5 S: Audio Products Preview

The 135th Audio Engineering Society Convention (Oct. 17-20, Jacob Javits Center, New York City) is the first pro-audio show in a post-loudness world. Because both broadcast and music are bedeviled by gain assertiveness (ask the mastering guys at the show about brickwall compression, then stand back), there'll be lots of loudness-measuring and -management solutions. And lots else to look at and listen to. Here's some of what is coming your way at the show.

Calrec Audio

The new live-broadcast Callisto audio console is designed for applications that may not require the full resources of the company's Apollo and Artemis audio consoles. Callisto's mechanical design is lean and keeps components and materials to a minimum. Disciplined power distribution means the console is up to 30% more efficient than a comparable Artemis Light. Users control the console via a 17-in. multi-touchscreen inspired by tablet technology, with a straightforward interface enabling established finger gestures to navigate the system. The high-resolution display provides elegant controls and clear presentation of information.

AES will also see the U.S. debut of Calrec's Soccer Sidekick iPad app, an assistive mixing tool designed to simplify the job of tracking the on-field audio during a soccer game. It provides an alternative approach for highly experienced operators while allowing those with less experience to very simply create a quality mix. One of the many tasks the audio operator must manage is to capture important on-pitch events while minimizing crowd and venue noise. The operator typically follows the action using a mentally challenging workflow that requires projecting a 2D location from the pitch onto the 1D row of faders on the desk, fading up only the most appropriate microphones for the particular moment in time. Soccer Sidekick provides a more intuitive and straightforward interface to assist in this task. After defining position and direction of the pitch microphones around an aerial image of a pitch on the display, the operator simply touches the corresponding area on the screen to indicate one or more locations of interest. The Soccer Sidekick calculates the optimal contribution from each microphone to best capture events at those locations and moves the appropriate faders on the desk. The operator can manually take over control of the faders at any time, maintaining complete control. Booth 2939. www.calrec.com

Clear-Com

The new RS-700 Series analog partyline beltpacks and ICON Connectivity Solutions and the most recent updates to the Tempest wireless intercom system will be on exhibit. The reliable RS-700 Series beltpacks have an ergonomic and durable housing, intelligent functionality, recessed controls, and bright LED indicators. The beltpacks also require a lower operating current for additional beltpack drops and are fully compatible with Encore Partyline, PL Pro, and TW Partyline.

ICON, which stands for Intercom CONnectivity, products link local or globally distributed intercom systems over Ethernet/IP networks and/or optical fiber. They provide high-performance solutions for reliable and secure connections on common infrastructures and are cost-effective for scalable multisystem networks.

Additions to the Tempest digital wireless intercoms include the new CCT-RT-EX remote line extender, which is used to increase the maximum distance between a Tempest BaseStation and the remote antenna transceiver. The latest offerings also feature Tempest2400's Seamless Roaming, which allows Tempest2400 BeltStation users to move freely among as many as 16 BaseStations (coverage areas or zones) without interference or dropouts. These further extend Tempest's wireless communications capabilities for mobile productions, multi-level facilities, and sports arenas staged in RF-heavy environments. www.clearcom.com

Lawo

The Lawo Commentary Unit (LCU) is debuting at this week's AES. Based on RAVENNA, a real-time audio-over-IP networking technology, the fully digital system provides an intuitive user interface for up to three commentators per LCU. Lawo-quality mic preamps and uncompressed real-time audio-over-IP (24 bit/48 kHz) ensure uncompromised audio quality. The LCU is complemented by Lawo Commentary Control software, which replaces the commentary-control units usually associated with two-part systems, providing an integrated touchscreen interface to operate a complete commentary installation.

Also being demonstrated, the updated mc 56 MKII offers improved ergonomics and intuitive handling - including Multi-Row Metering and Automix functionality and an Overbridge Reveal Pane, to identify the components of a 5.1-surround mix assigned to an individual fader - and full support of RAVENNA technology for real-time processing of audio signals in IP-based networked environments with as many as 256 I/Os per Cat 5 line. And the AMBIT upmix tool offers the ability to convert stereo sources to 5.1 surround, with fully compatible downmix capability and full support for loudness metering.

Additionally, ENCO Systems and Lawo have partnered to create an integrated solution for radio and TV automation systems. Users can now automate a multitude of functions between the Lawo sapphire and crystal mixing consoles and ENCO's DAD automation system. For all ENCO and Lawo customers, the seamless integration means convenient operation, since the DAD design reflects the visual appearance and philosophy of the console's operational workflow. Bidirectional data transfer between the Lawo consoles and the DAD automation system is established entirely over IP, using RAVENNA technology for audio. Booth 2949. www.lawo.us

NuGen Audio

The ISL True-Peak limiter plug-in now supports Avid AAX format for editors using Avid's popular editing software. Sound engineers using the ISL AAX plug-in have

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