ZioGiorgio.com was at ProLight+Sound 2012 in Frankfurt: here is a summary of the most interesting products presented at the exhibition.
One of the products the market has been waiting for is the news series of digital consoles by Yamaha.
The new CL Series is based on the best featuers of the previous consoles, now improved where necessary, always taking care of following Yamaha’s design "philosophy" and keeping the consolidated user interface. In fact, the "core" of the system is the interface that made the M7CL console famous, that is the Central Logic section.
The consoles, available in three sizes (CL1, CL3 and CL5), show a strong "family feeling", improved by a better design and with a very competitive price range.
Besides Central Logic, we must keep in mind two more "key words": Dante e Rupert Neve.
Starting from the prestigious Neve brand, Yamaha has started a collaboration with the famous company that enriches the standard effects and dynamics processing with a Premium Rack that offers 8 stereo units (16 dual mono). For example, users can use a VCM emulation of Portico 5043 Compressor, Portico 5033 EQ and so on. As far as networking is concerned, the new CL consoles include Dante, offering various I/O solutions via different configurations of the di stage boxes: from the small RiO 1608 to RiO 3224.
db audiotechnik introduces the V Series, which sits half-way between the J and Q series.
The V8 and V12 modules are passive three-way systems that feature two 10" woofers , a 8" horn-loaded mid-woofer and two 2.5" compression drivers mounted on a dedicated waveguide. V-SUB is a cardioid subwoofer driven by a single amplifier channel.
DiGiCo replaces the "old" D5 console with the new SD5. The console has a similar feature set as the other consoles of this series, with the addition of a large LCD monitor in the central section which is more inclined and visible than in the other mixers, to improve visibility.
DPA presented three new products: an evolution of the d:fine headset microphones, now including supports for both ears and a shorterr microphone boom, to minimize visual impact in theatre applications. The d:vote series, is dedicated to capture musical instruments and is based on the renowned 4099 series. The most awaited product was the d:facto hand-held voice microphone, based on the 4011 series and adapted to the needs of a live setting, with higher resistance to handling noise, "pops" and wind.
Martin Audio presents the new-born in MLA series: MLA Compact. It is a system that uses the same technology as MLA, charcterised by the possibility to manage coverage, SPL and frequency response in an extremely detailed way.
Behringer was present with the functioning release of its X32 consoles, which will be available next May.
The console offers 32 input channels with fully programmable mic preamps and 16 mix buses, powerful scene management functions, a virtual effect rack with 8 stereo slots, 40-Bit floating point DSP with "near-zero" latency, Talkback onboard, direct uncompressed recording to USB. Besides, an app for iPad will be available to control fader levels, aux sends, graphic EQs and more. The price is really aggressive…
Meyer Sound has announced the 1100-LFC low-frequency control element, a new self-powered loudspeaker defined by its sonic linearity in reproducing the operating range of 28 Hz to 100 Hz. The ultralow distortion, coupled with exceptional headroom and optimized rigging options, makes the 1100-LFC a flexible tool for low-end directional applications for large-scale tours and installations.
In creating the 1100-LFC, Meyer Sound has pushed the engineering boundaries of low-frequency linearity with a number of advances. The high peak power output enables excellent transient reproduction and low-frequency clarity at extreme operating levels. The 1100-LFC can integrate seamlessly in a MICA or MILO line array or a JM-1P arrayable loudspeaker system.
JBL presents VTX V25, even if we had already seen this system at last NAMM in Los Angeles. It is the first product in the new VTX Line Array Series, that is a 3-way array that includes two 2000W, 15" Differential Drive" woofers , four 8" mid-range transducers and three revolutionary compression drivers with double diaphragm and double coil, mounted on a third-generation waveguide.
MIDAS launched the Generation-II software for all its consoles, offering new advanced navigation modalities: Collapsed Flip – that hides the channels that are not assigned to the selected bus, FX Navigation – that shows the effect processors when the appropriate bus is selected, GEQ Navigation – that turns the VCA faders into controls for the graphic EQ, MCA (mix control association) – that adds a separate VCA bank for each bus. The upgrade also includes new effects and an onboard DHCP server that allows remote control via Apple iPad.
MIDAS also presented the new XL48 microphone preamplifier, that includes eight MIDAS XL4 preamps in a single rack unit, complete with swept high and low pass filters, eight XL8 96 kHz 24-bit A-D converters and a "super-low-jitter" 1ppmk clock.
APG presented the ultra compact DX8 monitor, latest addition to the Dispersion Series. DX8 is a coaxial loudspeaker that guarantees an even soundfield in near-field applications.
Lake introduced the new Lake Controller V6, a giant leap forward, thanks to the direct integration with Smaart 7 and Live-Capture.
Dynacord presented TS 400 full-range cabinet vertical array; it can be used as a full-range loudspeaker or in two-way active systems together with the new PSD 215 and PSD 218 subwoofers.
QSC was present with its Core 500i and Core 250i system processors, integrated solutions that allow advanced processing, rounting and control in small settings; they offer up to 128 network channels, scalable inputs via different Q-Sys I/O cards and, as an option, the MTP-64 and MTP-128 multi-track players.
Audio-Technica presented the new ATM510 and ATM610a dynamic microphones. ATM610a is an hypercardioid microphones that guarantees a clear and detailed reproduction of the human voice, characterised by a design aimed at reducing handling noises. ATM510 is a cardioid microphone that includes a new shock mount and a smooth respons; the cardioid pattern guarantees an excellent off-axys rejection to reduce feedback.
FBT espanded the MITUS series, 2-way active bi-amplified loudspeakers featuring switching power supply, DSP with 8 EQ presets, control panel with XLR input and link connectors, volume, presets, ground-lift, multipli M10 fly-points and patented aluminum handles.
Last but not least, NEXO introduced the STM line array series, where STM stands for Scale Through Modularity. An STM system can be configured at will from four discrete loudspeaker elements; main, bass, sub and the ‘omni’ fill. System configurations might comprise arrays of main cabinets only, or main+bass, or bass+main+bass. Subs fly in the array. Adding extra bass cabinets to the system will increase power and headroom without introducing unwanted phase anomalies. A "plus" of the series is the rigging system, extremely efficient and user-friendly, that allows a single operator to mount a whole system in a matter of few minutes.
Moving to the Lighting sector, the first product that caught our attention was Robe Robin 100 LED Beam, characterised by extremely fast Pan and Tilt movements, a powerful 8-degree beam and indivdual control of the three LED zones, which allows the creation of spectacular effects. The presence of a virtual colour wheel and pre-programmed strobo and colour-chase macros makes the programming of effects easier.
Compulite presented Vector PC Wing, a compact controller with an interesting price that turns a PC or a laptop with the Vector PC software in a powerful and user-friendly controller. Thanks to its small dimensions, Vector PC Wing is particularly fit for the life "on the road". The connection to PC is via Ethernet.
As regards trussing, Prolyte Group presented the latest generation of the LiteConsole series, XPRS, characterised by a designs that makes installation easier and faster.
Avolites introduced the Ai Series of Media Servers, whose features include: solo alcune features di questi ottimi prodotti: playback uniforme di media multilayer tramite codec AiM, fino a 4 output full HD 1080p, 8 gruppi di proiettori x 4 media per un totale di 32 media layers, funzioni map e warp su qualsiasi superficie 3D, video mapping su scenari in movimento, e altro ancora.
d3technologies presented a highly advanced 3D mapping system, featuring extremely fast operation. The software offers advanced functions such as Stage Simulator, Content Mapping, Projector Simulator and much more.
Coolux annunced the new software release for Pandoras Box, featuring military-grade data encryption, that allows to use the contens on a specific machine, at specific dates and times or according to user defined specifications and a new morphing function of the mapped contents.
Spotlight showcased to new products of the Green Line.
FresneLED 200 is a 200W LED Fresnel luminaire with a high efficiency, long-lasting, powerful white light source and 14° – 81° Zoom. This luminaire guarantees the performances of a 1000 W incandescent tungsten lamp fixture with only 200W power and a life 30 times longer. It is directly dimmable from 0 to 100% in DMX or through local potentiometer and it is available in 3 colour temperatures: warm 3000K, natural 4000K, cool 5000K. ProfiLED 180 RGB is a LED profile zoom with a 14°-31° adjustable zoom. Thanks to the 180W high intensity chips in red, blue, green LED it offers the choice of millions of different colours and calibrated colour temperature white. The colours projection is more saturated ed intense than most of the 1000W tungsten profile spots, with an excellent image definition for slide projections. Thanks to the cold light beam, this profile allows the use of plastic gobos and slides and thanks to the clean LED light source, with no IR and UV radiations, it is ideal for critical applications.
i-Pix launched two new i-Line range products – a 600 mm / 2′ six cell unit and a 1200 mm / 4′ twelve cell. This latest technology from i-Pix builds on the success of the renowned BB range. As is characteristic of all i-Pix products, the i-Lines are incredibly bright for their size, offering a beautifully smooth output. Each fixture has a custom 40 Watt RGB and daylight white light engine which is coupled to an 8 degree homogenised optic.
ETC introduced Source Four LED, featuring brilliant colors, low heat, and even more energy-saving efficiency. The Source Four LED produces a sharp, clean beam of focusable light or a smooth wash, to give extra versatility to almost all lighting projects. The luminaire will be available in three versions: Lustr+, Daylight, and Tungsten.
Martin Professional was at Frankfurt with lots of new products, among which we particularly appreciated the MAC Viper, a whole new breed of high-performance luminaire. It features an aggressive combination of intense light output from advanced lamp technology and an innovative feature set on the leading edge of the evolutionary scale. All in a slender, agile body that moves deceptively fast.
Jands added the L5 flagship console to the Vista range, offering a stunning 21-inch High Definition Wacom pen tablet that makes it easy to manage complex lighting rigs, which often include a large number of moving lights, media servers and LEDs. The L5 display lets you see the entire rig on one screen and provides instant access to presets, palettes, effects and more. Its crisp, detailed image shows a huge amount of information in a flexible, clear and easy-to-understand way. The L5 has 16 universes of DMX processed onboard and a backlit keyboard for working in dark environments. The 25 physical playbacks each have their own LCD legend and you can split them to create an impressive 70 playbacks per page.
ZioGiorgio Team
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