Apollo Fall Hoofprints E-Newsletter

Apollo Design sent out there fall e-newsletter, Hoofprints yesterday with updates on the company and it’s product lines.  The first article caught our attention here at isquint, Apollo Expands Green Initiative.  The article explains how Apollo Design has been working to go green in their manufacturing process of metal and glass gobos.  Apollo is 100% changed over from chemical etching on metal gobo’s and has started the process of switching their glass gobo line to laser.  The switch saves about 4,000 gallons of waste acid being produced, thus helping to save the environment.

Apollo has produced an informative video about the process of laser etching and how it helps to save the world we all live in.  To view the video, visit www.apollodesign.net

Also in this issue of Hoofprints, Apollo released some oldie but goodie holiday and New Year gobo’s as well as new design just in time for the holiday season right around the corner.  Click the image to the left or here to download the complete holiday gobo offerings from Apollo Design.  Standard A & B size metal gobo’s retail from Apollo for $12.50. To find an Apollo dealer near you, visit Apollo’s website at www.apollodesign.net.

The last and final artical in this issue of Hoofprints is a product reminder of the new MXR Gel color mixing scroller that Apollo announced at LDI this year.  Look for more information about the Apollo MXR here at isquint in the days to come.  In the mean time, to read more about the MXR gel color mixing unit, visit www.apollodesign.net.

Update: FCC Opens up “White Space” to Tech Companies

Recently, we wrote an update on the “white space” spectrum of the wireless band in the United States and what that means for the entertainment industry.  You can read our posting about the “white space” here.

Today we received an email for a reader in the industry about the status of the “white space”.  Seems like the FCC has opened up that spectrum to tech companies such as Google and Microsoft, granting them free, unlicensed wireless devices access to chucks of the unused airwaves on the spectrum.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) yesterday gave Google, Microsoft and a number of other tech companies what they wanted by granting free, unlicensed wireless devices access to chunks of unused airwaves on the broadcast spectrum known as “white spaces” (so-named because they provide a buffer between broadcast channels). Critics of the move fear that a flood of wireless devices, unregulated by the FCC, will interfere with TV programming.

The FCC, which voted unanimously 5-0 to open up white space access, said the move will allow “new and innovative” types of wireless devices—next-generation cell phones and computers, for example—to take advantage of faster broadband connections, the key to better managing streaming video and other large data files.

via: email & sciam.com

Read more about the rulings and what this means on www.sciam.com.  And thanks to one of our readers, TN for bringing this to our attention!

Sennheiser’s Update on the New Wireless Spectrum

Sennheiser has put together a press release about the status and updates on the new wireless spectrum that the government is auctioning off soon and how it pretains to the entertainment wireless microphones.

Many questions have surfaced in recent weeks over the actions of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding digital television, spectrum re-allocation, and wireless microphone technology.  These actions have an impact on the current professional wireless microphones.  The following information is published in order to reduce misunderstanding about these issues.

Some questions anwsered in the press release:

• How is the TV spectrum being reallocated?
• Is this the White Space issue I’ve been hearing about?
• What is the White Space debate?
• What has Sennheiser been doing regarding the White Space debate?
• What about the future?

The release also covers explanation of recent FCC activity and where to find more information on the FCC’s website. You can also find Technical Reports on teh White Space also avilable from the FCC’s website.

Download Sennheiser’s Straight Talk about the Future of Wireless Microphones here.

GE Builds an OLED Printer

While this si not directly related to the Entertainment Lighting world, we as professionals and lighting specialtist must understand where the world is going and how we might be able to incorporate new technologies into our designs and world.

Ge has produced a printing machine that can produce or “print” OLED materials newspaper like onto an 8 inch sheet of metal foil.  These foil sheets can be mounted to almost any surface to produce light where and when ever you so desire.

OLED or Organic Light-Emitting Diode is any light Emitting Diode or LED whoese emissive electroluminescent layer is compossed of a film of organic compounds.  The layer usually contains a polymer substance that allows suitable organic compounds to be deposited.

A huge benefit of OLED is that they typically emit less light per area thean an inorganic solid-state based LED, but have the ability to be recycled or resused with little on no hazerdous left overs to dispose of.  OLED also draw far less power then their counterparts, as well as can be much thinner and more flexable around objects.