InfoComm 2019: Vendors Parade Latest in Broadcast Technology More than 1,000 exhibitors set up shop in Orlando's Orange County Convention Center By Kristian Hernandez, Assistant Editor Tuesday, June 18, 2019 - 1:18 pm
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Product manufacturers and tech-hungry consumers traveled to Orlando last week for InfoComm 2019, which boasted a record attendance of 44,129. The annual pro-AV event at the Orange County Convention Center featured a wide range of technology, including 8K, projectors, LED displays, video over IP, and PTZ cameras.
CLICK HERE for an overview of audio at InfoComm 2019.
Legrand debuted a versatile and tool-free rail rack at InfoComm 2019.
Legrand AV Division
InfoComm is always the biggest event of the year for Legrand, and, in its AV Division's second-year, the company made a big splash this year. The booth's emphasis was on making venue operation easier with reliable tools for tech installation and durable design options. Having recently announced a partnership between its Middle Atlantic brand with LundHalsey, a UK-based developer of control-room furniture, Legrand AV displayed these desks, which are constructed of hard laminate and equipped with user-friendly customizable lighting.
For the venue market, the company's new line of rack rails provides a time-efficient approach to installation. The rack rails permit multiple styles of production and cater to the broadcaster with options for a fiber or IP infrastructure. A system of interchangeable and scalable widgets allows a quick and simple setup that keeps an entire production's worth of equipment organized.
Blackmagic Design
Blackmagic Design is giving the industry an opportunity to dive head first into 8K productions with the ATEM Constellation 8K. Some of the system's highlights are a calibration model and a HyperDeck with recording options in 4K, HD, and 8K as well as compatibility with up to eight different devices. The ATEM Constellation 8K can also be deployed for HD and 4K workflows.
DiGiCo
DiGiCo showcased a full menu of audio offerings at InfoComm 2019, including selected SD-Range consoles (SD12 and SD7 Quantum). Providing 64 input and 64 output channels at both 48 kHz and 96 kHz, the new DMI (DiGiCo Multichannel Interface) card is equipped with primary and secondary (backup) Gigabit Ethernet ports and uniquely offers a Sample Rate Conversion feature. Natively allowing DiGiCo products to communicate with other devices on a Dante network, the DMI-Dante [email protected] effectively doubles the previous DMI Dante card's I/O channel count at the higher 96kHz resolution.
In addition, DiGiCo announced Mustard, a new set of algorithms and options for SD7 Quantum channel strip processing that offer enhanced flexibility and choice when extra control and creative adjustment are needed within a mix. Making full use of the Quantum engine's new seventh-generation FPGA infrastructure, the Mustard channel can be used in conjunction with the standard SD processing to add pre-amps, filters, EQ, gate, and a selection of compressor types to any existing channel strip.
The Mustard Tube options include a fully controllable Pre-Amp Modeler, which gives users access to every aspect of their frontend drive, and the Mustard Dynamics include vintage VCA and optical compressor types that emulate some of the best-known devices available. All of this will enable users to add classic character and new textures to drums, bass, vocals, and guitars.
DiGiCo also introduced the Spice Rack, which delivers additional new processors that can be freely inserted on any channel type in any position. Controlled from the Master screen and its worksurface controls, the first addition to the Spice Rack will be a six-band compressor, which includes two floating bands and allows complete, detailed control of envelope shaping for definable frequency bands.
The SD12 and SD10 consoles have received software upgrades. With the SD12 96 upgrade, users can beef up their SD12 desks, expanding them from 72 to 96 channels and from 36 to 48 aux/sub groups. The new SD10+ upgrade comes free of charge. Available only for Core 2 consoles, it expands the already powerful SD10 from 132 to 144 input channels.
Riedel Communications
At a booth with a wealth of audio offerings, Riedel's Bolero standalone wireless intercom system led the way. The product requires no IP configuration, and a new external power supply can power up to five antennas, so power and data redundancies are easily achieved. A new 1RU, half-width external interface box, with six analog 4-wires and three GPIOs, can be directly connected to any antenna and then patched into an existing intercom system.
The system is easily configured via a web GUI internal to the antennas. Other new capabilities provided by the Bolero update are individual rotary programming, Bluetooth headset support, and a new beltpack QuickMute feature that allows users to easily set the volume of all channels to zero.
Also exhibited at the Riedel booth were updates to the Artist-1024 intercom node and a new MediorNet processing app.
Ross Video
As a mainstay in the venue space, Ross Video's XPression graphics package was on display with an overlay on a videoboard inside the booth. Among the gear targeted to the sports market were the Abekas Mira replay server, which anchors live-production workflows; the Ultrix-Fr5 routing/AV-processing software; the Ultritouch system-control panel for monitoring; and the Graphic production switcher.
Adder Technology's AdderLink INFINITY 4000 Series
Adder Technology
Adder showcased the concepts of production flexibility and stability. The ADDERLink INFINITY 4000 Series, a high-performance 4K IP KVM matrix over a single fiber, has been designed to meet the 4K needs of systems integrators, professional AV, an
