In Broadcast - August 2016 - 52


52

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 6 - Issue 8 | August 2016

InStudio

Connecting To The Right Mix

Wheatstone Gibraltar IP Mix Engine connects via WheatNet-IP,
an AES67 compatible IP audio network

bit-rate signals not already in
MPEG-2 transport streams; the Video
Services Forum (VSF) TR-03 and TR04 for transporting uncompressed
elementary stream media over IP; and
AES67.
Phil Owens, who handles Eastern US
sales for Wheatstone, observes that
with the video in many facilities now
shifting to IP operation, audio should
make the move as well. "Specifically
upcoming standards like TR-03 will
rely on AES67 for the audio component
of the transport stream," he says.
"Wheatstone uses our ip-88 Series
Blades as I/O units in the audio IP
network. These are capable of onboard
mixing, routing and audio processing,
all contained in the I/O device.
Therefore many functions can be

"...The drive to fewer
controls at the master
control site has
been going on for
a few years"
Frank Grundstein,
Logitek

SSL System-T console has
Dante for AoIP networking

controlled in the network, independent
of the audio board."
Client Control
Tom Knowles, Product Manager
for Broadcast Systems at Solid State
Logic, says broadcasters now are
looking for "more flexible systems".
Both control and automation are
important components, with each
tailored to specific applications, such
as news, sport and entertainment.
Such flexibility has been built into
SSL's latest mixing product, System T.
Based on Dante for AoIP networking,
this runs on a Tempest DSP processor
(or core), which can run three
simultaneous IP-addressed control
clients.
Manufacturers such as SSL and
Yamaha are not overlooking the
features that broadcasters and
other users expect from a mixing
console in favour of new connectivity
technologies, they are balancing the
two. Arthur Koll, Sales Engineer for
Broadcast and Pro Audio Installation
with Yamaha Music Europe, says
surround sound is still a priority, while
automated microphone mixing is a

consideration for talk show production.
"Yamaha recently introduced Dan
Dugan automatic mic mix capability
on the CL and QL consoles, which
allows shows to be operated by less
experienced engineers," he says. "But
the ability to integrate into IP networks
using AoIP, with control from studio
automation systems such as VSM,
BFE, Commander Core and Mozart, is
among the features broadcasters are
looking for."

cont'd...

looking for the ability to control their
console through automation software,
even eliminating the physical control
surface and using virtual consoles as
the user interface. The drive to fewer
controls at the master control site has
been going on for a few years."
Logitek has developed its own
JetNet networking platform for this,
although the company also offers AoIP
through Telos' Livewire protocol and
AES67. As Gustavo Robles, Director of
International Sales at AEQ, comments:
"Integration is the key." AEQ, which
produces radio consoles, commentary
systems, routers and codecs, has
adopted Dante, while continuing to
offer fibre optic and MADI connections.
"We are working hard so that
everything can be interconnected
easily to everything," says Robles,
"and using international standards to
connect to units from other brands."

Remote Operations
Another imperative is the rise
in remote production, with basic
equipment and minimal crew on site
marshalled from the main control
centre. Calrec addressed this area
at the 2016 NAB Show with its RP1
remote production engine. This is a
2U core with FPGA-based DSP that can
connect over analogue, AES, MADI, SDI
and AoIP, including AES67, Ravenna,
Dante and SMPTE
2022. "It is about
the drive for more
content,"
observes
Henry Goodman. "This
includes events such
as college football
and the only way
broadcasters can cover
things like that within
the same budgets
is through remote
operations."
The need to do more
with less extends
A Logitek Artisan Digital console at WFIE-TV
to studios as well.
Frank Grundstein, Director of Sales Dynamic Production
at Logitek, comments that local TV
All this does sound like a brave new
stations are moving towards more world for audio consoles, one that
automated operations: "They are is moving away from the creative
and tactile art of sound mixing. But,
while all console manufacturers are
now making provision for greater
connectivity and general control
functions, Tino Fibaek, Chief Technical
Officer of Fairlight*, says the machines
are not taking over completely: "We
are seeing more automation and
control from a single console, which
can run cameras and lighting as
well as perform a mix. But it is still
under human control and can make
for a more responsive and dynamic
production."

*Editor's Note: As InBroadcast went
to press Fairlight announced that it
was "actively seeking a buyer for its
Professional Audio technology".
http://www.inbroadcast.com http://wheatstone.com/tv-consoles1/gibraltar-network/overview http://logitek.com.au/television-audio-consoles/artisan-digital-console/ http://www2.solidstatelogic.com/broadcast/system-t#&panel1-1
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of In Broadcast - August 2016
