Preview: Plasa - A bigger, better Plasa

Plasa, which takes place from 12-15 September at Earls Court, London, is expecting 300 exhibitors, 43 of which are new, and 12,000 visitors to this year's expanded event.

Bose is returning after a decade of absence. It will join audio companies including DigiCo, KV2, Polar Audio, Allen & Heath, OHM UK, Shure, Trantec, AXYS, Midas, Harman and many others.

Simon Holley, Bose Professional Systems divisional manager, says: 'We have some exciting new products in the developmental stage.' However, this year the audio mammoth will be focusing on showcasing its existing kit at Plasa.

ElectroVoice is returning after sitting out last year's show. Sean Maxwell, its sales director, says: 'We see a huge number of distributors, dealers and end-users at Plasa. That contact is important.'

The usual suspects will also be exhibiting, including Nexo, Adam Hall, Roland and Sennheiser, with many taking extra space this year.

Andrew Richardson, general manager of Adam Hall, says: 'Last year, we had a steady stream of new and existing customers to our stand from across Europe. This has enabled us to further our client base and penetrate new markets.'

Added extras

For both visitors and exhibitors, the show is as much about learning and professional development as it is networking and other business.

An Interactive Innovation Gallery will include live demonstrations of Innovation Award-nominated products. It will debut in its new format on Sunday 12 September, when entrants will publicly demonstrate their products to the awards judges as part of the prime-positioned feature at the entrance to the Earls Court 2 venue.

All the presentations will be recorded, and the winning ones will be replayed in the gallery and uploaded to the show website immediately after the event.

A new feature to the show will be the Industry Skills & Qualifications, which take place on Wednesday 15 September, when schools and colleges with arts production courses participate in the show, in line with a number of seminars focusing on the importance of training and education in the industry.

The four-day Education & Learning Programme is also about to go live with a mix of presentations and industry-leading contributors.

This includes a two-day programme of seminars for av professionals hosted by InfoComm International, an expanded Technologies For Worship Pavilion, and a special focus on EN54, with presentations on how this new standard affects businesses across the av industry.

A stream of sessions are also being presented under the 'Sustainability Tuesday' banner, addressing this vital issue for the industry.

All this will be complemented by a cluster of audio and lighting demo rooms hosted by international brands including Funktion One, EAW, Martin Professional, Robe, KV2, Clay Paky, Allen & Heath, Duran Audio, Avid, Shure and many more.

Meanwhile, a 'world first' event takes place alongside Plasa 2010 in the shape of the first-ever Plasa International Rigging Conference.

Featuring many figures in the event and entertainment rigging industry, the show is designed for everyone involved with professional rigging matters, from riggers through to rental companies and venue managers.

Speakers at this must-attend event include Unusual Rigging's Alan Jacobi, Star Events Group's Roger Barrett, Prolyte's Marc Hendriks, CM ET's Cristiano Giavedoni and Bill Sapsis of Sapsis Rigging.

This two-day conference, which runs on Monday 13 and Tuesday 14 September in the adjoining Earls Court Conference Centre, offers the rigging community a unique opportunity to get together and discuss the challenges facing their very interesting industry.

Plasa's director of events, Nicola Rowland, says of this year's exhibition: 'Our visitor pre-registration figure is up on last year, setting us up for a extremely busy and successful event this September.'

She adds: 'As a genuinely European show with a visitor base that spans more than 50 countries, ISE will also benefit from the fact that many of the major economies are showing signs of growth again, and I think we will see confidence on the show floor.'

Clearly then, expectations are high and the mood is optimistic for what is being billed as a post-recessionary Plasa. So who's exhibiting and what will they be showing?

Listed below is a selection of Plasa's av exhibitors and the products they will be showcasing in September.

AC-ET

Stand 1-E10/1-E11

The AC-ET stand will showcase a selection of lighting, audio, rigging and video products.

Video product highlights confirmed so far include models from the Green Hippo Hippotiser media servers range. New features include the VideoMapper, a component which allows configuration of video screens, and UberPan, a multi-server screen management function that allows multiple Hippotisers to work together and create a single virtual canvas.

Also showing is the Pro Systems Group range of 19in rack-mount patch panels, which connect production hardware devices via protocols including audio/video, video HD, server, DMX and Art-Net.

www.ac-et.com

Allen & Heath

Stand 1-E9

Pro-audio manufacturer Allen & Heath will be introducing the GS-R24 studio recording mixer, aimed at busy project studios. The mixer combines quality analogue with a choice of interface modules, motorised faders for automated mixing and MIDI controllers for tactile interfacing with software DAWs.

Allen & Heath will also be focusing on it's iLive digital mixer family and displaying the latest developments in its, including audio networking plug-in cards for Dante, Rocknet and Uman.

www.allen-heath.com

Avolites

Stand 1-F18

Console manufacturer Avolites will be previewing its Synergy console as well as launching the Titanmobile at the show. The products are marketed as providing powerful high volume at low cost.

Also featuring at the show will be Avolites' hybrid models - the white Pearl Titan Expert, Pearl Tiger Touch and Expert Touch Wing with V3 plus operating system.

www.avolites.org.uk

Bose

Stand 1-G32

Bose is returning to 'reconnect with consultants and integrators'. The audio company has a spate of new products in the pipeline, which are in development for release next year. At Plasa, attendees will have a chance to see its current pro-audio range.

www.bose.co.uk

Bosch

Stand 1-C43

Bosch Security Systems will be demonstrating its full range of public address and voice alarm technology that will be EN54-16-compliant in time for the April 2011 enforcement of the European safety standard.

On show will be Praesideo - a fully digital public address and emergency sound system.

The system's optical network offers freedom in system design, interference-free audio and a high level of redundancy. It is fully programmable, and interfaces easily with other security systems.

Bosch recently released its Praesideo software version 3.3. This new version has undergone independent testing, and Bosch now ensures full compliance with the EN54-16 standard, with certification granted by TUV.

The new European EN54-16 safety standard is aimed specifically at ensuring that voice alarm control and indicating equipment provides the best possible communication for users, installers, fire brigades and the public, as well as providing uncompromised system availability and supervision.

Bosch will also be showcasing its portfolio of speakers, which are set to be EN54-24 compliant when the new standard also comes into force in April 2011.

Also on the stand at Plasa will be Bosch's ceiling, cabinet, projection and column speakers, as well as its horn loudspeakers.

The company is also showing its Pro-Audio variations, with programmed messages and music routed through to the speakers, enabling visitors to sample the audio quality of each.

www.boschsecurity.co.uk

Coolux

Stand 1-C17

Coolux will be presenting the latest versions in its Pandoras Box range.

It will be giving demonstrations and letting customers try out its software, with a focus on its latest Widget Designer.

Coolux staff will also be on hand to discuss its training courses.

www.coolux.de

Creative Technologies

Stand 2-E36

Creative Technologies will be showing off its new Flyer 18 product.

The custom-designed 18mm LED display that features 50 per cent transparency, light output of over 5000nit and is suitable for the outdoors.

The Flyer 18 is fully mechanically compatible with CT's existing Flyer 12, enabling production designers to use mixed resolutions in one screen without additional rigging.

Flyer 18 provides a high degree of transparency, with a removable shutter that enables the screen to be converted from a see-through product to solid non-see-through on an individual tile basis.

The Flyer 18 is available as a single tile to reduce rig and de-rig times. In either mode, the system allows the displays to be curved in convex or concave forms or any combination of the two.

www.ctlondon.com

Martin Professional

Stand 1-F44

Martin Audio will be showcasing its EC-20, the EC series of indoor and outdoor LED screens, marketed as combining image quality with low-weight mesh-type screens.

Elsewhere, its Maxedia 4 software has new features including PufferSpheretm plug-ins, 'super-fast' capture cards and other updates that set the standard for HD playback quality, stability and ease of use.

Also on display is Martin Audio's Mac 350 Entour LED profile fixture, touted as an alternative to traditional HID-based profile fixtures, the Mac 401 CT Zoom display and the M1. The latter is Martin Audio's latest lighting controller, not a motorway.

www.martin.com

PolarAudio

Stand 1-F2

PolarAudio will exhibit a number of new and existing products at this year's show, including products from ASL, Australian Monitor, Beyerdynamic, Biamp, MC2, Novosonar, Renkus-Heinz and Revolabs. New additions, the Australian Monitor and the AV Revolution DSP, will be the focus.

The latter is a DSP product aimed at applications ranging from lecture theatres and boardrooms to function rooms and systems requiring room-combining capabilities.

Beyerdynamic products on show will include the new MPR-210 desktop microphone, which utilises Revoluto technology - the Stegos encrypted wireless boundary microphone and the wireless Revoluto product range.

Polar will also showcase the new Biamp Vocia and the AudiaFusion product ranges. Vocia is the flagship DSP and networked paging system from Biamp.

It introduces several concepts to paging and voice evacuation systems, including combined distributed processing and page routing, as well as networked audio and control.

www.polaraudio.co.uk

Robert Juliat

Stand 2-N8

Robert Juliat is to announce the arrival of the Aledin LED Profile Framing Spotlight, said to achieve significant output, framing and projection ability from a low-powered LED light source.

Based around Robert Juliat's 600SX Series profile, the Aledin includes the famed double condenser optical system and retains all the features of a standard RJ profile.

Aledin's low-power consumption is of value where power availability is limited, while the choice of colour temperatures make it suitable for theatres or opera house lighting rigs, whether tungsten or discharge.

www.robertjuliat.com

Shure Distribution

Stand 1-E34

Audio company Shure Distribution will be demonstrating only a select number of relevant products.

Its new flagship PSM900 in-ear monitoring system will be on display at Plasa, while its partner brand QSC will be hosting technical seminars and showcasing the new Q-Sys DSP product range, marketed as the world's most powerful DSPs.

www.shure.co.uk

Soundcraft

Stand 1-E21

Showcasing at the Harmann International stand, Soundcraft's range of digital mixing consoles will be on view at this year's Plasa.

The new Soundcraft Vi1 desk, with its Widescreen Vistonics user interface and all-in-one chassis with 32 mic/line inputs and 27 busses, is the company's highlight.

Other digital consoles at the booth include the Si Series, showing with new option cards.

Additionally, Soundcraft has promised a product launch at the show which, for now, is being kept under wraps.

www.soundcraft.com

Tannoy, Lab.gruppen and Lake

Stand B10

These three sister audio brands will all be co-exhibiting at Plasa.

Tannoy will be showing its fixed installation and live sound products, including the flagship VQ Series, its 'tour ready' VQ Live guise, and compact V-Series range of point-source loudspeakers. Its QFlex digitally steerable array system will also be displayed.

On the power and loudspeaker management front, Swedish manufacturer Lab.gruppen will be exhibiting its C Series range of installation-dedicated power amplifiers and tour sound products, including the FP+ Series and the PLM 20000Q 4-channel Powered Loudspeaker Management System (featuring onboard Lake Processing and 5K per channel output). Lake will also have a dedicated presence with its standalone Digital Audio Loudspeaker Processor, in the form of the LM 26.

www.tannoy.com

www.labgruppen.com

www.lakeprocessing.com

Trace Lighting

Stand 1-F27

Trace Lighting will be showing LimeLIGHT, its lighting control system which can be run via Windows.

The fully expandable system includes add-on hardware options to allow compatibility with other lighting systems.

It is in the final stages of development, and is now available for beta-testing.

The LimeLIGHT DX2 allows the LimeLIGHT software to output two DMX-512s through two 5-pin XLR connectors, allowing it to be connected directly to the start of the DMX chains.

www.tracelighting.com

KEY FACTS
- Venue: Earls Court, London
- Dates: 12-15 September 2010
- Exhibitors: 300
- Visitors: 12,000
- Web: www.plasashow.com