Entertainment Technology Asia November-December 2013 by Spinworkz Pte Ltd

November - December 2013

MICA [P] 021/09/2013 KDN: PPS 1663/08/2013 [022991]

te chnology w

w .

asia

EHQ & Meyer take us to

Never Never-land

Dante makes Digital Audio Networking Easy

SNAPSHOT: Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

Shure SM58: Staying on Top

TG 1000 DIGITAL WIRELESS SYSTEM PROFESSIONAL AUDIO PRODUCTS MADE IN GERMANY

319 MHz bandwidth 2.1 ms total latency Safe long-term investment

www.beyerdynamic.com/tg1000

Choose your brightness Imagine that you only need three projectors to generate any brightness from 10,000 right up to 40,000 lumens. With Barco’s brand-new HD projector series, the choice is yours. As you can fully tune the light output to your event, your Barco projector is everything you want it to be. Choose your projector on www.barco.com/shining

Why Barco HD projectors? • Xenon lamp for richer colors • Athena image processing scaler • Extended wireless control options • Modular design • Rugged metal chassis

Barco Pte Ltd

HDX series

HDF series

HDQ-2K40

Up to 18,000 lumens

Up to 26,000 lumens

Up to 40,000 lumens

www.barco.com

No 10 Changi South Lane #04-01 OSSIA Building Singapore 486162 Tel: +65 6243 7610 Fax: +65 6543 4322

CONTENT

VOL 14 ISSUE 6 November - December 2013

64 Marc Vincent, Sennheiser

98 HaAavve U Met...? 82 Clay Paky dazzles King Kong

FIRST WORDS 06 The Publisher’s ramblings

NEWS 08 News nuggets from the industry

ENNOVATIONS 41 A round-up the hottest technology today

EXHIBITION REVIEW 49 It’s a Wrap for Prolight + Sound Shanghai

TECH TALK 54 Shure stays on top with the SM58 56 Dante makes Digital Audio Networking easy

SPECIAL FEATURE 59 Snapshot: Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE 64 Marc Vincent, the heart and soul of Sennheiser Greater China

LIVE 66 Acme celebrates with a splash 67 Mipro digs deep for Mandarin musical 68 Epson brings Art to life 69 L’Acoustics makes history 70 EHQ & Meyer take us to Never Never-Land 74 UnUsUaL’s LED screens create impact at Key Events 76 Linkin Park & HARMAN rock Pasay 78 Avollusion glams up Chow Tai Fook 80 Outline connects with Shizen @ Fuji Rock 82 Clay Paky dazzles King Kong

84 The Magic of Melody & Projection with Panasonic 85 Robe LEDWashes for Korean Open Concert 86 Sennheiser at Shanghai JZ Festival 87 Adamson supports Inter City Music Festival 88 DiGiCo makes The Voice sound gooooddd

INSTALL 89 90 92 93

PR Lighting in India Tannoy @ the WCC Bosch secures Sheraton Bali Largest OLED installation by SLT Asia 94 Riedel added to The Star PAC 96 Lighting Oz with Anolis

HaAavve U Met...? 98 Jerico Fernando

FIRST WORDS November - December 2013

INDIA AND MIDDLE EAST EDITOR Ram Bhavanashi ram@spinworkz.com

Thank you Exhibition Organisers...

WRITER Rosalind Tan rosalind@spinworkz.com

Looking at next year’s exhibition calendar I am grateful that the majority of the key exhibitions have been spread out nicely. This year NAB, Prolight + Sound Frankfurt and InfoComm China were almost overlapping which puts a strain on almost everyone including the media. So thank you organisers for a better planned schedule, though considering that venues have to be booked much earlier, it might just be a coincidence. Thank you too to ISE for pushing the exhibition into February...I am hoping that the weather will be more accommodating. Of course it also helps a little that the dates are further away from the Chinese New Year Holidays that is happening at the end of January and on the first day of February next year, which aﬀects a fair majority of exhibitors from this region who participate at ISE. But are exhibitions losing their relevance to the industry? Some would like to think so but I strongly disagree. Yes almost any information you would want of a product is readily available on the web but at the end of the day this is a people business and there is nothing like a show and tell to win the confidence of potential customers. But there are other intrinsic qualities of an exhibition – the ability to network, share ideas, build bonds and see new solutions from the smaller companies, that frankly cannot and does not happen remotely. Having said that, in recent years unfortunately some exhibitions have faced challenges. There are many reasons for this, one of it undoubtedly being the proliferation of exhibitions. Those exhibitions need to re-look at their strategies and how they can provide value-adds to both the exhibitor and the visitor. Learning or knowledge upgrading opportunities at an exhibition is a MUST and in this aspect the InfoComm Shows do it really well. No business is easy and exhibitions too have to continue to evolve to be relevant to their target audience. Being the last issue for the year, the team from ETA would like to also take the opportunity to thank all of you for your tremendous support and continuous engagement with us. Your interactions continue to motivate us to push forward. We have a few things up our sleeves for next year as part of our own E-volvement, which we hope, you, our readers will embrace. Thomas Richard Prakasam Publisher / Editorial Director thomas@spinworkz.com

WRITER Elissa Nadine elissa@spinworkz.com

ADMIN & CIRCULATION Eileen Tan admin@spinworkz.com

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Jimmy Chin jimmy@spinworkz.com MEDIA REP IN NORTH AMERICA Broadcast Media International Michael Mitchell Tel: +1 631 673 0072 mjmitchell@broadcastmedia.tv

PRINTED BY Stamford Press 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.

NEWS November - December 2013

Martin Audio sets up new base

Yusuke says he is “confident that this new challenge will be successful as engineers who own and believe in Martin Audio’s marketleading systems gain more knowledge.” The recently announced success of Hibino, the largest rental company in Japan, in taking stock of Martin Audio MLA, is a strong indication of the strength of this new operation. Over time, he confirms, Martin Audio Japan will take an increasing role in importation, training, service support and marketing, while new dealers will be appointed to operate alongside Audiobrains. “There are many things to be done, but it is an exciting time,” he said.

Anthony Taylor (left) with Yusuke Karato

Japan: Martin Audio is capitalising on its success in Japan and the Far East by setting up a new regional hub in Kanagawa. The new operation, Martin Audio Japan, was announced in early 2013 and recently ratified, with Yusuke Karato, director of Martin Audio distributors, Audiobrains, fronting the operation. Under the new structure, Martin Audio Japan will act as main distributor and Audiobrains will take on a dealership role. Yusuke believes

that this will lead to even greater penetration and brand recognition for the manufacturer. “We considered what we needed to do for the Japanese market and this will deliver greater business opportunities in a wider number of market segments.” He added, “We recognise that with loudspeaker technology becoming increasingly complicated, first class customer training and service support were essential. We wanted to be the first company in Japan to take this seriously.”

Anthony Taylor, Managing Director of Martin Audio Ltd, along with Simon Bull, International Sales Director, sits on the board of Directors of the new company. Also adding strength to the operation will be Chris Pyne, Technical Support for APAC region, and a soon to be announced Director of Sales for the region. “Setting up Martin Audio Japan is our strongest message to our customers of the importance of Japan as a key global market, and the fact that we are here for the long term to support the live event market and system integrators for installation,” stated Taylor. www.martin-audio.com

HARMAN names TechData Co. Ltd as Distribution Partner South Korea: HARMAN Professional announced the appointment of TechData Co. Ltd as its distribution partner for JBL Professional, Crown Audio, Soundcraft, dbx, Lexicon, BSS, and AKG in the Republic Of Korea. TechData Co. Ltd assumed responsibility for sales and support eﬀective October 1, 2013. HARMAN Professional is working closely with its incumbent distributor, Sovico Corp, to

ensure a smooth transition and a consistently high level of customer service. HARMAN Professional representatives expressed appreciation for the professionalism exhibited by Sovico Corp during the transition and wished Sovico the best of success in their future endeavours. The appointment of TechData Co. Ltd. does not impact the distribution of HARMAN Professional’s Studer and Martin brands.

Enquiries can be directed to the following representatives: Sovico: Daniel Kwon +82 2 2106 2886 or dkwon0807@sovico.co.kr TechData: Jason Kang +82 2 3480 6225 or jwkang@techdata.co.kr www.harman.com

NEWS November - December 2013

Show Technology welcomes Mike Gearin production houses and performance spaces all over NSW and the ACT, helping people with their Entertainment Lighting needs. Show Technology acknowledges that there is a strong need for technical assistance out in people workplaces. Whether it be for console support, specification support or simply with product demonstrations and evaluations. As such they’ve employed Michael to help fill that need. Michael has a strong background in production, having worked with companies like PRG, Mandylights and more, in Australia, as well as in the UK and the USA. Michael brings this experience along with his passion for entertainment lighting to further strengthen the already formidable team at Show Technology. Australia: Show Technology has recently appointed Michael Gearin in the newly created role as NSW Technical Sales. Michael’s role will mean being be out and about visiting venues, dealers, theatres,

Mark McInnes, National Sales & Marketing Manager for Show Technology commented, “Mike’s passion for our business is really refreshing, I think he will be a major asset to our company in no time. He is highly

motivated and really knows his way around all of the technology which we distribute. With Mike on board we can now answer more technical questions, be quicker, more nimble and more accurate, basically helping more professional lighting people than ever before. Personally, I’m delighted to have Mike on my team”. Michael added, “I am very proud to be part of this dynamic and professional team. Show Technology’s product range is the very best available and I very much look forward to supporting my clientele with all their professional lighting needs.” Michael is based in Sydney, and whilst onthe-road primarily, will be working from the Silverwater Head Oﬃce of Show Technology Australia. Michael can be contacted on 0404 898 800 or mgearin@showtech.com.au www.showtech.com.au

MIPRO wins “Rising Star Award” Taiwan: MIPRO has won the 16th annual “Rising Star Award” from Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs. "The Rising Star Award" is given to Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that display excellence in global trading. The selection and awards ceremony is organized by the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration, under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (SMEA/MOEA). Nominations are made by government organizations, social organizations, financial institutions, academic research institutions, credit reference organizations, and the Small and Medium Enterprise Joint Guidance organizations. In order to encourage and promote SMEs, the award is given as a recognition of a company's exceptional efforts in gaining entrance into the global community and their contribution to the development of a country's economy and trade activities. Winners are chosen by a committee that reviews written documentation, makes on-site visits and conducts Q&A sessions, followed by a strict three stage selection

process that evaluates the enterprise’s export record, global competitiveness, operations management, finances, and the uniqueness of the enterprise. This year, only 6 companies were selected and awards were presented by Taiwanese Premier, Jiang Yi-huah. MIPRO Vice President of International Sales & Marketing, Eugene Chen, commented, “We are truly honoured to be the recipient of this coveted award among the 1.4 million SMEs, representing 98 percent of the total number of companies in the country. The award

exemplifies MIPRO’s long-term commitment in international sales of wireless microphone products worldwide for the professional and commercial AV markets and certifies MIPRO as one of the best SME companies in Taiwan. As we continue to grow, our worldwide distribution partners, dealers, contractors and audio professionals can be assured that MIPRO will continue to introduce innovative wireless microphone products into the marketplace.” www.mipro.com.tw

NEWS November - December 2013

Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre welcomes ETC Recently the Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre in Mount Gambier became home to a new ETC Ion 1000 lighting console which now enables them to provide fully integrated control of conventional and moving lights.

Karen Kennedy, Board Operator

Australia: Country Arts SA is one of South Australia’s largest arts organisations, providing arts and services across regional South Australia through a range of arts programs and initiatives. The company also manages various performing and visual arts venues and oversees the provision of grant funding which supports the creative endeavours of communities and individuals within the region. Each year Country Arts SA tours national and international productions that entertain, challenge and stimulate a wide variety of audiences in their five performing arts centres in Mount Gambier, Port Pirie, Renmark, Noarlunga and Whyalla.

“We’ve always had a relationship with Jands equipment and systems so when the existing lighting console at Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre expired, the choice was simple,” said Ray Ellison, Country Arts SA Infrastructure Manager. “In selecting the ETC Ion 1000 we considered what consoles were being toured by professional artists and the case for software application based solutions.” "The ETC Ion was a console frequently toured into our venues so we were familiar with its functionality and assured of its acceptance by our clients. We felt a purpose built console over a software solution oﬀered superior reliability and better hardware construction. With capacity to control both moving lights and smart LED luminaries using device-based profiles, the Ion1000 is pretty future proof. We will be looking at updating our other four regional theatres with the ETC ION 1000 in the near future.”

Fay Cakebread, Technical Manager at the Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre, comments that the ETC Ion 1000 is a particularly easy console to navigate and she has enjoyed getting to know it. "It's really quite selfexplanatory however Jands supplied us with some great training," she said. "As you use it, the Ion 1000 reveals its capabilities such as the powerful eﬀects package, marking and timing functions."

Board operator Karen Kennedy had quite a steep learning curve migrating from the old Jands ESP console to the ETC Ion 1000 but now she has adjusted to the new console, she described it as a lovely console to run. "It's so comprehensive, each time I use it I learn something new," she commented. "We only have conventional lights in our own rig so I am limited in the features that I use however I’m trying to make the most of my submasters. If I ever have a query I find that the online forum always gives me the answer." www.jands.com.au

Laserworld named Exclusive Distributor for Pangolin Systems in India India: Laserworld, a rapidly expanding Laser manufacturing company, became the exclusive distributor of Pangolin Systems products in India. The agreement emphasises the excellent cooperation and business partnership between the two companies.

happy to have such a strong and established partner helping us providing complete, professional solutions to our customers there,” commented Gerry Frost who is responsible for Laserworld in the Indian market.

"Pangolin is a great control solution for professional show laser light systems and it complements our products perfectly. The Laserworld brand has a strong awareness in India and this exclusive agreement for the Indian market will help us to establish our high quality laser show products to the market even more," said Laserworld Sales & Marketing Director Norbert Stangl.

The exclusive distribution agreement not only covers the distribution of Pangolin products such as Pangolin Quickshow, Pangolin Lasershow Designer 2000 (LD2000) and Pangolin BEYOND but also the latest hardware and safety developments of Pangolin. These include the SafetyScan lenses, wide angle DiscoScan lens and several other product solutions.

"The strategic importance of the Indian economy to the world is growing and we are

The cooperation between Pangolin and Laserworld has become much stronger

during the last two years. Pangolin took over Phoenix Showcontroller at the beginning of 2013 and with Laserworld already being exclusive distributor of Phoenix Showcontroller worldwide, the mutual benefits have reached a new level. www.laserworld.com

Everywhere

From the ballpark to the ballroom, from a rock concert cert in theattre an outdoor venue to an orchestral performance in a theatre FBT T and from a House of Worship to the nightclub, the New FBT MITUS Powered and Passive Line Arrays, Speakers, akers s, re. Subs and Stage Monitors ďŹ t the bill. Everywhere. INEERED

G DESIGNED,ANEUNFA CTURED

studioconti.biz 2010

AND M

ITALY

www.fbt.it info@fbt.it FBT elettronica SpA 62019 Recanati (MC) - Italy Tel. +39 071 750591 Fax +39 071 7505920

NEWS November - December 2013

Next of Kin Productions maximizes potential of Electro-Voice

Papua New Guinea: Larger events in Papua New Guinea always faced a problem when it came to professional sound systems. There were no local rental companies that had the right equipment to support such events beyond what a conventional Pro Audio system could provide. Identifying this need in the market, Next of Kin Productions, a local rental company decided to invest in an Electro-Voice (EV) professional sound system. EV was Next Of Kin Productions’ first choice due to the fact that the company's last known large scale sound system was the EV DeltaMax which served many local events for years. To ensure Next of Kin Productions knew how to maximize the potential of the EV XLC-127DVX, a training session was arranged by EV to teach users the correct implementation of the XLC system in order to achieve superb and consistent sound

across all venues where the sound system was to be used. Through the training session, users learned to appreciate the importance of accurately setting up a line array system as per venue requirements. Excellent sound quality could be achieved by the proper use of the Line Array Prediction Software (LAPS) from EV for the XLC system. To drive the importance of proper set-up of the equipment to the end users, a live demonstration of a misaligned vs correctly set-up system was displayed and the users experienced first-hand the vast difference in sound quality. Included in the product training was a demonstration of the Finite Impulse Response (FIR)–enabled DX46 processor for speaker processing. Users had the opportunity to explore different sub placement and configurations of the processor. They also had the chance to experience the sound quality of prerecorded music, alongside a 3-piece band, for the experience of a live band setup. With the FIR-equipped sound system, the technical staff members at Next Of Kin Productions commented that minimum or no tweaking of the default speaker presets was required and music sounded great right out of the box. www.electrovoice.com

Stardraw.com migrates all services to the Cloud â&#x20AC;&#x153;Over the past few years we have been using the Cloud for the provision of newlydeveloped features and services, but older products still relied on older technologies. It has been many months of work for us to migrate everything over to the Cloud, not to mention that extremely tense moment when you â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;flip the switchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, essentially terminating the physical servers in favour of the Cloud,â&#x20AC;? recalled Stardraw.com CEO, Rob Robinson. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fortunately, when the big moment arrived and we switched everything over, nobody noticed! And that, of course is the best possible result.â&#x20AC;?

International: Award-winning software provider Stardraw.com has announced the migration of all their content and services over to the Cloud, bringing to an end all physical server-based storage.

All Stardraw.com online content and services are now Cloud-based and replicated across three virtual servers in each of two geographical locations. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This gives us five times redundancy with seamless failover for

all systems and data, and the ability to scale up instantly and, eďŹ&#x20AC;ectively, without limit at the click of a button.â&#x20AC;? Stardraw.com also uses a content delivery network (CDN), being a distributed system of servers deployed in multiple data centers across the world to deliver content to end users even faster and more seamlessly than ever. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There can be no doubt that the Cloud is the future. All our current operations are aligned to the strategic vision that Cloud and Mobile are the way ahead,â&#x20AC;? Robinson concludes â&#x20AC;&#x153;so it is right and proper â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and exciting â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to cut the cord to last centuryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s technologiesâ&#x20AC;?. www1.stardraw.com

The game changes now (]HPSHISL PU [^V WV^LY JVUĂ&#x201E;N\YH[PVUZ _ > HUK _ > [OL \S[YH JVTWHJ[ 07+ 0U[LSSPNLU[ 7V^LY +YP]LÂ? :LYPLZ ILULĂ&#x201E;[Z MYVT UL[^VYRLK PU[LNYH[LK +:7 JOHUULS PUW\[ TH[YP_ L_[LUZP]L MYVU[ WHULS JVU[YVSZ HUK NYHWOPJ KPZWSH` HUHSVN (,: PUW\[ ^P[O YLK\UKHU[ MHPS V]LY HUK KLĂ&#x201E;UP[P]L 3HI NY\WWLU SPTP[LYZ HUK I\PSK X\HSP[` >P[O 07+ :LYPLZ 3HI NY\WWLU JOHUNLZ [OL NHTL JVTWSL[LS` IYPUNPUN [V\YPUN NYHKL HTWSPĂ&#x201E;LY WLYMVYTHUJL HUK MLH[\YLZ [V H ^PKLY THYRL[ HJJLZZPISL [V L]LY`VUL Learn more at thegamechanges.com

Take control with iPad!

-\SS` JVUĂ&#x201E;N\YL 07+ :LYPLZ YLTV[LS` ]PH P7HK Y\UUPUN 0U[LSSP+YP]L *VU[YVSSLY (WW H]HPSHISL [V KV^USVHK ZVVU *Wireless control requires suitable WiFi router connected to IPD Series network

(5 05+0=0+<(3 05 ;* .96<7

16 TOUCH THE

FUTURE

NEWS November - December 2013

MUSIC Group appoints Graham Rowlands to lead IS division

TIGER TOUCH

POWER CUBE

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

APAC: Following the recent appointment of industry veteran Graham Rowlands to head the business development eﬀorts of MUSIC Group Professional brands MIDAS, KLARK TEKNIK and TURBOSOUND, the company has announced that Rowlands will also take on responsibility for the Installed Sound division in the Asia-Pacific region. Aimed at the integrated systems market, the IS division encompasses oﬀerings from across the stable of MUSIC Group brands, including EUROCOM - BEHRINGER's breakthrough line of DSP-based auto-mixers, integrated mixeramplifiers and professional installed loudspeakers. Having most recently served as Regional Sales Director Asia at Harman Professional, Rowlands is well acquainted with Asian markets. From his base in Kuala Lumpur, he has been responsible for solid sales growth across 12 Asian countries – with over 16 years of experience managing pro audio distribution in the region. He also operated successfully at the distributor level, most notably placing several MIDAS

consoles in the Sydney Opera House during his tenure with Australia’s National Audio Systems (NAS). "We are building on success in the region and I am confident that Graham will amplify that success," stated MUSIC Group founder and CEO, Uli Behringer. "Graham’s experience at the contractor level, combined with his extensive network of partners in both install and pro audio across Asia, will be invaluable as we continue the growth of one of the most progressive install products lines to come along in decades. The combined power of MIDAS, KLARK TEKNIK, TURBOSOUND and EUROCOM allow MUSIC Group to take on nearly any integrated system challenge across the APAC region." Rowlands will operate from Kuala Lumpur, and is expected to share time between his native Australia and the MUSIC Group City factory complex in Zhongshan, China. www.music-group.com

Epson couples launch of new series with innovative uses for projectors

G6000 projector model

Singapore: Epson launched two new series of high brightness projectors at an event entitled, “Bold Projection in Public Spaces”. The event saw the introduction of the new EB-4000 series of projectors, oﬀering customers a wide range of projectors rated 4000 lumens and above as well as the new G6000 series, designed for use in large or bright venues, with some models in the range being among the world’s first projectors to feature the HDBaseT interface.

• Give the interior of a café a facelift through high-definition projections on the walls and even furniture. Menus and QR codes were also projected on walls as an innovative way for customers to make their own orders easily.

During the launch, Epson demonstrated a series of creative applications for public projections on various platforms, from building exteriors, retail displays, art installations and the food and beverage industry. They included using projectors to:

“As an industry leader in projection technology, we believe that the time is now for projection usage to go beyond the classroom. We hope our advanced projection technology will help to enable creative industries to showcase visual concepts and products through projections. With almost no constraints in terms of venue, space and resources, our technology can be applied in diverse areas from arts to fashion and even F&B. Together we look forward to jointly creating magical visual experiences for consumers,” said Tan May Lin, Epson Singapore’s General Manager.

• Create immersive experiences to showcase products or features such as the multiple projections on a dome above the audience, resulting in a visual experience of travelling in a virtual car • Project branding signages and outdoor advertisements in a 3 dimensional manner.

YOU´ VE GOT THE SKILLS. SKILLS WE´ VE GOT THE TOOLS.

With lifestyle collaborations under way, Epson is aiming to challenge conventional usage of projections and enable creative industries to create unique visual applications.

www.epson.com.sg • Allow mannequins at window displays to showcase multiple outfits through projection technology.

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

www.coolux.com

NEWS November - December 2013

Robe expands in the Middle East a comprehensive stock of products and inventory of parts – to further aid quick delivery. Josef Valchar, CEO of Robe lighting SRO commented, “Elie has been a key figure in the development of Robe’s international distribution network and we’re delighted he is heading up Robe Middle East. He’s extremely popular with all our clients and has a fantastic knowledge of the technology and understanding of the right way to do business”. Robe’s Sales Director Harry von den Stemmen added, “This move gives us an even stronger basis and better communication channels throughout the whole of the Middle East and enables us to plan the future with real confidence. We are expecting rapid growth and we are already moving fast with several new projects”.

Middle East: Robe lighting is expanding its Middle East operation with the formation of Robe Middle East Trading LLC, a new company complete with a new regional HQ in Dubai. This is the first part of Robe’s current planned medium term expansion strategy, the initial stages of which will be rolled out over the next three months. Robe Middle East will be headed by Robe’s Middle East Regional Sales Manager, Elie Battah, who is already well known and respected in the industry. It will distribute the full Robe ranges of moving and digital lighting fixtures and Anolis architectural LED products, driving the presence of both brands across the region. Elie stated, “Robe Middle East will provide the platform to continue the high standards of excellence expected from Robe”. These will include oﬃce and administration, demo & training facilities, full sales and technical support, including

Dubai was chosen as it is a major epicentre for shows, events and ‘spectaculars’ and for its central location ideal for deploying equipment quickly, eﬃciently and cost-eﬀectively to other countries. A host of rental and production companies and designers are also based there and it is also an easily accessible business destination. John Saunders, Sales Director of Anolis commented, “The benefits of now having a comprehensive base in the region helps facilitate existing and upcoming projects with local knowledge and expertise and enables us to support our brand with even higher levels of service. We will also have access to public tenders and a local showroom facility available for the first time”. Over the last 12 months, whilst some areas of the ME are undeniably volatile, Robe has experienced a steep increase in business in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, among others. www.robe-me.com

TC Group appoints Mark Flanagan as VP of Marketing for Install & Tour International: TC Group has announced the appointment of Mark Flanagan as its VP of Marketing for Install & Tour, with responsibility for the marketing of TC Group brands – primarily Tannoy, Lab.gruppen, Lake and White Acoustic - in installed sound and touring markets. Former VP Tim Chapman will now focus on various special projects across TC Group. Based at Tannoy’s headquarters in Scotland, Mark has assumed the lead role in the marketing of the Install and Tour verticals, the managing of the core I&T marketing team at Coatbridge, as well as the delivery of the marketing strategy and co-ordination of other marketing teams within TC Group oﬃces in North America, Japan and China. In congratulating Mark on his new role, Andrzej Sosna, CEO of TC Group’s Install and Tour verticals, said: “Having focused almost entirely on the professional audio market during his past 5 years with TC Group, and led from the front in the last year or so in the role of Marketing Manager, Mark is well equipped to lead the marketing team into a new era. He has continually proven himself to be a very valuable member of the organisation, and I for one congratulate him on his welldeserved appointment.” Having established himself in the world of audio product marketing during his time as Marketing Manager with music and proaudio retail chain, Sound Control, Mark joined Tannoy in June 2008, initially in a

communications role. His new TC Group position commences immediately. “I am looking forward to the new challenges that this role presents, and feel very fortunate to be given the opportunity” commented Mark. “Working with a stable of brands that I’ve become very close to, each respected in their own right within the professional audio world, is a real joy…And the team we have here, while compact, is one of the most skilled and talented that I’ve encountered. With the standard of products we produce, and the heritage behind each of the brands here at TC Group, we have limitless potential for creativity when it comes to getting our message out.” Mark can be reached at: mark.flanagan@tcgroup.tc www.tannoy.com

NEWS November - December 2013

Apex Audio appoints Taiwan Distributor

the Wynn hotel and Venetian Theatre in Macau and high profile broadcast and government projects.

Taiwan: Apex Audio’s continuing expansion in the Asian market has taken another step forward with the appointment of IX Technology as the company’s distributor in Taiwan. IX Technology is part of the Linfair Engineering Group, founded in 1958. One of the region’s foremost specialists in audio visual systems, IX supplies professional audio equipment, system design, installation and maintenance expertise. The company’s high profile projects have included A/V project management of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, installations at Hong Kong Disneyland,

“With our decades of experience in professional audio engineering, IX Technology customers have very high expectations,” said Paul Chang, General Manager of IX Technology. “Apex is a quality brand which matches those expectations and fully complements the other industry-leading brands in our distribution portfolio. Apex products will also be a perfect fit in the projects where we design, specify and install audio systems.” Paul is already planning a seminar where Taiwanese dealers and audio professionals will gain hands-on experience of Apex's products. “We are really looking forward to demonstrating Apex products to our customers,” Paul concludes. “We know that they will be very competitive in the Taiwanese market.” www.linfair.net www.apex-audio.eu

D.T.S. Lighting appoints Filippo Frigeri as Business Development Manager International: Continuing the expansion of its client support and development operations, D.T.S. Lighting Srl has announced the appointment of Filippo Frigeri. Having started his career in the professional lighting industry more than 7 years ago, Filippo joined the Italy-based team as Business Development Manager. Filippo will be responsible for assisting the growing number of partners to explore the benefits of the innovative fixtures being brought to market.

“I’ve been hugely impressed with the range and quality of the products that D.T.S. has been developing in these recent years” said Filippo Frigeri. “The care and the quality standards with which these products are made here in Misano Adriatico is a true and yet rare sign of lighting passion, and I am glad to be part of such a team”. www.dts-lighting.com

“Filippo’s role is instrumental in ensuring our customer needs are met and maintained at all times, as well as seeking new opportunities and prospects to broaden our user base," said Silvano Latteo, President of the company.

Electro-Voice conducts training for Partners

Malaysia: Robert Bosch Security Systems, Malaysia held a training session for their Certified Partners at the Petaling Jaya oﬃce in Selangor Darul Ehsan. The session was jointly conducted by the local team in Malaysia with Ronnie Lai, application support for Electro-Voice (EV). The objective of the training session was to allow Certified Partners to identify the key features of each product line and the market segments for Fixed Installations, Mobile Audio and Concert Sound products. The session included application examples on specifying the right equipment for diﬀerent types of projects. With the large portfolio under the Fixed Install range, it is important that system

integrators understand the key features of the products (amplifiers, DSPs speakers, etc.) in order to fulfill the operational and sonic requirements of every venue. The clear distinction between Fixed Install speakers in the portfolio as having the best components, higher directivity (Q factor) for acoustically challenging venues and installations was also made clear to the attendees. A demo of the EVF-D series speaker presented the core values of the EV-Innovation range for Fixed Installations. Janesta Woon, Senior Marketing Manager, Malaysia, added, ”We specifically arranged different models of the speakers, amplifiers and electronics to be present during the training so the trainees can appreciate the sonic differences of the different product lines as well as its key features. Such training sessions allow us to foster closer relations with our customers and allow us to obtain feedback and address queries on the products being used in the industry.” www.electrovoice.com

Allen & Heath appoints Exclusive Distributor in Thailand Thailand: Allen & Heath has appointed One Systems as its exclusive distributor in Thailand. Selected by Asian sales agent, Global Market Management, One Systems has been importing and selling Allen & Heath products into Thailand on a non-exclusive basis since 2009, and is now in a position to manage all sales and promotions in Thailand. “We felt it was important to bring the brand under one roof and management team as we all grow into the digital age of pro audio,” said Alfonso Martin, operations/sales manager for One Systems. “This appointment coincides with the launch of our new showroom, which will allow us to properly display and demonstrate the entire range of Allen & Heath products.”

Lumen Freaks everywhere rejoice! Philips Vari-Lite introduces the VL3015, VL3015LT & VL3515 Spot luminaires. All using the double-ended 1500W lamp that has been so effective and reliable in our large format wash luminaires, the VL3015 and VL3515 Spot luminaires feature 6:1 zoom optics and 27,000 lumens of output, while the VL3015LT boasts 10:1 zoom optics and can produce over 41,000 lumens. All of the ﬁxtures possess features that are identical to those found in the famous luminaires they are based upon, with the LT model also boasting a second ﬁxed color wheel, frost, and a prism option.

The best just got brighter. Bardy Hayes of Global Market Management, regional sales manager for Allen & Heath, added: “One Systems has grown technically, operationally and strategically. It is exciting to be part of what they are accomplishing in the vibrant Thai market.”

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

www.allen-heath.com

www.vari-lite.com

NEWS November - December 2013

HARMAN hosts Sambandh 2013 Business Conference India: Continuing its commitment to India’s pro audio market, HARMAN Professional recently hosted the Sambandh 2013 business conference at the ITC Gardenia hotel in Bangalore, India. Sambandh 2013 brought the HARMAN Professional India team together with other key HARMAN executives from around the world to determine business and marketing strategies, assess growth opportunities, participate in product education seminars and outline the company’s direction in the region. Overall, the event had over 150 attendees including dealers, leading system integrators, consultants, sound rental companies, and end customers. The Gala Night, on day one of the event, featured an integrated sound and light display with an introduction by Illuminati, India’s leading UV Light Troupe, highlighting the arrival of Martin Professional in India. This was followed by a performance from AKG endorsee and world-renowned percussionist, Sivamani, along with pianist Stephen Devassey, vocalist Runa Rizvi, and Rajesh Vaidhya on sitar. The Prince Dance Group closed out the night with a dance performance showcasing the extensive sound

and light capabilities of HARMAN with a unique touch of Indian mythology. Key HARMAN Professional executives attending Sambandh 2013 included Andy Trott, Vice President and General Manager Mixing, Microphones and Headphones Strategic Business Unit, Villad Thomsen of Harman’s Martin Professional Lighting Business Unit, and Van Williamson, Business Development Manager, Commercial Systems. Day two began with a keynote address by Andy, updating the delegates on HARMAN Professional’s global business. Prashant Govindan, Director of India Operations for HARMAN Professional, provided the delegates with an overview of the current year’s business and a preview of 2014. Ganesh Kumar, Service Manager for HARMAN Professional India highlighted the launch of a new service and support helpline. Villad Thomsen provided an overview of Martin Professional’s lighting products and technologies. The sessions concluded with CEO, Brand Communications, Ramanujam Sridhar, speaking about how marketing and innovative sales tactics can change brand perception.

Sambandh, which is Hindi for “connection,” follows HARMAN Professional’s recent decision to adopt a direct distribution policy in India to better serve the market. HARMAN Professional’s move to direct distribution for India has included an extensive investment in India-based R & D, operations, sales and support, and has resulted in the opening of new regional sales oﬃces, new service and distribution centers, and strengthened technical, project design and application support. “Sambandh 2013 reflects HARMAN Professional’s commitment to success in this internationally important and growing market,” said Ankush Agarwal, Director of Business Development and Marketing, HARMAN Professional, India. “We are continuing to invest heavily in India. Even as some current news reports discuss slower growth in international markets, HARMAN Professional’s business in India and other emerging markets is strong.” www.harman.com

WƵůƐĞϸ͕ ĞǀĞŶ ďĞƩĞƌ

WƵůƐĞϸ͕ ǇŽƵƌ ƉƌĞƐĞŶƚĂƟŽŶ ƚĂŬĞŶ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ŶĞǆƚ ůĞǀĞů hƉŐƌĂĚĞĚ ĚŝŐŝƚĂů ĐŽŶŶĞĐƟǀŝƚǇ͕ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ĂƵĚŝŽ ŵĂŶĂŐĞŵĞŶƚ͕ ŶĞǁ ŝŶƚƵŝƟǀĞ ƵƐĞƌ ŝŶƚĞƌĨĂĐĞ ĂŶĚ ŵƵĐŚ ŵŽƌĞ͘ ĂƐĞĚ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ŶĞǁ DŝĚƌĂdD ƉůĂƞŽƌŵ͕ WƵůƐĞϸ ŝƐ ƚŚĞ ƉĞƌĨĞĐƚ s DŝǆĞƌ ĨŽƌ ĞǆĐĞƉƟŽŶĂů ƉƌĞƐĞŶƚĂƟŽŶƐ͘

dŽ ůĞĂƌŶ ŵŽƌĞ͕ ĐŽŶŶĞĐƚ ǁŝƚŚ ƵƐ ŽŶ

(TQO #UKC 2CEKſE #PCNQI 9C[ 2VG .VF 5KPICRQTG 2JQPG

'OCKN UCNGU"CPCNQIYC[CUKC EQO

YYY CPCNQIYC[ EQO

NEWS November - December 2013

TC Group appoints new Managing Director for Chinese division China: TC Group has appointed Owen Xing as Managing Director of its Chinese division, TC Group China. Owen previously held managing positions in the music and audio industries for more than a decade, making him a perfect match for TC Group China which operates out of Beijing in the MI, Install, Touring, Broadcast and Production markets. Further, Owen has a background as a guitar player and composer, which also ties in well with the core values of TC Group that are rooted in the passion for sound in all its forms.

“I am pleased to welcome Owen Xing as our new managing director in China,” said Anders Fauerskov, CEO of TC Group. “With his background in the industry, I am confident that he will be the right person to cement our presence in China even further and take the business in our market segments to the next level. Considering his background in music in general, I am sure he will also fit right into the spirit and mindset of TC Group, ready to present the many benefits of seeing sound diﬀerently to all of our partners in China.”

The company has recently moved to a brand new location and established a dedicated sales company as well as an Asian distribution centre, all of which are due to the continuous growth for both, TC Group China and its key partners. With great products in the pipeline covering all of TC Group China’s business segments, the future looks promising.

“I am very excited to be joining TC Group China,” said Owen. “I have been familiar with the brands of TC Group as well as its line of products for years and I strongly believe that the company has a great future in China as well as the rest of the world. I look forward to being part of that.”

TC Group China was established in 2002 and has been led by the former Managing Director, Robin Hu, right from the start. “I would like to thank Robin Hu for his great eﬀorts in growing the Chinese market for us over the past 11 years. He virtually took it from being non-existing to becoming one of our most important markets. I wish him the best of luck in his future career,” Anders concluded. www.tcgroup.tc

APG announces ﬁrst Uniline partner in the Orient

smaller events, it’s very simple to just split the system into two or even three separate systems and you can cater for several events simultaneously.”

China: BVCAM, APG’s exclusive distributor in China has recently made its first Uniline rental sale in China. Shenzhen Shengshi Jiayi Culture Media Ltd is a major supplier to both the corporate and festival markets, catering mainly for large scale events, both indoors and outdoors. The company has invested in a Uniline configuration complete with subs, amplifiers and processing as well as a number of multipurpose DX15 monitor speakers for infills and monitoring. According to BVCAM’s Danny Huen, the Shenzhen rental specialists were attracted by the modularity of the Uniline system.

“The demand here is mostly for big systems catering to large events, stadiums and the like with audiences of 20,000 or more,” explained Danny. “The modularity of Uniline oﬀers a level of configuration flexibility that you just don’t get with traditional large format line array systems. The ability to mix and match the various Uniline elements in almost any combination results in sound designs that oﬀer greater precision and homogeneous sound coverage for better overall sound quality. No other system is able to adapt so precisely to the specific requirements of any given venue or event. What’s more, on the occasions where it is required for

“This sale is clear evidence that APG is starting to make its mark in China,” noted APG’s key accounts sales director, Xavier Pion. “BVCAM have been working very hard in an effort to achieve maximum exposure for Uniline in front of the right people, and their efforts have paid off. We attended a recent demo organized by BVCAM with the full Uniline system at a local university’s football stadium. We received a number of rental companies, a national orchestra who have already specified Uniline for their next big tour and some highly influential sound designers. Judging by their reactions, they were all extremely impressed by the performance of the system. We’re delighted to welcome the first member of the Uniline Solution network in China, and we have every reason to believe that the second member will be announced very soon!” www.apg.tm.fr

NEWS November - December 2013

SGM assembles in Denmark with continued growth

SGM CEO, Peter Johansen

David P. Meyer, Newly appointed Chairman of the Board

International: A year and a half ago, Peter Johansen took ownership of the Italian lighting company SGM and started up in humble facilities in Aabyhoj, Denmark. Now the entire production, warehouse and administration are combining in a new 6,500sqm facility in Aarhus.

costs,” maintains Johansen. “On top of that there is the ‘feel-good’ factor, knowing that all future products will be manufactured under the most acceptable working conditions and environmental considerations, while it enables us to monitor compliance, and uphold strict quality control.”

In the intervening 18 months since Peter Johansen became CEO, a complete new LED product range has been launched, a global distributor network established, top international touring references have appeared across the world’s media — and now the entrepreneur aims to establish a dedicated Danish base. What this will mean is Danish manufacturing, Danish employment and — to a great extent — Danish and European sub-suppliers.

This accelerated programme comes after Danish investment company, Industri Udvikling, confirmed a 30% stake in the Group in September. The company’s equity now stands at nearly 9.5 million euros.

“We anticipate that this move will create up to 400 new jobs over the next two years,” stated Peter Johansen, announcing the decision. Having headquarters and manufacturing in Denmark had always been part of the plan, so once the administrative organisation had become firmly established, work was put in place to accomplish the mission. SGM Manufacturing has now been founded as an independent company and a subsidiary to SGM Holding. Meanwhile, the Danish labour force is already increasing dramatically. By the end of 2013, SGM expects to have moved all production activities to Denmark, thus ensuring greater flexibility and enhanced quality assurance for its customers.

Investment director from Industri Udvikling, Lars Buhl, comments: “SGM and Peter Johansen have demonstrated an impressive phase of development. In a very short time they have not only developed numerous new products, but they have also gained acceptance on the market. I believe that Peter Johansen and his team have ‘done it again’, and that SGM’s prospects are excellent.” SGM’s turnover has more than doubled from 2012 to 2013 and the high growth rate is expected to continue. This development coincides with the appointment of David P. Meyer (former COO at Velux) as chairman of the board. Announcing the appointment, Peter Johansen says: “Now that SGM has passed the start-up phase and is into the growth phase it makes perfect sense to have such experience and competence in our management.” www.sgmlight.com

“It is true that labour costs are higher in Denmark, but this evens out with the savings related to international sea and air freight

Relax…It’s Under Control.

Core 250i

Conferencing

Projectors

Lighting Controllers

Screen Controllers

Today’s A/V environment features a wide variety of audio/visual products designed to offer compelling multimedia and conferencing solutions. Simplifying the task of putting all these devices under the centralized control of the end user can be daunting. Not so with Q-Sys. The powerful yet simple design of a Q-Sys system makes it easy to interface with all manner of third party devices. Featuring built-in GP/IO and RS-232 ports and conforming to protocols like TCP/IP, UDP and SIP, Q-Sys can: • Control 3rd party devices like Video Switchers and Lighting Interface Controls. • Accept commands from 3rd-Party hardware devices like AMX® and Crestron® control panels. • Accept commands from 3rd-Party software for Show Control. Want to learn more? Visit us online or contact your local QSC distributor for a demonstration.

qsc.com

NEWS November - December 2013

Allen & Heath conducts Digital Certiﬁcation Tour in Asia

Training session in Jakarta, Indonesia

Asia: Allen & Heath (A&H) has launched a training and certification program for digital consoles in Asia. Asian distribution agent, Global Market Management, has put in place an ongoing training certification tour for the GLD and iLive digital systems across the region.

and the resulting mix better. We launched our certification programs to assist our distributors with this task, and to bring a level of regional consistency to our training eﬀorts across all of our digital platforms – iLive/T, GLD and even the amazing new Qu series,” he added.

The tour has already covered Jakarta, Indonesia, with a three day training event attended by a total of 68 engineers, Thailand with 48 attendees, China with a total of 102 engineers after which was Thailand again for 53 people and finally Shanghai and Shenzhen again, focusing on GLD training for a total of 108 people.

The Allen & Heath certification program has been targeted to help users and engineers getting started with the digital platforms and for them to experience Allen & Heath digital mixers through hands on sessions.

“The engineering team at Allen & Heath has done a fabulous job of designing easy to drive digital mixing products. In fact, stories abound of guest engineers stepping up to a console and being ready to run their show after no more than 10 minutes of orientation,” said Global Marketing Management MD, Bardy Hayes. “There is, however, a lot of horsepower that training can help release to all the operators and engineers making life easier

The training contains theory portions and a lot of practical lessons on the individual mixer systems and the program currently consists of three courses: GLD Certificate, iLive Basic and iLive Advanced. At the end of each course the participants are awarded with an oﬃcial training certificate by Allen & Heath. "About 375 people have been trained so far and we are in the middle of further training," explains Allen & Heath sales engineer, Alex Schloesser, who managed the tour. "The tour will continue across the key Chinese cities Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Beijing - and then we plan to visit the Philippines and

other countries. We expect to have trained approximately 1500 engineers in Asia by next year, raising the awareness and knowledge about Allen & Heath's core digital products." Following a training session in Thailand, Alfonso Martin, Chief Operating Officer of A&H official Thailand distributor, One Systems, reported "One Systems is in a market rich with change and development. Technology develops fast and the products Allen & Heath offers are fully professional and feature laden. Our clients and staff love digital technology and are hungry for knowledge. The offer of the Certification programs was very timely and is going a long way towards satisfying that hunger. The hands on criteria for the training allowed ample time for the participants to experience the hardware first hand – and Alex Schloesser’s easy going style and obvious qualifications were quickly accepted by the Thai participants. They were wide open to engaging with questions and comments, which really made the experience pleasant and memorable." www.allen-heath.com

Triple threat Desire by ETC www.etcconnect.com ®

D60

D40

New D22

Americas

■

Europe

■

Asia

■

www.etcconnect.com

NEWS November - December 2013

ADJ reaches legal settlement with NeoNeon and American Lighting International: ADJ companies American DJ Supply and Elation Professional have reached an out of court settlement with American Lighting, Inc. and its Hong Kong-based parent company, Neo-Neon, involving a trademark infringement lawsuit. Under terms of the agreement, American Lighting and Neo-Neon have agreed to stop selling special eﬀects lighting products and distributing marketing material that use the names “American,” “Revo” and “E-Pro” in the US market.

in the market in an attempt to reap the benefits of the brand recognition and stellar reputation that ADJ has earned in its market, we’re compelled to take legal action We have invested a great deal of time, eﬀort and money in establishing ‘American DJ’ and ‘Elation Professional’ as leading brands in special eﬀects and entertainment lighting. We’ve also worked very hard to create some of the industry’s most recognizable products like the Revo Series.”

The ADJ companies initiated legal action against American Lighting in 2012, charging it with trademark infringement and unfair competition under the Lanham Act. NeoNeon was later added to ADJ’s lawsuit, which centered on the use of the names “American,’ “Revo” and “E-Pro” on special eﬀects and entertainment lighting products intended to compete with the ADJ Group’s American DJ and Elation Professional lines.

“Given the fact that some competitors attempted to arrogate ADJ’s highly regarded brands and names, it’s very understandable that American DJ must seek legal recourse,” added Ken Sherman of Sherman & Zarrabian LLP, the attorney who represented ADJ in the case.

“As a company, ADJ welcomes fair competition in a free and open market,” said Toby Velazquez, President of the ADJ Group of Companies. “However, when any competitor contrives to create confusion

As part of the settlement, American Lighting acknowledged “that American DJ owns all rights, title and interest, in and to the name, trademark and brand ’American,’ and shall have the sole and exclusive right to advertise, market, sell, oﬀer for sale, import for sale, any special eﬀects lighting, entertainment lighting, audio products and entertainment

lighting accessories bearing the American DJ®, American Audio® and American™ marks.” Neo-Neon and American Lighting have also agreed, eﬀective immediately, to cease importing into the U.S. any special eﬀect lighting, entertainment lighting, audio products and entertainment lighting accessories under any name including the word “American.” For more information, contact Joe Fucini of Fucini Productions: joe@fucinipro.com or call 1-248-987-6221. www.adjchina.com.cn

Crystal Lee & Dennis Lau are Shure Artists modelling and hosting. Crystal Lee commented “I am excited about this great support from Shure and Systems Electronics & Engineering Pte Ltd because this gives me the opportunity to use the best gear in all my upcoming performances and recordings.” Dennis Lau is not only Crystal Lee’s mentor; he is also a musician in his own right. Dennis’ violin training started at the age of 8. Dennis Gary Goh, presenting the Shure KSM353/ED to Crystal Lee & now performs his Electric violin Dennis Lau extensively and also had the golden privilege to honour Malaysia by performing in Malaysia: Two talented artists in Malaysia, the presence of the honorary Prince William Crystal Lee and Dennis Lau, have joined the and Kate Middleton of England. family of Shure Artists. At just 10 years old, Crystal Lee, is already a starlet in-the-making with vocal chords that have garnered her a label of “Little Diva”. Her versatility includes singing, acting,

Dennis Lau commented, “We are extremely excited about having our brand new recording studio fitted out with Shure gear; there is no doubt that the sound clarity

and quality of all our upcoming recordings will be of superior quality given that Shure is in a league of its’ own when it comes to professional sound.” During the welcoming ceremony, Gary Goh presented Crystal and Dennis with a Shure KSM353/ED Premier Bidirectional Ribbon Microphone. The Shure KSM Ribbon Microphone is a premium choice for many of the world’s studio and live performances. “We are honoured to support these talented young artists and also proud to contribute to the music industry in Malaysia,” commented Gary Goh, Deputy Managing Director for Systems Electronics & Engineering Sdn Bhd. www.enepl.com.sg

Søren Storm joins Robe International: One of the biggest pieces of news to end 2013, Søren Storm has joined Robe executive management team as International Business Development Manager.

the chance of having someone of his calibre to join us! His character, vast knowledge, outlook on life and business as well as the massive respect he commands industry-wide is perfect for our team and our philosophies”.

Søren’s experience includes 16 years of working in top management for a leading lighting manufacturer, during which time he’s built up an awesome amount of contacts worldwide and an impeccable reputation for integrity, in the process becoming one of the best known and liked ‘personalities’ of the professional lighting industry.

Harry von den Stemmen added, “Moving forward, Søren will remain living in Singapore, his home for the last 16 years, and will be travelling to help grow our business in all the EMEA regions as well as also assisting with product development”.

At Robe, he will be working closely alongside International Sales Director and CEO of Robe Inc. in the US, Harry von den Stemmen together with all of Robe’s Regional Sales Managers in The Americas, the Middle East, Africa and Russia and the CIS states. “We have been looking out for people who share our core values to recruit at executive level for some time,” explained Robe lighting SRO’s CEO Josef Valchar, “And when Søren became available, we absolutely jumped at

Robe’s international distribution covers 120 countries, virtually all of which have seen increased business with the launch of this year’s innovative products. Søren said, “I’ve watched Robe over the last 10 years and seen the brand develop, grow and innovate. Established in installation markets for some time, the last two to three years has also seen serious inroads made into the rental / staging world, all with a constant stream of highly reliable and competitive products and an extremely good attitude to business. I am really excited to become part

Robe lighting SRO’s (left to right) : Harry von den Stemmen, (International Sales Director), Søren Storm (International Business Development Manager), Josef Valchar, CEO

of this.” He adds that he also sees enormous further achievement potential for Robe’s high quality architectural LED sister brand, Anolis. 2013 has been a year of unprecedented growth for Robe. This has been boosted by the launch of a raft of highly successful products and recent expansion in the Middle East with the establishment of a new operation in Dubai. Other strategic expansion plans will be announced before the end of the year. www.robe.cz

NEWS November - December 2013

Asia welcomes Anycast Touch by Sony organisations and event management companies. Robin Chan, Senior Executive, Corporate Communications, commented, “Asia is a market with a lot of potential for this solution. We are seeing smaller-scale independent events and a lot of these events are coming from other parts of the world. While large-scale concerts and international artists are coming to Asia, there is a spillover eﬀect that attracts other independent artists that do smaller scale productions, so our target is not really the large-scale type of concerts or events. Our targets are companies doing more in-house type of productions. And all they need is this solution together with their video feeds from their cameras then they can easily set-up production stream online.” Singapore: The team from Sony Professional Solutions Asia Pacific held a media showcase to announce the arrival of the Anycast Touch solution in Asia, in conjunction with the 3rd Annual FLOW (Flowboarding League of the World) Tour Asia 2013 championship, Flowboarding is an alternative boardsport incorporating elements of surfing, bodyboarding, skateboarding, skimboarding, snowboarding and wakeboarding. Flowboarders ride on artificial waves that are produced through powerful pumps which project a three-inch layer of water at speeds ranging from 20 – 30mph that are engineered to replicate the shape of ocean waves. The media event was held during the WildCard leg of the competition that determined which team would go on to compete in the Asian finals and possibly get a chance to represent the continent at the Grand Finals in the US. Held at the iconic Wave House Sentosa, a 70,000 sq ft beachfront venue, in Singapore, a 3 camera

(L-R) Robin Chan of SONY with Danny Sze of Professional Solutions AP(HK)

set-up and the Anycast Touch replaced the conventional equipment needed for webcasting and streamed the competition Live on Ustream. Danny Sze, Product Marketing Manager, Professional Solutions AP(HK) spoke at length on the qualities and capabilities of the Anycast Touch. He took the time to demonstrate the solution live during the showcase and answered the numerous questions posed. In short, the Anycast Touch AWS-750 can be considered an evolution of Sony's popular Anycast AWS-G500 that was launched in 2005. It enhances the core value of portability, flexibility and scalability, and eliminates the need for any of the hardware typically required for professional live streaming. With remote camera control from the Anycast Touch, one operator can do a lot more on his/her own. A small yet powerful machine, the Anycast Touch is suitable for numerous institutions, corporate

“Today's event is a good showcase of how this solution works in an actual event setting. It's one thing to just talk about the features, it's another thing entirely to really put it to use in a real scenario. Right now, Wave House has entrusted Sony to be the equipment provider for this event, a lot hinges on this event, it’s a very important qualifier for the region and we are happy to help broadcast this to a very eager online audience that WaveHouse has on their various social media sites,” concluded Robin. pro.sony-asia.com

Robert Juliat shines with Paciﬁc Lighting

Hong Kong: Following its supply of RJ Lancelot followspots to the Cotai Arena, Robert Juliat Hong Kong distributor, Pacific Lighting (HK) Ltd, continues to answer the ever-increasing demand for the French manufacturer’s products. The company has supplied a range of RJ 2.5kW profile fixtures and two Victor spots to Hong Kong’s new Ko Shan Theatre Annex, along with two RJ Topaze followspots to the new Hong Kong Academy School. The Hong Kong Academy School, opened a new site in Sai Kung in August 2013. The new site incorporates a 350-seat, multiconfigurable auditorium with professional grade lighting and sound equipment, a 600-seat gymnasium with retractable seating capable of housing the entire school and an 80-seat studio theatre. Hugh Chinnick, Director of Pacific Lighting (HK) Ltd, proposed the RJ Topaze 1200W MSD followspots within the drama department’s lighting inventory based on the skeleton specifications supplied by consultant, Michael Smyth. “I knew the project was very budget conscious so, drawing on my experience as a lecturer at the Academy of Performing Arts, I suggested Topaze as the best use of budget in terms of performance, reliability and suitability.” says Chinnick. “Topaze’s 7°- 14.5° zoom range gives it the flexibility to suit all of the performance venues. It is compact and uncomplicated enough for students to handle yet punchy enough for the performances which will be expected of it. Students can quickly get to grasps with the logical layout of its operation and, with all parts within easy reach, there is a very strong safety element which is so important in the teaching environment. With Robert Juliat spots, the students will be given the opportunity to learn the best of what is available right from the start of their experience with entertainment technology.”

The Ko Shan Theatre Annex, which is due to open in 2014, is a new wing to Hong Kong’s prestigious Ko Shan Theatre. At the specification of consultants, Pictures Planes Limited, Pacific Lighting supplied the venue with a number of RJ 700SX2 series 2.5kW zoom profiles for the front of house rig and a pair of RJ Victor 1800W followspots, two of which are already in use in Ko Shan’s main Theatre. The Annex forms part of the government’s plan to support the development of Cantonese opera in Hong Kong and has been constructed with a 600-seat auditorium suitable for medium-scale performances and experimental theatre as well as opening its doors to other arts and community events. “The choice of RJ 700SX2 series for the Annex as a powerful front-of-house profile was an obvious one because it stands out in the market for its performance and quality,” says Chinnick. “It is also extremely quiet which is especially important as they are rigged in close proximity to the audience.” Robert Juliat’s 700SX2 series is available in four zoom ranges, has a flat beam made possible by RJ’s double condenser optics and a silent cooling fan, all qualities which make it the ideal long-throw profile fixture for opera houses.

amounts of light in their designs, LD’s need a profile that is able to punch its weight with the power and quality of a Juliat. “We are extremely happy with the way Robert Juliat’s popularity has spread across the region in the years we have been part of the family. Hong Kong and Macau is a relatively small distribution region – probably one of RJ’s smallest - yet the number of followspots in use across the area, well in excess of 80 to date, is impressive for such a small region,” continues Chinnick. “And demand is increasing! Just when you think you have Robert Juliat spots in every venue, the phone rings with customers asking for more!” Part of Pacific Lighting’s success is the immediate local customer support they provide. “We carry a stock of spare parts for every fixture we sell and can be on site quickly for emergencies or maintenance,” says Chinnick. “It’s what our clients expect from a reputable distributor and one of the values we share with Robert Juliat. It’s not just about selling products, it’s about providing a reliable service too.” www.robertjuliat.com www.pacificlighting.net

“We are encouraged by the increase in sales of RJ’s higher powered profile fixtures in the last 12 months which is a sure indication that tungsten remains a valid light source despite the increased development of longthrow LED profiles,” says Chinnick. “LED may provide an alternative within the lighting designers’ palette but, with ever increasing RJ 700SX2 series profile

RJ Topaze

RJ Victor

NEWS November - December 2013 Andy Austin-Brown with attendee Walter from Walter Sounds and Stage Lighting.

KV2 Audio extends into the Philippines

Philippines: Arranged by KV2 Audio's Singapore distributor, Sindo Exports, a successful product demonstration was recently conducted with the company's newest client, Manila-based Montecruz Enterprise Inc. Operated by Efren Cruz, Montecruz is a well established trading company that has developed a reputation over the years for its quality service and support.

On the decision to work with KV2 Audio, Efren explained, “When I first heard the KV2 Audio products, my gut told me that here was a brand just waiting to be developed. There is a special feel about the whole company, the people, the things they say and, of course the products. I knew that this was a golden opportunity to become involved with something new and exciting.” To welcome Montecruz into the KV2 family, Andy Austin-Brown, KV2's Technical Project Director, flew to Manila to formally introduce the brand to Montecruz's select clients, engineers, hire companies and friends. Following this, a series of technical presentations and discussions were held combined with a full-scale 1 day installation of a large scale VHD system at the Manila National Basketball Arena. Andy also conducted a training session to show how easy and quick the system was to roll in, fly and configure using the least amount of eﬀort and gaining maximum coverage, quality and results. All attendees were extremely impressed and voiced surprise at the abilities of the system with

regards to its smooth seamless coverage and output level.

instrumentalists and performers that just seemed to be everywhere.”

To further reinforce the combined quality performance eﬀects of the KV2 Audio stage monitors and VHD PA system, a well-known and respected local Rock band was employed to demonstrate all the above benefits. After their performance, the band reported that they had never experienced so much ‘space’ between the instruments on stage before due to the combined quality performance eﬀects of the KV2 Audio stage monitors and VHD PA system.

“I really enjoyed my first visit to the Philippines, the people here are so welcoming, have a great sense of fun and are extremely hard workers. I feel very confident for the future of KV2 Audio as a new long term developing partner here with Montecruz and I look forward to coming back very soon to work with these wonderful people,” he added.

Following the demonstration, Andy commented, “I was greatly surprised by the knowledge and experience that was present, as well as the amazing calibre of musical

Montecruz has already invested in an ES system with a large VHD system and SL systems for the company's future projects. www.kv2audio.com

NEWS November - December 2013

DPA Microphones’ 4066 and 4088 join d:ﬁne family

d:fine 4066

International: DPA Microphones has announced that the 4066 and 4088 Miniature Headset Microphones will now join the company’s d:fine Headset Microphone family. As part of its rebranding eﬀorts, the mics will also receive a facelift to coincide with the more contemporary look and feel of the existing d:fine line. When DPA Microphones originally launched its d:fine Headset Microphones, company executives expected that they would replace the sales of the 4066 and 4088s. Instead, the original miniature headsets are still booming with popularity and the d:fines are

d:fine 4088

being treated by loyal customers as separate, equally admired products. As a result, DPA Microphones decided to “go all in” and implement all headsets (4088 and 4066) into the d:fine Headset Microphone group. The upgrades to these mics feature a combination of the modern d:fine mechanics, headset mount and ear hook, with the sound capabilities of the classic microphone capsules from the 4066/4088. “We launched the d:fine Headset Microphones a few years ago and selected the name based on a feeling that the

microphone would define a new generation of headsets,” says Christian Poulsen, CEO of DPA Microphones. “It certainly did meet our expectations, but what we didn’t plan on was our customers’ loyalty to our 4066 and 4088 mics. So we decided to give these mics a facelift and incorporate them into the d:fine family. With the upgrades, all four capsules (two omnis and two cardioids) have a variety of options in terms of sound color, dynamic range, size, cleaning issues and so on. In other words, with this ‘new’ d:fine group, all combinations of style and sound are possible.” The DPA d:fine 4088 Directional Headset Microphone is a miniature cardioid headset mic built on the DPA microphone design and manufacturing while the d:fine 4066 Omnidirectional Headset Microphone is a flexible miniature microphone solution that features quick and easy adjustment. Like its original d:fine sister, 4066 oﬀers both left and right mounting, colour change and now also single or dual-ear functionality. www.dpamicrophones.com

Hard Rock Mumbai controlled by Intelli-X2 India: Apex Audio Indian distributor, White Eagle Entertainment has designed, installed and commissioned an advanced sound system in JSM-owned Hard Rock Cafe Mumbai and Shiro with the Apex Intelli-X2 48 playing an integral part.

manager Darren Alvares chose White Eagle Entertainment as their preferred audio supplier. Alvares states, “We are very happy with the new sound systems. They out perform all our expectations. The systems sound perfect and are very easy to use.”

JSM, through its subsidiaries, is the exclusive master franchisee for Hard Rock Café, California Pizza Kitchen and Trader Vic's across India, restaurants known for their unique designs and uncompromising standards.

Hard Rock Café Mumbai occupies 613m2 with a seating capacity of 176. The installation consist of an extensive Outline loudspeaker system controlled by an Apex Intelli-X2 48, 4 in / 8 out, fully digital 192 Khz system manager. The system is used for live bands and club nights almost every night of the week.

The two Mumbai restaurants, Hard Rock Cafe Mumbai and Shiro are centrally located, surrounded by a variety of corporations and movie production houses and, with the suburbs being home to the Bollywood movie industry, tourists are attracted from far and wide. The high quality demands of JSM were reflected in their sound systems and choice of supplier. For this reason, JSM general

At Shiro, the Apex Intelli-X2 48 is in control of a system that is used for music reproduction during restaurant hours and has to preform until late at night for the club’s after dinner club lounge nights. White Eagle Entertainment owner Arun Kalra chose the Intelli-X2 48 because, “it is one of the easiest to use and best system management systems available.”

“Because of the high demands of the clubs’ customers, the long operating hours of the locations and the high level of protection to all the components in the system, the Intelli series products are our first choice,” says Arun. “By using the Apex Intelli units we are able to design high quality systems for the most demanding customers.” www.apex-audio.be

NEXO STM unique conﬁguration for Asia Song

South Korea: NEXO’s unique modular STM line array systems have been used at the Asia Song Festival 2013, with an audience of more than 25,000 fans in the Jamsil Olympic Stadium in Seoul. This was the 10th annual Asian pop music festival to be held in South Korea. This year, Korean singers: 2PM, EXO, Girl’s Day, ZE:A, Dynamic Duo, and No Brain, joined other Asian performers for spectacular performances on stage. Adding to the festvities, Super Junior’s Eunhyuk, 2PM’s Taecyeon, and EXO’s Chris took on the role of MCs for the event. Rental company Way Audio faced an exceptional challenge on the project as terrible weather forecasts required the event organisers to change the layout of the stage and seating. Moving the stage to a new position nearer the grandstand allowed the audience to be seated and stay dry under the stadium roof. Way Audio’s sound designer was Yun-Cheol Lee, who configured the STM system with S118 subwoofers flown with the main and bass cabinets. This was the first time that Way Audio has supplied such a configuration, and Yun-Cheol Lee and chief engineer JangYong Park reported that it was extremely successful. Way Audio, which took delivery in July 2013 of its new NEXO STM rig from NEXO distributor A-Works, received an excellent reception for its work at the show. The event’s promoter also stages the Ji-San World Rock Festival, where Way Audio’s STM made its Korean début earlier in the year.

“Day by day, we are increasing our knowledge and our expertise with this new generation of PA system,” said Yun-Cheol Lee. “Its modularity presents many opportunities for diﬀerent configurations in diﬀerent applications, and the more events we do, the more we become STM experts! For example, flying the subwoofers for the first time in the Olympic Stadium amazed all of us – we have never felt such powerful sub energy before, it was awesome!” NEXO has adopted modularity as its central design principle, and STM is its first scalable modular line array on the market, a system that is both powerful, flexible and easy to use. STM stands for Scale Through

Modularity, which describes the STM’s ability to scale up or down to suit event audiences from 1,000 to 100,000. As a general rule, the three diﬀerent elements of the STM system – main, bass and subbass cabinets – are used in a 1:1:1 ratio. The bass and subbass cabinets can be groundstacked or flown. Systems are powered by NEXO’s proprietary amplification solution, the NXAMP4x4, packaged into the NUAR (NEXO Universal Amp Rack) with metering, patching and mains distribution. www.nexo.fr www.wayaudio.co.kr

NEWS November - December 2013

E&E supports Yamaha Asian Beat 2013 Singapore:The Yamaha Asian Beat 2013 returned for its 15th year running and was supported by Systems Integrator and Distributor, Electronics & Engineering Pte Ltd (E&E). One of the biggest amateur band contests, the Yamaha Asian Beat competition is held throughout many regions in Asia. It starts out from 'Area Heat' in participating countries and regions. Each winner at the Area Heat finals in the respective countries then proceed onto the Grand Final, where they will perform together on the same stage and compete to be the top of amateur band in Asia. For the Singapore edition of the competition, E&E sponsored the world-renowned Shure Microphones as prizes to the winners. 4 units of Shure SM58 Legendary Vocal Microphones were given out along with a Shure PGDMK4 Drum Microphone Kit with the Shure Super 55 Deluxe Vocal Microphone Limited Edition presented to the winner. Gary Goh, Deputy Managing Director, ''E&E and Shure are very proud to partner with

Yamaha for this event. This definitely helps bring musicians from the region together. It will give the groups the opportunity not only to widen their audience and fan base but also enjoy the 'on the road' experience which is invaluable.” Yamaha Corporation started this event as "Band Alert" in 1998, and renamed it to "Asian Beat" in 2001. In the past years, worldwide famous players were the judges

such as Nathan East, Wes Borland, Tommy Aldridge, Sonny Emory, Billy Sheehan, James LoMenzo and Akira Jimbo. The finalists will meet in Indonesia for the Grand Finale in November this year. The audience will have the chance to hear all 9 Asian Beat finalists perform. www.enepl.com.sg

EVI appointed as AVID distributor for Philippines Philippines: EVI Distribution Inc., were recently appointed as the Oﬃcial Avid Distributor for the Philippines during the PALMM Philippines 2013 show. Using the platform of the show, the team from EVI Distribution launched the Avid S5 Fusion, a flexible mid-size digital audio mixing console with a dedicated, expandable DSP engine and complete EUCON Hybrid control. S5 Fusion includes an I/O interface that provides four MADI inputs and outputs (256 x 256 audio channels), and can be expanded to support up to 512 audio I/O channels. Because the system is modular, users can customize their I/O with a full range of highquality Avid converters—both analogue and digital. As the exclusive distributor, EVI Distribution will also carry the entire Avid Pro Console range for the Philippines. Other brands

represented by EVI Distribution include AMX automated control systems, Biamp digital paging systems, Electro-voice pro-

audio speakers, Roland digital mixers, ROBE professional lighting system and many more. www.avid.com www.eviphils.com

A joint venture partnership of

ILLUMINATING. See thousands of innovations from hundreds of exhibitors. Hear from industry experts, content developers and technology managers. Be part of the best-attended systems integration tradeshow ever held.

Find out more. www.iseurope.org

NEWS November - December 2013

ASCL installs Q-Sys for ICC Light & Music Show Hong Kong: Earlier this year, as part of Hong Kong's inaugural ICC Light & Music show, two of its tallest buildings, the harbourside International Finance Centre (IFC) and the International Commerce Centre (ICC) in West Kowloon, were linked permanently via a new audio network controlled by the QSC Q-Sys networked audio platform. Whenever a show is underway at the ICC, the new network passes music and control data from the ICC Control Room to synchronised LED fascia lighting displays and to a new sound system that includes QSC loudspeakers and amplifiers in and outside the IFC mall. "Q-Sys was the only audio management system that could oﬀer built-in audio playback and DSP, full monitoring of any input and control of the amplification and speakers, all down a standard fibre connection between the IFC and ICC, and with full redundancy and remote

management functions," stated Tommy Ho, ASCL's Senior Sales Manager. From the ICC control room, music and PA announcements are passed to a Q-Sys Core 250i, under the control of a TSC3 touchscreen. The Core is linked by a broadband connection to the master clock at the Hong Kong Observatory, and via a further high-bandwidth fibre-optic connection to a second Core 250i unit in the IFC's control room. From there, audio is played out at scheduled times (clocked back to the Observatory) into 16 QSC AD-S282H speakers installed around and outside the venue's Podiums 3 and 4 and powered by three QSC PowerLight 340 amplifiers, allowing visitors to enjoy the LED lightshows on display in sync with accompanying music. Settings on this second Core 250i at the IFC are useradjustable via a further QSC TSC-3 touch panel in the IFC Hub.

The entire system was specified and installed by Audio System Consultants Asia Ltd (ASCL), the QSC distributor in Hong Kong. qsc.com

Showtec grows Vari*Lite inventory by Hundred Fold more Vari*Lite lighting luminaires to their growing inventory over the years.

Singapore: Singapore-based production company Showtec Communications, has grown its Philips Vari*Lite inventory by purchasing 100 units of VL 3015 Spot lighting fixtures. The purchases were concluded via Vari*Lite distributor Total Solution Marketing. Showtec first bought the Vari*Lite fixtures in 2002 and have been continuously adding

Henry Ang of Showtec remarked: “Philips Vari*Lite has led the world in automated lighting technology; developing pioneering products with an unrivalled reputation. Vari*Lite also creates complete lighting systems that add subtle distinction or brilliant spectacles to Showtec events. The VL 3015 Spot luminaire provides unprecedented output from a 1500W lamp in a luminaire that oﬀers an incredible zoom range optimized for long throw applications along with a vast array of powerful features. Also the zoom range of 6° to 60° allows us to use them in a multitude of applications ranging from stadiums and floating platforms to indoor venues and theatres.” Henry was also satisfied with services rendered by Total Solution, added “Together with the outstanding customer service and technical support from TSM, I will definitely consider adding more Vari*Lite fixtures in the near future.”

Glenn Wong, Managing Director for Total Solution was elated that the VL 3015 Spot fixtures made their début in South East Asia during the Singapore National Day Parade 2013 at the Floating Platform. He stated “We are proud that our brands have been chosen in such a prestigious event and I’m also delighted that Showtec has chosen Vari*Lite fixtures once again as the VL 3015 fixture provides the increased output of a 1500W lamp in a fixture that oﬀers the same features as the wildly popular VL3000 Spot fixture. www.vari-lite.com www.showtecgroup.com www.tsm-int.com

ENNOVATIONS November - December 2013

Allen & Heath: GLD Editor software The GLD Editor is a free, computer-based control suite offering all of the key facilities of the GLD digital mixer with the capability to display multiple information panels simultaneously. Similar to the iLive Editor software, the program enables users to easily configure show settings or make changes to existing shows, Online / Offline. TCP/IP connectivity makes live mixing and processing possible over CAT5 or WiFi so different tasks can be managed in the Editor software and the GLD mixer surface simultaneously. For example, monitors can be tweaked on stage using a wireless laptop while another engineer runs the FoH sound check from the mixer. Also, as it is possible to connect up to 16 devices to a GLD system, users can attach multiple computers running Editor and multiple iPads running the existing GLD Remote app at the same time. In Offline mode, users can prepare a channel plot and surface layout on the go or edit guest engineer Show files before transferring

them to a USB key to load into a GLD at the venue. In Online mode, Editor adds a second 'virtual' control surface to the GLD system providing simultaneous control. Editor can connect as either a master by uploading current settings to the mixer, or a slave by downloading the current mixer settings. The GUI surface has been designed to mimic every aspect of the GLD mixer – knobs and faders included. The main Surface view allows for quick mixing functions, while screen navigation keys open up a new window which replicates the GLD touchscreen interface. Processing views, meters, FX control, I/O patch, quick channel strip labelling, drag ‘n drop of surface strip layout, access to memories and preferences can all be found here, coupled with a navigation tab by layer/ bank or channel type. This addition means it is possible to select a channel without going back to the main window, and makes GLD Editor usable with most Windows tablets

and netbooks with resolutions as low as 1024x768. Editor is available as part of a new GLD firmware update, V1.3, which also includes added functionality, such as ganging of trims, output channels available as sources in the patch-bay for input channels and External Input on mix channels. Available for PC and Mac. GLD v1.3 can be downloaded now from www.allen-heath.com

ArKaos: GrandVJ Software update

Screenshot of GrandVJ 2 XT VideoMapper extension

The GrandVJ 2 is the latest version of the ArKaos GrandVJ software for VJs, DJs, clubs and musicians. Two versions are available: GrandVJ 2 and GrandVJ 2 XT which includes a VideoMapper feature. GrandVJ 2 can now be activated and used on up to two computers (i.e. main computer and backup) at the same time from one license. It can also be deactivated on one computer before activating it on another, allowing temporary use of the software on any computer. (The activation/deactivation process requires connection to the Internet).

The video processing engine has been updated and new eﬀects such as the ‘Colour Correction’ help the user to fix the Hue, Saturation or Brightness of a video quickly in a live environment. GrandVJ 2 can also now read audio files so that users are able to mix video clips, without the need for third party software to play background music, by simply dragging and dropping mp3 files onto cells or layers. The GrandVJ 2 comes also with a new interface. Simple colour coding (orange for layers, blue for cells) makes editing faster and more intuitive. Existing features, such as panel locks, have now been moved and grouped under the mixer. The GrandVJ 2 XT is an ‘extended’ version of GrandVJ 2 which adds the introduction of a VideoMapper extension. This allows projection mapping and advanced management of multiple displays. GrandVJ

2 XT sends the output of layers or cells to virtual ‘surfaces’ which can be scaled, manipulated and assigned to any video output or display. A single output can display a fullscreen visual, or a composite of several mapped visuals, to create complex visual compositions. The VideoMapper can be used to set up and manage multiple outputs with diﬀerent content, size and even resolution - for example, a mixture of LED screens, a projector and plasma television - which the VideoMapper will automatically detect. Alternatively, even if complex video mapping is not required, visual content can simply be output to a video projector and the surfaces manipulated to flow them across any physical volume, such as objects or buildings. All these new features of GrandVJ 2 (except XT’s VideoMapper) are available as a FREE upgrade from any GrandVJ 1 software. www.arkaos.net

ENNOVATIONS November - December 2013

Avolites: Titan V7.0 Software workspace there is a [+] button in the topright corner and an 'Import Show' context menu option. Selecting any of these options will present a list of available shows to import and the Show Browser workspace will automatically open. After selecting a show you can view all the items in the show and assign them to handles in the current show.

The new software is packed with features such as Show Import which allows users to import items from other shows into the current show. From the Disk menu there is a new option [Import Show] and in the Show Library

Additionally, there is a new workspace called 'Set List'. On all consoles except Pearl Expert, when a track is added it links to the current page and pressing the play button next to a track will automatically select the associated page. It is also possible to 'bind' the page change buttons to step through the active set list and its associated pages on consoles with physical page up/down buttons.

Users are able to add notes for every track. The associated notes for a track will be shown as soon as users 'play' a track or just by clicking on a particular track. It is important that the console has been fully upgraded to V6 before attempting to install V7. Users can now download Titan V7.0 from the Avolites download page: For a full list of new features scan the QR code: www.avolites.com

Philips Selecon: PL Series 1 range now in White Philips Selecon has announced that the white finish versions of their PL Series 1 LED luminaires are now in production. Customers can now choose a white finish versions for the PLCYC1, PLPROFILE1, and PLFRESNEL1, for use in exposed positions in auditoriums, places of worship, and retail environments.

The PL Series luminaire family (PLCYC1, PLCYC2, PLFRESNEL1, PLPROFILE1 and thePLPROFILE4) oďŹ&#x20AC;ers a complete solution for small to medium theatres and studios bringing together proven power and performance of the PL Series LED engine with a leading industry product design. www.seleconlight.com

DYNACORD: TS 100 / TS 200 Vertical Array speakers designed for a multitude of applications. The box, which weighs 7.1 kg, is suitable for entertainment installations in bistros, clubs and restaurants as for AV applications in places such as conference halls, trade fair booths and hotels or for supplying front fill in theatres.

DYNACORD has expanded its Vertical Array loudspeaker family to include the two fullrange boxes, TS 100 and TS 200. The TS 100 two-way, full-range box boasts power handling of 150W/RMS and is

Its nominal impedance of 16 ohms makes the operation of up to eight TS 100 units, by a single power amplifier channel, possible. For the low-frequency range and midrange, a low-distortion DND 6130-16 neodymium chassis is employed, the high-frequency range being covered by a Constant Directivity HPT94 HF horn that can be rotated through 90 degrees for horizontal applications.

dispersion allows the TS 200 to be used in a variety of applications: for mobile use as a medium-sized FOH system with passive or active subwoofers, full range, fill or delay in larger systems as well as in the field of fixed installation. The TS 200 weighs less than 10kg and is equipped with: For the low-frequency range and midrange, two low-distortion DND 613016 neodymium chassis in a vertical-array configuration are used, whilst the highfrequency range is served by an Electro-Voice DH3 driver in a Constant Directivity HPT94 HF horn that can be rotated similar to the TS 100. www.dynacord.com

The TS 200 is two-way, full-range loudspeaker that boasts power handling of 300W/RMS. Its high sound pressure and controlled

ENNOVATIONS November - December 2013

MDG: e-series haze & fog generators The new e-series is an evolution of the Atmosphere APS Series haze generator and MAX APS Series fog generator. The e-series is MDG’s most recent innovation in atmospheric eﬀects and marks the natural evolution for the company’s product portfolio. The new Atmosphere ATMe and MAX M3e models each have an identical power consumption and footprint to its predecessors (the Atmosphere and MAX 3000 respectively) yet oﬀer a significantly

increased output (double that of the standard Atmosphere and approximately 50% more than the standard Max 3000 generators). The new models demonstrate enhanced control via in-built RDM/DMX which allow precise remote control over the flow of the output. The control enables the operator to change the flow from a fine haze to a rolling fog from the control desk. www.mdgfog.com

Atmosphere ATMe

Allen & Heath: ICE-16D ICE-16D has balanced I/O, designed for those using the unit in a studio environment or requiring fully balanced inputs & outputs on AES59 standard D Sub connectors. Fitted into a compact 1U rack design, ICE-16 and ICE-16D are capable of studio quality interfacing, converting and bidirectional streaming of 16 channels over high-speed USB or FireWire at 24 bit, 96kHz resolution. Alternatively, 16 channels can be simultaneously recorded straight to a USB hard drive or memory stick at up to 24bit 48kHz resolution as a .wav file. The unit is

The ICE-16D is an alternative version of the ICE-16 multi-track recorder that was launched last year. Both units have 16 In/16 Out audio interfaces, allowing performers and audio engineers to capture high quality multi-track recordings direct to a USB drive or interface to a computer. Additionally, the

expandable, so users can link units together and synchronize recording of many channels. Signal and peak metering is provided for each channel and can be switched to show input or output. Headphone monitoring is also included and switches on each channel enabling checking of individual or multiple channels. ASIO drivers and Core Audio compliance ensure full compatibility with all the main DAWs, including Logic, Sonar, Cubase and Pro Tools. www.allen-heath.com

Laserworld: Proline Laser Series Proline Series product range fills the gap between the budget solutions of the Club Series and the more professional Pure Micro Series.

not only run in normal scanner mode, but have, similar to an optical bench, three additional grating eﬀects that can easily be switched through DMX.

Two power levels are provided – the PRO700RGB with up to 700mW power, and the PRO-1300RGB with up to 1.300mW power. In contrast to the Club Series projectors, the Proline units come with the bright 637nm red, which increases overall visibility. The small housing and minimal weight make the units ideal for applications in nightclubs, bars or for mobile DJs. Due to the compact setup and versatility they are also suitable for rental companies.

The Proline Series units can be fully controlled through ILDA. If run in ILDA mode, additional eﬀects can be selected through DMX– or simply change automatically (adjustable). Several units are able to be daisy-chained for Master-Slave operation. The extended mounting bracket allows nearly 360° turns of the laser housing around the mounting axis, so the laser may even face 180° of the mounting point.

Another feature of the Proline Series is the integrated Glass Eﬀects Actuator: The lasers

The units of the Proline Series come with 40kpps scanners. As extensions to the

product range, an “advanced” version of the Proline lasers is available. These systems have the additional full analogue modulation feature, which allows creation of colour fades and beam eﬀects. www.laserworld.com

Mackie: DL Series Mixer upgrade The two new versions of the DL1608 and DL806 Digital Live Sound Mixers feature the Apple Lightning connector. The mixers now enable direct docking of the iPad (4th generation) and iPad mini (using the new iPad mini tray kit). Mackie DL Series Digital Live Sound Mixers combine the power of a full-featured digital mixer with the ease and mobility of an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. Additionally, the mixers are also equipped with Onyx mic preamps and the performance of 24-bit Cirrus Logic AD/DA converters. Seamless wired to wireless iPad control allows a user to mix from anywhere in the venue, providing the mobile freedom to control not only the mix, but also plug-ins like EQ, dynamics, eﬀects and more. DL mixers support up to 10 wireless devices so musicians can control their own monitor mix on stage.

While both of the iPad devices currently work with DL mixers wirelessly via Mackie’s Master Fader app, physical docking has its privileges. In addition to device charging, users will have access to 2-channel recording straight to the iPad and the ability to playback audio from nearly any iPad app straight to the DL mixer. The new DL1608 and DL806 featuring the Apple Lightning connector are currently in production and are shipping to dealers and distributors worldwide. www.mackie.com/DLSeries

DL1608

Creative LED stage lighting tools for all

Photo: Andrew Malmo

The future is within reach Our new pricing initiative for our PL Series 1 LED luminaires changes the game. Enjoy the proven power and performance of the PL Series LED engine and our industry leading product design without compromising your budget. To ﬁnd out more, please contact your local dealer, or visit www.seleconlight.com

ENNOVATIONS November - December 2013

Elation Professional: Satura Spot LED Pro The 300-watt RGBW Satura Spot LED Pro moving head consumes half as much energy as traditional moving head spots and its long-life LED engine lasts on average 80 times longer than a typical 575-watt discharge lamp. Along with its LED engine, the Satura Spot LED Pro is equipped with 13 gobos (6 rotating, 7 static); a 14°-32° zoom range which at 5m (16.4 ft.) Full On produces up to 3,451 LUX at min zoom and up to 808 LUX at max zoom; frost filter; motorized focus; 0-100% dimming; 5%-100% motorized iris; and a high-speed mechanical shutter/ strobe. Its full-rotation moving yoke can pan 540°/630° and tilt 265°, and it features 8/16 bit resolution adjustable movement. Also features a built-in EWDMX wireless DMX receiver, which allows the Satura Spotto receive DMX signals wirelessly from up to 3,000 feet when sent via an Elation EWDMXT wireless DMX transmitter (sold separately).

The unit is controlled via 3 DMX modes (19/21/25 channel) and includes 3 and 5 pin DMX In/Out and PowerCON connectors. In addition to DMX, the Satura Spot LED Pro features RDM (Remote Device Management) and can be operated manually in StandAlone, Sound Active and Master-Slave Modes. A built-in microphone is included for sound-activated programs. Whatever the operating mode, the unit produces a 6-button touch control panel with a full-colour 180° reversible LCD menu display. To ensure that it is always accessible, the menu display is equipped with its own rechargeable backup battery. The Satura Spot LED Pro includes multivoltage operation: AC 100-240V/ 50-60 Hz and consumes only 480W max power. CE and cETLus approval are pending. Dimensions: 431 x 507.5 x 721mm Weight: 53 lbs. (26 kg) www.adjchina.com.cn

MIDAS: Mixtender 2 App The MIDAS Mixtender 2 App is compatible with PRO1, PRO2, PRO2C, PRO3, PRO6, PRO9 and XL8 consoles — and is available for free download at the Apple App Store. Providing remote access to all key console functions with smooth and responsive system metering, the Mixtender 2 oﬀers support for multiple iPads, allowing FOH and monitor engineers to work collaboratively from any location in the venue.

Mixtender 2's upgraded feature set includes full-screen EQ editing, for accurate individual channel adjustments; VCA and POP group unfolding and member editing function; plus a quick navigation page with comprehensive level metering that allows engineers to monitor all signals while away from the console.

Other new features of the Mixtender 2 include: Pan and delay control; Bus mix mode display and editing; Parametric EQ with safety locks; In-place output GEQ editing; Channel naming & colour selection. www.midasconsoles.com

Robe: Parfect Beam The Robe Parfect, is an LED source ACL beam at an aﬀordable price that is made in Europe. This unit is a static version of the massively successful LedBeam 100 and retains all the key features of this, including both CMY & RGBW colour control, tungsten emulation, Zone Fx, selectable & variable colour temperatures and the 7° beam.

The compact and lightweight moulded composite unit comes complete with a combined hanging bracket / floor stand. Wireless DMX, clip-on diﬀusion filters and detachable barn-doors, are available as extras. www.robe.cz

ENNOVATIONS November - December 2013

coolux: Pandoras Box Version 5.5

With the new Pandoras Box Version 5.5, users can now access HTML pages and render them as so called "Browser Assets" in order to make them visible on graphic or video layers. It is also possible to make any layer react to mouse, touch and keyboard input. A new Pointer Layer is available for visualizing mouse & touch events. Other features include the newly integrated Web Server that adds the ability to host web

pages on any Pandoras Box Master system. Furthermore it allows the remote control of any Pandoras Box system via HTML pages. All PB Automation commands, known from the SDK, can now be executed directly via JavaScript.

Use automatic media management to speed up content workflow. Any project folder can be set up as a so-called ''watch folder''. Once new content is added to that folder, it will be automatically distributed across the system becoming instantly available.

In addition to third party 3D object import, it is now possible to attach so called "markers" to them. All one needs to do is define a minimum of 4 points on a 3D projection surface, after which one can easily position the corresponding 2D markers. Based on the physical lens settings, the software will automatically generate the 3D projector position and orientation.

Pandoras Box software packages will now support 2D particle systems and the new Warper now supports .3ds as well .fbx files. All image processing tools now support JPEG2000 import. www.coolux.com

Elation Professional: Protron LED Strobe An LED strobe that comes housed in a conventional par-style case. Utilizing 576 pieces of white 6,500°K LED diodes, the fixture produces an impressive 28,000 lumens of output.

economical to operate, thanks to its long-life, energy-eﬃcient LEDs (150 watts maximum draw). Additionally, it is CE and cETLus approved for safe, worry-free installation in any type of venue.

Adding to its powerful strobe light eﬀect, the Protron LED Strobe’s LEDs are split into four “pies,” which can chase to create stunning eﬀects. Its rugged die-cast aluminum case allows the LEDs to run at FULL output as well as to be a floodlight/blinder, and it is rated at IP65, so it can withstand wind, rain and other inclement conditions.

The Protron LED Strobe also includes both RDM and DMX control (3 DMX channel options), as well as onboard manual controls and Master-Slave configurability. The unit is equipped with an easy-to-use LCD Menu System for addressing and setup.

Used as a par/flood replacement, the Protron LED Strobe can become a white 120° open face light that is both maintenance-free and

Available with IP65-rated cables for power/ data linking or PowerCon power linking and 5-pin XLR DMX In/Out linking cables as well, the units are plug-and-play, designed for the rigors of any production or install application.

Other features found on the Protron LED Strobe include: Bursts and Linear Dimming; a 6.25” gel frame holder; and a dual yoke that allows the unit to be hung or set on the ground. Additionally, the unit comes with its own internal power supply with multi-voltage operation (AC 100V-240V) and Auto-Sensing. Dimensions: 270 x 289 x 194 mm Weight: 11.7 lbs. (5.3 kg) www.adjchina.com.cn

ACME: Saber Speed Beam The Saber Speed (AE710 Beam/ AE-720 Beam) moving head provides output of up to 24800lux at 20m and a powerful beam via the Philips MSD Platinum 2R lamp or OSRAM 132W lamp. Adopting the Philips MSD Platinum 2R (AE-710 Beam) or OSRAM 132W lamp (AE720 Beam) as light sources, enable the Saber

Speed to deliver a powerful light output as well as give a wider range of selection to users. The moving head features a 3° beam angle and is specially designed with triple 8 facet prisms and trapezoid facet prisms. It is equipped with 17 static gobos plus open, it delivers various gobo shapes with high quality. Smooth dimming from 0 to 100% among 14 dichroic colours plus open allows Saber Speed (AE-710 Beam / AE-720 Beam) to provide more options for diﬀerent requirements in terms of brightness and colours.

The combination of RDA (Remote DMX Addressing) with automatic pan/tilt position correction and electronic focus functions enables the Saber Speed (AE-710 Beam/ AE-720 Beam) to be more flexible and highly configurable. Dimensions are 458 x 292 x 256mm with a net weight of 15kg (33lb). www.acme.com.cn

EXHIBITION REVIEW November - December 2013

It’s a Wrap! Prolight + Sound Shanghai 2013 hits the right chord The 11th edition of Prolight + Sound Shanghai recently concluded with exhibitors and visitors reporting promising business leads and high level networking, as well as the unveiling of the latest new and improved technologies. Held from 10 to 13 October at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, the show attracted more than 500 exhibiting brands and companies from 15 countries and regions.

Telly Cheuk of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd lays out the cornerstones of distinction between the two, “The exhibitor and visitor profiles are a bit diﬀerent for both. Both shows cater to slightly diﬀerent markets. Guangzhou sets out to meet the needs of the mid-range companies in the Chinese domestic market whereas Shanghai operates on a smaller scale but with a richer quality of international manufacturers and visitors around Asia.”

With three of the biggest industry-specific trade shows taking place in China every year, comparisons are no doubt, inevitable.

Indeed, Prolight + Sound Shanghai provides a much needed alternative for the vibrant Chinese market where the entertainment industry is large and growing.

Seeing how this year also marks the first partnership between Messe Frankfurt and Guangdong International Science and Technology Exhibition Company (STE) for Sound Light Guangzhou 2013 back in March, what makes this show stand out from the other?

“What the show oﬀers is a collective of seemingly like-minded yet diﬀerent brands to visitors and an environment where they can connect with the manufacturers first-hand,” Telly adds.

Alongside this comprehensive exhibition were a number of conferences and seminars diverging on subjects such as Nightscape and Stage Lighting, AV Applications in Hotels and the Stage Art Design and Technology Forum.

EXHIBITION REVIEW November - December 2013

Right Crowd at the Right Time

Visitors were spotted smiling wide after the first day of the show, with several exhibitors basking in the ambience. brand, there’s a lot of hype and excitement surrounding our new range. For this show, we showcased the AX-226SP, AX-1115SP series subwoofers.” Behringer also reinforced its presence by showcasing its digital mixer x32 console and SL and ST loudspeakers whilst Laser World showcased its much sought-after RTI PIKO laser lighting series from Germany and the SwissLas series from Switzerland. Several exhibitors also hit the mark with their larger than life displays and elaborate booths.

Roberto Mataloni with FBT pro audio consultant Remo Orsoni

FBT’s Export Manager Roberto Mataloni was on site to demonstrate their Qube QSA 210 line array speakers and QS 218 subwoofers at the Concert Sound Arena outdoor stage, as well as a one-day product presentation based on ‘Various Technologies to Control Sound Directivity’.

The outdoor array demo arena has the best setup compared to other shows. It is neater and more organized. The timings for the demo are also more flexible,” she raved.

He shares, “This is a great show and a perfect platform to meet with our Chinese dealers. With the business in China growing so rapidly, we’re enjoying a very nice product mix with our wide spread distribution of catalogue.” Martin Professional by HARMAN especially stood out with its trademark ‘M’ Showroom, featuring the MAC 101 and MAC III Quadray. The intrinsic lighting visuals, complemented by the entrancing music from the show floor certainly gathered a lot of attention from the crowd.

FBT also rolled out its ARCHON series speakers, which are specifically targeted at the entertainment KTV market in China. “The ARCHON is tailored to Asian music, in particular it involves a lot of feedback,” Roberto adds. TW Audio, an ardent participant of the show, showcased their newly launched VERA36 vertical array system with low-mid power. Sammi Huang of TW Audio’s Chinese distributor Ruisheng shares, “The crowd seemed to reflect last year’s but at a more extensive scale. The quality of visitors that comes to this show is definitely a plus!”

Phoenix’s marketing manager Melody Zhao

Similarly, phoenix, who carries the Turbosound and Proel brands, held its own with a steady stream of curious customers.

And as they say, hearing is believing. TW Audio brought the experience outdoors with their VERA S33 subwoofers to the show’s signature Concert Sound Arena.

“The Turbosound Flashline TFS-900 subwoofer and Focus TFA-400 line array have been garnering a lot of good feedback from visitors,” shared phoenix’s marketing manager Melody Zhao.

“I think this is my favourite part of the show.

“And as this is our first year with the Proel

The Global Truss booth

EXHIBITION REVIEW November - December 2013

Hence, this show was a great opportunity to discover and hear more about these up and coming brands.

As a tie-in with Music China, Bardl Professional was also on site to show their support for the show, exhibiting their latest Bardi US-66 UHF wireless microphone system, together with the drum microphone and condenser microphone series. The sales manager, Jenny Li enthused, “Prolight + Sound is still a relevant show. We get to zoom in and interact with the right target market in the industry.” Nevertheless, Big Dipper Laser, who participated in all three shows this year, felt that the crowd could have been better.

Global Truss, also went out on a limb this year with a new bar and table top set up at its booth, featuring its flagship Tower Lifter, crank stands and hoists. Project Manager Annie Yuan shares, “We weren’t here last year as the crowd numbers seemed to have gone down; but as Shanghai is thriving and improving, we decided to give this show a try.”

“Among the three shows, Guangzhou brings in the best crowd; crowd for this show this year is relatively quiet in the hall,” Mirine Chow from the marketing department mused.

Networking The Old School Way To the show’s credit, the biggest oﬀset was the assembly of new and emerging brands all in one place and getting a preview of what’s next in the pro sound and audio industry.

ChromaTaq’s Vianney Bourjot

Exhibiting for the first time at the show was ChromaTaq, who unveiled their latest Pro DMX and Club DMX lines. General Manager Vianney Bourjot shares, “Our expectations were somewhat low because we didn’t really know what to expect but so far, we’ve been very pleased.” “The demand is increasing, albeit slow in the China market – but we’re getting there. With the rise of new manufacturers, we’ve been building connections and getting lots of support.” In fact, one of the participating exhibitors, MUMEDIA Lighting, was among the companies who utilized the ChromaTaq software at the show to showcase its LED walls.

ACME’s MTX65-8W LED stage panel

ACME also unveiled its latest MTX65-8W LED stage panel for the very first time at the show, taking on the spotlight along with its high power moving heads AE-710 and XR-15R Beams. Kickstarting the conversation was Penn Elcom, who brought out their cabinets and flat pack – which have accumulated popular demand in the Southeast Asia region through recent years.

crowd. The vibe here is more relaxed and laid back in terms of its selection of brands.” Xilica Audio Design from Canada, who rolled out their newest Neutrino series of digital audio processors at the show, echoes this sentiment. “We participate every year. Although the Prolight + Sound segment is of a smaller scale as compared to Music China, it is still a must-come as this is a great place to network and meet our existing customers,” Wilson Cheung, the sales representative at the Xilica Hong Kong shared. As companies like Weifa and Seed Asia further noted, the right people were certainly there and as a plus, good quality leads were formed – no one went home empty-handed! www.prolightsound.com

Linda Huang

Depot Manager Linda Huang comments, “There are not many booths that specialize in ‘accessories’, so it’s definitely a plus for us. However, I do think the crowd here has slowed down. We come here every year to network with our old and existing customers. In terms of feedback and follow-up, the show in Guangzhou brings in a better crowd since the local manufacturers are based there. Still, the Shanghai show does bring in a refreshing

TECH TALK November - December 2013

Shure SM58: Staying on Top via Unsurpassed Technology Part of our Nov-Dec featurette, we bring you into the world of the SM58 Vocal Microphone. A legendary product that has become an industry standard for nearly 50 years. The Shure SM58 and its probe-style sister product, the SM57, have been legendary mainstays of pro audio since their introduction in 1966. Significantly, they were the first truly successful handheld dynamic microphones, incorporating a technology package that Shure called Unidyne III. As the first dynamic microphones suitable for handheld use they were considered truly innovative, combining a compact form factor, tailored frequency response and, most critically, an eﬀective pneumatic shock mount. Singers enjoy the rich sound of the SM58 when held close to the lips, while sound companies loved its ruggedness and reliability. It has gained great fame in the challenging world of Rock' N ' Roll, and has

been enthusiastically embraced by legendary bands around the world. Today, the SM58 remains one of the world’s best-selling microphone.

Technological Advancement – Pneumatic Shock Mount

Over the years, Shure has worked to incorporate new technologies into the design, including new materials and manufacturing techniques combined with relentless quality control. Yet the overall product remains the same. “The SM58 performance specification never changes, but how we arrive there does,” explained Chad Wiggins, Shure Category Director, Wired Products. Thus, the goal is to embrace and incorporate new technologies, but only when they can be used in a way the will not change its performance.

For decades, competitors have tried to copy the SM58’s frequency response and polar pattern, with varying degrees of success. But the one thing that has never been duplicated is its internal shock mount. Developed by Shure in 1964, the pumping pneumatic shock mount is still considered a triumph of mechanical engineering, virtually eliminating handling noise while also acting as an important part of the microphone’s acoustic network. According to Shure, no other microphone company has even attempted to duplicate its pneumatic shock mount technology. Most competitors use a strictly mechanical approach, typically nesting the microphone cartridge in a rubber “doughnut” in an attempt to damp mechanical vibrations. Shure’s innovative insight involved a cushion of air and a lot of sophisticated mathematics.

To create a cardioid pattern in a dynamic microphone, an air chamber is needed behind the microphone capsule. By adding a second, pumping air chamber behind the first, then tuning the shock mount and capsule together, an intricate acousticmechanical network was created. Using hundreds of very complex mathematical equations, Shure tuned this network to capture and amplify sound vibrations, while at the same time rejecting noises caused by mechanical shock and handling, keeping those sounds out of the audio path. Vibration table testing of dozens of cardioid dynamic mics leaves no doubt that what competitors call the “old technology” of the SM58 remains, measurably, the most eﬀective internal shock mount in the industry. The fact that this technology, developed nearly 50 years ago, is still the state-of-the-art shock mount today, stands as a testament to the innovative design of this iconic product.

Commitment to Quality

The story of how Shure has maintained the price and performance of the SM58 over the years involves continuous re-investment in research and development. During the lifespan of these microphones, there have been significant advances in manufacturing techniques, materials, and testing and measurement. Shure is constantly developing and evaluating these technologies and, as appropriate, incorporating the best of them into the design, production, and validation testing of the SM58. Shure is extremely aware that even a very small change in a product’s parts or construction can result in significant and unwanted performance changes. That is why every production run of the SM58 is tested for compliance to the product’s specification.

Testing is a big part of Shure’s recipe for success. All its products are designed to meet or exceed strict military standards, called MILSPEC. This involves a lot more than an inspection and listening test. The company’s CQE Labs (Corporate Quality Engineering) validates the extremely high performance specifications of all Shure products via a series of environmental tests, including extreme heat and cold, moisture, salt, sweat, vibration and shock. A Highly Accelerated Life Test (HALT) Chamber pushes products to their physical limits, subjecting them to a vibration table, heat and cold. Using liquid nitrogen, a thermal shock test subjects heated products to drop temperature by 100 degrees in one minute. Of course, critical listening tests are also part of this process, performed by Shure engineers who are also musicians and sound engineers, under laboratory conditions. Shure performs all these steps to guarantee that customers receive the best Shure quality with every purchase. In evaluating any possible change to the SM58, Shure invests far beyond prototypes and computer models, actually building and testing entire production runs – literally thousands of microphones – to ensure that any change is transparent to the performance specification of the product. But when Shure finds a material, technology or process that meets that metric, the company embraces it.

Continuous Improvement

In fact, the SM58 of today uses many parts, materials, and manufacturing processes that literally did not exist in the mid-1960s. Even though they look nearly identical, virtually every part of today’s SM58 is diﬀerent from the original. Externally, the ball grille has seen changes in its plating and formulation for improved environmental resistance. The paint

formulations for the handle have been changed to make them more resistant to chemical and environmental extremes. The Shure logo has also changed, and instead of a metallic sticker, it is now pad-printed, for greater durability. Inside the microphone, other subtle improvements have occurred over time. The Mylar diaphragm, originally punched out by hand using a dinking die, is now precision-cut by laser, creating better parts with less waste. Resistance materials, critical to the tuning of the pneumatic shock mount, have seen advances in materials. Originally, Shure used woven metal mesh, later switching to nylon cloth. Today, Shure uses native cartridge materials designed to have an inherent resistance, thus eliminating a part and reducing costs while improving build time, consistency and performance. There is a lot of evidence to support the idea that, even though it looks and sounds the same as the original, today’s SM58 is significantly better in many ways. Modern materials, manufacturing and test techniques, such as 3D scans of diaphragm movement, have enabled Shure to identify and eliminate unwanted artifacts. Similarly, today’s adhesives bond more securely, reducing failure. The list of unseen innovations in this product is long and impressive. As for the riddle of how Shure maintained the same basic street price on the SM58 for all these years, Chad Wiggins contends that it is a by-product of the company’s commitment to technology. “Most people don’t realize that even today, we’re still designing that microphone,” he says. “It’s how we apply the principles of the manufacturing process, incoming inspection, and supplier quality to all the individual components. We’ve leveraged all that innovation in the SM58. In my opinion, it’s the most technologically advanced dynamic microphones on the planet.” www.shure.com/asia

TECH TALK November - December 2013

Dante: Digital Audio Networking Just Got Easy This white paper addresses the case for shifting from an analogue distribution network to digital networking. The paper discusses the benefits of digital networking, the weaknesses and limitations of products by other vendors, and the unsurpassed quality advantages that can be provided by Audinate’s Dante technology. Audinate’s Dante networking technology was developed to make professional audio networking easily accessible for both AV and IT professionals. Dante adds significant value to installed sound, live sound and professional audio products of every type and category. Running on standard Ethernet/ IP networks, Dante’s powerful network configuration and management functions make plug-and-play networking a reality.

Challenges Of Designing Analogue Audio Networks

Analogue audio distribution systems still dominate audio installations in the live and installed sound markets. Most audio professionals are still using point-to-point wiring, even though it is cumbersome, error-prone and expensive. Implementing a complex audio system based on analogue distribution requires careful design which must be undertaken in advance. This creates challenges for both the designer and the system installer. Designing to meet the needs of the initial project, as well as future proofing for anticipated and un-anticipated changes cannot always be achieved technically or economically. Analogue audio requires a physical copper cable for routing each signal, and oﬀers little flexibility to accommodate unplanned changes. Moving or adding equipment in a location will add significant costs as AV

Lords Cricket Stadium in the UK

system integrators need to run separate conduits for signals of diﬀering voltages and pull heavy copper wire through them.

end of those runs, connections have to be made - and checked, and often re-checked and re-made.

In professional live sound systems, production rental houses are still trucking multi-core “snakes” that weigh hundreds of pounds. Analogue wiring is noisy and long runs degrade signal quality noticeably. At the

Certainly low latency is an important requirement in high quality audio. Although analogue audio transmission involves virtually no latency, other factors can adversely aﬀect sound quality.

One of the largest Dante jobs: The Queens Jubilee

by networking experts. Rather than sidestepping network standards as earlier development teams did, Audinate developers applied their expertise to leverage Ethernet and IP standards. As a result, Dante networks solve problems with outstanding performance, superior flexibility and unprecedented usability.

Campus Riedberg of the Gothe University in Germany completely networked using Dante

Analogue wires act as antennas carrying lowvoltage signals — radio signals can become audible. “Ground loops” can introduce hum induced by AC power lines. Long cables are capacitors that attenuate high frequencies. These eﬀects combine to raise the noise floor of the system, making it harder to deliver high quality sound to the audience and the performers. Of course the production of audio has gone digital. Most pro audio products digitally process audio data — digital audio networking eliminates multiple and sequential A/D (analogue-to-digital) or D/A (digital-to-analogue) converters that are required when digital devices are connected with analogue copper wiring. Each converter delays and adds distortion to the signal and the cumulative eﬀect may be audibly noticeable. Digital networks are largely immune to these problems. On a digital system, the input signals can be pre-amplified and converted to the digital domain as close as possible to the actual source. The signals are then processed and transmitted digitally throughout the network. The result is a much cleaner audio signal with a lower noise floor.

Benefits Of Digital Audio Networking

Digital audio distribution significantly reduces implementation costs saving time and money, while providing better performance than analogue wiring. By allowing many signals to be carried over the same link, digital audio distribution eliminates masses of bulky, heavy, expensive, and inflexible copper wires. Installation is made simple using digital networking; a single lightweight, inexpensive

CAT5 cable connected to a piece of audio equipment can carry all the required inputs and outputs as digital audio data. IP (Internet Protocol) over Ethernet is the technology used for computer networks and the Internet. Often referred to as TCP/ IP networking, it is the most widely deployed approach to networking and represents the best available foundation technology for media networking. Switches, CAT5 cable and other hardware components used to build such networks are mass-market items. Their costs are continually falling at the same time as their feature sets and performance are growing. IP over Ethernet has many practical advantages that can be applied to audio networks. With Dante, existing infrastructure can be used for high performance audio as well as for ordinary control, monitoring or business data traﬃc. Digital networks utilize standard Ethernet over IP oﬀering high bandwidth capable of transporting hundreds of high quality channels over 100 Mbps or 1 Gbps Ethernet. Set-up and configuring the system is made easy as well, saving enormous installation costs and long term cost of ownership on a digital network. The physical connecting point is irrelevant: audio signals can be made available anywhere and everywhere. Patching and routing are logical functions configured in software, not via physical wired links.

Dante Media Networking Oﬀers Improved Performance Over Other Audio Networking Solutions Dante is a patented technology, developed

Dante appears to an Ethernet switch or an IP router exactly like any other standardscompliant data, because it carries media data in standard UDP (User Datagram Protocol)/ IP packets. All computers use IP and can be easily connected to Dante networks. Because it works within the standards framework, Dante is the first solution to fully leverage the price and performance benefits of both 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps switched Ethernet networks. Control data and media data can travel on the same network - in fact, Dante can deliver high-bandwidth, uncompressed digital media streams over existing networks that are simultaneously carrying TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)/IP traffic such as Email, Internet browsing and other office data. • Zero Configuration Networking: Plugand-Play Networking With Professional Performance To radically simplify network set-up and configuration Audinate built on its deep expertise in Zero Configuration Networking, which was originally developed to allow people without special networking expertise to connect computers and printers over TCP/IP networks. It removes the need for special infrastructure, like Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) servers and Domain Name System (DNS) servers, or having to set up each computer's network settings manually, which would be difficult and laborious, especially for non-technical users. By extending the capabilities of Zero Configuration networking (also known as Zeroconf) into the audio application domain, Audinate has made it possible for all Dante-enabled devices on the network to automatically discover each other and configure themselves, as soon as they are connected to the network. This self-discovery technology makes Dante networking a true plug-and-play experience. Each audio channel can be labelled with a logical, descriptive name instead of an incomprehensible number. Text labelling makes it easy to assign the correct signal to any mixer or signal processor input. Labels are stored in devices and persist when the

TECH TALK November - December 2013

Dante: Meeting The Needs For Today And The Future

Audinate's Dante technology has been designed, since its inception in 2003, to be fully compliant with global networking standards including IEEE Ethernet and clock synchronization standards and Internet Quality of Service (QoS) and media transport protocols. Dante also oﬀers a futureproof migration path to support emerging networking standards.

Dante Ultimo is a fully featured chip providing a complete, ready to use Dante interface for networked audio products requiring low-channel count support. High integration minimizes component count, reduces costs and enables space-constrained networked devices. Ultimo brings Dante networking to the widest range of products.

power is turned oﬀ; network components can carry default labels that can be overwritten or augmented. • Truly Distributed Systems Make Splits Easy On a true network (as opposed to a digital point-to-point connection), every signal can be made available anywhere on the network and all inputs and outputs can be available at the same time. In practice, this can place extreme demands on network bandwidth. Signal processing can be distributed throughout a true network, instead of being concentrated at a central device. For example, performers can assemble and adjust their own monitor mixes without special attention from the monitor engineer. Many performers shy away from complex technology, so it is critical to make audio networking simple for these end users. Zen makes plug-and-play networking available to anyone, even non-technicians.

• Sample-Accurate Playback Timing Dante synchronizes local clocks in each networked device to a master clock with very high accuracy. Dante clock synchronization is completely independent of the audio data and the sample rates being used on the network. The local clock is used to timestamp network packets and to control the rate at which audio samples are transmitted and received. Audinate’s FPGA Dante implementations can achieve unparalleled accuracy: clock synchronization within as little as 1 μs (microsecond: one-millionth of a second), enabling sample-by-sample synchronization of audio playout from diﬀerent devices on the network.

The Audio Video Bridging (AVB) group in the IEEE has developed standards that are closely aligned to the transport technologies that Dante already uses today. Audinate supports the adoption of AVB standards and is a Promoter Member of the AVnu Alliance, an industry forum dedicated to promoting the adoption of the IEEE AVB standards. Many Dante products are upgradable in the field so that they can track these standards as they evolve. Dante will incorporate AVB whilst retaining its ease of use, comprehensive feature set and its ability to operate over current networks. This approach de-risks the design and manufacture of networked AV equipment as well as supporting deployment of high performance AV networking on today’s networks. www.audinate.com This article is reproduced with the permission of Audinate. A company that revolutionizes the way Audio-Video systems are connected. E-Tech Asia thanks them for their contribution.

• Easy Integration Of Computer-Based Audio Equipment Dante is built on IP over Ethernet — the technology your computer already uses to network with other computers, printers, etc. With Dante Virtual Soundcard for Windows or Mac OS, a software DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) running on a laptop computer can be connected to a Dante network without additional hardware and used to add eﬀects or EQ, or as a multi-track recorder. Input and output channels to and from the DAW are assigned in software - again, no patching is required. The California State University in Santa Barbara, US, with a rack of Focusrite RedNet units

SPECIAL FEATURE November - December 2013

SNAPSHOT: HO CHI MINH, VIETNAM

Medusa helps transform Level 23 the way down to the guest rooms below. This ingenious idea worked marvellously, thanks to Harjinder Singh from Pro Sound Light Singapore. Level 23 has two floors with the first floor being the main DJ area and the second floor more for private entertainment that overlooks the first floor area. Medusa fitted the first floor with 4 x 15” CF front of house speakers complemented with 4 x 8” CF side fills and 2 x 18” CF Subs. The higher floor featured 4 x 5” CF curved speakers to spread the coverage. The speakers are all driven by 6 units of CF C700 amps with processing duties handled by a Xilica 4080xp. For the DJ, Medusa supplied and installed the DJM900 digital mixer and CDJ 2000 Nexus from Pioneer. Medusa Sound Light Company based in Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam with its parent company Pro Sound Light Pte Ltd based in Singapore, recently helped the Sheraton in Ho Chi Minh transform the Level 23 club, which as the name suggests is located at Level 23 of the hotel.

how much spillage was happening and the frequencies that were resonating. We then designed the system to eliminate these problems with acoustic spring dampers and DSP processing and it worked perfectly,” says a pleased Colin Miranda of Medusa Sound Light Company, Vietnam.

Level 23, which has the capacity to accommodate about 600 patrons has been operating for 10 years now and the management decided to recently transform the club from Live Band-centric to DJ-centric. This meant there was a need to refurbish the sound system at the club. One key concern that the management wanted to address at the same time was the concern of sound spillage to Level 22, which happens to house the VIP rooms – the Presidential Suites as well as other Suites. Previously the only way to resolve the issue was to lower down the volume of the music played as well as to end the operations of the club earlier. Both not an ideal solution for the management.

To further reduce any sound spillage especially from the Subs which were placed on the floor, the team from Medusa, placed the subs on a customised floating platform which was literally made up of industrial coils. This helped us isolate the powerful bass sound from travelling from the floor through to the pillars which were of course going all

Medusa Sound together with other potential suppliers were called in to provide the specifications for the club as well as to resolve the sound spillage issues. Medusa won the contract when they showed the management that they are able to resolve the sound spillage issue. “There was not much we could do about the club itself as it has been around for a while and the management was also concerned about budgets. So we did the next best thing. We literally used a real time analyser on level 22 and blasted the music at level 23 to see

Re-opened on 9th August this year, the sound system provides the right punch for the DJ and patrons with the right silence for the guests at Level 22 and the club is now able to operate till much later. www.medusasound.com www.pro-soundlight.com

SPECIAL FEATURE November - December 2013

SNAPSHOT: HO CHI MINH, VIETNAM

A Chat with Nguyen Khac Anh of Basao Audio

Nguyen Khac Anh, General Manager, Basao

Barely three years from being appointed the official distributor for Harman Professional in Vietnam, the company won the “Distributor of the Year” award in 2011. Quite an achievement for a country that is still very much in the development stage. ETA recently dropped by Basao's office for a quick chat with General Manager, Nguyen Khac Anh. As in most of the companies in Vietnam, the current economic slowdown has had an impact on the company. “The last 3 years was good for us but with the Vietnamese economy not being that good, business has slowed down,” said Anh. Basao's main office is in Ho Chi Minh where the office occupies about 1800sqm of space and the warehouse 1000sqm. The company also has three showrooms with two being located in Ho Chi Minh and another in Hanoi. Other than Harman, the company also distributes Taye drum (USA), cable and accessories of Sommer (Germany), and Hicon jack (Germany).

“In Hanoi we are mostly involved with government projects whereas in Ho Chi Minh it is mainly the commercial market,” says Anh. “We work through our channels of dealers and project partners that include pro audio specialist shops, architecture and construction companies.”

Staﬀ undergo training mainly from the manufacturers at least 2 to 3 times a year. More than a year back, Anh opened a second arm, Nam Sao Media Co., Ltd, which is a rental & staging company. Not surprisingly Harman products are the main inventory for sound and DTS lighting for lights.

With Harman professional's range of solutions complemented with the other brand distributions, Basao is able to fulfill the needs of a range of segments, be it radio and television stations, stadiums, theatres, art performance to studios, bars and karaoke bars, discotechques, restaurants, hotels, meeting halls, worship houses, etc. And true enough the company has been involved in almost all the various segments and continues to play a major role in those segments.

“This is a growing business for us and we continue to see a good prospect in this area,” said Anh. The company is able to handle a range of events from mid-size to the larger events. In March this year, Nam Sao Media handled production for a 30,000 audience event and in August they handled Tiger Translate which had an audience of 20,000. With renowned pedigree brands in their inventory, it is not really surprising that Nam Sao sees a good future ahead.

Anh adds, “We provide the full gamut of service from concept to design, supply, installation, commissioning and of course servicing. This has helped us create a value-add for our dealers, project partners and clients.” This is achieved with a staﬀ strength of 20 in Ho Chi Minh and 8 in Hanoi.

At press time, Basao was busy completing the sound installation for the casino at Park Hyatt Hotel in Ho Chi Minh. Things might have slowed down but the company continues to push its boundaries. www.basaoinvest.com www.fivestarmedia.vn

SNAPSHOT: HO CHI MINH, VIETNAM

Martin Audio restores Barroco’s jingle Clubs in Vietnam have reportedly become so taken with Martin Audio sound systems that some believe it has become an automatic passport for filling their venues.

The system is also integrated with Midas Venice U16 console, Klark Teknik SquareONE Dynamics Processor and DSP Xilica to handle signal for DJ monitor speakers.

One such nightspot, the 900-capacity Barocco Club in Ho Chi Minh City, is living proof of that. After suﬀering a serious fire in May 2013, the club decided to make a clean start by commissioning Duc Proaudio Co. Ltd — the oﬃcial distributor of Martin Audio in Vietnam — to redesign the entire sound system and rev up its essentially electronic music mix.

Duc Proaudio Co. Ltd Director, Pham Duy Duc, recalls that when the club originally caught fire, the Club Owner, Chau Nhut Do had immediately contacted him to work on the new system. “Mr. Do has been doing business in the entertainment industry for many years,” he said. “He understands the importance of choosing wellknown international brands, even when the market is in a bad state economically. That’s why our company was chosen to be the system designer.”

Duc Proaudio Co. Ltd is widely experienced in club sound systems and over the years has achieved tremendous success especially with Martin Audio systems. The time scale was tight as the club was to reopen just but only 65 days were available for the design and installation of the entire sound system. The new system deployed includes 12 Blackline H3+ full range loudspeakers and 12 Blackline S218+ subwoofers. Amplifiers consist of six MA5.2K, two MA6.8Q, two MA2.8Q — with the DX2 dedicated signal processor.

DJ Quoc, a respected DJ in Ho Chi Minh City added his endorsement. “I have performed in many clubs around the city and noticed that all clubs with Martin Audio sound systems seem to be constantly crowded,” he said. “I can feel the clean, natural, powerful — but never noisy — sound produced by Martin Audio. This system really inspires me and I think audiences also have the same feeling.” www.martin-audio.com

SPECIAL FEATURE November - December 2013

SNAPSHOT: HO CHI MINH, VIETNAM

Pioneer in rental & staging still very much in the mix

Huynh Huu Tai, Director at Tan Huu Tai

Tan Huu Tai was established 20 years ago as a rental & staging company as well as handling sound and light equipment sales in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. The company handles all sorts of events from festivals, liveshows, conferences, corporate events and more. According to Huynh Huu Tai, the Director of the company, he initially started providing lighting support and along the way got his interest pricked about sound. This led to him also providing sound solutions with the backbone of his inventory being the Dynacord speakers. Over the 20 years the company has grown to a staﬀ strength of 70 with two large warehouses at the outskirts of the city. Huu Tai comments, “This year has been a little slow for us due to the slow down of the Vietnamese economy. This does not just aﬀect us but across the board. We used to invest in equipment quite highly but this year I have cut our budget to 50%.” Nevertheless the company is still kept on its toes with projects coming in mainly from his regular clientèle.

Tan Huu Tai does production work right across the country from its home oﬃce in Ho Chi Minh. As to the extent of the company's capabilities there is no need to look any further than during the Millennial (1000 years) Anniversary of Thanglong celebrations in Hanoi in 2010. The company was responsible for 7 stages consecutively for the celebrations over 10 full days – that

is massive in terms of equipment and manpower! And the result was a resounding success. “I am very happy that I started this company as till today I enjoy my work very much as it is my passion,” says Huu Tai. www.tanhuutaishop.com.vn

Huu Tai was responsible for 7 stages consecutively for the Thalong celebrations in Hanoi over 10 days

SNAPSHOT: HO CHI MINH, VIETNAM

FBT still rules at Apocalypse-Now

Colin with Apocalypse-Now owner, Mr Duong

The extension now allows for a Live Band performance over the weekends

Many will be familiar with the club Apocalypse-Now located in Ho Chi Minh. This legendary club has been around for 22 years. Late last year as part of an expansion plan, the management at Apocalypse-Now bought out the Malaysian restaurant that was next door to add an additional 90 sqm space to the club. The club has two floors and in adding the additional space, there was a need to reconfigure the sound system. This also meant that they had to rely on Medusa Sound Light Company Limited from Vietnam, which has been their support company for the past 6 years to help them with the re-configuration. The FBT speakers that has been serving the club for the past six years were found to be still in good condition and thus it was a matter of re-configuring the placement of the speakers to ensure proper coverage of the expanded space. The FBT speakers from the top floor were all brought down to support the system at the ground floor. Replacing the FBT speakers temporarily at the top floor are 2 x double 15” WX252 Ody-Pro speakers complemented with 2 x double 18” EX28T Ody-Pro Subs. The top floor only opens for operations on the weekends where mainly R&B songs are spinned by the DJ. There are plans to re-configure the top floor space that is likely to see further FBT speakers being installed. The ground floor has been sub-divided into the main area where the DJ is placed with

a pool area at the very back. Interestingly on weekends the Pool area is transformed into a Live performance and DJ area. Demarking the DJ and Pool area is an open wall with curved arches that see the area being enclosed with partitions on the weekends to somewhat reduce the sound from travelling from the DJ area to the Live sound area and vice versa. “It is not the perfect arrangement but patrons from either side only hear the sound from the other side when one side goes silent – say when the live band finishes a song,” says Colin Miranda of Medusa Sound Light Company Limited, Vietnam.

The front fills at the DJ area feature 6 x double 15” speakers supported by 4 x 18” FBT subs. Mid fills feature 2 x double 15” FBT speakers and 2 x 18” FBT subs. The Pool area features 4 x double 15” FBT speakers and 4 x 18” FBT subs. “When it comes to the weekends we move the double 15” speakers from the back walls to the front and place them on top of the subs so that it does not become a distraction to the musicians. We further supplement the system with 2 x 18” Ody-Pro Subs subs,” says Colin. Well it seems guests relish the seamless experience of moving from the DJ side to the Live Band side on the weekends bar the slight sound spillage. www.medusasound.com www.pro-soundlight.com www.apocalypsesaigon.com

MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE November - December 2013

The Road To China Interview with Marc Vincent, President of Sennheiser, Greater China When you meet Marc Vincent, President of Sennheiser, Greater China, you realize a few things very quickly. He is an audiophile, with a strong work ethic and is the heart and soul of Sennheiser Greater China. His aptitude and attitude towards growing Sennheiser as a business and brand in Greater China territory that includes China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, these past 7 years inspires and makes everyone around him want to do better and reach for greater things. This influence is none more so evident than in his staff in China and Hong Kong who support all efforts with the same ambitions & attention to detail as his. His leadership is the keystone of Sennheiser Greater China. When Sennheiser began operations in Greater China, their purpose was to be present and available in time for the Beijing Olympics. Strategically, that decision paid off as Beijing was the hub for all major broadcasters. At the right place and the right time, Sennheiser was positioned to build relationships with the Chinese TV stations, which took a further 18 months to cultivate and grow. “You learn patience when you’re doing business in China. It’s a great place to be as the playing field changes everyday and it keeps you on your toes, but as long as you stick to your goals and are able to be flexible in negotiating the route to reach those goals, you’ll make it. Patience is the biggest lesson I’ve learnt throughout my time in China,” Marc enthuses. Brand Building in Counterfeit Paradise The Sennheiser Greater China team spent more than 5 years focused on structure development and laying down the foundations as part of Marc’s vision to become the number 1 consumer headphones brand in the world’s biggest consumer market. To do that, Marc and his sales and marketing teams focused all efforts on building their MI & consumer channels, through which they provided advertising and promotions to create awareness and increase market penetration. “We realized early on that to do that, we had to separate our internal marketing teams to ensure focused attention and action for greater reach. So I separated the product marketing and brand building teams and gave them repurposed targets. Sennheiser began to gain momentum as the Branding & Communications team pushed the envelope and gave us access to top tier consumers through event sponsorship & PR activities.” Marc is referring to their sponsorship of music festivals such as the JZ & MIDI festivals,

which typically sees more than 100,000 fans go through their gates per event, the Shanghai Grand Prix where Sennheiser sponsored a live stage that included setup of audio and stage equipment, as well as the lineup of international and local talent. Sennheiser also supports numerous chambers of commerce events in China and Hong Kong and in 2013 alone, they had participated in more than 70 events. Another aspect of brand building is the management & protection of Sennheiser’s brand equity and that is a much bigger challenge for Marc and his team. "We have been fighting counterfeits for five years

support.

Management Style

“I am proud of who I am surrounded with. More than just success, people matter the most. My team gets the best on the job training as they are given every opportunity to make their mark in this unique industry. And I am very confident that when they leave Sennheiser, they are going to be leaders wherever they go. My working philosophy is to empower people so that they can do their best work. There has to be reward at the end of the work and they know that they are valued at Sennheiser.” With a hectic travel schedule and high profile career, Marc credits his wife, Stella for her support. “I would not be able to do all the things that I get to do, if not for my wife who lets me be me.” with some result, but now we have oﬃcially declared war on counterfeiting,” Marc said at the press conference held in August 2012. “Manufacturers of counterfeit products are social parasites. This copy plague is theft of a company’s intellectual property and we will continue to implement the best anti-counterfeit measures, working with new authentication technologies that oﬀer multiple levels of protection and that are visible and invisible.” Sennheiser products also have a visible QR code plus a corresponding label ID that is printed below a foil. Customers can check either to ensure the authenticity of the product. If the same code has been looked for previously, then the chances are that the label has been duplicated. This measure ensures that consumers also are a part of the fight against counterfeit. “We have shut down many online stores and manufacturers of copy products with the assistance of the Guangzhou authorities. Some are given hefty fines while others are serving out prison sentences. It costs Sennheiser millions in IP management and I have no sympathy for them,” he concluded.

Manufacturing & Design

Unlike many manufacturers, Sennheiser maintains its primary manufacturing facilities in Ireland, keeping close proximity to the design team headquartered in Germany. That said, they do carry out molding and packaging in China for some products categories. Proving yet again that they have engineered their products to perfection, Marc tells us that the overall repair rate within the company is very small at below 1%. “Sennheiser is a 68 year old company

built on its heritage of perfect sound. Our headphones oﬀer the perfect symmetry of tone and balance, which comes from precision manufacturing that was perfected over the years. Once you try a Sennheiser earphones or headphones, you can’t go back,” he explains. Sennheiser has three service centers in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong respectively and two regional oﬃces for sales and marketing in Beijing and Hong Kong. Sennheiser Electronics in Beijing was established in 2008 and manages its distributor/dealer network, while Sennheiser Hong Kong was set up in 1999 and has been growing its operations through increased demand for sales, marketing, service and

At the time of print, Sennheiser was in discussions with the organizers of Clockenflap, the Hong Kong based music festival to support them at the 3-day event in November. Sennheiser has promised a few surprises at the show and Marc is excited to get stuck in. “It will be good to have the Sennheiser brand associated with a festival like this, the organizers care about the environment, love music and have put together a premium show for Hong Kong and we’re looking forward to being there.” A leader in every sense of the word, Marc was oﬀ to Shanghai for yet another event immediately after this interview ended. www.sennheiserasia.com

LIVE November - December 2013

China

ACME Celebrates with a Splash!

he Splendid China Folk Village is a theme park located in Shenzhen, People's Republic of China. The park's theme reflects the history, culture, art, ancient architecture, customs and habits of various nationalities. It was here that the recent Water-Splashing Festival, one of the largest recreational water activities in the world, was held. The Water-Splashing Festival celebrates the New Year according to the Dai calendar and is the most solemn traditional festival of ethnic groups including the Dai, Bulang, De’ang and Achang, all of which use the Dai calendar. Traditionally the holiday is a time for paying respects to family elders and neighbours though most people think first of the water-throwing tradition. ACME was chosen to set the tone of the entire festival with more than 100 units of its Building Wash series, including the recently released BW-903 RGBW, provided. The Building Wash series is equipped with the latest LED multichip technology, up to 20,000 lumens, along with various optical lens'. IP66 heavy duty Die-cast aluminium housing,

specially designed ventilation system and thermal control ensure the reliable performances under harsh environments. With 1KHz scanning frequency, no fan and built-in programs, the Building Wash range is considered ideal for illuminating building facades, landscapes, hotels, and theme parks. Released this year, the BW-903RGBW features a narrow beam with the option of two white temperatures instead of RGBW. The luminaire is versatile enough to be used in spotlighting and building wash applications. It also comes with the option of either emitting light in white temperatures only (CW/WW) or smaller LED lamps (90 x

3W CREE) in four diﬀerent colours (18 x red, 24 x blue, 24 x green, 24 x white) for emitting light in all colours. Many nationalities come together to celebrate the festival every year. From the young to the old, many look forward to the water-fights of the festival every year. This year with ACME’s professional architectural and Commercial LED lights the dramatic colour eﬀects provided an unprecedented experience for all festivalgoers. www.acme.com.cn

Singapore

MIPRO digs deep for Mandarin musical

taged by The Toy Factory Productions at the Esplanade Theatre in Singapore, “Glass Anatomy – The Musical”, utilised MIPRO’s In-Ear Monitor systems to assist the crew in bringing out the strong emotion the play required. Adapted from a classic Taiwanese film entitled, “Papa, Can You Hear Me Sing?”, the performance blends melodrama and music to create a touching and emotive tragedy about broken human relationships. Leading the musical was Taiwanese pop singer, Della Ding Dang, who took the stage by storm with her powerful vocals. The strong and unique concept of the production mesmerized the audience with unforgettable songs throughout the show. Local rental company, Audio Image Engineering, provided all the MIPRO In-Ear Monitor Systems (IEMs), Digital Rackmountable Stationary Transmitters, Wireless Digital Portable Receivers, and Antenna Amplifiers for the musical. 7 IEMs were used by the lead singers with 1 unit of MTS-100T and 11 sets of MTG-100R

for the ensemble of backup singers. Using a digitally-encrypted system, the MTG100 has been designed for clarity in sound reproduction even in noisy environments. In total the company provided 12 x MI-808T Stereo Transmitters; 12 x MI-808R Stereo Bodypack Receivers with E-8P Ear canal design Earphones, 1 x MTS-100T Digital Rackmountable Stationary Transmitter, 11 x MTG-100R Digital Portable Receivers and 4 sets of AD-90a UHF Wideband High Power Antenna Amplifiers to enhance reception quality. Local Sound Engineer, Bob Wong, has always recommended MIPRO professional wireless products for musicals. He stated, "For this musical, the MIPRO IEMs and MTG-100 systems worked very well and were problem free, delivering clear, crisp sound with dropout or transmission loss.” MI-808 IEM system has true diversity receiver and the built in circuitry automatically selects the strongest signal coming from the two tuners so that even if one tuner has a momentary signal dropout, the other will

still carry the signal from the transmitter. This, coupled with the 4 sets of AD-90a UHF Wideband High Power Antenna Amplifier allowed the set-up to work perfectly even in extremely complicated environments. As the RF coverage for the IEMs had to extend to musicians seated in the audience (about 12m away from the stage) and with the stage about 25 metres deep, Bob was a bit apprehensive about the intermodulation RF problems that may arise, but his worries were unwarranted. There was no interference problem or signal dropouts throughout the musical for all 13 performances at the world class theatre. www.mipro.com.tw All photographs used with permission from The Toy Factory Productions, Singapore.

LIVE November - December 2013

Singapore

Epson brings Art to Life

he Urban Sensation! Festival held at Singapore's Big Splash theme park, welcomed the young and the youngat-heart. The weekend festival saw some of Singapore's most promising talents come together under one roof to soothe, move and create. Organised by South East CDC with programme partner, Goodman Arts Centre, the multi-disciplinary festival featured an array of programmes – from art talks, forums, exhibitions, performance showcases, visual and performing art workshops, to sculptures, installations and film screenings. The main stage line-up included some of the country's most promising acts, spanning across genres of indie rock, acoustic guitar and piano, a cappella, cajon, plus lyrical hip-hop. With a strong focus on Light Art, the festival's 'Live' art section featured film screenings and live digital caricatures from home-grown artists, iNKFusion Singapore. A team that specializes in the training of young visual artists, iNKFusion did live Manga caricatures where participants could see their faces projected onto the big screen. As the oﬃcial projector partner, Epson Singapore took charge of determining the requirements and equipment that would be necessary to bring the projections to life on the big screen. After an on-site assessment to assess the dimensions of the wall, Epson worked with Active Visual–the oﬃcial installer for the event to calibrate and complete the technical installation. As it

was a large wall 4 storeys high, the projector lumens specifications were important to ensure that the projected work would be vibrant and bright enough. The lumens for both the white, as well as the colour light output, needed to be high, as high colour brightness allowed the projections to showcase vibrant and realistic colours. With 3 days to plan and half of a day to set-up, the team carefully thought out which projectors would do the event justice. Epson's EB-Z10000 ultra-bright business projector was chosen first. The EB-Z10000 series is Epson's first 10,000-lumen projector launched into the market. With such a high light output, users get dazzling, highdefinition projections even in bright ambient surroundings. The team then combined the EB-Z10000 with Epson's EB-1410Wi ultra-short-throw

interactive projector which eliminates glare and shadows to create perfect images. The EB-1400Wi digital interactive system makes the audience an integral part of the presentation, a factor which was of great importance to the team and organisers. The series has been said to have made one-sided presenting a thing of the past and maximises audience involvement with real-time annotation and multi-location capabilities. Overall the event saw just short of 1000 visitors to the art extravaganza. With the colours of the projections causing many to feel the true quality of Epson, Tenny Kwan, Director of Facilities & Operations, The Old Parliament House Limited concluded, “We are especially proud of the entire team at Epson and Active Visual.. This event wouldn’t have gone so smoothly without them.” www.epson.com.sg

India

L-Acoustics makes history

n September 2013, maestro Zubin Mehta and the Bavarian State Orchestra hosted a landmark event in the foothills of the Himalayas in the town of Srinagar. Up till then, Srinagar had not witnessed any oﬃcial form of cultural activity since a cricket match in 1983, making this one of the most eagerly anticipated concerts in recent times. Zubin Mehta is the Music Director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and main conductor for Valencia’s Opera House. Nearly 2,000 guests attended the event, hosted by the German Embassy in the Shalimar Gardens in Srinagar.

It was the lifelong dream of Zubin Mehta’s to perform in the beauty and serenity of the Shalimar Gardens. The garden is over 500 meters in length with natural waters running through the garden and then entering into the famous Dal Lake. A nineteenth century Mughal house was chosen as the backdrop, providing many additional challenges with the stage needing to be constructed across many diﬀerent levels for the orchestra. Sound and Light Professionals (SNL Pro) débuted their brand new L-Acoustics K1 rig for the historic event. The main array only had to cover 65 meters as the concert was for a very select audience. When the final venue layout was decided upon for this event it was sent to System Engineer, Bruce Rodericks, who used SOUNDVISION to predict the required inventory. Two K1-SB's were flown either side in throw mode over 6 K1, and 2 SB28’s either side with three pairs of L-Acoustics 115XT HiQ as front fills, were all that was required to achieve an even coverage for the outdoor location. Four LA-RAKs powered the system with 3 LA8’s in each controlled by the LA NETWORK.

Jakob Palfrader, the FoH engineer for the Bavarian State Orchestra, was stated as having been very pleased to see the L-Acoustics' K1 on hand. A last minute surprise addition to the event was a group of Kashmiri Musicians’ who joined the Bavarian State Orchestra on stage and delivered an unforgettable fusion performance called Haftrang which was only rehearsed one day prior to the show. Once the orchestra performed in its full glory conducted by Zubin Mehta, it was a truly magical evening and one of the many landmark events that the SNL Pro team has stated they were proud to be a part of. The concert was televised live in 32 countries, live streamed on YouTube and filmed in HD for a future concert DVD. www.l-acoustics.com www.snlpro.com

LIVE November - December 2013

EHQ & Meyer take us By Elissa Nadine

Photos by ADRIANO CAMAGNI

From big name bands and brands to breathtaking audio and amazing lights, EHQ Projects has secured their place in history with, as Technical Director, Jay Neil said, “The show of a lifetime.”

rganized by Galaxy Group, in association with LAMC Productions and Rockstar Touring, American heavy metal band Metallica made their first ever appearance on Malaysian soil at the Stadium Merdeka in the country's capital city, Kuala Lumpur. Spearheading the production was the Kuala Lumpur-based EHQ Projects. Led by Technical Director, Jay Neil and Managing Director, Andrew Warren, the company has already produced shows for Celine Dion, Sting, JLO, Pitbull, LMFAO and many more. According to Andrew, EHQ Projects are responsible for, “60% of the international acts that come through Malaysia.”

After receiving the show's technical rider, EHQ realised that not only was this going to the first show for Metallica in Asia since 1987, this was also to be the BIGGEST rig of Meyer boxes ever to be used in South-East Asia. With this in mind, the team merged their Meyer inventory with Selangor-based SES Sound & Lighting to bring the power of the legendary rockers to every man and woman in the audience. For those of us who have been living under rocks for the past 30 years - Metallica was formed in Los Angeles, California, during the late 80s and are considered one of the 4 founding fathers of 'Thrash Metal'. A subgenre of heavy metal characterized most typically by its fast tempo and gut-busting riﬀs with heavy distortion.

Meyer Sound's International Sound Designer, Dave Dennison with ''Big Mick'' Hughes.

With any genre of metal, audio really is the key. No flashy lights or distracting visuals are needed, just pure clean sound. And for Metallica Live in KL, one thing was clear - whether it was an eﬀect, a beat or a lyric- it had to hit them hard and it had to hit them fast. This was the basis for creating a massive, 146-loudspeaker system based around Meyer Sound's MILO line array loudspeakers.

The main PA was a system of 72 MILO loudspeakers, including 40 for main hangs, 30 for side hangs, and two for outfills. For this concert in particular, a major emphasis was placed on the fans of the band. The frontfills, consisting of 12 M’elodie boxes with 40 700HP subwoofers providing the low end, were lowered into the stage to help with front row visibility and instead of making one large FoH to house the lighting and audio controls, the team split up the 2 into separate standalone tents to provide more space for fans to rock. With more than 20,000 fans set to storm the stadium, there was no room for any lost acoustics. Throw for audio was configured at 100m by 100m, covering the entire ground area of the venue. System drive and alignment was supplied by a Galileo loudspeaker management system with two Galileo 616 processors. Dual side-fill arrays featuring five-each MILO loudspeakers over two-each 700-HP subwoofers were combined with 26 MJF-212A stage monitors to provide on-stage foldback. Albeit minor hiccups during planning, the biggest challenges in production came from the staging set-up. Andrew explained, "We have built many stages like this before but not to this scale. We've had to do a lot of extras this time around, like adding on the covers, supports and sides because of the weight loads, from the rigs especially. We

to Never Never-land

full and not concentrated. In the rider and in person, the LD specifically said he wanted Martin. He would not take any other brand." “Personally, I love using the Mac 2000 Wash, and no matter how many units you have, they always manage to cover all the dark spots and gaps on stage,” he gushed. Complementing the Mac's were 26 Martin Atomic 3k Strobes to which Nagesh added, “The Atomics were chosen because of the hard kicks and drum rolls of the music. With so much going on, we created the eﬀects that were best for the sound.”

The team behind the magic, EHQ Projects

also had to accommodate Metallica's own LED screen on stage which measured 74 by 24ft.” Another 2 LED screens, made of transparent 28mm panels, measuring 32 by 7mm were set into a built-in ramp on the 2 tier stage. Complemented by 2 LED screens on stage right and left. Content was displayed on the screen via a Multiple Camera Production system by GrassValley, utilising 9 cameras in total. All stage, trussing and roofing credits went to Ah Seng from PFK Malaysia assisted by Aaron Raj and Faisal Rahim from EHQ. Finally, after 1 month's worth of planning and 20 long days of set-up, the showday had arrived. Working closely with Jay and Andrew from phase 1 to completion were a slew of freelance engineers with their own areas of expertise. One such engineer was Zoul Mohamed, a freelance System Engineer who opened the show using only the centre rig for the introductory act Cromok, on a DiGiCo SD9 while Metallica's own LD covered the stage in blue and purple hues via a GrandMA2 fullsize.

'They Called, We Came' splashed proudly in red across their chests, paying tribute once again to their fans. From the first riﬀ to the last solo, it was a night filled with flying bodies, lighters held high and fulfilled dreams. When the 2 hour set was up, the band were set to take their leave but were held back by relentless metal-heads who demanded not one, but 2 encore sets! Feigning fatigue, lead singer, James Hetfield made them work for it. Judging them by how loud they could scream, he slowly inched back onto the stage to perform the final encore of the evening, entitled 'Seek & Destroy'. With combined equipment from EHQ and Audio Synergy, lighting engineers created ParCan eﬀects for the main act using 132 units of Martin Professional's Mac 2000 Washes along with 10 units of the Mac 700 Wash. According to Lighting Director for EHQ, R. Nageswaran (Nagesh), “Metallica likes to use the Wash fixtures because they need a wider throw and the LD wanted it to look

With the adrenaline pumped and the crowd warmed up, it was a picturesque moment when, under a full moon, Metallica took to the stage. Even the professionals seemed to hold their breath because, despite their years of experience, everyone could tell there was something about Metallica that left a certain..electricity..in the air. True to their humble nature, all 4 members appeared dressed in t-shirts with the words,

Nagesh and AP, The lighting backbone of EHQ

Rounding up the lighting equipment were 14 units of GLP's impression Wash, 20 units ColorBlast LEDs and 12 LED strips of Colour kinetics along with 8 Robert Juliat Cyrano followspots. All lighting was controlled by Metallica's own GrandMA2 fullsize. Assisting Nagesh with lighting duties were Lighting Coordinators, Muhammad Firdaus, Norhisam, Min Chek, Ah Tee and Ah Boy.

LIVE November - December 2013

Meyer's Technical Support Manager, Michael Maxson with Jay Day, Sound support for Metallica.

To add to the momentous occasion, Meyer Sound's International Sound Designer, Dave Dennison made the trip down from California to KL. "This show is historic and in terms of its size and scope, we wanted to support Metallica and to make sure everything was fine with their shows, its really something that we are proud to be apart of,” said Dave. In the days leading up to the show, Dave, ''Big Mick'' Hughes, Metallica's FoH Engineer, and Meyer System Specialist with EHQ, Batumalai ‘Stone’ worked together to fine-tune the main PA system. A man no mere mortal should challenge in audio capabilities, Big Mick has been handling the FoH duties of Metallica for the past 30

Anton Richards and Batumalai 'Stone', EHQ's audio chiefs.

years and has been a supporter of Meyer for 8. Meyer's Technical Support Manager, Michael Maxson, who was in town to show his support as well commented,“Big Mick's signature is to feel the music in your soul. Tonight we wanted to be able to go through the density of people so we had blocks of subs on the left and right for pure power and that was a decision between Mick, Dave and I.” On stage, Metallica's Monitor Engineer Bob Cowan and Assistant Monitor Engineer Adam Correia handled the mix via Midas Pro and Pro 2 monitors. Assisting the pair were Freelance Monitor Engineer with EHQ, Anton Richards assisted together with EHQ’s freelance Stage Technicians Brandon, Gajen, Anthony and Soon Seng.

Looking like a proud father after the show, Big Mick gushed, “We've never been here before but everybody is so friendly and nice and I seem to be a star down here for some reason. All the guys have been fantastic, and they've worked really really hard because it's not easy to do a concert of this scale. The fact that we do these sort of shows all the time, while most local companies may only do it a couple of times a year and then we come in and demand so many things to be done, it's really not easy.” On mixing with a Midas XL8 console for the show, he added, "I've had this console for 5 years now but it still feels new. It's a great sounding desk and its comfortable.”

After the last busload of fans had left, the Metallica crew assisted the local team with tear-down and even Mojo Barriers, oﬃcial barricade supplier for the event joined in. “This is the first time Mojo is coming in and these are original Mojo barricades from Australia. Even the followspot towers were specially built for this, from the FoH to the stage, everything was custom made for tonight,” said Jay. Coming down after the high of a great show, he continued, “It's been a dream for

us to work with Metallica and it has been a Malaysian's dream to watch a rock band like them play freely in a country like Malaysia. To me, honestly, it has been the greatest sound in this venue. I've done many shows here and this is the best so far. Big Mick deserves a great deal of credit for mixing Metallica as only he can.” On the tone of the night, he added, “The lights were amazing, even though in the beginning I couldn't imagine just having Wash lights but after watching them do the creative

presets, its amazing to see what the current technology can do.” With yet another successful show under their belt, what will EHQ and Meyer do next? Whatever it may be, according to Andrew, “The team is already looking forward to another collaboration with Meyer Sound in the future.” www.meyersound.com www.ehqprojects.com.my

Just another die-hard fan...

LIVE November - December 2013

Singapore

UnUsUaL’s LED screens create impact at Key Events

Singapore National Day 2013: The screens clearly visible during daylight

wo years ago UnUsUaL Productions invested in creating their own LED screens. “It made sense to us,” said Johnny Ong of UnUsUaL. “We use LED screens regularly for events and it occurred to us that by manufacturing our own LED screens we could make improvements in the LED technology and at the same time be assured of the quality.” This meant that the team had to sit down and work out the specifications and design. “We brought in experts from Taiwan and Germany to help us achieve our objectives.”

The result – a range of 4mm, 6mm, 10mm and 12mm pitch pixels using mainly Taiwanese LED chips and which according to Johnny features light housing, is eco-friendly and is reliable. “We paid much attention to the water proofing and weight. The housing is manufactured in a way that allows the heat to escape without the need for fans thus making the panels lighter,” said Johnny. The LED screens are manufactured under the name of M3 Technologies. The main thrust at the UnUsUaL oﬃce in Singapore is their inventory of 1500sqm 10mm pitch LED

Singapore National Day 2013

panels supported by a further 3000sqm held in their China oﬃce. This year saw UnUsUaL deploying their 10mm LED panels extensively at the Chingay festival, National Day Parade and the F1 race, as well as concerts. “Though a 10mm is generally used for indoors we have been using it for the outdoor events. This is possible because the panels are IP67 rated. Due to our thinner housing, it has allowed us to use the panels creatively in the events,” said Johnny.

This is the first time for F1 that a sole vendor was chosen to supply the entire LED

“In the past we were known to have the largest EV inventory in Asia and now we hope to become known for having the largest LED inventory in Asia. The reason is simple. We not only want to deploy the panels for our own consumption but also support the rest of the industry. As the panels were all manufactured in one batch, we can assure users of the uniformity of colour and I believe we can oﬀer the panels at very cost eﬀective rates,” said Johnny.

Alan Meng of UnUsUaL added, “At NDP we used 780sqm of the 10mm pitch panels and at F1 900sqm. This is the first time for F1 that a sole vendor was chosen to supply the entire LED.” According to Alan and Johnny, with HD becoming the preferred resolution, their 10mm pitch panels are perfect to handle the format. “10mm oﬀers you enough dots to achieve HD quality. Thus audiences are able to enjoy sharper images,” says Alan.

The BIG plan with this huge investment on LED panels is for UnUsUaL to support the mega events around the world such as the World Cup in Brazil and the Olympics. “We believe we have a large enough inventory with an ideal technical specification to help support the events,” said Johnny Ong. www.unusual.com.sg

Creative use of the LED screens at a concert

LIVE November - December 2013

Philippines

Linkin Park & HARMAN Rock Pasay

ouring in support of the band's new album 'Living Things', Linkin Park brought their high-powered alt-metalrap-rock to the Philippinesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; SM Mall of Asia Arena. Audio for the 20,000-seat arena was supplied by Manila-based tour sound contractor SoundCheck with a massive sound system featuring 128 HARMAN JBL VTX Series line array loudspeakers and subwoofers powered by 30 Crown VRACK amplifier systems. SoundCheck has been supplying tour equipment for top international and Philippines acts since 1992. The system deployed for Linkin Park included a total of 60 JBL VTX V25 line array elements and 60 VTX S28 subwoofers flown for the main and side PA. In addition, six JBL VERTEC VT4888DP-PA powered midsize line array elements were used for the centre cluster, and 16 VERTEC VT4880A fullsize arrayable subwoofers and 12 VRX932LA-1 Constant Curvature loudspeakers were ground-stacked with the subs in cardioid configuration. Thirty Crown VRACK amplifier racks and three custom Crown racks powered the loudspeakers. VRACK is a complete, transportable amplifier solution that includes Crown I-Tech HD Series power amps,

analogue and digital connections and a universal power distribution system, housed in a wheeled rack with a suspension system that enables VRACKs to be suspended. Total amplification for the Linkin Park system added up to 78 Crown I-Tech 12000 HD amplifiers, nine I-Tech 9000 HD and 12 I-Tech 3500 HD amps. SoundCheck also used JBL HiQnet Performance Manager software to set up and control the system. The Performance Manager software contributed greatly to SoundCheck’s ability to set up the sound system accurately before the first note was even played. Performance Manager enabled the crew to optimize the setup of the JBL VTX and VERTEC loudspeakers both in terms of determining the speakers’ physical deployment and in tuning the speakers using JBL’s V5 presets. Performance Manager also fully integrates with Crown’s VRACK. “We actually had to use a very light touch on the Crown amplifiers’ built-in OmniDrive HD DSP processing,” Perreux pointed out, “and Pooch only had to use four filters on his master EQ when mixing the show.” Providing additional support to the SoundCheck team during load in and the show was HARMAN Professional Asia’s tour sound market manager, Vincent “Vinnie” Perreux. Although the SM Mall of Asia Arena's size was daunting, once SoundCheck began the process of setting up the show, Perreux realized the amount of equipment requested on Linkin Park’s rider was actually going to be too much.

“I think more audio professionals are starting to realize this now but the JBL VTX line arrays and subwoofers deliver far more output and coverage than other line arrays of their size, with more clarity, lower distortion and smoother tonal response,” Perreux noted. In fact, when Perreux, SoundCheck and Linkin Park front of house mixer Ken “Pooch” Van Druten started the show, they left some of the top subwoofers completely oﬀ and kept the rest of the subwoofers between 7dB and

10dB down. “Even at the end of the show, when the band was going flat-out pedal to the metal and the audience was going nuts, we were still running the subs at -3.5dB,” said Perreux. “The sound was fantastic and Linkin Park, the band’s crew and the promoter were happy and really enjoyed the system,” Perreux concluded. “Mission accomplished!” www.harman.com

LIVE November - December 2013

Hong Kong

Avollusion Glams Up the L

uxury diamond brand Chow Tai Fook recently held 2 gala dinners for 500 privileged guests in Hong Kong - one at the Grand Hyatt, and the other across the harbour at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The luxurious affair was under the management of Hong Kong/French event agency Tuff Consult, who delivered the creative ideas and produced the event. Tuff brought in their technical partner, Hong Kong’s technical specialists Avollusion to deliver and consult the technical elements behind the design. Setting the tone of the night, 76 ETC profiles cut and defined the 3 pronged catwalks, with 12 units of Vari-Lite's VL880 Spots and 36 LED pars creating simple and powerful colour effects across the room. Using the ballrooms existing automated pinspots at 30% for each table made Tuff ’s creative table centres come alive and were one of the highlights of the evenings.

For a balanced feel to the audio, Avollusion used their d&b Q series speakers to enhance the soundtrack for the fashion show and the videos. Project Manager Tim Ford explained “Using the Q1 line array with Q subs as the main sound source, and flying single Q7 units

in point source resulted in a full and even sound throughout the room”. Avollusion’s Audio Designer Joe Yeung used d&b’s Array Calc to calculate the position of speakers before going on site, which

glitter of Chow Tai Fook only needed some minor tweaking onsite due to ongoing changes of the event setup. Soundboard Instant replay software was used by AVO operator Zeno Yeung with the numerous audio stings and catwalk music needed during the fashion show. Both events had stunning HD imagery splayed across five screens. A 4mm Lighthouse LED wall was flanked by 4 floor to ceiling 8m wide projection screens creating a landscape of visuals. Here was where Avollusion used their Christie HD 18K and Christie HD12K projectors along with 2 units of the Hippotizer HD media servers which ran the high resolution custom content with ease. Avollusion’s Hippo operator Karc Chan stated, “When the client gave us the visual content on site which was a 9600x1080 resolution video, we simply just loaded them into the

Hippos and let it do the math via Uberpan, which is one of the cool functions to help you make a huge canvas, no matter whether you are using projectors, LED walls, Microtiles, LCD TV or all of it together” The result was a visually and aurally stunning event, and another successful partnership between Tuﬀ Consult and Avollusion. www.avollusion.com

LIVE November - December 2013

Japan

Outline connects with Shizen @ Fuji Rock

n hour's ride away from the bustle of Tokyo, the Fuji Rock Festival is Japan’s most eagerly awaited annual summer event. It is the largest festival in the entire country and ranks as one of the most important on a world level. Right from its first edition, in 1997, Fuji Rock was a truly star-studded event, artists lineup included: Weezer, Green Day, Foo Fighters, Massive Attack, Prodigy, Rage Against the Machine and Red Hot Chili Peppers. The concert, with a 30,000-strong audience, went down in history thanks to Anthony Kiedis & Co., whose frontman with his arm in a plaster cast and sling, played for the crowd in spite of the drenching rain and driving wind.

Nowadays, Fuji Rock is a phenomenon able to attract over 100,000 fans. Born from an idea by Hidaka Masa, the festival aims to change the way Japanese fans ‘listen to music’, oﬀering them the possibility of hearing sounds for the very first time, in an atmosphere of ‘freedom’, while camping and surrounded by nature.

Masaaki Azuma (Try Audio) and Giorgio Biﬃ (Outline)

The oﬃcial website for the event considers the Fuji Rock, “a state of mind, rather than a rock event”. Through the years, the festival has become an opportunity to rediscover one’s relationship with ‘Shizen’ [nature] and with others.

The huge event’s 2013 edition featured performances by top names on the Japanese and international alternative rock and electronic scenes such as Bjork, The Cure, Nine Inch Nails, Vampire Weekend, XX, Skrillex and Tame Impala, to name a few.

Featuring multiple stages, the 'White Stage' was equipped with an Outline large-format line-source rig: 24 GTO elements, 2 GTO-DF (Down-Fill) and 18 ground-installed DBS 18-2 subwoofers.

east and west. Thanks to the enormous dynamic range, I realized that - as well as Rock - the system can easily handle the nuances of any genre, including orchestral music”.

Masaaki Azuma, Pro Audio veteran and Sound Engineer for the festival, who is the proud owner of well-known Japanese rental company Try Audio, was responsible for the project. The company’s equipment stock already included forty-eight Butterfly systems, eighteen Mantas and thirty-six Subtech 218, with relative Outline T Series power amplifiers.

He added, “Its intelligibility is unrivalled at astonishing distances: what I heard at Fuji Rock during the mix confirms the objectivity of Outline’s claims regarding the long-throw performance of this ‘contraption’. I’m really impressed."

Masaaki stated, “Before purchasing Outline’s large-format system, I had the opportunity of testing it personally at several large concerts in Asian stadia with famous bands from both

CEO of Outline, Giorgio Biﬃ commented, “The presence of GTO in Japan, a supertechnological Far East nation, is an important strategic ‘tessera’ [ticket] in our expansion plans.”

“As is already seen in China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Australia, and elsewhere, now it will be easier to meet the numerous requests for our products – regularly included in riders - in a part of the world which has such a dynamic live sound reinforcement sector. Welcome to the Outline family, Try Audio!” www.outlinearray.com

LIVE November - December 2013

Australia

Clay Paky dazzles King Kong

ighting designer Peter Mumford is using Clay Paky’s powerful Sharpy luminaires to deliver ingenious lighting effects on Global Creatures’ ambitious multi-million dollar production of King Kong in Melbourne. With a scenic backdrop that primarily comprises video and lighting effects, Mumford has applied the bright, pure beams of 46 Sharpys in a unique way to create an almost architectural grid effects across the stage. He has also used the Sharpys to convey stunningly realistic gunfire effects as King Kong is shot down from the Empire State Building. At the opening of the show the Sharpys are used to deliver a dynamic web of light, projected into a smoke curtain, which descends from the proscenium as King Kong makes his first entrance.

“A lot of people are using Sharpys in a very similar way but for King Kong, Peter Mumford has used them in a completely new way,” says King Kong’s production electrician, Ken Roach. “His big mesh and tangled grid looks are unique and really exciting.” Mumford explains: “I wanted to reflect the structure of the set in light and also create three dimensional structures of light that would work alongside the projection work

of Frieder Weiss. The intense parallel beams that Sharpys are capable of were perfect for both these aspects of the production enabling me to ‘draw’ with them in the air. When used in this way they have a laser like quality but with more control. The movement is very fast and they are pretty accurate at maintaining precise positions and focus even when you’re hurling them around the stage at top speed. Within the overall structure of the lighting rig for King Kong they added a major scenic element built out of pure light.” To achieve what is almost a scenic element of meshed light beams, the Sharpys are positioned on booms either side of the stage, rigged on their side on Tri truss. Sixteen Sharpys per side perform a very specific function throughout the show with their narrow beams not only creating grid eﬀects across the stage but also simulating gunfire.

Some of the most striking scenes, such as when Ann is offered as a sacrifice to Kong and also when Kong is shot down from the Empire State Building, rely on ingenious use of the Sharpys. “The Sharpys are extremely reliable fixtures,” continues lighting crew chief on the show, Ben Meadows. “The grid effect is used in the opening number where programmer Victoria Brennan created a 3D grid using a red Styrofoam ball. We would hold the ball up at 1.5 metres, 3 metres, 4.5 metres and six metres and focus every Sharpy to each of those specific spots in the air. In the opening number every Sharpy on the booms is concentrated onto one spot stage left. It’s a really good effect, it looks amazing. We also have fourteen Sharpys recessed into the forestage with a grill above them, which are used to assist in making the lightweb as they punch through the grill.” But Mumford’s imagination went further, and in a number of scenes, seven Art Deco inspired footlights flip up at the front of the stage to reveal Sharpys under four of them as Meadows elaborates: “Just four units create a really nice, soft and even footlight effect. Also because they are so compact in size they easily fit into what is a relatively small space downstage.”

For general lighting Mumford chose to use thirty-nine Clay Paky Alpha Profile 700 fixtures, which supply the general back and side light for the show and the vehicles for gobo projection and aerial eﬀects. All lighting was supplied by PRG. “With 240 moving lights in the rig, I have to try to make sure every unit can do as much as possible and is not restricted by space, set or masking,” explains Mumford. “I like the Alpha Profiles very much. They are extremely versatile and dynamic in terms of the eﬀects we can achieve.”

Emmanuel Ziino, managing director of Clay Paky’s Australian distributor, Show Technology, says: "Clay Paky has a strong well earned reputation for quality and innovation. Professionals are always happy to use Clay Paky products on any show knowing that performance will be guaranteed and reliability is a given." Organisers expect more than 50,000 people to see the production, which is showing now at The Regent Theatre in Melbourne. www.claypaky.it

LIVE November - December 2013

Singapore

The Magic of Melody & Projection with Panasonic

A nocturnal extravaganza of spectacular aerial performances, music, dance and installation artworks at the heart of the Bras Basah Bugis precinct, Singapore’s arts and heritage district.

rt and culture spilled onto the streets of Singapore at the 6th edition of the annual Singapore Night Festival. Over two weekend, art junkies, street roamers and nocturnal beings were treated to an outdoor showcase of spectacular interactive light installations, and were immersed in a vibrant showcase of heritage, arts and culture in Singapore. Under the festival's umbrella of programmes, installations and performances, "The Magic Melody", an audiovisual and interactive projection mapping masterpiece by creative studio TigreLab excited audiences as it transformed the façade of the Singapore Art Museum into an interactive futuristic musical instrument. With Panasonic as the festival's Oﬃcial Projection Partner, colourful visuals were projected combined with heart-thumping beats which together connected architecture and people. Content projected was a 7 and a half minute prologue mapped onto the façade of the Museum, followed by an interactive segment which engaged the crowd through the use of 8 Samsung Tablets. 5 units of the Panasonic 20,000 lumens 3-Chip DLPTM projectors, PT-DZ21KE, were used for the projection mapping with one being used in portrait mode. Notably, the PTDZ21KE is able to last for up to 500 hours on portrait mode. Through its dynamic sensor technology, PT-DZ21KE projectors are able to

project high contrast visuals, with exceptional detail and clarity, required for large scale projection mapping. “As the oﬃcial projection partner, the festival presented a good opportunity to showcase our projectors’ unique projection mapping capabilities in the high brightness projector arena, particularly its reliable portrait projection capability,” said William Chan, Assistant General Manager, Professional Systems Division, Panasonic Systems Asia Pacific. “Portrait projection capability is essential for projection mapping on tall buildings such as the Singapore Art Museum as it is more economical compared to the usual landscape projection,” he said. In support, Oﬃcial Technology Sponsor, Broadcast Professional Pte Ltd supplied 7 units of the Green Hippo Media servers that were utilised for the projection sites to cater to the intricate video mapping, warping and geometric functionalities. Broadcast

Professional Pte Ltd, together with rental partners, Glorious Pte Ltd provided the audio and visual building solutions for 3 main sites of the festival: the Singapore Art Museum, National Museum of Singapore and 5Streams. By turning the museum into an interactive, futuristic instrument through projection mapping, Panasonic brought the arts, culture and heritage of Singapore to its people. “The Magic Melody” is the brainchild of Barcelona-based Tigrelab and the interactive art practice Welovecode. It was also the first large scale projection mapping project in Singapore for Panasonic Systems Asia Pacific. Looking to the future, William concluded, “Projection mapping is gaining popularity in large scale events as it creates an unforgettable and dynamic experience for the audience. We are very thankful we had the support of our invaluable partners and engineers.” panasonic.net

South Korea

Robe LEDWashes for Korean Open Concert

ince 1993 ‘Open Concert’ has been one of the most enduringly popular music programmes on Korean TV. Aired every Sunday night for an hour on KBS (Korean Broadcasting System), it’s staged in the KBS Hall at the broadcaster’s HQ in Yeouido, Seoul in front of a live audience of nearly 1700. Lighting for the show is designed by KBS’s Lee Kwan Han working closely with the KBS lighting design team. Currently on the rig for the weekly show are 40 x Robe ROBIN 1200 LEDWashes and 38 x MMX Spots which were purchased earlier in the year by the KBS Hall to be added to their house lighting system. They are proving ideal for lighting the show, giving Lee all the creative latitude he needs to produce a rich and varied collection of looks and scenes for the diﬀerent artists each week. The Open Concert line-up includes a wide range of genres in singing, music and performance. It’s designed to appeal

to audiences of all ages and tastes, so Lee needed huge flexibility to produce the very best styles of TV lighting – as well as making it rock for the live audience! This – together with the reliability and aﬀordability of the fixtures - was why he chose to use the Robe LEDWash 1200s and MMX Spots, which were delivered to the KBS Hall by Robe’s Korean distributor, Art-Tech. The 38 x MMX Spots were purchased first and proved such a success that the LEDWash 1200s soon followed. The Hall also stages numerous other shows and events and the lighting team have made their delight with their latest moving lights very clear. For the Open Concert, the MMX Spots are positioned overhead and around the stage floor and are used for aerial eﬀects and bold, powerful beam-work. The LEDWashes are installed on overhead trusses and also spread out on some circular trusses upstage.

They are positioned to give a smooth, even coverage all across the performance space. For the show, Lee uses the LEDWash colour mixing facilities extensively, together with its zoom and other features, alongside the dual graphic wheel of the MMX Spots with which he produces comprehensive and intricate texturing. These and the other stage lights in the venue are programmed and run on a grandMA console. www.robe.cz

LIVE November - December 2013

China

Shanghai JZ Festival presents Sennheiser Green Note 2013

ennheiser is an oﬃcial sponsor of the ongoing Shanghai JZ Festival 2013. Coming into its ninth year, the onemonth music festival is considered the biggest in China and second largest in the Asian jazz scene. Sennheiser is the title sponsor for Sennheiser Green Note outdoor performances which brought together some of the best names in music at the Shanghai Expo Park. The Shanghai JZ Festival 2013 is divided into three parts – kickstarting the festival was the Sennheiser Green Note, a two-day outdoor festival that celebrated a greener life through music followed by the Jazz Roundtown which features jazz performances around the city from September 22 - October 14, and lastly, the Master Hall that runs from October 15-19 which will culminate the month long festival across Shanghai and will feature the likes of Ibrahim Malouf, the pioneering Jazz trumpeter and Helen Sung, Chinese American Jazz pianist among a slew of other awardwinning artists from various genres.

SENNHEISER GREEN NOTE

Held at the Shanghai Expo Park, the Sennheiser Green Note featured a total of nine outdoor stages with more than 1,000 artists including: The Brand New Heavies, Robert Glasper Experiment + Yasin Bey f.k.a. Mos Def, Lisa Ono, Jack DeJohnette, John Scofield, Li Quan and Yoga Lin. It was a big year for the main Sennheiser Green Note Stage, as they featured Grammy winner, Robert Glasper for the first time. With Glasper, popular acid Jazz musicians, The Brand New Heavies brought their dancing rhythm to Chinese fans for the first time while the queen of bossa nova Lisa Ono turned on the charm.

Not to be outdone, the East Theatre Stage featured jazz from the Orient with performances by SCOM Jazz Ensemble, Joey Lu Quintet and a Sennheiser favourite and regular partner, A Bu and his band, the A Bu Trio, notably. The River Stage was dedicated to Latin music where six-time Grammy nominated and winner Artist Lisa Ono performs of the 10th Annual Independent Music Awards, Omar Sosa, and Aside from the fantastic rundown of artists Stolen by Brazil, Tempero Brasil and JZ Latino performing, one of the main highlights for Big Band took to the stage. Other stages at audiences during Sennheiser’s Green Note the Sennheiser Green Note included the Blue was the Sennheiser’s Experience Zone. It Grass Stage, Earth Lounge Stage, Love My carried a series of headphones and gave the Music Stage, Drum Zone, Jam House and the audience an opportunity to test out all of JZ School stage respectively. the top range Sennheiser gear while allowing users to understand the quality and subtle The JZ School stage featured child but important diﬀerences in the various performers from around the world who are models. Sennheiser also took the opportunity already talented young jazz performers and to showcase two of their latest models, Sennheiser was on hand to give them the the MOMENTUM On-Ear and the HD-25 best production team and equipment onsite. Aluminium. As title sponsor for Sennheiser Green Note, Sennheiser also undertook all production responsibilities for providing technical support and professional equipment throughout the two-day event. Through Sennheiser’s ongoing partnership with JZ Festival, their commitment to bringing great music to China has ensured that artists young and old, professional and amateur all enjoy the best quality set up, equipment and professional leadership to bring China to the next level as an international music destination.

“We have put in a lot of hours working towards the production of the Sennheiser Green Note and the two day event was a spectacular Mid-Autumn Festival of music, entertainment and fanfare. Sennheiser has been fortunate to have struck a great partnership with JZ and kudos to Ren Yuqing for everything he and the JZ team have accomplished.” said Marc Vincent, President of Sennheiser, Greater China. www.sennheiser.com

China

Adamson supports Inter City Music Festival system employs a balanced spider suspension with spiders at both ends of the coil assembly, resulting in extreme stability under high excursions. This double spider design utilizes a 6” dual voice coil and powerful neodymium magnet to achieve superlative sensitivity. The T-21 Sub’s tuned enclosure is internally braced to minimize harmonics and distortion, and features innovative port geometry that increases eﬃciency, lowers turbulence and has reduced compression at high SPL. Stage monitoring was serviced by two M212 low profile monitors. With 2 x 12” LF drivers, the M121 oﬀers more bass and output than its smaller counterpart, the M12, and with the 65° x 65° waveguide, a wider dispersion than its larger counterpart the M215.

fter a successful début last year, the Qingdao Inter City Music Festival returned to the Golden Sands Beach in the Huangdao district of Qingdao, China. The two-day music festival was organised by Beijing record label Pilot Records and included bands from Europe, America and Asia, as well as some popular groups from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. Many of record label’s acts performed including Reflector, Zheng Jun, CMCB, Twisted Machine and headliner Miserable Faith. Formed in 1999 at the Beijing Midi School of Music, the five piece band produces music that spans many genres including nu metal, heavy metal, Chinese hardcore and, more recently, folk rock. Real Music Acoustics & Lighting Technology Co. Ltd., Adamson System Engineering’s exclusive distributor in China and Hong Kong, were called upon to supply an Energia E15 line array system for the two-day festival. “The record labels artists represent many diﬀerent genres of music,” explains Richie Wang, GM for Real Music Acoustics & Lighting. “We provided a substantial

Adamson E15 PA in order to accommodate their heavy metals bands as well as pop and folk music acts.” The E15 line arrays – 12 enclosures per array – were hung from scaﬀolding erected to the right and left of the stage. The E15 Line Source Array is built for touring. It features high power, low distortion Kevlar driver technology, co-linear drive module optimized with finite and boundary element analysis for seamless mid/high integration, and the revolutionary Autolock rigging system which enables flying a system in record-breaking time. The E15 is engineered to house two proprietary Class D amplifier modules, and connects to the Adamson “Ground Control” unit using an innovative single cable which houses power, signal and network. Under each array were a stack of six T21 subwoofers sandwiched between double stacks on each side -- a total of 10 subs per side. The T-21 subwoofer incorporates the newly-developed Adamson Symmetrical Drive multilayer 21” Kevlar driver. The SD-21

The M212 exhibits low distortion thanks to the qualities of its advanced multilayer Kevlar cone driver. Two Adamson’s long-excursion 12” Kevlar Neodymium drivers supply exceptional power handling with outstanding mid frequency response, ideal for demanding vocal performances. Frontfill was provided by eight M15 placed equidistant along the lip of the stage. The Adamson M15, multi-purpose cabinet, features a low profile, symmetrical pentagon design, with a 50o conical waveguide. This unique combination allows any two cabinets to work together in a mirror image monitor configuration. The top end of the cabinet is covered by a 4” high frequency compression driver, giving it extremely high SPL throughout the bandwidth. The lightweight package (56.5 lbs/25.63 kg) is equipped with a switchable internal crossover, allowing bi-amped or passive operation. On the entire performance of the speakers,Wang added, “The system really sounded fantastic, no matter who was playing, the sound quality was unmistakable. The Pilot Record management team were extremely impressed.” www.adamsonsystems.com

LIVE November - December 2013

China

DiGiCo makes The Voice sound gooooddd...

ince its original incarnation in the Netherlands in 2010, The Voice television singing contest has become a global phenomenon with 39 diﬀerent countries currently broadcasting their own versions of the franchise. Now in its second season, The Voice of China features two DiGiCo mixing consoles. With an identical format to the other incarnations of The Voice, the show is broadcast on Zhejiang Television between July and September. Its head of sound is Jin Shaogang, one of China’s leading live audio engineers and revered in the country for his role at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Naturally, the sound production’s most important task is to make the contestants sound as good as possible, so Jin Shaogang specified an audio system which included a DiGiCo SD7 at the FoH and an SD10 on monitors. Complemented by two SD-Racks and a Waves SoundGrid system, the equipment was supplied by DiGiCo’s Chinese distributor Rightway Audio Consultants. With The Voice of China being one of the country’s most popular entertainment shows, the SD7’s Stealth Digital Processing, dual digital engines and power supplies deliver the required optimum audio quality and reliability. It is already a popular choice for many large format Chinese live and broadcast applications, having been featured on such prestigious projects as the 60th Anniversary National Day parade.

To ensure that the programme’s audio team got the most from the consoles, DiGiCo and Rightway Audio Consultants organised a fourday training session before the series began. The comprehensive, hands-on programme included everything from basic operation, setting up the optical network and sharing the SD-Racks through to advanced functions, working with Waves plugins and recording live audio via the consoles. “As the signal paths were processed at 96kHz this time, very high resolution audio processing was achieved,” said Jin Shaogang. “The live sound is exquisite, with solid bass, high clarity and accurate phrasing.” “The first series of The Voice of China captured the imagination of viewers, so the second series was keenly anticipated,” added Rightway’s Danny Lau. “Series Two is proving even more popular than the first. We are very pleased to supply DiGiCo consoles for such a popular production and are grateful to DiGiCo UK for their help in delivering a comprehensive training programme, which has helped our engineers provide first class audio.” www.digico.biz

INSTALL November - December 2013

INDIA

PR Lighting breathes life into Guru Tegh Bahadur Memorial

he amazing Guru Tegh Bahadur Memorial structure in New Delhi is now illuminated nightly with a stunning light show — featuring fixtures from PR Lighting. The newly programmed show is the result of a design from the attraction’s lighting director, Himanshu Sabharwal, in conjunction with Modern Stage Service’s Varinder Wadhwa. This architectural marvel, situated on the main highway, gives an insight into the life and teachings of the ninth Guru of the Sikhs and the illumination has been described as “world class”. Modern Stage Service (MSS) — PR Lighting’s Indian distributor — was brought in as a

result of the company’s long association with Mr. Sabharwal, and Wadhwa specified 16 XR300 Beam and 12 PR-8802’s. Mounted on both the ground and the structure itself, they are triggered into action daily after dark from an Avolites Titan Mobile in conjunction with a Dataton Watchout system. The XR 300 Beam, equipped with 300W Platinum 15R lamp and convex lens, produces a super-concentrated parallel beam with an incredible output, making it ideal for long throw applications such as this. The architectural, IP67-rated PR-8802 features two stacked heads, containing a total of 216 3W LEDs (54 each RGBW). With a lens

angle of 14° (field angle 32°) it delivers an incredible output. The Monument remains one of Delhi’s hidden treasures. The central pylon of the structure itself represents Guru Tegh Bahadur while the three semi-arches represent his three disciples. Ten monoliths surrounding it represent 10 Sikh Gurus and disseminate their teachings. According to the MSS director everyone is delighted by the impact created by the new design. www.pr-lighting.com

INSTALL November - December 2013

AUSTRALIA

Tannoy crystallizes audio for WCC

ith a major upgrade now complete, the community of users at Wyndham Cultural Centre(WCC) are already feeling the benefits of a brand new Tannoy sound system for the Centre’s auditorium performance space, based around the popular VX Series. For any town in the outskirts of a major city, the cultural centre can provide a hub for the local people to gather round and utilise, and as such holds an important place in the hearts of the community at large. The City of Wyndham is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, in the outer south-western suburbs of Melbourne. With a population of over 160,000, this is a thriving community that has Wyndham Cultural Centre as its heart. This important building – which houses the Tattersall's Theatre, two exhibition galleries, the CBD library, Visitor Information Centre and café - was opened to the public in 2001, but a certain approach to construction meant there were some problems from the outset.

Gavin Hume, Director of MultiTek Solutions, explained. “The venue had some troubling times during the original construction. The theatrical infrastructure was lumped in with the general electrical scope of works with many things done in a non-industry standard way. This made the venue very hard to

use when it first opened in 2001,” he said. “However, the current technical managers and technicians have really done a great job in bring the venue up to a great standard by methodically fixing all the errors made during the construction.” MultiTek Solutions have had a long association with the WCC, from the initial post venue construction fix of the cabling infrastructure to ongoing preventative maintenance and equipment supply, so when the time came for an upgrade of the sound system in the auditorium, it was a job they approached (the brief) with some careful considerations in mind. “As a regional arts centre they host the full gamut of shows, from the professional touring theatre company to the high school musical and Callisthenics production, along with the all important end of year dance school extravaganzas. They get it all. So the system has to cater for all of them and their specific requirements,” said Gavin. “Whatever solution we put in place had to

improve the overall coverage of the system throughout the venue, specifically the front few rows and the extreme rear. We also had to tidy up the sight lines and mount the subwoofers out of the way. As well as that, they wanted to increase the headroom of the system and provide some image steering for musicals.” With so many considerations in mind, Gavin knew he had to install a system that could cope with any eventuality, and Tannoy was a brand he knew could produce the results the WCC were after. “I have used Tannoy for many years as a venue technician and love the coherency of a point source,” he said. “In the end we went through the new ranges and chose the right models based on the overall dispersion pattern and power handling capability.” Two Tannoy VX 12HP were mounted either side of the arch and another pair from the lighting bridge for delay. A single VX 12Q was mounted in the centre above the stage to help fill in the front row and also provide some image steering for musicals. Four VX 5.2’s were employed across the front lip of the stage for those occasions when there is an orchestra in the pit, but we attached these using custom mounts to facilitate easy removal when not required. The VSX 18DR subwoofers were flown above the

proscenium walls, giving a more aesthetically pleasing look to the stage overall.

that critical advantage, as was the case in the WCC.

With an expanded range of enclosures and transducer compliments, Tannoy’s VX Series combines next-generation Dual Concentric driver technology with smart, ergonomic, portable and install-friendly new cabinet designs, enhanced build quality, and carefully thought-out functionality. VX Series gives installers, systems designers and engineers

The amp racks were also rebuilt using Powersoft amplification, as well as using multiple BSS London’s for full DSP processing. As Gavin comments, “This provides the users with the flexibility of being able to address the system in diﬀerent ways depending on the event. They are able to send just L & R to the system right up to being able to send multiple outputs from their console to each element of the system if required.” Reflecting on the overall success of the project, Gavin said: “Now that the system is installed and the venue is up and running again, the overall response has been very positive – we have achieved the requirements set out at the beginning of the project. They now have a fantastic venue for the people of Werribee and beyond to enjoy for many years to come”. www.multiteksolutions.com.au www.tannoypro.com

INSTALL November - December 2013

INDONESIA

Safe and Sound Holidays powered by Bosch

ight in the heart of Bali, Sheraton Bali Kuta Resort has 203 guest rooms and suites, all with a spacious balcony overlooking the azure seas and sandy beaches of Bali.

The EV speakers were installed in the meeting and function rooms, spa and ballroom, while the DYNACORD mixers were installed at the Bene restaurant and the lobby lounge.

Opened in 2012, it is located right above Beachwalk – an open-air shopping district that is literally the pulse of Kuta with shopping, dining and entertainment options readily available.

In addition, Bosch CCTV solutions were installed to ensure guests are always kept safe within the hotel’s compound.

The high-quality Bosch and EV products were well-received, and certainly aided the end-users in providing a comfortable stay to guests. www.boschsecurity.com

Within the resort itself, numerous dining options are available, along with amenities such as gyms, function rooms and meeting rooms. The owners, PT. Indonesian Paradise Island, thus required state-of-the-art sound and mixing systems for these facilities, something that could both excel at playing recorded and live music and be helpful for conferences. Furthermore, they were also looking to secure the compound at strategic rooms and locations. Bosch Security Solutions came up with an integrated sound solution, featuring state-ofthe-art Electro-Voice (EV) C8.2 and EVID 4.2 speakers, as well as DYNACORD CMS 1000-3 mixers.

The installation of the security products and speakers enhanced Sheraton Bali Kuta Resort’s appeal as a one-stop destination for conferences, meetings and entertainment, adding a touch of class to the resort.

EV Speakers enhance the attractiveness of the resort as a Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibition (MICE) Venue DYNACORD mixers helped to enhance the ambience of the Bene restaurant and lobby lounge

INDONESIA

SLT Asia completes Southeast Asia’s largest OLED installation With time, OLEDs will become more eﬃcient, larger, and brighter. According to Philips, Asia is a market hotspot that has been quick to adopt OLEDs. “The installation at the club is a very good example that the owner has understood what OLED lighting oﬀers and what can be done with it. The theme was ‘shaping light in the air’ which could only have been possible with OLEDs,” concludes Philips Lumiblade spokesperson Dietmar Thomas.

With OLEDs being surface emitters, they do not have a heat sink as the temperature is already distributed. Thus, Lumiblade OLED panels can be used in harmonic coexistence with most other materials, where using other light sources was simply not possible before

LT Asia, bespoke entertainment solutions specialist, completed the largest Organic LED (OLED) installation in Southeast Asia. The dazzling display of 1,680 units of Philips Lumiblade GL26 tiles was installed in Providence, the Kuala Lumpur VIP club. The OLEDs are both visually stunning and functional, oﬀering an atmosphere never seen before in a commercial establishment. The OLEDs are engineered to move in rhythm with the music, meeting the need for dynamic lighting that illuminates well. A young technology, OLED is still limited in its adoption owing to cost barriers. Nonetheless, SLT Asia was able to lower Providence’s project cost significantly. “This installation balances technical skill and artistic finesse. Providence asked us if we could build the OLED system at an economical price. Owing to our solid and reliable engineering, we delivered the installation at a quarter the typical cost,” says SLT Asia Managing Director Sebastien Jurkowski. With less than 2mm total height of the light emitting surface, Lumiblade OLEDs enable thin lighting applications. Additionally, no secondary optics are needed as the lit material can already be the functional surface. This adds up to 100% system eﬃciency and 0% waste of space.

Ashwin Prakash, Providence’s owner adds, "When we saw OLEDs in action we knew it was wildly diﬀerent and a perfect centrepiece to complement Providence’s VIP clubbing experience. It is an investment that few would make but we believe in adopting new technologies in our clubs to enhance the VIP experience. Our guests are enamoured by the lights."

An OLED display works without a backlight. Thus, it can display deep black levels and can be thinner and lighter than an LCD. In low ambient light conditions such as a dark room, an OLED screen can achieve a higher contrast ratio than an LCD, whether the LCD uses cold cathode fluorescent lamps or an LED backlight. www.sltasia.com

INSTALL November - December 2013

SINGAPORE

Riedelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Artist System assures clear and flexible communications at The Star PAC

he Star Performing Arts Centre (The Star PAC) in Singapore has added a Riedel Artist digital matrix intercom system to its list of inventory. The system will be utilized to maintain clear and reliable communications throughout the world-class facility's 5,000-seat auditorium, function halls, and broadcast production centre. The Artist system's flexibility assures speed and versatility in adapting to the communications requirements of live concerts and other productions at the stunning site. "The Riedel Artist system has been rocksolid so far, with its power and flexibility allowing us to meet all the requirements that come our way," said Daniel Loh, Technical Director at The Star Performing Arts Centre. "The Artist system enables us to scale our intercom from a simple four-channel system to a full broadcast-type system with a single button press. Using AES and MADI formats, we also have been able to plan audio backup

routing via the Riedel system. We appreciate the combination of versatility and reliability it brings to our communications." The Star Performing Arts Centre is located in the award-winning Integrated Cultural, Retail and Entertainment Hub in Singapore's onenorth district. Within this facility, one Artist 128 and three Artist 64 frames are connected in a fibre ring to form a single full-summing, non-blocking distributed matrix platform for intercom and the distribution of analogue audio, digital audio, and Ethernet data signals. With the capacity to handle 64 MADI channels, the resulting system supports six commentary units and 47 other rack-mount and desktop Artist 1000 series control panels. The Artist matrix integrates 42 beltpacks from Riedel's Performer digital partyline product line via a Performer C44 interface. Handheld radios, used throughout the facility, become an extension of the Artist system through a RiFace interface.

The Artist system enables decentralization of the entire matrix in a cost-eďŹ&#x20AC;ective way, in turn eliminating a considerable amount of wiring and reducing installation costs. Easy, intuitive programming reduces training and service time while providing the flexibility required for rapid system changes. The system also allows for remote monitoring and troubleshooting. www.riedel.net

tech n olo gy w

w .

a s ia a

REGISTER TO RECEIVE THE MAGAZINE ON A COMPLIMENTARY BASIS. ALL DETAILS MUST BE FILLED IN ORDER TO RECEIVE THE MAGAZINE How would you like to receive the magazine? We appreciate you playing your part in saving the environment by choosing our digital options. Please choose ONLY ONE option. Mail Print copy to me. Send me a link to your Digital edition for me to browse in my computer. Send me a PDF to download onto my system.

I will read via my iPAD. Please send me the link for the free App. I will read via my Android Tablet. Please send me the link for the free App.

Signature (compulsory):

Date:

Name in Full: Company Name:

Title/Job Function:

Address (please include Postal Code):

Country: Email:

Website:

Telephone (please include country and area codes):

Please choose ONLY ONE category that best describes YOUR companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business: IF YOU ARE FROM THE INDUSTRY:

IF YOU ARE AN END-USER:

Consultant

Architectural Firm

Contractor / Installer

Auditorium Operator

Distributor/Dealer/Vendor

Broadcast Facility

Disc-Jockey

Cinema Facility

Equipment manufacturer

Entertainment Venue/Club/Discotheque

Lighting Design Company

Event Management/Organisers

Production Management/producer

Exhibition Booth Designer & Contractor

Rental & Staging / Production company

Government Organisation

System Integrator

Hospitality Venue (Hotel/Resorts/Country Clubs)

Others (Please specify)_______________________________

Interior Design Company Mobile Disco Company Performing Arts/Drama Company Performance Theatre (Art & Drama Centres)

Send Completed Form Via: FAX : +65-63162715 or EMAIL : admin@spinworkz.com or MAIL : Spinworkz Pte Ltd, 51 Bukit-Batok Crescent #06-10 Unity Centre, Singapore 658077

Retail/Shopping Centre Religious Organisation Show Promoters Stadium (Indoor/Outdoor) Theme Park Others (Please specify)_________________________

INSTALL November - December 2013

AUSTRALIA

Anolis Illuminates the Land of Oz

With the very first Anolis ArcDot installation completed in Australia, Anolis continues to conserve the wonder down under by providing power-saving LEDs at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre (GCCEC).

ver 300 Anolis ArcDot LED pixels have been installed to light the façade of the landmark waterslide at Noble Park Aquatic Centre (NPAC) in Melbourne, Australia. The new lighting scheme designed by Electrolight for Suters Architects transforms the 19.5 metre structure into a gleaming iconic beacon of contemporary elegance that is clearly visible from the town centre. Dave Anderson led the design for Electrolight. Suters’ waterslide design is inspired by images of waterfalls and evokes the NPAC tagline ‘Water for all’. The requirement was for a fluid visual lighting eﬀect that could be vibrant or subtle and that would explore the impressions of light, shadows and depth associated with cascading water. Mr Anderson approached The ULA Group’s Jason Saunders to find a lighting solution to meet the brief. He sought a high powered LED ‘node’ that could be pixel mapped and fed with video sources to create a lively, dynamic installation. Jason Saunders suggested the Anolis ArcDot LED Pixels, which proved to be the perfect solution. The ArcDot is a super-bright Cree MC-E RGBW multichip based LED ‘pixel’ fixture with an IP67 rating for good weather resistance. “While the initial requirement had been for an RGB fixture, the ArcDot’s RGBW capabilities opened up additional potential

for the creation of more colours and spectral subtleties,” Mr Anderson said. “The decision to go with Anolis was made after extensive trials. Anolis have a reputation for a robust build and quality engineering and presented a comprehensive package that fitted the budget and included flexible, user-friendly controls.” Suters’ Project Leader, Clinton Wyner says the lighting solution complements the architectural design. “The lighting accentuates the waterslides panelised facade geometry which is fractured to create multiple panel faces that reflect light and create shadow. The panels are made of aluminium and painted with a metallic paint to replicate sunlight on a waters moving surface,” he said. The Anolis ArcDot LED Pixel node lights are positioned between each of the panels to create a subtle dynamic eﬀect at night. An in-built automated control system allows the LED nodes to be programmed to create a multitude of lighting eﬀects. For example, a waterfall lighting sequence has been programmed into the facade that starts from the top and cascades to the bottom. For control, the video files triggering the lighting installation are embedded into Microsoft PowerPoint running on a PC, which is linked to an E:Cue Micro Video Convertor storing the patch for the nodes. Here, DVI signals are converted into DMX values, which activate

the ArcDots via the mapped nodes. From here, three DMX universes are sent 100 metres via Cat6 cabling to a cabinet below the slide housing the ArcDot drivers that feed data to the 296 fixtures. The video content that controls the ArcDots can be quickly and easily changed by adding another slide into the PowerPoint sequence. The entire system has been devised from the outset to make it straightforward to create and run new eﬀects for special events, commemorations or promotions. The system also accommodates future interactive works involving guest artists.

From Melbourne to the Gold Coast, over 500 Anolis LED fixtures have been installed by The ULA Group at the GCCEC, as part of the venue’s continuing investment in sustainable and energy eﬃcient lighting. The latest power-saving Anolis ArcLine and ArcSource full colour spectrum units illuminate the foyer and corridor areas Australia’s largest regional convention centre. The venue caters to all types of events from small meetings to large-scale presentations, accommodating up to 6,000 guests and oﬀering over 10,000 square metres of floor space for conferences, exhibitions, awards shows and banquets, etc.

ArcSource 6 RGB fixtures were chosen as the best fittings for installation at the other end of the foyer and throughout the corridors. An impressive 350 units were installed creating a vibrant, airy atmosphere for visitors and a beautiful ambient glow to the venue which can be seen through its floor to ceiling glass walls for many miles.

The GCCEC’s decision to invest in the latest Anolis follows the highly successful Stage One supply of Anolis LED Lighting fixture to the common foyer and function areas, also completed by The ULA Group. Incorporating new mood lighting schemes for the Centre, ULA’s architectural lighting specialist Blair Terrace worked closely with the Centre’s Audio Visual Manager to deliver the best and most appropriate LED lighting solutions.

Blair Terrace commented, "We were excited that Anolis was again the brand of choice for the second stage of this lighting project. It follows on and fits perfectly with the previous upgrade”.

The lighting needed to be both functional and adaptive to the demands of the high ceilinged foyer space and also meet other potential client requirements, whilst working in conjunction with existing lighting structures to produce the correct lux levels and stipulated energy ratings. The agreed perfect choice that ticked all of these boxes was Anolis’s ArcSource 24MC (21 degrees) multichip fixture with AR1-11 housing. Additional ArcLine 20 and 40MC fixtures were installed on the opposite walls of the same area to complement the mood lighting in the foyer. And Anolis ArcSource 3 &

Anolis ArcPower drivers are used to control all the new Anolis fixtures, bringing flexibility to event planners, enabling them to have the lighting they require without aﬀecting set-up times.

One of the first meeting facilities in Australia to achieve internationally recognized EarthCheck Silver Certification, the GCCEC has been very proactive in reducing waste and consumption of resources, including power, in eﬀorts to contain rising costs. The Stage One lighting upgrade saw the installation of external and stair tread LED lights cut electricity usage from 18W to 3W per unit! Additionally, the replacement of all the external lights to more eﬃcient models resulted in a dramatic reduction in electricity usage of nearly 50% - from 85W to 48W. GCCEC’s General Manager Adrienne Readings stated that the Centre is committed to operating at the world’s highest environmental standards. “We have implemented many initiatives to reduce

costs and lower our carbon footprint, and are continually looking for ways to enhance our operational practices. This includes partnering with clients and suppliers to ensure sustainability is achieved through positive choices and practices.” In 2013, the GCCEC becomes eligible for Gold status indicating five years of continual commitment to benchmark sustainable operations and a certification from EarthCheck. Cuono Biviano, Managing Director of The ULA Group said, "Congratulations to the team at the GCCEC for receiving this prestigious EarthCheck Silver Certification, and for choosing Anolis for its LED lighting solutions. Anolis prides itself as a world leader in advanced LED Lighting technology and in being the most energy eﬃcient product solution in its class. The results at GCCEC are visually spectacular and prove that you can literally ‘paint with light’, creating an amazing atmosphere whatever the requirements.” www.anolis.eu

HaAavve U Met...? November - December 2013

V.P (JB Music Philippines) - Manilla, Phillippines The son of pioneers, Jesus Songco Fernando and Elizabeth Salonga Fernando, Jericho Fernando was responsible for the initial expansion of the JB Music brand into MI distribution and retail. After establishing himself and the company in the MI world, Jericho forged ahead and entered the pro-audio world. Jericho's company is now the sole distribution partner of Allen & Heath, QSC and Martin Audio in the Philippines, among others. When did you ﬁrst get involved with the pro-audio industry?

I was born into the MI industry and I grew up around the entertainment industry. A lot of the times when customers needed MI, there was a pro-audio need that went with it and we would always pass up the opportunity since our systems only catered to bars and small PA set ups. I’ve always been a fan of Audio growing up and had an itch to get into the Pro Audio business. I made sure that we were the top MI distribution in the Philippines and in 2007 I started with our Pro Audio distribution. Now we distribute brands such as Audix, Digidesign, Avid, Martin Audio, LabGruppen, QSC, Allen and Heath and most recently, Klotz as well as Audio Technica.

What has been the most memorable aspect of your work thus far?

Even though, we’ve been in the pro audio business for only 5 years, every year is a memorable and learning year for us. I would say that in the past two years we have installed most of the audio systems for the biggest bars and clubs in the Philippines. We have also been upgrading a lot of the Churches here and have seen a lot of appreciation and towards our products and our services.

What has been the greatest challenge for you in terms of market?

I think the biggest challenge is the lack of really good audio guys. We have a very low level of audio related education in the Philippine. The good ones work abroad for better pay.

What are you most happy about with your current work?

I am happy with what we have achieved in the past 5 years. They say its hard for a MI distribution/retail company to have similar success in Pro Audio and vice versa. We are one of the major players in both industry and growing. I like it that I am in full control of what we can invest in our company. It makes us work faster and decide on key investments to expand our business.

What advice do you have for those joining the entertainment industry?

The most important is to make sure your family is taken care of and very happy. They need to understand fully what you do and what is expected of you in your line of business. I believe one needs to have the passion for the entertainment industry, and the passion needs to be there to see past the all the work load and time that is needed to be successful. I believe one needs to be very

up to date with the technology out there, while fully understanding the needs of the business in any current situation to deliver the best solutions at the least amount of investment for the client or yourself.

If you were not in this job or industry what do you think you would be doing?

At my age now, I would probably be a retired MMA fighter... That was my passion growing up and I had some solid training in the mixed martial arts scene while I lived in the US. I could also be a Chef/ restaurateur since I love to cook, eat and entertain. Right now I just opened a restaurant with my partner chef who comes from three of the top restaurants of the world.

Future personal goals?

I am now a three time half Ironman and one time Xterra triathlete finisher. I plan to do a full Ironman next year. To get in touch with Jericho, drop him an email at : jerico.fernando@jbmusic.com.ph

Know someone who has made an impact in the industry? Feel we should know more about them? Let us know!

D.A.S. Audio, S.A. C/ Islas Baleares, 24 46988 Fuente del Jarro Valencia - Spain Tel. +34 961 340 860

D.A.S. Audio of America, Inc. Sunset Palmetto Park 6816 NW 77TH Court Miami, FL. 3166 - U.S.A. Toll Free - 1-888-DAS 4 USA

D.A.S. Audio Asia PTE. LTD. 25 Kaki Bukit Crescent #01-00/02-00 Kaki Bukit Techpark, 1 Singapore 416256 Tel. +65 6742 0151