Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Solotech UK ramps up its Optocore inventory

05/12/2023

events



Youre reading:

Solotech UK ramps up its Optocore inventory

Growing touring deployments of Festival Box, report dealers fac365

As Optocore dealers fac365 end the year, they can reflect with satisfaction at having further helped to establish the company's portfolio, notably Festival Box-not merely during the festival season-but for major international tours with bands like The Killers and Coldplay with four Festival Boxes making up Coldplay's control package and network infrastructure.

One major source for this success has been fast-expanding rental house, Solotech UK-which has a historic relationship with Optocore-supporting production with gear supplied from four warehouses spread across the UK.

We have sold a large number of items to Solotech over the past two years, confirm fac365 operations manager, Richard Newall, most recently an M8 [MADI] package for a touring playback rig and X6Rs for their Control/Drive racks.

In the north of England, prior to becoming part of the Solotech Group, Wigwam had become the first rental house adopter of Festival Box, while down south Optocore has long formed the backbone of the extensive delay network on the two-week BST Hyde Park event in London.

The device itself comes in two versions-the Grand (with 12 SFP ports) and Petite (with six SFPs)-Solotech now holding six Grandes and eight Petites across the group.

So what exactly is Festival Box and why has it proven so popular on tours ranging from Coldplay, to Billie Eilish and the Spice Girls? Essentially, it's a point-to-point converter, which enables all signals and protocols to tunnel over the same fiber-ideal for productions requiring a substantial number of connections between stage and FOH or where a succession of artist engineers are rocking up with different consoles, operating on a variety of protocols. Deployed as a data tunnel, comms, video, the support band console and remote aerials can all be put through it, thereby substantially reducing the number of cables at front of house. So the advantages are self-evident.

Robin Conway, Solotech UK's Senior Account Manager, is in no doubt why Optocore devices have played such a major role in the company's rental inventory. Optocore continues to form large parts of Solotech returns systems in the UK-generally when specified by the client-and we are more than happy to roll it out in these instances.

He reports that that the Petites have been used at festivals this summer to run various house desks (such as Avid S6L's) and communication networks. They have also been deployed with The Killers as the core connection between FOH and monitors-carrying MADI, SSL Blacklight and Network between each of these positions.

Solotech then hired an M8 MADI device from fac365 for use at this year's Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo to meet the audio design requirement.

A lot of the Optocore equipment is specified, although given the shortage of DD2/DD4 units, the M8/M12 is now the go-to solution when production needs to bring external MADI sources onto a DiGiCo/Optocore network, confirms Conway.

In summary, the Solotech man sees Optocore as a robust solution, providing a solid working platform for both audio and data. It is used and spec'd by many techs and PM's at Solotech in the UK, he concludes, and it will continue to be used when required and when specified for both loudspeaker returns systems and as a way of bringing additional I/O to DiGiCo networks.

We will continue to lean on fac365 for support when needed.

Previous post Next post

Optocore GmbH

Alte Allee 28

81245 M nchen

tel: +49 89 899 964 0

OPTOCORE is a German-based manufacturer of World's most popular, successful and ground-breaking Fibre Network Infrastructure and Point-to-Point systems for the install, broadcast and live industries.

QUICK LINKS:

Products

News

Downloads

Where to buy

Follow

Follow

Follow

ContacT us. We want to hear from you! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please don't hesitate to get in touch. You can reach us by phone, email or by filling out the contact form on our website. Our team is always here to help and we look forward to hearing from you!

Name

Email Address

What are you interested in? What are you interested in?InstallTouringBrodcastOther

Message

Submit
LINK: https://optocore.com/2023/solotech-uk-ramps-up-its-optocore-inventory/...
See more stories from optocore

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

09/10/2026

Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026

September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026 New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

01/10/2026

Mediaproxy Brings AI Monitoring, Web-Based Multiviewing to NAB Show New York

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/10/2026

Disguise brings the software behind the worlds biggest st...

For more than two decades, Disguise has powered some of the most ambitious live events and experiences in the world from Bad Bunny and Coachella to the Burj K...

01/10/2026

New California Law Offers Tax Credits For Hiring Local Journalists

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/10/2026

State Broadcasters Want the FCC to Ease Into Software-Based EAS

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/10/2026

Multiscreen TV Ad Campaigns Double Incremental Return On Ad Spend, Says Comcast

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/10/2026

Scripps Calls Dish's Removal of WTVQ a Clear Violation' of Recent Agreement

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/10/2026

Slovenian Broadcaster Taps Synamedia for Local Ads on Its International Channels

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/10/2026

Viz Libero Teams brings 3D analysis to Richmond AFL coach...

The Australian football team can turn match footage into tactical insights to improve performance and maximize fan engagement Vizrt, the AI platform for visual...

01/10/2026

Mesh Broadcast Services Fits Big-Truck Audio Power into C...

When Mesh Broadcast Services set out to fit the pro audio capability of a large TV truck into a small audio room for high-profile sports events, Calrecs Argo M ...

01/10/2026

Emergent Appoints Tom Shelburne as Head of Business Devel...

Emergent, the browser-native broadcast graphics platform, today announced the appointment of Tom Shelburne as Head of Business Development, North America, effec...

01/10/2026

Mediaproxy brings AI driven monitoring and browser based...

Melbourne, Australia 1 October 2026: Mediaproxy, the global standard for software-based IP compliance monitoring and multiviewing solutions, will showcase maj...

01/10/2026

Clear-Com Arcadia Central Station Brings Professional Pr...

Clear-Com is supporting the education and development of future audiovisual industry professionals in Poland through the deployment of its Arcadia Central Sta...

01/10/2026

Telefonica equips new TSAmediaHUB monitoring room with Al...

Telef nica Servicios Audiovisuales (TSA), the audiovisual services arm of global telecommunications group Telef nica, has supplied and commissioned an LED wall ...

01/10/2026

FCC Unleashes Spectrum Abundance for New Uses

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/10/2026

Poll: Alabamans Favor PBS Support, but Many Question Its Political Leanings

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/10/2026

California Governor Signs Community NEWS Act

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/10/2026

Green Hippo Estuary Series MC1 and MC2 Media Controllers...

Eleven minutes between headliners. The sponsor loop needs to be on screen now, and the only operator on hand is the one running lights. With the Green Hippo Est...

01/10/2026

DigiBox announces partnership with FOR-A for UK and Europ...

DigiBox has announced a new partnership with FOR-A to represent the innovative MixBoard product range in the UK market, further expanding its portfolio of broa...

01/10/2026

Screen Australia-funded documentaries bring Australian experiences and new perspectives to the screen

Screen Australia-funded documentaries bring Australian experiences and new persp...

01/10/2026

Mavis Camera 8.2 adds iPhone 18 Pro support with variable aperture control

Mavis Camera 8.2 adds iPhone 18 Pro support with variable aperture control Brie Clayton September 30, 2026 0 Comments Latest release also introduces P...

01/10/2026

Ghosts of the Gold Rush Shot with PYXIS 6K

Ghosts of the Gold Rush Shot with PYXIS 6K Brie Clayton September 30, 2026 0 Comments Blackmagic Design cameras expertly capture documentary while del...

01/10/2026

RE:Vision Effects - RSMB V7 is here!

RE:Vision Effects - RSMB V7 is here! Lori Freitag September 30, 2026 0 Comments ReelSmart Motion Blur 7 is here, the RSMB V7 cycle is open. ReelSmart ...

01/10/2026

VideoGen raises $3.3M seed as its AI video platform passes 5 million users

VideoGen raises $3.3M seed as its AI video platform passes 5 million users Brie Clayton September 30, 2026 0 Comments VideoGen co-founders Anton Koeni...

01/10/2026

Fullsteam Brewery Opens Its Durham Forever Home at American Tobacco Campus

New taproom, restaurant, lounge and theater in the historic Power Plant add to ATC's growing social hub Fullsteam Brewery and CBC Real Estate celebrate th...

01/10/2026

Berklee and APM Music Launch Global Catalog Bringing Student-Created Music to Film, TV, and Beyond

Berklee and APM Music Launch Global Catalog Bringing Student-Created Music to Fi...

01/10/2026

The Boys are Back! The 2 Johnnies Late Night Lock In returns for Season 4

Season 4 of the multi-award-winning hit entertainment series The 2 Johnnies Late Night Lock In is back, serving up another round of unpredictable laughs, unforg...

01/10/2026

RT lyric fm's award-winning The Lyric Feature returns for new autumn series

New season begins Sunday, 4 October at 6pm on RT lyric fm and RT Listen RT lyric fm's arts and culture documentary series The Lyric Feature returns on S...

01/10/2026

RT Supporting the Arts is supporting 32 cultural events nationwide this October

RT is proud to continue its commitment to supporting and celebrating the arts across Ireland this October, highlighting a vibrant programme of theatre, music, ...

01/10/2026

Productive, Durable, Fungible: How NVIDIA AI Factories Maximize Return on Investment

AI factories are built by the megawatt, even by the gigawatt. Each megawatt fact...

01/10/2026

Fall Into 25 New Games on GeForce NOW This October

Spooky season is streaming in. Alongside falling leaves, pumpkin spice and everything nice, 25 new games are joining GeForce NOW throughout October, including s...

30/09/2026

SVG Students To Watch: Jacquelynn Dupree, Clark Atlanta University

Drawn to the many moving pieces of a live broadcast, this Los Angeles native is building a path in production management and technical operations...

30/09/2026

NHL on TNT Opens New Season in 1080p HDR With Stanley Cup Final on the Horizon

TNT Sports goes big for its season opener in Philadelphia, and REMI workflows at Techwood will again anchor much of regular-season production...

30/09/2026

Katlyn Alexander Named CEO of Qvest North America

Qvest has appointed Katlyn Alexander as CEO of Qvest in North America, effective August 16, 2026. Alexander, who previously served as COO of Qvest US, succeeds ...

30/09/2026

AAPB Wraps 2026 Season with Record Viewership and Expanded Broadcast Footprint

The American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB) has wrapped its 2026 season, with leaguewide attendance surpassing 1.4 million for the fifth consecutiv...

30/09/2026

Veritone Partners with ATP Media to License Tennis Archive in North America

Veritone has announced a multi-year content licensing agreement with ATP Media, the broadcast production and distribution arm of the ATP Tour, making ATP's ...

30/09/2026

Netflix To Stream WWE Exclusively in Japan Beginning October 1

Netflix has announced it will become the exclusive home for WWE programming in Japan beginning October 1, 2026. The lineup includes Raw, SmackDown, NXT, Premium...

30/09/2026

SES and Sky Extend Satellite Capacity Agreement for UK and Ireland

SES and Sky have announced a new multi-year agreement for direct-to-home satellite services across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, running into the ...

30/09/2026

Big Blue Marble Adds Live Multiview Channels to Cloud Video Kit via AWS Elemental Dynamic Multiview

Big Blue Marble has announced the addition of live multiview channels to its Clo...

30/09/2026

NHRA Announces Multi-Year Media Rights Deals With FOX Sports, The CW, and FloSports

The NHRA has announced multi-year media rights agreements with FOX Sports, The C...

30/09/2026

FOX 5 Atlanta to Broadcast Nashville Predators Games in 2026-27 Season

FOX 5 Atlanta (WAGA-TV) will carry Nashville Predators games during the 2026-27 season as part of Scripps Sports' regional broadcast network for the team. G...

30/09/2026

SVG Sit-Down: Brahma AIs Patrio Cummins on the Possibilities of AI (and the Misconceptions)

AI was a big buzz on the IBC show floor but there weren't a ton of companies...

30/09/2026

PGA TOUR Names Ryan Holcomb Senior Vice President and Head of Original Content

The PGA TOUR has announced the appointment ofRyan Holcomb as Senior Vice President and Head of Original Content, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Holcomb wi...

30/09/2026

ESPN Drops the Puck on Enhanced Audio for the New NHL Season

The sound will be more immersive, with improved design and more mikes on the ice and the players The National Hockey League's season opener on Tuesday nigh...

30/09/2026

TNT Sports' Chris Brown, Lee Mabry on Beginning 2026-27 NHL Season With an Onsite Effort in Philly

TNT Sports is dropping the puck on the 2026-27 NHL season in a big way in Philad...

30/09/2026

International Swimming League Names Gravity Media as Production Partner

The International Swimming League ( ISL ) today announced the appointment of Gravity Media, global leader in live production and content and media services and ...

30/09/2026

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Amir Bar-Lev, the Director of The Last First: Winter K2

By Ramona Flume One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festiva...