression range of LED fixtures, the new GLP Impression X4. This washlight contains 19 of the new Osram Quad Optic 15W RGBW LED’s (single LED’s each containing four colours). It has a unique 7 to 50° zoom to provide a good beam spread with almost no light spill. The impression X4 offers designers a huge ammount of matrix effects. Furtermore, colour mixing is consistent at all beam angles. This lightweight fixture weighs only 7.5 kg.

Also on display was the GLP Impression Wash One. With a 400W RGB LED light

engine, this fully-featured luminaire is able to deliver delicate colour changes or instantaneous colour bumps over a wide colour spectrum. The impression Wash One offers a 6°-60° zoom range. It has an innovative 3° narrow beam mode and a unique variable soft-edge beam control that allows softness adjustment. Another attribute is the beam shaping function that enables the user to illuminate only the parts of a stage that need to be lit. With its baseless yoke the Wash One weighs just 22 kg — perfect both for transportation and flexible stage rigging (in any orientation). www.glp.de

EXHIBITION REVIEW

47

Luci Della Ribalta (LDR) displays new and improved fixtures On display at the LDR booth was the newest version of the tono 8/22 profile spotlight. This powerful 2KW narrow-angle profile spotlight is designed for use in larger venues which demand exceptional beam quality and gobo projection. The latest version of the tono has an improved optical system to obtain 20 percent more light output, much better light distribution and sharper gobo projection.

Another fixture on display was the 200W alba LED profile which now comes in two colour temperatures – warm white at 3200K and cool white at 5600K. The alba is a high efficiency, LED module featuring a PWM dimming power source harnessed in the high-specification optics of LDR profile spotlights.

With a CRI rated at 86, it has excellent optical performance at any angle and

V po w er P ixel Tr iba r

LDR Co-founder Fabiano Besio demonstrates the power of the tono 8/22 narrow angle profile spotlight.

beam-shaping and an outstanding light output. The new alba range is suitable for all those applications where heat is an issue, power supply is limited and running costs need to be significantly reduced.

Pa

www.ldr.it

ACME continues to shine brightly

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Also on display at the ACME booth was the Pageant 120 LED moving head. It is suitable for both fixed installation and rental. The Pageant 120, incorporates 12 LEDs with full colour (RGBW) and has an estimated life of 50.000 hours (at full capacity). The Pageant 120 weighs only 7 kgs and is small in size, extremely quick and delivers a high intensity, high quality beam with low power consumption (only 150W at full capacity).

Vp

Chinese lighting manufacturer ACME occupied a large booth at the show and displayed all their latest products including the new Saber XP-5R Beam - a highperformance 189W moving head with amazing brightness. Featuring state-of-theart lighting technology, an excellent optical system and utilizing the powerful Philips MSD platinum 5R(8000K) lamp, it produces a perfectly parallel and laser-like beam.

Small, lightweight and easily transported, the Saber XP-5R Beam is ideal for live shows, TV events and concerts.

3

ACME Marketing Manager Kevin Chung with the Pageant 120 LED moving head

LONGMAN INERNATIONAL GROUP CO. LIMITED Tel : +86-20-26272917 Fax : +86-20-26271441

www.acme.com.cn Total Solution Marketing Pte Ltd Tel : +6562879878 Fax : +6562879388

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MA Lighting attracts strong interest

MA Lighting Asia Pacific Sales Director Jens Poehlker at the MA Lighting display

Many visitors were attracted to the MA Lighting booth where the German manufacturer had several of its best-selling products on display such as the grandMA2 full size, the grandMA2 light, the MA on PC command wing and the MA VPU basic.

The grandMA2 full-size is MA Lighting’s most powerful console. It offers the control of conventional light, moving lights, LED fixtures and media from one platform.

The grandMA2 light performs the same functions and supplies an intuitive and fast control of all connected fixtures and channels. The grandMA2 light can handle

an almost infinite number of presets, cues, pages, sequences and effects. It is ideally suited as a backup device for the grandMA2 full-size.

The MA onPC command wing allows for mobile use of the highly flexible and powerful grandMA2 control system. In combination with the free-of-charge grandMA2 onPC software, the MA onPC command wing is a portable 2,048 parameter control solution that can be used in nearly any location. www.malighting.com

PR Lighting showcases XR LED 300 Series

PR Lighting CEO Dave Liong (left) and International Sales Director Ernie Armas with the XR LED 300 RGBW Spot

Taking centre-stage at the PR Lighting booth was the brand new XR LED 300 RGBW Spot.

This moving head fixture weighs 19kg and has modular construction for easy maintenance. It has a powerful LED module and 7 dichroic colour filters including white.

The unit comes with 7 indexable rotating gobos and 7 fixed gobos. In addition, the beam angle, iris and dimmer are all linearly adjustable.

According to International Sales Director Ernie Armas, the PR Lighting booth was busy throughout the entire exhibition.

There were many quality visitors who came to the booth to view the equipment on display. www.pr-lighting.com

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Wireless done right!

Prolyte Asia Pacific announces new service point in China for ProLyft

(L-R) Lee Kam Bor, Managing Director of Trinity Technology Ltd, Menze van der Sluis, Managing Director of Prolyte Asia Pacific and Loong Yee Hing, Prolyte Asia Pacific International Account Manager

Managing Director Menze van de Sluis of the Prolyte Asia Pacific team, announced that Trinity Technology Ltd, headed by Lee Kam Bor, was the new service point for China for ProLyft. During the show, the Prolyte Group presented a range of its products, including the new LiteConsole, the StageDex range, the ProLyft hoists and the latest Prolyte catalogue launched in April.

The LiteConsole was on display in Asia for the first time. It is an extremely versatile podium structure that offers a portable and high-visual-impact solution for any number of applications from live musician and DJ performances, to corporate AV presentations, exhibitions, conferences and retail environments where it makes an extremely eye-catching stand.

LiteConsole modules comprise just six primary easy-to-connect sections. Standard modules are designed to house a logo panel, although this open space could feature a 50” PLASMA screen, back-lit corporate logo, LED panels, starcloth, or any other form of messaging.

A newer incarnation called LiteConsole XPRS, which combines all the most desirable features of LiteConsole in a sleeker, lighter package, will be available in July 2012. The new design makes the system even easier to assemble – it takes one person just a matter of minutes. The innovative folding frame design enables LiteConsole XPRS to fit into an average car, thus leaving plenty of room for other equipment. www.prolyte.com

Wireless Solution exhibits latest G4 Black Box Mk2 Wireless Solution Sweden AB displayed the latest addition to the G4 line, the W-DMX BlackBox MK2. The BlackBox MK2 contains all of the groundbreaking features of the G4 line but comes equipped with additional features like built in Quick Lock, built-in RDM controller supporting RDM by cable and wireless together, Ben Darrington (left), Technical Project Manager and Shelly updated with Neutrik Ethercon, Li, Regional Sales Manager, with the W-DMX G4 Black Box updated to Neutrik Powercon Mk2 and it comes with embedded Ethernet PCB with support of s/ACN and Art-Net II/III. The G4 Mk2 is incremental improvement over the existing also DIN RAIL prepared, rack and truss range. We know we have an industrymountable, and has both 5-pin and 3-pin leading product but we’ve been squeezing out some additional performance with the DMX connectors for both IN and OUT. Mk2 Series.”

Technical Project Manager Ben Darrington commented, “The G4 Mk2 is an www.wirelessdmx.com

• Industrys most reliable wireless DMX/RDM system • Automated Cognitive Coexistence • Is not disturbed by and will not disturb other systems • Lowest latency in the industry at 5 ms • Link range: 500-1000 meters line-of-sight • Advanced 128 bit encryption • One button takes care of all setup

For more information about LumenRadio’s wireless control products, please visit www.tsm-int.com

www.tsm-int.com • Phone: +65-62879878 • sales@tsm-int.com

They’re all grown and ready to hit the road.

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Robe keeps busy at PALM Expo

THE LITTLE ONES ARE NOW SHIPPING At less than 61 cm tall and only 20 kg, the VLX3 LED Wash boasts 6,000 lumens using 3 x 120W replaceable custom RGBW LED chipsets with a 10,000 hour source life, all with individual LED control.

Coming in under 64 cm tall and only 25 kg, the VL400 Spot provides 9,000 lumens of output from a 400W MSR Gold 400 Philips MiniFastFit lamp and has 14 fixed colors on two independent color wheels.

All created under 64 cm tall and only 25.5 kg, the VL440, VL770, and VL880 Spot luminaires are complete with a 3-wheel CYM color assembly for rich, saturated colors. The VL440 uses a 400W MSR Gold 400 Philips MiniFastFit lamp to produce 9000 lumens of output, the VL770 has a 700W MSR Gold 700 Philips MiniFastFit lamp which produces 15,100 lumens of output, and the VL880 is complete with a 800W MSR Philips Platinum 35 lamp producing 19,000 lumens of output.

For a complete list of product features visit www.vari-lite.com.

www.tsm-int.com Phone: +65-62879878 sales@tsm-int.com

(L-R): Robe CEO Josef Valchar, Robe Sales Director Harry von den Stemmen and Robe Customer Service Representative Petr Vanek

Czech lighting manufacturer Robe displayed three different fixtures during the exhibition – the DLX Spot, the ROBIN LED Wash 1200 and the ROBIN MMX Spot.

The Robe DLX Spot won the prestigious Award for Technical Innovation at the 2012 SIEL trade exhibition in Paris France’s leading international expo for the professional lighting, sound, video and entertainment technology industry. It uses a new and unique RGBW LED light source and offers a colour output brighter than a 575 Watt discharge unit, but with the very eco-friendly average power consumption of only 250 Watts!

Robe DLX Spot The super-slim, mega-bright ROBIN 1200 LEDWash utilises the same multichip RGBW LEDs as Robe’s awardwinning ROBIN 600 LEDWash and the smaller ROBIN 300 LEDWash, in a bright package featuring 61 LEDs arranged in four ROBIN 1200 LEDWash concentric rings. It

is a multi-purpose luminaire and can be used to create spectacular kaleidoscopic patterns and effects through individual control of the four LED rings as well as for washing large surfaces areas and objects. It is ideal for all applications needing powerful and adaptable lightsources drawing less power.

The Robe MMX is a discharge fixture that has similar light output to most existing 1200W luminaires.

It is based on the ROBIN advanced technology design that provides brighter, lighter, more efficient and physically smaller fixtures than ROBIN MMX Spot previously possible.

The MMX includes the Robe exclusive Hot-Spot lamp control feature that allows remote adjustment of flat beam uniformity or power beam hot-spot. The key feature of the MMX is the Dual Graphics Wheel two fully controllable contra-rotating plates that can be positioned anywhere across the light path to produce unique visual effects.

During the show, Robe Sales Director Harry von den Stemmen announced that all of Robe’s new generation fixtures now come with the LumenRadio CRMX Receiver installed. www.robe.cz

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Sennheiser makes its debut at Palm Expo PALM Expo was aimed at allowing more people to experience and feel its quality.

Apart from the XS wireless series, classical wireless microphones such as 2000 series, 3000/5000 series and revolutionary ew 100/300/500 G3 series were also showcased at the exhibition booth. It is worth mentioning that the latest Neumann KK 204 and KK 205 microphone capsules were also on display. These microphone capsules can be mounted to Sennheiser 2000 series handheld transmitters to further enhance the sound quality of the 2000 series wireless microphones. This was the first time the product has been showcased at the expo.

Sennheiser XS series wireless microphone

Audio specialist Sennheiser made its debut at the Expo where it displayed more than 100 exhibits targeting different user groups with the aim of allowing visitors to feel and experience the quality of Sennheiser’s products.

Among the products displayed was Sennheiser’s new XS wireless microphone series for 2012. This is a new-generation wireless product developed by Sennheiser for customers who require good sound quality and transmission stability but have a limited budget. It is an entry-level wireless microphone. The entire series comprises four packages, namely the handheld package, the headset package, the clipon package and the musical instrument package. Users can choose according to their needs.

The XS wireless series made its debut at Infocomm Asia and had aroused extensive interest since then. Its reappearance at

Neumann KK 204 and KK 205 microphone capsules

As for wired microphones, Sennheiser displayed its 2011 TEC award-winning MK 4 shotgun microphone MKH 8060/8070 and evolution 900 series. The legendary Neumann microphones were also on display. They included the classical U 87 Ai, BCM 104 and BCM 705 radio microphones, SOLUTION D digital microphone, KM 180 series and KM 100 series small diaphragm microphone. On-site staff provided detailed explanations of product performance and applications in accordance with the needs of the visitors.

The Sennheiser booth also featured the K-Array line array system from Italy.

Compared to corresponding products of its competitors, its line array system is 80% smaller and lighter. This means it is much easier to transport and install. Being K-array’s agent, Sennheiser displayed the KR 202 and KR 402 line array systems. www.sennheiser.com.hk

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Neo-Neon CEO Jeremy Mair targets strong growth ETA: There are a lot of strobes in the market. What makes this strobe different from all the other strobes?

JM: Well, this one’s quite basic. It’s an entry model. What is different about it is that it is very efficiently designed. And is completely original. We are trying to give people what everyone thinks of but haven’t yet seen in the market. That’s the key to our success.

ETA: With so many lighting manufacturers in China, what makes Neo-Neon different from the rest?

During PALM Expo China 2012, Entertainment Technology Asia Magazine conducted an exclusive interview with Jeremy Mair, CEO of Neo-Neon’s entertainment division.

ETA: Can you tell us about your background?

JM: I was born in the UK and raised in Australia. At the age of 16, I started working in the entertainment lighting industry as a lighting operator and designer. From there I progressed into the professional side of lighting. I’ve worked for HBO, Venegance productions and Cornerbox in both studio and on location. Some notable movies I’ve been involved with were Ghost Rider, the HBO mini series, The Pacific, and a Stephen King mini series, The Dead Zone.

About four years ago, I moved to Hong Kong. I quickly learned that there was no real demand for entertainment lighting and started looking into China for companies involved with lighting. I could see that one company would have one good product and another company would have another good product and I would combine those together and make a package for my customers in the West.

ETA: How did you get involved with Neo-Neon?

JM: There were a lot of moving lights in the market, but not many of them fitted what both myself and my clients were looking for. In time I found a product at Neo-Neon that I liked a lot. A moving head spot using a

Luminus chip. I know Luminus as the leaders for high powered LED chips. And it really stood out from the rest of the competition. I went over to Neo-Neon and I discussed the product with them and they in turn offered me a position in the company. I took the position, but the time was not right for me. I decided to go back to Hong Kong and continue with my own endeavours.

After one year, I received a phone call from Cashmore Chien, who was the CEO at the time for Neo-Neon’s Entertainment Division. I decided that Neo-Neon was the only company where I could realise my goals in lighting design. Over the past four years, we’ve sort of fallen behind our competition. I’ve come in to fix that and get us back on the right track.

ETA: Your first lighting fixture for Neo-Neon is the SMD Strobe. Can you tell us a bit about this fixture?

JM: It is using an SMD 5050 chip and runs at 60W. This is the first one of three in our NeoFlash range. I believe that we have to make a series of products because we want all our products to link together like a family. It’s a three channel strobe system that incorporates intensity, duration and rate. It is designed for smaller venues, clubs and discotheques. With the Neo-Flash range, we are aiming at the DJ/ Club market. However, we are planning to go into rock ‘n roll and concert productions as well with a professional range in development. We want to cover all ends of the market with our products and ensure quality and innovation is kept on the top of our priorities.

JM: We build our products from the ground up. We want to make new innovative products and avoid copying. Of course, you can’t patent a wheel, so in some respects we have similar products in our development but our difference is we only do this if we can improve on the existing design. I’m sure most will agree the trade shows over here are like a Xerox machine which is not only offensive to the original designers and developers, it is creating a negative impact on potential growth within China’s entertainment lighting market.

ETA: What are your goals for NeoNeon?

JM: Firstly, I plan bring innovative designs to the market and maintain a high level of quality and service for our customers and develop close working relationships with them as our customers are the most important thing to keep our company running. Without them, we are nothing.

Secondly, to take care of my workers and ensure fair treatment. Many companies in the East have some crazy notion that working 14 hour days can be good for business. But I believe that working long hours can be counter-productive. I have new systems in place so that they work 8-9 hours a day. This has led to an increase in both productivity and efficiency - and they are much happier. There has to be a balance between work and play.

We are human after all, not machines.

We want to grow and strengthen our company.

Taking care of both our customers and staff is the only way we can achieve our vision which is becoming brighter everyday. www.neo-entertainment.com

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Palm Expo Mumbai 2012 shows impressive growth by Ram Bhavanashi

Modern Stage Service stand, the largest in PALM EXPO Mumbai 2012

Palm Expo Mumbai 2012, the twelfth edition of India’s premier platform for the Pro Audio, Video and Lighting industries, concluded on the evening of 2 June at the sprawling Bombay Exhibition Grounds in Mumbai. The one feeling that was apparently common among both the exhibitors and visitors was that it was ‘massive’. It literally grew from 117 exhibitors from the previous edition to 140 exhibitors this year (including 23 from Musicians Expo), and the products displayed increased from about 850 to approximately over 1000. Visitor foot falls have also reportedly swelled by at least 5,000 from the previous year which saw 16,000 footfalls - a growth of nearly 26 per cent in visitor numbers.

against the petrol hike by the government) day, turned out to be both good and bad for the event. Good, because it kept the thronging non-serious visitors away; only those who belonged to the industry and had some serious business interest checked in to find their preferred brand or product. Bad, because it might have also prevented a large number of serious visitors from coming to the show from far away.

Ratnesh Jhaveri, Managing Director of Innovative Systems & Solutions (P) Ltd (middle)

“We have been coming here every year. This time the visitor quality is comparatively much better,” said Nitin Kathuria of Yamaha India.

His view is endorsed by lighting solutions providers Stephen Ellison of Seachanger, Siggy Ruff of LPS and Varun Singh of BenQ. The three of them were first timers to the show.

PS Tiwari of ClearOne with Naveen Sridhar of beyerdynamic

KL Malhotra of KLM Designs (middle) in Spinworkz stand. On left is Ram, and right is Sirish Agarwal of Cinecita Menze van der Sluis, Managing Director of Prolyte Group-Asia Pacific

“It really looks big. There lots of exhibitors and products,” said Menze van der Sluis, Managing Director of Prolyte Group-Asia Pacific. The trussing and rigging manufacturer was part of the Modern Stage Service stand, the biggest exhibitor of the event, both in size and scale.

The largest stand of the exhibition, the New Delhi-based Wadhwas’ concern, brought to the show floor arguably the largest array of brands and products.

“We see more quality visitors this time,” said Joe Gonsalves, Managing Director of Pace Communications. Incidentally, the first day of the event, being a ‘national bundh’ (protest

Sunny Sarid (left) with a visitor

(L-R) Robin Ghose of ProVA with Sunil Mehan of Esco India

The show had visitors such as Sunny Sarid, an iconic figure in the domestic DJ industry, Sunil Mehan, chief of ESCO Audio-Visual India, Ratnesh Jhaveri, Managing Director of Innovative Systems & Solutions (P) Ltd., and PS Tiwari, Sales Manager of ClearOne-EMEA, K L Malhotra, renowned acoustician and ownerdirector of KLM Designs, which re-affirmed the quality of the show.

There was a lot of excitement at the Dataton booth where Frederick Svahnberg, the Swedish visual solutions manufacturer’s marketing and communications manager, made a captivating presentation for the WATCH OUT Version 5 in 3D. There was also excitement at the E&E Systems stand where its partner Mackie demonstrated the DL-1608 Digital Live Sound Mixer.

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Size Mattered Arguably the most striking feature of PALM EXPO Mumbai 2012 was the huge booths which exhibitors had taken. Modern Stage Services took the largest space on the showfloor, followed by E&E Systems India, Harman India, Narain Audio, Rivera International, Pace Communication and SuninfoNet. Noticeably, E&E Systems and SuninfoNet put up bigger stands this year and displayed a wide array of products. Many other exhibitors brought more products to the show as well.

Modern Stage Service shows the way

Watchout V-5 from Frederick Svahnberg of Dataton

In association with its sister concerns, Audio Design and Visual Design in Delhi and E2 Tech and Video Design in Mumbai, Modern Stage Service showcased products from over 15 companies ranging from lighting, video, audio, trussing and laser technologies.

In addition to the Dataton presentation, there was a laser show from Laser World; a media server demonstration from Green Hippo; speaker systems from K - Array; the new ‘Jack’ and ‘Nick Nergy’ LED moving heads from DTS; a new fixture from SGM – a dynamic LED strobe; new fixtures from PR Lighting - LED moving heads and beams; Pixel Mapping from Avolites, and the new SHOLITE - 185R platinum beam/LED fixtures/LED moving ball.

In addition, there was a special demo and training classes for rigging/trussing by Prolyte.

Davinder Wadhwa (right) of Modern Stage Service

Davinder Wadhwa, Director of Modern Stage Service, said, “3D video projections, Green Hippo’s media server, K - Array’s small speakers and pixel video mapping from Avolites are all being displayed for the first time in India.”

Svahnberg & Vijay Sabhlok

Vijay Sabhlok of Video Design, Dataton’s India Partner (under the aegis of Modern Stage Service), said, “It feels great to have a solution like this and to be able to present it to such an excited crowd. PALM EXPO is the perfect platform for this kind of initiative. We are happy with the response we’ve been getting.”

Enthusiastic crowds at the Dataton demo

Modern Stage Service booth also showcased Dataton WATCHOUT demonstration in 3D. The Dataton WATCHOUT Version 5 is a multidisplay production and playback system that lets the user orchestrate stills, animations, graphics, video, sound and live feeds in a single impressive show across multiple display areas, soft-edge or scattered. The solution, upgraded recently with 3D effects and with stage preview options, takes the experience to a new level. It lets the user position and rotate all media objects in 3D; with 3D motion paths, images and video fly through space any way the user directs. The preview can be rotated to view the stage from the most appropriate vantage point, all the while staying true to its simplicity and ease of use.

The first iteration of WATCHOUT for seamless stereoscopic playback, Version 5 also comes with stereoscopic projection, with little or no additional production effort. Moreover, the highly interactive solution understands virtually any kind of device or external system, allowing users to connect sensors and control sources – like iPads – directly to on-screen elements such as images, video, live feeds and more.

“We are proud to showcase the new version,” said Svahnberg. “It’s truly innovative, and immersive - something which takes the experience to a new level.”

Technology takes There was also excitement at the Mackie display. According to Mackie, the DL-1608 Digital Live Sound Mixer redefines live mixing by combining the proven power of a fullfeatured digital mixer with the unmatched ease and mobility of an iPad. Besides 16 boutique-quality Onyx mic preamps and the performance of 24bit Cirrus Logic AD/DA converters, the system plays seamlessly with wired to wireless iPad control, meaning the ability to mix from anywhere in the venue.

Moreover, it even supports up to 10 iPad devices.

Gilbert Perales of Loud Technologies shows off the DL-1608

Gilbert with Poncho of E&E

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According to Gilbert Perales, the DL-1608 product specialist, the system’s Master Fader app, designed specifically for the iPAD, brings groundbreaking DAW mixing features and functionality to the live environment. With this intuitive breakthrough app, the user can create mix snapshots, channel presets and even record stereo tracks straight to one’s iPad. Plus, with ‘Grow and Glow’ giving visual indication of the function, the user is always at home with the control.

“There is a lot of buzz,” Mex said. “Judging by the numbers, it is really encouraging to see such big crowds of quality visitors.”

and P Audio; Martin displayed the elo-M2PC Professional Portable Lighting Software; and Setron India launched Lyxn Hilo converter.

ProVA displayed the popular Q-Sys from QSC; Yamaha India demonstrated their CLS series mixers; Music Group (Behringer) demonstrated the yet-to-be-released X-32 digital mixer; Rivera launched HK Audio’s Linear 5 Series; Sonotone launched a huge range of solutions from JTS, db Technologies

Under lighting, IES displayed Robe Lighting’s popular Robin 600, Robin MMX Spot and Robin LEDWash systems while Jagmag Electric displayed Clay Paky’s Sharpy and Alpha series moving heads; Modern Stage Service displayed PR Lighting and SGM solutions; and Reynold’s demonstrated MA Lighting consoles.

Sushil John of ProVA with Jason Rouzaire of QSC

Robe Lighting Stand

Nitin Kathuria of Yamaha with CLS mixer

Atul Sompal of Jagmag Electric & Sandeep Dhawan of Dhawan Stage Craft

“The sleek and low profile, 16-channel Mackie DL1608 is rooted in design innovation,” Gilbert said. “It’s powerfully small format destroys the industry’s notion that bigger is better.”

In addition to the Mackie DL 1608, E&E also showcased new product launches from Community and Symetrix. There were many other new product launches that hogged limelight such as d&b audiotechnik’s V-Series loudspeaker by Digital Advantage, Esra Major

by Ohm, the ULX-D digital wireless system from Shure by SunInfoNet, and D-Series line arrays and loudspeakers from D.A.S. Audio by GM Audio.

The prominent regulars Tannoy and beyerdynamic displayed their recently launched, best-selling systems – the VLS, VX and VXP loudspeakers from Tannoy, and the popular Quinta wireless conferencing system from beyerdynamic. “It’s good to be here,” said Mex Exner, Biamp Systems’ Regional Director for Europe, who came to the Expo to gain a deeper understanding about the Indian market.

The Big Buzz Creators

Mex Exner of Biamp Systems talks to a business associate while Naveen Sridhar of beyerdynamic looks on

(L-R) Krishna Pratap Singh of Tannoy, Sidhart Chhibber of Acoustic Arts, Mex Exner of Biamp & his business associate, Naveen Sridhar of beyerdynamic, and Goodwin Mathew of Acoustic Arts

Harman, in association with its master distributor Hitech Audio, took a huge display stand and demonstrated a large array of products and system solutions from AKG, Soundcraft, JBL, dbx and Lexicon. In addition, the audio manufacturer created a huge buzz through its Harman Live Arena where popular percussionist Shiva Mani held the audience captive with his scintillating music using Haman systems.

Buzz was also created by three other audio manufacturers - Electro-Voice, Sennheiser and Alcons.

highlighted by the Live X and TOUR X series of loudspeakers. Available in both flush-mount and surface configurations, the EVID range of loud speakers caught the attention of many visitors with its’ innovative and pleasing design features. The Expandable Vertical Array (EVA) was majestically mounted on one of the walls and attracted lots of interest. The Dynacord range of CMS and Powermate mixers was prominently displayed in the EV stall. Another highlight was the ZXA speaker and subwoofer.

Electro-Voice also displayed a wide range of microphones such as the PL series, R300, RE320, Cardinal and Raven microphones.

At the Electro-Voice stand, visitors got to see a wide range of products that were

“Our strategy is pretty much clear,” stated Tushar Srivastava of Bosch Security Systems

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a super-cardioid condenser capsule and one that includes a genuine dynamic e835 capsule. For installed sound applications and presentations, users can choose between systems with a handheld transmitter or a bodypack transmitter with either a head-worn mic or just a clipon microphone. The mute buttons on the handheld and the bodypack ensure that speakers are in control of the transmission.

Get your wings!

(Dynacord). “We are aggressive in our approach and competitive in pricing. Our initiatives in the last three to four years have yielded tremendous results.”

Johannes Huth, Director of Product Marketing for Bosch said, “While we have had the challenges from the big players in the market, we stood by our quality and commitment to customer service. We restrategized and re-oriented, within the trusted and respected Bosch practices, towards becoming more customer-friendly.

Having done all that, we are rearing to do better.”

MA onPC command wing – the sophisticated yet affordable extension for grandMA2 onPC

Dutch audio manufacturer Alcons has setup an office in Bengaluru and is taking serious initiatives to push its technologies and solutions into the market.

“India is a fast growing economy and its market dynamics are quite demanding. We, having made some aggressive moves into global markets like the Americas, decided it was time we stepped in here directly,” said Tom Back, Alcon’s Managing Director.

“We understand the market here and we see a huge demand for our expertise and technology.”

Sennheiser added to its expanding wireless portfolio with the launch of the Sennheiser XS Series wireless microphones. The microphones offer quality and durability for mid-sized venues, conference rooms, events, installations and houses of worship.

Its excellent battery life of up to 10 hours makes it the best choice for stage shows as well as events and conferences.

The XS Series wireless microphones come with a powerful, one-touch scan to find open frequencies. The use of ‘True Diversity’ technology ensures optimum reception at all times. The use of ‘Remote Channel’ sync helps with component synchronization and the switching of bandwidth of up to 24 MHz allows for flexibility in the choice of frequencies. The transmission range is 250 feet.

The system comprises five unique sets two vocal sets, an instrument system and presentation set with clip-on microphone and a head mic set. Vocalists can choose between a handheld microphone with

The Alcons chief held discussions with the media to propagate his views and perceptions and what his company intends to do. “We have some unique technologies which others don’t have and that’s what we intend to value-add to India,” he said.

The company displayed an array of their latest products at its stand.

Conclusion The general sentiment among the exhibitors at the show was positive.

“The show is fantastic. The modifications made to the event have yielded exciting results. Anil Chopra ( Managing Director of Diversified Communications India, promoters of the event) is doing a great job,” said Joe Gonsalves, managing director of Pace Communications. www.palmexpo.in

• Perfect solution for flexible and mobile programming • Look and feel as known from grandMA2 consoles • 2,048 parameters on-board • MA 2Port Node onPC/onPC PRO for parameter extension • Light, handy & rock solid: extra small housing and just 6kg • Plug and play via USB: simply connect to your notebook • Fully integrated into the grandMA2 system The brand new MA onPC command wing is the perfect solution if you are working as a lighting professional all over the world, running a small club or theatre, want to join the huge grandMA2 family or simply look for a smart backup or preprogramming solution.

So – get your wings!

Brand new MA onPC command wing – simply connect to your notebook running grandMA2 onPC via USB

MA LIGHTING Asia Pacific Pte Ltd. 195 Pearl’s Hill Terrace #01-18 Singapore 168976 infoASIA@malighting.com www.malighting.com

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PALME Middle East celebrates 10th anniversary in style

by Ram Bhavanashi

PALME Middle East 2012 - the tenth edition of the premier tradeshow for the professional audio, lighting, media and entertainment segments from the Middle East, was held from 1-3 May 2012 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (World Trade Centre). Organized alongside the Middle East EVENT Show - which also had an Awards night - the three-day event was conspicuous for the synergies it generated between the GCC and African markets.

In fact some of the high rollers at this year’s show came from as far afield as Nigeria.

Gordon Cooper, Director of power generation suppliers SES (Entertainment Services) Ltd, stated rhetorically: “Where else could one meet people from Iraq, Nigeria and Afghanistan all in one room?” On the stand of his distributors RFW Trading, he received an order for AED100,000 from a Nigerian production house.

One of the pleasing sights was the inquisitive interactions that Nabil Bourgeili, chief of TechnoPro, had with some African customers.

“It’s indeed very interesting that we got to interact with diverse customers, from diverse markets,” Bourgeili said on day one. “We hope we will benefit from it.” His anticipation was justified; he struck a major deal with one of their long term suppliers, SGM Lighting, for a unique LED solutions offering.

Ruling out apprehensions that the show appeared poorer than the previous edition, Ashok Ross, Project Manager-PA at Thomsun Trading, said he saw “many positives with the event.”

The setting was also exciting for first timers like API, Fractal Systems, Tempest, and White Light too. “We’re honoured to be here,” said Gordon Smart, API Managing Director. “We’re looking forward to meeting new friends, and introducing a new community of experts to what API has to offer.”

“We are excited; It looks very positive,” said Martin Palmer, Director of White Light.

“It’s looking really positive again after the economic downturn over the last few years,”

confirmed Glen Kershaw, Sales Manager of GSL Professional, representing Harman at the event.

His Highness Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai & Arts Authority, opening PALME ME 2012 on 1 May 2012

The event was formally opened by His Highness Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture & Arts Authority that was commissioned to put Dubai on the international arts and cultural map.

PALME ME 2013 is scheduled to be held at the same venue from 21-23 May. The modalities of the event are still to be announced. www.palme-middleeast.com

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Automated Processes Inc., (API) introduces itself to ME markets US-based Automated Processes Inc., a leading provider of recording and mixing solutions took to PALME ME 2012 as its first step to introduce itself to the Middle East markets.

The company showcased its famous 1608 console. “We have gained interesting insights into the market dynamics here, although we don’t have an office here,” said Gordon Smart, the company MD. “It’s our first time here, and we are happy with the results.”

The 1608 brings a slew of modern features indispensable for today’s musical professionals. It comes with 16 input channels each with mic pre and equalizer; 8 main and 8 auxiliary buses, besides one stereo bus; analogue metering; and 5.1 centre section monitoring. It also accepts API 500 Series equalizers which makes the system more flexible.

Gordon Smart (right), API’s managing director, showing rackmounts & consoles

www.apiaudio.com

AVL Electronics showcases beyerdynamic’s Quinta system Dubai-based Pro Audio and AV solutions provider AVL Electronics LLC presented, among other things, the Quinta wireless conferencing system from beyerdynamic. A fifth generation wireless conferencing system, Quinta meets all requirements of operational safety, reliability and transmission security.

According to Gerard Hermann, beyerdynamic’s Sales Manager-EMEA, solid housing of the system, combined with robust and scratch-resistant paint makes it a high-quality product. Meanwhile back-lit keys for working in dark environments and inscription in braille make it a more attractive and reliable wireless conferencing system.

“PALME this year appears to be very promising,” AVL Electronic’s Sales Manager Syed Riaz said. “We had some very interesting business queries. We hope to make them good.” www.avlelectronics.com

beyerdynamic’s Gerard Hermann explains about the Quinta system

Sennheiser reinforces the new XS wireless series German audio giant Sennheiser displayed a whole range of wired and wireless microphones. The highlight was the recently launched XS Series wireless microphones.

An entry-level wireless microphone, these robust units are simple to operate and feature transmitters that have a battery life of up to 10 hours. A switching bandwidth of up to 24 MHz allows for flexibility in the choice of frequencies. The series is comprised of two vocal sets, an instrument set and presentation sets with a lavalier microphone or a headmic.

Ryan Burr, Technical Sales Manager-Middle East, said, “PALME is an important platform that gets valued customers, old and new.

Moreover, it’s getting better with quality visitors.” www.sennheiser-middleeast.com Sennheiser’s Ryan Burr demonstrates the new XS series wireless microphone

EXHIBITION REVIEW

Creator showcases wireless conferencing systems Chinese audio-visual solutions company, Creator, took to the PALME platform with a whole range of offerings. The product lines exhibited at their stand included wireless conferencing systems, control systems and signal management systems.

The most prominent displays were the CR-WiFi6102/4B wireless conferencing system; wireless G7 and G8 pip touch screen systems; WF10 and WF20 WiFi Wireless Access Points; DIG5203E3 fullydigital interpretation system; and CR-PGMIII+iPad system.

“All these systems are new,” said Alex C. Phoenix, Director at Creator. “Their applications spread beyond the domain of pure AV, and into the entertainment domain, which is why we’re here.”

According to him, PALME ME this year coupled with the regional markets’ recovery augers well for the industry.” www.creator.ae www.creator.com.cn

A Creator executive engages an inquisitive visitor

Delta Sound LLC demonstrates DiGiCo’s strengths appears to be reviving; PALME ME can be an effective platform in connecting the new technologies with new market demands.” www.deltasound.ae www.deltasound.co.uk

Andy Jackson (second from left), and Liam Mc Grath (left) of Delta Sound showing up the all-new SD7 DiGiCo console

Delta Sound LLC, the Middle East arm of British audio company, Delta Sound, took to PALME ME this year with a range of DiGiCo systems including the all-the-new SD7 high density digital processing console with Mach 3 enhancement.

Based on the latest incarnation of Super FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) technology, the new SD7 is a quantum leap in console design. With three of the latest generation’s SHARC effects and control processors, it endows the console with a staggering eight times the overall processing power of the industry standard D5 Live.

custom series the world´s first truly interactive headphones acoustic excellence since 1924

“The feature-rich new SD7 is perfect for the market here,” says Liam McGrath of Delta Sound LLC. “The regional entertainment market

www.beyerdynamic.com

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EXHIBITION REVIEW

GSL showcases new range from Harman, Philips, Tascam

Locally-based audio distribution company GSL Professional displayed new products from Harman’s major brands including JBL, AKG, Soundcraft, BSS, Crown and Lexicon.

Prominent among the new products were the JBL VTX V25 line array and AKG DMS70 wireless mic system.

GSL’s Sales Manager Glen Kershaw said that he felt positive about the exhibition. According to him, the fears of an economic downturn

have begun to disappear, and PALME proved to be as exciting a platform as ever. The stand welcomed visitors from all over the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain. These are thought to be potential markets and he hoped for a very bright future.

GSL also demonstrated their newly added Philips Strand and Selecon lighting range. www.gslprofessional.com

GSL Professional’s Sales Manager Glen Kershaw explains about Harman’s new JBL and AKG ranges

Hydrografx strikes a different note of entertainment Striking a different note from among the audio, lighting, LED and laser entertainment companies was digital water screen solutions provider Hydrografx. A local water-based entertainment solutions developer, Hydrografx created amazing patterns of water screens through a computer-aided programming.

From company logos to unbelievably unique floral and graphic patterns, Hydrografx created a wide array of designs.

“It’s pretty unique and different from the fountains or lasers that are commonly known to people; it adds great value to any entertainment space,” said Romeo Betabdishoo, the chief of Hydrografx. “PALME is among the right platforms for solutions like this,” he said. “Staying in the midst of so many laser and lighting solution providers and still attracting sizeable visitor attention is itself a testimony. We are here simply because this showfloor gets us our target audience.” hydrografx@gmail.com

Romeo Betabdishoo of Hydrografx shows his digital water screens.

EXHIBITION REVIEW

Protec exhibits diverse product range Locally-based Production Technology (Protec) showcased the Chinesemanufactured MAMBO LED screen which was the centre-of-attraction at their stand. Coming in 12mm, 6mm and 3mm sizes, the miniature LED screen allows the user to insert one screen into another and help modify the resolution. The screen can be monitored from a PC which saves money for both install and rental customers.

“The opening morning was as good as anything I have seen at this show,” said Protec founder Stephen Laken.

“PALME is a platform where one can meet old friends and diverse customers from different markets,” he added. “It is therefore essential for us.” www.productiontec.com

Prysm demonstrates scalable, eco-friendly video wall

Tanvir Osama at the Prysm Stand showing the LPD videowall

Prysm had its stunningly beautiful, scalable and eco-friendly video wall on display this year at PALME. The 6x4 feet video wall called Prysm Laser Phosphor Display (LPD) platform uses solid-state lasers to deliver brilliant image quality for fast action video content. At the core of the LPD platform is a sealmess 25” TD1 tile that creates seamless, high impact video walls with an ultra-wide viewing angle of up to 178°. With a seam gap of as small as 0.2mm, the TD1 enables the video wall to produce stunning impact on any installation space.

“PALME is an excellent platform to showcase our solutions to the Middle East markets,” said Tanvir Osama of Prysm. “We have already been active in the region for few years now and we’re proactively meeting up with more integrators and partners.” www.prysm.com

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EXHIBITION REVIEW

SGTC demonstrates multi-brand strengths Super General Trading Company (SGTC), a locally-based distribution giant, demonstrated a huge array of the latest products from its principals - QSC, Allen & Heath, Clock Audio, Denon, DTS Lighting, Furman, Kelsey, LDR, Marantz and QSC. Prominent among them was Clock Audio’s CW-200 dual-channel wireless conferencing system, the CW-200R dual-channel receiver, DTS’ new compact, high-power, moving head projectors JACK and NICK NRG 1201, and QSC’s KLA and Q-Sys speakers.

According to Clock Audio’s Sales & Marketing Manager Rod Geary, the CW-200R had attracted a lot of visitors. “It’s a true innovation,” he said. “PALME helps us reach out the regional market.

DTS’s Franco Zaghini in the SGTC Stand

“It’s been quite a good show this time,” said Franco Zaghini, Vice-President of Sales at DTS Lighting. “We have been getting some very high quality visitors and very encouraging feedback, too.”

Clock Audio’s Rod Geary with the CW-200R

www.clockaudio.com www.dts-lighting.it www.qscaudio.com www.sgtcpro.com

Tannoy celebrates 10 years at PALME Middle-East with new additions Scottish audio manufacturer Tannoy celebrated 10 years of participation at the event with two of its sister companies - Lab. gruppen and Lake. Together, they launched an array of new products at the show. Tannoy’s display included its famous Vertical Line Source (VLS) passive column range designed for architectural install applications. Also on display were the VX and VXP range, with the latter featuring Lab.gruppen’s new IDEEA (Intelli-Drive Energy Efficient Amplifier) power module. Tannoy also featured its highly successful QFlex digital beam-steering array loudspeakers.

Krishna Pratap Singh (India) and Graham Lawton (Middle East) of Tannoy, and Thomas Vestergaard of Lab.gruppen on the Tannoy stand

Lab.gruppen displayed its new 1U installcentric, high-efficiency E Series amplifier range, along with the PLM Series incorporating Lake Processing Technology. Certified as

Energy Star 2.1 compliant, the amplifiers are extraordinarily efficient both in terms of net operating efficiency and typical current draw.

Lake Processing exhibited the LM 44, the brand new standalone digital processor.

“PALME ME represents a core target market for these new products,” said Krishna Pratap Singh (India). “We need to show how Lake can be integrated into large scale digital audio installs such as sports stadia. This event is therefore important to us.”

According to them, while the visitor flow this year appears to be less than last year, it has grown qualitatively. www.tannoy.com www.labgruppen.com www.lake.labgruppen.com

Sennheiser reinforces the new XS wireless series Technopro LLC, a locally-based audio, video, lighting and broadcasting solutions distribution giant, participated at PALME ME this year with a massive 1000 square meter stand - almost stretching end-to-end on one side of the exhibition hall. On display were its products from PR Lighting, FBT, Technoled, SGM, High End Systems, Tower Box, Whirlwind, Kinesys, Barco and many others.

Nabil Bourgeili, Technopro’s Managing Director revealed that Fiberplex Technologies LLC was added to its list of partner companies.

The partnership between the Fiberplex Technologies LLC and Technopro has produced awesome installations in the region, according to Bourgeili.

company. “This is the beauty of PALME,” affirms Bourgeili. “The deal is not only big, but it came from a hitherto unexpected market, Africa. So, the event is proving to be very fruitful for us.”

Equally important for Technopro was the signing of a massive deal with a Nigerian

www.technopro.me www.fiberplex.com

Nabil Bourgeili with Sam Spennacchio, DirectorSales & Marketing at Fiberplex

EXHIBITION REVIEW

Thomsun Trading exhibits multi-brand strengths Thomsun Trading displayed Tannoy’s Qflex digital beam-steering array loudspeakers, Mipro’s wireless microphones, Rode microphones, myMix mixers, and Genelec’s new and popular 8260A Tri-Amplified DSP Monitoring System. It was Genelec’s 8260A that captured visitors’ attention.

“The event this year is good in that we have been seeing some quality visitors,” said Ashok Ross, project manager at Thomsun. “It’s good for us that we are able to interact with people who can be potential buyers too.”

Elsewhere on the showfloor, Thomsun also exhibited the latest products from Yamaha, Nexo and AKG. www.thomsun.ae

Ashok Ross, Project Manager-PA at Thomsun Trading (centre) flanked by Kartik Vishwanathan(left) and Clifford Pereira(right)

V.V. & Sons displays wide range of audio and lighting solutions V.V. & Sons Divisional Manager P.V. Davis with his range of solutions on stand

Dubai-based V.V. & Sons LLC exhibited a wide range of products from Allen & Heath, Australian Monitor, Crest Audio, Denon, Furman, LDR, Nexo, Peavy and RCF, among others. Allen & Heath’s GLD Series and LDR’s theatre lighting products attracted the most attention. V.V. & Sons featured the full range of audio-technica microphones, including the goosenecks and wireless handheld.

“PALME ME is one of the major shows for the pro audio and lighting industry in the region,” said P.V. Davis, divisional manager of V.V. & Sons. “It’s here that we get to showcase our range of solutions to the customers. We get diverse customers from diverse markets and we understand their needs.” www.vvsons.com www.vvsons.ae

LDR’s Fabiano Besio with V.V. & Sons’ Joseph Ninel Rebero

Venuetech displays new solutions from Martin, Electro-Voice effects luminaire and M2GO lighting console; Electro-Voice’s ZXA1 and ZXA1 Sub, Evid surface mount, in-wall and in-ceiling speakers, s-40 compact loudpseaker and University PA loudspeakers; and Sennheiser’s 2000, 3000, and 5000 wireless systems, and professional microphone systems.

Venuetech exhibited Martin and EV products

Venuetech displayed many products and systems from multiple brands at its booth.

Among them were Martin Professional’s MacViper moving head, MAC III AirFX mid-air

All the systems and products are new to the market, said Ahmad Qatanani of Venuetech’s business development division. However, Martin’s MacViper and MAC III are new for the show, he said. The power-packed ZXA1 and ZXA1 Subwoofer from Electro-Voice have become very popular and are much in demand.

“PALME ME is a big show and it is getting better too,” Qatanani said. “We have had some quality visitors and some serious enquiries too.” www.venuutech.ae

Ahmed Qatanani, from Business Development Division explains about EV popular series

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INSTALL India

Shroom Lounge rules the night with coolux

The new Shroom Lounge and Nightclub in Delhi offers its customers an extremely stylish clubbing experience, which is made possible through a combination of great design and modern projection technology.

Although it takes many venues a fairly long time to leave their mark in the highly competitive Delhi nightclub scene, Shroom has quickly become a favourite with style conscious trendsetters and celebrities.

Shroom is hosting both internationally acclaimed and homegrown DJ talents to create the right kind of musical ambience. The club’s overall design, which was created by the Mumbai based environmental design studio, The Busride, is characterised by a complete lack of edges, making an instant impression and inviting everyone to unwind and enjoy the atmosphere.

Neither too big nor too small, visitors feel they have come to the right place from the moment they enter the Shroom Lounge.

for warping and controlling the different software systems.

In order to make life easier for the resident VJs, the coolux Widget Designer was used to design a custom made user-interface.

Additional external VJ systems were connected to the coolux systems to offer extreme flexibility.

Sample Equipment List: 5 x coolux Pandoras Box Version 5 Player LT 1 x coolux Pandoras Box Version 5 Manager LT 1 x coolux Pandoras Box Widget Designer STD 5 x BenQ projectors www.jointhebusride.com www.coolux.de

Digital Advantage was responsible for the overall installation and system integration, with Montie Paul taking care of the coolux programming in particular.

Multiple coolux Pandoras Box Player licenses were used for the beautiful projections which form an integral part of the overall club design.

The coolux Pandoras Box Manager was used

Qatar

IDR installed in the Torch of Doha The Aspire Zone is the triumphant symbol of Qatar’s sporting heritage. Spread over a 250 hectare site, the city has been designed to attract local and international sport enthusiasts alike. Embodying the spirit of the 2006 Asian Games, The Torch Doha is a beacon of luxury and well-being, offering a unique 5-star experience. At 300m high and with 360° panoramic views across the whole of Doha, The Torch is a haven for the discerning traveller whether they are sports enthusiasts, business leaders or health and wellness seekers.

AVTech, Paxt Ltd.’s distributor for Allen & Heath in Qatar, was given the task to meet and overcome the most complex applications and install a user-friendly solution - quality and system redundancy being the focal points. Comparing the conventional matrix processors in the market, AVTech decided to opt for the most complete integrated system, Q-Sys developed by QSC, and an Allen & Heath iDR-8 matrix mixer to provide separate audio management and control.

In seven state-of-the-art meeting rooms, the AVTech team installed the Allen & Heath iDR8 16x16 matrix mixer. The iDR-8 matrix mixer has an extensive array of audio management

tools - this reduces the need for additional devices to be specified for an installation, or carried in the hire inventory. Pedigree ALLEN & HEATH preamps, 24-bit converters and fixed DSP architecture ensure that concert-quality low-latency sound is delivered efficiently to where it is needed. The iDR System Manager software allows customization and enhanced control allowing user-defined configuration, custom EQ, MIC mixing and PL-Anet remote control.

sound great with the processing power of the iDR-8 and brings user-friendly and reliable technology to each of the meeting rooms.”

Pradeep Kumar, Project Manager for AVTech said, “THE TORCH of Doha meeting rooms

www.allen-heath.com

Hugo Feighery, International Sales Manager for Paxt Ltd said, “AVTech provided a high quality and comprehensive turnkey solution and are an excellent partner for Allen & Heath and Paxt. They are regularly involved in high profile projects and promote Allen & Heath very successfully.”

INSTALL

67

A performance in progress on the stage at Spa Resort Hawaiians following the post-earthquake reconstruction work, with the QSC ILA Line Array Loudspeaker System visible at both sides of the picture

Japan

Japanese Spa Resort Hawaiians rebuilds with QSC Spa Resort Hawaiians, a family water resort in Fukishima prefecture, Japan, had just finished a complete refurbishment, including the commissioning of a QSC Installation Line Array (ILA) Loudspeaker System, when the terrible earthquake and tsunami of March 2011 wreaked havoc in the area. The resort had to close, but reconstruction work began almost immediately, and the ILA is now back in full service on the recently completed entertainment stage.

Japanese QSC distributor Onkyo Tokki Ltd (OTK) was responsible for the original ILA installation as well as the reconstruction work.

The entertainment area at the spa, which hosts evening Hula dances and Polynesian live music events for the spa’s customers, is located behind an indoor lido pool area, and is surrounded on three sides by two-tiered audience seating with a maximum capacity of 700 people.

Prior to the refurbishment, the resort’s management was unsatisfied with the sound of the original PA. Due to the expansion of the entertainment area over the years, the existing 14-year-old system no longer provided an even dispersal of sound across the seating area. The managers knew it was time for a system capable of achieving consistent coverage both laterally and vertically.

OTK recommended the QSC ILA as both the most efficient and cost-effective solution for

the resort. As the ILA provides an impressive 140-degree horizontal range of coverage, no outfills or centre clusters were needed, further minimising cost and complexity. OTK decided to install 12 WL2082-i loudspeakers and two pairs of WL118-sw subwoofers. A dedicated SC28 system controller was chosen to optimise the performance of the system, in which the speakers were driven 4-way (3-way plus subs) by a combination of QSC PowerLight™ PL325 and PL340 amplifiers.

Installed in two arrays mounted five metres from the ground, one on either side of the stage and each consisting of six WL2082-i elements and a pair of WL118-sw subs, the stage sound system succeeded in reproducing on-stage sound with vastly improved clarity and presence, delivering it evenly to every seat in the house — even the rear seats on the top tier, which are around 30 metres away from the twin QSC arrays.

Following the earthquake, reconstruction at Spa Resort Hawaiians took just under a year. According to OTK, the goal of the reconstruction work was to restore the systems at the resort to the state they were in the day before the disaster, and this was achieved by the time the resort reopened in February. To the delight of OTK’s engineers, when the structural works on the resort following the earthquake were complete, the QSC ILA and its constituent elements were found to be in full working order, requiring no repairs. www.qscaudio.com

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INSTALL Lebnon

LIFE and DYNACORD VariLine enrich Beirut’s nightlife

Known for its sleepless nightlife, Beirut’s club scene is richer now by one attraction: LIFE. The venue is one of the largest in the Lebanese capital, hosting 1,500 people in its indoor area with a large motorized, retractable roof, and double that number in its open-air area. The main area is the largest in size, with smaller seating spaces located to the left and right.

For this showcase project, the owners of the club wanted a sound system that would be able to deliver high sound levels as well as exceptional sound quality, while avoiding the distortion usually associated with systems delivering high SPLs. Maurice Salloum, sound engineer and coowner of LIFE, took the responsibility of identifying the right system as well as the right company to complete the installation. Having a long-term relationship with Beirut-based HI FI SERVICE, Salloum knew he was in safe hands working with them. “I wanted an unparalleled system for our venue,” he says. “A system that can generate high SPLs and at the same time produce excellent sound. Additionally, I needed a system that could be used as an indoor system during the winter season and that could be moved outside during summer, when the club shifts to the open air area.”

Oussama Mansour Abou Faraj, Manager of HI FI SERVICE, was determined to provide his client with HI FI’s best services and expertise, not only because of the trust the owners of the club invested in him, but also knowing that this club was going to be a top club both in Beirut and the region. “I proposed using a DYNACORD VariLine system,” says Abou Faraj.

“We have used the system in other clubs – always with outstanding results.” To ensure an optimal sound system design, Abou Faraj

decided to work closely with the DYNACORD’s MEA Technical Support Manager Tony Sawyer, both discussing the needs of the client and his concept to tackle the issue. A full-venue analysis was undertaken in which a full room model was done using Ulysses, to ensure the position and speakers were right for the application.

The design itself now includes eight DYNACORD VL 212 2-way full range cabinets covering the main area and reinforced by ten DYNACORD VL 122s. Five DYNACORD VL 262 cabinets cover the upper tier areas, two DYNACORD VL 262 cabinets act as DJ monitors. As the interior required discrete subwoofer placement, HI FI brought in an interior decorator to tackle the issue at hand. Designed as a large “covert” subwoofer system, the installation includes six DYNACORD Sub 28 subs and eight DYNACORD Sub 18 subs.

better than the DYNACORD P64 digital signal processor and the DSA multi-channel amplifiers? That’s why we called on these to do the job.” Two units were used: one standard P64 along with one P64-1500 configured as an 8-input / 32-output with the DSAs connected using CobraNet. An installed IRIS-Net GUI allows for system control with the advantage of a protected system with no risk to the safety and integrity of the system, yet giving the DJs enough control to satisfy the venue. The main DJ inputs / DJ monitor inputs and subsequent outputs are all controlled via the DSAs. “We also installed ten DYNACORD DSA 8410 4 x 1000 W and one DYNACORD DSA 8805 as amplifiers”, explains Abou Faraj. “Fitted with the Variable Load Drive (VLD) modules, they make the power hunger cabinets work like a charm.” An additional four DYNACORD VL 212 speakers, six DYNACORD Sub 28 subs, and three DYNACORD DSA 8410 amplifiers are added when the system is installed in the outside area.

On the opening night after the sound system was fully installed, the place was packed and 1,200 people were rocking to a well-tuned VariLine system. LIFE’s co-owner Maurice Salloum was equally in the mood to celebrate.

“The system performs even better than we would have expected. It is extremely powerful, clear and has offered everything we could want. We have definitely made the right choice.”

DYNACORD’s VL 212 speaker

Equipment List (extract): The unique club concept features an indoor area with a retractable roof as well as an open-air area – complemented by a lavish DYNACORD sound reinforcement system featuring VariLine loudspeakers

“To control of all this amount of sound, the control of the whole system needed to be flexible and powerful, allowing proper signal management,” says Abou Faraj. “What’s

12 x DYNACORD VL 212 10 x DYNACORD VL 122 7 x DYNACORD VL 262 12 x DYNACORD Sub 28 8 x DYNACORD Sub 18 13 x DYNACORD DSA 8410 1 x DYNACORD DSA 8805 1 x DYNACORD P64-1500 1 x DYNACORD P64 www.DYNACORD.com

INSTALL

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Malaysia

NEXO plays star role at the Arena of the Stars The 5° Hyperboloid Reflective Wavesource in the Geo T4805 is optimized so that multiple GEO loudspeakers coherently radiate tangent wavefronts, allowing these curved vertical arrays to deliver consistent front-to-rear SPL across all coverage areas.

The flown Center cluster consists of 4 units of the 8” NEXO GeoT4805 5° array module with 2 units of 8” NEXO GeoT2815 15° array module.

They are controlled by NEXO’s NX242-ES4 processor.

The flown Left Main and Right Main cluster consists of 10 units of the NEXO GeoT4805 with 2 units of NEXO GeoT2815 that are controlled by NEXO’s NX242-ES4 processor.

The Left and Right Side Fills consists of 12 units of the NEXO GeoT4805 with 2 units of NEXO GeoT2815 that are controlled by NEXO’s NX242-ES4 processor whereas the Front Fill consists of the previously existing NEXO PS15s and the CAMCO DX24 power amplifier that were upgraded with NEXO’s NX242-ES4 processor.

Resorts World Genting, the Fun City above the Clouds and a popular destination for entertainment, welcomes over 20 million visitors annually. At its entertainment centre, Arena of Stars, the venue with 5300 seats has organized over 1300 concerts since its conception 12 years ago with many international acts and events at the 45000 sq ft amphitheatre. The venue has welcomed top international performers such as Sir Elton John, Sir Cliff Richard, Kenny G, Black Eye Peas, Vienna Boys Choir from Austria, Kitaro, Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok, Sam Hui and Sammi Cheng.

Rico Yong, sales engineer at Audio Solutions Sdn Bhd said, “To ensure that our solutions met the objectives of the venue’s management, we used NEXO’s NS-1 simulation and configuration tool. This enabled us to configure our speaker systems for optimal performance offering uniform SPL coverage.

Arena of Stars is a large venue, the software provided us with the correct configurations to ensure exceptional coverage with minimized sound reflection and even coverage.”

Arena of Stars, being a one-of-a-kind entertainment centre, installed a NEXO Alpha audio system when it was first built. Last July, Genting Malaysia Berhad reappointed NEXO to upgrade its current amphitheatre system to keep itself in line with today’s latest audio technology. With the system upgraded, Arena of Stars hopes to continue to be one of Malaysia’s top entertainment venues that is equipped with a premium audio-visual system as it continues to welcome more internationally acclaimed artistes.

The Arena of Stars upgrading project was undertaken by Nexo’s Malaysian distributor, Audio Solutions Sdn Bhd, who supplied and installed the system, while the testing and commissioning of the system was undertaken

by Scott Mason & Stuart Kerrison from NexoSA.

Sub-woofers placed at ground level under the main cluster were configured as left and right with 12 units of the NEXO 18” RAYSUB 18PT controlled by a NEXO NX242-ES4 processor. The Ray Subs feature new patented technology by NEXO that provide high sound pressure level output and offers long throw even coverage. All audio signals are managed by an XTA DP 448 system. An existing Midas Heritage 4000 was used for FOH mixing whereas a new Yamaha PM5D was purchased for monitoring that was supported by a NEXO NX-Y16ES 16 channel Ethersound digital interface. The managing and controlling of the Ethersound network was done by an Auvitran AVE-Es monitor system.

The team from Audio Solutions completed the project within two months ensuring minimal downtime. The NEXO sound system is recognized internationally for its audio technology.

The upgraded speakers consist mainly of the NEXO Geo Ts. The Geo T4805 were extensively used as they are compact with extremely highoutput. They are also lighter and easier to rig.

www.rwgenting.com www.audiosolutions.com.my

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INSTALL Japan

Martin Audio MLA is first system to cover Tokyo Dome — without delays The control and containment of sound was amazing as well, according to Shuzo Fujii, the president of MSI Japan. “It reduced the sound reflections, which constantly annoys audiences at this venue and at the same time gave the promoters several thousand extra seats. The result was something that people have never experienced before.”

“Furthermore,” he said, “Tokyo Dome frequently receives complaints of noise pollution from its neighbours. However, there was no such claim from anywhere this time.

Such was the quality of sound and absence of any leakage exhibited by MLA that few outside the building could have recognised what type of show was taking place inside. In addition the absence of any towers meant we could reduce the number of tour trucks, making this a really cost effective exercise.”

The idea of providing even audio coverage for Tokyo Dome’s massive 55,000 seats — without the need for delays — has always been the holy grail of incoming production teams.

Finally this dream became a reality — when the award-winning Martin Audio MLA Multicellular Loudspeaker Array made its debut there recently, supporting one of Asia’s most successful acts, TVXQ (an abbreviation of their Chinese name, Tong Vfang Xien Qi).

Major rental company, MSI Japan had chosen this venue for the début of its new MLA system — supporting the Korean electronica pop star sensations (now a duo featuring U-Know Yunho and Max Changmin). As a result, they put one of their senior FOH engineers, Takashi ‘Shiro’ Murata, in charge of the mix.

Traditionally, with all large concerts at the Tokyo Dome, delay towers had to be set to provide even coverage throughout the venue.

These were necessary to reach the third tier — set at 150m distance from the stage.

Consequently, the seating positioned beneath (and behind) the towers could not be used for audience purposes, resulting in a capacity drop of several thousand seats.

With tickets for the concerts said to have sold out within 30 seconds of going on sale, it was easy to see why MSI Japan had chosen these artists for the début of MLA, concluded Mr. Fujii. “Everybody involved in the production acknowledged that the system had delivered something unique, which they had never previously experienced. As a result we have had a lot of interest from major production and management companies.”

With the Martin Audio MLA Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array, two PA hangs of 22 x MLA enclosures (main array), supported by a further 18 MLA enclosures for each side array, were all that was needed.

The main array delivered bright sound directly to the third level. It achieved the same SPL and same frequency responses throughout the venue with a sound reality that had hitherto never been experienced.

Footnote: The band has different names in different countries. In addition to TVXQ (in China) they are known as Dong Bang Shin Ki (DBSK) in Korea while the Japanese call them Tohoshinki. Either way, their name translates as ‘The rising gods of the East’ and they have a profound influence throughout Asia. www.martin-audio.com

TVXQ – one of Asia’s most successful acts

INSTALL

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Lebnon

MIDAS PRO6s are best bet at Casino du Liban Two MIDAS PRO6 live audio systems supplied by MIDAS distributor of the year, Dubai-based NMK Electronics, have been installed in one of the Middle East’s premier casinos, Jounieh’s Casino du Liban, bringing the venue’s total PRO6 count to three.

Tony Khoury, the casino’s chief sound engineer since 1996, took delivery of his first PRO6 system in 2009 for the 1,800-capacity theatre space. “I chose the PRO6 then because I couldn’t find the right warmth of sound in any other digital desk,” says Khoury. “The MIDAS pre amps in the PRO6 provide really effective power and quality. I also found the PRO6 so easy to use. You can get to any zone really fast – it feels like I am working on one of the MIDAS analogue consoles, like a Heritage 3000.”

Khoury was so delighted with the performance of his first PRO6 that when it came to upgrading the sound system in the casino’s dining and entertainment space, the 600-capacity La Salle Des Ambassadeurs, there was only one choice for him.

La Salle Des Ambassadeurs now boasts two PRO6 systems, one FOH and one on monitors.

A DL431 mic splitter has been added to the monitor system while both monitor and FOH

consoles have DSP engines, DL252 digital snakes to optimise mic audio and a DL451 audio system modular I/O with both analogue and digital cards to maximise flexibility.

“Having had the PRO6 in the theatre for three years, I insisted on MIDAS again,” says Khoury. “I am very satisfied with the PRO6 and I am happy to be the only sound engineer in Lebanon to have three in one place.”

Khoury has now mixed hundreds of shows on his first PRO6, from live bands to musicals and dance performances to stand up comedy, a variety which has showcased the system’s flexibility. “I’ve used almost all the effects and dynamics, I like the channel inputs and the EQ is very precise and sensitive,” he enthuses.

“The choice of four compressors on each input channel provides nice gain reduction and the gate is also very helpful where there are many instruments miked up. I also like the KLARK TEKNIK graphic EQ and delay effects.”

Says Chicco Hiranandani, NMK business development manager, “I had a great time working together with Tony on the recent upgrade of the Salle des Ambassadors at the casino. It is always enjoyable working with individuals who share the same kind

Casino du Liban’s chief sound engineer Tony Khoury with a Midas PRO6

of intensity or passion for what they do.

I am sure that patrons of the casino will experience a spectacular show or event with the new equipment at the venue.”

MIDAS brand development manager Richard Ferriday adds, “We are delighted that Casino Du Liban are continuing their investment in MIDAS, and our new competitive pricing now makes that even easier. Another important consideration is that the PR06 is a modular, upgradable system, which means that the casino has the option to upgrade to full 88 input PR09 capacity if their requirements increase in the future.” www.midasconsoles.com

Australia

Whitlam Theatre gets upgrade to an Electro-Voice PA System limited. Therefore a ground support system was engineered instead.

The Revesby Worker’s Club was founded in 1962 and has been an integral part of the community since its inception. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2012, the club is known as a premiere entertainment and lifestyle destination, conveniently located just off the M5 in Sydney, Australia. Hosting a number of leading local and international acts, the Whitlam Theatre is one of the largest entertainment spaces in its region, holding up to 1600 depending on room layout.

Revesby Worker’s Club requested design proposals based on systems that could provide better coverage for the theatre space with a more consistent volume and frequency response. The challenge for this install was to replace the multi-box point source system with a line array system. With the age of the venue, rigging options in the ceiling were

After considering 4 different design proposals, the Senior Managers of the Club decided on the Electro-Voice system design by AV integrators, Saltec, as it promised to deliver the best results for the room at a reasonable cost. The new system also supported some of the existing Electro-Voice inventory.

The main PA hang comprises of six EV XLC DVX 90 deg boxes and two EV XLC DVX 120 deg boxes per side, with two EV X-Subs per side mounted below the stage.

For fill there are four Dynacord VL 262 boxes, two are mounted on the inside of the proscenium and two are brought out and sat on the stage lip, if and when required.

Delay consists of four EV ZX1i 90W which are mounted above the balcony. Drive for the main array is through nine Dynacord H5000 amplifiers with RCM 26 DSP cards loaded. The bottom two 120 deg boxes are shaded 6db to smooth out the near field. Two Dynacord H5000 amplifiers, again with RCM 26 DSP cards loaded, drive the subs. A Dynacord H2500 with an RCM 26 DS card loaded drives

with fills whilst another drives the delays.

In addition, there is a UCC1 can bus interface at the Front of House mix position, to allow for the amplifiers to be monitored and controlled remotely. Another added feature that the new system provides is that it comprises a FIR filter drive and offers the ability to network the amplifiers so that they can be monitored front of house.

To an audience of at least 1000 people, the new sound system was introduced by Club President and Local Federal Labour Member Daryl Mellham at a seniors concert featuring Neil Hanson. After the concert had concluded, the duty manager commented that for the first time they had not received one complaint from any member in the audience.

With the big sound the new system provides, Revesby Worker’s Club looks forward to welcoming more local and international acts to their venue with sell-out crowds screaming for more. www.saltec.com.au www.boschcommunications.com.au

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Darling Quarter flicks the switch on Massive Digital Canvas Ramus describes how coolux were extremely helpful when he requested a brand new algorithm be written in order to control the white LED in the RGBW. “It’s the first time that has ever been developed,” added Ramus.

“Video signal speaks RGB so coolux developed an algorithm that speaks to the white and they were great in coming to the table with that. The control system works really well and I’m very happy with it.”

When the sun goes down, Sydneysiders can experience Luminous six evenings a week from the Community Green adjacent to Darling Quarter’s dinning and bar hub. From May to December, Tuesday through until Sunday, expect to see digital art created by Ramus – the man behind many of the major lighting projections at the Sydney Opera House and Federation Square in Melbourne.

The world’s largest permanent interactive light display, named Luminous at Darling Quarter, has been turned on in Sydney, Australia.

Luminous at Darling Quarter represents an important investment in green digital art by the Darling Quarter joint stakeholders, Lend Lease, Commonwealth Bank and Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority. The project, which has taken twelve months to complete, establishes Darling Harbour’s vibrant new precinct - Darling Quarter, as the new face of digital arts in Australia.

Bruce Ramus, creator of Luminous at Darling Quarter, stated, “The digital façade adds radiance and playfulness to the precinct and brings people together in the spirit of creating light and art for others to enjoy.” Ramus says Luminous at Darling Quarter has been the collaborative effort of many, resulting in a unique approach to urban space that aligns public art, community engagement and commercial vitality. “It is efficient, innovative and sustainable,” he said.

Luminous is spread across four stories (14 metres high) of the two buildings that are home to Commonwealth Bank’s Sydney headquarters. The facades’ two low resolution screens span a distance of 150 metres in total, making it the largest permanent, interactive light installation in the world.

Luminous at Darling Quarter is powered by 100 percent renewable energy created from solar panels fitted to the roof. This is consistent with Darling Quarter’s Six Star Green Star (V3) As Built Rating – the first building in Australia to achieve this status.

The Canvas is created from 557 LED lights that incredibly use the same energy - 10.2kW, as five household vacuum cleaners. New algorithms had to be written to adapt a brighter and less power hungry LED light to video streaming – the first time this has ever been done. Remarkably, workers inside the building won’t even know when the lights are switched on.

The LED lights are custom made RGBW LED battens in either 750 mm or 1500 mm length.

One of these battens is situated within the sill of every window of the two buildings.

The control system was installed and commissioned by Show Technology including a coolux Pandora’s Box Media Server and Media Manager, an ELC ShowStore, and a complete redundancy system. Programming was done on a grandMA console.

“The visual content seen in the façade is gentle and abstract using colour, movement and pace to convey meaning. Luminous at Darling Quarter creates moods and offers people an authentic space to feel joy, curiosity, wonder, delight and stillness, rather than any particular message. It is meant as an offering to the community, not an imposition,” said Ramus.

As the years go by, Luminous at Darling Quarter will increasingly feature content created by community groups, local and international artists commissioned by the three stakeholders, public interaction and games, as well as some special event programming for the community.

Two touchscreen consoles have been fitted for visitors to play alone or with each other across the two buildings. Popular games have already been programmed such as Big Snake, Pong, Finger Paint, Kangaroo Crossing, Gyro Dance and Plasma. Smartphones are also an easy way for the public to interact with the facade.

Remote visitors to www. darlingquarterluminous.com.au can view a real-time display of the facade, as well as design their own show to be played on the façade.

Bruce Ramus, creator of Luminous at Darling Quarter

“Pandora’s Box is user friendly and reliable,” commented Ramus. “Show Technology were great and always very helpful particularly Vince Haddad. They were very thorough and intelligent in their process. I value that relationship immensely.”

Video available: https://vimeo.com/42242276 www.showtech.com.au

INSTALL

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Australia

Gasworks Arts Park leads the way with ETC Source Four Fresnels Gasworks Arts Park is a vibrant arts precinct producing a range of high-quality arts programs, workshops and activities for every age, ability, interest and audience. Situated in Albert Park, Melbourne, on the site of the former South Melbourne Gas Plant, Gasworks is just three kilometres from the CBD and the precinct houses four hectares of park, two theatres, three gallery spaces, a café, as well as function and workshop spaces.

According to Michele Domonkos, Operations & Human Resources Manager, it was desperation that led her to purchase ETC Source Four Fresnels for the precinct’s theatres!

“We really needed some uniformity in our lantern stock,” she remarked. “We had a lot of mismatched fixtures, mostly well past their used by date. The reflectors were worn and sourcing the various parts to maintain the old and broken lanterns was becoming a regular task. A long time ago we bought a concoction of Strand, Selecon, Prolite and other fixtures resulting in a very mixed bag of equipment and consequently, a mixed bag of globe stock and parts. I really wanted to replace them with something that was of good quality and allowed us to have a uniform stock of globes.

That way, any technician coming in wouldn’t have to spend half-an-hour working out which globes went where.”

Of course light output was also a priority for Michele and to achieve a reliable wash she needed to have all her fixtures of approximately the same age. Michele has been a fan of the Source Four Profile for a long time having worked with them in other venues and she has always been impressed by their reliability, build quality, lamp life and quality of beam.

“I expected the same from the Source Four Fresnel but I still got a test model from my supplier (ASL Systems),” she commented. “We tested it against a Strand Cantata and a couple of other fresnels that we have and the 750W Source Four Fresnel compared favourably with the 1K fresnels that we already had.”

ETC’s Source Four Fresnel gives you the highperformance light output and energy savings of a Source Four and the lighting characteristics that only a Fresnel optical system can provide.

That classic system has been combined with a special ETC dichroic reflector design, enabling the HPL 750W Source Four Fresnel to equal the light output of 1000W Fresnel fixtures.

Immediately after testing the Source Four Fresnel, Michele ordered twenty-four from ASL Systems and since they have been installed she has been pleased by their performance.

“They’re simple to use and we haven’t had to replace any globes yet,” she said. “They’re reasonably compact for what they are and they’re easy to focus. They have a nice system for you to take the back out of the fixture to replace the globe without having to refocus your lamp afterwards. We’re very pleased with them.” www.jands.com.au www.etcconnect.com

ETC Source Four Fresnel

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INSTALL Australia

Anolis and the Droplet design practice, Light Application, and supplied by the Gold Coast HQ of Anolis’ Australian distributor The ULA Group, coordinated by ULA’s Architectural Lighting & Vision Consultant, Jason Saunders.

Light Application’s MD David Sparrow explains that the choice of lighting product was very simple in that it required a flexible, high powered LED fixture that was compact, well-priced and maintenance-free.

“So the Anolis ArcPad was the obvious choice,” he concludes.

Anolis ArcPad 48 LED fixtures are internally lighting artist Stuart Green’s gleaming and breathtakingly beautiful ‘Droplet’ sculpture, a 6-metre tall, 3-metre wide stainless steel work which has been installed on the corner of Furzer and Worgon Streets in the Phillip Woden district of Canberra, Australia.

Perth-based Green was commissioned to create Droplet by the ACT (Australian Capital Territory) Government. Its elegant curved and pleated shell – in the shape of a massive water droplet - is made from laser cut 316 marine grade stainless steel, and it has a quirky 10 degree tilt. The idea is that the ‘single strong object’ can be easily interpreted from a distance … with details and pierced intricacies available on closer viewing as people are drawn to it.

Lighting was integral to the sculpture from the start. It is a medium also previously explored by the artist in other works. The ArcPad 48s were specified by Western Australia-based

Green adds, “I wanted to use high quality LED products with a good intensity that were simple to install … and hugely dynamic in effect.” The ArcPad 48 fixtures are installed in the base of Droplet

pointing upwards and outwards to the east and west. They are programmed to run a colour changing sequence that morphs from blue to pink to white, etc. over a 5 minute period.

The colour chase is slightly offset in each fixture, with the effect giving slightly varied hues of the same colour simultaneously as it traverses the programmed colour spectrum.

This results in a fuller, richer and more rounded chromatic experience than if lit with a single colour tone. The Dynalight DMX control system was pre-programmed by Light Application and Green at the latter’s studio in Perth, and the whole work transported in its entirety across the country for installation.

There is also an interplay with natural light during the day as Droplet is highly reflective and reflects the colour, light and subtleties of its immediate environment – making it a living, breathing phenomenon. At dawn/dusk, there is a fabulous reciprocity between the Anolis lighting, the fading/ brightening sky and the ambient street lighting and general glow emanating from the close urban landscape.

The ArcPad 48s turn on/off with the street and pedestrian lighting, so during the darkness hours, Droplet takes on another whole new shimmering persona. Light radiates from it, aesthetically engaging all who pass, enriching their individual journeys and imaginations.

Droplet has already become massively popular and received much critical acclaim as a high profile, captivating piece of public art.

Stuart Green is delighted with the performance of the ArcPad 48s, and has ordered more to be used on some of his forthcoming projects. www.anolis.eu

INSTALL

Australia

DiGiCo SD11 aids Australian Education In these financially difficult times, maximising the potential of facilities has become a key issue for the education sector. At the same time as delivering high quality education in line with modern expectations, schools need to ensure that their facilities generate their own revenue. These are the reasons why one Australian primary school has invested in DiGiCo, opening up a new market for the console manufacturer.

Helensvale Primary, located on Queensland’s Gold Coast, recently finished a new performing arts centre, complete with a full audio-visual solution designed, supplied and installed

by Dominica Sound via DiGiCo’s Australian distributor, Group Technologies.

“The school was previously hiring halls at its local arts centre for its events, but wanted to become self-contained in order to cut some of the operational overheads,” says Steve McCallum, director of Dominica Sound. “At the same time, they wanted to ensure that the space could accommodate a wide variety of events and be rented out to other schools - generating income while, at the same time, saving the other schools money.”

Measuring around 40m x 25m, with a stage at one end and elevated seating at the other, the 1100-capacity venue needed a high quality audio system and so a DiGiCo SD11 digital console was specified.

“We went with DiGiCo because it turned out to be a higher quality and more cost effective solution than anything else,” says Steve. “The sound quality of any other digital console wouldn’t have been anywhere near as good as the SD11, so it was a simple choice.”

input on every layer so anybody can walk in, clearly see which fader belongs to which input and begin using the desk. The teachers have commented on how easy it is to use. They just turn it on, select the inputs and then control volume, it’s that simple,” Steve continues.

Another big advantage of choosing the SD11 was the ability to configure the console for non-technical individuals, such as teachers and student AV operators from other schools.

“Helensvale holds a talent show at the end of every school day. The SD11 is set-up with every

“Everyone loves the new system. One of the teachers has told me that they feel like they’ve won the lottery!” www.digico.org

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LIVE

J Davis Prosound & Lighting chosen for Jaihind Malayalam Film Awards The popular television channel in Kerala, “Jaihind TV”, along with Impressario Events, Cochin, organized the Jaihind Malayalam Film Awards 2012 on 12 May 2012 at Chandrashekar Nair Stadium, Trivandrum, Kerala.

Close to 10,000 people attended the awards function which was filled with fun and glamour. The biggest evening in the Malayalam Film Industry brought together some of the top actors and actresses of the industry, all on one stage. J Davis Prosound & Lighting, Bangalore, was chosen to provide technical solutions (sound, lights & LED) for the 3rd time in a row for this prestigious event of the Malayalam film fraternity.

The sound system set-up was a bit complicated as the front VIP audience was covered with a super structure as a safety measures for rain. So a total of 4 + 4 L-Acoustics V-DOSC were stacked inside the structure with 4 + 4 L-Acoustics SB 218 Subs. The system covered the structure length of 110 feet.

Just behind the structure were two flown arrays of 8 + 8 L-Acoustics V-DOSC to cater to the remaining venue length of 70 metres. Four L-Acoustics Arcs were used for stage front fills with 4 Arcs and 2 QSC Powered Subs for the stage sidefills.

The system was completely powered by L-Acoustics LA – 48a Amps with the monitors powered by Martin Audio Amps. The system was controlled by a Dolby Lake Processor.

8 LE 1500 Martin Audio Monitors were used for the 6 piece band and front vocals. The microphones were a mix range of Shure & Sennheiser.

12 Claypaky Alpha HPE 1200 Spots, 16 PR Lighting Beams 16 LED Moving Head Washes 08 575 Robe Washes 72 3 Watt LED PARS all controlled with 2 Avolites 2010 Lighting Boards & W-DMX Wireless DMX Controller.

The lighting comprised of :

Graflex Inc, AV division of J Davis Prosound & Lighting, provided the LED Slim Line panels and mesh. The main backdrop along with the props comprised of a centre LED wall of 6mm 24 x 12.5 feet. The left and right stage wings comprised of 12 x 8 LED mesh.

250 Parcans with Pulsar Datapak Dimmer Racks

There were 4 vertical runners of 3 x 9 LED mesh.

A Yamaha PM 5D RH was used as the FOH console and it was also used control the monitors.

www.jdavisprosound.com

LIVE

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Vari*lite shines the classics

On 16-18 March 2012, Hong Kong Ballet brought back Turandot, a neo-classical ballet inspired by Giacomo Puccini’s internationally renowned opera of the same name as the Grand Finalé to the 2011-12 season at the Grand Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre.

Giacomo Puccini (1958 – 1924), an Italian composer, created some of the world’s most celebrated operas, including Madame Butterfly, Tosca and La Bohème. When Puccini died of throat cancer, his final opera, Turandot, was left unfinished. In the hand of Australian choreographer Natalie Weir, this work of power, lust and revenge is transformed to a dramatically alluring and riveting ballet.

Accompanied by Puccini’s original music, the audience is taken on a captivating journey of intrigue and spectacle.

Lighting designer Mak Kwok-Fai utilized more than 40 units of Vari*lite luminaires for the show to enhance the intense emotions and sensations behind Puccini’s music and Weir’s passionate choreography.

The Vari*lite rig includes the most popular VL 3000 series, VL 3500 spot, award-winning VLX and the latest VL 880.

Being the very first designer to use the new VL-880 luminaire in the region, Fai was happy with the result. “You get everything you expect from Vari*lite with this new ‘little brother’,” he said. “All the familiar features, like very fast and smooth moment, rich colour mixing, clarified patterns, an intense and powerful light beam and smooth fades on VL 880, have given me a totally satisfying experience when using the ‘new’ with the ‘old brothers’ together, without any compromises. The bonus of an additional frost is a particularly good feature when you want to create a gentle touch to highlight anything on stage. The VL 880 has inherited its genes from the family but in a more compact body with more creative possibilities.”

During rehearsals, the luminaire produced a chemical burst and the creative team was surprised and inspired by the visual impact brought by the ‘little guy’. More visually striking depictions were created for

the opulent sets to highlight intertwining emotions of the three protagonists in order to perfect this neo-classical piece.

When asked how the ‘little guy’ measured up to the ‘big brother’ and the feasibility of using it in larger venues, Fai replied, “They are truly ideal and there shouldn’t be any limitations when designing with this fascinating luminaire”.

In Review, Constance Rhodes has described The Hong Kong Ballet’s Turandot as “A spectacular triumph!” No doubt, it will become a magnificent addition to The Hong Kong Ballet’s distinguished repertoire.

For more information about VL 800, please visit: www.vari-lite.com

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LIVE

MA onPC command wing makes its debut at the Easter Show Paul Collison is using the new MA onPC command wing to control the lighting of the Main Arena Spectacular at Sydney’s Royal Easter Show. Designed as the perfect hardware expansion to the grandMA2 onPC software, the MA onPC command wing enables the look and feel of the software to be as close to a real grandMA2 console as possible.

“I was really keen to give it a go on this show,” he commented. “It allows you to have hard buttons, knobs and faders to control grandMA2 onPC software which is basically grandMA2 on your computer. Now, rather than trying to put in a ‘large’ console in a control room where there is no space, I’ve got the compact MA onPC command wing.”

Wherever it is physically difficult to use a grandMA2 console, the MA onPC command wing, in conjunction with the grandMA2 onPC software, enables the customer to program or playback within the grandMA2 world.

Paul used a grandMA2 light to program the show, switching to the MA onPC command wing for replay. “It’s not too dissimilar to using an actual console and I was surprised at how easily I took to it,” he said. “All of the buttons are in the same arrangement as the console

and the six faders are more than enough for a cue to cue show. I also have two touch screens hanging off my computer. Using the MA onPC command wing hasn’t compromised what I have to do at all. In fact, I’m very happy with it.”

“The MA onPC command wing is very cool and I think that it will be a fantastic tool for the

touring lighting designer who goes from show to show never quite sure of what console they’re going to get,” Paul added. “It gives you the ability to use what is probably the best lighting control platform that there is in an affordable package. Plus you can take it as hand luggage.” www.malighting.com

Clay Paky shines a light on Bahrain’s Path of Pearls Long-term Clay Paky stockist, Eclipse Staging Services, a trusted supplier of audio-visual services in the UAE and GCC, supplied local Bahrain Company, AVL Concepts, with Clay Paky Alpha HPE 1500’s, Beam 1500’s, Wash 1500’s and Profile 1500’s along with a large number of Sharpy fixtures.

Festivities are underway as Manama, capital city of Bahrain, celebrates its appointment as Capital of Arab Culture 2012.

As part of the festivities the city produced a spectacular opening ceremony, Path of Pearls, which was packed with magical imagery and effects. The person responsible for the stage and lighting concept was Belgian lighting designer, Luc Peumans, who employed no less than 170 Clay Paky fixtures to light the vast tiered stage, full-sized orchestra, aerialists and dancers.

Darren, general manager for Eclipse, commented, “One of the fields in which Luc Peumans and his company, Painting with Light, excels is in utilizing the latest technologies in the process of designing, while at the same time increasing efficiency and output. This made the Clay Paky Alpha range ideal for this project as they pack a lot of punch for relatively low power draw. In addition, the Clay Paky Sharpy effortlessly cuts into the action to pick out individual performers or to create architectural scenic effects.”

Lighting had to be strong and defined to complement the performances and to ensure the performers were not lost to the audience on the immense stage. Peumans used the Clay Paky Alpha range to evoke a variety of moods and environments. These

varied between underwater worlds to storm sequences and sunny seashores. The show’s performers, which included over 100 dancers and aerialists, plus a full-sized orchestra, used all areas of the expansive, three-dimensional multi-level stage, which presented Peumans with quite a challenge.

“Luc used a large number of our Alpha 1500 stock, including the Wash, Profile, Beam and HPE models,” explains Darren. “The high build quality and the fact that they’re reliable and robust, even outside in a rainstorm, made them a great choice for this project. The range of effect and projection options along with their high luminosity, sharpness of image, richness of colour and graphic effects are all features that ensured Peumans could successfully deliver his creative vision. From the moment we purchased the Clay Paky Alpha range - and more recently the Sharpys - they have become the preferred choice of fixture for many LDs in the region. Today, they’re used across every professional lighting sector in the region including theatres, television studios, architectural and entertainment environments. We’re delighted with them.” www.claypaky.it

LIVE

W-DMX™ at Vangelis Concert in Doha

Amphitheatre opening

W-DMX™ by Wireless Solution Sweden AB helped make the grand opening of the Katara Amphitheatre in Doha, Qatar a truly illuminated evening.

The venue, the largest amphitheatre in the Middle East, played centre stage for a special concert by the Oscar-winning Greek composer Vangelis. A&O Technology implemented a spectacular light show by the late esteemed lighting architect Gert Hof for the special concert.

A&O was responsible as general contractor for the lighting and pyrotechnics including the provision of electrical power, control and programming for the light show.

Only ten days had been assigned to put together a multimedia show in which, at times, over 350 high-powered searchlights, a variety of lighting systems, fireworks and video projection were employed simultaneously. The central section of the giant screen erected on the seaward side of the amphitheatre formed a giant arch that opened to reveal not only the sailing vessels out in the Persian Gulf but also a giant barge armed with no fewer than 90 xenon searchlights to create a blazing island of light in the ocean.

W-DMX was used for two rows of 45 A&O FALCON xenon searchlights positioned on a barge just under 90 metres long and aimed towards the amphitheatre. The control of these devices was realized from a distance of 611 metres over three Universe systems with control from a grandMA control desk.

The light show accompanied Vangelis’s scores for Chariots of Fire and Conquest of Paradise for which Hof worked closely with Vangelis on the project. In addition to Vangelis, the spectacle included music from the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, the Yurlov Russian State Academic Choir, famed soprano Angela Gheorghiu and tenor Roberto Alagna, the Qatar Philharmonic Children’s Choir along with musicians from other countries playing traditional instruments.

“It’s very satisfying to see W-DMX OEM partners like A&O in such prestigious events,” comments Niclas Arvidsson, CEO of Wireless Solution. “A&O has some of the most stunning lighting available for large scale events like this – the photos say it all. We’re very proud that W-DMX is offered in this high calibre line of products.”

A&O Production Crew:

Head of Production: Marco Niedermeier Technical Director: Thomas Linke Assistance to the HoP: Natalie Buba Supervisor: Adrian Gediga Production Coordinator: Marc Euschen Team Leader: Steffen Meyer Event Technicians: Bartek Petschke, Chris Hoffmann, Christopher Graefe, Fabian Weber, Fred Mielke, Joachim Lienau, Maciej Wirwicki, Marvin Flöte, Nathaniel Johnson, Sven Stöhr Project Manager: Daniel Szymanski Assistance to the PC: Lucian Fodoren Professional Lighting Planning: Sebastian Kirsch Lighting Operator: Tobias Petzold, Tobias Reinartz

Technical Director Pyro: Sven Asamoa Lighting artist: Gert Hof († January 2012) Photo credit: © A&O Technology, photo by Ralph Larmann www.wirelessdmx.com

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Eristoff Invasion 2012 pulsates with D.A.S. Audio On 10 March at Amanora Park Town, the second installment of this year’s Eristoff Invasion Festival took place with one the world’s foremost music makers, DJ David Guetta, as the show’s headlining act. With chart-topping hits like When Love Takes Over, Gettin’ Over You, and Sexy Bitch, Guetta’s music had the festival’s capacity crowds celebrating in a big way. Guetta’s pulsating sounds projected over the audience from an impressive sound reinforcement system comprised of loudspeakers from the Aero and Aero Series 2 catalog of Valencia, Spain-based D.A.S. Audio.

Sound & Light Professionals (SNL Pro) of Mumbai, a major provider of sound reinforcement systems, was contracted to provide the sound system for the event.

After consulting with festival organizers Only Much Louder, in partnership with UKNY Music (a leading UK-based music and events company), the decision was made to deploy D.A.S. Audio Aero 50 large format, 3-way line array loudspeakers, Aero 218 Sub enclosures, along with Aero 12A powered, 2-way, midhigh line array elements.

D.A.S. Audio Systems Engineer, Ron Koh, served as a consultant on the project and helped coordinate the logistics of the sound system along with the core crew of SNL Pro. Ultimately, the set-up for the house mains consisted of 24 Aero 50 enclosures—flown 12 elements per cluster for the left/right sides.

Twelve Lab.gruppen PLM-10000Q power amps— operating at 4 ohms per channel, with two Aero 50 enclosures per amplifier—drove the loudspeakers.

An additional three D.A.S. Audio Aero 12A powered line array elements were ground stacked up front. These loudspeakers served in a front fill capacity to ensure audience members up close to the stage received proper coverage.

Low frequency support was provided by a whopping 28 Aero 218 Sub enclosures. These high performance subwoofers employ a frontloaded, bass-reflex configuration that houses two 18-inch low frequency transducers. These sub bass enclosures were ground stacked—14 cabinets per side. The subwoofers were driven by seven Lab.gruppen PLM-10000Q power amps.

In addition to the primary sound system set-up, an additional 12 Aero 50 line array elements were configured as a delay system. Six Aero 50 loudspeakers were placed for both the left and right delay clusters. As with the Aero 50’s used for the house mains, Lab.gruppen PLM-10000Q power amps—operating at 4 ohms per channel, 2 Aero-50 enclosures per amplifier—provided plenty of drive.

Hassane Es Siahi, an audio engineer with Adlib Sound, Light, and Visual Solutions of Liverpool, England, served as the FOH system operator for David Guetta. Manning a Digidesign Venue SC48 mixing console, Siahi reports that the system performed wonderfully and provided excellent coverage throughout the 80 meter length of the audience area. The sound pressure level at FOH (35 meters from the stage) was reported at 108 dB(A) peak. “This is the best D.A.S. System I have heard and you can quote me on that,” Siahi said.

Reflecting on the performance of the sound system, Kamesh Patel, system engineer at SNL Pro, offered these parting thoughts, “We received countless compliments on the sound system’s performance. In addition to many positive comments from audience members, the show’s organizers were equally pleased. The D.A.S. Audio loudspeaker setup performed flawlessly and provided clear, consistent coverage throughout the entire audience area.” Manish Mavani, Director of SNL Pro, expressed the success of this event for his company, “We couldn’t be happier with the results, as we have already been booked for a few more upcoming electronics dance music festivals such as the 3-day Sunburn Summer Festival in Mumbai.” www.invasionfestival.in www.snlpro.com www.adlibsolutions.co.uk www.dasaudio.com

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GLP Spot One enjoys perfect Hong Kong debut with Cantopop Stars Hong Kong-based actor and Cantopop singer, Leon Lai, recently enjoyed a week of sell-out performances at the 12,000 seat Hong Kong Coliseum. Providing production support for the artist’s Leon X U show was local rental staging company, AHM Engineering Co. Ltd, who provided 28 of their newly-acquired GLP impression Spot One LED fixtures, to enhance the stage dynamics and give the groundbreaking fixture a spectacular Hong Kong debut.

AHM already owned 32 of the German company’s impression 120RZ’s, reporting nothing but good experiences within the first year, with zero failures. The fixtures have not only enjoyed a heavy duty cycle within Hong Kong but also several events at the Venetian in Macau — urging AHM to consider further increasing their stock of impression 120RZ’s.

Introduced to the Spot One late last year by GLP Asia General Manager, Michael Münz, AHM were so impressed that they immediately placed an order for 62 of the new fixtures.

The first 28 pieces were delivered in less than two weeks from order to meet the Leon Lai show deadline. Michael Münz remembers, “They literally came out of the airplane and went directly to the venue where they were installed out of the box and onto the rig.”

Having only seen the Spot One in their warehouse previously, all the production crew involved were stunned with the brightness and power of the beam — even in such a large venue as the Hong Kong Coliseum - where the fixtures were used all around a central stage, both as floor FX and on the outer edges of the trussing.

The crisp colours of the Spot One, coupled with the fast movement, provided the perfect match for this action-packed performance.

The reaction was scarcely surprising since Spot One is the first fixture of its kind to be released to the global market. Harnessing the output of enough LED sources and being able to run it through the optical system of a spot fixture to create an even beam for RGB colour mixing (and focusable area for gobo projections) has provided LD’s with a new dimension to their creative palette.

Mazon Chan, owner and founder of AHM, who had wanted to move his company further towards greener and more cost-efficient products, is more than happy with their latest investment since it will enable them to reduce running costs. And Paul Leung, Sales Director of AHM, adds that the five-year light engine warranty eases the burden on their budget since they no longer need to calculate bulb replacement costs.

Fired by their initial success, AHM Engineering then provided a further 38 Spot Ones for another Cantopop exponent, Aaron Kwok, when his De Showy Masquerade World Tour Live Concert arrived at the same venue.

Kwok is famous for his dancing performance and extravagant stage design and AHM were happy to increase the presence of the Spot Ones to provide extra drama (in fact the artist holds a Guinness Book Of World Records entry for the largest revolving stage, measuring 10m x 9.44m).

The Spots performed at a total of 21 shows in their first month of delivery, with no lamp adjustment necessary prior to their first use on stage.

www.glp.de

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Young Talent Time delves into Pandora’s Box “I bounce between triggering loops from the MA2 and treating them like lighting fixtures, to running clips from the timeline so that we can synchronise all of our videos with the soundtrack,” explained Paul. “That way we can get some of the interaction that we’ve been working with fairly closely between the content and the performers.”

Paul particularly likes the fact that Pandora’s Box is an entire system; it’s not thirteen standalone media players, rather one system.

“So all I need to do is load the content into the Media Manager Pro and it automatically spreads the content to each machine across the network. The Media Manager Pro does all the communication to the individual media players and that allows me to easily go between triggering loops from the lighting console or playing back from the timeline directly from the manager.”

Australia’s Channel Ten has reinvented Young Talent Time after a 24-year absence and there’s no doubt it packs a visual punch.

The lighting is designed by Francesco Calvi and supplied by Chameleon Touring Systems with Paul Collison producing and replaying the screen content for the show. Paul also acts as lighting director when Francesco is unavailable.

different LED screen types that have been supplied by TDC.” Controlling all of the above mentioned media are thirteen coolux Pandora’s Box Media Player Pro’s all being run from a Pandora’s Box Media Manager Pro and a MA Lighting grandMA2 console.

The rig includes Martin MAC TW1 fixtures for key lighting and stage washes, Martin MAC2000 Profiles, Pro Shop Honeycombs, Unique Hazer, Studio Due NanoLEDs, Pro Shop truss warmers and heaps of Martin MAC101 LED fixtures.

“The MAC101’s have been fantastic,” added Paul. “They’re so punchy and they’re in every nook and cranny we can find to put them in!

They really are awesome.”

Integral to the look of the show is a large panorama of LED which allows the creative team to create the show’s environment on a 360 degree surface. Sometimes the LED surface is treated as one single surface but this is not always possible as the LED screens are used similar to legs in the theatre to mask entrances and this leads to overlaps with the images.

“This means that often the LED screens are treated as individual surfaces rather than part of the panorama,” said Paul. “It’s a fairly organic thing to be working with, evolving and changing according to the song.

“It’s a monstrous video project. Our LED map is 11,500 pixels from end to end and 800 pixels high. It’s a massive surface area to treat and although some songs only use maybe a third of that, you still have to build your content to fill that map as you never know when the camera will pan out. We’re building all of the content in Adobe Photoshop and After Effects, and then rendering all the different images to create the panorama made up of the four

Once the content has been created in the 11,500 pixel wide map it is broken up into different cells of information so each Pandora’s Box Media Player Pro only receives the images that it is required to display rather than each machine receiving the entire image and only outputting a little bit of it.

Paul favours Pandora’s Box for this type of production mainly because of the versatility of being able to run it from a lighting console when required and then being able to syncronise to timecode that he has made with particular detail to the interaction between the performers and their choreography and the video content.

Photos: markbedson.com www.showtech.com.au

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Kenkaato makes big impact for Katara Hospitality Rebranding Event Doha-based event design and production company, Kenkaato, produced a spectacular of epic proportions for the formerly named Qatar National Hotels (QNH) Company, now Katara Hospitality, which involved fully coordinated large format projections onto four of the group’s stunning buildings in central Doha.

The event ran live for three evenings, celebrating Katara Hospitality’s announcement of a complete rebranding exercise and the official launch of a new corporate identity, together with new acquisitions. It also coincided with the heavyweight three-day Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC) being staged in Dubai.

The client wanted to make a high impact using a contemporary medium that could engage the general public and be communicated commercially and virally on multiple levels.

Kenkaato - a new company fusing experience with fresh ideas and imagination - took the brief, which already included projections - and presented the client with several options.

From this, Katara Hospitality chose direct projections and architectural lighting onto four of their highest profile properties in the City – the Ritz Carlton in West Bay, the Doha Marriot, the Sheraton Hotel with its eye-catching Corniche site and their own headquarters on C-Ring.

The event was delivered with elegance, chic and massive visual effect utilising all the power and drama of monumental projection combined with feature lighting.

These giant projections, strategically dotted around the city caught eyes and cameras.

Images were immediately randomly buzzed around social network sites creating a real clamour.

Kenkaato’s Sarah Whitmarsh and Darryl Payne brought in Dutch projection specialists Hulskamp Audiovisual, via their Dubai office, to help realise the project and put together the technical specs needed to create the spectacle.

Pani BP6 high power slide projectors were chosen for their brightness and because they were the most versatile machines available for the job. These were fitted with a selection of different lenses to match their positioning and throw distances.

Three of the buildings are glass fronted, so Kenkaato arranged for them to be fully dressed in perforated wrapping, a challenging six-day job undertaken by Icon Qatar and involving three teams of 6 professional abseilsers, who had to work hanging from the tops of the buildings – the tallest being the Ritz Carlton at 115 metres high.

The surface areas covered by the special slide artwork – which included the new Katara Hospitality logo, branding and a selection of narrative slides specific to each building – were all vast.

LIVE At the pyramid shaped Sheraton, the images measured 132 metres wide at the base, 32 metres wide at the top with a height of 62 metres. This was achieved using three Pani BP6’s positioned on an architectural walkway across a lagoon, approximately 50 metres away. Another fascia of the Sheraton was architecturally lit to complement the projections.

The Marriot – one of the original western style hotels to open in Doha - was projected onto on two sides, covering areas of 30 x 37 metres and 48 x 27 metres respectively, utilising four BP6 machines positioned in the car park and on the beach. At the Ritz Carlton, three BP6 projectors stationed in the hotel grounds created an image 70 metres wide by 40 metres high straddling two surfaces. Back at the QNH HQ, three Pani BP4’s were used to cover a surface area of 50 by 9 metres, all located in the central reservation of the road!

Control for all four projector systems was local to each installation. Artwork was supplied by QNH and especially composited as Pani slides

by the Hulskamp team. To further unify all the sites, the crowns and top pieces of each building were illuminated in the same bright Cool Blue using high powered architectural lighting fixtures, supplied by the leading Doha lighting and sound rental company, Creative Communications Group (CCG).

To complete the visual picture, grounds and gardens were feature lit with individual lighting schemes designed by Michel Khairallah from CCG. These all added atmosphere and enhanced the aesthetics to tie in with the content being highlighted on the buildings.

Various lighting fixtures were used including – Griven Kolorado’s, Kaliedo’s and Kolorstream 2500s and Clay Paky Alpha Spot 1200 and 1500 moving lights.

In addition to co-ordinating the projection and lighting, Kenkaato undertook all the logistics involved to stage the event, obtaining the import licences and municipality permissions to site the equipment in public places. To ensure this went smoothly, they engaged the services of Russell Mason at Impact Events.

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All the power needed across the four sites, was supplied by Byrne Power Rental and installed by three teams with special attention paid to location and minimising any disturbance to hotel guests.

Says Sarah Whitmarsh, “We were thrilled to be invited to be part of Katara Hospitality’s new era. The brief was simple: To raise awareness of the new brand and in doing so create a visual impact never seen before in Doha. Working with people we trust, we knew we could create something awesome.”

“As ever, there are always challenges here, which were magnified by the very short three week lead-time and import delays. Nevertheless, great teamwork and collaborations between some of the best professionals in the industry produced fantastic results,” she added. www.kenkaato.com

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Okinawa Qs up for basketball Okinawa, the most southerly isle of the Japanese archipelago, is home to the Ryukyu Golden Kings (RGK) one of the leading basketball teams on the island and a member of the Western Conference of Basketball Japan. While they might not yet be the LA Lakers, their aspirations are high. In an effort to increase income that has already born fruit, the team sought to expand its audience by upping the excitement level at matches with the application of some twenty first century sporting show business.

“What is unique about the RGK is that they don’t have a home arena. All twenty-six matches in their season are played on tour,” explained Osamu Koki from Staging Okinawa.

“They came to see us for ideas on how to liven up the excitement at each game. They wanted lighting and sound but with one critical proviso - everything had to fit in a two ton truck.”

The fact is Okinawa is surrounded by other small islands, accessible only by ferry. “Their audio needs were clear, high quality, high SPL, and very lightweight. We approached audio specialist Audio Brains in Yokahama for advice and support. They demonstrated d&b audiotechnik Q-Series and recommended a system of Q1 with Q-SUBs flown above, deployed to the two long sides of the court.

The owners judged the sound superior to other brands. In particular, the many sporting venues have difficult acoustics and the intelligibility of d&b was very important. Also, they said that no other system for this size and weight had the low end punch of the Q.”

Staging Okinawa devised a square truss system to suspend the sound and lights around the central scoreboard of each venue and recently took the system across the water to Ishigaki Island, “This was the first time any national sporting event has been staged on this island and it was very successful. It is quite simple for our technicians to set the Q system to target the audience areas without putting sound energy onto the roof or end walls. Although the screaming of the fans can make it sound like an old railway station when they get really excited, the Q system delivers a clear crisp sound and commentary to the fans. Everyone is in the direct field and it overcomes the building reverberation.” Like every other venue on RGK’s conference tour,

the Ishigaki gymnasium was sold out. Some fans queued up only to find they had to stand throughout the match. “The season is now coming to a close and RGK is currently top of the conference,” Koki concluded. “We like to think this success would not be achieved without the Q-Series.”

Since the writing of this piece RGK have won the League finals and are Champions for the 2011-2012 season. www.audiobrains.com www.okinawa-basketball.jp www.bj-league.com www.dbaudio.com

Cold Chisel benefits from Harman JBL VERTEC® V5 Presets features three built-in Crown I-Tech IT 12000HD amplifiers, immediately providing an easy-to-configure, plug-andplay solution that eliminates the need to build amplifier racks.

After legendary Australian rock band Cold Chisel rapturously received industry accolades for best-of-arena shows of last year, the band recently played at the Festival Hall in Melbourne where sound engineer Greg Rosman utilized the venue’s in-house HARMAN JBL VERTEC® line array system, installed by JPJ Audio. For these shows, Rosman had a powerful new weapon in his arsenal: JBL V5 VERTEC presets, courtesy of the new Crown VRack, a complete power amplifier and digital signal processing management rack system solution. The VRack

“The VRacks have made a big difference to the sound of VERTEC,” commented Rosman. “They allow us access to the new JBL VERTEC V5 presets and with V5 it’s like having a new VERTEC system all over again!”

The VERTEC V5 DSP presets offer significant improvements in horizontal coverage due to the use of higher order, asymmetric filters, and improved sound quality via phase linearization. The presets also offer improved system response to equalization, far-field summation and throw, and inter-array interaction/summation and stereo imaging.

“The VERTEC V5 DSP is the next step forward

in delivering the best sound possible,” Rosman added. “We found that the high end was much smoother and the low-end response was great. Paul Bauman, Senior Manager, Tour Sound for JBL Professional, has done a great job of tidying up their presets to make the VERTEC sound significantly better. There’s no denying that JBL has really got it right with the V5.”

The PA system in the Festival Hall consists of two strips of six VT4889 full-size line array cabinets and side hangs of two strips of three VT4889, plus sub bass and front fill.

“Really they’ve had a noticeable performance upgrade without buying new equipment!”

Rosman concluded. “The software upgrade was done really quickly—V5 is great value for anyone who uses VERTEC.” www.jps.com.au www.harman.com

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The K Family didn’t become the #1-selling line of loudspeakers* in the U.S. just by showing up to the party. Like you, we’re where we are today as a result of hard work, continuous improvement, and a deep understanding that every performance matters. When you do things right, people notice and you earn their business. No shortcuts. It sounds so simple, doesn’t it?

So to you, and all those who put in the effort, the time, and the dedication it takes to achieve real and lasting success, you have our admiration and our support. We’ll see you at the gig.

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*Among all brands in retail dollar sales. Source: MI SalesTrak, 2010-2011 © 2012 QSC Audio Products, LLC. All rights reserved. QSC and the QSC logo are registered trademarks of QSC Audio Products, LLC in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and other countries. MI SalesTrak is a registered trademark of Marketing Information Services, Inc.