MUSIC GROUP ACQUIRES TURBOSOUND, APPOINTS NEW VP
MUSIC Group (Singapore) has acquired Turbosound (West Sussex, England), a 30-year-old professional loudspeaker manufacturer that has earned the Queen’s Award three times. MUSIC Group also announced creation of a global Professional Division, with Philip Hart as VP, bringing together the Midas, Klark Teknik and Turbosound brands.
According to company Founder/CEO Uli Behringer, the addition of Turbosound allows MUSIC Group to round out its professional and touring sound offerings alongside Midas and Klark Teknik. “Since the acquisition of Midas and Klark Teknik, we have been pursuing a loudspeaker brand that complements the consoles and processing offered by these historic brands....Turbosound has stood out as the ideal match....I am very proud to welcome Simon Blackwood and his team to our family.”
He added, “We will invest heavily in positioning Turbosound at the very pinnacle of the industry, as we have done with Midas and Klark Teknik, where we have financed over $20 million in new automated manufacturing, quality control systems and engineering resources, including a new Center of Engineering Excellence in Manchester, UK.”
In addition, Behringer stated, “This division will accelerate the development of new technologies that will better integrate all components of the signal chain.” According to the company, the new Professional Division follows the launch of the Instrument Amplification Division in April 2012 and is part of the MUSIC Group’s commitment to a more focused and agile management structure.
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INFOCOMM BOARD APPROVES AV SYSTEMS ENERGY MANAGEMENT STANDARD
InfoComm Internationals latest standard, 4 :2012 Audiovisual Systems Energy Management, has been approved by its Board of Directors and submitted to ANSI. This standard defines and prescribes processes and requirements for ongoing power-consumption management of the audiovisual system. It identifies requirements for the control and continuous monitoring of electrical power for AV systems, conserving power whenever possible and operating components at the lowest power-consuming state possible without compromising the system’s performance for the needs of the user. AV systems in conformance with the standard will meet the defined requirements for automation, measurement, analysis and training. An overview can be found at infocomm.org/standards.
Subject-matter experts involved in developing this standard include Matthew Kosel, CTS-D, CTS-I, Spinitar (Moderator); David Barnett, CTS-D, The Sextant Group; Steven Greenblatt, CTS, Control Concepts Inc.; Jacob Jackson, CAP, Assurity Design Group; Rahul Karnik, St. John's University; Christopher Maione, CTS-D, Christopher Maione Associates; Peter Pekurar, CQE, CET, Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc.; Jonathan Rutledge, CTS, AMX Corp.; Bob Schluter, Middle Atlantic Products, Inc.; Jennifer Willard, CTS, Administrative Office of the Courts of California, and Scott Woolley, CTS, RCDD, LDS Church.
The standard is available at global.ihs.com or webstore.ansi.org.
SONY AND PANASONIC TO COOPERATE TO MAKE OLEDS
Rival Japanese television makers Sony Corp. and Panasonic Corp. will be cooperating to make OLED (organic light emitting diode) sets as they battle Korean rivals Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics in the next-generation TV market. The race to garner a lead in this touted successor to LCDs will depend on which company can mass produce screens at a consumer attractive price. They will develop technologies to fabricate the screens and aim to establish mass-production in 2013.
Samsung and LG have displayed 55-inch OLED prototypes, with the sets expected to sell this year for about $10,000, about 4x the cost of an equivalent LCD model. OLED TV shipments may reach 2.1 million sets in 2015 from 34,000 this year, according to research firm IHS Inc. With tough Korean competitors in the LCD segment, Sony and Panasonic might better be able to compete in the next generation market by combining their OLED technologies and development budgets. Sony’s TV losses have totaled about $12 billion in the past decade.
Sony pioneered OLED technology, selling the first OLED TV in 2007. Although it halted production of the $2000 screens in 2010, Sony still makes OLED screens costing as much as $26,000 for high-end customers. According to Reuters, an industry source stated that Panasonic plans to invest about 30 billion yen ($373 million) in its Himeji plant in western Japan for a test production line of OLED panels.
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TV One’s new CORIO®master, C3-540 Series Video System
The new C3-540 CORIO®master offers a new, more efficient approach to building video systems. Using TV One's latest CORIO®3 technology, it gives the user access to new levels of video processing power to achieve new heights of creative and dynamic video displays. All this is possible in one 4RU chassis.
The C3-540 combines edge blending, video wall processing, multiviewing, windowing, image warping, and video processing with Up, Down, and Cross Conversion in one device. The combination of multiple products into one 4RU unit results in lower rack space, cable, and power requirements with the unit itself consuming very low power. Additionally a high quality modular video matrix is built in using CORIO®softswitch, which provides an industry first firmware based video routing, switching and video conversion and effects platform using multiple canvases and layouts along with PC and Apple compatible control software. 16 AV universal module slots are available and the CORIO®master automatically recognizes the modules inserted as an input or output module. Any analog or digital format from composite video to 3G-SDI is accommodated.
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AVTEQ ACQUIRES FURNITURE COMPANIES
AVTEQ, Inc. (Dallas TX), manufacturer of videoconferencing and telemedicine carts, has acquired KLN Steel Products Co. (San Antonio TX) and its sister companies, Dehler Manufacturing Inc. (San Antonio TX) and Furniture by Thurston Inc. (Grass Valley CA). “We’re in similar businesses,” said John O’Donnell, AVTEQ Vice President, “so it makes sense for our growth.” With this acquisition, AVTEQ will significantly expand its US manufacturing capacity and increase revenue to a projected $60 million. KLN Steel Products was established 40-plus years ago and manufactures furniture for the institutional metal dormitory market. Furniture by Thurston was founded in 1980, and manufactures furniture for the commercial wood market.
BELDEN PURCHASE OFFER OF MIRANDA TECHNOLOGIES IS APPROVED
Belden Inc. (Richmond IN) has agreed to purchase all outstanding common shares of Miranda Technologies Inc. (Montreal, Canada) by way of a take-over bid at a price of C$17.00 per share in cash. Miranda’s Board of Directors has agreed to recommend to shareholders that they accept the offer.
Miranda President/CEO Strath Goodship stated, “Belden has a strong portfolio of successful businesses, proven experience with many of our broadcast customers, and a solid reputation in Canada and Montreal. Our businesses and technologies are highly complementary, and bringing them together will generate a more complete set of end-to-end solutions for our customers.”
Belden has no plans for any changes to Miranda’s existing operations, including the R&D and manufacturing operations located at its Montreal base, including employment levels. With no significant product overlap, the primary focus will be to ensure continuity of supply and support for customers of both companies.
Details can be found at http:investor.belden.com/news-events.cfm. |
