< PreviousJanuary 2020news10HK Audio launches POLAR 10 column PA system HK Audio has unveilled POLAR 10, an affordable new columnar PA for musicians, entertainers, DJs, presentations, schools and audiovisual applications.POLAR 10 boasts features that until today were found only on far pricier systems, such as a four-channel mixer with five programmable user presets, Bluetooth 5.0 audio streaming, and remarkably assertive bass response.POLAR 10 consists of a subwoofer and two columnar elements. The elegant contours of the subwoofer’s birch ply housing are not just cosmetic, the enclosure is acoustically shaped and sized to deliver excellent audio results in combination with a specially developed 10” woofer sporting an extra-long voice coil. Driven by a muscular 2,000-watt power amplifier, this combination delivers rich, low-ranging bass response that packs an impressive punch even at high volumes.The midrange/HF column comes in two sections for easy transport. The top section is loaded with six high-performance 3” midrange drivers and a low-distortion, 1” constant directivity horn. The system delivers well-balanced, exceedingly natural sound, rendering everything from low-mid frequencies all the way up to 20kHz with remarkable authority. Tuned to project an expansive 120° throw pattern and engineered to impede feedback, it gives users freedom choice when it comes to positioning the PA in venues. Placed behind the speaker or performer, it can also serve as a stage monitor to take the place of wedges in many scenarios.The newly developed E.A.S. connect system links the three components. Simple, safe and sturdy, this smart set of couplers requires no cables. Setting POLAR 10 on a raised stage is not a problem, it can still be aimed at the correct height by simply leaving the column’s bottom section (which is a spacer) out of the stack.The four-channel mixer offers two mic/line channels, one instrument channel for an acoustic guitar or similar, and one aux channel for music players. POLAR 10 can also render audio streams wirelessly via Bluetooth 5.0, which has four times the range of Bluetooth 4.0. The mixer’s settings may be stored in five presets, to be accessed later as the situation requires.POLAR 10’s stylish visuals are no coincidence. Its designers shaped the column’s elegant looks for it to fit right in at even the most upmarket gala event. The system also comes complete with a padded gig bag for the columnar elements and a padded cover to protect the subwoofer in transit.Rüdiger Forse, HK Audio’s senior product manager, said: “For more than 20 years, HK Audio has been top of the class for powered, impressively big sounding plug & play PA concepts. Now we’ve transferred this know-how into the class of slender columnar systems! POLAR 10 is outstanding in its product class and is sure to captivate audiences and users alike with its amazingly full sound, comprehensive feature list and easy handling – and all at a remarkably sweet price. We can’t wait for the world to hear it!”POLAR 10 is in stores in January 2020 and exclusively distributed in the UK and Eire by JHS.CPL invests in New Robe Moving LightsEvent technical production specialist CPL has invested in 40 new Robe LEDBeam 150 moving lights, the company’s first Robe purchase.These will be a valuable addition to the lighting department’s rental stock and will help service CPL’s busy schedule. In addition to a diverse range of corporate and industrial clients, the company provides design services plus lighting, video, sound, rigging and staging to a selection of music and arts festivals and shows including Arcadia Spectacular, Elrow Town, The Hay Festival, Boomtown, Camper Calling, etc.They were particularly taken with the fact that the LEDBeam 150, thanks to its 3.8 – 60-degree zoom, can produce a decent wash as well as nice beams.Robe UK supplied the fixtures, and their Bill Jones commented with a massive smile: “I have been talking to Max (CPL CEO Matthew Boyce) for at least eight years about an investment in the brand, so I am super happy CPL has made this first move towards Robe. I am positive it won’t be their last.”Robe UK’s Northampton HQ is less than an hour’s drive from CPL’s West Midland base (not that they are expecting to need much in terms of service or support as the fixtures have a great reputation for being robust) but it’s always convenient when the supplier is nearby.The new lights were flight cased as soon as they arrived at CPL, with 20 of them loaded straight onto a truck and used for an event.In picture: Simon Haydon and Robe UK’s Bill Jones and some of the LEDBeam 150s.ChamSys MagicQ Software Now Supports Import of GDTF Personality FilesChamSys has become the first major lighting console manufacturer to release software capable of importing GDTF personality files directly.The company’s ChamSys MagicQ software is free to download for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It supports an output on up to 64 universes without additional hardware or dongles, making it an ideal test platform for GDTF.In addition to importing the basic channel information from GDTF, the MagicQ inbuilt MagicVis 3D visualisation and plot views will automatically make use of 3D and 2D information provided in the GDTF files.Demoed at LDI, ChamSys MagicQ software with the ability to import GDTF personality files received an overwhelmingly enthusiastic reception from all who saw it.Chris Kennedy, ChamSys’ software director, commented: “ChamSys is a strong supporter of GDTF and the philosophy behind it. The entertainment lighting industry badly needs a common personality interchange format for lighting fixture manufacturers to describe the features of their new fixtures, and GDTF can only advance this.“We have always embraced open protocols, and we continue this philosophy with GDTF support,” continued Kennedy. “ChamSys currently supports a library of over 28,500 different fixture personalities, and we’re committed to continue working with fixture manufacturers to improve the electronic description of their fixture capabilities through GDTF.”4Issue: 323news11Robert Juliat strengthens collaboration with ETC Having been the first manufacturer, in 2016, to collaborate directly with ETC in having its award-winning eight-colour Dalis 860 cyc light fully calibrated with the Eos family of lighting desks, Robert Juliat is now proud to strengthen that collaboration with an extension of those capabilities. With immediate effect, the same colour control possibilities are now available for Dalis Access 863 Cyclight and Dalis 864 Footlight. Operators and lighting designers will benefit from the ease and transparency of using Eos consoles to gain full, precise control of the complete Dalis colour spectrum, including a wide array of whites, across all three models.Dalis Access 863 is a 150W LED cyc light designed to give those with smaller budgets the first access to Dalis technology. Sharing all the technology of the original Dalis 860 cyclorama fixture, Dalis Access 863 has just four colours and 24 of RJ’s patented Dalis asymmetrical micro-reflectors, but otherwise all the functionality and quality of the original, at a fraction of the price.Dalis 864 Footlight is a 150W colour variation of the original Dalis 862 tuneable white footlight, designed for the creation of colourful upstage or downstage lighting. A 75W, half-length (50cm) option, Dalis 864S, is also available for more accurate lighting of curved or compact spaces.Both fixtures feature a four-colour mixing system of red, green, royal blue and warm white LED sources calibrated at 2200K which can now be finely and precisely controlled by Eos consoles, along with a wide array of whites with very high CRI. Lighting designers can harness the full power of the Eos family desks and easily select and calibrate any colour they wish, by whatever method they prefer. They can synchronise their Dalis fixtures to a precise colour, or match any manufacturer’s gel palette, and rapidly fine tune and modify the colour spectrum at will.ETC has carried out extensive research to decode colour specifications and calibrate them with their lighting desks. Using the same calibration process with in-house analysis of Dalis’ LED colours, Robert Juliat’s Access cyclight and colour footlight now also benefit from this colour analysis and precise control. The result is the creation of a dedicated fixture library which will cover Dalis 860, Dalis Access 863 and Dalis 864 and 864S Footlights.In picture: Ray Hill of ETC, Claus Spreyer and Ludwig Lepage of Robert Juliat, and Matt Halberstadt of ETC collaborate to perfect the calibration between RJ Dalis and ETC Eos.SR Production Services Give WPC Line Array a Foothold In WalesWhen Cardiff-based SR Production Services invested in a new Martin Audio Wavefront Precision Compact (WPC) line array they knew not only that they would be the first PA company in Wales to run the innovative and scaleable system, but with so much of their event work taking place on problematic sites, requiring close off site noise control, this system would uniquely be able to solve a lot of their issues. “Generally the events we do are heavily noise-policed,” confirmed SR director of operations, Alistair Brick. “However, there is one particularly sensitive event – a barn party, promoted by House & Techno specialists, Cellar Door at a farm in the Valleys – where other systems we have used previously have never been adequate, as there has always been noise escape leading to complaints. It was principally for this that we invested in WPC with the result that it not only played much nicer than what the promoters had previously experienced, but there were no noise complaints.”In fact, one of the DJs, Cellar Door’s Jimpy, had posted online, ahead of the event: “This year’s Cellar Door visit to the farm features a brand new sound system supplied by Martin Audio, the very same audio company which is heard all across Glastonbury including the Pyramid stage. The sound system not only brings an even greater clarity of sound over last year’s event, but provides a high degree of noise mitigation control. This ensures the sound is focused on the event and not on the surrounding area using state of the art technology.”It was that state of the art technology that had attracted SR co-directors Matthew Dunford and Alistair Brick, in their quest for “a compliant and current system”. They duly placed the order for eight WPC, six SXH218 subwoofers and a pair of utility XD15’s with JP Cavaco at Martin Audio dealers, Enlightened. Cavaco arranged a demo which confirmed that this would be an ideal system, and it immediately went out on a conference for a high-profile restaurant group.Martin Audio’s product support representative Simon Purse jumped in with an instant masterclass in DISPLAY, Martin Audio’s optimisation software, which Al Brick found “really easy to navigate, and not the slightest bit clunky.”He says they are presently running the system in 2-box resolution “but when we add four further WPC boxes and amplification later on, we plan to increase this to 1-box resolution.”Now firmly in the Martin Audio camp, they subsequently added eight Blackline X8 enclosures as a conference system (part supplied by Enlightened, part by Leisuretec) and this featured at the Cardiff International Film Festival.Al Brick said after several months of running the new WPC he couldn’t be more delighted. “Every time it’s gone out it’s been rebooked, and on every occasion where there had been a noise pollution problem previously there was no longer a problem, either with the levels required on site or off site.”He said the rigging system was excellent and the system easy and quick to fly and derig, while the ease of setting a cardioid sub array was another plus factor. However, there had been one further reason for purchasing the WPC. “Our engineers really wanted a 10” box, which goes a little bit lower than the 8”. As one put it to me, ‘Get a 10” system for the love of God – I want to be able to hear my snare’!”photo: Coal Poet PhotographyStage Electrics announce three seminars for January 2020 ShowcaseThis year, the Stage Electrics showcase has a more educational focus with three educational seminars taking place throughout the day. Interested individuals and companies are invited to attend any of the seminars including: Artistic Licence’s Wayne Howell on lighting control and future of data in venues; Sennheiser’s Kevin Gwyther-Brown asking “is your venue ready for the 700 MHz band radio mics spectrum clearance” plus knowing the best capsule choice for mic heads; and Stage Electrics’ Dan Ryan guiding attendees through making sure that electrical/ mechanical infrastructure and equipment used within a venue have an appropriate maintenance regime and schedule in compliance with relevant legal obligations.Le Maitre will also be returning to Bristol to host a harbour side pyrotechnic demonstration from 5pm.The Showcase will be taking place at the iconic SS Great Britain on Wednesday the 29th January 2020 from 2pm until 7pm.www.stage-electrics.co.ukJanuary 2020news12JTE Conical Truss Multicubes and Bookcorners James Thomas Engineering’s conical truss Multicubes have been designed to increase the strength of truss structure corners, while offering six different truss connection points with integrated location holes for expanding the structure’s versatility. All multicubes are available in regular and heavy-duty versions, and are compatible with JT22 Quatro, JT30 Quatro, JT30H Quatro and JT40H Quatro truss. In fact, the heavy-duty multicube provides enough strength to reach the maximum loading capacity of the truss. Male and female receiver accessories are available for convenient, trouble-free connections.Discover the heavy-duty hinge design of JTE’s conical truss Bookcorners with 0 – 1800 adjustability for achieving new and interesting angles that help structures stand out. Their rigid aluminium profile is constructed with bolted male or female receivers, which are compatible with both the quatro and trio formats in the JT30 and JT40 truss series. www.jthomaseng.euCP64EE – MultiCAT6A Network Multicore with etherCONThe KLOTZ CP64EE MultiCAT6A Cable is a 4x CAT6A multicore designed for data transmission in installations and secure mobile networks. Developed for 500MHz frequency, it is suitable for all applications with data transmission rates of 10 Gbit/s and transmission distances up to 100m.The CP64EE has four data lines with characteristic impedance of 100 ohms; each has four twisted pairs with AWG 23/1 solid conductors dual shielding (S/FTP) reliably protects against electromagnetic interference. KLOTZ chose Neutrik’s CAT6A etherCON connectors for the CP64EE. And as a KLOTZ product, the cable naturally offers features including clear labelling of the individual lines and steel mesh strain relief grips with loop as standard.The CP64EE MultiCAT6A Network Multicore is the ideal solution for all 1000Base-T and 10GBase-T Ethernet applications. The cable is naturally downward compatible and can be used for all common applications such as Dante, AVB, AES50 and MADI over CAT.Stage Sound Services makes multiple DiGiCo Quantum 7 investmentLong-time DiGiCo user, Stage Sound Services was one of the first companies to invest in the British console manufacturer’s latest Quantum 7 engine for its seven SD7s, stating that their unwavering belief in DiGiCo’s ability to continually upgrade its product made its most powerful engine to date a must have for the Cardiff-based rental company.“As well as the SD7s, we have a large stock of SD10s,” says Stage Sound Services Phil Hurley. “When it was time to add more consoles to our inventory, we wanted to invest in the very latest technology and having seen the capabilities of the Quantum 7 it was an obvious choice. We knew that as soon as our customers saw Quantum 7 was available, they’d want to use its new features and capability to enhance their sound designs.”Two of the Quantum 7s were put to immediate use on the UK theatre tour of Dr Doolittle and the London production of Fiddler on the Roof at the Playhouse Theatre, additional consoles are being put to use on two versions of the Blue Man Group world tours and Matilda International Tour.“We’ve been using DiGiCo for at least ten years and we’ve been very happy with how they continually update them, without making the product obsolete,” says Phil. “The recent upgrade for the SD10s helped our decision as it underlines DiGiCo’s ethos of ensuring longevity for its products and a good return on investment.”“As a rental company, when we’re considering a big purchase, we need to know what a manufacturer is planning. DiGiCo demonstrates a solid commitment to its customers, we know they’re going to be around for a long time and that we are adding industry standard consoles to our inventory. It is a policy that has paid dividends over the past decade, and with our new SD7 Quantum 7s, it’s one we are sure will continue to serve us well.”www.digico.bizTurboRay hits the right notes at Junior Eurovision Song ContestThe award-winning TurboRay fixture from High End Systems recently made its latest TV appearance on the 17th edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest (JESC), broadcast live from Arena Gliwice in Poland.JESC is a cultural extravaganza designed to draw people together from all over Europe and Australia through light entertainment and healthy competition. It’s an increasingly spectacular and technically complex event, transmitted live to millions of viewers. This year, 19 participants aged between nine and 14-years-old took to the stage to battle it out for the trophy.The stage, designed by Giorgos Stylianou-Matsis, comprised a unique design featuring an eye-catching LED ribbon element symbolising floating kites. The ribbon gave the stage a spacious, light and simple design form. To complement the impressive stage design, a series of 26 TurboRay fixtures were positioned on stage and used in a variety of ways throughout the show.With its radial diffusers bringing a distinctive appearance, and powerful LED system with multiple types of colour control, TurboRay offers a multitude of tools that make it ideal for events like this. “I needed a lighting fixture that would accentuate the decor on the stage,” says lighting crew head, Adam Tyska from TVP SA. “For this production and the short stature of the artists we have to operate cameras differently, and for wide shots we needed to fill a pretty large space. TurboRay units were a perfect fit for this, because in addition to their technical capabilities they look attractive in themselves.”“It was great to have TurboRay be a part of the JESC,” says Tania Lesage, High End Systems brand manager. “It’s still relatively early days for the fixture, but it’s already received the Best LED Washlight accolade in the PLSN Awards and we have LDs from all over the globe eager to get their hands on them. It’s already proving to be a hit in the world of TV after featuring on high-profile shows like Strictly Come Dancing in the UK and The Tonight Show in America. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for TurboRay!”photo: infomusic.pl4Issue: 323news13Major Announcement from Artistic LicenceArtistic Licence has announced that all its premium Ethernet gateways including artLynx quad, artLynx RJ45, dataLynx II and netLynx quad, now support multi-way protocol conversion. Each port can be optionally configured as a DMX input (previously they were outputs only). This enables the product to route, split or merge Art-Net, sACN and DMX/RDM data with massive flexibility, great news for any venue requiring a versatile and easily configurable lighting space.As the inventors of Art-Net, AL always strives to ensure that Art-Net conversion products are the best on the market. This is never more so than with the latest firmware release, now shipping on all new product sales of artLynx quad/RJ45 (four universes, DIN rail), dataLynx II (12 universes, rack-mount) and netLynx quad (four universes desk/table-top). Also just launched is a four universe PCBA module, oemGate quad, for manufacturers wishing to incorporate the technology into their own products.Already packed with premium features such as electrically protected outputs and support for the very latest protocols (including RDMnet LLRP), these products just took on a new dimension with the addition of DMX input support.To put this into context, the gateways previously served to convert Art-Net or sACN into DMX/RDM. This is a very common scenario where lighting data is routed via network protocols (Art-Net or sACN), then turned into DMX control for moving lights, etc.However, if a data port on the gateway can not only output DMX, but receive it as well, a wealth of new functionality is opened up.Not all lighting desks and controllers generate Art-Net or sACN directly; there are many systems that output DMX only. For example, a theatre might have a main, Ethernet enabled console at one end of the building and a DMX desk located elsewhere to cater for different seating and stage configurations. Having a single gateway that can ‘talk’ directly to the console, the dimmers and the lights and process the data in whatever way is needed, be that conversion, routing, merging or splitting, gives huge flexibility to the venue’s configuration options, not to mention the time and cost saving associated with a single, multi-purpose piece of kit.All the gateways have an internal web browser page that enables simple and rapid configuration of the basic options. Artistic Licence has also spent a considerable amount of R&D time upgrading DMX-Workshop, its hugely popular free software application for lighting network management, analysis, configuration and diagnostics. It can be used in conjunction with any of the gateways to unlock their full potential, providing access to advanced configuration menus and extended functionality. We’ve written a new application note (0130 Gateway merging) to show how to use and configure the wide range of new merging options available.https://artisticlicence.comPenn Launches New Rack Panel Designer ServiceGlobal 19-inch racking and flightcase hardware manufacturer Penn Elcom has launched a time-saving and cost-effective new web app-based service for anyone wanting to build their own 19-inch rack panels.Panel Designer, easily accessible at https://bit.ly/2XL3jPc, is a fuss-free facility enabling anyone with 20 minutes, a good internet connection and ideas to design and order their ‘dream’ rack panels, adding practical, individual, cool or funky touches.Penn likes to innovate, and this neat drag-and-drop programme allows the easy configuration and ordering of high-quality bespoke branded 19-inch rack panels, whether it’s one single unit or several hundred! No minimum quantity is required. It’s been developed to allow busy people and businesses to add their own creative and special touches to products quickly and cost-effectively.With the ‘Drag-Drop-Delivered’ MO to the fore, Panel Designer leads the way for installers, system integrators, AV and production professionals – rack builders from all sectors of entertainment technology – to get quick and impressive results without grappling with complex software or requiring in-depth graphic design skills. As it is internet-based, a variety of devices can be used to access Panel Designer anywhere anytime.Panels, currently sized between 1U and 6U, are selected first. Users then browse through a variety of pre-made cut-outs indexed by category e.g. power, audio, video, fan, multicore, Harting, sub-D and other connectors, etc., any of which can be dragged into place on the panel and easily labelled using the text function. Graphics, logos, other branding artwork or text can also be uploaded and positioned on the designed panel. It really is that easy.The cut-outs snap into place automatically on the design drawing, leaving the correct spaces for connectors, fans, etc. Text and logos will be expertly UV painted ensuring the best possible looks and a stunning finished product. Once the panel design is complete, the price is displayed (helpfully, this increments as the panel is being built) and the ‘order’ button is clicked, then the design moves straight into production at Penn.Customers receive an email when it’s ready, and the product can be shipped to all Penn Elcom’s regular destinations via the worldwide distribution network, with characteristic Penn speed and efficiency. A custom panel is an eye-catching addition to any rack, be it functional with cut-outs relaying information related to the device or a stylish header that highlights branding / idents. There are numerous reasons for needing bespoke panel designs.www.pennelcomonline.comStage Electrics win £2M TU Dublin contractStage Electrics have announced they have won a £2 million contract for the Grangegorman campus East Quad at TU Dublin.This is part of the development of a new urban campus at Grangegorman; the new campus will provide state of the art learning and teaching facilities as well as dedicated space for research technology. The East Quad will include the schools of art, design and printing, conservatory of music and drama, and media.Stage Electrics will be supplying full lighting, sound communication and audio-visual systems to a 500-seat rehearsal hall, a recital hall, a performance hall, a black box theatre, TV studios, and post-production studios throughout the building.The project is a joint venture between contractors FCC and John Sisk. Work will commence on site shortly and is expected to be completed by late spring 2020.www.stage-electrics.co.ukJanuary 2020photonews14JTSE 2019 – Journées Techniques du Spectacle et de L’Événement Les Docks Pullman, Haussmann & Eiffel, Port de la Chapelle, ParisAs in previous years, the highly successful and busy exhibition took place across three spaces, with the main salon, the larger Dock Pullman and two special areas for lighting demonstrations and audio training taking place in Dock Eiffel and Dock Haussmann respectively.Natalia Gladyrewsky of show organisers Éditions AS with new director general Jean-François Thomelin.The stand of ADB Stagelight.A welcome from ETC France.Robe with Exprit in Dock Pullman.Christian Léonard with Arbiter equipment on the stand of Impact Événement.Jean-Yves Beaussart shows Verlinde’s Stagemaker hoists.Issue: 323photonews15Laetitia Chavane with a seventies vintage followspot on the stand of Robert Juliat.The latest equipment from Gerriets.Chroma-Q on show in Dock Eiffel.Verlinde for Stagemaker.The Claypaky line-up in Dock Eiffel.The Midas section of the Audio Training Area.Sonoss, with SGM, Luminex and Chamsys.January 2020photonews16Dimatec with Claypaky.Thomas Nell showed Spotlight luminaires on the stand of distributors Axente. Highlite, with Infinity lighting and DAP Audio.Part of the ESL Presentation – distributors for Chroma-Q, Artistic Licence, DTS, Lands, Prolights, Rosco and more.Stage equipment designers and manufacturers EuropodiumThe stand of ShowTex France who are based in Lyon.Issue: 323photonews17Pequod on Rock-Audio Distribution.Another part of the ETC France presentation.The stand of Klotz Cables at front of house.The stand of stage equipment specialists ASM of Germany.The NEXO and Yamaha presentation.Sonoss for BroadWeigh, GIS, CMet and more.January 2020photonews18The stand of leading French audio company L-Acoustics. Antari for smoke machines.The stand of ASG France.Blackout of London and Paris.Colour from Robert Juliat.ADB Stagelight in Dock Eiffel.Dimatec with Rosco.Vari-Lite in Dock Eiffel.DiGiCo and Klang on KV2.Dave Haydon (centre) busy explaining the attributes of TiMax.The stand of RVE for control and dimming systems.The stand of Audio Technica.The Dock Pullman stand of Adam Hall of Germany.Another view of the Highlite presentation.The ETC France demonstration area.Issue: 323photonews19ABTT Christmas Party 2019The Association of British Theatre Technicians held its Christmas Party at the Gillian Lynne Theatre in London’s West End on 6th December. ET’s editorial camera was there.Jai Auguste and Alan Luxford of Vari-Lite Strand.Jan Carey with Tim Foster.Iain Saunders of the ALD with Richard Bunn.Nick Havell of the Royal Opera House with John Simpson of White Light and Mark White of ETC.Anton Woodward, Nikki Scott and Jon Whittaker.Iain Mackintosh presented Steve Tompkins with his certificate of Honorary Fellowship.Next >