Tech Focus: Audio Consoles, Part 2 - Remote Products Offer Increased Diversity

Tech Focus: Audio Consoles, Part 2 - Remote Products Offer Increased Diversity Demand grows for variety in sizes, functions By Dan Daley, Audio Editor

Wednesday, July 6, 2022 - 7:00 am

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Remote audio-mixing consoles for broadcast are still a relatively rarefied category at the high end of the market, but there's more diversity within the group, thanks to increased demand for various sizes and functionalities. Here's an overview of the leading contenders.

Click here for Tech Focus: Audio Consoles, Part 1 - Next Generation Heads to the Cloud.

Calrec Calrec's Assist web GUI is implemented on the Apollo, Artemis, and Type R consoles to provide remote control from distant locations. It's also available on Calrec's RP1, which continues to provide full broadcast capabilities at a remote venue from an established studio environment.

Calrec ImPulse IP-based core

The company's IP-based ImPulse core has a native SMPTE 2110 IP backbone and a defined upgrade path for broadcasters to transfer to IP infrastructures. ImPulse is compatible with existing Apollo and Artemis control surfaces and is NMOS-compliant, which is critical to the unified workflow of products from different manufacturers. For broadcasters already producing live content in immersive formats over platforms like MPEG-H and Dolby Atmos, ImPulse also provides 3D immersive path widths and panning, with full monitoring and metering, height, and 3D pan controls.

In addition, Calrec's modular Type R console is increasingly being used for virtualized production. www.calrec.com/

DiGiCo DiGiCo Quantum 7B

The Quantum 7B delivers the functionality, audio performance, and scale required to handle the largest productions. Quantum 7 features three large-scale FPGAs working in unison. Inside the Quantum engine, up to 2,000 channels can be transported across 688 processing paths at 96 kHz. New GTX ports run at 6.6 GHz, and simple two-wire connections ensure the fastest possible data speeds. Standard channel processing across both inputs and outputs includes channel delay, DiGiTuBe, single and multi-channel presets, dual insert points, hi- and lo-pass filters at 24 dB/octave, four-band parametric EQ (eight on outputs) with band curve selection and Dynamic EQ on each band, DiGiCo's DYN 1 (compressor, de-esser, or multiband compressor) and DYN 2 (gate, compressor, or ducker). Mustard Processing is a fully integrated suite of additional processing that can be assigned to any strip to boost the mix with a range of modeled preamps, vintage dynamics units, and EQ sections. The master section incorporates 48 gangable 48-band graphic EQs, 48 stereo effects, and 36 control groups (VCAs). In addition, 128 buses are assignable as mono/stereo groups or auxiliaries; a 48 48 output matrix, dual solo buses with True Solo, and LR/LCR/5.1 master bus are available for even deeper configurability. With the inclusion of patented Nodal Processing, processing can be applied to any node on the auxiliary section of the console, allowing engineers to send unique processing on each send from single or multiple channels. www.digiconsoles.com/

Lawo Lawo's mc mixing consoles - the mc 96, mc 56, and mc 36 - focus on IP-based broadcast, AV, and live-production scenarios and are available in multiple configurations for at-home productions, flypacks, OB trucks, and large production facilities in on-premises, WAN-distributed, and hybrid deployments. Thanks to open standards like ST 2110, RAVENNA, and AES67, remote-production capability comes as standard.

The mc consoles integrate with Lawo's HOME management platform for IP-based media infrastructures, which is designed to connect, manage, and secure all aspects and instances of live production. In addition to automatic discovery and registration, HOME provides centralized services for engineers' swift and effective interaction with their tools, whether Lawo's or other vendors,' that support the HOME API.

Lawo mc 36 mixing console

The mc audio-production consoles are powered by the A__UHD Core audio engine as the heart of a dynamic and distributed audio-production system. Distributed production involving two or more audio engineers working from adjacent or geographically distanced locations can be leveraged over secure WAN connections, regardless of whether operators prefer a data-center-style resource-pooling strategy or a globally scattered network of A__UHD Core units. Software licenses are stored on USB dongles and can be downloaded for seamless transfers from unit to unit. The Pool DSP license allows operators to split the 1,024 available DSP channels across multiple consoles in a range of configurations for physical, virtual, and headless (automation-driven) control surfaces.

A complete range of IP-based audio edge devices is also available from Lawo. The A__stage series accommodates users in search of high-channel-count I/O in a variety of formats (analog, AES3 digital, and MADI); the single-format A__line devices are usually used in flypacks, mobile remote setups, and locations where only a few sources and destinations are used. The company's PowerCoreRP is a remote-production solution for mc audio consoles with built-in modular I/O, DSP, and IP-streaming capabilities. Rear-panel bays allow users to install as many as eight I/O cards for additional audio inputs/outputs and interfacing with MADI and Dante networks. The PowerCoreGateway is a modular audio stagebox allowing professionals to software-upgrade to RP functionality when they need additional DSP power.

All Lawo consoles support automation and studio/remote-management applications, including Ember and the vendor-agnostic VSM Virtual Studio Manager IP broadcast-control system. For scripted remote productions, the Mix Kitchen approach allows A1 engin

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