UK - Optimal Audio has launched new accessories for its Up range of ceiling loudspeakers, with the addition of bezel-less grilles and pendant housings.

Grille 1 and Grille 2, available in black or white finishes, have been designed to enable all Up ceiling loudspeakers to achieve a bezel-less appearance. The inclusion of an installation ring with an intuitive twist-to-fit steel grille design, enclosing the original Up loudspeaker, provides installers with complete flexibility and allows for easy adaptation to any design brief.

Pendant 1 and Pendant 2 are designed custom housings which accommodate selected Up ceiling speakers, enabling them to be suspended as stylish pendants. Manufactured from UL94 V-0 rated materials and finished in UV-resistant black

Italy - Version 2.7 of Powersoft’s ArmoníaPlus software, which adds support for its Verso gateway device, is now available to download from the Powersoft website. With ArmoníaPlus 2.7 users can take advantage of Verso, which allows T and X Series, Mezzo, Duecanali and Quattrocanali amplifiers to be connected to Powersoft’s MyUniverso cloud platform.

Verso gateway device is designed to enable users take full advantage of MyUniverso cloud platform, allowing monitoring and centralised remote firmware updates for the entire current Powersoft amplifier portfolio,

Seven Up - Sunset Boulevard was the big winner at this year’s Olivier Awards, equalling the record for the most prizes for a musical at the ceremony. Its seven wins included best musical revival and acting awards for its stars Nicole Scherzinger and Tom Francis, plus best lighting design for Jack Knowles and best sound design for Adam Fisher.

The musical’s seven wins means it ties with Cabaret, Matilda and Hamilton for the most trophies ever for a musical in a single night. The revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical was

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ETC Hyperstar

ETC introduces the High End Systems Hyperstar: a new, companion to the popular Lonestar automated luminaire. Powerful, compact, and optimized for projection versatility, Hyperstar will help create uniquely beautiful designs for a variety of venues. Hyperstar is the same size as Lonestar, and is just as bright, compact, and affordable.

USA - DPA Microphones will introduce its new AIR1 Universal Miniature Fur Windscreen at NAB 2024 (Booth C7307). Intended for quick mounting on round, omnidirectional headset or lavalier microphones between 0.1-0.23 inches (2.5-5.8mm), the AIR1 excels in the challenging environments of broadcast and professional content creation applications.

The patent-pending design provides efficient and consistent wind protection with acoustic transparency that solves all wind-related challenges of filming outdoors.   

The effective and uniform wind protection of the

Canada – Montreal-based PixMob has been bringing its immersive crowd-lighting experience to the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) since its inception. PixMob already engaged more than 14,000 fans at the three home opener games in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal with its LED wearables. Now, the company is gearing up for the historic game between Montreal and Toronto on 20 April at the Bell Centre, where a new women’s hockey attendance record is expected to be set.

The partnership was born out of PixMob’s dedication to bring the same big league experienc

France - Digigram has acquired Grenoble-based OROS, the French specialist in noise and vibration testing systems. The amount of the transaction has not been disclosed.

Effective immediately, the acquisition expands the headcount to approximately 60 employees, with offices stretching from the headquarters in Montbonnot to the companies’ subsidiaries based in Singapore, the United States and China. 

Similar to the recent acquisition of AuviTran in September 2023, Digigram and OROS will now join operations, encouraging teamwork to boost synergies. OROS wil

USA - Choctaw Casino & Resort – Durant, located in Oklahoma 80 miles north of Dallas, TX, is an entertainment destination, operated by the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. The 1,700-room complex features an expansive gaming floor and a broad range of amenities including a spa, pools, six movie theatres and more than 20 restaurants.

Choctaw’s 3,000-seat Grand Theatre, a two-time winner of the Academy of Country Music (ACM) award for Casino of the Year – Theatre, is dedicated to bringing fans the best live entertainment experiences in Oklahoma and North Texas.

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Strictly FX Highlights

Strictly FX was founded in 1996 by industry veterans Mark Grega and Ted Maccabee. Our expertise and knowledge of the world’s leading pyrotechnic, laser, and flame manufacturers allows us to curate astonishing live events. With over 500+ shows performed a year, there’s good chance you’ve seen some of our work!

Australia - Technical Direction Company (TDC) has announced the expansion and revitalisation of its in-house training programme, TDCT, with the engagement of Graham Henstock as training consultant.

"Technology constantly improves and evolves, and TDC is at the forefront of delivering the best possible results for our important clients, whether it be record-breaking amazing visuals for events, immersive experiences, film or theatre productions with TDC Studios," said Drew Ferors, head of technical services & training at TDC.

Graham Henstock brings over

USA - More than a few people sitting close to the stage during Beartooth’s recently concluded 40-city North American tour, reportedly felt they were in an arena once the band’s 75-minute show started, even though they were actually at 1,000 or 2,000 capacity club venues.

Early in the planning stages of the tour, Caleb Shomo, frontman and founder of the metal band, told Victor Zeiser, head of Squeek Lights, that he wanted to hit the road with “an arena level production that works in clubs.” Zeiser and lighting designer-programmer Ben Jarrett duly delivered.

Germany - punQtum has announced a new feature that offers users a direct connection to Riedel’s Bolero wireless intercom system. Bolero Connect works in tandem with punQtum’s Q210 P speaker station and offers a cost-effective solution for deployment across large-scale events that require several channels of partyline.  

The Q210 P is punQtum’s speaker station that gives users full control in an easy-to-use and cost-effective package. Riedel’s Bolero system is an intercom capable of supporting up to 250 beltpacks and 100 antennas in a single deployment. I

Germany - DirectOut has announced shipping of the MADI4.SRC.IO and MADI4.IO modules for the Prodigy.MX system. These modules are designed to extend audio processing and connectivity. In January, the company announced the first major upgrade to the Prodigy.MX, which was unveiled at the NAMM Show 2024 and ISE 2024.

The Prodigy.MX upgrade adds a number of new features to the functionality of the current Prodigy mainframe, available under the Advanced and Unlimited system licences. These include a 64x64 matrix mixer (MatMix), 64 flex channels with 64 IIR filters, 64 d

UK - Brompton Technology has partnered with Brainstorm 3D, a specialist company dedicated to providing real-time 3D graphics and virtual set software solutions for broadcast, feature film production, and corporate presentations. Together, they offer a software solution that can be utilised for a wide range of broadcast applications, from the world’s largest broadcasters to regional stations, production houses, and content creation boutiques.

“We've collaborated with Brompton on numerous occasions for Proof of Concept (PoC), events, and presentations, including

USA - EAW has appointed Raymond Tee as APAC technical sales manager. In this role, Tee will be the primary pre- and post-sales technical support contact for EAW’s APAC partners. He will also assist James Bamlett, the senior director of EMEA and APAC sales, with identifying, training and managing new partners to strengthen EAW’s network throughout the region. 

“I first worked with Raymond over 20 years ago when he was handling EAW for our Malaysian distributor,” says Bamlett. “With his vast experience in the field, I’m very glad that we are finally abl

Europe - Owing to the continued growth of the business, and the imminent move to the new HQ in Colne, Bradley Jeffrey has recently been appointed as group operations director at Prolight Concepts.

In this new role, Bradley will help bolster the business logistically and strategically. Bradley has been in the business for over 10 years, and has worked in all areas, which has provided him with the knowledge and understanding to streamline and grow the business with other directors, managers and workforce.

Europe - AlphaTheta Corporation has announced the release of four new speakers in the XPRS2 Series from its Pioneer DJ brand. The 8-inch XPRS82 and 15-inch XPRS152 full-range units join the popular speaker range, along with two new upgraded active subwoofers: the 15-inch XPRS1152ST and 18-inch XPRS1182ST.

Known for their versatility, portability, and elevated sound performance, the XPRS2 Series speakers are a natural favourite for mobile DJs and are suitable for live sound settings, houses of worship, rentals, and fixed installations.

“These four new spe

Germany - The new Avolites Diamond 7 (D7) lighting console was shown publicly for the first time at PL+S in Frankfurt, with two variants on the stand – the D7-215 and the D7-330 – both running on Avolites latest Titan v17 software.

This initial product launch has enabled the Avolites team to gauge reactions and glean valuable feedback ahead of the full launch, planned for later in the summer.

The reactions were “overwhelmingly positive” stated Avolites MD Paul Wong, delighted with the comments and enthusiasm he’d received from Avo users who came

UK - The Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) has revealed additions to its annual awards. The ABTT Award for Costume and ABTT Award for WHAM Design aim to honour the expertise and significant contributions of industry professionals, as well as the creative collaborations they foster within the production process.

Presented at the annual ABTT Theatre Show on the 5 June, the Award for Costume has been designed to honour individuals from different disciplines of the costume sector who have achieved a command of their chosen discipline. For 2024 this awa

South Africa - Cape Town based Rainbow Lighting has invested in new lighting fixtures from Astera. The company was started by freelance gaffer Desmond Gqitekaya in 2020. At the time, he was working mostly on major movies and feature films being shot in South Africa and was lucky enough to also start picking up commercials and music video work through his contacts, for which there was always a demand for thinking quickly and ‘out-of-the-box’ when it came to lighting. This soon led him to Astera.

His first purchase was Astera Helios Tubes in 2022, and this has q

USA - When design group Lightswitch debuted Illumination: Tree Lights at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois, in 2012, not only did they curate a series of attractions, they ushered in a whole new kind of experience.

As one of the nation’s most beloved light displays, Lightswitch works with the arboretum each year to develop new lighting elements for the wintertime walk in the woods and all-weather Elation luminaires continue to form the foundation of the magical lighting scheme. Lightswitch works closely with Intelligent Lighting Creations (ILC) on

Spain - Brigada Tech is a new Spanish TV series presented by Luján Argüelles, directed by Eva Castillejo, and lit by Manuel Ricoy. The format sees ‘digital mentors’ and popular ‘Social Media influencers’ assisting people with limited access to the information superhighway in tackling assorted digital challenges that can benefit their day-to-day living.

Each episode was recorded at a different location around Spain, including Avilés (Asturias), Laguna de Duero (Valladolid), Tudela (Navarra), Canas de Morrazo (Galicia), Altea (Alicante), Torrelav

Europe - Last November, Obsidian Control Systems initiated Train the Trainer workshops aimed at training its European partners on the specifics of the intuitive Onyx lighting control platform. The sessions, specifically designed to springboard an Obsidian awareness campaign and grow the Onyx community, are bearing fruit as trainers across Europe amplify the platform’s reach by training other partners and end-users.

One of the youngest participants in the Train the Trainer sessions, held at Obsidian’s European headquarters in Kerkrade, The Netherlands, is 16-ye

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