Welcome to the second instalment of Meet Your Maker Q&A! Meet Your Maker is a series of behind-the-scenes videos and blogs that illustrates the wide range of in-house skillsets used to design and manufacture our market-leading broadcast technology whilst exploring the amazing people behind Calrec.
This week we had the pleasure of speaking with Calrec's Lead Customer Support Engineer, Darren Silcock, about the importance of our close customer relationships, bespoke 24/7 support contracts & training and Calrec's no-nonsense approach to customer support.
1. What is your role with Calrec and what does it entail?
As the Lead Customer Support Engineer, I head up the Customer Support team to ensure that all customers receive an exceptional level of service, support and technical advice.
2. How big is the Customer Support Team?
We have seven UK-based engineers including myself, plus a highly technical Customer Support Manager. We support all Calrec customers and distributors around the world and have dedicated Calrec-trained US-based engineers on the East and West Coasts of America.
3. In what ways does Customer Support provide support to Calrec customers?
Customer Support provides a huge array of support facilities. One of the most important aspects of the Customer Support role is that we establish close relationships with all our customers. This allows us to gain a sound understanding of customer requirements, their systems, operational and technical requirements and provide a better, more empathetic level of support.
We also support site visits to customer facilities and OB trucks for commissioning, upgrades, system health-checks and onsite training. Part of this is handling upgrades for customers who operate 24/7 production schedules to ensure as little impact and risk as possible. This not only requires a high level of knowledge of the customer's system but also an exceptional background knowledge into the system/platform; how it's evolved over time, and any changes that have been made to hardware or software configurations.
We undertake system diagnostic work using system logging to allow events to be analysed. There is a large amount of telemetry within Calrec systems to allow us to cover events with extreme detail and accuracy.
And let's not forget training. The support team provides many training courses, often customised to suit customer requirements for specific configurations or site facilities.
And then there's operational and technical consultancy - we're not just here for problems! We are always happy to spend time discussing any new or changing workflow requirements that a customer has to help them identify and implement solutions
4. What is the global coverage? How do you work with other people in other countries?
Some customers we are able to deal with directly, but around the world, we work with an excellent and ever-expanding fleet of distributors.
Working with distributors allows us to provide a much better level of support as it provides customers with dedicated personnel that have been trained by Calrec engineers. It also allows local knowledge and practices to be maintained keeping a personal touch to the level of support.
5. How do you ensure local representatives are fully trained?
All distributors will visit the factory in the UK for an extended period to undertake an extensive range of training on all or specific Calrec products. It allows us to go through all the operational and technical training requirements, a huge amount of practical learning, configuring systems for their specific customer base, Q&A sessions, and a factory tour to see the build and progress of consoles.
Distributors have the complete freedom to immerse themselves into Calrec's world and products; it gives them a chance to not only use the products fully but also meet and get to know everyone in the factory. It's important that local representatives get to know people they will be working with in the factory on a day-to-day basis.
6. What about spares holding? How is that managed?
We hold a large amount of stock within the UK factory at Hebden Bridge and at strategic sites across the globe to ensure an extremely quick turnaround time. It is important that our customers get the parts they need asap to return to normal operation.
This not only covers our current range of products but also our legacy products there's a large amount of the older Calrec products still in daily use around the world!
Every console, asset and module that has ever left the factory is recorded, and this database is maintained daily. A good example of this is a commissioning visit for a new console. Prior to the console leaving the factory, every bit of information is recorded at the point it has completed factory testing. During the commissioning visit by the engineer if there is a new release of software this will be installed during that visit. The Customer Support engineer then makes sure that all records for that console are updated accordingly.
This ensures that any future replacement or additional hardware is configured correctly. Much of our hardware/software utilises a self-managed software process where a verification process is completed by the card itself on fitment. This further ensures spares are always configured correctly.
Calrec operates an AEU (advance exchange unit) for managing and distributing spares. This is a program whereby we ship a replacement part to the customer fully configured, and once fitted the original unit is returned to the Calrec factory for repair where it remains. This speeds up the process and allows facilities to get back up and running quicker.
7. What are the different levels of support contract?
We have three off-the-shelf levels of Support Contract that provide round-the-clock access to support servic
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
18/05/2026
Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...
18/05/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...
18/05/2026
CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...
18/05/2026
Skyline Communications has announced an integration between its DataMiner xOps p...
18/05/2026
eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new cont...
18/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/05/2026
With 22 games this season, the production team looks forward to tweaking and enhancing the coverage
After 8,660 days off the air, the WNBA returned to NBC yest...
18/05/2026
(L-R) Midori Francis and Natalie Erika James attend the Saccharine premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22, 2026, in ...
18/05/2026
Last night, the Spotify Podcast Awards in Mexico returned to the country's capital. Now in its second year, the evening honors creators whose voices are hel...
18/05/2026
ZEN-Core synth goes mobile
Roland's powerful ZEN-Core software synthesizer has just been introduced to the iPad, offering a convenient entry point into ...
18/05/2026
Versatile new limiter plug-in announced
Based in Sheffield, UK, fedDSP offer a range of plug-ins that span the music production, live sound and high-end med...
18/05/2026
A new use for convolution?
Viiri Audio's debut plug-in aims to do something a little different with convolution processing, allowing users to adjust all...
18/05/2026
Delta Goodrem shines for SBS as more than 3.27 million Australians tune in for E...
18/05/2026
The Australian Defence Force uses L3Harris T4 and T7 robots for explosive ordnan...
18/05/2026
Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support.
CV...
18/05/2026
18 May 2026
Dubai and New York, May 18, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a glob...
18/05/2026
Monday 18 May 2026
Sky News offers ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes for just...
18/05/2026
Comscore March 2026 Consumer AI Chatbot Usage Rankings Show Claude Gaining Share OpenAI's ChatGPT maintains lead while Anthropic's Claude continues to c...
17/05/2026
Delta Goodrem's Eurovision Eclipse marks end of a stellar run
17 May, 2026
Media releases
Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026
Relive every spellbinding mome...
17/05/2026
Back to All News
Oasis Premieres on Netflix June 19
Entertainment
17 May 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Summer, sunshine, the beach, parties. T...
16/05/2026
Helps to deliver a clean, balanced midrange
Developed alongside Newfangled Audio, the latest plug-in in Eventide's software collection has been designed...
16/05/2026
Brings onboard stem rendering to RANE System One
Engine DJ have just released Engine DJ 5.0, a free update for their Engine DJ OS embedded hardware and Engi...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...
15/05/2026
Netflix has announced an expanded NFL schedule for 2026 and beyond under a four-year partnership extension with the NFL through the 2029-30 season. Each season,...
15/05/2026
Ateme is supporting TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) with a contribution and d...
15/05/2026
Concacaf has announced the launch of a new website and mobile app built on Deltatre's FORGE platform. Concacaf.com and the mobile app, available on iOS and ...
15/05/2026
Eutelsat has announced the launch of QBC Business Economic Channel by Qatar Media Corporation, broadcasting in 4K/UHD via Eutelsat's 7/8 West video neighbo...
15/05/2026
Major League Soccer has announced four original content series timed to the 2026...
15/05/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced it will exhibit and present at InfoComm 2026, taking place June 13-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Cente...
15/05/2026
InfoComm 2026 will take place June 13-19 (exhibits June 17-19) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show will include sessions and exhibits covering broadcas...
15/05/2026
Tracy McGrady's Ones Basketball League (OBL) and FuboTV Inc. have announced ...
15/05/2026
Disguise has partnered with Creative Technology (CT) to deliver visual playback ...
15/05/2026
Sony Electronics has announced two new products for professional imaging: the Alpha 7R VI full-frame mirrorless camera and the FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS super-te...
15/05/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
15/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
15/05/2026
For sports organizations, the most valuable assets are often the most sensitive:...
15/05/2026
The NFL's broadcast partners released their 2026 regular season schedules ye...
15/05/2026
Besides drawing on experience with boxing, the production integrates specialty c...
Welcome to the second instalment of Meet Your Maker Q&A! Meet Your Maker is a series of behind-the-scenes videos and blogs that illustrates the wide range of in-house skillsets used to design and manufacture our market-leading broadcast technology whilst exploring the amazing people behind Calrec.
