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Vol: 4 Issue: 3 March 2010
VISUAL MEDIUMHow Creative Technology is carving a niche in the
events biz
FUNK MASTERSEgyptian production house Funk Gurus shows off its
new facility
STOP THE ROCKCSM pulls the plug on
festivals business p07
BRIGHT LIGHTSHot products set to
debut at P+S 10 p27
THE EASY SELLOur de nitive guide to
the best DJ gear p32
An ITP Business Publication 1 Licensed by Dubai Media City
Showcasing the top tech that will change the way you do business
in 2010 and beyond
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CONTENTS
01MARCH 2010 SAS
March 2010Volume 4, Issue 0307 Regional NewsCSM pulls the plug
on festivals business in the UAE; Cirque du Soleil owner unaware of
Dubai World plans.
10 Funk Masters Egyptian production house Funk Gurus showcases
its new Red Sea studios.
14 Visual mediumCreative Technologys Damien McGurn discusses the
companys growing AV business in the Middle East.
16 COVER STORY: Top technologies of 2010S&S gets to grips
with the most innovative new technologies set to change the way you
do business this year and beyond.
27 P+S 2010 hot productsThe top 10 companies and tech-nologies
to keep an eye out for at this months Prolight+Sound 2010
exhibi-tion in Germany.
32 Buyers guideThe essential guide to the best DJ technologies
in the business.
40 Backstage
16
08 14 32
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WEB LOG DPme.com
www.digitalproductionme.com
2SAS MARCH 2010
MOST READ SOUND & STAGE NEWS STORIES
1 AKG debuts iPhone monitoring application
2 Sting to headline Meydan racing event
3 Abu Dhabi stadium plans revealed
MOST READ NEWS STORIES OVERALL
1 Al Jazeera Sport to broadcast World Cup in 3D
2 OSN to battle piracy with HD STBs
3 AKG debuts iPhone monitoring application
EDITORS CHOICES
SPOT POLL
JANUARYS TOP STORIES
DO YOU PLAN TO ATTEND CABSAT 2010 IN DUBAI THIS MONTH?
51.9%
NEWS
GORILLAZ TO HEADLINE DUBAI MUSIC FESTIVALUK act con rmed for new
Elements festival in Dubai.
NEWS
SAE MULLS FREE KIT OFFERSAE Dubai may offer its digi-journalism
students free equipment.
AKG has introduced a free wireless audio moni-toring application
designed for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch.
The application is designed to streamline the work ow for
wireless microphone monitoring and con guration by linking Harmans
HiQnet protocol to the Apple products app via Wi-Fi networks.
The new application can be used to moni-tor wireless system
parameters and radio frequency connections on stage in conjunc-tion
with some of AKGs most popular wire-less microphone systems,
including the DMS 700, the WMS 4000/4500, and the IVM 4 in-ear
monitoring system.
AKG debuts iPhone monitoring application
YES, ILL BE THERE
18.5%MAYBE
16.5%NO INTEREST WHATSOEVER
13.1%NO, ILL SAVE MYSELF
FOR NAB OR IBC
Simon Cobon, Nadia Puma
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LEDSolution ExpertJ&C Joel UAE
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EDITORS COMMENT
04SAS MARCH 2010
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It will be interesting to gauge the response from visitors to
the Frankfurt show compared to next months PALME exhibition in
Dubai, which is historically a much smaller event, but no less
relevant to the Middle East pro audio, lighting and live event
production industries.
This years PALME, which will once again incorporate the systems
integration show Install Middle East and musical instruments
industry event Musac Middle East, will also provide vital insight
into the well-being of the local industry, which has suffered
something of a delayed response to the economic downturn compared
to international markets. In contrast to Europe, which is showing
positive signs of recovery, many local industry identities remain
at best cautious and at worse seriously concerned about the local
industrys uctuating fortunes.
The success or otherwise of this years show will provide cold
comfort to those still reeling from the serious setbacks suffered
in 2009. It will also do little to inspire those operating in live
events production and SI markets that remain in a state of ux
thanks entirely to an ongoing lack of liquidity, particularly in
the Gulf states.
This months Prolight+Sound exhibition in Frankfurt, Germany, is
expected to provide a clear barometer of the health of the
professional audio and lighting manufacturingindustries, which have
been considerably
impacted by the global economic downturn.The tradeshow, which is
recognised as one of
the worlds largest professional audio and lighting technology
exhibitions, will again be staged in conjunction with Europes
premier music equipment industry forum Musikmesse, and systems
integration (SI) event, Mediasystems.
In 2009, Mediasystems and Prolight+Sound attracted more than 845
exhibitors from 42 countries in total, and according to organisers,
this years combined event is on track to eclipse this gure, as
evidenced by the incorporation of an eleventh hall that will host
industry seminars and technology workshops.
The P+S Media Systems Congress, which will celebrate its tenth
year in 2010, will host more than 50 technical workshops over four
days. The conference will also boast more than 60 keynote speakers
from various technical elds.
More than 33,000 visitors descended on Frankfurt for last years
show, and organisers are con dent this years event will attract at
least the same number, if not more.
The show must go on...
Aaron GreenwoodSenior Group [email protected]
ITP Business Publishingalso produces the followingrelated
publications:
The online home of:
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-
07MARCH 2010 SAS
THE BRIEFING
CSM pulls the plug on Dubai festivalsDubai-based event promoter
Centre Stage Management (CSM) has pulled the plug on its music
festivals line-up, which have been staged in the emirate to mixed
success annu-ally since 2004.
The festivals, which include Desert Rock, Desert Rhythm, Urban
Desert and Back 2 School, have showcased vari-ous high-pro le acts
over the years, including the likes of Kanye West, Motorhead, Iron
Maiden and Muse.
The decision would appear to be in line with CSMs ex-pansion
into new markets, including its recent establish-ment of a
television production division and its involvement in the opening
and closing cer-emonies of this summers FIFA World Cup in South
Africa.
Jackie Wartanian, CSM man-aging director, said: This de-cision
was not taken lightly and was well-thought-through with my team in
my companys best interest.
It marks the beginning of
Universal Music has signed a content distribution agreement with
Qatari telecommunications provider Qtel.
Under the terms of the deal, customers of telcos within the Qtel
Group will be offered unlimited music downloads via mobiles and the
internet.
The company will also develop music themed communities and
song-sharing applications for its subscribers and offer access to
exclusive music events.
ABU DHABI STADIUM TO SOLVE EVENTS CONUNDRUM
EXCLUSIVE a new era for CSM, a human-sized yet international
enter-tainment-specialised company, which Ive chosen to grow beyond
UAE boundaries... we will focus on our international projects and
artist manage-ment until further notice.
Wartanian, who con rmed CSMs headquarters will remain in Dubai,
added: Sorry for dis-appointing all of Desert Rocks loyal fans. We
would like to re-assure you that our passion re-mains in organising
top-scale events. The show will go on.
Sting has been con rmed as the rst major artist to perform at
Dubais new Meydan horse racing precinct.
The former Police frontman will perform live as part of the
Dubai International Racing Carnivals Super Thursday on March 4.
Meydan is expected to establish itself as one of Dubais premier
locations for live music events during the winter months.
MEYDAN PUTS A STING IN ITS TAIL
Dubai-based Electro-Voice (EV) distributor NMK Electronics has
supplied Doha-based equipment rental company Crystal Studio with 16
cabinets of EVs new Zx5 speakers and seven EV CP-4000S ampli
ers.
EVs Zx5 is a 15-inch, two-way cabinet with a high-impact,
composite enclosure, featuring an all-new DXV3150 500-watt, 15-inch
woofer and two-inch neodymium ND2 compression driver.
CRYSTAL SOUNDS FOR NMK AND EV
The Saudi Ministry of Culture and Information (MOCI) has granted
the countrys rst private FM radio broadcasting licence to Alf
Alf.
The radio broadcaster spent $20m beating 10 rivals to secure the
licence, including Prince Alwaleeds Rotana AV and pan-Arab network
ART. Under the terms of the deal, Alf Alfs new service must cover
30 regional centres across Saudi Arabia, with 15 mandated by the
Saudi MOCI.
KSA MOCI GRANTS FM RADIO LICENSE
NEWS BRIEFS
Motorheads Lemmy on stage at Desert Rock 09.
UNIVERSAL SCORES QTEL CONTENT DEAL
UAE authorities have approved the development of the new
65,000-seat Khalifa National Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
The stadium will be the rst in the country to feature a
retractable roof, which would make it the largest indoor venue in
the Middle East, enabling large-scale live events to
be staged all year-round. The estimated completion date is the
rst quarter of 2013.
If the events industry had access to substantial indoor venues
it would expand the season by three months, commented Thomas
Ovesen, MD of AEG Live Middle East.
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08SASMARCH 2010
THE BRIEFING
UK-based LED lighting manu-facturer i-Pix has appointed DLC
Dubai its new Middle East distributor.
This follows an increasing awareness of and interest in i-Pix BB
range of products in
I-PIX TIES WITH DLC FOR ME DISTRIBUTION
the region over the last two years, together with their use and
speci cation on several high pro le projects overseen by leading
lighting design-ers including Svend Pedersen, Mark Cunniffe and
Billy Aidie.
DLC Dubai will offer the full i-Pix range including the newly
launched BB1, alongside the popular BB4 and BB7 units for sale and
rental.
i-Pix also intends to launch a new architectural lighting range
in 2010.
Cirque du Soleil good investment for Dubai World
Cirque du Soleil, the Canadi-an-based circus dance troupe which
is part owned by Dubai World subsidiaries Istithmar World and
Nakheel, is not up for sale, the companys CEO has con rmed.
To me, its still a rumour, Cirque du Soleils CEO Daniel Lamarre
told the Montreal Ga-zette last month. He noted the company was
still 80 percent owned by the troupes founder Guy Lalibert. They
[Dubai World] cant sell us to anybody without Guy Laliberts
ap-proval, Lamarre added.
A spokesperson from Cirque du Soleil said the company had no
indication or discussions with Istithmar World or Na-kheel
regarding the sale of the Dubai companies stake.
Lamarre said that Cirque du Soleil would be prepared to
buy back their Dubai partners 20 percent stake but that the
offer had not been made.
Its not a conversation right now. We were talking to them [Dubai
World] two weeks ago and it was not on the cards.
As far as Im concerned, its still not on the cards because
were a good investment for them, he is quoted as saying in the
Canadian report.
In August, Nakheel and Istith-mar World acquired a 20 per-cent
stake in Cirque du Soleil, in a deal reportedly worth $600m.
The Quebec-based act was set up in 1984, has twenty
shows currently operating around the globe and gen-erates annual
revenues of around $810m. It recently in-troduced its seventh Las
Vegas show, Viva Elvis, at the Aria Hotel, which is located within
the Dubai World- nanced Cit-yCenter development.
Dubai-based equipment rental rm Protec has appointed John
Shanlian to the newly created position of sales manager.
In his new position, Shan-lian is responsible for pursuing new
business opportunities on behalf of the company, which is one of
the regions largest equipment rental houses.
The economic downturn has seen a contraction in the number of
major contracts available, so were looking to pursue new areas of
business
PROTEC APPOINTS NEW DUBAI SALES MANAGER
in the region, Shanlian said. There is a misconception that
Protec is only available to work on massive equipment rental
projects, which is actu-ally far from the case. My job is to ensure
the right message gets out to the market.
EXPANSION
www.digitalproductionme.com
Cirque du Soleil CEO Daniel Lamarre has refuted claims Dubai
World is set to sell its stake in the show.
-
SECTOR 4 BY SUNDANCEWORLD CLASS A/V RENTALS
d & email: [email protected] www.sundance-hq.com
-
10
FUNK MASTERSFunkGurus, the UK Music Services Company with of ces
and recording facilities in Egypt, recently opened the doors to its
new recording and music production facilities located on the Red
Sea.
SASMARCH 2010
AUDIO PRODUCTION
FunkGurus is one of a small band of audio production
special-ists nding success in the Mid-dle East. Having maintained a
presence in the region for the
past six years, the company led by busi-ness partners Julie
Potter and Craig Hume took the decision to open its new Red Sea
facility in a bid to snare new business, particularly in the
booming Egyptian audio post-production market.
The companys new studio facility, locat-ed in the Red Sea resort
town of El Gouna, is a fully digitised operation primarily run-ning
Apple Logic Studio Pro 9 for record-ing, editing and mixing
tasks.
Studio engineers also have access to Apples Soundtrack Pro and
Final Cut for industry standard mastering and synchro-nisation
projects.
The facility boasts an extensive range of industry standard
condenser microphones and 'MOTU' interfaces and pre-amps for
voice-overs and recording projects.
A 40-input 18-bus Yamaha 01V96VCM digital mixer is the primary
desk used for studio recording and production, while monitoring is
handled by Yamaha and JBL reference monitors.
To enable broadcast quality production, the studio utilises the
latest recording in-dustry signal processors for EQ, compres-sion
and limiting, in addition to various mastering tools to ensure
their projects are complete before being sent to clients for their
approval.
FunkGurus counts a number of high-pro le organisations,
including Akeel Saatchi & Saatchi and Pinewood Studios, among
its clients.
Remote accessFunkGurus works with an extensive list of
well-known session musicians, includ-ing Grammy Nominee Miles
Gilderdale of Acoustic Alchemy fame, acclaimed saxo-phonist Snake
Davis (Eurythmics and M-people) and Blues legend, Johnny Mars.
Each artist collaborates remotely using Ap-ple Logic, explains
Hume (pictured left).
We email a Logic project le to a musi-cian who then records
their own tracks be-fore sending the completed les back to us here
in Egypt, he says.
This technology means you can be locat-ed pretty much anywhere
in the world.
We have even received ideas for projects from musicians while
they are in the mid-dle of a long-haul ight composed on the
musicians laptop and then emailed through once theyre on the
ground. The possibilities are truly limitless.
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11
Glory daysCraig Hume, who has been working as a sound engi-neer
since the late-1980s, vividly recalls the days when manual SMPTE
code striping of multi-track tape was required and engineers often
used numerous hardware sequencers and time code generators just to
ensure the recorded audio would sync to the video footage.
It would often fall out and require endless xing, he
explains.
One of the biggest problems with that way of work-ing was that
you had to manually switch the noise re-duction off on the
multi-track tape in order for the SMPTE to record properly.
Then of course you had to remember to switch it back on
afterwards before the next project! Not to mention the huge and
obtrusive 22-inch television that sat in between the monitors in
the control room, ob-scuring the view into the live studio
area.
These days, Hume receives a QuickTime video clip, imports it
into Logic 9, the system identi es the cuts and away he goes.
Its a highly creative and fast-paced way of working, especially
with the added bene ts provided by Logics templates bringing
everything into one screen project, at the touch of a button that a
composer could wish for in order to start work.
www.digitalproductionme.com
MARCH 2010 SAS
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12SASMARCH 2010
AUDIO PRODUCTION
www.digitalproductionme.com
Recent media projects include mu-sic and voice-over work for
corporate web videos and pre-recorded radio pro-grammes for both
commercial and corpo-rate radio stations. Hume says the
organi-sation is currently working on a 30-second spot for a
well-known motorcycle manu-facturer, recording numerous tracks,
fo-ley & sound effects and voice-overs. The advertisement will
be mixed in Dolby 5.1 surround sound.
Through extensive music industry con-tacts and an af liation
with the largest music industry and events recruitment agency in
Europe, they are also able to provide experienced and quali ed
free-lance and permanent personnel for both live events and media
projects.
Craig Hume CVHume boasts more than 15 years experience in music
performance, media composition and event management. Initially, he
trained and quali ed as a sound engineer and has played saxophone
professionally, working with The Justin Hayward Band (Moody Blues),
Mike DAbo from Manfred Man, The Johnny Mars Band (USA) and numerous
other professional artists.
Hume launched UK based Meantime Artist Management in 2003,
creating a roster of performers and entertainers. Amongst others,
his artists have performed before luminaries including HRH Prince
William of Wales; Gerhard Schroder; Oscar Lafontaine; Ronnie Wood;
Planet Hollywood Berlin; Elton John; GQ Magazine; The British Film
& TV awards; Garrards Jewellers.
Working in the Middle East, Hume has produced music for
advertising agencies including Akeel Saatchi & Saatchi and
Tihama, and worked on various projects for Coca-Cola, MBC,
Kelvinator and La Vache Kiri.
Hume holds a Ba (Hons) in Business Management and a Diploma in
Media Composition from the Film Music Institute of Los Angeles.
siwgrrasa
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14SASMARCH 2010
INTERVIEW
VISUALMEDIUM
Dubai-based rental company Creative Technology is carving a
successful niche supplying cutting-edge video technology and
know-how to events production and corporate clients across the GCC
region. Aaron Greenwood recently caught up
with general manager Damien McGurn in Dubai.p g
with general manag
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15MARCH 2010 SAS
www.digitalproductionme.com
Sound & Stage: Hows business?Damian McGurn: Business is
really great at the moment. Weve got a couple of massive projects
on the boil, the most important being Meydan [racecourse in Dubai].
Its a massive development and weve been given a number of
opportuni-ties to supply kit to both the Dubai World Cup racing
carnival and associated events throughout the city. Certainly the
last ve months has been the best period of busi-ness since we
started, which is brilliant giv-en the current economic
circumstances.
S&S: Why do you think this trend has emerged?DM: Weve worked
really hard to educate clients to use specialised serv-ice
providers, rather than full service companies. Obviously, theres a
mar-ket for the full-service guys, but cer-tainly, with some of the
big projects weve been involved with, the project manager knows
what they want and knows whats required to get the best value and
service for their budget.
S&S: Do you think this is because there are more quali ed
project manag-ers based in this region nowadays than a few years
ago?DM: Absolutely. There is de -nitely a greater number of
spe-cialised operators in the market who know what they want and
who to work with to get it. The
industry has matured a great deal in Dubai in recent years. Were
lucky in terms of how many projects weve got and the big clients we
work with, such as Flash in Abu Dhabi. Because CT also has of ces
worldwide, we quite often pick up work via our international
partners.
S&S: You also source kit when required from your
interna-tional partners, dont you?DM: Yes, thats a bit of a unique
capability of ours, in that we can source kit from dif-ferent
divisions of CT located worldwide.
For example, with the Meydan gig, were working with CT London
and a couple of other divisions to meet the clients select demands
for kit.
What were nding now is most of our business is coming from
incoming produc-tion managers and what they tend to do is broker
the deal, then well have to deal with the end-client in terms of
billing and payment, which is challenging at times given that we
may not necessarily be privy to information regarding the deal.
S&S: Did you ever consider expanding CTs remit outside
professional video services?DM: We did toy with the idea of being a
full-service rental company when we rst started the business, but
we fast realised it would be more bene cial specialising in video
than trying to take on existing busi-nesses and treading on too
many toes.
Were forging a successful niche as a video supplier, and were
nding other niche operators in this industry are enjoy-ing similar
levels of success.
S&S: Are you investing in new kit at the moment?DM: Theres
been a massive increase in demand for LEDs from clients in recent
months. This region is still fairly seasonal, so what we dont want
is for kit to be sit-ting in Dubai not being used. So, as an
organisation we buy kit and then the vari-ous divisions can use it
as required. In say-ing that, our new warehouse facility stores
around 150 sqm of Lighthouse LEDs.
Were also looking to invest in high de nition. The demands not
quite at the point where we can justify buying a mas-sive number of
HD projectors, but most of our data switching tech is HD-ready, so
its increasingly making commercial sense for us to update our
inventory to HD. Were looking to invest in a number of Christie HD
projectors, as we see strong demand for the brand in this
region.
S&S: Do you have enough equipment locally to keep up with
demand? DM: In terms of whats happening here,
S&S:trendDM: Weducaice procompket
fotainlywevprojewangetthei
S&bequernyDncww
induin Dubai in
CT has supplied video tech to a range of high-pro le events,
including Yasalam (pictured above and main).
Damien McGurn and Mark Woodhouse.
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16SASMARCH 2010
INTERVIEW
we can certainly grow the business, but at the moment were
running at 100%. Thats why its so impor-tant that we maintain
access to this equipment inventory that be-ing part of a much
bigger group provides us with.
S&S: How long does it take to source the required kit?DM: It
depends where its coming from and whether it needs to be air
freighted. Obviously, we make the client aware of the costs
involved if its an urgent request, and if theyre happy to cover
these costs were happy to source the equipment.
Were pretty exible and we can discuss the options with the
client.
S&S: Which clients are re-questing HD equipment?DM: We
recently supplied HD kit to the FIFA Club World Cup in Abu
Dhabi.
We also provided some large- scale projectors to the Future
Energy Summit Awards. Corporate clients are increasingly demanding
HD equipment.
S&S: You mentioned Qatar as a major source of new
business.Can you elaborate?DM: Qatars proving one of our best
mar-kets in the GCC at present. We supplied a range of video
equipment to the Doha Tribeca Film Festival last year and weve also
been involved in a host of corpo-rate projects in the country over
the past 12 months. To give you some indication,
were currently pitching to be in-volved in more than 10 separate
projects in Qatar over the next four months, which are primarily
gov-ernment funded events. The Qa-tar Foundation is really pushing
the country to the forefront in this re-gard.
S&S: So, where do you see your business heading over the
next 12 months?DM: Well, Im con dent it will keep grow-ing
exponentially over the next year. Were involved in a great number
of events scheduled over the next couple of months and were con
dent this trend will contin-ue well into next year. Were not
interest-ed in doing really small corporate events. Were pitching
for big business, and hope-fully the momentum weve enjoyed in
re-cent months will sustain us well into the next period of
growth.
Sound Foundations
T: +971 4 375 7668E: [email protected]
e to We also provided some large scale
wvopromoerntarcougard
www.digitalproductionme.com
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18SASMARCH 2010
INTERVIEW
CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY KIT LISTPanasonic 10K Projectors
Panasonic PT-10000 DLP Projector
Panasonic 7K ProjectorsPanasonic PT-7700 DLP Projector+B53
Panasonic 0.8:1 LensPanasonic 0.8 Fixed (7700)
Panasonic 1.5 2:1 LensPanasonic 1.5 : 2.0:1 (7700)
Panasonic 3.0 - 5.0:1 LensPanasonic 3.0 : 5.0:1 (7700)
Panasonic 10K HD ProjectorsPanasonic PTW-10000 DLP Projector
(1920x1080)Lenses as per 7700/10000
Barco 20K ProjectorsBarco FLM R20+ Projector (1400 x 1050)Barco
TLD 0.8:1 LensBarco TLD 1.6.2:1 LensBarco TLD 5-8:1 LensCT Barco
Universal Hanging Bracket
Barco 18K HD ProjectorsBarco FLM HD18 Projector
(1920x1080)Lenses as per R20+
Watchout ProductionWatchout (High spec PC HD) c/w Licence
Control/Operator Monitor 23Netgear 16 port HubUSB Keyboard
Watchout Display ChannelWatchout (High spec PC HD) Dataton
Watchout Licence
Spyder System 10 in 6 outSpyder System 10 in 6 outSpyder Output
Expansion Processor 204Spyder Control PCControl/Operators Monitor
23 WSISIS 32 x 32 RGBHV MatrixLeitch Panacea 16 x 16 HD & SDI
Matrix (High De nition)
Folsom 8 x 8 DVI MatrixSpyder Unit BoxNetgear 16 Port Gigabit
Fibre Switch
Spyder System 5 in 3 outSpyder System 5 in 3 outSpyder Processor
353Apple iMac 24 WidescreenControl/Operators Monitor 23 WSLenovo
ThinkPad T61
Spyder SoftwareFolsom 8 x 8 HD & SDI Matrix (HD)Extron 450
12 x 8 RGBHV MatrixFolsom 8 x 8 DVI MatrixNetgear 16 Port Gigabit
Fibre SwitchPC audio interface box
Spyder System 4 in 4 outSpyder System 4 in 4 outSpyder Processor
344Apple iMac 24 WidescreenControl/Operators Monitor 23 WSLenovo
ThinkPad T61Spyder SoftwareLeitch Panacea 8 x 8 HD & SDI
MatrixExtron 450 16 x 16 RGBHV MatrixFolsom 8 x 8 DVI Matrix
JVC 10 Preview MonitorJVC 10CRT Monitor Composite/SDI
Samsung 20 TFT MonitorSamsung203B 20 1400 X1050 TFT Monitor DVI/
V
Sony PVM 1440 Sony PVM 1440 14 Component Monitor
Panasonic 50 Plasma ScreenPanasonic TH-50PH10BK 50-inch
M-PDP 42 PlasmasM-PDP 42 Plasmas Seamless
c/w Wall Bracket
Barco Screen PRO II Multi-layer Switcher (HD)
Barco ScreenPRO II Multi-layer Switcher (High De nition)
Barco Screen PRO II ControllerBarco Screen PRO II Controller
Barco Persentation Pro IIBarco Persentation Pro II
Encore ControllerEncore ControllerNetgear 8 Port Dual Speed
Hub
Encore ProcessorEncore Processor
Barco/Folsom Image PRO c/w SDI (HD)
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Sony 1024 G Scan ConverterSony 1024 G Scan Converter
Procon 6 Way 400Mhz RGBHVProcon 6 Way 400Mhz RGBHV
Snell & Wilcox 6 way Comp VDA
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Kramer VP-12XL VGA DA 12 Way
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Kramer 4 Way DVI DAKramer 4 Way DVI DA
BAL 2 channel HD/SDI DA 2 X 1 in 4 Out
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CT MasterCue System V5 USBCT MasterCue System V5 USB
Procon 5 Interface Units 450MHZ
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Logical Solutions DVI TX Logical Solutions 3 Way DVI
TransmitterLogical Solutions Single Way DVI Transmitter
Yourone stop shop
for power distribution
Check out our website or give us a call
Tel: +44 (0) 1282 477530Fax: +44 (0) 1282 477531
[email protected]
Off the shelf distros(Largest stock of pre-built boxes in
the UK)
Custom distros built to your specification
19 Racking Systems(Flightcased with steel panels or
fully weatherproof HDPE)
Extension Cables(13A to 400A, jumper cables, split-ters, Y-Cord
splitters & Connectors)
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-
Setting New Standards in Professional Lighting
Chroma-Q LED products are renowned worldwide for delivering high
levels ofperformance, reliability and value.
Photo credits. L-R: Kaiser Chiefs UK Tour, Color Block DB4,
Louise Stickland, Prism Lighting, LD Richard Larkum. Elaine Paige
UK Tour, Color Web 125, Robert Hollingsworth. Britains Got Talent
ITV1 Show, Color Web 250.World Series Of Poker Europe (WSOPE) 2009,
Color Block 2. BRDC Clubhouse, Silverstone, Color Punch, Color
Block & Color Web 125, Jakob Ebrey. Brighton Dome, Color
Span.
For dealer opportunities and more information:[email protected]
+44 1494 446000 www.chroma-q.com
Artistic Licence is the designer and manufacturer of Color Web.
All Chroma-Q LED products are licenced by Color Kinetics. Chroma-Q
and all associated product names are recognised trademarks, for
moreinformation visit www.chroma-q.com/trademarks. The rights and
ownership of all trademarks are recognised. The information
contained herein is correct at the time of printing, however as we
are constantly refining our
product range we reserve the right to change the specification
without notice. E&OE.
Concert & Touring Theatre Film & TV Events &
Exhibitions Corporate Architectural
See Us AtProlight & Sound(Hall 11.1, Stand A47)& PALME
Middle East(Hall 4, Stand 4C50)
Fast visual interface for controlling lights, LEDs & media
servers Simple fixture control & swapping with generic
fixture
Powerful timeline editing Proven worldwide
For dealer opportunities and more information,email
[email protected], call +44 1494 838365 or visit
www.jandsvista.com
The rights and ownership of all trademarks are recognised. The
information contained herein is correct at the time of printing,
however as we are constantly refining our productrange we reserve
the right to change the specification without notice. E&OE.
Venues & Installations Shows & ToursCorporate Events
See Us AtProlight & Sound(Hall 11.1, Stand A47)& PALME
Middle East(Hall 4, Stand 4C50)
Vista PC/Mac With M1 Vista S1 Vista S3 Vista T2 Vista T4
Somerset House Uni. of Penn Fundraiser, Panaro & Prettyman.
Cliff Richard & The Shadows, Derek Jones. Liverpool European
Capital of Culture 08
Vista I3
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COVER STORY
20SAS MARCH 2010
2010 is shaping up as a watershed year for technological
innovation in the pro audio, lighting and AV presentation sectors.
Aaron Greenwood previews the top 10 technologies set to change the
way you do business through 2010 and beyond.
FUTURESHOCK:THE TOP TECH OF 2010
COVER STORY
20SAS MARCH 2010
-
21SAS MARCH 2010
www.digitalproductionme.com
INTERACTIVE HOLOGRAPHIC DISPLAYS
Undoubtedly the coolest AV technol-ogy yet imagined, prototype
interactive holographic projectors were rst pre-viewed at SIGGRAPH
2008.
Dubbed the Ultrasound Tactile Dis-play (UTD), the technology
employs ultrasound technology to enable touch-able holograms,
making the realms
portrayed in lms from Blade
ALTERNATE REALITIESRunner to Minority Report an entirely
tan-gible reality.
The technology, developed by research-ers at the University of
Tokyo, utilises a 3D projector and mirror re ector, which radi-ates
high- delity pressure on to the users hands, providing a degree of
tactility when interacting with the holographic images.
In a research paper published to coin-cide with the UTDs debut,
the Japa-nese research team revealed it was working to develop the
technology for applications ranging from gaming to stereoscopic 3D
displays.
It is also expected that by superim-posing the acoustic
radiation pressure onto the 3D graphic objects presented with
stereoscopic displays, it will effec-tively enhance the reality of
the 3D vir-tual objects, the report concluded.
How cool is that?
LIGHTING TRENDS
NEXT-GENERATION AMPLIFIERS
The future is brightThe lighting technology for now and the
foreseeable future, light emitting diodes (LEDs) have found favour
in every corner of the lighting industry, from architec-tural to
stage effects design.
The technologys future prospects hinge on two main areas of
develop-ment: improved brightness providing for spotlight
applications and intelligent de-sign incorporating a range of
visual me-dia facets, including digital projection and interaction
with other LED xtures.
The rapid development of these x-tures is mirrored by the
emergence of highly capable media servers and switch-ers managing
output and control of mul-tiple xtures in large-scale lighting
rigs.
Combine this hardware with super-quick microprocessors and
advanced software control, and the future looks bright for LED
lighting xtures capable of projecting pure white light, multimedia
content and a variety of gobos, all from the one device.
Stepping into the lightThe limitations of LED lighting
technolo-gies to project a pure white beam of light has ensured the
continued popularity of halogen xtures in the live events mar-ket.
However, things are changing rap-idly in this regard.
cnwfto
ponwtivtu
INTELLIGENT LEDS
Power ampli ers have improved remark-ably in recent years, but
recent advances in ampli cation technology promise to change the
way the pro audio game is played entirely.
In nitely smaller microprocessors will not only enable a host of
applications in previously unheard of products every-thing from
mobile phone loudspeakers to active studio headphones theyll also
support new, expansive wireless net-works of active speakers in
large-scale live audio environments.
Improvements in class D ampli er de-sign have opened up the
market to pow-erful amps with little if any latent power loss,
ensuring greater operational ef -ciency (around 40% on average)
com-pared to class A or B products.
According to Sergio Sanchez Moreno, an audio engineer with
coldamp, the theoretical maximum ef ciency of class
D designs is 100%, although more than 90% is regularly
attainable in practice.This ef ciency is high from very mod-erate
power levels up to clipping, and it is higher as the power
increases, due to some xed losses in the control and gate-drive
circuitry, he says. In class B, around 50% ef ciency is achieved in
practical use with music signals.
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COVER STORY
22SAS MARCH 2010
Apples iPhone has unexpectedly emerged as one of the most useful
and versatile tools available to pro audio engineers, with a huge
variety of applications being developed for the handset by some of
the industrys top manufacturers.
While most are available for nominal download and licensing
fees, some of the best can be found for free, such as AKGs free
wireless audio monitoring application released last month.
Other apps, such as the Sound Trends Looptastic Producer 3,
enable users to track recordings on the y, bringing new meaning to
the term rough mix.
For a comprehensive list of dowloadable applications, check out
www.apple.com.
QUANTUM DOTS
DIGITAL DISPLAY TRENDSETTERS IPHONE APPS
One of the most exciting discoveries of recent years in terms of
commercial lighting applications relates to the quan-tum dot.
In 2005, Michael Bowers, a gradu-ate student at Vanderbilt
University in the United States, discovered a new application for
minute quantum dots crystals only a few nanometres big that contain
anything from 100 to 1000 electrons when he shone a laser on the
collection during an experiment.
Quantum dots generally produce a vibrant colour when a regular
analogue spotlight is shone on them. But with the laser, the
electrons reacted to create a bright white light reminiscent of a
regu-lar halogen lamp.
Bowers then extended his research, coating LED nodes with a
collection of quantum dots, only to nd the xture gave off a pure
white light that shone twice as brightly and lasted twice as long
as a regular 60W bulb.
Quantum dots offer huge potential not only in the lighting
sector but also
While a host of consumer electronics manufacturers have released
3D televi-sion displays in recent months, commercial applications
of the technology have re-mained limited, mainly due to the dif
cul-ties to date of integrating the technology in large-scale
high-resolution displays.
However, the situation recently took a quantum leap forward with
the de-but of a massive 280-inch 3D LED display manufactured by
Sony at Ja-pans International Broadcast Equip-ment Exhibition
(IBEE) in November.
The screen itself consists of 70 LED displays measuring
28-inches in di-ameter and requires users to wear polarised glasses
to view the stere-oscopic images on display.
Sony is also working on a true
CONNECTING MORE THAN FOUR
3D PRESENTATION SCREENS
the digital display market. US company QD Vision has led the
pack in this respect, developing QD-LED displays in addition to a
Quantum Light optic for a new LED lamp developed by Nexxus Lighting
that is claimed to combine the warmth and colour of incandescent
bulbs with the ef ciency of LED technology.
The commercial potential of the tech-nology is evident in the
interest shown by investors in the company in recent months,
despite ongoing economic dif- culties in the US. At the time of
writing, the company had attracted more than $15m in the previous
six weeks alone in seed funding, as well as of cial commen-dations
from the Obama administration.
We believe that quantum dot-based materials have physical
properties that can help display and lighting makers reach the holy
grail of breakthrough performance in mass production with
competitive con-sumer prices, says QD Vision CEO Dan
360-degree stereoscopic display that al-lows a 3D gure to be
viewed from any angle inside a LED tube.
While the prototype technology boasts a limited 96x128 pixel,
24-bit colour dis-play, Sony is said to be working on an
in-terlaced version that is said to provide en-hanced picture
quality.
Button. The key issues facing lighting and display manufacturers
lifetime, col-our, power ef ciency, manufacturability and
scalability are being addressed by this technology.
KEY FEATURES OF QUANTUM DOT TECHNOLOGYHigh ef ciency: More light
with less power.Colour purity: Highly saturated, precisely tunable
colour.Stability: Inherent material reliability and colour balance
stability.Design exibility: Thin, exible structures that can be
used for any size area and with any printing or coating method.
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23SAS MARCH 2010
The concept of cloud computing work-ing over a network and
storing content on a remote server that can be accessed and worked
on by others concurrently is increasingly nding favour in high-tech
organisations. The technologys applications are also per-tinent to
the audio production sector, particularly as more and more audio
professionals choose to work in remote locations far removed from
the tradi-tional recording studio.
Combining this capability with the latest pro audio recording
and produc-tion software the likes of Pro Tools or Apples Logic Pro
Studio 9 is set to create signi cant commercial oppor-tunities
while rationalising the cost of production services for
clients.
23
DIGITAL KILLED THE ANALOGUE STARThe impact of digital technology
on the eld of professional audio engineering from audio capture and
playback to advanced networked studio environments has opened up a
whole new realm of commercial opportunities both for product
manufacturers and the clients who employ them.
According to preeminent industry institution the Audio
Engineering Society (AES), one of the greatest single developments
made possible by this seismic shift has been digital signal
processing (DSP).
Widely in use since the mid-1990s, DSP has signi cantly improved
the exibility and scalability of sound reinforcement systems,
according to a recent AES research paper on the subject.
It became possible to infuse facilities such as theme parks and
stadiums with hundreds of individually processed audio signals, and
thus, the need arose for a exible, optimised distribution system
for these signals. Since audio was now processed in digital format,
logically the distribution system should be digital as
PRO AUDIO TRENDSETTERS CLOUD COMPUTING
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well. Live sound applications were the last to adopt digital
technology. However, with the introduction of digital consoles and
distribution systems targeted to live sound applications, this has
changed.
The present marketplace for digital audio networking might be
described as fragmented, with multiple technology providers. This
is the result of disparate performance requirements, market forces,
and the nature of technology development.
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