HOUSTON—Logitek has announced that the NET67 AoIP networking card is now available for its JetStream Plus audio router/console engine. With the NET67, JetStream Plus adds AES67, Ravenna and Livewire networking capabilities, as well as 64x64 channels of Dante audio.

The plug-in card brings these capabilities to existing installations, while new JetStream Plus units will include the NET67 card, according to Tag Borland, Logitek’s president. A JetStream Plus with NET67 card will handle 96 channels in/64 channels out.

“With NET67, our system provides stream discovery on Dante as well as Ravenna and Livewire sources, and the AES67 capability permits interfacing with many other AES67-enabled devices in a network,” said Borland.

For more information, visit www.logitekaudio.com.  

LAS VEGAS—Logitek will introduce mixIT, a compact audio-over-IP (AoIP) audio console, at the 2019 NAB Show, April 8-11, in Las Vegas.

The new mixIT console works together with Logitek’s JetStream Mini and JetStream Plus routers and the new Jet-67 AES-67 engine, the company said.

The mixIT is a broadcast console that incorporates 12 faders into a tabletop enclosure. The new console provides metering, source selection and scene selects via two 7-inch touchscreens. The console includes router widgets that make it easy to select transmission, recording or codec feeds, said Logitek.

The console, which offers a built-in cue speaker, offers controls for talkback to studio/remote and monitor, which provides control over room, studio and headphones. Optimum levels can be set at a glance by using the console’s program meter’s indicators for “too high/too low.”

“The mixIT beautifully complements our Helix line by bringing some of its most popular features to a compact, less expensive form factor,” said Logitek President Tag Borland.

More information is available at the company’s website. See Logitek at NAB Show booth C1916.

To register for the NAB Show, visit www.nabshow.com.

HOUSTON—Hurricane Harvey swept through Texas this past weekend, causing flooding and more damages. As a result, Logitek has announced that its Houston office will be closed on Monday, Aug. 28, with the possibility of staying closed longer if flooding persists.

“Everyone at Logitek is safe and sound, but they are unable to get to the office due to the flooding in the area,” the company stated in its announcement. Logitek will provide updates via its Facebook page.

Logitek’s sales office, which is located in Philadelphia, is unaffected and remains open.

TV TECHNOLOGY: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trend at the 2017 NAB Show?

TAG BORLAND: In the audio world for local market television, we are seeing a move away from large mixing consoles to a “glass cockpit” approach where critical routing and mixing functions are taking place within a rackmount engine, which is interfaced to a video automation system. Most of the control is handled via the video automation system. In these types of installations, physical audio consoles are reduced to just a few faders, if any.

TVT: What will be your most important product news?

BORLAND: We will be launching a new product line for both Radio and TV that more fully adopts the “glass cockpit” concept of signal management. Much of our management and control is being moved from physical buttons and knobs to touchscreens.

TVT:How is your new product different from what’s available on the market?

BORLAND: The user interface on our new product incorporates multi-touch technology similar to that which has become ubiquitous in smart devices. Only a few years ago, users would have had a problem with using a touchscreen for control functions or console management; now, it seems everyone is accustomed to this type of user interface. We’ll still have critical functions such as on/off buttons and faders available in a physical format, but almost everything else is being moved to touchscreens.

TVT: What is it about the NAB Show that brings you back every year?

BORLAND: Seeing industry friends and the one-on-one interaction with our customers.

HOUSTON—Logitek is rolling out its sixth generation of router-based digital consoles with the new Helix line. The Helix digital consoles, which include four Helix models, feature a multi-touch interface and are available in either physical or virtual editions.

Built with the latest multi-touch technology, the Helix interface can move from console touchscreens and other devices. The physical consoles feature physical on/off buttons, touch-sensitive motorized faders, source selection, bus assignments and provide macros on a 7-inch IPS touchscreen.

Among the four products being offered as part of the Helix line is the Helix Radio. Available in sizes from six to 24 faders, the model includes a monitor module and an HDMI output for a touchscreen/control bridge. Modules can be mounted in a single or split desktop frame.

The other models include the Helix Television, available with six to 36 faders that incorporates two master mix buses (one 5.1, one stereo), four stereo aux buses and four stereo submasters, as well as frame delay; the Helix Surface is a large format virtual console for the 28-inch Microsoft Surface Studio and presents full multi-touch capabilities on a 4500x3000 DPI adjustable screen; the Helix interface also power’s the vMix Touch for presenting custom layouts across multiple devices and screen sizes.

Delivery for the Helix line is expected to begin in the summer, but it will be shown at the upcoming 2017 NAB Show in Las Vegas.

HOUSTON—Logitek is opening up the doors to a new Research & Development facility in Sydney with the help of its Australian distributor, Logitek Australia. The R&D center will be located in Logitek Australia’s Sydney office, featuring dedicated spaces for development, support, equipment testing and demonstration.

Paul Dengate, managing director of Logitek Australia, will lead the team of software and application designers. In addition, Max Healey has been brought on to serve as system architect, heading up all software development and documentation. Phil Hertenberger, meanwhile, has been promoted from his previous position with Logitek Australia to the role of application developer.

The Logitek Australia R&D team is expected to join Logitek U.S. personnel at the upcoming 2017 NAB Show in Las Vegas at booth C1322.

HOUSTON—Logitek Electronic Systems has opened the door for a closer collaboration with Dan Dugan Sound Design, announcing that it has added insert points to both its Artisan console and JetStreamPlus platform. The addition of these insert points allow for the connection of external devices from Dugan, like the Dugan Speech System algorithm, for uses like supplying automatic microphone mixing.

Aritsan

The Artisan is a modular control surface configurable from two to 38 faders along with two master mixes, eight stereo sub mixes, four stereo aux mixes, 24 mix-minus outputs and three monitor outputs. The system now features eight post-fader inserts that are supported and allow the connection of analog, AES or AoIP format audio.

The JetStream Plus is an IP router that is used for connection of the automixer inserts, offers 240 channels of I/O, HD/SDI, analog, digital and mic inputs along with analog and digital outputs in four rack units. The Dugan insert points for the JetStream are available for specific console configurations.

“With the addition of these insert points to the Jetstream Plus and Artisan, we can now offer customers a mixing console with full broadcast functionality along with the convenience of automixing,” said Tag Borland, Logitek’s president, in the official press release.

AUSTIN, TEXAS—When the Liquidation Channel, a home shopping TV network based here in Austin, began upgrading to HD in 2013, the usual questions arose about which manufacturers to partner with. When it came to audio, a short search made it clear that one manufacturer stood above the rest in terms of features, flexibility, and cost: Logitek and its Pilot console coupled with its Jetstream-Mini audio engine.

Jeremy Mott with the Liquidation Channel’s Pilot system

A SINGLE SYSTEM
During our search, we spoke with many manufacturers looking for “the one” that was robust and big in features, but also compact and fit into our budget. Among the manufacturers we were looking at, all requirements could be met through melding all of them together, but we weren’t readily able to find everything in just one.

Because of LC’s 24/7 live programming, there is no downtime for maintenance, so keeping all systems happy and well maintained requires aversatility that allows portions of the system to be worked on while other parts are still live on air. Most digital matrix-style systems these days can do this; but once considerations for GPIOs, multiple control rooms, various studios and edit suites, and engineering and master control are made, complications multiply.

Having worked in broadcast engineering for more than 20 years—nine in radio—I was familiar with Logitek and its offerings for the radio market. But after shifting into TV engineering, the thought of an audio console upgrade for this industry had never crossed my mind until a visit to the Texas Association of Broadcasters convention in 2012. I happened by Logitek’s booth for a tour of and realized fairly quickly they could meet all of our requirements.

FITTING INTO TIGHT SPACES
Due to limited space in LC’s control rooms, and the need for quick, on-the-fly access to multiple audio features, we went with the compact footprint Pilot series. On the backend, the Pilot, along with Logitek’s other consoles—ROC, Mosaic, and Artisan—all communicate with LC’s Jetstream Mini Engine.

As with the control rooms, limited rack real estate in engineering also rquired a compact option. The Jetstream Mini allowed us to install two engines in only four rack spaces, for a total of 32 digital and 24 stereo analog inputs, 16 digital and 16 stereo analog outputs, as well as 24 GPIs and 32 GPOs. For LC’s particular design, we opted to use the 25-pin D-connector style IO card option to facilitate connectivity to the plant versus the RJ-45 option. These connections were then brought to terminal blocks on rack drawers for easy access and connectivity.

Additionally, using the Logitek Command Builder software, routines such as timed events, auto routing, salvos, and automation can be easily programmed via the software, as well as the ability to design soft panels for computers across the network for remote monitoring and control of audio as well as GPIOs on the fly.

Looking back on the installation and flawless operation since, making the sound decision to partner with Logitek definitely made our audio transition a highlight of our transition to HD.

Jeremy Mott is the senior engineer for the Liquidation Channel and has worked in broadcast for more than 20 years. He can be reached atjeremy.mott@liquiddationchannel.com.

For more information, visitwww.logitekaudio.comor call 877-231-5870.