MTV Networks’ Remote Unit 8, used for award shows, large concerts and other remote duties, has added the Lawo Plug-in Server to its equipment. The truck currently houses two Lawo mc²66 consoles. The new Plug-in Server was used for the 2008 CMT (Country Music Television) Music Awards April 14.
Designed as a dedicated environment for VST-type audio processing plug-ins, Lawo’s Plug-in Server facilitates seamless integration with the company’s mc² series consoles while providing greater flexibility by freeing the host recording platform from the system overhead typically associated with numerous plug-in processors. With the Plug-in Server, MTV’s mix engineers have access to a vast number of signal processing tools.
Three primary engineers man remote Unit 8: Marc Repp, MTVN audio operations engineer; Stan “Quack” Dacus; and Greg Lankford. “We mix a lot of multiple-act TV shows and recordings,” Repp said, “and if you’re setting up an outside processor on an act-to-act basis, somebody has to keep up with all those settings so they can be reset as you move from one act to another. By contrast, if the signal processing is saved as part of the console’s automation, it gets recalled as part of the snapshot and is ready to go instantaneously. In addition to dynamics processors such as compression and limiting, we can just as easily deploy reverbs, delays and other effects that, previously, were only available via the outboard gear. Our new Plug-in Server opens the door to far greater choices since it can be configured for any type of VST plug-in without taxing system resources.”
The Lawo Plug-in Server is Windows OS-based and accepts all VST-type audio processing plug-ins without any modification. The Plug-in Server is integrated with the Lawo HD Core processor, with control of the system originating at the console. Once an audio plug-in is installed, the mc² control system identifies it as a “known plug-in,” allowing easy assignment to an effects slot. Audio tielines are handled automatically and all plug-in parameters are available directly from within the console.
For more information, visit www.lawo.ca/lawo-ag/company/up-to-date/news/lawo-integrates-vst-plug-ins.html.
