NEP Supershooters to Expand its All-Calrec Fleet With Two New Artemis Beam Consoles

HEBDEN BRIDGE, U.K. -- Dec. 14, 2011 -- Calrec Audio today announced that Pittsburgh-based mobile production company NEP Supershooters has purchased two Calrec Artemis Beam mixing consoles for its all-Calrec fleet. The Artemis consoles will be installed in two new HD trucks that will get rolling in the spring. Supershooters has more than 60 OB units worldwide, and is Calrec's oldest and largest U.S. customer.

Supershooters' domestic fleet is deployed throughout North America, with occasional trips to Hawaii, South America, and Australia. The new Artemis consoles will be installed in ND 5 and ND 6, trucks that are bound for NHL hockey, golf, and other live sporting events on behalf of a major U.S. broadcast and cable network.

"Because the desks support the MADI interface, we can move up to 64 audio signals across one fiber/coax cable. So instead of running big, fat, heavy cables across a stadium, we can just run a few thin lines -- which are sometimes already installed. It makes for easier setup and more elegant interfacing among audio consoles, routing switchers, and multitrack audio recorders," said George Hoover, CTO of NEP Broadcasting. "Plus Calrec consoles have the highest density of processing, which is important in a truck where you need a very powerful, capable desk in a very small footprint."

Hoover added that the Artemis Beam's store and recall capability saves hours of time when setting up for shows they've done before. Also, Calrec's Hydra2 networking allows I/O boxes to be located close to the audio sources. With pre-amps and network conversion close to the source but controlled remotely from the console, mic level signals are not traveling long distances, which results in better audio quality.

"There's no way we could do the level of sophisticated audio that happens today in sports entertainment without these tools," Hoover said. "We have a long history with Calrec as their first U.S. broadcast customer, and we own more than 75 desks because they offer the best sound quality and reliability, and the maximum number of faders possible within truck spaces. Customers know to look for Calrec in the truck specs, so not having Calrec would be a huge disadvantage in the U.S. OB marketplace."

Artemis is based on the award-winning Apollo platform. Available in three sizes and using the same Bluefin2 HDSP technology, Artemis has an enormous routing and processing capacity. Bluefin2 gives Artemis Beam 240 channel processing paths, with up to 128 program busses, 64 IFB/Track outputs, and 32 auxiliaries. Artemis' I/O functions are performed by Calrec's Hydra2 audio routing system, which uses high-capacity 8192² crosspoint routers and a variety of I/O units.

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About NEP Supershooters Award-winning NEP Supershooters is known throughout the industry as the gold standard in TV production, providing state-of-the-art mobile broadcast facilities, supported by the highest level of technical expertise and production services. NEP Supershooters designs, builds and maintains its own facilities, creating customized mobile production units to match specific client needs and to provide complete customer satisfaction. The world's leading broadcasting organizations and networks depend on NEP whenever and wherever major events take place. NEP Supershooters operates eleven high definition mobile units, ten standard definition units along with two standard definition units based full-time in Hawaii. The Supershooters fleet is rounded out by the industry's most diverse fleet of B units or support trucks, everything from a basic box truck, to a 53 foot expando with AVID editing and two effects mixers.

About Calrec Audio Calrec Audio, part of D&M Holdings Inc., is exclusively dedicated to excellence in audio mixing for on-air and live production. A broadcast specialist for more than 35 years, Calrec has developed a range of digital and analog consoles relied on by the world's most successful broadcasters. For putting sound in the picture, broadcasters put their trust in Calrec. More information is available at www.calrec.com.

ENDS