Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Optocore M8 MADI solves problems of clocking and rack space on Jason Aldean tour

20/09/2024

events



Youre reading:

Optocore M8 MADI solves problems of clocking and rack space on Jason Aldean tour

Innovative rig provides economical fiber transmission between monitors and FOH

When FOH engineer Chris Leonard took up his latest role, piloting the sound for country star Jason Aldean, he wasted no time in streamlining his FOH set-up.

I took up the position in February, spent March prepping and hit the festival scene in April; so it needed to be a fast transition, he said.

One of his concerns was lack of familiarity with the existing SSL L550 Plus FOH console. While it is an amazing desk, I didn't want to try and learn a new console on a gig of this size. Instead he turned to his trusty DiGiCo Quantum 338. His other concern was the need for a reduced footprint, noting there had been no available room in the I/O rack to put both a split and two SD racks. All of the sub snakes hit that rack and routed straight to the SSL [ML32:32] I/O boxes, he said.

Evan RIchner and Chris Leonard

Chris Leonard looked at various options for integrating the 96 channels of MADI into his system, He was already familiar with the Optocore topology: I had used Optocore Festival Boxes multiple times with great success-and with DiGiCo I've used the Optocore loop for much of the last decade too.

I've also had good experiences before with the DD4R MR-FX [MADI interface], integrating track rigs to the loop, and with them being only 1RU each, we could fit them into the existing I/O rack without having to modify it much, thereby saving time and space.

This time he opted for a pair of Optocore M8-BNC coaxial MADI switches, which he strategically located in Monitor World (where monitor engineer Evan RIchner resides). This enables fiber to be run back to FOH where it interconnects with his Q338 at FOH, and into the M8s, which connect to the SSL I/O-handling three streams of 32-channel MADI at 96k.

Leonard explained the rationale. Since the M8s are only 1RU each we were able to fit them in our existing monitor I/O rack. In fact, Evan has managed to fit all our RF, SSL I/O and ancillaries into a double wide 30RU rack. This has allowed him to both keep his footprint small and also save time during load in/load out. It also saved a lot of extra cabling each day and an entire other rack. All he has to do each day is just patch our HMA fiber into the back of the rack for FOH, and that's it.

A Dante network runs between monitor console, PA drive rack, the d&b DS10s (for Dante drive to the amp racks) and the Q338 at FOH. When the audio infrastructure was clocked to the Dante network, ensuring solid word clock sync between the SSL I/O and the Optocore network was proving troublesome, and a challenge to lock down. But once we dropped in the M8s they locked right in and haven't given us any issues. I simply take word clock via Dante from the drive rack at FOH and push that to the M8s over the Optocore loop.

This unusual deployment, has been a great solution, he says. Our FOH snake can stay as HMA fiber, instead of having to run a bunch of BNC MADI lines.

Furthermore, an identical duplicated rig for upcoming B' rig scenarios uses a second pair of M8s, creating a set-up that will carry them through the foreseeable future.

Chris Leonard

In summary, Chris Leonard says, Regardless of any changes-even to our entire infrastructure-the M8s can handle it. I can still come up with multiple uses for the M8s even the ability to use them as matrix mixers, separate from the Optocore loop, opens up a world of potential possibilities.

Their provider is Nashville based Spectrum Sound, long supporters of the Aldean organization. Bobby George, our account rep, was also instrumental in making this happen, says Chris. Audio crew chief was Loren Zimmer and extra support was provided by Brandon Coons at Optocore NA.

Previous 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/2024/optocore-m8-madi-solves-problems-of-clocking...
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 ...

06/09/2026

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

10/06/2026

SVG Sit-Down: Team Whistle's Joe Caporoso on Building World Cup Content Around Fans, Culture, IRL Experiences

DAZN-owned digital-media company launches three fan-first series leaning into cr...

10/06/2026

Clear-Com Appoints Jason Dino as Southwest Regional Sales Manager

Clear-Com has announced the appointment of Jason Dino as Southwest Regional Sales Manager USA, covering Southern California and the Southwest region. Dino joins...

10/06/2026

Caretta Research: 2026 World Cup Revenue Growth Due to More Matches; Rights Revenue Up 32%

An 11% decrease in number of global broadcast deals reflects the organization...

10/06/2026

Women Without Boundaries Awards Are Back!

The Women Without Boundaries Awards recognize women whose work is advancing the future of media, broadcast, AV, workplace technology, digital experience, and re...

10/06/2026

On Eve of World Cup Kickoff, FIFA and HBS Offer Deep Dive into IBC Operations, Commentary, and Ref Cam

Today is match day minus two for FIFA and HBS. On Thursday, there will be two ma...

10/06/2026

SES Supporting World's Biggest Soccer Tournament Broadcast Distribution Worldwide

SES is supporting broadcast distribution of the world's biggest football tou...

10/06/2026

BirdDog Achieves Full NDI 6.3 Compatibility Across Entire Product Line

NDI has announced that BirdDog has become the first hardware manufacturer to achieve full NDI 6.3 compatibility across its complete lineup of cameras, encoders,...

10/06/2026

Emmy Award-Winning Audio Team To Present at SVG Audio Symposium

Vince Caputo and Scott Carter, winners of the 2026 Sports Emmy for Outstanding Post Produced Audio have been announced as presenters for the 2026 SVG Advanced A...

10/06/2026

FOX One Set to Deliver World Cup in 4K; Personalization via AI Drives Experience

FOX One today unveiled a slate of new product features and enhancements designed to elevate the viewing experience for fans on the official streaming platform o...

10/06/2026

PWHL Scales Broadcast Operation in Season 3, Relying on World-Feed Model and Key Vendors

Primary production partners Dome Productions and Raycom Sports once again played...

10/06/2026

NFL Films Application Deadline for Women in Sports Filmmaking Experienceship, Augusts 26-29 in Mount Laurel, Closes June 18

The Women in Sports Filmmaking Experienceship is an immersive professional devel...

10/06/2026

NBAs In-House Broadcast Ops & Engineering Teams Power Global Finals Coverage From NYC, San Antonio

The league has expanded its HSAN architecture for the NBA Finals to manage more ...

10/06/2026

MoonPay X Games League Winter Draft Set for September 16 at Cosm Los Angeles

The inaugural MoonPay X Games League (XGL) Winter Draft will take place Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at Cosm Los Angeles from 7-9 p.m. PT. The event will strea...

10/06/2026

University of Oklahoma and Learfield Extend 30-Year Partnership, Announce Sooner Evolution Center

The University of Oklahoma (OU) Athletics Department and Learfield have announce...

10/06/2026

VSF Releases RIST Satellite-Hybrid Out-of-Band Specification

The Video Services Forum (VSF) has released TR-06-4 Part 8, a new specification for RIST Satellite-Hybrid: Out-of-Band Method. The specification creates a mecha...

10/06/2026

Riedel Artist Intercom Powers Live Neurovascular Conference in Lisbon

Riedel Communications provided the communications infrastructure for the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Lisbon, supporting live medical proc...

10/06/2026

Sundance Film Festival 101: Films by LGBTQ+ Directors

A still from The Doom Generation by Gregg Araki (Courtesy of Sundance Institute) By Lucy Spicer Have you checked out our Sundance Film Festival 101 list yet...

10/06/2026

GearExpo UK: Interfaces & Mic Preamp Update

Get Hands-On with Interfaces & Mic Preamp Brands If youre after a new interface or preamp, then GearExpo UK is the place to be! Well have a whole host of au...

10/06/2026

MONO Music Conference 2026

November 13-14 2026, The Midway, San Francisco Following their recent rebranding, MONO Music Conference (formerly Music Expo) have officially announced thei...

10/06/2026

ebbandflow launch with deFORM

Debut instrument free for limited time deFORM is the debut release from newly founded developer ebbandflow, and it's being offered as a free download fo...

10/06/2026

Alone Australia Season 4: Meet the Cast

Alone Australia Season 4: Meet the Cast 10 June, 2026 Media releases WATCH THE TRAILER Smash-hit survival series Alone Australia drops its highly anticipa...

10/06/2026

DEADLY THEN, DEADLY NOW, DEADLY ALWAYS: SBS & NITV IGNITE NAIDOC WEEK 2026 WITH 50 YEARS OF DEADLY

DEADLY THEN, DEADLY NOW, DEADLY ALWAYS: SBS & NITV IGNITE NAIDOC WEEK 2026 WITH ...

10/06/2026

Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF advance laser-based drone defense with THORIS LCS

Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF advance laser-based drone defense with THORIS LCS Rohde & Schwarz is showcasing THORIS at ILA 2026: A sovereign, end to end counter...

10/06/2026

MAHLE and Rohde & Schwarz develop application for sensor testing of modern driver assistance systems

MAHLE and Rohde & Schwarz develop application for sensor testing of modern drive...

10/06/2026

NFVF CALL FOR FUNDING APPLICATIONS: PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT 2026/27

Production and Development Funding supports the creation of compelling, commercially viable, artistic and culturally relevant South African screen content. Deve...

10/06/2026

Nielsen launches Four-Screen Ad Deduplication measurement on YouTube campaigns in Japan

Media buyers and sellers can now compare YouTube reach from computer, mobile, an...

10/06/2026

Ecoflow X Launches as Experimentation Arm for Sustainabil...

Accedo, Humans not Robots, and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) have announced the launch of Ecoflow X. Formerly an IBC Accelerator project, ...

10/06/2026

Frequency Appoints James Smith as General Manager - Monet...

Frequency, the engine powering the world's leading streaming television channels, today announced that James Smith has joined the company as General Manager...

10/06/2026

Riedel Artist at the Heart of the 14th World Live Neurova...

At the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Lisbon, Riedel Communications provided the communications infrastructure for live medical procedures s...

10/06/2026

Globecast Unveils Content Exchange Platform Powered by Or...

Globecast, a leading provider of broadcast, media, and entertainment managed services, today announced the launch of its Content Exchange platform powered by Or...

10/06/2026

Venues and integrators shift toward professional recharge...

Klvr will showcase how venues, integrators and production teams are rethinking disposable battery usage at InfoComm 2026 (Las Vegas, June 17-19, booth #N6311). ...

10/06/2026

VSF Releases Specification for RIST Satellite Hybrid Out-...

The Video Services Forum (VSF) has further enhanced the Reliable Internet Streaming Transport (RIST) protocol by incorporating a new feature, RIST Satellite-Hyb...

10/06/2026

Microphone Maker Audix Adds Eric Reese as VP

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/06/2026

VEON's Banglalink Brings Every World Cup 2026 Match to Football Fans in Bangladesh on Toffee

10 Jun 2026 VEON's Banglalink Brings Every World Cup 2026 Match to Football...

10/06/2026

How to watch every ICC Womens T20 World Cup 2026 match live on Sky Sports

Wednesday 10 June 2026 How to watch every ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 match live on Sky Sports Where is the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 availabl...

10/06/2026

PRLA brings first-ever Beautifully Clean Oral Care TV campaign to screens nationwide with Sky

Wednesday 10 June 2026 P RLA brings first-ever Beautifully Clean Oral Care'...

10/06/2026

Sky reveals pulse-pounding first teaser trailer for upcoming crime drama Fightland

Wednesday 10 June 2026 Sky reveals pulse-pounding first teaser trailer for upco...

10/06/2026

Riedel Artist at the Heart of the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference

Wuppertal June 10, 2026 Riedel Artist at the Heart of the 14th World Live Neurovascular ConferenceAt the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Li...

10/06/2026

Netflix Showcases New Mobile Experience, Collections and Games Vision in APAC

Back to All News Netflix Showcases New Mobile Experience, Collections and Games Vision in APAC Product 10 June 2026 GlobalSouth KoreaJapan Link copied to c...

10/06/2026

Ready to Join? The Netflix Fan Club Arrives at Cannes Lions

Back to All News Ready to Join? The Netflix Fan Club Arrives at Cannes Lions Business 10 June 2026 Global Link copied to clipboard Download all assets N...

10/06/2026

June 10, 2026

Chemists snap together complex 3D molecules from highly reactive radicals-without losing their shape Scripps Research team develops stereoretentive radical-radi...

09/06/2026

Kiswe Expands Partnership With ONE Championship To LaunchGlobal Subscription Platform

Kiswe announces an expanded long-term partnership with ONE Championship (ONE), t...

09/06/2026

SiriusXM to Carry All 104 FIFA World Cup 2026 Matches via FOX Sports Commentary

SiriusXM will broadcast FOX Sports' English-language commentary for all 104 FIFA World Cup 2026 matches from June 11 through July 19, available to subscribe...

09/06/2026

EVS Broadcast Equipment Rebrands as EVS

EVS has announced it is changing its corporate name from EVS Broadcast Equipment to EVS, reflecting the company's expanded portfolio beyond broadcast equipm...

09/06/2026

FOX and NFL Announce Multi-Year Agreement for NFL Coverage in Mexico Starting in 2026

Fox Corporation and the NFL have announced a multi-year agreement to bring NFL c...