Inavate's Reece Webb explores Prolight + Sound 2022, discovering new products and a bustling atmosphere as trade shows return to Europe for the first time in two years.
Crowds, sights and sounds and an opportunity to reconnect in person. Prolight + Sound 2022, held at the Frankfurt Messe in Germany, has welcomed the industry back in person, offering an opportunity for mainly lighting and audio brands to showcase new products in the flesh for the first time in Europe for more than two years.
On the audio side, LD Systems unveiled its MAILA modular line array system for the very first time, whilst Kling & Freitag demonstrated a prototype of its upcoming PIA-M three way column speaker, which is due for a summer release.
The show was also a first for AV Stumpf, which demonstrated its Anyshape custom shape screen and Pixera Four media server system for the first time,
For the installation lighting market, Elation came equipped with a plethora of new products shown for the first time in Europe, including the Proteus range Razor 1960 Wash, Excalibur beam fixture and Fuze Wash 500.
The Obsidian NX1 lighting control console also made its debut at the show, featuring a 10.1-inch multitouch screen and 10 motorised playbacks.
Elsewhere at the show, Martin showcased its ERA 150 moving head wash fixture and ELP PAR static LED feature and Cameo previewed its OTOS H5 beam spot wash hybrid, P2 series of profile features for theatre use and Luxis FC with a QuickChange lens replacement mechanism.
Prolight and Sound presented the perfect opportunity for the AV industry to reconnect in person and showcase new products once again, bringing a bit of normality back for European AV professionals after a gruelling two year hiatus.