Nov/Dec 2009 Issue

Elite Screens, Inc. announces its StarBright7 series of ultra-high, seven-gain materials is now available as a fixed-frame screen in a wide array of sizes up to 200 inches diagonal. Using an advanced high-contrast filter surface coating, StarBright7 boosts black level contrast with enhanced color reproduction, creating brilliant, clear and easy-to see images, even in well-lighted environments. It also absorbs ambient light so that even lower-lumen projectors can create a high-quality image in either a dark or well-lit room. www.elitescreens.com (877) 511-1211

AKG expands upon the Perception series of studio mics, with the new Perception Live series of dynamic microphones. The Perception Live series consists of the P3 and P5 vocal microphones, with cardioid and super-cardioid characteristics. The new P4 is an instrument mic designed for optimal use with drums, amps, and wind instruments. The new P2 rounds out the series, offering an integrated hum-bucking coil for an effective elimination of interfering noises. For on-stage performances, the Perception Live microphones feature an rugged metal casing, a spring steel microphone grill, an appealing and scratch-resistant finish, high maximum SPL and powerful sound. www.akg.com

The new Audix FP5 Fusion mic package is five-piece kit for both live and studio applications. The FP5 contains a completely new series of dynamic microphones designed, assembled, and tested by Audix in the USA. The FP5 contains five microphones: the F6 for kick drum, the F5 for snare, and three F2’s for rack toms and floor tom. Each mic is provided with the snap-to-fit DCLIP mic stand adapter, and the entire system is packaged in a heavy-duty custom aluminum carrying case. www.audixusa.com

The new Digico EX-007 is designed to substantially increase the number of available faders and the number of channels controllable at any one time on a Digico SD7 - and from a distance of up to 100 meters via a cost-effective CAT-5 cable connection. It is possible to augment an SD7 with two EX-007s, each acting as control panel to provide 24 faders and two additional touch screens, as well as metering and other standard functions, transforming the SD7 into a 100-fader mixing console. The EX-007 networks to the SD7, and has its own power supply and its own PC. www.digico.org

Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems, Inc. (YCAS) announces the addition of the new Nexo PS R2 to its NEXO PS Series high-output, compact speakers. The new PS R2 delivers enhanced performance with higher SPL and extended bandwidth, and re-designed cabinetry and grilles - all within the same compact footprint as the established PS Series The new Nexo PS R2 range is designed for near-field, portable and installed PA applications in clubs, houses of worship, theatres and A/V installations, and will serve as fill-in complements for Nexo Geo and Alpha systems. www.yamahaca.com.

The rack-mountable TV Multi Format Switcher allows you to view a wide variety of analog and digital SD and HD video sources with audio at resolutions up to 1080p—all on one HDMI-compliant display. Anything from computers, set-top boxes, satellite boxes, Blu-ray and DVD players can share a single HDMI-compliant display. A/V signal quality is insured by the 3D comb filter and 3D noise reduction circuitry. Inputs include two component, two composite, two S-Video, and one VGA source—each with L/R analog audio. Two HDMI sources are also supported with embedded digital audio at up to 7.1 channels. www.gefen.com (800) 545-6900

The new projectiondesign FL32 LED projector is the company’s first solid-state LED-based projection system promising greatly enhanced image performance and lowered cost of ownership. The FL32 is available with either native 1080p or WUXGA resolution options and has low maintenance requirements, thanks to its expected 100,000-hour LED-technology lamp life. Based on a single-chip DLP design, the FL32 is the first projector to use the company’s new ReaLED LED illumination technology. The FL32 reduces motion smear and blur, color separation and image processing-related artifacts. www.projectiondesign.com

The HMR10 professional AVCCAM recorder provides the flexibility of low-cost, SD memory card recording and full 1080 and 720 resolution capture in a small, portable unit. It utilizes AVCHD (MPEG-4/AVC High-Profile) compression, is equipped with HD-SDI input and output, and can also serve as back-up recording from any HD-SDI-enabled camera or for use in studio or event production. For editing or playback, content can instantly be transferred from the SD card to Mac or PC computers with an SD/SDHC card reader or through a USB 2.0 cable. www.panasonic.com (800) 211-7262

Digital and automated lighting pioneer Barco announced today the release of a new lighting product: the DL.3F a fixed-installation version of High End Systems' popular DL.3 digital light. As the newest edition to Barco's line of digital lighting products, the DL.3F features the same integrated media server and output capabilities as the DL.3, yet with reduced input/output capabilities. Although the new digital light does not include the DL.3's integrated camera system, the DL.3F does retain its predecessor's full range of media manipulation tools(678) 475-8000 www.barco.com

The new Slim Dimmer from Lex is an ultra-portable single 1.8kW dimmer. It features a high quality fader coupled with a digital intensity display that will make intensity matching of multiple units a snap. UL Listed, the Slim Dimmer is housed in an all-metal case and has extra protection around the display and fader area. To keep everything safe, overload protection is provided by a convenient push-to-reset breaker. www.lexproducts.com (203)274.9932

Zero 88 announces the release of version 5.3.0 software for the ZerOS consoles. Version 5.3.0 can be installed on Zero 88 Leap Frog 48, Leap Frog 96, Frog 2 and ORB consoles and adds a number of new features together with bug fixes. Key features introduced in this free upgrade include a Non Tracking mode for cue stacks, support for multi-part cues and the ability to store user-defined views directly onto UDKs on ORB. These new features add to the feature set of ZerOS and are in response to user feedback. +44 (0)1633 838088 www.zero88.com

Christie MicroTiles are modular digital display tiles that can be stacked and clustered like building blocks to create display walls of any shape or scale. They offer crisp visuals at nearly any distance, wide viewing angles, and only a one-mm gap between the tiles. The groundbreaking LED- and DLP-based system is designed for long, reliable commercial use in public areas, with no lamps or other consumable parts to replace. The LED light engine, a key component of MicroTiles, is rated at 65,000 hours to half brightness usage, or nearly 7.5 years of continuous operation. www.christiedigital.com

A.C. Lighting Inc., the North American distributor for the Jands Vista lighting consoles, announces the new Vista 2 Byron - a major upgrade of the Vista lighting control system. Launching later this year, and free to existing users, this completely re-written application builds on the innovative visual approach pioneered by Jands and takes it to a whole new level, introducing a true second generation of software. Faster and easier to use, it provides an unrestricted, feature rich, reliable software platform for building an ever more sophisticated and powerful console in the years to come.(416) 255 9494 www.jandsvista.com

Tascam’s US-144mkII USB 2.0 Audio/MIDI Interface features USB 2.0 technology for hiccup-free low-latency performance to Mac or Windows computers, a pair of XLR microphone inputs with phantom power for recording condenser mics into a computer. Balanced line inputs and a guitar level input are also provided. MIDI in and out jacks allow for synthesizer and control messages to be passed to the computer, and the unbalanced line outputs connect to studio monitors, plus a digital in and out, for a total of four channels, and a dedicated headphone level control. www.tascam.com