Studer celebrated its 60th anniversary at the recent NAB show in Las Vegas, marking the occasion with the debut of its new OnAir 2500 digital on-air console. The design is optimized for ease of use and maximum flexibility in a fully self-contained system with the control surface, I/O breakout, DSP core and power supply all integrated within a single compact chassis. Configurations with 12, 18 and 24 faders are offered, with motorized channel faders available as an option.
The Studer OnAir 2500 uses software technology derived from the OnAir 3000 and builds on the operational concepts of its predecessor, the OnAir 2000. The fader strips include a graphical OLED (organic LED) screen, which contains a channel label, level and gain reduction meter and parameter readouts, adjustable via rotary encoder and two push buttons below the display. OLED screens have a much wider viewing angle than LCDs, with exceptional definition, so operators can immediately see the relevant information. Large illuminated push buttons allow access to the main channel functions, editable via the 12in color TFT touch screens.
The large TFT color touch screen uses Studer’s Touch’n’Action system, where only the most important functions have hardware control elements in the channel strip, making the operation of the console relatively simple. The touch screen can also display all the relevant settings and configurations for each channel in addition to the OLED displays. A simple touch on one of the eight channel push buttons (EQ, dynamics, AUX send, etc.) immediately opens the corresponding page on the main screen, allowing quick and easy adjustment.
In keeping with its design goal of easy operation in hectic live situations, most important functions are just one finger stroke away, accessible virtually instantly. The user interface uses a flat hierarchy to avoid reliance on confusing multilevel menus. Using the same visual language as the Studer Vistonics system, the OnAir 2500 is designed for instinctive operation.
The OnAir 2500 provides the user with a large number of inputs and outputs in many standard signal formats, and the internal audio system offers interfaces to MADI, ADAT and IEEE-1394 FireWire. Integration with Studer’s Call Management System (CMS) is seamless, allowing caller names to be dynamically displayed as fader channel labels, and integration of radio automation systems is available using the Monitora protocol via serial interface or TCP/IP. Finally, the OnAir 2500 can also support I/O sharing via Studer’s networked technology, allowing the OnAir 2500 to share signals with other Studer devices.
For more information, visit www.studer.ch.
