In Broadcast - March 2013 - 61

ISSUE 17 - MARCH 2013 | WWW.INBROADCAST.COM

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

N E W S

InSOUND
Audio Post-Production Solutions Cont.
Tools DAW. It moved into consoles
through a series of control surfaces
for Pro Tools, of which the current
ICON series is the latest example. In
2010 Avid bought Euphonix, which
manufactured a range of consoles
for post-production and broadcast,
including the System 5 and Artist.
These, like Pro Tools, are now
marketed under the Avid name, with
the aim of offering different packages
for facilities of varying sizes that work
on both TV and film post.
The acquisition of Euphonix also
gave Avid access to the console
company’s EUCON Ethernet-based
protocol, which was developed
to control many DAWs and MIDI
(Musical Instrument Digital Interface)
devices, such as sequencers, from
a single surface, in this case a
mixing desk. Tom Graham, Segment
Marketing Manager for pro audio
at Avid, acknowledges that a great
deal of mixing can be done “in the
box”, but that a console gives more
ﬂexibility for speciﬁc markets. “In
post and broadcast mixers like
to have some sense of the DSP
involved for monitoring, as well
as having a second layer for the
DAW,” he says. “There is the best
of both worlds in being able to mix
in the box or on the console, which
gives monitor and control facilities
through EUCON.”
In the UK the ICON-Pro Tools
combination has been become
commonplace at facilities working on
short and medium form programmes,
such as light entertainment and
documentaries. The Avid Euphonix
desks are more likely to be found on
longer form work, such as drama.
Other consoles at this level include
the SSL C200 HD and C300 HD;
AMS Neve’s DFC Gemini and DFC
PS-1, which were recently installed
at Twickenham Studio’s Sound
Centre; and the Evo, Quantum and
Xynergi from Fairlight.
Many consoles now feature
networking capability, something
that forms the basis of Stagetec’s
mixing products. The prime example
is the top of the range Aurus, which
was designed to integrate with the
Nexus Star router. This was designed
as a supplementary device to the
Nexus audio network and routing
system, which also provides audio
format conversion, A/D and D/A
converters, audio processing, data
transmission, loudness metering,
control interfaces, multichannel
metering and amplifier control.
The Nexus is being used in
conjunction with ﬁve Auratus desks,
Stagetec’s smallest production
console at the Berlin voice dubbing
facility of German post-production
company Film and Fernseh
Synchron. A Nexus router was
speciﬁed for monitoring purposes,

with sources selected through a user
assignable button on the channel
strip of the Auratus. The Nexus is
also ﬁtted with XRI interfaces that
both receive trigger signals from
other devices and can activate
outboard equipment as well.
Another German company, Riedel,
is known for its intercom products
but in recent years has expanded
into networking with the MediorNet
system. Using point-to-point ﬁbre
optics MediorNet is designed to
combine signal transport, routing,
signal processing and conversion
into a single real-time network.
Like many other professional
audio companies Riedel is exploring
the possibilities of AVB (Audio/
Video Bridging or Bridge), a nonmanufacturer related open standard
based on IEEE (Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers) 802.1.
It is designed for interconnection,
networking and data centre bridging
and carrying, routing and switching
audio and video signals over
standardised Ethernet connections.
Members of the AVnu Alliance began
submitting compliant bridges for
testing in August 2012, with work
on pro audio products scheduled
to start during the first quarter
of this year.
Internet Protocol (IP) over Ethernet
is the basis for a number of open
networking systems aimed at the
audio visual market, which covers
live sound, broadcast and postproduction. Among the technologies
on offer are Dante, developed by
Audinate, and Ravenna, created
by Philipp Lawo of the German
broadcast console manufacturer
Lawo but produced by a subsidiary
company, ALC Networx.
Audio over IP (AoIP) is now taking
over from ISDN (Integrated Services
Digital Network), which appeared
in the early 1990s. Based on either
hardware codecs featuring a coding
algorithm or, latterly, software, ISDN
became the standard for linking
studios in different countries to work
simultaneously on voice and music
sessions, replacing more expensive
telecom circuits.
At the time doubts were raised
about the reliability and robustness
of ISDN, concerns that have also
been aired over AoIP. While IP
performance over open internet
connections can be variable,
professional users have turned
to private, managed networks to
ensure quality and fast transmission
speeds. Network providers include
Sohonet, which was founded
speciﬁcally to supply connectivity for
the post-production sector and now
links facilities in Europe, including
the UK, North America, Australia
CONTINUED ON PAGE 62

Loudness in Radio
TouchMonitor TMR7.
The TMR7 4-channel solution featuring
7“ touch screen and the unique TouchMonitor operating concept integrates all
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Details on www.rtw.de
www.facebook.com/rtw.de
61

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