OXNARD, California – April 2009 — L-ACOUSTICS took advantage of Frankfurt’s ProLight & Sound exhibition in early April to showcase a wide variety of new electro-acoustic breakthroughs implemented on its K platform. This platform is comprised of the manufacturer’s new generation of K line source arrays — KUDO and the forthcoming K1 — as well as the LA-RAK touring rack, fitted with LA8 amplified controllers, and LA-NETWORK MANAGER control software.

K platform upgrades will also benefit L-ACOUSTICS’ established XT, ARCS, KIVA, KUDO, dV-DOSC ranges and subwoofers, having a significant impact on their performance, reliability and flexibility. more

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: SoundField’s portable ST350 microphone was used extensively to capture 5.1 location ambience during production of Baz Luhrmann’s recent cinematic epic ‘Australia,’ starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, and also featured in one of Apple’s ‘Set To Screen’ series of short video clips about film production (now available as podcasts for free download from the iTunes online Store). The ten-minute MP4 episode on Sound Design for Luhrmann’s latest opus features supervising sound editor Wayne Pashley using the ST350 to record wind sounds, salt flat ambience and musical performances on location in baking 40-degree temperatures for ‘Australia,’ and Location Sound engineer Guntis Sics being unequivocally positive about the crew’s choice of microphone. more

OLD LYME, CONNECTICUT – APRIL 2009: With more than 10,000 units in use around the world, the HHB FlashMic digital recording microphone is already the interview recorder of choice for leading broadcasters including ABC Radio, Aljazeera, the BBC, Bloomberg, BSkyB, CNN, NHK, NBC, and RAI. Now HHB celebrates the sale of its 1,000th FlashMic in Germany where distributor INNOTON has already added national broadcasters WDR and NDR, and ORF (Austria) to the prestigious FlashMic user list. The 1,000th FlashMic in Germany was sold to Radio BasiX, a web radio project for young people in the Kraichgau region of South Western Germany, whose journalists now enjoy the same recording quality, ease-of-use, and convenient file transfer as their more experienced counterparts in the world’s major broadcasting networks. more

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA: The Osbournes – Sharon, Kelly, Jack, Ozzy and assorted favorite dogs – are returning to television soon with a variety show on FOX that features audience interaction, candid camera-type skits, music, and even a pair of “mini Osbournes,” two British child actors who impersonate Sharon and Ozzy complete with off-color language. Six episodes of “Osbournes: Reloaded,” which will air later in the year, have already been shot at CBS Television City in Hollywood, where production mixer Evan Adelman did his best to capture the mayhem with a combination of Sennheiser wireless handheld and lavalier microphones. more

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE, WASHINGTON – JANUARY 2009: Symetrix is pleased to announce an optional firmware update for the AirTools 6100 Broadcast Audio Delay that adds user-specified offset to the TC89 (ESE clock) output. With the new firmware, an additional menu in the 6100′s user interface allows a radio engineer to specify a constant offset time between zero and sixty seconds for the TC89 output so that the studio clock displays the TID (time in delay) plus the uplink/downlink latency. This allows the 6100 to easily accommodate delays incurred from ISDN lines, codecs, satellite signals, etc. more

OLD LYME, CONNECTICUT – APRIL 2009: The U.S. subsidiary of audio pioneer Sennheiser has named Berlin, Connecticut-based The Music People! Inc. its 2008 “Dealer of the Year” for exemplary sales, customer support and comprehension of Sennheiser’s music industry products. Sennheiser wired and wireless microphone systems are highly favored by some of the top performers in the world, as well as amateur musicians and studio recordists. more

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – Clear-Com Communication Systems, a Vitec Group brand, proudly announces that its I.V.Core technology won a 2009 TV Technology STAR (Superior Technology Award Recipient) Award at NAB 2009. TV Technology’s editorial staff presented the accolade in recognition of I.V.Core’s game-changing set of building blocks and engines for powering real-time, dynamic and non-blocking intercom capabilities over a standard IP network, providing broadcasters a groundbreaking tool for realizing truly limitless communications. more

RIVER FALLS, WISCONSIN – APRIL 2009: The University of Wisconsin – River Falls is a 6,300-student arm of the celebrated Wisconsin system located in the northwest corner of the state. It is well-respected academically and athletically, and boasts modest, but well-appointed, facilities for teaching, research, sports, and recreation. The Knowles Physical Education Center plays a prominent role in campus life and serves, among many other things, as the site for indoor graduation ceremonies. However, a recent failure during an important graduation speech spurred the school to update its sound system. The solution, designed and installed by Burnsville, Minnesota-based Intermedia Systems Group (ISG), centered on Ashly Audio’s groundbreaking NE-series of network and DSP-enabled amplifiers. more

WOODBURY, MN, April 2009 — Hear Me! Hear Me! Calypso Systems, a leading developer of multimedia technology solutions for K-12 classrooms, announced the formation of the Calypso School First Foundation (CSFF). The Foundation embodies Calypso’s strong commitment to improving student achievement through thoughtful, affordable, and flexible deployment of integrated classroom technology. more

A-list Acts Draw Huge Crowds for Three Straight Nights

NILES, IL, April 29, 2009 — Cloudy skies and occasional drizzle did little to dampen spirits at this year’s Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival, as legions of music lovers descended on Rose Hall, a historic, 7,000-acre north coast plantation, to see and hear performers ranging from Lionel Richie and British sensation Estelle to the legendary O’Jays and Reggae superstar Maxi Priest. more