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Patronaat invests in Robe TetraX luminaires
21/08/2024
Thunder City Pro equips Florida’s Venice Performing Arts Center with Elation Fuze PAR Z175
09/08/2024
Princess Cruises selects Robe TE fixtures for immersive LED lighting and sustainability enhancement
08/08/2024
Ayrton moving lights for Zenon Dubai
05/08/2024
The Star Theatre Singapore invests in Ayrton Huracán
The Star Theatre, the main venue at The Star Performing Arts Centre in Singapore, has invested in a quantity of Ayrton Huracán Wash fixtures supplied by Ayrton’s exclusive distributor for the region, Total Solution Marketing. The Huracán Wash units will become a fixed installation as part of the permanent lighting rig, and mark the second investment in Ayrton for the venue.
The Star Theatre is a 5000-seat capacity space that features a traditional horseshoe shape auditorium with plush seating. Forty Huracán Wash fixtures were installed at the request of The Star Theatre’s Head of Lighting, Mohamad Azhar Bin Mazlan. “The Wash fixtures will be used to complement our existing sixty Khamsin Profiles which were purchased for the Theatre in 2020”, he says.
“Most of them are rigged as part of our default in-house rig and perform over throw distances ranging from 10-25 m”, he adds. “They will be used for lighting our anchor tenant, New Creation Church, at weekly Sunday services, and put to full use at the many concerts, conferences and dance performances held at the venue.”
(Photos: Mohamad Azhar Bin Mazlan/The Star Theatre)
Area15 utilizes Holoplot X1 to transport visitors through space and time
Area15 is an immersive entertainment district just moments from the Las Vegas Strip. Already equipped with a Holoplot X1 system, it includes the Illuminarium, an experience located in the Area15 District. Now following suit in upgrading their audio experience with an X1 Matrix Array sound system is The Portal, a multi-use venue and key element of Area15’s type of experiential entertainment. It offers experiences for the whole family, including rides and VR, live performances, DJs, and food.
The Portal can be used for private dining, all-night DJ sets, and everything in between. At Halloween, for example, the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” is projection-mapped on all four walls of the venue and supported by live actors, but it has also been home to fine art shows and corporate events.
The newly installed Holoplot X1 system consists of two arrays of two MD96 Audio Modules, topped with two MD80-S each, positioned left and right at a height of 25 feet at one end of the room. Acting as a sandbox for any experience imaginable, The Portal is a vast grey concrete cuboid, with a seamless 360-degree projection-mapping across the walls and floor.
Using Panasonic projectors, the visual elements were as desired, but JD Bouck, Director of Production, found that the original sound system was never able to keep up, owing to acoustics akin to a giant fish tank and highly reflective, smooth walls. “The Portal was one of the biggest concerns we had”, he says. “It is a 7,000 square foot, completely blank canvas - not built like any other real venue that I’ve ever been to. There is nothing to soften it, no balcony or mezzanine, just hard surfaces.”
“It was the reflective surfaces that we were really trying to tackle with the Holoplot system”, Bouck continues. “The 3D Audio-Beamforming technology allowed us to focus so that we could cut the reflections off the walls and make sure the people at the back of the room were getting the same audio picture as the people at the front of the room. All without having to run a ton of delays or having a bunch of loudspeakers in front of the projection surfaces.”
The Holoplot team supported Bouck throughout the whole process, from system planning to providing room calculations until final commissioning and tuning. “Loud isn’t always good. Good is good!”, explains Mark Stutzman, CTO at Area15. “We now have great audio quality without it having to scream in your face. The Holoplot team really worked with us, listening to our ideas and taking it all into consideration. Our DJ shows can be up to five or six hours long. The guests can come and go, but the staff - our technicians, security, and bartenders - are here all night, and we have a duty of care to them, to ensure they’re comfortable. We didn’t want the ear fatigue you usually get from really loud festivals.”
(Photos: Holoplot/Area15)
Patronaat invests in Robe TetraX luminaires
Patronaat, a live music venue in Haarlem, the Netherlands, just outside capital city Amsterdam, stages over 300 shows a year in its two live performance halls and a small stage/club operating over weekend nights, offering rock and pop shows, club nights and music-based festival events.
The venue has featured a Robe moving light rig in-house since 2012, which has been upgraded in recent years to include some of the newest Robe technologies. The most recent addition to the inventory (which also includes 36 Esprites, together with Spiider LED wash beams and ParFect 150s) is 36 units of TetraX 360-degree rotating LED battens, primarily being used in the 950-capacity main hall.
Head of lighting Robin van der Plas says they were initially looking at LEDBeam 350s, but then saw the TetraXs and thought they would be “something different, especially with the individual pixel control”. Twenty-four fixtures were initially ordered, but quickly upped to 36 - now 24 are rigged in the roof above the main stage, with another six flown above the audience and six more available as part of a floor package. The six “floating” fixtures are also often used in the second hall.
The TetraXs have been in use extensively since the start of the year as part of the main hall production lighting design created by Dimitri de Wal, who created the house lighting schemes for all three of Patronaat’s performance spaces. A technical crew of twelve covers all departments - lighting, audio, and video. The TetraXs were delivered by Robe’s Benelux distributor Controllux.
Pictured: The band Feuerengel on stage. (Photos: Louise Stickland/Paul Clarke)
Music producer Jose Luis “Pepe” Pagan chooses KRK
Music producer, TV/film/musicals creator, songwriter, and guitarist Jose Luis “Pepe” Pagan has had an ear for music from a young age. He was born in Argentina, where he first began his career in the music industry before moving to the United States 25 years ago. He has since worked with artists such as Marc Anthony, J.Lo, Chayanne, Thalia, and Sarah Lenore, among others.
In addition to being a music producer, Pagan also works in the TV, film, and musicals industries and is the creator and music producer of the Amazon Prime show “Melody”. He is also the co-producer for an upcoming musical about the life of Latin American artist Sandro. For these projects, Pagan splits his time between his home studio and locations in Miami and Argentina, where he always has a combination of KRK solutions available. Included among these are the V-Series V4 Powered Studio Monitors and an S10.4 Powered Studio Subwoofer, as well as the Rokit 5 Generation 4 Powered Studio Monitors and 10S Subwoofer.
“I use the V4s a lot, basically for everything: when mixing, during the recording, and for completing all my music”, he says. “When I go to Argentina again for my next musical, I will bring these speakers with me. I travel everywhere with them because I like to always have the ability to reference on the spot.”
As a producer, Pagan previously found it difficult to get just the right level of vocals for his mixes, but the V4s have solved this problem. A longtime KRK user, Pagan first started with the brand’s Rokit monitors. He also entrusts his KRK subwoofers to deliver quality sound at his home studio. “I use the subwoofers to make sure everything is balanced. I have one in the center, which is an old KRK 10S Sub, and I have another one a little bit to the side, which is the new 10.4.”
(Photos: KRK)
Martin Audio WPM for Fiji’s World Harvest Centre
Christian Mission Fellowship International (CMFI), established in 1990, is a church headquartered at The World Harvest Centre (WHC) in Suva, Fiji. The round church building hosts over 3,500 worshippers, a full band, production, and a 100-member choir. Head Pastor Suliasi Kurulo, his production crew and the committee recently decided it was time to upgrade the sound system.
They awarded the project to Carey Leghorn from CVAV Australia, based on a Martin Audio solution. Leghorn, together with Anthony Russo from Technical Audio Group, Martin Audio’s Australian representative, made several visits to WHC to evaluate the scale of the project and create a design that would meet the brief’s requirements.
“This project was one of the most difficult I had ever worked on”, shares Leghorn. “We faced several challenges, from working at 15 m heights for PA rigging to custom steel fabrication on site. Additionally, we had to install several kilometres of cables through a complex roof structure. Also, much of the fabrication had to be done in Australia with no room for error once the project was containerised and sea freighted.” According to Leghorn, choosing the final speaker design involved hundreds of hours of modelling, with the final decision to use a Martin Audio Wavefront Precision line array system.
The services are major concert events with 3,000-plus people singing, supported by a full band and choir. Therefore, the system had to achieve SPLs generally associated with an international touring act. Martin Audio’s Display prediction software was used to design a 56-cabinet WPM system, which proved the optimal solution. The main hang consists of a 32-cabinet left and right system in two-box resolution, along with a 10-a-side WPM operating in one-box resolution mode.
The system is underpinned with two stacks of six Martin Audio SX218 subwoofers per side, each individually processed. Despite the challenges posed by the rigging and structural steelwork, the CVAV crew achieved the feat of hanging a centre cluster and allowing beam steering of the sub-cluster. “Once I saw it hang together in place, it was a dream moment for me”, says Anthony Russo. “It’s extremely rare to get subs in that position in churches, where projectors, sightlines and roof weight loadings often constrain you. This results in compromised split left and right subs and the inevitable power alley and off-axis cancellations.”
The choir stalls are covered with eight individually amplified and processed CDD12 two-way cabinets from Martin’s coaxial CDD range. The main console provides a tailored mix send depending on the choir’s requirements. An eight-cabinet Blackline X12 delay system was installed to complement the main PA. This enhances the overall experience for the rear congregation and optimises the coverage of the main arrays to the main seating area.
Three CDD10 speakers across the stage apron supplement the front rows to complete the main system. The stage is covered by a foldback system comprising six LE100 wedge monitors.
(Photos: CVAV Australia/Martin Audio/World Harvest Centre)
Shoreline City Church upgraded with ROE Visual
Denver, Colorado-based Summit Integrated Systems, specialists in audio, video, and lighting systems for churches nationwide, brought ROE Visual in while they were helping serve Shoreline City Church in Dallas, Texas. This installation enhances the worship experience by delivering visuals that complement the church’s services, as well as improving coverage and resolving sightline issues for those on the second floor.
For the original White Rock campus in 2018, Summit installed 90 ROE Visual Carbon 3 (CB3) panels for the center stage. As the church grew and moved to their new main Dallas campus in December 2023, Summit moved the 90 panels from White Rock, and installed an additional 70 Graphite 2.6 (GP2.6) and 96 GP3.1 panels, forming a large halo-shaped LED screen above stage with two large side screens.
The vertical IMAG screens on either side of the stage help to extend content, and they allow the use of the current CB3 for traditional 16 x 9 content display as well as integrating the halo and vertical IMAG screens for worship and teaching segments.
(Photos: ROE Visual/Shoreline City Church/Summit Integrated Systems)
Tom Kenny debuts Elation’s Pulse Panel FX for NHL Draft at Las Vegas Sphere
When veteran lighting designer Tom Kenny was called on to light a reimagined NHL Draft at the Las Vegas Sphere - the first ever live TV broadcast from that space - he chose Pulse Panel FX lights from Elation for the main frame television shot.
“The NHL Draft at the Sphere was just amazing and out of this world”, says Kenny. “This was really a historical show and we needed a modern look for this new way to hold a draft. I wanted something that was epic and futuristic looking in that main television shot, and even though you’re up against the biggest backlight in the world with its amazing content, the Pulse looked beautiful.”
Supplied for the NHL Draft by Fuse Technical Group, the Pulse Panel FX fixtures generated 100,000 lumens, though Kenny only needed to use them at a fraction of that output. “We didn’t have the chance to show them off as much as we could have”, he says, referring to their multi-functional strobe/blinder/wash light/eye candy capability, “but with that amount of power, I can see it being used on big events, tours, and stadium/arena type shows.”
“Especially in TV, the backgrounds are very important so I was happy to get a new product in that upstage position, right in the main frame where it can be seen and make an impact”, he adds. Kenny placed fourteen Pulse Panel FX fixtures upstage in a semi-circle, prominently displayed throughout the two-day event for “subtle eye-candy bling” in camera shots. Additionally, he created more energetic looks for camera shots when players were drafted.
“Whenever there was a pick, programmers Scott Cunningham and Han Heinz gave us some great ballyhoo looks for the in-house audience”, explains Kenny, noting that it wasn’t visible on camera as they cut away to the draft pick. “But it looked great in-house and cut through the heavy lumens of the giant screen, which is very difficult.” Due to the high demand for the Sphere, which runs a “Sphere Experience: Postcard from Earth” show multiple times a day, the crew had to load in and out twice daily.
Working alongside Tom Kenny and Lighting Director Pickles were: Brian Carico (Gaffer/Crew Chief); Daniel Fly (Best Boy); Scott Cunningham and Han Heinz (Lighting Programmers); Christian Reyes (Production Manager, Fuse); Eric Schlobohm and Eric Hainchek (Project Managers, Fuse); Kyle Glaser (Head of Lighting Systems, Sphere); Steve Meyers, Bob Chesterman, and John Bochiaro (Heads of Production, NHL); Brett Ostro (Vice President of Production, NHL); Dan O’Neill (Vice President, Arena and Event Operations, NHL); Spud Murphy (NHL Tech); and Chris Dowling (Technical Director, BaAM).
(Photos: Brian Carico)
Tascam TM-95GN microphones selected for First Judicial District of Pennsylvania
The First Judicial District is the judicial body governing the county of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It consists of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County and the Philadelphia Municipal Court. To improve speech intelligibility in its various spaces, the court recently elected to deploy new microphones.
Houser Audio of Aston, PA, founded by audio engineer Andre Houser (pictured), was contracted to design and deploy a microphone setup throughout the courthouse. Houser selected several hundred Tascam TM-95GN podium, board room and conferencing microphones.
“With this being a courthouse, speech intelligibility was a crucial consideration on this project”, explains Houser. “The need to have all dialog be clear and easy to understand is imperative in an environment where important legal decisions are made. We selected the Tascam microphones, which are primarily used for sound reinforcement throughout the various courtrooms.”
“We installed six microphones in each of the 65 courtrooms: one for the judge, one for the witness, one for the prosecutor, one for the defendant, and two for the jury booth”, he continues. “In addition to installing the mics throughout all the courtrooms, we also deployed the microphones in one Jury Assembly room. The microphones are being used with phantom power supplied by an Alfatron matrix mixer.”
Reflecting on the Tascam TM-95GN characteristics, Houser says: “The On/Off switch on the microphone’s base allows for cleaner recordings and reduces feedback by enabling one to disable any unused mics. Equally notable, Judges like the ability to switch the mic off for sidebar conversations. I also appreciate the fact that the microphone comes with an XLR cable, which saved us quite a bit since it eliminated a considerable amount of cable that needed to be factored into the project.”
The installation at The First Judicial District in Philadelphia took place in April 2024 and the equipment was placed into service immediately thereafter. “The court system has experimented with various microphone brands over the years, but they now (with this installation) are exclusively using Tascam”, concludes Houser.
(Photo: Houser Audio/Tascam)
Ayrton Kyalami celebrated by Planetworld at South African launch event
Within a stone’s throw of the Formula One Grand Prix circuit after which it was named, Ayrton’s laser-sourced IP65-rated Kyalami fixture was celebrated with a South African launch party on July 3, 2024, at the Johannesburg premises of Planetworld, Ayrton’s South African distribution partner.
Over eighty guests attended from across the country, all of whom were gifted with Ayrton beanies and scarves to keep out the chill of a South African winter’s night. Representatives from rental and staging companies, houses of worship and lighting designers gathered to discover more about Ayrton’s new fixture in a convivial and informal evening, which was themed to honour F1 racing driver Ayrton Senna, the constant source of inspiration for Ayrton’s founder Yvan Péard.
Ayrton’s Nikolay Berenok and Markus Kowalewsky flew in from France and Germany to support the event and make the official presentation of Kyalami. This was then followed by a time-coded show featuring 24 Kyalami fixtures, supported by Ayrton Rivale, Cobra and Argo 6 luminaires. The show was designed and programmed by Planetworld lighting designer Keegan Adams.
“The event was really well-received and well-attended”, states Planetworld’s live pro business development manager Mike Summerfield. “We couldn’t be happier with the way the evening went.” Nikolay Berenok adds: “The South African launch event for Kaylami was very nicely prepared. With dates at the Kyalami race track unavailable, we chose to host the event at the Planetworld facility which worked brilliantly.”
(Photos: Punkystarfish)
Lumit performing arts school turns to Genelec for sound system upgrade
Established in 2015 in Kuopio, Finland, Lumit is the country’s premier performing arts school. In 2022, Lumit - now numbering around 600 students from all across Finland - moved into a new building with high-tech facilities dedicated to the learning and practice of the performing arts. Earlier this year, the building witnessed a further upgrade, this time to its sound system with a range of Genelec smart active loudspeakers, which power the facility’s four music classrooms and studio.
Ville Heikkinen is a music lecturer and coordinator of the music studies department at Lumit, teaching band playing, music technology, music production, staging and lighting. He is responsible for the maintenance of these spaces and also works closely with the school’s in-house AV engineer on the upkeep of the three stages in the school. Heikkinen was Lumit’s planning lead for the music classes, studio and stages during the development of the new building.
“We were looking for an audio system that would provide high quality listening and also act as a great band PA”, he explains. “I knew of Genelec, but only in a studio context. Following discussions with Henri Ulmanen from Genelec about what I hoped to achieve, he offered to provide us with a pair of S360s and a subwoofer for testing in our band class - so that we could properly evaluate their performance as a band PA system.”
Heikkinen and his students were able to test the system for an entire month with numerous bands and musical styles. “It worked out great across all genres”, he says. “Initially I was a bit nervous about the short-term max SPL of 118 dB for the band - but in reality, even pushing it as hard as we could during our rehearsals, we couldn’t make it peak out - and we tried pretty hard.”
Heikkinen and his colleagues opted for a pair of S360 two-way loudspeakers plus a 7380 subwoofer in both the band rehearsal class and the largest music classroom. In both instances the S360s are wall-mounted, while the subwoofer is in its own designated position on the floor beneath the wall furniture. In the main band room, they are connected to the rackmount mixer and to a desktop mixing console in the second rehearsal space.
In the other two music rooms that are more dedicated to listening - rather than playing and performance - there is a combination of wall-mounted 8330s and the slightly larger 8340 two-way loudspeakers, complemented by a 7370 subwoofer in each room. Finally, in the studio, Heikkinen selected a pair of 8361 three-way coaxial studio loudspeakers, flagships of “The Ones” range, combined with a 7380 subwoofer.
Henri Ulmanen calibrated all of the loudspeakers via Genelec’s GLM software.
(Photos: Genelec)
Masque Sound installs Meyer Sound Panther loudspeaker system at The Muny
When The Muny, one of the nation’s most iconic outdoor venues, located in St. Louis, Missouri, kicked off its 106th season, patrons were treated to an enhanced and immersive audio experience featuring new Meyer Sound Panther large-format linear line array loudspeakers that were provided by Masque Sound, a theatrical sound reinforcement, installation and design company.
The Panther system was specified by resident co-sound designers John Shivers and David Patridge. “Over the course of ten years as resident co-sound designers at The Muny, John and I had made all of the possible improvements with the audio package we could think of”, says Patridge. “Masque Sound has allowed us to improve loudspeakers, consoles, radios and infrastructure, year after year. Various stages of new construction on the venue campus have allowed us to go to a 100 percent AoIP network using a fiber backbone. We were also able to include better rigging for flying the line arrays and this led to being able to enlarge the main arrays for an even wider coverage area.”
Up until last season, the designers were using Meyer Sound Lyon loudspeakers together with Leopard compact linear line array loudspeakers for the venue. “We wanted to eliminate relying on two different cabinets, so I approached Scott Kalata at Masque Sound to discuss replacing the Leopard part of the system by increasing the count of Lyon”, says Patridge. “At the same time, Meyer Sound had been getting rave reviews for Panther and it made sense to consider a wholesale change rather than asking Masque to acquire a larger inventory of the Lyon, which was nearing end of life.”
With the Panther loudspeakers, the designers can provide spectators in the free seats at the very back and the people all along the side coverage area with the same sound quality that is heard in the premium box seats closer to the stage. Shivers and Patridge have also been able to leverage the venue’s AoIP infrastructure to send outputs from the DiGiCo Quantum SD7 console to the Meyer Sound Galileo Galaxy 816 network platforms and onto the arrays via AVB (Audio, Video, Bridging) networking.
“So many people came together to make this happen, from our Associate Sound Designer Kevin Kennedy and Josh Hummel, our Production Sound Engineer, to the season mixers, the entire audio crew at The Muny, The Muny Technical Director Todd Moore, as well as the other Muny departments heads and the entire house crew, whom all deserve a major thanks”, concludes Patridge. “I also want to give a shoutout to Bob McCarthy and the team at Meyer Sound’s Technical Services department for the advice that they offered on the project.” He also acknowledges his collaboration with Masque Sound, including Scott Kalata and Masque Sound Project Manager Leslie Stong.
(Photo: Phillip Hamer)
Stage Audio Works integrates AV-over-IP conferencing solution at Bank of Namibia headquarters in Windhoek
The Bank of Namibia’s headquarters, located in the heart of the Namibian capital, Windhoek, recently upgraded the AV system in its main auditorium, used for on-site events and virtual conferences. Stage Audio Works Namibia, specialists in AV technology integration and supply, were chosen to lead the project.
“Following the acceptance of our proposal by the Bank of Namibia, we began working closely with the in-house facilities and maintenance and engineering teams to design and implement the auditorium upgrade”, explains Emce Smit, Technical Manager at Stage Audio Works Namibia. “The focus of the project was to enhance the overall experience for users, including upgrading the capabilities for streaming live events and improving the quality of the video conferencing technology, especially for delegates joining meetings remotely.”
The scope comprised the integration of audio, visual and control technologies, plus solutions to enable seamless bring-your-own-device (BYOD) connectivity. For video presentations, the system includes a Crestron AirMedia Receiver with Wi-Fi connectivity. The video capture setup comprises two Crestron PTZ cameras paired with a Fortinge 15’’ conference teleprompter to help with on-stage speech delivery.
The conferencing technology is built upon a Crestron Flex Video Conference System for Microsoft Teams Rooms. A Christie DWU960-iS laser projector is used for the main display, with Samsung 55’’ and 65’’ screens for downstage comfort monitors as well as providing digital signage at the entrance to the auditorium. Content distribution is handled by Crestron’s DM NVX AV-over-IP solution.
“Ceiling microphones were specifically requested by the client, so we chose the Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling 2 (TCC2) microphones for this application”, says Smit. “For lighting, we opted for Cameo LED Fresnel wash lights in combination with an LED profile spotlight, which can be controlled via the Crestron wall plate at the auditorium entrance, plus LED strip lights.”
A custom podium from Windhoek Joinery Works (WJW), with a Sennheiser Gooseneck microphone and a 7’’ Crestron touch panel display, plus space to plug and play your own device, provides those presenting with what they need to conduct hybrid conferences.
(Photos: Sonja Kilian Art & Photography)
Thunder City Pro equips Florida’s Venice Performing Arts Center with Elation Fuze PAR Z175
The Venice Performing Arts Center (VPAC) in Venice, Florida, has undergone a lighting upgrade with the installation of Elation Fuze PAR Z175 luminaires, facilitated by production and integration company Thunder City Pro, based in nearby St. Petersburg, Florida. VPAC previously relied on conventional Lekos and Fresnels for stage lighting.
“The goal was to incorporate color mixing and moving lights to enhance the concert experience”, stated Justin Stancil, President of Thunder City, who notes that the upgrade also included Focus Spot 5Z moving heads from Elation sister company ADJ. “The new lighting system allows for far more dynamic scenes for all of the concerts and theatrical shows they present.”
VPAC, managed by the Venice Institute for Performing Arts, is home to The Venice Symphony, The Venice Concert Band, and The Venice Chorale, and serves as Venice High School Performing Arts Department’s main performance space. The 1,090-seat, multi-use performance venue accommodates over 120 events annually, including concerts, plays, musicals, and lectures.
Lighting requirements included RGBW color mixing with motorized zoom, as well as moving head luminaires for effects and gobo projections. Stancil again turned to Elation’s Fuze series after having a good experience using the Fuze SFX LED Spot FX luminaire for an arena lighting upgrade at the Yuengling Center in Tampa, Florida, earlier in the year. This time he selected Elation’s Fuze PAR Z175, a full-color LED PAR light with single-lens RGBW COB LEDs. The uniform lens replicates the classic look of old-school PAR lights and moving wash fixtures.
“The Fuze PAR Z175 was a great fit because of the consistent field that its COB LED engine delivers, and because of the flexibility the servo zoom allows when lighting a theatrical show or running effects for concerts”, says Stancil. “The RGBW COB engine was essential as well as the fact that the zoom can be controlled from the lighting console, allowing venue personnel to perform dynamic zoom wave offsets between fixtures during concerts.” The ADJ Focus Spot 5Z fixtures were chosen for their ability to perform rotating gobos, prism, focus, and zoom.
The installation, completed in October 2023, included sixteen Fuze PAR Z175 and four ADJ Focus Spot 5Z moving head fixtures. Thunder City Pro provided the fixtures and guided the installation process, while the VPAC team executed the installation. All fixtures are mounted on a truss at center stage and integrated into a fly rail system. This setup allows the fixtures to be flown above the curtains during theatrical shows and lowered to be exposed to the audience during concerts.
(Photos: Elation/Thunder City Pro/Venice Performing Arts Center)
DAS Audio sound system for Shoto restaurant in Washington, D.C.
Shoto is the newest addition to UK restauranteur Arjun Waney’s collective of brands including Zuma, a Japanese fusion concept with eighteen locations worldwide. Based in Washington, D.C.’s new Midtown Center, Shoto’s interior was created by designer Noriyoshi Murmatsu of Tokyo-based Studio Glit. The ambience is a contemporary take on traditional Japanese casual, with audio provided by a DAS Audio sound system.
Audio in the main dining area is handled by 27 DAS Audio Quantum Series Q-23-T two-way full-range systems. The Q-23-T’s compact look and short-throw design is exactly what the room called for, says Managing Partner Arman Naqi. Live DJs perform three nights a week at Shoto.
Twenty Deco-6-TB two-way in-ceiling speakers are distributed throughout to round out coverage, and eight Q-10 ultracompact 10-inch subwoofers are discreetly placed around the room. The system was designed and commissioned by John Fiorito, DAS Audio’s Hospitality and Nightclub National Sales Manager, and installed by 305AV with support from the DAS Audio applications engineering team.
(Photos: DAS Audio/Shoto)
Princess Cruises selects Robe TE fixtures for immersive LED lighting and sustainability enhancement
Princess Cruises has upgraded the lighting rig in their 1000-seat Princess Theatre on the “Crown”, “Emerald”, and “Ruby Princess” ships. In a project completed in 2023, Princess Cruises Fleet Lighting Supervisor Matt DeJong and the Princess Entertainment Technical team selected Robe Lighting TE (Transferable Engine) fixtures, ushering in a new era of LED lighting technology to enhance the cruise line’s entertainment offerings.
The Crown Class lighting revitalization project included 69 Esprite Profile, 87 Spiider, 78 Painte Profile, 98 LEDBeam 150, and 48 ParFect 150 wash luminaires, which has reduced the Crown Class’ overall electrical consumption by fifty percent. This not only benefits the environment but also leads to reduced HVAC draw and overall fuel costs. Additionally, it significantly reduces operational and maintenance expenses.
Robe’s Transferable LED Engine technology allows for easy replacement of light engines, extending the fixture’s lifetime and avoiding costly and time-consuming full light engine replacements. This technology provides the flexibility to choose engines, including HP (High Performance), HCF (High Colour Fidelity), TGW (Tungsten White), or the MSL-TE (Multi-Spectral) engine.
The new lighting system enhances Princess Cruises’ in-house entertainment offerings, including original productions created in partnership with Stephen Schwartz, an Oscar, Tony, and Grammy award-winning composer. In addition to the all-Robe automated lighting rig, the Crown Class lighting setup was complemented with additional conventional fixtures, strobes, and UV effect units.
(Photos: Matt DeJong)
Live Legends chooses Robe moving lights for new nightclub in Beijing
A team from Netherlands-based creative studio Live Legends, headed by project director Serge Patist and lighting designers Thomas de Vries and Bas Knappers, completed an interior design and technical - set, video, lighting and audio - scheme for the Sir.Teen Group and their new Club Been, a venue and entertainment concept that has burst onto the highly competitive nightlife scene in Beijing, China.
The lighting design features over 200 Robe moving lights: 144 Spikies, 76 Viva CMYs, and six T1 Profiles. Also engaged from the Live Legends side were Daan Oomen (creative director and principal designer), Stefan Peters (interior designer), Rik Schoutsen (video specialist), VFX artists Jim de Brouwer, Robbert Lubken and Boudewijn de Kraaij, plus music producers Joos van Leeuwen and Maarten Bokma.
Live Legends delivered a design with architecture and infrastructure based on an industrial look featuring plenty of square and cube shapes. They wanted to emulate physical elements like RSJs and concrete pillars with lines of lights that could intersect and create Matrix-style effects with different beams and colours.
Club Been has a video screen upstage of the DJ booth along the back wall, and a large, automated cube-shaped centrepiece rigged above the middle of the room also with a screen that folds down from the ceiling enclosing the DJ booth from the top as well - encasing them in a cube. The stage can be built in two different positions - in front of the back wall or it can be moved more centrally in the room - but the fold-down LED screen works similarly in both scenarios.
The lighting was a collaboration between de Vries and Knappers, with the former completing the drawings and visualisations while the latter did most of the programming in the studio and on site in Beijing. They also created some special light and visual shows for the opening nights. “We wanted long linear runs of lights that reinforced the cube theme and accented the space clearly and with an elegant demarcation”, explains de Vries.
The main room is around 30 x 30 metres square with some adjacent VIP areas, plus different bars around the space. Both Spikies and the Viva CMYs ticked the “compact” box and fit for the Been aesthetic where all the visual elements are connected to ensure consistent branding. Spikies are rigged in horizontal and vertical rows on the roof beams and can shoot in all directions through the space, with a quantity at floor level and around the DJ book area onstage for contrast.
The Viva CMYs are primarily rigged on bars inside columns carved out from the concrete walls, with most of the fixture bodies hidden and only the front lenses visible, always in a line or a block shape in keeping with the cube theme. “They provide bright spots and beams left and right that can fill the space effectively with movement and colour”, says de Vries. The main room is primarily filled with tables, and there is a small dancefloor.
For key lighting on the DJ and dancers, de Vries and Knappers specified six Robe T1 Profiles, and there are a variety of other lights involved in the installation, but Robe is a key brand and among the most noticeable fixtures.
(Photos: Sir.Teen Group)
Concertzaal Tilburg upgrades to L-Acoustics Kara II concert sound system
Since 1996, Concertzaal Tilburg has been a platform in the Netherlands for a wide range of performances, from classical concerts to pop music and spoken word events. The 743-seat auditorium hosts everything from small symphonic and chamber music to amplified concerts, festivals, musical theatre and conferences.
To better serve its diverse programming and audience, the venue has upgraded its audio with a new L-Acoustics Kara II concert sound system. “Our goal with this upgrade was to address some of the acoustic challenges we’ve faced over the years”, says Pernel van Herpt, Technical Manager at Concertzaal Tilburg. “The Kara II system gives us more flexibility to accommodate our varied program while ensuring consistent sound quality throughout the hall.”
Fairlight, L-Acoustics Certified Provider Distributor for the Netherlands, integrated a main PA with left/right hangs of eight Kara II line array speakers covering the ground floor. Panflex at the asymmetric 90° setting helps to avoid reflections from the walls while maintaining a wide stereo image. Six KS21 are centrally flown in two columns of three, giving consistent low-end coverage.
Five 5XT provide front row coverage and imaging. The hall features two balconies that are covered by a distributed system of 5XT and A10i in white, to integrate with the architecture. A P1 processor provides Milan-AVB networking with the LA4X and LA7.16i amplified controllers.
(Photos: L-Acoustics/Concertzaal Tilburg)
Ayrton moving lights for Zenon Dubai
Zenon Dubai at Kempinski Central Avenue in the Dubai Mall is a new restaurant and lounge using immersive technology with AI-powered performances and interactive displays. It is the first nightclub in Dubai to be fitted with all-Ayrton moving lights.
The design, installation, programming and system integration were all the responsibility of Alex Douglas, Lighting Consultant with AV installation and maintenance provider Em-Tec. Douglas put Ayrton fixtures front and centre of his design, alongside two floor-to-ceiling video walls and two holograms.
He chose Ayrton Zonda 3 FX, Zonda 9 FX and Cobra fixtures to create an overhead “chandelier” comprising three concentric circular trusses suspended 18 m above the DJ and lounge area, augmented by a side dish of Ayrton Diablo in the private VIP area in the upper echelons of this dual level venue.
Douglas populated the concentric circular trusses with twelve Zonda 3 FX and 9 Zonda 9 FX. Inspired by Zonda’s 3D ringed look and multi-layered pixel effects, he saw the potential of these fixtures and pixel mapped them so the whole structure could act as a low resolution video wall across which he could programme sweeps, or effects that explode out from the middle.
“I pixel mapped every single pixel, unfolded every fixture and created palettes for everything on an Avolites Sapphire Touch console using them in 199 channel mode for maximum pixel control”, says Douglas. “Ayrton were amazing with their support and there’s a lot you can do with Zonda FX to create looks, combining all the pixel effects with the inbuilt chases.”
“For example, I programmed it with two different colours for the background and foreground during the chases, and the same for the liquid effects, which gives you four looks”, he continues. “Add another layer with the pixel effects, plus all the movements and then the zoom and you have seven layers of effects.”
To help change the mood from a restaurant to a lounge vibe after hours, Douglas incorporated six laser-sourced Cobra fixtures rigged on two truss arms off the central chandelier truss reaching out either side of the DJ. “With eighty gobos to choose from and all those effects, I could programme a lot of palettes for the venue techs to play with after I’d handed over the installation”, he says. “I also wanted a nice tight beam to bounce off reflection mirrors located on the mezzanine.”
Four Diablo S fixtures complete the scenario located on the front of the mezzanine beside the bounce mirrors and the upper level to light up the VIP guest tables and add texture to the room. “When I design I like to keep everything from the same brand because the colours match and there is a uniformity to the look and features”, he notes.
An Avolites desk triggers all lighting and video effects which are synchronised to emulate the video content - designed by Ouchhh Studio - on the video screens during restaurant hours. “I like to keep it simple with pure DMX desk control from the console, for more direct creative control which makes it easier for the venue techs to use after I have gone”, says Douglas. After hours, the synch is switched off and the inhouse technicians are left to free-style in time with the music.
(Photos: Content First)
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Performance complex in Apeldoorn invests in Paintes, Cuetes, and LEDBeam 150s from Robe
“Gigant” is an arts and performance complex in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, comprising two theatre spaces, a movie house, recording studios, a music venue (“Popzaal”) and a café. The 550-capacity Popzaal is a hang out for music fans and artists, and the venue also has a history with Robe moving lights.
The latest Robe products to be installed are Paintes, Cuetes and LEDBeam 150s which arrived at the end of 2023. Technical manager Simon Kemme has been working at Gigant for three and a half years. Before taking up the post here, he was a freelance sound and lighting technician who has worked with Robe products for a long time.
Gigant’s Popzaal - open Thursdays through Sunday each week - already had some Robe fixtures in the house when he arrived in 2021: Vivas and ColorSpot 250 ATs, the latter still working after many years of service. “It was time for new lights - it’s as simple as that”, says Kemme, adding that he was asked by superiors to propose a lighting upgrade. Searching for the best options, he hit on the Robe combination. Netherlands’ distributor Controllux’s Maikel Sakkers rocked up for a demo.
Even before seeing the Paintes for real, Kemme was convinced they were ideal for the venue. Then he saw how they worked with the LEDBeam 150s and picked these for the bulk of the overhead rig. The four Cuetes are part of the floor package. All these fixtures are well sized for their stage space which is compact, with 4.5 metres of headroom.
The sixteen LEDBeam 150s, twelve Paintes and the Cuetes are now in action and helping to create light shows for the venue’s busy live music programme which embraces a programme with anything from jazz to death metal. Kemme notes that should they upgrade again in the music venue, any of the Robe fixtures could also be transferred to one of the theatres and work in this environment as well, especially the Paintes with the shuttering system.
Pictured: Simon Kemme (Gigant technical manager), Wim Stephanus (intern), and Kuno van Velzen (Controllux). (Photos: Louise Stickland/Paul Clarke)
Finnish cinema integrates Genelec’s The Ones loudspeaker range
Kino Piispanristi is a 286-seat independent movie theatre close to Turku, Finland. The venue is a long-time passion project of Henry Erkkilä, a movie lover who wanted to create a modern cinema that transcends tradition when it comes to audio-visual technology. Kino Piispanristi’s new screen features a Genelec sound system comprising the brand’s smart active studio loudspeakers and subwoofers.
Kino Piispanristi began with two theatres, but now the cinema boasts five screens, as well as additional venues in Turku, Salo and Laitila. The newest screen is a more intimate space with a 7.1 audio system based around Genelec’s The Ones family of coaxial three-way studio loudspeakers. Three 8361s - the flagship of The Ones range - are deployed for LCR, with six of the more compact 8341s in the surround positions, complemented by two 7380 subwoofers.
The Ones models provide optimised performance by intelligently adapting to the acoustics of the room, achieved by a combination of GLM software and internal DSP within each loudspeaker and subwoofer. “GLM calibration allowed us to achieve a better balance with the lower and higher voices on screen”, explains Erkkilä. “Without it, it’s likely that the room would’ve changed the natural feel of the audio. It gave us full control over the system.” In addition to the Genelec system, Kino Piispanristi uses Dolby Cinema processors.
(Photos: Teemu Oksanen)
Powersoft and Diversified upgrade sound system at Oracle Park
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When Major League Baseball (MLB)’s San Francisco Giants needed to upgrade their sound system, they turned to Powersoft technology and Diversified to integrate the system. The Giants moved to Oracle Park in 2000 after spending several decades in Candlestick Park. The stadium seats 41,331 with an added 1,500 for standing room.
Diversified - which maintains a longstanding relationship with the Giants, including installing the control room in 2000 - has executed various stadium installations, including Climate Pledge Arena (Seattle) and American Family Field (Milwaukee Brewers), both of which are powered by Powersoft. The roots of the Oracle Park installation date back four years, when, realising the sound system installed in 2000 was ageing, Diversified was hired to do a rebalance. However, both the Giants and Diversified knew a completely new audio system was needed.
“As it aged, the system began to have a few problems, and the Giants wanted something brand new that would not only deliver better sound but enhance the fan experience”, says Justo Gutierrez, director of engineering for Diversified. “We were able to reuse a lot of the existing infrastructure, using the same speaker locations with new products. We modelled it to make sure we picked the right things as far as Powersoft technology goes.”
That technology includes a Powersoft X4, a four-channel amplifier with DSP and Dante, as well as 36 Quattrocanali 4804 DSP+D and twelve Quattrocanali 8804 DSP+D. The X4 and Quattrocanali, which at Oracle Park are paired with a Fulcrum speaker system, both feature Powersoft’s SRM (Smart Rails Management) technology.
“It’s got the DSP+D, which means it’s got DSP in the amplifier and the +D part means it’s Dante”, explains Gutierrez, “and it works with the QSC control system that’s in the stadium because there are plug-ins that Powersoft has developed that allow us to see the telemetry out of the amplifiers from the user interface on the control side of things. That is an important factor with amplifier selection because it needs to work as part of the overall control of the sound system.”
Diversified worked closely with Powersoft to right-size a couple of the amplifier choices - especially when it came to subwoofers, since subs aren’t common in baseball stadiums. “Powersoft amplifiers have robust redundancy. If they lose the digital link to the amplifiers, the analogue takes over”, notes Gutierrez. “They reboot quickly if there is a power outage: you turn it back on and within ten seconds, they can start making sound again. That is why Powersoft is being used a lot in stadium applications.”
“The previous system was good, but now we have taken it to the next level, and there is a noticeable increase in the sound quality”, adds Jeff Dykhouse, senior design engineer at Diversified. “We have done numerous stadiums and arenas, but this is a top-tier installation in a top-tier location - it’s San Francisco, the Giants, and Major League Baseball. They also installed a new lighting system among the upgrades, and it was exciting to be part of this project.”
(Photos: Diversified)
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Immersive audio design with EM Acoustics at Legoland Windsor Resort’s new Woodland Village
Opened in May 2024, Woodland Village is a new accommodation site at Legoland Windsor Resort, encompassing an entertainment and hospitality space, and The Clubhouse Restaurant & Bar, which required the integration of an immersive, zoned audio system to enhance the guest experience.
David Shepherd of DS Audio led the sound design on the project, having worked with Legoland Windsor Resort on previous areas within the park. Shepherd collaborated with the internal technical team and integrators, JPSL, to design and install an EM Acoustics system that would provide immersive background audio and sound reinforcement for onstage performances.
“The Clubhouse required highly intelligible, zoned audio and an entertainment system to support a small stage area that sits alongside the restaurant and bar”, explains Shepherd. “They wanted to bring the ‘woodland feel’ inside, so we used the sound design to produce a soundscape that could play different bird and wildlife sounds in a realistic, immersive way. The system also needed to be able to switch to a performance system for audiences to enjoy the on-stage entertainment.”
One of the key requirements for the park was that the system would integrate into the site-wide Q-Sys infrastructure - which EM Acoustics’ amplifier range offers - whilst the Legoland team were already confident in EM Acoustics loudspeakers as they have been used on several installations within the resort in previous years. “The Woodland Village was a different project, in that we were not just aiming for simple mono or stereo playback, but an immersive soundscape that really transported guests into the right environment”, says Mark Boyce, Innovations Manager at Legoland Windsor Resort.
The Clubhouse space was split into four audio zones for the purpose of the sound design. Zone 1 comprises the bar and open entertainment area. The other three zones are defined to facilitate the immersive audio effectively and enable the Clubhouse management to extend or reduce the background audio during performances, depending on audience size and preferences.
In Zone 1, the small stage area is equipped with a pair of EMS-81Xs and an S-48 subwoofer. Stage foldback for monitoring is through a single EMS-61 loudspeaker. An Allen & Heath mixing console and Sennheiser EWDx head-worn and handheld mics provide a complete toolkit for hosting a variety of family-friendly performances at The Clubhouse.
The remainder of zones 2-4 are installed with a total of 48 EMS-41 loudspeakers to facilitate the immersive system, with low-end reinforcement from a further three S-48 subs. Four DiQ10D amplifiers from EM Acoustics complete the system, with each loudspeaker on its own channel to allow for the independent control needed in an immersive installation. All loudspeakers are hidden behind foliage in the ceiling.
To create the immersive environment, complete with an array of birdsongs and woodland nature sounds, Shepherd created over a dozen audio stems of differing lengths and contents in both mono and multichannel formats. Each stem has its own individual mapped route of loudspeakers to travel across the space. This logic was then installed into the Q-Sys System, where sixteen channels of audio playback are looped in sections throughout the day to achieve an immersive experience that sounds natural and random.
As visitors pass through the space, the sounds of nature appear to move with them. The addition of acoustic treatment in the roof helps to minimise reverberation, resulting in a dry, realistic soundscape.
(Photos: EM Acoustics)
Acetec wird technischer Dienstleister in „Frankfurter Botschaft“
Die Acetec GmbH aus Wiesbaden betreut ab sofort als Technikdienstleister die „Frankfurter Botschaft“ in der Mainmetropole. Direkt am Frankfurter Westhafen gelegen, bietet die Location unterschiedliche Eventformate und internationale Küche.
Neben dem Restaurantbereich mit Außenterrasse umfasst die „Frankfurter Botschaft“ weitere Tagungsräumlichkeiten im Westhafen Haus sowie eine Konferenz-Etage mit 225 qm Fläche im Westhafen Tower, die mit modernster Konferenztechnik ausgestattet werden soll.
Im Beach-Bereich mit Sandstrand, direkt am Flussufer, finden bis zu 600 Personen Platz. Zur Fußball-Europameisterschaft 2024 kamen dort neben einer hochauflösenden LED-Wand auch High-Brightness-Displays von Acetec mit einer Helligkeit von 4.000 cd/m² zum Einsatz.
(Foto: Acetec)
Naostage K System harmonises performances at iconic Czech musical theatre
Located in Prague’s Karlin district, the Karlin Musical Theatre is the third oldest and second largest theatre in the Czech capital. The majority of the theatre’s shows are musicals. The venue recently sought to upgrade its audiovisual technology. As part of this update of the technical infrastructure, the theatre invested in Naostage’s automatic tracking solution K System.
Leading the installation was Petr Stasek, technical consultant at Pro Music, Naostage’s newly appointed distributor for Czech Republic and Slovakia. The technical team installed an L-Acoustics L-ISA audio system with a nine-cluster frontal system providing high horizontal resolution. “The next logical step was to track the actors on stage, so the corresponding audio objects move seamlessly with them, allowing the audience to hear the vocals naturally from the direction of the actors”, explains Stasek.
Before the installation, the team carried out a test of the system to assess its capabilities at Pro Music’s local Uffo theatre in Trutnov, also equipped with a similar spatial audio system. After conducting a market analysis, Stasek, who first heard about Naostage at ISE 2024 in Barcelona, realised that the company’s K System was the most suitable tracking solution, due to its computer vision and AI technology. Supported by RF beacon identification, the setup provides precise tracking of the actors.
The venue wanted to be able to track at least sixteen actors at the same time, as accurately as possible during a single show. “It’s a very challenging environment”, says Stasek. “Each show brings more complexity, with numerous decorations on stage and actors wearing elaborate costumes.”
The technical team installed one AI processing server, Kore, to track up to sixteen performers from a single box; Kratos, the software that controls the entire system, manages automation and sends tracking data in real time to third-party audiovisual systems; and two Kapta visual sensors, made up of multi-spectral cameras, rigged above the stage area, to scan the space in 3D and in real time, one under the centre speaker cluster and the other in the back of the proscenium.
“Using L-ISA audio system, each audio object, such as microphone, instrument and effect, was supplemented with parameters for panorama, depth, width and auxiliary send”, explains Stasek. “This configuration determines the precise location and manner in which each sound is heard by the audience.” In the theatre, the technical team installed nine frontal clusters, rigged across the stage to optimise the auditory experience.
K System provides precise positioning data in XYZ coordinates, which are translated into panorama and depth information for individually tracked actors. Their voices, captured by wireless microphones, are transmitted to a spatialised sound system, allowing convergence of sound and image. “If the horizontal difference between the visual location of the actors on stage and the audio source is less than 7.5 degrees, the human brain merges the sound with the visual perception”, elaborates Stasek. “This makes the performance sound much more natural, as the audience can hear exactly who is singing because the human brain naturally localises the sound source.”
He adds that this setup benefits the majority of the audience and not only those sitting in the centre, sweet spot, “unlike traditional stereo setups where the voice may seem to come from off-stage.”
(Photos: Pro Music)
Sound system at Palace Bar Miami equipped with Powersoft X4, Duecanali and Quattrocanali amplifiers
Located in the heart of Ocean Drive in Miami’s South Beach, Florida, the Palace Bar, renowned for its iconic status within the LGBTQ+ community, has been serving up dining experiences for more than three decades. Recently, it went through a complete overhaul of its sound system throughout the whole venue, featuring fourteen Powersoft amplifiers.
The venue comprises four different areas: café, dance floor, roof top and main outside area. Collaborating with Lord Toussaint, CEO of Miami based loudspeaker manufacturer Infinite Audio Systems, Tom Donall, the owner of Palace Bar, wanted to cover every part of the venue. “We needed a system where we could tailor each area to the requirements of what we needed”, says Donall.
He and Toussaint designed the sound system together and went through the requirements of each area. The most important was to ensure the outside areas could withstand the outside elements, especially the salt from the ocean water, and that the audio system would be able to run the live show seven days a week, twice a day.
“It’s a complex scenario because there is a live show performed on the terrasse at the front of the building that sort of bleeds out onto the sidewalk and the streets”, states Toussaint. “It’s a very high-energy show that uses a lot of live microphones and house music tracks and it needs to work on the people, but then it also needs to be distributed across various areas throughout the venue.”
The main sonic challenge was to equally cover and synchronise all areas during the live shows. To combat this, Toussaint deployed speaker systems individually for each area, as if they were standalone systems, and then united them as one, using a Biamp Tesira Server I-O for DSP.
The Palace Bar audio setup makes up fifty Infinite Audio Systems speakers in the lower level, powered by ten Powersoft amplifiers, and twelve speakers on the rooftop, also driven by Powersoft. It’s not only live shows Palace Bar’s sound system caters to, Donall adds: “We also have DJs performing here. There is an on/off switch for the areas we don’t use all the time, and we can also control the microphone volume levels.”
At the main stage and interior dance floor, Donall and Toussaint specified a two-way horn-driven Infinite Audio CDX 15V setup for mids and highs, powered by two Powersoft X4 four-channel amplifiers. “There’s no room for 18-inch speakers with very low frequency (at Palace), so we did it with our extended response 15-inch systems, and they were up to the task because of how they’re driven”, says Toussaint. “Our lowest speaker load is a 4-ohm load, but it makes a very big difference that these amplifiers are merciless across every brand.”
As for this project, he adds: “The support of Powersoft’s team, especially senior sales manager Rick Woida, has been invaluable in this installation.”
(Photos: Powersoft/Palace Bar)
