Rigger Takes Part in Winter Solstice Performance

NEW YORK — Since 1967, the Paul Winter Consort has embraced musical styles and instruments from African, Asian, and South American cultures and fusing those rhythms with American jazz. Sapsis Rigging’s support of the group’s Winter Solstice performance at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine included hoisting one of its riggers about 70 feet high. The rigger, Scott “Gong Guy” Sloan, also happens to be a musician, and he performed with the group by playing a suspended 8-foot-diameter tam.

PIPERSVILLE, PA — SurgeX has merged its North American operations with Electronic Systems Protection, Inc. (ESP). SurgeX management will join the ESP team and all product manufacturing will be consolidated into ESP’s facility in Zebulon, N.C.  Michael McCook, SurgeX senior principal, pictured here at left, and Steve Cole, ESP president, right, made the announcement.

WASHINGTON, DC — Truck-mounted video screens are ready to join what may turn out to be a crowd of more than a million people on the Capitol Steps and National Mall when Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th U.S. president. The high-res mobile screens, the largest of which is 19 feet by 33 feet in size, are manufactured by Daktronics Inc. and provided by GoVision LP.

Martin Professional’s Maxedia Broadcast media composer and playback device has been optimized for playback of HD content with quad core processors, 1080p playback support and two dedicated engine outputs. Nearly a terabyte of drive space in a RAID array is available to support large shows. Two graphics cards provide a dedicated user interface plus two engine outputs. The Maxedia Broadcast also offers a touchscreen-optimized user interface, a library of media content and 16 screen view options. Maxedia can drive display devices ranging from plasma screens to projectors and LED displays. The product is sold as a complete system, and every Maxedia is tested to ensure high standards.