Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 1500s are lighting up The Joint, the concert venue for the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas where 16 fixtures were recently acquired and hung above the stage.

The Joint is an intimate 4,000 capacity space known for delivering unforgettable live music experiences. With a commitment to remarkable sound, it has earned a reputation as one of the most authentic venues in Las Vegas.

“We used to rent lights then decided to buy them. When we started looking at fixtures we had three lights in mind, including the HPE 1500,” says Christopher Lose, lighting designer for the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. “We’re a rock ‘n roll venue and need all the bells and whistles and versatility we can get. We have 10 lighting designers a month who come in wanting different things. So the more tricks our lights have the better.”

Lose reports that the HPE 1500s “destroyed everything else” when he explored potential fixtures to add to his inventory. “We chose the light based on its autofocus, beam macros and intensity. The autofocus and beam macos were features only Clay Paky offers. And in terms of intensity, the HPE 1500s were much better than the competition.”

Another deciding factor was the support forthcoming from A.C.T Lighting, the exclusive distributor of Clay Paky fixtures in North America. “A.C.T has always treated us well for everything we’ve bought from them,” says Lose. “They offer great service and 24/7 availability. All these factors combined meant Clay Paky blew the others out of the water.”

The Alpha Spot HPE 1500, a 1500W moving head, is the most impressive graphic effects spotlight available with an incredible array of color and imagery devices, including 20 gobos on three wheels, animation disc, rotating prism and the exclusive Automated-Star-Gobo (patent pending). All devices are fully combinable with limitless rotation and morphing possibilities. The zoom has an extreme aperture range from 7° to 57° (1:8 ratio) with an amazing 120 bpm speed. An auto-focusing function combined with the Dyna-Cue-Creator make programming and operation easy and creative. A special high definition iris, the advanced Zoom-Tracking-Diffuser and silent operation position the Alpha Spot HPE 1500 at the edge of show lighting technology.

Lose reports that the HPE 1500s are “working wonderfully” in their workhorse capacity at The Joint. “We had a demo unit here for six months, and it’s still working perfectly.”

A.C.T Lighting is the exclusive North American distributor for Clay Paky.

Francesco Romagnoli, Clay Paky Area Manager for North and Latin America, adds, “The Joint is a great concert venue and I know the HPE’s will be perfect for location. We’re proud that they were selected.”

About Clay Paky
Headquartered in Seriate (Bergamo), Italy, Clay Paky SPA has a history of designing and manufacturing innovative professional show lighting. The company was founded in 1976 by entrepreneur Pasquale Quadri who anticipated the enormous impact the evolution of technology would have on the show and entertainment worlds.

For more information on Clay Paky products, please contact:
Francesco Romagnoli francesco@claypaky.it
Davide Barbetta webmaster@claypaky.it

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About A.C.T Lighting

A leading importer and distributor of lighting products, A.C.T Lighting, Inc. strives to identify future trends and cutting-edge products, and stock, sell and support their inventory. The company provides superior customer service and value for money to all of its clients.

For more information call 818-707-0884.

The Joint is a 4,000-person capacity venue that serves as a sophisticated, intimate and unparalleled entertainment destination. The Joint features seven Luxury Suites, a VIP Studio Level, state-of-the-art sound system, superior video system and a production package tailor-made for artist comfort. It has received numerous accolades including “Best Concert Venue” in Las Vegas Review – Journal’s “Best of Las Vegas” awards 2010 – 2012, “Best Music Venue” in 2012 Las Vegas Weekly Awards, “No. 1 Hottest Club in America” award by Billboard Magazine in 2011, “Best Live Music Venue in Las Vegas” by MetroWize.com in 2011, “Best New Major Concert Venue” at the 2010 Pollstar Awards, and “Best Live Music Venue” in AOL City’s Best 2010 awards. The Joint delivers unforgettable live music experiences with performances by both legendary and ground-breaking artists including Paul McCartney, The Killers, Bon Jovi, Kenny Chesney, Arcade Fire, Avenged Sevenfold, Rise Against, Paramore, Muse, Drake and No Doubt. The venue created the successful concept of rock ‘n’ roll residencies with Supernatural Santana: A Trip Through the Hits, Mötley Crüe in Sin City, Guns N’ Roses Appetite for Democracy and Def Leppard VIVA Hysteria! (spring 2013) as well as Tiësto In Concert, featuring the world’s No. 1 electronic DJ and producer Tiësto. For additional information, visit www.thejointlasvegas.com or call 702.693.5583 or 702.693.5000.

When the new reality competition series “The Job” debuts on CBS early in 2013 studio segments will showcase lighting design by Christopher Landy of Vibrant Design LLC with support from WorldStage, the new brand for Scharff Weisberg and Video Applications Inc.

“The Job,” from veteran producers Michael Davies and Mark Burnett, pits five talented candidates from across the country who face off in a chance to win their dream job at one of America’s most prestigious companies.

“We basically turned the Grand Ballroom of Manhattan Center into a TV studio, building out walls adding an entire grid, all while working on a very tight schedule which was further compromised by Superstorm Sandy,” says Christopher Landy. “It was a very intense production schedule for ten shows during two of the worst weeks to try to do production in New York City.”

Landy was tasked with delivering “a daytime look” for the show. He specified a wide array of lighting fixtures from WorldStage, mainly LED’s for the scenic elements. These numbered over 200 Color Kinetics iColor Cove MX Powercore, 72 Color Kinetics iWhite TRs and 250 Color Kinetics Color Blast TRXs.

The automated lighting package consisted of 20 VL-3000 spots, 20 VL-3500 spots 6 VARI*LITE VL-2500 spots, and 60 MAC Auras. The complement of conventional lights featured more than 150 ECT Source 4 Leko’s and 18 Source 4 WFLs. Two Aramis and three Ivanhoe followspots from Robert Juliat were also on hand. Control was via a GrandMA 2 with back-up.

For WorldStage, Ben Rollins was the Account Executive for the project.

“It was great working with WorldStage – but on this one they really stepped up to the plate, overcoming enormous obstacles due to the storm,” says Landy. “While half of new York Sat in darkness the lighting and rigging loads ins were seamless, thanks to an amazing crew and the support of Ben and the folks at World Stages.”

WorldStage Inc., the company created by the merger of Scharff Weisberg Inc and Video Applications Inc, continues a thirty-year legacy of providing clients the widest variety of entertainment technology coupled with conscientious and imaginative engineering services. WorldStage provides audio, video and lighting equipment and services to the event, theatrical, broadcast and brand experience markets nationally and internationally.

When Luke Bryan launched his “Dirt Road Diaries Tour” FadeUp Design Group and tour Production Manager Pete Healey made sure the country singer was outfitted with an inventory of cutting-edge lighting, control and atmospheric gear supplied by Elite Multimedia Productions. Elite provided Clay Paky’s new A.LEDA Wash K10 and K5 LED moving heads, grandMA2 consoles and MDG theONE digital fog/haze atmospheric generators and MDG ICE FOG Q generators for the 20-city tour. A.C.T Lighting is the distributor in North America for all of the brands.

“These brands are all leaders in their fields,” notes Tom Wilson, vice president of event productions at Elite. “MA consoles, MDG foggers and hazers and Clay Paky fixtures are all viewed as the high end of the business. We’ve been thrilled with Clay Paky Sharpys over the last year and have now supplied A.LEDAs. With Clay Paky it’s all about the quality of the build. The equipment is fully engineered and ready to go when it comes out of the box. We haven’t had any failures at all. As a company owner that’s a huge thing to me. The MAs and MDGs are also rock solid. The output from the MDGs is simply stunning.”

Justin Kitchenman of FadeUp Design Group, who acts as lighting designer for the tour, was challenged with fulfilling Bryan’s desire to put on a big show for his fans while maintaining an intimate interaction with the audience. “That was the balance we aimed for throughout the design process,” he says. “We figured the best way to accomplish this would be to give Luke plenty of performance space out among the audience. As for the lighting aspects, we wanted a big, powerful rock ‘n roll lighting rig.”

The tour is using 12 A.LEDA K10s and 36 A.LEDA K5 fixtures. “We chose them after seeing them at LDI 2012,” Kitchenman explains. “We went looking for the next-generation LED moving light and feel we found the best the industry has to offer.”

Kitchenman doesn’t like the “gum-ball dish” look that shows many RGB LEDs at the source. “For the most part LEDs are faster, have nice beams, and are energy and heat efficient. All those things are a plus. But as soon as I look on a monitor and see the source I want to shut them off! They become almost a distraction. But A.LEDA fixtures don’t have that problem – they’re a beautiful source.”

He’s also a fan of the ability to pixel map the cells of the fixture, which enable him to incorporate them into the show’s video content. And he likes the color correction channel, too. “It allows me to closely match my color temps with the rest of the lighting rig so my LEDs don’t look so LED-ish,” he says.

Selecting the grandMA2 was “a no-brainer for me,” Kitchenman reports. “I have been using the grandMA for more than six years now, and this tour was the perfect opportunity to make the upgrade. It’s proving to be a powerful tool for us: We’re currently running three networks during our show – MA-Net, Art-net, and Kling-Net via the Arkaos media severs.”

He’s “really happy” with the “seamless transition” from grandMA. “Most of the functions, labels and even the button grouping remained the same. The biggest thing I had to get used to was retraining my muscle memory to execute key strokes. I love the large touchscreens, backlit keys and, in my opinion, the improved effects engine. I’m still really diving into the grandMA2 and feel like I’m learning something new about the console every day.”

Kitchenman gives kudos to the grandMA2′s CITP/MSEX thumbnail exchange, which allows him to upload thumbnail files from the media server and “keep media a bit more organized at my end.” He also finds that playback during shows “feels a little more natural” with an array of assignable buttons and faders conveniently placed for right and left hand operation. “All too often in the past I’d find myself doing cross- handed ‘button slaps,’” he recalls. “I’m looking forward to growing with this and future generations of the MA family.”

Kitchenman chose MDG theONE digital fog/haze atmospheric generators and MDG ICE FOG Q generators to showcase the beams from the powerful lighting rig. “The large rig means very little if you can’t see the beams,” he explains. “We selected MDG theONE for three reasons: output, output, output! The first time we turned it on in rehearsal we fogged the room so thick we couldn’t see the video wall. That was an indication that atmosphere would not be an issue on this tour.”

He notes that, “by controlling [the units] from the console I can ramp the output up or down as needed during the show. And when we play outside I know I have a fighting chance to keep a steady flow of haze moving across the stage.” The MDG ICE FOG Q is on hand for its ability to produce maximum low-lying fog with zero residue, he adds.

Kitchenman says he’s “always been amazed at the level of support I get from the A.C.T staff. Phone calls are always returned promptly. The support staff is always patient and polite and never gives off the vibe that ‘you’re just doing it wrong and I can’t help you.’ My hat’s off to them for having in-depth knowledge and real-world experience of their products. They have saved me from impending doom on more then one occasion! The support that comes from A.C.T is a major factor why I will always look to their products first.”

Elite’s Wilson echoes Kitchenman’s praise. “Across the board we are really happy. Support from A.C.T has been great. They’re staffed with people who are familiar with the equipment and can speak intelligently about it.”

About A.C.T Lighting

A leading importer and distributor of lighting products, A.C.T Lighting, Inc. strives to identify future trends and cutting-edge products, and stock, sell and support their inventory. The company provides superior customer service and value for money to all of its clients.

For more information call 818-707-0884.

A pair of Alcorn McBride DVM-8400HD Digital Video Machines have a key supporting role in “Double Portrait: Paula Scher and Seymour Chwast, Graphic Designers,” at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The CBS television affiliate in Philadelphia named the show one of the top Museum Exhibitions to look forward to in 2013.

“Double Portrait,” which runs through mid-April, is the first joint exhibition by the husband and wife designers. It showcases Chwast’s iconic works, including his famed anti-Vietnam War poster “End Bad Breath,” and other work inspired by German Expressionist woodcuts, Victorian typography, children’s art, primitive and folk art, and comics. By contrast, Scher is best known for her reimagining of typography in the fields of graphic identity and environmental graphics; among her works in the show is the poster for the play “Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk,” whose typographic rhythms reflect the production’s dynamic dancing.

The Philiadelphia Museum of Art has quite a bit of Alcorn McBride gear running other exhibits so turning to Alcorn McBride for this project was a natural choice. Two Alcorn McBride’s DVM-8400HD’s run the slide shows which are at the heart of “Double Portrait.” “Paula Scher and Seymour Chwast have produced an immense and varied body of distinguished work over the years,” says Kathryn Bloom Hiesinger, Ph.D., The J.Mahlon Buck, Jr. Family Senior Curator of European Decorative Arts after 1700 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. “It is only through these slides that visitors to the exhibition can see and understand the full range of their work.”

Alcorn McBride’s Digital Video Machine is a studio quality MPEG-2 player with all the interfaces AV contractors need for professional installations. The DVM-8400HD stores video on CompactFlash cards, so playback is virtually instantaneous. Clips may be triggered via external contacts or pushbuttons, serial RS-232 messages, Ethernet, playlists or the built-in realtime scheduler. The unit can also simply loop continuously when powered.

Stephen A. Keever, manager of the museum’s Audio-Visual Production, calls the Alcorn McBride video players “excellent” and “tremendously reliable.” They “help the museum maintain the highest standards of presentation,” he reports.

About Alcorn McBride:
Founded in 1986, Alcorn McBride is the leading manufacturer of show control, audio and video equipment for the themed entertainment industry, and a rapidly growing provider of audio and video systems for retail environments and transportation applications. Staffed by some of the industry’s best engineers and backed by outstanding customer support, the company has demonstrated great agility in bringing new designs to market. A hallmark of Alcorn McBride products is their durable, zero maintenance design. The company’s products provide consistent, reliable operation for audio and video playback applications worldwide. For more information, visit www.alcorn.com.

Super Bowl XLVII was a memorable game, but the full Super Bowl experience started well before kickoff with a pair of live pre-game concerts broadcast on VH-1 and CMT where Clay Paky Alpha Spot QWO 800s and grandMA2 light consoles played key roles. A.C.T Lighting is the exclusive distributor for both Clay Paky and grandMA in North America.

VH-1 and the NFL joined forces to celebrate the Super Bowl with Train headlining “The Best Super Bowl Concert Ever” on Friday night. CMT and the NFL partnered the following evening on a “Crossroads” special starring superstar country band Rascal Flatts and iconic rock band Journey. Both concerts were held at The Sugar Mill in New Orleans, which seats 4,000-5,000 fans.

Atomic Lighting of Lititz, Pennsylvania provided 40 Clay Paky Alpha Spot QWO 800s and a pair of grandMA2 light systems with wings for the concert series. PEDG was the production design team collaborating. Bob Peterson was acting lighting designer on the broadcast truck.

“Atomic had suggested using the QWOs. I hadn’t used them before, but Spike [Doug Brant] had just done a shootout and loved them so he was onboard with them,” says Nathan Wilson, an associate designer with PEDG who served as project manager/production designer for the concerts along with Lloyd.

Once Wilson saw the QWO 800s in action he was enthusiastic, too. “I saw them and liked them,” he recalls. “They became my main hard-edged fixture positioned all over the place – out in the crowd, up front, on the floor, as key light for the presenter. Most of the rig was QWOs.”

Clay Paky’s Alpha Spot QWO 800 uses the latest MSR Platinum lamp, an 800W light source that produces an intense sparkling light – brighter even than older 1200W lamps. The Alpha Spot QWO 800 is equipped with optical features placing it at the top of its class, including a very wide zoom range from 7.6º to 55º, a uniform beam distribution at all zoom angles and a unique Stay-Sharp-Zoom feature that locks images in focus while zooming. The fixture is small, lightweight, silent and has low power consumption making it an excellent tool for TV, theater, corporate events and many other demanding lighting applications.

Wilson gives kudos to the fixture’s range of effects, brightness and great-looking beams for keying. “I was very impressed. It was a real workhorse and performed great,” he reports.

The grandMA2 lights were selected by programmers Kevin Lawson and Tyler Roach. “I’ve always liked MA products, but I’ve been designing more lately and programming less,” says Wilson. “Kevin raved about the grandMA2 light, and it’s PEDG’s desk of choice for all the programmers we work with.”

About A.C.T Lighting

A leading importer and distributor of lighting products, A.C.T Lighting, Inc. strives to identify future trends and cutting-edge products, and stock, sell and support their inventory. The company provides superior customer service and value for money to all of its clients.

For more information call 818-707-0884.

Vista Systems Spyder X20 played a key role in supporting digital artist and technologist Jon 9′s participation in TEDx Caltech, an immersive one-day experience that grew out of the celebrated 26-year old TED idea conference.

Held in the Beckman Auditorium at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, the independently-organized TED event explored the topic of the brain with a diverse group of speakers sharing their newest, most unique and visionary ideas. Their appearances were punctuated by music, performance and comedy.

Supported by the Vista Systems Spyder, Jon 9 of Holonyne Corporation, Los Angeles, produced innovative backdrops and content for the expert presenters and did improvisational video mixing for musical performers David Torn and Moira Shirley.

“You could best describe my role as projection designer,” he says. “The brief from the conference organizers was to create an immersive, interesting, visually stimulating environment that could display content related to the theme of the brain and also create an overall ambient environment. My creative approach was to make the audience feel that they were ‘inside’ the brain of the conference itself.”

Jon 9 was instrumental in crafting the display system for the stage. His Holonyne Corporation specializes in creating WallSite(tm) installations, an approach to large-scale immersive display systems that mimics the interactive and information delivery functionality of a website but on large scale for public events.

Three 1080P screens were onstage at the Beckman Auditorium, with 180 pixels in between. Twenty-four Christie MicroTiles, also 1080P, formed a 4×6 videowall centered beneath the center screen with 120 pixels between the top of the MicroTiles and the screen. Content was driven by the Spyder, whose I/Os included four 10K and 20K projectors, four Green Hippo Hippotizer HD digital media servers and a live video truck. “This represented a cutting-edge configuration that went far beyond the typical set up for conferences of this nature,” Jon 9 says.

“The Spyder played a crucial role in the immersive video configuration, linking together the four Hippotizers with the four projectors and 24 MicroTiles plus the speech-support system and confidence monitors,” he explains. “We were able to monitor all the inputs on a single screen in two locations, backstage and the booth. We were also able to send and receive feeds from the video truck where the event’s video director was calling a five-camera shoot. The flexibility and programming power of the Spyder meant we could use one device to do all our switching and scaling instead of a rack of separate components.”

For playback with realtime control for the improv video mixing for the musical artists, Jon 9 tapped four Hippotizer HDs, which integrated smoothly through the Spyder, he reports.

“The entire configuration was an example of what’s possible when you want to expand the boundaries of digital environmental design for academic and other types of informational events,” says Jon 9. “By combining the high-powered projectors with an on-stage MicroTile videowall and the flexibility and power of the Spyder, we created an environment that was both highly functional and visually stunning.”

About Vista Systems
Vista Systems’ switchers have become the industry standard for live multiple-destination video and data mixed signal switching with real-time windowing and composition. For more information on Vista Systems, visit their website at www.vistasystems.net.

Christie Lites has taken delivery of their first 50 MA onPC command wings from A.C.T Lighting. A.C.T Lighting is the exclusive distributor of the grandMA in North America.

With 12 locations in the U.S. and Canada, Christie Lites supplies equipment and services to meet the needs of lighting designers and chief electricians across their extensive client base.

“We purchased the onPC command wing units to extend usage of the flexible and powerful grandMA control system to customers who need portability on location or find that it’s physically difficult to use a full grandMA2 console,” says Christie Lites CEO Huntly Christie at the company’s headquarters in Orlando. “The onPC command wing can be used anywhere and for an affordable price.”

MA’s onPC command wing is a portable solution offering realtime control for 2,048 parameters in combination with grandMA2 onPC. Designed as the perfect hardware expansion to the grandMA2 onPC software, onPC command wing enables the look and feel of the software to be as close as possible to a real grandMA2 console.

Its command section is similar to the grandMA2 layout and features 2 A/B faders, one level-wheel, individually backlit and dimmable silent (clickless) keys and an integrated universal power supply. The unit has an ergonomic design and is lightweight (tipping the scales at just 6 kg) and rock solid.

onPC command wing comes with free grandMA2 onPC software. It offers two built-in DMX ports as well as the possibility to send two additional DMX universes via Ethernet. A simple USB connection between the MA onPC command wing and the computer running the grandMA2 onPC software permits all inputs and outputs of a grandM2 console to be available to the user. DMX, MIDI, timecode and analogue remote are all on hand directly at onPC command wing.

The portability and mobility of onPC command wing also make it an ideal backup solution within the grandMA2 system; a powerful control solution on the road or in smaller theaters, shows and clubs; or a handy choice for preprogramming.

“We’re pleased to have onPC command wings in our inventory and expect the units to be a popular control solution for our customers,” Christie concludes.

About A.C.T Lighting

A leading importer and distributor of lighting products, A.C.T Lighting, Inc. strives to identify future trends and cutting-edge products, and stock, sell and support their inventory. The company provides superior customer service and value for money to all of its clients.

For more information call 818-707-0884.

When projection designer William Cusick wanted to augment his projection design with a unique camera effect for the production of “Bare,” a contemporary rock musical playing at New World Stages in the heart of the Manhattan theater district, he relied on his preferred technology supplier, WorldStage, to come up with a low-cost creative solution.

WorldStage, the new brand for Scharff Weisberg and Video Applications Inc., had previously teamed with Cusick on a concert workshop called “Salomes Envisage” earlier this year. That production, which required a five-projector videomapped design around the performer, will make its debut in Switzerland in 2013.

“Bare” tells the story of a group of teens coming to grips with issues of identity, sexuality and religion at a co-ed Catholic boarding school. The emotionally-charged tale and its pulsating rock score was first staged in Los Angeles over a decade ago and has had over 100 productions worldwide.

Cusick wanted to move beyond the usual WATCHOUT and projection systems that many Broadway shows, including “Bare,” now employ. But he knew he needed help to create a software app tailored to a specific scene. “One character is asked by another to take his picture with his iPhone. So he aims the phone and slowly the live camera feed from the phone comes up on the concrete wall behind them,” he explains. “Then the character snaps the picture, and we see the frozen video image. That same picture is shown two more times in the show: as a saved screen capture and in a memorial scene after the character dies. So there’s a through-line with the image.”

As a result, WorldStage ended up providing a significant “value-add” in addition to its usual theatrical video system in the form of customized iPhone app. While the company is well-known as one of the most popular technology providers on Broadway, software creation is also one of the facets of the company that clients can utilize.

“Creating this kind of custom application is in our wheelhouse,” says WorldStage account executive Lars Pedersen. “It’s what we like to do.”

WorldStage technology specialist Michael Kohler wrote a custom live-streaming app that met Cusick’s needs for the camera effects. “This app was a perfect example of how I use off-the-shelf software to make something work in the middle,” he says. “We had the concept, we had the equipment and I had to figure out how to get from Point A to Point X. The concept was all Bill [Cusick's]. The artistic end product was the inspiration for it – I just had to find a way to do it.”

Cusick notes that the scene was “such a dramatic stage set piece that it was worth the time and effort to make it happen. Michael’s app surpassed my expectations. It was a pleasure working with Lars and the team, and I look for every opportunity to collaborate with them again.”

In addition to Kohler’s software app, WorldStage also supplied “Bare” with three Christie 10K projectors and an integrated Dataton WATCHOUT package featuring a display computer, production computers and a Dynamic Image Server that supports live streaming.

Sarah Ibrahim was the WorldStage project manager for “Bare.”

WorldStage Inc., the company created by the merger of Scharff Weisberg Inc and Video Applications Inc, continues a thirty-year legacy of providing clients the widest variety of entertainment technology coupled with conscientious and imaginative engineering services. WorldStage provides audio, video and lighting equipment and services to the event, theatrical, broadcast and brand experience markets nationally and internationally.

Oceaneering International Inc., Entertainment Systems Division in Orlando is launching their RevOlution(tm) trackless ride vehicle featuring one of Alcorn McBride’s newest products, TourTraXX, a compact multi-channel audio player with high-quality MP3 playback and built-in GPS functionality.

“It’s a Tru-Trackless(tm) ride vehicle capable of motion in any direction at any time,” says Bill Bunting, manager of business development at Oceaneering. “The system has a three-axis motion base, can follow multiple ride paths, and transports eight people.”

A division of the global oilfield provider, Oceaneering is building Alcorn McBride’s TourTraXX into the trackless ride to distribute audio to the vehicle. “We wanted to provide an onboard audio experience that will match the ride,” says project coordinator Matt Kent. “We picked TourTraXX to give us the most flexibility, and it offers creative capabilities for 5.1 sound.”

TourTraXX plays up to 16 audio tracks in a small rugged form factor. It stores clips in MP3 format on CompactFlash for a reliable and maintenance-free solution to playback needs on the go. It’s lightweight (4 lbs) and sized to fit almost anywhere; with no moving parts it’s a great choice for high-vibration environments.

Kent gives kudos to the ability of TourTraXX to deploy audio recorded on flash drives. “It’s very easy to change out, very easy to record – there are no moving parts. Easy maintainability is the hallmark of Oceaneering products, so keeping our system as maintenance-free as possible is a key consideration for us.”

Oceaneering plans to sell its trackless ride vehicle to theme parks around the world. Its first application will be at SeaWorld’s newest attraction, “Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin,” which opens late spring.

TourTraXX is uniquely designed for a wide variety of mobile applications. With it’s built-in GPS functions it can also play audio files from latitude and longitude triggered points making it ideal for pre-recorded bus and boat tours, trolley’s, trams and a host of other mobile appliations. Spot-logging capabilities add a revenue generating opportunity, logging and time stamping advertising spots along the routes. All audio files are stored on CompactFlash cards for ultra-high reliability. TourTraXX fits into Alcorn McBride’s line of mobile audio and video players.

About Alcorn McBride:
Founded in 1986, Alcorn McBride is the leading manufacturer of show control, audio and video equipment for the themed entertainment industry, and a rapidly growing provider of audio and video systems for retail environments and transportation applications. Staffed by some of the industry’s best engineers and backed by outstanding customer support, the company has demonstrated great agility in bringing new designs to market. A hallmark of Alcorn McBride products is their durable, zero maintenance design. The company’s products provide consistent, reliable operation for audio and video playback applications worldwide. For more information, visit www.alcorn.com.

A.C.T Lighting, the exclusive distributor for Clay Paky products in the US and Canada, has reached the all-time world-wide sales record in Clay Paky history. Clay Paky honored A.C.T with an achievement award to mark the milestone.

“In less than three years A.C.T Lighting has been able to almost triple our sales in the US,� says Francesco Romagnoli, Clay Paky area manager for North and Latin America, Spain, Japan and Korea.  “A.C.T’s sales represent a wide range of our products, as well, not just the popular Sharpy.�

According to Romagnoli, the US market comprises 16-17 percent of Clay Paky’s worldwide sales. “That’s a big increase from previous years,� he says. “It’s a testament to how well our sales and technical teams at A.C.T in the US and Clay Paky in Italy work together. Our goals, ideas and intentions are all in line. There’s great collaboration between us and, for the first time in many years, we feel that we’re all on the same page.�

Bob Gordon, president and CEO of A.C.T Lighting, points out that his company’s sales records in North America have propelled them to the position of number-one Clay Paky distributor in the world.  “We were proud to have been named exclusive distributor and now to have achieved this sales record for the second year in a row,� he says.

A.C.T Lighting, with offices in New York, Los Angeles and Canada, was founded in 1993 with the mission to identify leading high-technology products, gain exclusivity, and stock, support and
service those products as if they were their own.

Italy-based Clay Paky has been producing lighting systems since 1976 for theater, television, live events, clubs, trade shows, theme parks, conferences, corporate presentations and architecture. The company is renowned for its moving-body and moving-mirror projectors, color changers, followspots, and projectors for architectural lighting and lighting effects.

“With this solid foundation built by A.C.T Lighting we look forward to continued success in North America,� Romagnoli declares.

About A.C.T Lighting

A leading importer and distributor of lighting products, A.C.T Lighting, Inc. strives to identify future trends and cutting-edge products, and stock, sell and support their inventory. The company provides superior customer service and value for money to all of its clients.

For more information call 818-707-0884.