Banana Ball TV (BTV), the production arm for the Savannah Bananas baseball team, has installed three Calrec 36-fader Argo M consoles, three Type R systems, and True Control 2.0, to expand remote production capabilities.

The Savannah Banana exhibition baseball team tours packed baseball stadiums worldwide, using altered baseball rules that favor trick plays, all within a two-hour limit to increase audience engagement. Think Harlem Globetrotters, but for baseball.

This year, the team introduced the “Banana Ball Championship League,” which adds even more opponents and an even busier broadcast schedule covering games across 75 stadiums and 45 states.

Spread across two main control rooms at BTV's remote facility in Savannah, and with flypacks positioned out in the field, Calrec’s flexible audio network sits at the core of a significant expansion of BTV's REMI capabilities. Designed to extend capacity and accommodate future growth, it makes BTV's workflows much more fluid, according to Savannah Bananas’ Head of Technology Matt Webster.

“We’ve seen lots of expansion for the 2026 World Tour season, and part of re-building our facilities from 2025 to 2026 was to expand capabilities and increase overall efficiency,” Webster said. “The Calrec consoles are all being used to support REMI broadcasts; we have Argo consoles in our main control rooms and we deploy the Type R frame in the field in our mobile units and flypacks.

“This gives us a combination of analog, embedded SDI, MADI and Dante, and all the audio is given a first pass mix and level set before it is embedded in our video transmission system back to Savannah. We ensure lip sync is correct on-site, so when it comes back into the control rooms, we just focus on mixing the broadcast as if we are doing it at our home stadium.

“We also have remote control of the consoles via the Calrec Assist GUI for changing things on the fly. The most challenging part of any audio console is how you have to interact with it if you are not standing directly in front of it, but nothing beats having access to a web page; it means we can access any console from inside the stadium to make changes, and I can also work remotely to support all our shows from home and fix issues that arise quickly. It is a game-changer for sure.”

Access to Calrec’s True Control 2.0 protocol, which provides even greater levels of remote control and unparalleled flexibility to scale up when required, gives scope for BTV to further develop its workflows. Webster says he plans to introduce it more as the season progresses.

It demands an audio workflow as dynamic as the Savannah Bananas’ antics on the field, Webster added.

“We want the technology to outpace production,” he said. “It’s all about scale and simplicity, and Calrec allowed us to achieve this in our second generation of REMI workflows. With broadcast consoles like the Argo and Type R, our workflow has dramatically improved. The Calrec equipment allows us to truly make sure we have the best audio – sweetened and observed.

“It brings us a level of consistency that we have been looking for; it just works, and it is simple enough for any audio operator to just jump in and start driving. We have many local audio mixers in the Savannah area that have an entertainment and film focus rather than a broadcast one, but the Calrec consoles have been extremely easy for them not only to make the transition, but to excel.

“It means all our production staff are able to move from room-to-room and from site-to-site and not have any compromises or workflow limitations.”

HEBDEN BRIDGE, England—Calrec Audio has updated its ImPulseV Virtualised Audio Mixing Engine to expand the market for virtualized audio workflows.

The ImPulseV portfolio now includes two new, smaller DSP package options—96- and 140-path configurations—alongside the existing 256-processing path option. Tailored for smaller systems that still demand uncompromising, broadcast-grade audio performance, all three packages share the same comprehensive feature set, including full processing on every path and support for 5.1 and immersive audio formats up to 7.1.4. DSP resources can also be dynamically allocated across channel and bus paths in real time, ensuring maximum efficiency for any production setup.

Calrec has also introduced shorter, more flexible licensing terms—one year, 12 weeks and four weeks—lowering the barrier to entry and allowing broadcasters to scale their production capabilities with no need for long-term commitments or high upfront costs, according to the company. This makes ImPulseV “an ideal solution for boosting resources for temporary, variable, or one-off productions,” Calrec said.

“Traditional broadcasters are reinventing their operations so that they can produce more content for less, faster and across more diverse platforms,” said Henry Goodman, director of product management at Calrec. “Remote and distributed production, combined with virtualization, reflect the broader trajectory of live production: away from fixed infrastructure and towards flexible, hybrid workflows that blend on-premise, cloud and distributed resources.

“This transition is enabling broadcasters to increase agility and cost efficiency through new business models," Goodman added. “Hybrid workflows that incorporate a blend of existing and new infrastructure allow broadcasters to build resource efficiency into every production—and that is quite an attractive proposition.”

More than ever, technology suppliers in 2026 are meeting media entities where they live and work, with a hybrid, flexible and often invisible ecosystem.

Audio infrastructure manufacturers and providers agree that while the “sound” still must be perfect, the exact location of the gear no longer matters.

“We are not moving towards a future where the physical location of the audio suite doesn’t matter anymore,” said Calrec Director of Product Management Henry Goodman. “We’re already there.”

WHO, HOW AND WHERE

While the “where” has shifted, the “who” remains the foundation of the broadcast. Humans are still largely mixing and shaping program output. “But how and where they do all this has changed beyond recognition,” Goodman said.

The show’s exhibit floor offers ample evidence for television, radio and streaming contexts.

Wheatstone is showcasing its VMX virtual mixing platform, which can serve as a single mixing backend for multiple consoles or surfaces, at its booth.

Marketing Director Dee McVicker said the cost benefits from virtualization are a focal point. “Not to mention removing the massive physical limitations of the studio as we know it,” she said.

For manufacturers, the challenge is ensuring that as consoles move from isolated desks to complex networks — whether on-site, on edge or in the cloud — the engineer’s experience remains intuitive.

Solid State Logic intends to decouple the “big console” experience from the giant desk. Berny Carpenter, SSL’s broadcast product manager, said that through the company’s Virtual Tempest Engine, the software can be deployed across public clouds or private data centers.

Does this flexibility mean that mixing can be performed truly anywhere? Wheatstone’s McVicker offered a nuanced take.

“We’re not taking away from the tactile feel of a fixed console, yet we’re not limiting you to that or where you might be mixing at the moment,” she said.

Goodman too said Calrec’s approach is to provide the “big console” experience in a portable package.

FIXED HARDWARE TO MOBILE APPS

In the West Hall, Lawo is preaching a philosophy of agility through its HOME Apps platform. The concept is a departure from the “one box for each task” style of broadcasting.

For a media outlet using a generic commercial off-the-shelf server, Lawo believes the platform is ideal for managing a succession of workflows, allowing a broadcaster to decide on Monday that it’s an audio mixer and on Tuesday that it’s a multiviewer by switching containerized microservices.

“Hardware infrastructure no longer dictates workflows: Workflows now define the agile processing stack,” said Wolfgang Huber, Lawo’s public relations manager.

According to Huber, that kind of agility is important in mobile production trucks, where every inch of rack space and watt of power counts.

Wheatstone’s VML, an HTML5-based virtual console, can be accessed through a web browser, offering mixing on a laptop, tablet, smartphone or desktop. “You have a lot of flexibility to set up remote broadcasts, temporary studios in a disaster situation or even add on a permanent production studio,” McVicker said.

BY YOUR SIDE

But how does an engineer harness all of the power available now, particularly from AI and automation?

At Telos Alliance, AI is framed as a “mixing assistant riding shotgun,” said Clark Novak, its marketing content manager.

Telos’ flexAI platform utilizes the Jünger Audio Intelligent Companion, an AI-powered automixer.

Novak explained that flexAI pushes background noise down while keeping dialogue consistent, allowing the engineer to focus on the overall mix while the platform handles “small corrective moves.”

SSL offers a similar philosophy with its System T Dialogue Automix. Carpenter said that the system focuses on the active speaker across a large number of sources to reduce crosstalk.

“It allows the operator to focus on the output, rather than reacting to who is currently speaking,” Carpenter said.

Lawo, for its part, sticks to deterministic algorithms in its KICK sports mixing technology, for example, to avoid “AI hallucinations” in high-stakes environments.

But with the platform’s close-ball mixing, which is automated based on camera tracking data, Lawo’s Huber said the technology allows the audio engineer to focus on creative storytelling rather than manual gain-riding.

But a recurring theme is that disappearance of large surfaces. For instance, Telos Alliance’s Axia Altus and Studio Essentials lines allow mixing to be controlled entirely via a web browser.

“Virtual mixing isn’t about replacing the studio,” Novak said, “it’s about expanding it to other locations.”

Wheatstone’s McVicker called it a hardware-agnostic philosophy.

As NAB Show exhibitors will demonstrate, the movement to flexibility is not an all-or-nothing proposition. Most facilities are adopting a hybrid approach — keeping hardware where tactile control is needed, but moving the “heavy lifting” to the cloud.

As Calrec’s Goodman concluded, the tools must provide the operator with the ability to adapt to demanding environments.

Whether the processing happens in a basement rack or a distant data center, the mission remains the same: clear and compelling audio.

© 2026 NAB

LAS VEGAS—Calrec (Booth:C6907) and Grass Valley (Booth: C2408) are announcing a long-term broadcast audio technology partnership that they will be showing to attendees at the 2026 NAB Show.

The companies are combining their industry expertise to deliver a software-defined production environment that will see Calrec's ImPulseV virtual DSP software integrated with Grass Valley's AMPP cloud-native live production platform. The deployment will provide broadcasters with a unified environment for managing live broadcasts.

Coupling Grass Valley’s solutions in video production with Calrec’s broadcast audio expertise, ImPulseV, strengthens audio workflows within Grass Valley’s AMPP market leading Ecosystem.

The companies noted that the partnership provides all the benefits of close integration and orchestration with proven applications from renowned broadcast partners on a single platform. Calrec’s pathway into AMPP OS will start with AMPP Control integration and evolve towards a fully native ImPulseV application running on AMPP.

The collaboration also strengthens AMPP's tier 1 audio capabilities alongside its tier 1 video production strengths, creating a single platform for high-end live productions.

The integration comes at a time when the industry is moving towards software defined production, open standards and collaboration. As hybrid workflows continue to develop, the partnership gives broadcasters the confidence to define and scale their own infrastructure requirements, and to fully utilize their resources.

“We are delighted to be partnering with Grass Valley, an organization that shares our belief that innovation, people, and technology define the future of our industry. In today’s fast-moving production landscape, strong solutions and trusted collaborations are more critical than ever,” explained Sid Stanley, managing director at Calrec. “Our virtual ImPulseV technology, combined with the Grass Valley’s AMPP Ecosystem, creates a powerful proposition, uniting best-in-class solutions to give broadcasters the freedom to build, scale, and adapt without compromise. This marks the next evolution of Calrec’s strategy, empowering our customers with true choice, flexibility, and control in a software-defined world.”

Adam Marshall, chief product officer at Grass Valley, added that “with the integration of Calrec’s ImPulseV into AMPP, we are extending the power of software-defined production with tier-one audio workflows. Media organizations can now deploy premium audio capabilities in a fully software-defined environment while maintaining the quality, responsiveness, and familiar operator control expected for high-value live production. Whether on-prem, in the cloud, or across hybrid environments, it all operates within a single, unified platform”

Stanley stressed that “as our industry transforms, the need for agile, scalable, future-ready solutions has never been greater. Together, Calrec and Grass Valley are setting a new standard, combining cloud, virtualization, and multi-vendor integration into one seamless ecosystem for next generation production.

“The introduction of ImPulseV into this ecosystem is a key milestone, enabling customers to deploy everything from micro-control rooms to global production environments with speed and precision - shaping infrastructure around their needs, not the other way around,” he added. “This is not just an important announcement for today, but a meaningful step towards the future. Both Grass Valley and Calrec are deeply committed to continuous innovation and investment - because in a world moving this fast, standing still is not an option.”

Both companies noted that audio has remained one of the most challenging workflows to virtualize without compromising quality, latency or the operator experience. The cohesive Calrec ImPulseV and Grass Valley AMPP integration is designed to meet these challenges, by delivering:

• Common orchestration
• Shared control
• Scalable infrastructure
• Cloud and on-prem flexibility
• Elastic resources aligned to live production demands

Calrec's ImPulseV creates flexible workflows across COTS hardware, public and private cloud, existing processing hardware and distributed resources, contributing to an efficient, flexible hybrid production environment. ImPulseV is part of Calrec's Ecosystem, powered by True Control 2.0, which unifies the company's high-end control surfaces with remote production capabilities. Broadcasters can use True Control 2.0 to manage up to five Calrec consoles or processing cores simultaneously.

By integrating ImPulseV with AMPP, broadcasters' flexibility to manage their assets is further expanded. One control surface can adapt – without loss of quality – to local, cloud and remote productions.

Both ImpulseV and AMPP provide OpEx based deployment models, enabling broadcasters to expand event coverage. The integration delivers audio capabilities that scale, without compromising the operator experience.

Calrec is exhibiting at the NAB Show between April 19 and 22 on Booth C6907, and Grass Valley is on Booth C2408. The integrated ImPulseV and AMPP workflow will be demonstrated on the Grass Valley Booth C2408.

HEBDEN BRIDGE, U.K.—Calrec will unveil solutions for broadcasters that unlock the full potential of hybrid workflows that provide greater freedom, flexibility and choice in how they configure its products during the 2026 NAB Show, April 18-22, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Building on its hardware foundation, Calrec’s compact IP-native, 48-fader Argo M audio console with integrated digital signal processor (DSP) will make its U.S. debut. With up to 356 channels of internal DSP, Argo M delivers the power, familiarity and reliability of Calrec’s Argo platform in a streamlined 24-, 36- or 48-fader footprint.

The Argo M maximizes desk space with full-sized fader strips and intuitive controls for the most demanding production. Plug-and-play SMPTE ST 2110 and cloud connectivity deliver immediate high-performance control.

The ability to connect Argo M to an ST 2110-networked environment and to an existing Calrec ImPulse core alongside other Argo surfaces means broadcasters can quickly create multi-console IP environments. Seamless connectivity to ImPulse, ImPulse1 and ImPulseV means additional external DSP paths can be added as needed.

Calrec will also showcase key software updates and a feature preview at the show, including:

• Argo v1.4.24, providing the functionality of 1.4 and operator enhancements, which is available immediately.
• Type R v3.2, delivering improved Mix Minus outputs, Assist Upstand meter tiles, Off Air record contribution dialogue and Syslog support with a Q2 release.
• A preview of Argo Offline Assist, which allows offline configuration and will be available in Q4.

The company will also preview ImPulseV running on virtualized server hardware. Calrec's ImPulseV virtualized audio mixing engine creates workflows across multiple platforms whether COTS hardware, public cloud, private cloud or existing processing hardware and distributed resources, contributing to an efficient, flexible hybrid production environment.

Calrec’s ImPulseV employs the same familiar user interface and can be controlled directly from any Argo or True Control 2.0 enabled console or via the company's Assist web UI.

The company will also demonstrate its IP-native 24-fader Argo M console with ImPulseV cloud DSP software, which is designed to be deployable across multiple hosting environments, giving broadcasters ultimate choice as to where and how they deploy.

Calrec will also demonstrate True Control 2.0, the glue that connects Calrec’s IP ecosystem together. Its IP Ecosystem powered by True Control 2.0 allows users to blend on-premise infrastructure with remote operations and virtual cloud resources. By decoupling audio and video from hardware, teams can scale dynamically, orchestrate thousands of audio channels across distributed DSP environments and virtualize entire workflows.

It will also feature Argo S with IP connectivity, version 1.4 Argo software, Argo Q and its Type R modular, expandable IP mixing system,

See Calrec at 2026 NAB Show booth C6907.

More information is on the company’s website.

At NAB Show New York 2025, Calrec has announced that it will showcase how its interconnected suite of broadcast audio products is reshaping the future of live production.

Calrec said that visitors to its booth during the show, which takes place Oct. 21-23, at the Javits Center in New York City. will experience a live ecosystem featuring the 36-fader Argo M (with integrated DSP), 36-fader Argo S, the versatile Type R mixing system and the powerful ImPulse processing core, all seamlessly controlled via Calrec’s True Control 2.0, the company reported.

Demos in its booth will show how True Control 2.0 is transforming broadcast workflows, driving the shift to fully remote and distributed production. With the power to control any Calrec system from any location, it unlocks access to more cores, more faders, more surfaces, and more flexibility so broadcasters can adapt instantly to changing production demands, the company said.

Unlike basic mirroring or parallel control, True Control 2.0 delivers complete functionality from EQ and dynamics to routing, direct outputs and delay. This enables broadcasters to scale production ecosystems on demand, orchestrating any combination of distributed production workflows and a deep level of remote control. A single controller can manage up to five other consoles or processing cores simultaneously, dramatically increasing flexibility and expanding functionality without the need for additional hardware, the company said.

Available across Argo Q, Argo S, Argo M, Type R, the ImPulse and ImPulse1 cores, and the cloud-based ImPulseV audio mixing solution, True Control 2.0 creates an interconnected ecosystem where any enabled device can control another. With Apollo+ and Artemis+ also joining the platform, broadcasters can achieve new levels of adaptability, efficiency, and creative freedom, the company explained.

At NAB Show New York, Calrec also said that it will showcase the compact 36-fader Argo M, which is also available in a 24 and new 48-fader footprint. Designed to maximize desk space, without sacrificing power, Argo M combines full-sized fader strips with wild controls to handle even the most demanding productions in tight environments. This high-performance plug-and-play control surface offers a full range of ST 2110 and cloud connectivity, allowing broadcasters to focus on creating great content at scale. With up to 356 channels of internal DSP, Argo M features built-in analogue and digital audio I/O and GPIO, 3 x modular I/O expansion slots, and MADI via SFP, the company said.

The ability to connect to an ST 2110 networked environment and to an existing Calrec ImPulse core alongside other Argo surfaces means it can quickly create multi-console IP environments, while connectivity to ImPulse, ImPulse1 and ImPulseV means additional external DSP paths can be easily added as production demands change, Calrec reported.

With seamless ST 2110 integration, touchscreens that can switch between metering and intuitive UI control, and support for immersive formats up to 7.1.4, Argo M addresses the industry’s need for super-compact and portable IP mixing solutions designed to meet the full spectrum of live broadcast production demands, it said.

Calrec is also bringing its award-winning 36-fader Argo S console to NAB Show New York, now powered by a major software update. Designed for the most demanding live broadcast environments, Argo S pairs with an ImPulse DSP core to deliver a modular, IP-native audio console available in two height variants. With enough customizable hands-on real estate to deliver control over every parameter of the audio mix, Argo S gives broadcasters everything they need to adapt without compromising resilience or precision.

The new v1.4 Argo software unlocks even more flexibility. An enhanced routing strip functionality allows users to see every fader’s routing simultaneously on the touchscreen. It also enables users to switch rows of physical controls to other strip modes such as EQ, Dyn or Pan, and enables Argo Q to support two sets of custom wild panels per section. A new Tiles feature allows users to customize their up-stand meter layouts to add thumbnails, and Argo now supports a streamlined new workflow for Mix Minus that allows users to select any bus to send to a channel’s mix minus output rather than just the auto-minus. It also adds the ability to select a different output when fader closed to when it’s open and allows users to “interrogate” the console to access routing information of buses being used for a path’s main output.

The update also supports DAW control of MIDI on the Argo platform and makes improvements to NMOS Control, status updates and monitoring, and interfacing with Calrec Connect.

In addition, Calrec will showcase its Type R modular, expandable IP mixing system, controlled by True Control 2.0. It too is designed to encourage customers to take advantage of distributed production and flexible workflows. Type R’s fully 5.1 capable IP core enables broadcasters to benefit from virtual working practices and automated broadcast workflows on a cost-effective SMPTE 2110-compliant IP backbone.

Calrec said that Type R now provides the following key features: off air record, enhanced GPIO talkback, monitor selector follow, mix minus bus user labels and a large DSP pack with 32 aux buses.

Visit Calrec at NAB Show New York on Booth: #544

AMSTERDAM—Calrec introduced a 48-faced Argo M and showcased its largest Argo software updates at the recently concluded IBC2025.

Completing the Argo M range and the Argo family, the new console enables broadcasters to use the extra fader count while embracing its space-saving design, the company said.

Argo M delivers the performance of the company’s Argo platform in a streamlined 24, 36 and new 48-fader footprint. Compact yet uncompromising, it maximizes desk space with full-sized fader strips and intuitive controls built for the most demanding productions.

With plug-and-play SMPTE ST 2110 and cloud connectivity, Argo M offers immediate high-performance control, so broadcasters can focus on creating outstanding content at scale, it said.

With up to 356 channels of internal DSP, Argo M features built-in analog and digital audio I/O and GPIO, 3x modular I/O expansion slots and a MADI I/O port via SFP. The ability to connect to an ST 2110-networked environment and to an existing Calrec ImPulse core alongside other Argo surfaces means it can quickly create multi-console IP environments, while connectivity to ImPulse, ImPulse1 and ImPulseV means additional external DSP paths can be added easily as production demands change, it said.

The Argo M offers touchscreens that can switch between metering and intuitive UI control and support for immersive formats up to 7.1.4.

The company also unveiled its new v1.4 Argo software with enhanced routing strip functions that allow users to see every fader’s routing simultaneously on the touchscreen and switch rows of physical controls to other script modes, such as EQ, Dyn and Pan, Calrec said.

It also enables Argo Q to support two sets of custom wild panels per section. A new Tiles feature allows fully customizable up-stand meter layouts with thumbnails, while the mix-minus workflow has been streamlined, enabling any bus to feed a channel’s mix-minus output rather than just the auto-minus, it said.

The company also highlighted True Control 2.0’s power and versatility across its product range. True Control 2.0 delivers full feature-set control parameters over EQ, dynamics, routing, direct outputs and delay. Broadcasters can scale production ecosystems quickly, supporting distributed workflows with a deep level of remote control. A single controller can manage up to five other consoles or processing cores simultaneously, expanding functionality without extra hardware investment, it said.

More information is available on the company’s website.

LOS ANGELES—Working on the 97th Academy Awards this past March as the broadcast mixer inside NEP Denali’s Summit unit was a massive but deeply rewarding undertaking. This is one of the most complex shows on television, a global broadcast with countless moving parts, and the Calrec Apollo is at the center of our workflow.

The routing alone is staggering—it includes international feeds, audience microphones, podiums, RF mics and playback elements from multiple audio and video sources. While the orchestra and live performances are handled in the music truck, those feeds are integrated into our final broadcast mix.

Total Recall
What made it manageable was the Apollo’s ability to recall last year’s setup with a single press of a button. When I walked in, Hugh Healy, our longtime chief technical engineer, loaded last year’s configuration, giving me a fully mapped session to build on. From there, I could focus on refining, adjusting levels, EQ, panning, reverbs and microphone gains, rather than reinventing the wheel.

The familiarity of the setup was a huge advantage. We’d been in the same venue for years, working with the same Calrec console, the same outboard gear and, most importantly, the same amazing team. Pablo Munguia handles Pro Tools, Biff Dawes and Tommy Vicari mix the music and orchestra, Patrick Baltzel runs front of house, and Mike Parker and Tom Pesa manage artist monitor mixes. Many of us have been doing this show for decades and that consistency allows us to hit the ground running.

Getting ready for a show of this scale was a finely tuned process, kicking off with two intense days of technical setup, which included wiring the stage, deploying RF systems, assembling the orchestra’s space and ensuring that every microphone and audio feed synced perfectly between us, front of house, monitors and the music truck.

By midweek, rehearsals took center stage, first with stand-ins to nail down timing and movement, then with the actual performers to perfect everything from traffic flow to camera angles. Friday transformed into “music day,” where the orchestra and performers came together for full run-throughs of every performance. On Saturday, the focus shifted to the presenters, wardrobe checks for RF mic placements and a complete production rehearsal. After a final dress rehearsal on Sunday, the stage was set and we were ready to go live.

It was a far cry from when I first mixed the Oscars in the early ’90s, after working my way up from a maintenance engineer at Wally Heider Recording in the late ’70s. Back then, it was all analog, no Pro Tools, very few RF mics and far less I/O to manage.

The jump to digital has been transformative. The Calrec Apollo desk handles the insane number of inputs and outputs with ease, and its layers allow me to access everything without taking myself out of the mix sweet spot. I can preview RFs and line up the next act while mixing the current one, which is critical for live television.

Water-Cooler Moments
Of course, the job isn’t without challenges. Today’s stages generate significant noise from screens, lighting elements and fans, making it harder to maintain a clean, consistent room tone. The proliferation of RF devices requires constant spectrum management. And with streaming shows reducing or eliminating commercial breaks, there’s less time to breathe between acts, which means more operators handling things silently in the background.

But it’s still a thrill. Mixing this show gave me those “water-cooler moments,” the great speeches, stunning performances and elegant old-school presentation that make the Oscars special. The technology has evolved, but the goal remains the same: deliver a beautiful, seamless mix for a worldwide audience. After all these years, there’s still nothing like it.

More information is available at calrec.com.

At the 2025 NAB Show, April 6-9 in Las Vegas, Calrec will introduce a suite of new interconnected products and updates aiming to help broadcasters attract more viewers and increase their bottom line.

Marking its Las Vegas debut, Calrec’s True Control 2.0 facilitates distributed production workflows and offers a deeper level of remote control across a wider product portfolio. This provides more flexibility to scale production as demands grow or shrink. It delivers expanded levels of control in two key areas.

Firstly, it gives users far greater levels of remote control without the limitations of mirroring or parallel controlling, with control of an expanded feature-set including EQ, dynamics, routing, direct outputs and delay. More fundamentally, it gives broadcasters and content providers unparalleled flexibility to scale their remote productions as needed by expanding the number of products it works with.

True Control 2.0 is available on ImPulseV, as well as Argo M, Argo Q, Argo S and Type R, allowing any of these products to remotely control any other True Control 2.0 enabled product. Each controller is able to access up to five other consoles simultaneously to provide more processing cores and deliver more control in multiple locations. By integrating both controller and controlee functionality across the board, True Control 2.0 gives broadcasters more flexibility than ever before, expanding functionality without having to invest in additional hardware.

Calrec launched True Control 2.0 in Q3 2024 and as the adoption of sustainable and cost-effective remote and distributed production workflows continues to develop, the ability to control any system from anywhere creates an incredibly agile way to work. Providing access to more cores, more faders, more surfaces, and more control from any location gives users ultimate flexibility delivering content to air.

From May 2025, Calrec's Apollo+ and Artemis+ will become part of the True Control 2.0 family, allowing them to control other True Control 2.0 enabled Calrec products with the same feature set as Calrec’s Remote Production Unit, RP1; including fader & cuts, input controls, aux sends on/gains and aux sends.

Calrec’s ImpulseV cloud-based audio mixing solution, which had its development preview at NAB 2024, provides a virtualized Calrec audio mixing engine in a cloud native AWS environment. Accessed from anywhere in the world, it uses the same familiar Calrec user interface. It can be controlled through Calrec’s Assist web UI on a standard browser, directly from any Calrec Argo or via True Control 2.0 from any True Control 2.0 enabled console, including Calrec Type R.

Minimizing broadcasters’ reliance on physical hardware, ImPulseV delivers premium audio quality and Calrec’s full broadcast feature set. ImPulseV is optimised for low latency throughput, providing real-time responsive, efficient and deterministic audio processing, control, routing and mixing. ImPulseV not only empowers broadcasters to flex resources to meet the demands of large broadcast events, its economical OpEx model enables a wider range of second and third tier events, which may not previously have been economically viable.

Also compatible with True Control 2.0, Calrec’s new Argo M console uses the same technology that powers Calrec’s established Argo platform to deliver the same feature set and operational familiarity in a compact 24- or 36-fader footprint. Ideal for small to medium-scale applications, Argo M is a plug-and-play broadcast audio solution. It boasts integrated DSP processing and built-in analogue and digital audio I/O and GPIO, 3 x modular I/O slots for further expansion, and a MADI I/O port via an SFP.

Available out of the box with up to 356 channels of internal DSP, Argo M also has the ability to connect to an ST2110 networked environment and to an existing ImPulse core alongside other Argo surfaces. It can quickly create multi-console IP environments, and can add additional external DSP paths with ImPulse, ImPulse1 and ImPulseV as production demands grow.

From May 2025, users will be able to access extra bussing via an aux booster upgrade path on all three Argo consoles, ImPulse and ImPulse1.

MIDI is now available on the Argo platform to support DAW control.

Calrec will also showcase its Type R modular, expandable IP mixing system, controlled by True Control 2.0. It too is designed to encourage customers to take advantage of distributed production and flexible workflows. Type R’s fully 5.1 capable IP core enables broadcasters to benefit from virtual working practices and automated broadcast workflows on a cost-effective SMPTE 2110-compliant IP backbone.

From Summer 2025, users will be able to access the next Type R software upgrade, which provides the following key features: off air record, enhanced GPIO talkback, monitor selector follow, mix minus bus user labels and large DSP pack with 32 aux buses.

Calrec will also demonstrate its Argo Q and Argo S audio mixing consoles paired with a redundant ImPulse core on a True Control 2.0 network, as well as its smallest ever console, the 68-piece LegoTM Calrec Argo S.

Calrec will be in Booth N1813 in the North Hall of the LVCC.

The physical function of audio mixing remains relatively unchanged today despite technology’s onward march. There are now many ways to mix studio and outside source signals for live broadcasts, but the familiar console with faders, meters and turnable knobs is still a reassuring presence in most sound suites. That’s not to say there have not been considerable changes in the background, with processing and routing racks now commonly situated either in a separate equipment room or, increasingly, replaced by software in the cloud.

As Lawo Senior Product Manager for Audio Infrastructure Christian Struck observes, the implementation of powerful IP networking has directly impacted soundboards. “The trend in audio mixing is shifting toward integration with broader IT-based infrastructures,” he says. “This includes the adoption of data-center architectures and the use of commodity, off-the-shelf server hardware. Essentially, audio mixing is no longer a standalone activity but part of an ecosystem emphasizing agility, scalability and flexibility.”

“All major live production mixer manufacturers” now produce consoles that run on standard CPU hardware and are more in line with IT environments than proprietary broadcast systems, Struck explains. On an operational level, he adds, there is “noticeable demand” for higher channel counts in tandem with support for Next Generation Audio (NGA) formats.

Distributed Production
The configuration of an audio desk is often dictated by its application. When it comes to live news, Wheatstone Senior Sales Engineer Phil Owens says, the mission remains much the same as it has been—providing reliability and ease of use along with necessary support for various live in-studio functions, such as automation and remote contribution.

“Audio systems must be flexible enough to support different dayparts, from a newscast with two anchors, sports and weather to a full panel discussion or a single shot news break-in,” Owens says. “New systems are able to recall the sources—remote or local—and settings needed for these and other possible workflows.”

Any discussion of audio console technology over the last two to three years has inevitably included the cloud and distributed production. Henry Goodman, director of product management at Calrec Audio, describes them as the two strands of the main trend in this area.

“Distributed production environments are where a lot of broadcasters can see added value for their businesses,” he says. “The extension of remote operation to wider distributed production and the ability to utilize resources at will—both in terms of hardware and equipment resources as well as people, in a more efficient way—to produce more content is clearly a process many broadcasters are having to go through for commercial reasons, rather than just because it’s a new technology.”

Calrec recently launched ImPulseV, its first mixer dedicated to the cloud, based on a virtual audio mix engine with cloud-based DSP software hosted in AWS. While Goodman says there are “fairly forward-thinking broadcasters” now considering this way of working, he does not agree that the console or control surface has become secondary to the virtual processing and mixing setup.

“My view is almost the inverse of that,” he explains. “Once you’ve put your DSP in a cloud environment, a lot of people start to think about that processing as more generic. The differentiator comes down to how the operator uses it and the surfaces and control systems they’re sitting in front of.”

Wheatstone is “seeing a small uptick in demand” for virtual consoles to control audio hardware, according to Owens. “Touchscreens do offer some advantages, such as fewer moving parts, making them easier to maintain or replace, plus lower cost,” he says. “But most audio operators still prefer the ‘fader in hand’ approach. Of course, that may change as more of the ‘iPhone generation’ step into board op roles.”

The transition toward cloud-based DSP and remote production workflows has introduced more agile and distributed approaches to audio mixing, including the use of virtual control surfaces and computer-
based mixing, according to Struck.

“However,” he adds, “for large-scale, high-profile events such as international sports broadcasts, consoles in the tradition of haptic faders and real rotaries and buttons remain essential. Controllers and in-the-box workflows have gained traction for less demanding or smaller-scale productions but they cannot replace the traditional console in high-pressure scenarios.”

What’s Hot, What’s Not
Whether physical or virtual, all modern consoles—and their manufacturers—support immersive audio, which usually means Dolby Atmos. While the big streaming services—notably Netflix and Amazon Prime Video—specify Atmos for high-end drama, as Struck points out, it is still not yet a standard requirement for broadcasters and most streamers. “The interest in immersive audio workflows remains confined to a smaller portion of customers,” he says.

Goodman wonders if much of the viewing public takes advantage of what immersive audio is available, adding that “the vast majority of distributed content” is still not in the format. Even less exploited, in Goodman’s opinion, is the use of object-based audio (OBA) to personalize broadcast audio.

“Alternative languages are the obvious application,” he says, “but in sports coverage, OBA can also offer a choice of commentary and a different mix relating to the team a viewer supports. It’s still not very commonplace, for a number of reasons—the main one being it’s not cheap to do, because you’re effectively creating another mix. How you would commercialize it is another question.”

Some sports broadcasters have picked up features of OBA, but it is not a priority in other areas. “We haven’t seen [demand for] that,” Owens says. “But we deal primarily with live news. OBA requires more from audio systems in terms of an expanded number of sources and the ability to pan in new directions. I’m sure that will become a need at some point but I would put it in the scope of five to 10 years.”

Personalization is not the main reason to adopt NGA/OBA, Struck adds. “What we see is a growth of the channel count, from 5.1 to 5.1.4 or 7.1.4 and higher rather than broadcasters striving to achieve an OBA workflow with personalization,” he says. “It is an emerging trend, however, and the shift to OBA workflows has already redefined expectations for mixing consoles, particularly in terms of resource management and operator assistance.”

The mixing console has come a long way in a relatively short period of time. It will doubtlessly continue to evolve over the coming few years, while, based on recent developments, remaining very much itself.

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Mobile production truck provider Live Media Group has added a 72-dual fader Calrec Argo Q and a 48-fader Argo S console to its new MU-16 mobile unit.

Designed and built exclusively for All Elite Wrestling (AEW), the vehicle debuted with the July 6 episode of “AEW Collision” on TNT from the Landers Center in Southaven, Mississippi.

The new truck is equipped with dual Argo control surfaces and doubles as a Calrec IP ImPulse core for redundancy. It marks a milestone for the Columbus-based mobile facilities company, which moves to a native internet-protocol production environment for the first time.

“The fact that the Argo and the ImPulse cores are ST 2110 IP-native was a big factor in our decision to go down this route,” Live Media Group sound engineer Kevin Norris said. “It totally removes the need for any of the conversion or audio bridging we have required on our previous installs, which saves us space and simplifies all our interconnections.

“We’ve worked with Calrec for many years, and our operator base knows the console workflow well,” he added. “Not only do we find them easy to drive, but our relationship with the team at Calrec means that we’re able to plan hardware adjustments in advance.”

The truck runs two Argo surfaces from one pair of redundant ImPulse cores. Its Argo Q surface operates as the main mixing console. The compact Argo S serves as a subconsole.

“We’re also operating two complete IP networks: one for all the Calrec AoIP I/O boxes connected to the truck and a second 2110 network with EVS Cerebrum control and Arista MCS as the Software Designed Network,” Norris said.

More information is available on the Calrec and Live Media Group websites.

PORTLAND, Ore.—Audinate Group has announced that cloud-based solutions from Calrec, Gallery Sienna, LAMA, Lawo, and Telos Alliance have been added to the growing list of applications that support native Dante audio in cloud-based production workflows. 

The recently released SDK for Dante Connect enables software developers to build Dante audio transmission and reception natively into their cloud-based applications, Audinate reported. 

Calrec, Gallery Sienna, LAMA, Lawo, and Telos Alliance join the expanding ecosystem of cloud-based software applications to choose direct integration of Dante into their applications. Integrating Dante directly into cloud-based applications enables end customers to connect any existing Dante hardware or software to cloud-based software applications using Dante Connect, the companies said. 

These new Dante integrations give broadcasters and audio engineers a vast array of new products to choose from when building cloud-based Dante audio production workflows. 

The new integrations join existing Dante-native cloud-based tools from Solid State Logic and Waves, as well as solutions connected by Dante Virtual Soundcard from Grass Valley, Harrison, Riedel, and Vizrt. The ecosystem now includes eleven professional tools that broadcasters can selectively integrate into their workflows, Audinate reported. 

Following its development preview at NAB 2024, Calrec joins Audiotonix’s sister company, Solid State Logic, with the integration of a cloud-based DSP mixing engine and software on demand, which will make its debut at IBC 2024 in Amsterdam. Calrec’s ImPulseV, hosted entirely in a public cloud environment like AWS can be accessed from anywhere in the world and is suitable for all broadcast audio production workflows. It delivers the same audio quality and feature set as Calrec’s hardware-based ImPulse processing cores.

“By using Dante Connect, we give customers maximum flexibility for audio production with an on-premise Calrec hardware and cloud-based audio DSP mixing engine,” says Henry Goodman, director of product management at Calrec. “As new cloud functionality and flexibility is adopted by our customers, Calrec continues to develop and deploy new audio equipment and software designed to exceed customer demands.”

Gallery Sienna has integrated Dante into the Sienna ND Processing Engine. Dante support enables broadcasters using a variety of video protocols, including NDI and SRT to seamlessly bridge embedded audio streams to Dante Native systems in their workflow.

"As we see the growth of cloud-based workflows, dedicated audio mixing platforms are increasingly required, and many of these are native Dante", says Mark Gilbert, chief technology officer of Gallery Sienna. "Adding Dante support to the industry standard infrastructure platform, Sienna ND Processing Engine connects the embedded audio in video streams with Dante-based mixing platforms and also adds new mechanisms for remote contribution of Dante audio from the ground to the cloud, along with remote monitoring of cloud-based Dante streams."

LAMA, Lean And Mean Audio BV, brings Dante integration to their software-based audio solutions to enable new options for audio mixing in broadcast productions. 

“Audio production and orchestration is critical to broadcast productions and cloud-based software solutions give engineers and A1s new options for additional flexibility,” says Ewan Cameron, co-founder and chief commercial officer of LAMA. “Adding native Dante connectivity within LAMA Connect enables broadcasters to quickly connect existing Dante hardware to the cloud-based software toolset.”

Lawo brings Dante integration to their HOME Apps platform to support productions, including television broadcast and on-air radio, performing arts, houses of worship, and professional AV. 

“The integration of Dante into HOME Apps is an important milestone for Lawo’s open, unified HOME platform,” states Jamie Dunn, Lawo’s Deputy CEO. “Providing Dante integration on a server-based microservice level yields a vast range of creative benefits for operators as it helps them navigate the transition to future-proof hardware-abstracted processing.”

Telos Alliance adds Dante into the cloud-based Telos Infinity VIP intercom system, the first professional intercom system to support cloud-based Dante workflows.

“Adding Dante to the Telos Infinity VIP intercom system enables customers to expand the integration of additional audio signals from any Dante device into the Telos Infinity intercom network,” says John Schur, president of Media Solutions. “This provides customers the flexibility and scalability of intercom systems without the requirement of additional hardware costs.” 

Using the Dante SDK, software developers get free access to send and receive Dante audio to any Dante-enabled hardware and software. This enables end users to send audio from existing on-premises Dante hardware to cloud-based mixers, DSPs, and orchestration software, providing maximum flexibility in configuration. 

Licensing for Dante audio support is managed by Dante Connect, freeing developers to add functionality without additional costs. End customers license Dante Connect, enabling native Dante connections and cloud-based Dante Virtual Soundcard integrations. 

To learn more about Dante Connect, visit IBC Booth 8.A95 or go to www.getdante.com/DanteConnect.  

As it celebrates its diamond jubilee this year, Calrec has announced that it will be pushing the boundaries of audio broadcasting at IBC 2024 with a full range of connected technologies enabling broadcasters to scale their processing directly in the cloud. 

Calrec will be exhibiting at IBC 2024 at Stand 8.C47 between Sept. 13-16, at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Center.

Products that it plans to highlight include:

• ImPulseV. Following its development preview at NAB, Calrec’s ImPulseV cloud-based DSP processing core will make its debut at IBC. Delivering the same audio quality and feature set as Calrec’s hardware-based ImPulse processing cores, ImPulseV is hosted entirely in a public cloud environment like AWS, which can be accessed from anywhere in the world.
• Using the same interfaces that Calrec users are already familiar with, it can be controlled either through the Calrec Assist web UI or directly from a Calrec Argo console. It means that while there is no difference to the user, broadcasters can enjoy significant operational cost savings by reducing their reliance on physical hardware and scaling productions more efficiently.
• At IBC, Calrec’s ImPulseV system features 264 DSP paths (split between 128 input channels and 136 output paths) and fully immersive formats up to 7.1.4, with control provided directly from an Argo console surface.
• Argo Q & Argo S. Also on show is the Argo Q & S, the multi-award-winning audio control surface which brings unrivaled flexibility, IP-native supercharged DSP, unwavering remote-control capability, and future-proof technologies built around Calrec’s ImPulse core and Assist UI. It means that whether you are working on physical hardware panels or on a remote GUI, the user interface is both familiar and easy to drive. Meanwhile, its modular panel system encourages broadcasters to adapt surface hardware to meet their requirements, with two mid-level rows of interchangeable panels on the Argo Q model, and one mid-level row on the Argo S model. Calrec’s comprehensive system of user templates enables users to instantly change the hardware user interface to meet changing requirements or user preferences. Argo’s physical control surface uses optically bonded touchscreens to provide unrivalled visual feedback and allows users to build definable functions and apply them as templates. This functionality helps operators move around the surface faster and makes it more intuitive.
• Argo’s console architecture offers unparalleled system resilience with each 12-fader wide section remaining fully independent in terms of processing capabilities, path control access, power supplies and connectivity. This system flexibility also means each self-contained section can be connected using local or wide area networks, ideal for distributed productions. For example, a customer could have a 48-fader main console in London and a 12-fader FX surface in New York, both connected to an ImPulse core, allowing them the flexibility to work in whatever way they wish.
• ImPulse and ImPulse1. ImPulse and ImPulse1 are powerful ST2110 native audio processing and routing engines. ImPulse delivers over 2,380 processing paths for the most demanding NGA productions, while ImPulse1 is a compact 1U unit designed to meet the needs of small to medium single mixer applications, delivering 304 to 672 processing paths. With the addition of the cloud-based ImPulseV at IBC, Calrec’s range of ImPulse engines aims to offer a variety of options for all its customers. All three work with both Argo and the browser-based Calrec Assist web GUI to enable remote and distributed working, as well as headless operation. Dual redundant cores or a single core with smaller DSP licenses can be offered.
• Type R. Calrec’s Type R modular, expandable IP mixing system is also on the stand. It too is designed to encourage customers to take advantage of distributed production and flexible workflows. Its three hardware and soft panels can create a variety of system types. It integrates with station automation systems like Ross Overdrive, Sony ELC and Grass Valley Ignite.

In response to the explosion of remote production and distributed working over the last couple of years, Calrec also reported that it will announce an expansion of its remote production capability.

Calrec noted that this year’s incredibly exciting summer of sports has seen widespread adoption of these trends disrupting the traditional need for the control room and operator to be located at the venue. This changes how the operator, and the equipment are managed, as well as providing greater consistency in the mixing. More information about this new innovative toolset will be revealed at IBC 2024.

HEBDEN BRIDGE, U.K.—Global News, a leading news network in Canada, has integrated Calrec's Type R consoles into its facilities in Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver. 

Global News operates 15 local stations across Canada, providing community-based news, weather, and information. The network delivers national coverage featuring stories, analysis, and engaging content on issues both in Canada and abroad. Global News is accessible through 11 different platforms, including the Global TV App, Pluto TV, Samsung, LG, and Roku. 

The sale was handled by Calrec’s Canadian Partner, True North A.V.

The addition of Type R cores, plus a mix of software and hardware control surfaces, into its facilities marks a technological step forward for Global News.

“The Type R consoles replace our old Calrec Omega desks, which we had for 15 years and which were absolute workhorses,” explained Ralph Carstens, systems specialist, audio at Global News. “We saw the addition of the Type R as a bonus in achieving our production goals. It offers remote access and flexibility in terms of I/O integration and it’s a budget-friendly console. When we did a comparison of both consoles, there was also a noticeable difference in audio quality with the Type R sounding warmer and less brittle.”

The Calgary facility has one six-fader panel and one large soft panel. The Edmonton facility has five six-fader panels and two large soft panels, and the Vancouver facility has six six-fader panels and three large soft panels. The cores are largely controlled locally in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. 

“We have the ability to adjust things like levels and dynamics remotely using VPN and the Calrec Assist GUI, if needed,” Carstens explained. “The cores are connected to Viz Mosart, the automation system that allows just one to two operators to control all aspects of news production such as the cameras, playout, graphics, and audio. All the cores handle live local news production. Global National is produced out of Vancouver and all three cores produce top-rated morning, noon, and evening news shows plus cover elections and other special events.”

Carstens added that True North A.V., Calrec’s Canadian partner, was instrumental in making this project happen. "True North is incredibly knowledgeable about Type R, and their response time was phenomenal, putting me at ease in knowing that I could get answers immediately,” he said. 

Kypros Christodoulides, Calrec product specialist at True North, notes that “This project was our first application of Type R consoles in a live TV environment, which made it both challenging and very interesting at the same time. In the end, the deployment was fast and smooth, and the Type R’s provide Global News with a flexible cost-effective solution that meets all its requirements.”

OXFORD, UK—Solid State Logic will introduce System T Cloud, a virtualized version of its System T audio mixing solution for live-to-air broadcast at the 2024 NAB Show, April 14-17 in Las Vegas. 

System T Cloud delivers the same premium audio quality, feature set, and interface as the hardware-based version and is “a complete and comprehensive broadcast audio solution,” the company said. 

Cloud-based, or ‘virtualized’ audio processing presents the next significant step forward in production technology, offering substantial benefits to broadcasters and service providers, SSL said. Operational costs are minimized by reducing physical hardware onsite, while idle resource capacity can be utilised more efficiently. The ability to easily manage multiple live events in various geographical locations from a single control room reduces travel and lowers the carbon footprint of production operations. 

Over the past two years, Solid State Logic says it and fellow Audiotonix manufacturer, Calrec have been working closely with leading broadcasters to gain invaluable insights into their production needs, particularly in harnessing cloud-based processing and virtualized control. Through a series of successful Proof-of-Concept (PoC) events, encompassing both shadow and live-to-air productions, SSL and Calrec have co-developed virtualized DSP capabilities.  

System T Cloud offers truly flexible capabilities with virtualized processing, control and audio routing. It provides up to 256 processing paths, supporting stereo, 5.1 and immersive formats, all controlled via hardware or software interfaces from any location. With a fully integrated Dante Connect implementation, the Virtual Tempest Engine offers 256x256 inputs and outputs, with audio routing control managed directly from the UI and stored and recalled with the showfile. Across a distributed production architecture, any combination of hardware and software control interfaces can be utilised, offering a unified operator experience, according to the company.  

System T Cloud features include:

• Cloud instances of the Virtual Tempest DSP Engine.  
• Cloud instances of the Tempest Control App.  
• 256 processing paths.  
• Full immersive formats up to 7.1.4 with 9.1.6 monitoring.  
• Dante Connect cloud audio transport and routing.  
• 256x256 Dante Connect connectivity on Virtual Tempest Engine.  
• NDI conversion options.  
• Hardware and/or software control positions located anywhere.  
• Control positions in multiple locations simultaneously.

SSL will be Booth C6307 in the Central Hall of the Las Vegas  Convention Center. 

NUTCLOUGH MILL, U.K.—Calrec will feature its new Argo-S IP-native audio mixer, a reduced height version of its Argo audio mixing control platform, at the 2024 NAB Show, April 13-17, in Las Vegas.

Argo-S family combines the meter bridge and touch UI into a single row of displays, enabling users to switch between the Calrec Assist full web UI and full meters on any section, on-the-fly. It maintains Argo’s everything-from-everywhere ethos of flexibility, customization, ergonomics, resilience and multi-user workflows in a form factor that fits in the tightest environments or can be dropped in as a replacement for smaller consoles, the company said.

The Argo-S is well-suited to applications where low-profile or better line-of-sight over the surface is required. Like its larger Argo siblings, each 12-fader wide section is fully independent in terms of processing capabilities, path control access, power supplies and connectivity, meaning there is no reliance on any individual section, it said.

Argo is fully modular with interchangeable hardware panels. It uses Calrec’s Assist UI at its core. This allows users, whether they are working on physical hardware panels or with a remote GUI, to work with a familiar, easy-to-drive interface, the company said.

Its modular panel system encourages broadcasters to adapt surface hardware to meet their unique requirements—with two mid-level rows of interchangeable panels on the larger Argo Q model and one mid-level row on the Argo-S model, the company said.

The company also will feature its ImPulse1 IP audio processing and routing engine, a smaller, powerful, cost-effective SMPTE ST 2110 version of its ImPulse solution. ImPulse1 is a compact 1U solution with an optional second core for redundancy. It offers a new 128-input-channel DSP pack with entry-level pricing, the company said.

ImPulse1 works with Argo-Q and Argo-S control surfaces and Calrec Assist, which is best for remote working. It is well-suited to multi operator or headless operation. Cores with smaller DSP licenses can be offered without hardware redundancy. ImPulse1 is designed for small to medium single mixer applications, the company said.

Calrec also will show its Type R modular, expandable IP mixing system that allows users to take advantage of distributed production and flexible workflows. Its three hardware and soft panels can create a variety of system types. It ties in with Calrec’s Assist for mixing in the cloud and integrates with station automation systems, such as Ross Overdrive, Sony ELC and Grass Valley Ignite, the company said.

See Calrec at NAB Show booth C6307.

More information is available on the company’s website.

WALLINGFORD, Conn.—Ross Production Services (RPS) here has upgraded its facility with the addition of three Calrec 60-fader Argo S consoles as part of its first foray into IP at the studio, Calrec said.

Located in three Remote Integration Model (REMI) control rooms used for the productions of clients that include CBS, ESPN, Athlete’s Unlimited and EA Sports, the consoles were integrated into the facility with the assistance of Calrec, the company said

“Our studios were built out of necessity during the COVID pandemic, and with the increasing number of events each year and looking to the future, it was a natural step to introduce IP technologies as we expand our capabilities,” said Nick Minore, RPS business manager. “By combining Argo and the ImPulse core, we’re increasing our focus on REMI productions and will also pair Argo with Calrec’s RP1 remote production units for future events.”

Adding the consoles enabled RPS to move its Calrec Apollo console into its new RPS 40-foot box truck, which retains a Hydra2 network in the field. 

Calrec Brios have now been integrated into all of RPS’ Sprinter van mobile units and with these changes, RPS has transitioned to an entirely Calrec-equipped audio fleet, coinciding with the launch of its new FIN1, FIN3 and FIN4 Sprinter vans this year. RPS’ Calrec roster now includes eight Brios with MADI, Dante and Hydra2 hubs, one Apollo, five RP1 systems and three Argo consoles, the company said.

“One of the biggest challenges with REMI production is managing audio. Using RP1s allows our A1 in Connecticut to customize what audio is being transported back to our facility in Connecticut. They don’t need to go back and forth with another audio person on-site for routing or local mixing. We can remotely pair the faders on the RP1 console to our Argo surfaces in Connecticut, making it easy to provide a real-time IFB mix onsite,” said Minore.

Recent Argo projects include Athlete’s Unlimited Softball, Athlete’s Unlimited Volleyball and Premier Lacrosse Juniors on ESPN Networks.

The new consoles were quick to learn because of the similarity of their touchscreen interfaces and UI to its Calrec Brio consoles, said Minore.

“The flexible fader layouts and the option to rearrange panels are also huge plusses, along with modular I/O ports on the back of the surface and the ability to pair faders with our existing RP1 system,” he added.

More information is available on the company’s website.

Calrec Audio Ltd. will feature its latest solutions to help broadcasters and OB suppliers transition to IP workflows at NAB Show New York, Oct. 25–26.

Calrec’s ImPulse1 IP audio processing and routing engine is designed as a cost-effective ST 2110 solution for single console scenarios. ImPulse1 is a compact 1U solution with an optional second core for redundancy and a 128-input channel DSP pack offering entry-level pricing.

ImPulse1 works with Argo Q and Argo S control surfaces, and/or Calrec Assist, a browser-based GUI, suitable for remote work, multi-operator and/or headless operation. Cores with smaller DSP licenses can be offered without hardware redundancy. ImPulse1 is designed for small to medium single mixer applications and is offered with an all-new DSP license of 128 input channels without compromising its ST 2110 capability.

According to the company announcement, ImPulse1 works well in compact installation sites, such as outside broadcast and fly pack applications, where space is at a premium. It features DSP options ranging from 128 to 384 input channels.

Calrec’s Argo S audio mixing control platform will also be featured in the booth, with one mid-level row of interchangeable panels. Argo is a new approach to audio mixing, which Calrec says offers a flexible control philosophy that breaks the traditional geographic tie lines between processing and control.

Argo is fully modular with interchangeable hardware panels and uses Calrec’s time-served Assist UI at its core. This means that whether a customer is working on physical hardware panels or on a remote GUI, the user interface is both familiar and easy to drive. Its modular panel system encourages broadcasters to adapt surface hardware to meet their unique requirements, helping operators move around the surface faster, and it means the desk can easily be split for sub mixing or mixing in other locations.

Calrec has also introduced a comprehensive system of user templates to instantly change the hardware user interface to meet changing requirements and user preferences. Argo’s physical control surface is more streamlined, using optically bonded touchscreens to provide visual feedback.

Calrec’s Type R is a modular, expandable IP mixing system, available in two forms: Type R for TV and Type R for Radio. Type R for TV is designed to allow customers to take advantage of distributed production and flexible workflows with up to three independent mixers able to hang off one system core. Its three hardware and soft panels can create a variety of system types. It ties in with Calrec’s Assist for mixing in the cloud and integrates with station automation systems like Ross Overdrive, Sony ELC and Grass Valley Ignite. Type R for Radio is a modular, expandable, IP-based radio system. It utilizes standard networking hardware and soft panels that can be tailored to operator needs.

Visitors to the exhibit floor will find Calrec in booth 217.

HEBDEN BRIDGE, U.K.—Calrec will unveil its new ImPulse 1 IP audio processing and routing engine, a powerful SMPTE ST 2110 solution for single console scenarios, during IBC 2023, Sept. 15-18, at the Amsterdam RAI.

Announced earlier in 2023, ImPulse 1 is a compact 1U solution with an optional second core for redundancy and a new 128-input channel DSP pack offering entry-level pricing. DSP options range from 128 to 384 input channels, the company said.

Joining the well-established ImPulse multi-console solution, ImPulse 1 expands Calrec’s portfolio to meet the needs of any size installation. The new unit works with Calrec’s Argo Q and Argo S control surfaces and/or Calrec Assist, a browser-based GUI, it said..

Cores with smaller DSP licenses can be offered without hardware redundancy. ImPulse 1 is designed for small to medium single mixer applications. With a small overall form factor, it is well-suited for applications where space is at a premium, such as outside broadcast and fly-pack use.

Calrec also will feature:

• Calrec Argo, which will be shown with both the Argo Q and Argo S. Argo is fully modular with interchangeable hardware panels and uses the company’s Assist UI at its core. Argo comes in two sizes with two mid-level rows of interchangeable panels on the larger Argo Q and one mid-level row on the compact Argo S. The company also is offering a comprehensive system of user templates to change the hardware interface instantly to meet the changing needs of users.
• ImPulse, the company’s powerful native SMPTE ST 2110 DSP engine that supports up to four large consoles on one core. ImPulse is compatible with the Calrec Assist web interface and the company’s Apollo and Artemis consoles. It offers 3D immersive path widths and panning for next-generation audio with height and 3D pan controls, flexible panning and downmixing. 
• RP1 Remote Production, Calrec’s 2U unit remotely controlled processing engine.
• Brio, the company’s plug-and-play broadcast console offering easy operation and comprehensive built-in I/O.
• Type R for TV and radio, Calrec’s expandable IP mixing system designed for those wishing to take advantage of distributed production and flexible workflows.
• Artemis, Calrec’s live and broadcast console featuring a large number of inputs and output as well as advanced routing and processing.

More information is available on the company’s website.

See Calrec at IBC Stand 8.D60.

HEBDEN BRIDGE, U.K.—Universal Remote.tv is reporting that it recently concluded a successful remote mixing proof of concept (POC) with the Professional Fighters League using Calrec’s IP-based, compact form factor Type R.

Universal Remote.TV was set up by A1 and Audio Network Engineer Sean O’Gorman and A1 Shawn Peacock who set up the test to address a growing issue across the industry. 

“One of the results of the pandemic has been [that] many entities have built out regional ‘pod’-based production facilities to handle remote productions (REMI) across the US and world,” O’Gorman said. “One issue with these facilities has been finding high-quality, experienced audio engineers at a competitive pay scale to handle the massive number of events they have to cover – think Regional Sports Networks (RSNs). Often, the inexperience of ‘local’ engineers has led to networks having to fly in experienced engineers into these remote facilities. This is not optimal for either party. Currently, the REMI model isn’t working properly.”

To address that issue, Universal Remote.TV turned to MMA event producers Professional Fighters League (PFL), with whom they have been providing a range of audio mixing, network and equipment services for a number of years. Universal Remote.tv proposed that PFL get involved in a proof of concept to show how remote mixing – leaving the overall transmission chain unaffected – could solve the talent problem faced by many productions. In essence, they posed the question of how to bring the audio mixing capabilities of the OB truck to the engineer. 

PFL agreed to let them trial this on the world feed of its recent pre-season build-up event held at Universal Studios, Fla., from late January to late February.

Universal Remote.tv then approached Calrec for the technology to carry out this proof of concept (POC). 

Peacock explained that “we really wanted to work with Calrec because its technology is in 99 percent of the trucks in the US and they are innovative, tried and trusted and rock solid. Crucial to this is the technology form factor of the Type R so it’s economically viable to ship the control surfaces to wherever the A1 is, with the core in the OB truck, which they can then set up in a control room in their house. This is coupled with the fact that it’s IP based, of course. The Type R really fits this bill as its compact and modular, allowing us to keep all the DSP at the OB truck onsite and then feed the control signals from the A1’s property to the truck.”

Universal Remote.tv stressed the fact that they’re not shipping the audio signals to a console remotely – the audio is not leaving the site: this is about control signals. The only audio that has to come to the A1 is what hits their monitors and these control signals do not affect transmission. 

For this POC, Calrec provided some Type R control surfaces. Because the Type R is  modular, it’s a “couple of Pelicans with a couple of fader panels/LSPs and some cables," explained O’Gorman. "There’s a router, a POE (pow It’s a very minimal setup. er-over-Ethernet) switch and then plug it in and go and an A1 is online via our Universal Remote.tv-developed VPN." 

For this POC, the Type R was integrated on Universal Remote.tv’s network over DANTE. Everything that went in and out of the Type R core was on a DANTE network. A low latency WAN-friendly codec is used to ship the control room output of that core to the Engineer at their house – in this POC, that was Shawn Peacock. Just like in a truck, they are listening to whatever is routed via the console to the Control Room monitors. The latency is fixed with Universal Remote.tv setting it at 175ms - that’s the delay between an A1 selecting the source and hearing it. This is all going over the public internet with a VPN sitting on top.

“Being able to do this using public internet rather than dedicated connectivity is a huge boon,” O’Gorman said.

“We are maximizing the time engineers are able to practice their craft and provide them with the tools to take full advantage of the product they deliver,” he concluded. “On Monday and Tuesday, for example, they could be mixing a dog show out of New York and on Wednesday and Thursday they could be mixing a college basketball game in L.A. We want to maximize the time experienced engineers are sitting behind a console and minimize the time they’re sitting on a plane. Our goal is to bring the work, tools and resources to experienced A1s and ‘swing’ the shows to them, and this POC shows how well this works. The modularity and flexibility of the Type R is very well suited for this and the support of both Calrec and PFL has been invaluable across this project.”

WINTER PARK, Fla.—To train students for careers in audio, Full Sail University is using a variety of Calrec consoles and bringing in audio professionals to talk to the students at events on and off campus.  

As part of the training, the school has several audio control rooms outfitted with Calrec consoles including two Brio audio consoles and a Summa in its Education department and another two Brio consoles and an Artemis in its Events Department. 

The training builds on university venerable history of teaching AV and broadcast courses across multiple degree programs, primarily the Show Production, Film, and Sportscasting Degrees. 

Vince Lepore, a graduate of the university who previously served as the director of event technical operations, oversaw Full Sail events both on and off campus. His team managed two of the school’s on-campus live event production facilities including its flagship performing arts venue, Full Sail Live, and the largest collegiate esports arena in the nation, The Full Sail University Orlando Health Fortress. 

“At Full Sail, our programs are centered on real-world experience and providing our students with project-based work in professional environments utilizing professional technology,” Lepore said. “This allows us to provide our students with a chance to experience what it’s like out in the industry even before they graduate. I like to think that we’re always out at the forefront of available technology.”

Students are working on all these consoles every day. “Our relationship with Calrec is a great example of Full Sail recognizing that Calrec is widely known and utilized in the professional industry,” Lepore explained. “By familiarizing our students with Calrec equipment at the student level, Full Sail is working to help prepare them to enter the broadcast workforce.” 

Lepore added that each system has Dante, MADI, AES, SDI, Waves Soundgrid and Calrec’s proprietary Hydra2 connectivity. “There’s so much for students to learn about just in that Calrec ecosystem alone between all the various I/O options, router core options, and console surfaces,” he said. 

In addition to the audio setup, Full Sail thought it would be a good idea to expose students to professionals with careers in audio and more specifically, what it’s really like to be an A1. With this in mind, they called upon veteran A1 Florian Brown, who had worked with some Full Sail students in the past after they graduated and who had built a relationship with the university. “We really wanted students to hear directly from a professional out working in the industry,” Lepore said. 

Brown has worked on many high-profile audio events including Wimbledon, the US Tennis Open, and the ABC NFL Draft. “The best part of being an A1 is never knowing just how your day is going to unfold. Some days are easy, some are more challenging, but it’s always interesting and it’s certainly never boring! You get a real jolt of exhilaration every time you go live, plus a real sense of accomplishment after the show,” Brown commented.

With the Calrec Artemis on hand there at the University, Brown spent a full day with more than 50 students discussing the opportunities in audio broadcast and the career ins and outs of being a working A1. Brown covered all the different jobs available in audio, video, EVS, editing and more. He discussed what traits the crewing department and on-site management are looking for and dug into the nitty gritty of producing audio for live sports and the lifestyle that comes with that. 

“Full Sail University is a great venue to be talking to media students about future careers because the school has most of the gear that we currently use in the field,” Brown said. “With the Artemis console, I wanted to show the students that what an A1 does isn’t much different from show to show or sport to sport, with the idea being to take some of the mystery out of the process. For example, with the Artemis you can set up a loose default setting that can be your baseline for almost every sports broadcast. Calrec is the premier console for audio in American sports and the Artemis, specifically, is widely used in this industry. It is prevalent in the industry, and it made sense to use the audio console that I think students will encounter the most in their careers.” 

Lepore also called upon veteran audio professional Tom Sahara, senior vice president of production technology operations for Quintar, Inc., which is a startup creating augmented reality technology for sports leagues and creators. 

Sahara has an illustrious career in professional audio that began in the 1980s. He has worked on many high-profile events and before joining Quintar, he served as Chairman of the DTV Audio Group from 2010 to 2016 and as SVG Advisory Board Chairman from 2013 to 2019. He retired from Turner Sports in 2021 after nearly 24 years as the VP Technology and Operations.  

Sahara gave a video presentation of career opportunities in broadcast and production for the students. The presentation described the many positions behind the camera that students may find more in line with their interests and abilities. “The feedback from students has been tremendous,” Sahara said. “Not only did they learn about the preparations that an audio mixer goes through for an event. They were exposed to the many other technical positions, audio related and non-audio that are a part of every production. Many students had no idea that there were so many different positions and areas of expertise where they could develop their careers in broadcast production.” 

“While there can be many job opportunities for students entering the live production industry, it can be tough to sift through everything,” added Lepore. “With two veteran audio pros at the helm, this session gave our students a focused look at broadcast and television production from industry professionals who are working in the business every day.” 

As for advice that Brown would give young people looking to enter the broadcast audio workforce, he cites punctuality and a positive attitude as key attributes, but experience is key. “Do your best to get onto a crew — either as a cable puller or a runner. The experience you’ll get working on-site will be invaluable. Sports broadcasting needs new, young, fresh talent. The problem is that not many folks know that these professions exist."

“Start familiarizing yourself with audio GUIs, Dante, AzEdit, Waves and Unity,” he said. “It’s no secret that IP is the way of the future; think about networking and IP management. I also suggest visualizing what you want for your future. Have a plan about where you want to be and what you want to do. For example, if you want to work on the Super Bowl someday, a great way to do that is to start working in college football first.”

OKLAHOMA CITY—After more than 60 years, Oklahoma City CBS affiliate KWTV and parent company Griffin Media decided it was time to move to a new home with more capabilities. To manage the move to downtown Oklahoma City, they called on design-build systems integrator BeckTV.

“Working with BeckTV was a natural choice,” said Jack Mills, director of engineer for KWTV. “We’ve worked with them since the 1990s on multiple projects through the years. I appreciate working with them because of the quality of their work and expertise, from changing out a switcher to now having a new building."

Discussions about moving to a new building started almost three years ago, with KWTV engineering and design work by BeckTV starting in 2021. “There are a million things going on when building a new TV station, so the relationship needs to be efficient and productive,” said Brenden Cline, senior engineer and director of engineering for BeckTV. “We have meetings with Jack on design, technical requirements, space planning, and workflow. Giving us that information up front means we get that efficiency with Jack and with the manufacturers we’re dealing with. Seeing eye-to-eye on the technology and agreeing on how things should operate—that was exciting and the kind of projects that you want to do.”

What Do We Take?
Working with the architect and general contractor, BeckTV could verify the space fit and furniture design, pathways for cabling and AC, and low voltage requirements, while simultaneously building the equipment list and specifying equipment a year ahead of time. FX Design Group was responsible for set and lighting design, while Digital Video Group handled the monitor layout and set technology. Onsite integration work began in June 2022; after five months, one month was dedicated to rehearsals, commissioning, and shadowing master control leading up to the cutover day. 

Some of the decisions to be made were focused on what equipment to bring over from the existing facility, what would be purchased, and what might need to be borrowed during the transition. “We brought over our recent purchases, items that haven’t been depreciated yet,” said Mills. 

For example, KWTV has three Grass Valley LDX 90 Worldcams still on the books. Those were brought to the new facility’s news set, with Mills getting loaner cameras for the original building’s news set during the transition. Also moved were KWTV’s Dejero bonded cellular field systems, Vizrt system, master control servers, and 800 kW diesel generator.

While some equipment made the trip, KWTV did replace a lot of gear, Mills explained, because it was time to do so, anyway. 

New equipment included:

• Evertz routing with an integrated enterprise multiviewer and TDM audio router with integrated de-embedding
• Evertz master control switcher and airpath
• Clear-Com intercom with SIP for phone lines over IP 
• G&D KVM 
• Avid video production servers 
• Imagine Communications master control playout and automation systems 
• Three Ross XY camera robotics 
• Two Ross ACIDCams for the newsroom and greenscreen
• Two smaller Ross PTZ cameras for studio ceiling beauty shots 
• Image Video tally system 
• Sony XVS-7000 3 M/E production switcher and ELC automation systems 
• Calrec audio console
• Custom BeckTV consoles

The design of the news set, which is the same size as the set in the older facility, and the two-story open ceiling newsroom include a lot of LED screens. The newsroom features a large Daktronics LED screen that rotates art images and photos. The news studio has Philips LEDs on the anchor desk, LG LEDs behind the anchor desk, and Neoti LED panels for the wraparound weather desk. 

IP plays an important role by interconnecting the two facilities, which are 10 miles apart. “We kept a portion of the old building,” Mills explained. “We were able to keep those IP addresses, which was very helpful, with four dark fibers between the buildings, one for satellite, one for STL, and two for a 10-gig IP pipe.”

Strategic Communications
One of the keys to a successful live cutover is communications involving hours of strategic planning, coordination, installation, testing, training, and rehearsals. To ensure a smooth transition, BeckTV maintained a crew of two engineers and six technicians at the new site to install, commission, and support all new and repurposed systems. 

The project team, led by project engineer Abel Sassehagen, systems engineer Christian Ramirez, and lead technician Travis Peterson, with management assistance from TJ Beardsmore, met with Griffin Media and KWTV on a weekly basis to review and discuss the project schedule, focusing on BeckTV and KWTV deliverables and goals. “We were using so much gear from the old facility that we had to move,” Cline said. “We had to deal with loaners, new equipment with the scheduling of manufacturers’ commissioning, how and when to transition. But with great communication, everyone knew the status of the station.”

A simple homeowner moving task would become invaluable for the transition: tagging the status of the original equipment. “We had separate giant lists for master control and production control equipment," Cline explained, "with each piece and any dongles tagged as to when it would be removed from the rack and transported to the new building—specifically by week, day, hour, at cutover or after cutover.”

When the equipment arrived at the new building, the crew knew exactly where to start to stand up the gear. “Of course, getting integrated into the new system sometimes meant bypassing with barrels,” noted Cline. “Master control was first, with GPIs triggering all sort of secondary events so that it could mirror the original master control. Then we would focus on production control. Once stood up, production control gets fairly vetted with all the rehearsals.”

Cutover in 3, 2, 1...
During the transition period on Nov. 12-13, KOTV, KWTV's sister station in Tulsa, handled the Saturday night and Sunday morning newscasts. This gave Cline and his crew the opportunity to transport almost all of the rest of the gear, a big part of which was the weather system with its independent audio and storm trackers. Cutover was scheduled for the Sunday 10 p.m. newscast.

“We did it during the day and on-air, and it was really just switching a switch,” said Cline. “Since we were running in parallel and then switched to the new building, it was seamless to KWTV’s viewers—but we could also fall back if we needed to. That takes a lot of planning.” Additionally, KWTV’s new master control system is designed to be a master control hub to include KOTV in Tulsa.

“This was a fun project,” said Mills. “Of course, there were little fires, but all in all, a very enjoyable experience with BeckTV and all the other groups. It was interesting keeping everything running with all the contractors involved in the new building.”

Cline added that it’s “a little bit rare to work with people you worked with in the past and understand the process. Our product is delivering a good experience for the customer—typically the biggest project in their careers. We want them to feel comfortable and appreciate our people. But this one was special. I had a good time doing it.” 

This article originally appeared in TV Tech sister publication SCN.

HEBDEN BRIDGE, U.K.—Calrec will debut its Argo audio mixing control platform with the Argo Q and Argo S models at the 2023 NAB Show, April 15-19, in Las Vegas.

Argo is fully modular with interchangeable hardware panels. At its core, Argo uses Calrec’s Assist UI, which means that regardless of working on physical hardware panels or a remote GUI, the user interface is familiar and easy to drive, the company said.

Broadcasters can take advantage of the modular panel system to adapt surface hardware to meet their unique requirements. The Argo Q model supports two mid-level rows of interchangeable panels, while the Argo S supports one mid-level row, it said.

Calrec also will feature a comprehensive system of user templates that makes it possible to change the hardware interface instantly to support evolving user preferences.

Using optically bonded touchscreens, the Argo physical control surface offers visual feedback and fast access. The soft panels provide a richer user experience. Hardware panels allow them to build definable functions and apply templates. Panels are interchangeable, making it easy to grow and adapt the console, the company said.

Calrec also will introduce ImPulse1 to support users wishing to move to IP. Working with Argo Q and Argo S as well as Calrec Assist, ImPulse1 enables cores with smaller DSP license to be made available without hardware redundancy, it said.

ImPulse1 is designed for small to medium single mixer applications and has an all-new DSP license of 128 input channels without compromising its SMPTE ST 2110 capability. ImPulse1 does not compromise on features and DSP power; it has DSP options ranging from 128 to 384 input channels and benefits from the DSP features from the larger ImPulse core.

More information is available on the company’s website.

See Calrec at 2023 NAB Show booth C6107.

PITTSBURGH—NEP Group has added three Calrec IP ImPulse system to expand its AoIP and remote production capabilities with the range of Apollo surfaces already installed in its Supershooter 6, Supershooter 17 and Supershooter 25 mobile production units.

A fourth is being installed in Supershooter 7, which is scheduled to roll out next year, it said.

Since January, NEP has used ImPulse on a weekly basis, providing ST 2110-30 flows over a 10Gb fiber link between the Supershooter 17 field acquisition unit on the site of an event and the Supershooter 25 production crew workspace at a centralized production facility, it said.

Both units can be parked up to 2,500 miles away from each other at any particular time, and the ImPulse at the facility can provide control on up to four Apollo mixing surfaces with another at the remote site, it said. 

Supershooters 17 and 25 run as part of NEP’s non-IP fabric, and Supershooter 6 is fully integrated into the company’s switch fiber. 

“The future of broadcasting is utilizing ST 2110 IP routing systems,” said Pat Zollinger, senior systems engineer at NEP Group. “All of our new production trucks and centralized production builds will be built leveraging IP technology and our in-house control system, TFC. Calrec has provided the support necessary for us to easily integrate the ImPulse core into our TFC system and represents a technological leap in I/O capacity in and out of the surface from the network fabric and control system.

“We’re constantly updating and upgrading our fleet of mobile units and Calrec provides NEP engineers with direct access to Calrec engineers and support staff," Zollinger continued. "During our 30-year relationship with Calrec, we’ve used everything from the Q2, the Alpha, the Apollo and now ImPulse. We have great confidence with Calrec’s ImPulse product line and know that Calrec will be standing with us as we navigate the ever-changing IP landscape.”

ImPulse, a powerful DSP engine, has native SMPTE ST 2110 connectivity. Compatible with Calrec Apollo and Artemis consoles, it offers a simple upgrade path for users moving to the IP domain, the company said.

It enables 3D immersive path widths and panning for next-generation audio with height and 3D pan controls and has flexible panning and downmixing built-in. ImPulse allows up to four independent mixing environments to run from a single core, regardless of its location. Each independent mixer can access up to 1,458 paths, it said.

More information is available on the company’s website.

HEBDEN BRIDGE, U.K.—Calrec Audio has unveiled a new audio mixing system, Argo, that offers a new approach to audio mixing and is designed to keep pace with the changes broadcasters are experiencing in their production workflows.

"Broadcasters are under greater pressure to create more content cost-effectively as they are all competing for the same viewers in an increasingly congested market,” says Calrec’s vice president of sales Dave Letson. “At the same time, production workflows have to be more flexible to be more efficient, cover more content and work as part of distributed production models. Broadcasters’ move to IP based networks is encouraging more remote working in more fragmented workflows; we’ve designed Argo to work within each and every one of these new paradigms.

Argo is fully modular with interchangeable hardware panels and uses Calrec’s time-served Assist UI at its core. This means that whether users are working on physical hardware panels or on a remote GUI, the user interface is both familiar and easy to drive. 

It’s modular panel system encourages broadcasters to adapt surface hardware to meet their unique requirements, with two mid-level rows of interchangeable panels on the larger Argo Q model, and one mid-level row on the compact Argo S model. Calrec has also introduced a comprehensive system of user templates to instantly change the hardware user interface to meet changing requirements or user preferences, the company said. 

Argo is built around an expanded version of Calrec’s popular ImPulse IP core. ImPulse can also be located anywhere; the location of the control surface is not tied to the processing core. It can power up to four independent mix environments, including headless mixers accessed on the public internet, with each mixer able to access more than 2,350 processing paths on a single console; this provides enough power to deal with the biggest immersive and NGA mixing demands, the company said. 

Argo’s physical control surface is also more streamlined, using optically bonded touchscreens to provide unrivaled visual feedback and speed of access. Soft panels provide a richer user experience and hardware panels allow users to build definable functions and apply these as templates - this helps operators move around the surface faster and makes it more intuitive, Calrec reported. 

Argo’s panels are also interchangeable and can be placed wherever they are needed. This makes it easy to grow and adapt the console to individual requirements and it means the desk can easily be split for sub mixing or mixing in other locations.

Like all Calrec consoles, Argo builds on Calrec’s broadcast-specific and industry-leading surface redundancy. All control elements can be duplicated so an operator can use any panel to access inputs and controls, while fader scrolling functionality adds more protection. When combined with redundant hardware as standard, Argo provides SMTPE’s hitless packet merging alongside a second layer of hardware redundancy to guarantee broadcast uptime.

Argo includes optional AoIP IO modules which can be fitted directly into the control surface, with a variety of I/O options. These can be fitted into every section of the console to give the operator a variety of input options, make cabling more efficient and save space in external racking. 

With NGA content on the increase and broadcasters adding value to productions with increasingly complex NGA output formats, Argo provides tools to make everything simpler to organize and manage. Flexible immersive spill helps maintain total control over multi-channel formats but with no need for dedicated surface real estate. Multi-channel sources can be controlled on a single fader but spilled out onto more faders for fine control; Argo allows spill faders can be placed anywhere on the control surface, on any layer and in any position to free up space and make the workspace more adaptable to individual needs. 

“Argo is a testament to Calrec’s ability to innovate with the changing times and carve a path through the industry’s changing broadcast workflows," added Letson. "The result is an audio console that provides an unmatched feature set that meets broadcasters’ needs now and well into the future,” 

New operational features include: Key Inputs and Ducker; full EQ and Dynamics on Auxes and Tracks; Flexible Spill; User configurable colours for faders; Control Links; Inserts on Auxes; Variable slopes on EQ shelves and filters; Flexible panel layouts (Wilds). Argo has an increased DSP engine which provides 2496 channels on a single console, and physical flexibility up to eight sections to provide up to 96 faders. Multiple sections can be combined or geographically diverse, while the enhanced ImPulse core provides enough horsepower to drive up to four Argo mix environments on one IP core.

HEBDEN BRIDGE, U.K.—Calrec has announced that it will be showcasing a host of new audio technologies at IBC2022 that are designed to help broadcasters to stay ahead of the pack as they switch to IP infrastructures, work to achieve efficiency with remote broadcasting and to save money with virtualized production. 

Those solutions include Calrec’s radio-focused and flexible Type R, which can adapt to a variety of requirements including virtualized workflows, and an expanded range of consoles from the cost-effective Brio consoles, to the IP-enabled ImPulse core. 

At IBC 2022, Calrec will run multiple independent consoles from a fully redundant pair of ImPulse IP cores, including physical control surfaces and headless consoles running Calrec Assist on a PC. ImPulse is the most powerful DSP engine on the planet and has native SMPTE 2110 connectivity. It’s compatible with the Calrec Assist web interface as well as Calrec’s Apollo and Artemis consoles to provide a simple upgrade path for existing Calrec customers moving to an IP domain. It provides 3D immersive path widths and panning for next-generation audio with height and 3D pan controls, flexible panning and downmixing built-in.

ImPulse allows up to four independent mixing environments to run from a single core, wherever in the world it’s located, and each independent mixer can access up to 1458 paths.

In addition it will be showing Calrec Assist, a browser-based interface for virtual console environments that allows operators to mix directly from a computer or laptop. It’s compatible with a range of Calrec products to help broadcasters streamline workflows, improve cost efficiency, and expand the variety of coverage.

Calrec’s flexible Type R will sit on the same IP network, as will the rugged Brio console, connected via an IP Gateway. Calrec’s Gateway boxes enable Calrec users on a Hydra2 network to merge onto an IP network to continue to get value from their original investment while tapping into the benefits of IP workflows. Gateway technology also lessens the learning curve for operators and allows broadcasters to transition at their own pace.

For the first time at IBC, Calrec will be showing Type R Talent Panel and GPIO Box

Calrec’s Type R is a mixing console designed to allow customers to take advantage of distributed production and flexible workflows. Its integrated native IP core provides virtual working practices and integration with station automation systems like Ross Overdrive, Sony ELC and Grass Valley Ignite. 

Type R can provide fully automated programming with real-time adjustment of external factors via a standard web browser, and its small and highly portable hardware elements can be quickly added if required. 

Powered by standard POE switches, Type R has just three panel options; banks of 6 x faders can be added, as well as user definable soft panels like Calrec’s Large Soft Panel (LSP) and Small Soft Panel (SSP). 

Also at IBC 2022 Calrec will add a compact Talent Panel to its product mix. 

This slimline unit allows guests to switch between multiple sources via its integrated hi-res TFT and adjust headphone volume with a dedicated rotary control. Four switches allow for the panel to be customized to the user with common functions like talkback and cough switches; this ensures only essential controls are close to hand. 

Easily mounted into furniture and with connections over standard cat5, the Talent Panel acts as an AoIP endpoint and can be quickly configured, and multiple devices can be added quickly wherever they are required.

Another highlight is Calrec’s new GPIO unit for Type R. It is a 1U box which delivers an additional 32 x GPOs and 32 GPIs for interfacing with external systems such as playout, phone systems, codecs etc. Functionality can be added onto physical buttons on Type R fader panels, soft panels or web UIs, and configured via Calrec’s user-friendly Connect application.  

For remote production, Calrec’s 2U RP1 remote production unit takes a popular Calrec console anywhere in the world without ever leaving the studio. A remotely controlled processing engine like RP1 means dedicated control rooms can be used to mix feeds from multiple remote venues. Remote production models produce more live coverage with minimal resources. 

Many large international sporting events have been mixed with RP1 in the last 12 months – As a leading audio console manufacturer and network specialist, Calrec has vast experience in REMI/at-home production models and is leading the way across the industry. 

Brio is a plug-and-play broadcast console which slots into any broadcast workflow, is easy to operate and has comprehensive built-in I/O. It is loaded with dynamics and delay on every path, has a huge internal router, multiple monitor outputs and is expandable for future growth.

Calrec’s Brio 36 Duet comes with internal Hydra2 connectivity, comprehensive built-in IO and 96 input channels as standard, while the Brio 36 Medley package includes adds a Dante 64 card or MADI I/O module, and an external Br.IO box with 24 mic/line inputs, 16 analogue outputs and 8 AES I/O.

Calrec will be exhibiting at IBC2022 at Stand: 8.B57. 

HEBDEN BRIDGE, U.K.—Public service broadcaster Radio and Television Montenegro (RTCG) has completed an upgrade of its Radio Montenegro and Montenegro Television facilities, including IP technology from Calrec to support its move to hybrid IP networking.

The upgrade to the broadcaster’s television facilities includes three new Artemis consoles, a router core, a Brio36 and two Type R consoles. On the radio side, five native IP Type R consoles, a Brio36 and a Hydra router have been put into use, Calrec said.

Calrec H2 IP Gateway technology is being used to integrate proprietary and AoIP networks. The broadcaster has deployed the technology to support operations of four TV stations and two radio channels, it said. 

“This was a quantum leap for us as we moved to our current facilities in 1985 and haven’t reengineered them since then,” said Dejan Vujovic, deputy general manager for technology at RTCG. “Calrec’s audio technology is super-stable and fully featured, but above all it seamlessly supports analogue, AES and AoIP, which means we now have a true hybrid workflow which is completely transparent to users.”

The broadcaster is using its Artemis consoles for live program production, the and the Type Rs for continuity. “We can control the Type R core from multiple panels as we move from one continuity to another or if we need multiple operators doing something more complex. The audio quality both in radio and TV has drastically improved. From an engineering perspective, everything works like a charm,” said Vujovic.

The upgrade of the facilities has given the broadcaster’s staff an education in IP and enabled them to work on more complex productions, he said.

“This hybrid workflow helps us make better use of our resources and prepare our programming faster. Calrec’s Gateway technology is really the enabler for us to have both worlds — traditional and IP technology seamlessly integrated. It gives us peace of mind in that we have a robust, familiar technology which is futureproof at the same time, without compromising on the flexibility of what the system can do. We can now work on both large, complex productions and small-scale projects equally easily. We are really happy,” he said.

RTCG leveraged its new audio architecture for coverage of election night in 2021. More than 10 live reports from the field contributed to its coverage from three TV studios. Several Skype, Viber, Zoom and telephone resources also were used for contribution. All communications were handled from the Artemis consoles together with an Artists digital intercom network from Riedel, the company said. 

More information is available on the company’s website.

TORONTO—The new Sportsnet Studios here has deployed two Calrec Artemis consoles with AoIP ImPulse cores and Gateway technology as integral parts of the facility’s audio workflow and the audio centerpieces of every NHL on Sportsnet broadcast, including “Hockey Central” pre-game shows.

The new studios for Sportsnet, part of Rogers Sports and Media (RSM), reside in two distinct areas—Studio 31 and Studio 32. Both are SDI-based with conversion to IP at the edge. Their setup includes virtual reality sets, augmented reality, 22 set monitors, a 50-foot curved LED wall, 13 cameras, two IP-based production control rooms and the Calrec consoles.

“We are familiar with Calrec from our first Calrec console installed at Rogers Sports and Media some years ago. We started down the SMPTE 2210 IP path back in 2017, and these innovative new sports studios were the logical next step,” said Jim Morrison, strategic advisor, media/senior media architect at RSM. “From a technical standpoint, Calrec supports AoIP very well, which fits within our media over IP strategy. Using Calrec stage boxes provides full flexibility when working in the non-IP environment as well.”

The two Artemis consoles and ImPulse cores are spread across three separate buildings and over multiple floors. There are two audio control rooms and several Calrec stage boxes deployed between the two studios. Each audio room has its own signal breakout from AES, DANTE (used for intercom) and analog signals. Each room is also integrated with the existing Calrec console and studio boxes, used elsewhere in the facility, via a Calrec H2-IP Gateway.

“The advantage of IP is flexibility. IP allows all facilities to have a common core and common distribution mechanism for essence streams, with all deployed based on industry best practices and standards. We know the systems we have implemented have more capacity than we have yet taken advantage of,” said Morrison.

Calrec’s Canadian partner SC Media, which Morrison described as being “extremely supportive…from day one” played a pivotal role in the project.

More information is available on the Calrec website.

HEBDEN BRIDGE, U.K.—Ross Production Services (RPS) has purchased its fifth 96-channel Calrec Brio audio console, standardizing on Calrec technology.

RPS has installed the console in one of its six-camera OB Sprinter vans. In all, RPS has eight production vehicles, and with the addition of the latest console, three have Calrec Brio boards, including its 40-foot, 12-camera units.

“Our preference is of course to use Ross equipment first, and about 95 percent of the gear in our trucks is Ross, but audio is the exception,” said Matthew Webster, RPS technology manager. “We will be fully standardizing on Calrec desks moving forward. There’s no question that Calrec is the industry standard for quality audio, and that’s something our team has been lacking for a long time.”

In fall 2020, RPS completed a new studio facility in Connecticut featuring a 72-fader Calrec Apollo console and two Brio boards. The facility is the main RPS production hub. It handles a variety of high-profile projects from the esports, sports and live entertainment arenas. Completed during the pandemic, the facility has four control rooms.

In the mobile units, the small form factor of the Calrec Brio consoles was ideal for the compact space allocated to audio, he added

The Calrec Apollo and Brio consoles served RPS well during the production of EA’s Madden NFL 21 Championship Series because of their connectivity and the ease with which resources can be shared, said Webster. 

“We’re using Calrec’s Hydra2 network and the MADI interface for all of our connections. With Hydra2, our consoles can be connected to any studio at any time and any feed can be controlled by any desk. Each of our control rooms has its own dedicated router and each router sends its MADI to a single I/O box,” he said. “The only reason we’re not doing AoIP right now is because we’re in a growth phase with Ross Production Services, and our MADI/Hydra2 setup is a great ecosystem for us to be in at the moment. Our operators love it and it cuts down on busy work for them.”

RPS is Ross Video’s in-house production service division. It produces between 150 and 200 events per year.

More information is available on the Calrec website.

SAN FRANCISCO—CNBC’s new Steuart Tower studio in San Francisco may not be the biggest or most expensive studio revamp the network has ever taken on, but what it may lack in scale the 1 Market Studio makes up for in technical innovation, especially when it comes to minimizing latency, and appealing design.

“We launched a show a couple of months ago called ‘Tech Check,’ and being a tech show we felt we really had to have a real, legitimate presence out there [in San Francisco],” says Steve Fastook, senior vice president of operations and engineering at CNBC. 

The business-news cable network chose to expand its existing San Francisco bureau, originally built about a decade ago, transforming a rather simple Flash Studio into an attractive space taking full advantage of its seventh-floor view of the Bay Bridge and an appealing set design by John Casey Production Design. 

Lowering Latency
It’s the exception rather than the rule for a full production crew to run shows from 1 Market Studio. Rather, most of the network’s production assets and production control technology reside in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., at CNBC headquarters, says Fastook. So, reducing latency between the 1 Market Studio location and New Jersey was essential.

CNBC upgraded its bandwidth between the locations from 1Gb/s to 10Gb/s and installed Cisco IP video gateways supporting Hitless Merge and Evertz JPEG 2000 encoders and decoders. “We went from a roundtrip before we did the project of about a second and a half to now a roundtrip of a quarter of a second,” he says.

From a production point of view, the nearly non-existent latency brings a natural feel to the on-camera give and take between contributors. “[With] cross talks, you don’t even know they’re not in the same room. That’s huge for us because it’s natural conversation,” says Fastook. “What we wanted to be able to have was cross talks between anchors in New York, New Jersey and San Francisco.”

However, what happens on screen is only a part of the story. Off camera, the ultra-low latency means operators in Englewood Cliffs can control the three Vinten robotic heads supporting the new 4K-upgradeable Sony box cameras with Canon lenses at 1 Market Studio as if they were in the studio.  

“That’s sort of the theme we’ve been taking. If you’re doing a show and it’s coming from a particular location, you grab the cameras at that location and you can control them like you are there,” he explains. “With the connectivity being so upgraded, that control is fluid.”  

In a similar fashion, the low latency helps to enable CNBC to run audio remotely from Englewood Cliffs. CNBC installed Calrec audio boards and the Calrec RP1 remote-controlled processing engine. 

“If you acquire a microphone in Englewood Cliffs that’s out in the studio, it’s the same as acquiring a microphone in San Francisco. All of the mix-minus and everything else can be assigned and followed,” says Fastook, who notes the approach made it unnecessary to add another audio operator.

“Everything comes back homerun through this RP1. You could look at your board and see four inputs from the studio mics in New Jersey, two from the stock exchange, two from the NASDAQ and three from San Francisco, and it really makes no difference. That really enabled three- and four-party conversations to really be as real as possible.” 

The new studio’s lighting system, like the lighting systems in all CNBC remote locations, is controllable from Englewood Cliffs. Fastook relied on CNBC ENG crew members to design and install the setup, which consists of LED fixtures, including Rosco studio lighting and large Litepanels LED studio lights.

Using LED fixtures was important because Steuart Tower is an office building. “Our ceiling height is a little bit higher than normal office space, but there’s no great height, and the air conditioning is really designed for office space, so the LED lighting was critical,” says Fastook.

While remote operation is integral to the 1 Market Studio workflow, local robotic camera, lighting and audio control are also available when needed, he adds. 

The redesigned space also relies on an electronic shade system on every window. Used throughout the day and prominently featured during “TechCheck,” which premiered in April, the space is subjected to the sun as it traverses the sky. 

“The sun comes up in the corner of the building, and it sets on the other side of the building,” says Fastook, “and we’re on through the whole horizon of the day.” 

Working with Broadcast Blinds, CNBC installed electronic shades on every window—whether they’re fully behind scenery or partially blocked by scenery. As the sun moves, the ND filters used as shades can be dialed in and out depending on the time of day.

COVID And The Studio
Like so many other things in broadcasting and society at large, expanding 1 Market Studio was not immune to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the case of the studio, however, its impact was both positive and negative. 

Typically renovating the small bureau to a 2,500-square-foot remote studio complete with a custom set would have required Fastook and crew to restrict their work to overnights and long weekends, making sure the space was ready to use when the broadcast schedule resumed every day. That start-and-stop approach would have required two months to complete this studio upgrade. However, COVID changed the equation, he says.

“Because of COVID, the bureau had been closed. We were able to go in and do everything we needed to do, and the whole project was completed in over a little less than three weeks, including the set, which took at least a week,” he says.

However, the new studio was not exempt from supply chain problems—particularly chip shortages—that are plaguing the economy during this stage of the pandemic. While Fastook made his completion deadline for the project, the job was “pushed to the limit,” he says.

“It really was a little bit less about the broadcast equipment, and a little a little bit more about the traditional switch gear—mostly Cisco-type stuff—that really got hit by the chip shortage,” says Fastook, who attributes getting the job done on time to being in the queue for equipment “pretty early in the process,” ensuring a place near the front of the line when the crunch began to ease.

Engineering for the studio renovation, which Fastook estimates cost between $150,000 and $200,000, was done by CNBC engineers, and the actual work was completed by an implementation team from NBCU.

While production from the renovated space supports CNBC’s 1080i HD needs today, the three Sony box cameras selected for the studio are 4K-capable, preparing 1 Market Studio for the future.

“We’re getting to the point where the amortization of those cameras may fall into our 4K transition—although I don’t know what that is, we haven’t really decided,” says Fastook. “It’s really more driven by the desire for it to be 4K than the content. This isn’t sports—that’s a whole different thing.”

But as the rest of world adopts 4K, there will come a point where transitioning to 4K may be unavoidable. When that day comes, 1 Market Studio will be ready.

HEBDEN BRIDGE, West Yorkshire, U.K.—The City TV-Radio Agency in St. Petersburg, Russia, has installed a Calrec Summa console in its first UHD OB truck.

The 16-camera unit was designed and built by systems integrator Broadcast Solutions and is used to cover cultural, political and other events in St. Petersburg. 

“From the outset the customer felt that its new OB truck would use UHD technology," explained Wladislaw Grabowski, COO at Broadcast Solutions in a statement. "As for audio, they looked at many consoles and were open to suggestions, and we suggested the Calrec Summa as the best choice from a technological and economic point of view. The client is very happy with this choice.”

The truck has been used to produce content for both the linear FTA TV channel and streamed on City TV-Radio Agency’s OTT channel. It is also production-ready for football, ice hockey, athletics and other sports.

Neva uses Calrec’s Hydra2 network for connectivity, consisting of multiple I/O boxes, including a stage box, four MADI interfaces and one Dante connection. Additionally, the Summa is used with Broadcast Solutions’ hi human interface universal control system that controls audio cross-points and manages audio signal switching.

HEBDEN BRIDGE, U.K.—Calrec is launching a free educational training module for mixing live broadcasts in Dolby Atmos using the Calrec Brio console. The training modules are designed to explain how to create and monitor immersive mixes with a variety of inputs on the Brio console.

“Mixing in Dolby Atmos enables the ability to place an audio source freely within a three-dimensional environment; not only within a 5.1 or 7.1 bed, but also overhead,” said Henry Goodman, Calrec’s director of Product Development. “Many larger consoles have features which make this easy, but assistive features on smaller desks can also help reduce the workload when it comes to NGA mixing for live broadcasts.”

Goodman also noted that there are no retakes with live TV, so mix engineers need to have the ability to get it right the first time.

“The broadcast landscape has changed rapidly over the last few years with the rise of live events delivered in Dolby Atmos, which is why online training courses are more important than ever,” said Mike Babbitt, director of Solutions Engineering at Dolby Laboratories. “It has been great to work with Calrec on this effort, which will provide additional tools and resources that the next generation of broadcast mixers will need to meet this growing demand from service providers.”

The Calrec educational training module for Dolby Atmos mixing is free through its Calrec Sound Institute. 

WASHINGTON—Earlier this year, DVG installed a Calrec Brio36 digital audio console at the BBC’s Washington bureau in Washington, D.C. Serving as the main mixer for all of its D.C.-based productions, the console is part of key upgrades for the broadcaster’s “Gallery” production control room. It primarily works on nightly news productions and also covers special events such as elections or conventions. 

This is the first time the BBC Washington bureau is using a Calrec console, suggested by DVG because of the Brio36’s easy-to-use routing system, great EQs and dynamics, numerous aux buses and mix minus legs, plus plenty of power. One particular feature used on several channels is the ability to have a second input routed and waiting on standby that’s accessed by the press of a button. From having backup wired mics for the wireless signals, or for having a backup telephone hybrid ready to cover the main hybrid used for directors in London to communicate with the talent, this feature really stood out as crucial for redundancy and reliability on air. 

The Brio setup also lets the BBC see the GUI on an external monitor. DVG took the DVI output of the Brio36 and put it into a KVM matrix, which means multiple end-users can train at the same time, with proper social distancing, which is mandatory during COVID times. Everyone has the same view of the GUI right in front of them on a local monitor, which is especially useful if you are in another room trying to troubleshoot something and can’t be in front of the Brio at the same time.

The setup also involves a Dante card installed in the Brio, which ties in their other IP systems. Through the Dante card, the BBC can feed their intercom system and remotes all the mix minus feeds they need without tying up physical audio output ports. They also interface with their existing audio router through an external MADI/Dante bridge adaptor. 

Although automation isn’t currently being used, they’re talking about adding it in the future and this feature will be incredibly useful for redundancy and ease of programming.

Joe Davenport is vice president of Engineering at Digital Video Group.

HEBDEN BRIDGE, U.K.—Mobile TV Group is launching its third FLEX mobile unit, which like its predecessors is fully equipped with Calrec technology for its audio setup.

The 47 FLEX unit is stocked with Calrec’s Artemis digital audio console, with audio-over-IP capabilities via Calrec’s H2-IP Gateway system. The truck also features MTVG’s Cloud Control capability.

The FLEX mobile units and dual-trailer outfits, with a 53-foot expanding trailer for Unit A and a 53-foot long Unit B. The infrastructure is based around the Grass Valley Kayenne K-Frame X IP switcher, an Evertz 384-port EXE 2.0 IP router and an Evertz Magnum control system.

MTVG has also announced that it is building the 48 FLEX OB truck, which will also feature Calrec Artemis.

The 47 FLEX OB truck is predominantly used by Marquee Sports Network, the network home of the Chicago Cubs.

HEBDEN BRIDGE, U.K.—Calrec has appointed Helen Jones as operations manager. Jones, who previously worked at the company, has re-joined Calrec and in her new role will ensure manufacturing and operations meet the demands of the business for quality, on-time delivery and team development.

 In as statement announcing the news, Sid Stanley, general manager, said, “Helen’s role will be to ensure that operationally we stay ahead of a fast-evolving and changing business environment, combining her great knowledge of Calrec with her leadership and management experiences to take Operations to the next level.”

 According to the company, Jones is “well versed in the latest production models, has extensive project management experience, and as a former engineer at Calrec, understands broadcast customer needs and requirements. She has a strong track record in the industry.”

 Jones said Calrec puts both technical capabilities and quality control first, “which is hugely important given the challenging times we’re all in. My decision to return to the company was an easy one, and I’m excited to execute my skills and knowledge to effectively manage my team and quality of the products so that our customers truly benefit.”

HEBDEN BRIDGE, U.K.—Calrec’s Sound Institute is adding to its curriculum, announcing that it is now offering an Audio over IP training course.

Calrec’s AoIP training course will be delivered by the company’s IP network specialist, Dave Sampson, covering topics like networking, how to multicast through to PTP and the importance of intelligent network design. There will be seven lessons in total, four of which are currently available online; the remaining lessons will be released one per week.

“Our goal with this certification is to give broadcasters a comprehensive understanding of not only the value of AoIP but the details of how it works, implementation and day-to-day use,” said Sampson.

To participate in the AoIP training course, users can register or sign-in with an existing Calrec account, watch each video and answer a set of questions, then download and share the official certificate.

Calrec launched its Sound Institute back in August.

For more information, visit calrec.com/calrec-sound-institute. 

DENVER—As the associate broadcast engineer for Altitude Sports/KSE Media and support venue operations—as well as Altitude TV at The Pepsi Center and Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Colorado—I have been mixing live shows for five years. I’m now an engineer in broadcast with a focus on audio.

Last year, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment acquired a Calrec Brio36 digital audio console to function as the heart of our TV broadcasts for the Colorado Mammoth lacrosse team for venue’s Jumbotron and broadcast. When COVID-19 hit, we went from managing one game at a time to potentially doing up to three at once because the Colorado Rapids (MLS), Avalanche (NHL) and Denver Nuggets (NBA) would be returning once major league sports started up again. With the I/O combined using our Hydra, local Brio inputs and the Br.IO, the Brio36 was the obvious choice for our new multishow needs.

BACK IN THE GAME

The Rapids were the first of the KSE teams to return to play. To produce the Rapids’ second screen experience during the “MLS Is Back” Tournament, we used the Brio36 to mix and manage a myriad of sources from inside and outside The Pepsi Center. This part of the production included live interaction and commentary from Rapids talent, guest appearances with Rapids alumni, fan interviews, produced content and live fan interaction and social engagement. The experience also coordinated virtual fan watch parties to support supplemental interaction with the ESPN and ESPN2 broadcasts.

KSE has never produced a show like this before. We used seven of our video edit suites to bring “Zoom rooms” into our video router, switcher and console via AES. A specific mix/minus was sent back to each one and incorporated the producer source to simulate an IFB situation through Zoom return audio. Talent mics were sent to QC stations around the control room so that we could talk with talent off-air and we also set up a conference bridge using our TIFF lines to bring our remote stage managers into the mix as well. All sources were managed by the Brio.

ADAPTING TO SAFETY DEMANDS

Furthermore, we kept the number of crew to a minimum in the main control room (my audio booth is isolated, so we had no issue with my position). The producer was in a separate room with his own comms and multiviewer. For our Zoom rooms, we had remote “stage managers” who would give cues on when we were going to them live.

Social media interaction on our broadcast was moderated remotely and the stream was picked up by a remote website tech who would push the video live to the Rapids’ YouTube channel. For on-site personnel, we built a custom “ultraviolet baking system” that stored the headsets. removing the bacteria on them after each use. We all wore masks during the entirety of the production while staying in designated boxes at our KVM station.

The Brio made this possible because of its incredible flexibility in terms of fader placement and movement, ease of creating mix/minus for each Zoom room and the immense I/O flexibility our system has.

With the way we have the board configured, we are ready to take on future second screen experiences with the Colorado Rapids heading into the regular season and are capable of running simultaneous shows for the Colorado Avalanche—if/when we encounter a double header.

Nick Bogannam is a graduate of Full Sail University with a Show Production and Live Touring degree. He is the associate broadcast engineer for Altitude Sports/KSE Media. He can be contacted at nicholas.bogannam@teamkse.com.

For more information, visit www.calrec.com.

HEBDEN BRIDGE, U.K.—Calrec is going the online education route, announcing the launch of the Calrec Sound Institute, which offers online certification training courses for Calrec products.

The first two courses available are for Calrec’s Brio and Type R digital audio consoles. The courses provide an overview of the consoles for engineers and operators, as well as being able to serve as a way for experienced professionals to hone their skills.

The courses cover hardware, I/O, routing, mix minus, busses and monitoring. They are designed to get users confident in operating the consoles. Those that complete the courses will be officially certified for the Brio and/or Type R systems.

Calrec intends to expand its training service with a series of detailed AoIP masterclasses that cover what broadcast facilities need to know about IP, including how it works and its industry impact.

Additional Calrec Sound Institute offerings include free operator manuals for Calrec products, Calrec’s Audio Primer, the Summa Training Course—a selection of 66 video tutorials—and a cleaning guide for Calrec equipment.

“We have always had an open-door training policy at Calrec, but COVID-19 has significantly shifted the broadcast landscape and it’s our responsibility to help customers develop with tools that can be accessed remotely,” said Henry Goodman, director of product development at Calrec. “As workflows continue to evolve, online training courses are increasingly important to help customers learn key products and be able to show that they have done so via certification.”

Learn more about the Calrec Sound Institute online. 

HEBDEN BRIDGE, U.K.—In an effort to expand its R&D department, Calrec has announced the hiring of Andrew Munt to the role of software manager.

The role will have Munt oversee all Calrec software expertise from architecting, design and development of new and existing products. He will report to Richard Whiteley, R&D manager at Calrec.

Munt joins Calrec after having previously owned a software design and management services company, as well as holding senior managerial roles at EchoStar Europe, SmarDTV and Eldon Technologies.

“Calrec has a powerful reputation in the broadcast technology space, across both console and audio networking technologies and I’m excited to be working with them to help them to expand their software systems as we continue to embrace AoIP technologies,” Munt said.

For more information, visit www.calrec.com.  

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—NASCAR has chosen Calrec Audio’s Summa digital broadcast audio console for its studio upgrade.

Audio operators can control Summa via a 17-inch multi-touchscreen with a straightforward interface that uses established finger gestures to navigate the system. Bluefin2 technology gives Summa a pool of 180- or 128-channel processing paths, eight groups, four mains, 16 auxes and 32 tracks and its Hydra2 core provides Summa with the same integral router technology as the Apollo and Artemis consoles, the company said.

“Calrec’s reputation for sports coverage throughout the industry speaks volumes and made us the leading contender in their upgrade process,” says Rob Lewis, national technical sales, Calrec Audio. “As the most relied on brand in U.S. sports, many existing A1s are already very familiar with mixing on Calrec consoles.”

HEBDEN BRIDGE, U.K.—The Joint Task Force on Networked Media (JT-NM) has given Calrec passing marks on its IP interoperability testing and is including the company in its JT-NM Tested Catalog, published last month at IBC 2019 in Amsterdam.

“What the JT-NM is doing—backed by VSF, SMPTE, AMWA and the EBU—is tremendously important in terms of continuing the push to true IP interoperability,” says Pete Walker, senior product manager at Calrec.

“It includes NMOS, which we believe is vital as a standardized mechanism for not only discovery/advertisement of IP technologies connected to a network alongside IP streams, but also connection management from a centralized point.”

The JT-NM’s interoperability testing exams how technologies work together and adhere to SMPTE standards.

Calrec participated in JT-NM testing in August. The company’s products were tested for SMPTE ST2110 and ST2022-7 interoperability.

More information is available on the Calrec website. 

BURBANK, Calif.—As the largest privately held, minority-owned Spanish-language broadcaster in the United States, LBI Media Inc. produces more than 50 hours of original television programming at our Burbank Television Studios each week. Our Estrella TV programming catalog consists of more than 7,500 hours of original, Spanish-language television programming available nationally in genres such as talk, drama, comedy, variety, reality, music and more.

As a professional broadcasting company, with facilities nationwide and production studios in California and Texas, one of our main goals is to easily produce creative and engrossing broadcast audio as cost-effectively as possible. Our news studios’ fast-paced environments must be adaptable, quick to set up, easy to operate and able to shift focus as rapidly as the news itself. To accomplish this, we rely on Calrec Audio’s Brio 36 and Summa digital audio consoles, which enable us to work smarter (not harder) without compromising audio quality.

NEWS STUDIO UPGRADES AND BUILD-OUTS

We chose Calrec based on the company’s reputation within the industry and also to serve as a complement to the rental trucks we use, the majority of which come standard with Calrec consoles.

We purchased the Brio 36 earlier this year for LBI’s newly launched news operation in our Dallas office, while the Summa was acquired last year as part of the much-needed upgrade at our Burbank facility. When we replaced the existing console in the video control room in our Burbank facility, the audio engineers there immediately noticed a difference in the quality of the audio. Calrec delivers a pristine sound, which we were unable to attain with our previous console.

During the initial installation, Calrec also delivered top-notch technical support and training, which brought our team up to speed quickly and without interruption. I haven’t needed to speak to anybody at Calrec since; and, in all honesty, that says a lot about a company in my mind.

FAST-PACED PRODUCTIONS REQUIRE QUALITY EQUIPMENT

Smooth workflow is incredibly important to the successful operation of any broadcast operation, especially when going live. At LBI, we continually rely on both consoles for live programming for our local and national news shows, which include “Alarma TV,” “El Mameluco,” “iTestigo,” “Noticiero Cierra de Edicion,” “Noticiero Estrella TV” and “En Vivo.”

With the fast-paced nature of a live news broadcast, having Brio’s dedicated broadcast capabilities—such as scalable and managed I/O, comprehensive monitoring, surround sound and high-bus quantities—greatly improves workflow. This, in turn, ensures that LBI and its affiliate stations are producing top-notch content for viewers around the country.

SMALL SIZE, BIG (AUDIO) PUNCH

As with any studio, real estate is important in our production spaces. The compact form-factor of the Calrec Brio makes it an ideal general-purpose workhorse that can be used when needed; its connectivity with the company’s Hydra2-compatible equipment makes it even more versatile. Brio 36 even provides analog and digital I/O and GPIO, which are built into the surface, making the console ideally suited for the broadcast environment.

Both Calrec consoles have proven to be powerful, with great networking capabilities and the ability to scale to a large number of inputs and outputs. They are easy to drive, flexible and full of assistive features that allow us to concentrate on what’s coming up next.

Chris Buchanan has spent more than 30 years in television broadcast engineering. He was hired as the assistant chief engineer for KRCATV television in 1991 and was later promoted to chief engineer. When Liberman Broadcasting purchased the station, Buchanan remained on as the chief engineer and was promoted to vice president of engineering in 2005. He can be contacted atLBIinfo@lbimedia.com.

For more info, visitwww.calrec.comor contact.

HEBDEN BRIDGE, U.K.—NEP U.K. deployed 15 Calrec consoles, networking, routing tech and I/O boxes for Wimbledon 2019 coverage, the company said today.

Three more Calrec consoles—one each for coverage of Centre Court, Court One and Court Two—were used in NEP outside broadcast trucks covering the tournament.

“We have worked extensively with Calrec over the years,” said NEP Broadcast Services sound engineer Jimmy Parkin. “The networking flexibility and easy scalability of their technology were central to the success of this Wimbledon 2019 project.”

Wimbledon Broadcast Services (WBS) served as host broadcaster for the second year. An IP video network was deployed using SMPTE ST 2110. The Calrec consoles were connected to the host broadcast network.

Ten Calrec Summa and one Brio console, including consoles for the Wimbledon Channel and the media center, were deployed. NEP also worked with a major U.S. broadcaster for coverage, including streaming, using an additional three Calrec consoles—two Artemis and one Brio—in the network’s three control rooms.

“We needed audio operators to be able to easily access any source from any court without having to move anything or plug anything in; any console can ‘talk’ with any other console on the network,” said Parkin.

“We also needed to integrate IP networks with Calrec’s Hydra 2 networking technology and using their interfaces made this very easy. Pre-event offsite planning, using Calrec’s H2O GUI for the Hydra 2network, meant that we could accurately name and label ports before any hardware was connected.”

The entire Calrec deployment “worked seamlessly,” with resources appearing on the network and then being able to be moved across the network effortlessly, he added.

HEBDEN BRIDGE, U.K.—Calrec will make the first IBC showing of its VP2 virtualized mixing system at IBC 2019, Sept. 13-17, at the RAI in Amsterdam.

Using the company’s Assist software for setup and control, VP2 has no physical control surface. Assist can be accessed from multiple locations via a web browser. The software also makes it possible to give a technical director or operator one level of control while reserving a deeper level for engineers to finetune the setup or recall setups as needed.

With a 4U core, VP2 leverages Calrec’s Hydra2 networking solution and is available in three DSP sizes, 128-, 180- and 240-input channels.

Calrec Special Control Protocol (CSCP) makes it possible to control the audio console completely with an automation system. For broadcasters with limited space, VP2 offers the benefit of using a Calrec console without requiring a physical control surface.

The company also will feature its ImPulse core audio processing and routing engine with AES 67 and SMPTE 2110 connectivity. Compatible with current Apollo and Artemis control surfaces, ImPulse provides a simple upgrade path for Calrec users.

ImPulse provides 3D immersive path widths and panning for next generation audio applications. Its integral AoIP router supports NMOS discover and connection management as well as mDNS/Ravenna discovery. Future scalable expansion allows up to four DSP mix engines and control systems to run independently on a single core simultaneously.

The company also will showcase its H2-IP Gateway and AoIP Modular I/O controller card.

See Calrec Audio at IBC 2019 Stand 8.C61.

More information is available on the Calrec Audio website. 

VALENCIA, Calif.—Clark Media’s new 53-foot production trailer, outfitted for native 4K UHD and HD productions, is equipped with Calrec Audio’s Artemis Light digital broadcast audio console as the centerpiece of its 5.1 mixing suite, the company announced today.

The Artemis console provides the truck, which is designed for sports, breaking news, entertainment and award show coverage, with the flexibility needed to cover a wide variety of events, said Stephen Sharp, chief engineer at Clark Media.

“The I/O is very easy to configure,” he said. “Anyone who has ever used Calrec before will be very comfortable with it almost immediately.”

Ease of use was an important consideration for Clark Media when it made its choice about which console to employ. “The nice thing on the Calrec Artemis Light is the Hydra2, which provides us with a lot of I/O in a very small fiber box,” explained Sharp.

The new rig is also equipped with high-end video production equipment, including 16 Sony 4K/UHD cameras, 4K reference monitors, Grass Valley Kayenne production switcher and Korona panel for second-screen feeds and 24 channels of 4K recording.

The small, compact Artemis Light provides 240 DSP channels in a 4U core. The 56-fader surface can handle the wide variety of productions the truck is called on to do.

More information is available on the Calrec Audio website.

COLUMBIA, S.C.—South Carolina Educational Television (SCETV) has chosen Calrec Audio Brio consoles for two trucks –a 45-foot production vehicle outfitted with a Brio36 console and a smaller uplink vehicle equipped with a Brio12.

“With both Hydra2 network and Dante interfaces, the consoles are easily expandable and flexible with a wide range of input and output options,” says SCETV engineering project manager Benjamin Wilson. “The Dante interface greatly simplifies the cabling needs from the trucks to the set.”

As the heart of each truck’s audio processing system, both Brio unitsprovide a compact audio console solution with the features needed for broadcast productions of any size, says Helen Carr, Calrec regional sales manager.

The Brio12 in the smaller uplink unit can be linked with the Brio36 stationed in 45-foot OB vehicle, which is being outfitted by full-service system integrator Diversified, if a production needs more resources or more than one operator, says Wilson. SCETV is experimenting with the Automix function for mix minuses to different locations, he adds.

Both vehicles rely on MADI interconnectivity. The Brio12 uses one of its expansion slots in the console for MADI. The Brio36 interfaces via MADI with a Grass Valley TDM router, which in turn routes using MADI to the uplink truck. Analog I/O is used for external I/O panels on the side of both truck.

“Various A1s have commented that the consoles and routing are very easy to use and connect,” says Wilson. “They like to be able to move channels around on the fly without interrupting signals and appreciate having a full set of dynamics and EQ for each channel strip.”

More information is available on the Calrec audio website. 

LOS ANGELES—The universe of AES67- compliant products has expanded over recent years and with the interoperability standard now published in the SMPTE 2110 standards suite has become the “Rosetta Stone” of audio-over-IP. But while digital mixing console system products were among the first to adopt AES67, to what extent are end-users networking compliant products? What barriers to adoption remain, and what can be done to promote more AES67 network implementations?

ALL IP

“In the TV market, AES67 interoperability is part of almost every client conversation,” said Martin Dyster, vice president of business development-TV, TV Solutions Group, The Telos Alliance. Proof that AES67 is ready for primetime can be seen at University of Notre Dame Martin Media Center, a benchmark for what is possible in an all-IP, multivendor environment, where his company supplied the console and routing pieces, Dyster said.

Across the campus-wide media production environment, says Dyster, “All video and audio are transported as IP from the cameras and mics to PCR, and in the case of the Telos Alliance Axia Fusion consoles, there’s not a physical router in sight. Everything is routed at switch level, so it truly is a system achieving what was intended with AoIP all along.”

The installation includes Evertz core video and control elements. “The interchange of around 450 AES67 streams between it and the audio production system is seamless,” Dyster says. “Other vendors in this installation include Riedel, who supplied an AES67-equipped Artist system. Other examples where we’ve connected at AES67 level include products like the Genelec 8340 IP monitors—but any AES67 compliant product should work fine.”

AOIP IS THE GOAL

Don Bird, vice president of Business Development and Marketing for Lawo North America, agrees that AES67 is a basic requirement in almost every customer project. “In some cases, as a natural subset of their request to deploy a complete ST2110-compliant infrastructure, but even in those projects involving an upgrade of existing facilities where AoIP is the goal and the rest of the production pipeline is going to be migrated to IP over time,” he says.

Lawo has been providing AES67 capabilities across distributed and remote production architectures as well as in local studio environments for some years now, according to Bird. “This is nothing new at this point, as customers clearly recognize the savings in cost, flexibility and efficiency of operation.”

Phil Owens, senior sales engineer, for Wheatstone in New Bern, N.C., has observed less enthusiasm for AES67 thus far. “Customers are primarily concerned with their central infrastructure,” he says. “AES67 tends to address add-ons, in most cases. This will change in the TV market as SMPTE 2110 and its audio component, SMPTE 2110-30, become more prevalent.”

Owens has primarily seen client interest in interfaces with a live sound component in a system, and interfaces with some AES67- or Dante-capable intercom systems. “And we have seen smaller local studio implementations, such as interfacing with Dante-equipped mic preamps via AES67,” he reports.

“We are currently working on two university projects that have an auditorium equipped with a Dante-equipped live sound board tied into their broadcast facility via AES67,” adds Owens. “Another university has expressed interest in interfacing a Wheatstone system with an RTS intercom using their Omneo protocol, which is in fact Dante; that will be an AES67 interface.”

Calrec Audio has supplied AoIP networks to several broadcasters for facility-wide installations, reports Dave Letson, the company’s vice president of sales. “More often, though, we are seeing pockets of deployment in POC or smaller applications, so the broadcaster or facility can cut their teeth and gain an understanding of SMPTE 2110 networks.”

The real benefits and savings will come from greenfield builds that can implement the networking facilities from the get-go, Letson believes. Thus, some manufacturers have developed products, such as Calrec’s H2-IP Gateway devices, to bridge proprietary IP infrastructures and create hybrid networks.

That said, Calrec consoles are being networked with products such as Sonifex’s AES67-based monitor pre-hear products and Grass Valley routers, says Letson. “Calrec’s AoIP I/O solutions allow any piece of third-party equipment that is AES67 compatible to talk to Calrec’s I/O boxes and enter the [company’s proprietary] Hydra2 domain.”

BARRIERS TO ADOPTION

Manufacturers almost universally note that AES67’s lack of discovery, control and connection management, which were never part of the standard’s brief, are a barrier to adoption. Lawo’s Bird observes, “We offer a range of products that enable us to provide all-AES67 network infrastructures for our customers, so we don’t really encounter any barriers in that respect.”

“AES67 is an audio-only interface that has to be set up manually by entering a number of stream parameters at both the send and receive ends,” says Owens, “or ‘semi-manually’ by using an SAP utility to advertise those stream parameters to the various endpoints. Control—logic events—has yet to be addressed, although yet another standard, AES70, is a possible solution.”

Letson points to a recent survey by Grass Valley that indicates that IP adoption is slower than previously forecast. Two-thirds of respondents stated a preference for a hybrid approach, with cost a major concern when considering a move to IP. “Cost is obviously a barrier unless you are already planning to replace equipment,” he says, including the costs to deploy completely new infrastructure and train staff, and costs incurred through disruption.

“A fear of the unknown and a feeling that AoIP is brand new and unproven” also militate against wider or faster adoption, Dyster suggests.

The Networked Media Open Specification [NMOS] is currently being finalized. The IS-04 part of that spec addresses discovery, and the IS-05 part addresses connection management, according to Owens. “NMOS will make AES67 much easier to set up and use,” he said.

Calrec, like many other manufacturers, is developing a stream manager, Calrec Connect, which will allow complex network information to be displayed and streams to be created in a user-friendly manner, according to Letson. “This helps to reduce the burden of training needed,” he said.

Bird noted the importance of ongoing training in fostering adoption. “Through involvement in associations like AIMS and various technical recommendation groups and standards bodies we put great emphasis on education and awareness,” he said. “We encourage any customers interested in deploying an AES67 infrastructure to have open dialog with their consultants, integrators, and equipment providers to verify that all components specified are fully supporting the standard in an interoperable way.”

GRASS VALLEY, CALIF.—Veterans-TV Inc., a newly formed non-profit organization, announced this week that it plans to launch hands-on professional television production training courses for veterans of the U.S. armed forces, law enforcement veterans, and firefighters who have lost their employment due to injury or attrition. VETV is creating a mobile classroom within Denali Gold, a remote production truck donated to the cause by NEP, and will provide courses in cities across the U.S. when integration of donated broadcast equipment is complete.

"We're so grateful for the depth and breadth of generosity we're seeing from companies and individuals across the industry," said VETV President Bob Lefcovich, who has more than 50 years of experience working in broadcast production and postproduction. "Training on the best equipment with some of the industry's best professionals is an incredible opportunity, and I'm proud to be playing a role in bringing this opportunity to those who have served our country."

Led by industry professionals on a volunteer basis, VETV courses are open to all veterans, their spouses, and dependents over 18, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. Proposed courses will address roles such as video technician, camera operator, audio technician, technical assistant, editor, technical director, and engineer in charge (EIC) and areas of expertise including Avid Media Composer (NLE), Adobe Premiere Pro (NLE), character generator/art, EVS operator, and information technology (IT). All courses except the EIC course will be 192 hours with eight hours of hands-on tests.

Lefcovich and the VETV advisory board have so far raised more than $2 million in donations of modern, state-of-the-art TV production and postproduction equipment, with NEP and Grass Valley, a Belden Brand, offering extensive support in terms of equipment donations and integration. In fact, all of the equipment being installed in Denali Gold for training purposes has been donated by manufacturers and broadcasters including AJA, Blackmagic, Calrec Audio, Ensemble Design, EVS, Kramer, Renegade Labs, Ross Video, Telestream, and many more. Integration started at the beginning of December.

In its previous career with NEP, Denali Gold was involved in high-profile remote broadcasts including the Oscars, Grammys, Emmys, "America's Got Talent," "Entourage," "American Idol," "Shark Tank," "Showtime at the Apollo," Fox network upfronts, presidential inauguration concerts in Washington, D.C., and scores of other broadcasts.

"With all the industry pros involved in getting our mobile classroom ready, we've probably got 180 years of combined experience working on the truck right now," added Lefcovich. "As students are certified within our program, we'll put all that industry expertise and all our connections to work in helping trained veterans find employment. My colleagues and I have enjoyed great careers in TV, and VETV gives us a way of leveraging our experience to give back and to help veterans with their re-entry into society."

Lefcovich was a cameraman for ABC Wide World of Sports in the '70s, edited hundreds of TV shows and commercials in the '80s, trained many hundreds of editors while working as the senior applications specialist for the Grass Valley Group, and served as tech support and trainer for five different Olympics. He also is one of the founders of Editware, a designer and manufacturer of hybrid editing systems.

Further information about VETV and details about donating to the organization are available at www.veterans-tv.org.

MADISON, WI—Rush Media produces live sports broadcasts as both a packager and truck provider for numerous regional and national networks, including Fox, CBS, NBCSN and ATTSN to name a few. We recently embarked on a complete fleet upgrade, and were looking for a high-quality console with a small footprint. Calrec Audio’s Brio36 was a viable choice because of its size, reliability and coverage with the Hydra2 network.

We purchased our first Brio for a national sports package and have since ordered five more consoles for our six new custom built, 40-foot mobile units with expanding sides. Each truck includes eight camera control units, two 8-channel replay servers, two graphics generators, 36-input switcher, 48-port communication frame and a main truck router with full audio capabilities. The Brio36 is the perfect fit to bring all these elements together.

Rush Media offers a smaller, cost-effective alternative to the full budget, larger footprint mobile units. We needed an audio console that could deliver the quality networks were accustomed to and be familiar to the freelancers that would be using it. We found that the Brio can do both, with no other console at this price point coming close.

Many factors came into play when selecting a console. As with any mobile unit, size is limited. The Brio36 provides 36 dual layer faders and by using a Hydra2 expansion card, we were able to double the size of the console’s I/O. Utilizing MADI in and out of the truck router, left us with more than enough paths and fit nicely in the space available.

The Brio36 has many functions that I’ve used in the past with larger Calrec consoles. With high frame rate cameras being a standard complement on our trucks, delay on every input and output is a must. GPI, together with Auto Fader, has become very useful with the Vizrt graphics generator, and handheld cameras in the field. The Hydra2 network has made it easy to expand the I/O and network multiple desks together.

Our newest mobile unit is being used for all home and away broadcasts for a major league soccer team. The home broadcasts require us to send multiple transmission feeds with unique audio assignments, as well as provide the visiting team separate field FX microphones to be used for their broadcasts. The combination of extra I/O provided by the Br.IO wallbox and MADI to our truck router makes it easy for the operator to provide feeds. The I/O routing section on the Brio is very user friendly and no coordination is needed with the mobile unit engineer. We are so pleased with the performance of the Brio36’s and see no reason to look elsewhere.

We plan to add more mobile units to our fleet next year and additional Calrec audio consoles will be included in this expansion.

Rusty Cummins has worked in the broadcast industry since 2005, joining Rush Media full time in 2013. He can be reached atrustycummins@rushmediaco.com.

For more information, please visitwww.calrec.com or call 661-877-9775.

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LOS ANGELES—Whether over standardized network protocols such as SMPTE ST2110 and AES67 or formats like Wheatstone’s WheatNet, Calrec’s Hydra2, RAVENNA, Audinate’s Dante, and others, audio mixing consoles are supporting remote television broadcast audio productions as they move in new directions. In sports broadcasts, especially, consoles are leveraging networks to implement a variety of applications, from at-home production to ensuring consistent audio quality at every connected mixer, to enabling remote control of, and set-up through, distant desks.

Glen Stilwell, audio operations manager for the PAC-12 Networks, which handles more than 450 at-home productions in a nine-month period each season, observed that IP audio networking is introducing efficiencies for remote broadcast operations. He hopes that new technology from console manufacturers will help him lower costs as the number of productions inevitably increases.

“With our development partners like Calrec, and their new RP1, we’re going to start eliminating the need to carry around big, heavy copper,” said Stilwell, who noted that all the schools in the conference have installed 10-Gig networks. The RP1 unit offers local DSP and an IP connection back to the plant where the mixer has full control of the remote inputs.

“We’re still precabling venues with copper mic cable, per season,” said Stilwell. “As we become more efficient and reduce personnel, we can’t spend the time to do that.” With devices such as the RP1, “We can put down either fiber or, over the long-term, build network drops in the field and just leave them forever,” he said.

PLAYING TOGETHER

But even with networking infrastructures in place, setting up AES67 streams between devices from different manufacturers is not yet as easy as it could be. Even using a common discovery protocol like mDNS/Bonjour, it’s currently necessary to log into a device using one brand’s web UI and create an AES67 stream, then switch to another brand’s web UI, log in, find that stream, and register to receive it.

According to Pete Walker, senior product manager for Calrec several companies are working on the problem—indeed, there is already a solution in the works. “NMOS [Networked Media Open Specifications] is going to take it to the next level,” Walker said. “You can use a central piece of software to control all your devices.” The initial NMOS tool will be IS-04, managing device discovery.

Walker says the protocol is still developing and Calrec doesn’t want to have to wait for it. “Calrec and others are looking at implementing cross-platform control systems, software that discovers all the devices on the network,” he said.

Calrec’s solution, “Connect,” will identify media streams and devices on the network regardless of their registration or discovery protocol. “You can filter, search, then drag and drop devices and interconnect them,” he said. “It visually represents all your streams and workflows.”

At this year’s three-part U.S. Open (Women’s, Senior’s, and Men’s) for Fox Sports, Senior Audio Engineer Dana Kirkpatrick leveraged Calrec’s Hydra2 network to QC the very large number of audio channels coming from the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club course in Southampton, New York. “We were feeding the router and six Calrec Brio consoles in the iso, two digital feature groups, and feeding another Brio, as well as a submix console, a Calrec Apollo,” Kirkpatrick said. “And I was creating two MADI streams for the world.”

The huge network enabled Kirkpatrick to achieve consistency across the attached consoles, he said. “The idea was that I would take everything from the golf course into the Calrec Artemis [in Game Creek’s Maverick remote truck] and EQ and distribute it. When the wind kicked up, I could adjust EQ and it would globally pass to all the mixers, so that the final product had the same EQ and the same gain structure.”

DOLBY ATMOS

Although some features need to be beefed up or even added to meet new production demands, the current generation of mixing console technology has enabled broadcasters in Europe to regularly generate programming, specifically for premium customers, in the Dolby Atmos immersive audio format for the past year or so. In the U.K., for example, all live Premier League soccer matches on Sky Sports, including a double-or even tripleheader on Sundays, have been produced in Dolby Atmos, as well as 5.1, since the start of the season in August 2017.

At a recent month-long competition hosted at multiple sports venues, U.K.-based freelance sound supervisor Pete Mercer produced both a Dolby Atmos mix and a 5.1 mix in a control room at the International Broadcast Center. For each event, Mercer received discrete feeds from the mixer in the remote stadium, including the outputs from a Schoeps 3D microphone suspended above the field of play, created a Dolby Atmos 5.1.4 mix plus six objects on a Lawo mc²96 console, and returned that mix to the competition location for encoding. He and his colleague, Felix Krückels, Lawo’s director of business development, in a second control room on a second mc²96, each mixed one or two games per competition day, Mercer reported.

The two mc²96 consoles were on the same network as the Lawo mc²56 (for stereo production) and mc²36 (for multifeeds) consoles at the competition’s 12 venues. “We could connect via a PC and Lawo MXGui software to check settings, re-patch signals, and even line up by ourselves,” he said. All audio was sent between the venues in each city and the IBC via Lawo’s Commentary system using Ravenna, according to Mercer.

Any console that supports multiple 5.1 buses may be used for Dolby Atmos immersive mixing. In Mercer’s case, the height component had no LFE or center channel information, so was, in effect, a 4.0 bus.

Mercer could monitor the 5.1.4 mix for the UHD feed via Dolby’s DP590 unit. But loudness metering of immersive mixes is still a work in progress and not yet available in consoles. However, said Mercer, “Having a separate value for the 5.1 and the 4.0 height was extremely helpful to make sure the height detail wasn’t too prominent or distant in the mix, especially when mixing extra elements into the 5.1 that didn’t appear in the 4.0 height.”