It’s not every day that a Spyder is welcome in Atlanta’s Philips Arena. But Vista Systems’ Spyder X20 is now at home feeding twin Mitsubishi Diamond Vision systems in the multi-purpose facility.

Philips Arena opened in 1999 and hosts the NBA Atlanta Hawks and WNBA Atlanta Dream. It’s also among the busiest arenas in the world for concerts. The Mitsubishi Diamond Vision systems, which measure 100 feet long and 12 feet high, are mounted at each end of the arena and display statistics, replays, video footage, graphics and advertising.

“We chose Spyder for its flexibility and functionality compared to other options on the market,” says David Corathers, engineering manager for Mitsubishi Diamond Vision who helmed the integration. “Spyder provides the most flexibility for inputs – video sources, HD-SDI, DVI, keys, without degradation of the video images into our advanced proprietary LED processors. That allows our customer to produce very complicated shows. A lot of different sources of information can be aggregated to one place along with advertising.”

Spyder was installed for the current NBA season and it has been “working great,” according to Corathers. “Our customer really likes the flexibility, and it’s very cost effective. I’ve been impressed with the product and the people at Vista.”

He notes that, “We’re just starting to scratch the surface of what Spyder can do and are in the process of integrating Spyder more deeply into our system. At the Philips Arena, Spyder allows our customer to drive and manage material and customize a unique visual palette.”

About Vista Systems
Vista Systems’ switchers have become the industry standard for live multiple-destination video and data mixed signal switching with real-time windowing and composition. For more information on Vista Systems, visit their website at www.vistasystems.net.

WOODBURY, New York – Hitachi Kokusai Electric America announces that TSE (Total Sports Entertainment) Services—a systems integrator based in La Crosse, WI—has installed three new Hitachi Z-HD5000 HDTV studio cameras, a YESCO video board, and a full HD production control room in the Convocation Center on the campus of Eastern Michigan University (EMU) in Ypsilanti, MI.

Under the project management of A/V Consultant Frank Moraski, Jr, a principal of Anthony James Partners (AJP) in Richmond, VA, the facility renovation involved LED displays from YESCO (Young Electronic Sign Company), in Logan, Utah, which in turn contracted TSE Services for the turnkey systems integration work.

Bob Johnston, regional sales manager, Hitachi Kokusai Electric America, facilitated the camera order, including three Hitachi Z-HD5000 HDTV studio cameras with CU-HD500 camera control units and FUJINON HD lenses, as well as a Hitachi RU-1000VR control panel for remote camera setup. Two Z-HD5000’s are in a studio configuration on tripods, while one is used as a shoulder-mount handheld within EMU’s Convocation Center – an 8,000-seat arena where the University’s NCAA Division I basketball, volleyball, wrestling, and gymnastics events are held.

“For live event entertainment, EMU has invested in broadcast-quality, HD cameras, and the picture quality is outstanding,� said Marty Masewicz, an A/V systems integrator with TSE Services, which specializes in the design and installation of big-board displays and A/V installations for sports, education, and other applications nationwide. “As the public becomes more media-savvy, picture quality is a key consideration, especially when the image will be displayed on a huge video screen.�

Another important consideration favoring the selection of Hitachi cameras was user-friendliness, since EMU students often operate the video equipment in the Convocation Center.

According to Masewicz, the HD control room was designed to serve the production needs of other athletic facilities on the EMU campus, including Rynearson Stadium, the 30,200-seat football stadium next door to the Convocation Center. “The Hitachi Z-HD5000’s fiber camera adapters enable long-fiber runs within the arena—and eventually from other campus venues—back to the ‘production room.’� In this room, TSE installed a Broadcast Pix Granite 2000 integrated HD production switcher and a NewTek 825 8-channel replay system, as well as ClickFX Crossfire and Blaze systems to feed the big-board.

At present, the Hitachi cameras will capture HD video of games and special events like graduations for display on a four-sided, center-hung YESCO LED display/scoreboard and two 50-foot courtside LED ribbons.

“In our experience,� Masewicz said, “colleges and universities have increasingly been adopting high-quality HD video displays to provide live entertainment during athletic and special events. The Hitachi Z-HD5000 is an affordable, high-performance solution, ideal for this application.�

About Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 360,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2009 (ended March 31, 2010) consolidated revenues totaled 8,968 billion yen ($96.4 billion). Hitachi will focus more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes information and telecommunication systems, power systems, environmental, industrial and transportation systems, and social and urban systems, as well as the sophisticated materials and key devices that support them. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company’s website at http://www.hitachi.com.

BUENA PARK, Calif.—Held the last weekend of April in Wilkesboro, N.C., this year’s MerleFest included a roster of longtime roots artists like Leon Russell, The Charlie Daniels Band, Avett Brothers, Del McCoury Band, Donna the Buffalo, Jim Lauderdale, Michael Martin Murphey, Peter Rowan, Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. As locals know, the festival is named for famed guitarist Doc Watson’s late son, Merle, a gifted musician in his own right. Doc passed away in May 2012, so this is the first year he hasn’t graced the stage himself.

For the past 26 years, SE Systems of Greensboro, N.C. has provided audio production for MerleFest, and this year included a new NEXO STM rig shared and alternating between the main Watson Stage and the side Cabin Stage. The system consisted of 15 M46/B112 per side for mains, 16 S118 subs in cardioid mode per side, two M46 for front fills, and a three-stack of M46/B112s were used for out fills in the VIP area. A Yamaha DME64 digital mixing engine functioned as a converter from analog to Dante that was networked to all NXAMPs. 20 NEXO 45 N-12 line monitors were also used on the main stage.

“The NEXO STM system was very musical and even horizontally and vertically, states Chris West, front of house engineer at the Watson Stage. “The mix sounded the same on the ground and at FOH. The throw was incredible; we hardly used the delays.”

“The NEXO STM system sounded natural, even at high volume,â€� states Haley Miller, monitor engineer at the Watson Stage. “When dealing with acoustic music, the environment plays a large part, so a natural sounding system is always a plus. On stage it was quiet, and sometimes we couldn’t tell if the PA was on; the system allowed great isolation from stage to FOH with no bleed.”

Four new Yamaha CL5 digital audio consoles with Rio 3224 input/output boxes all connected with Dante were used on the Americana Stage for mains and monitors and at the Dance Stage for mains and monitors. “The overall impression was they sounded great,� states Myron Surber, Sales Associate, SE Systems. “The preamps were warm and the Premium Rack was a real plus with delays on the input channels and the additional 1/3 octave EQs.�

“The Yamaha CL5 is a great improvement on previous Yamaha consoles having mixed on both the PM5D and M7CL in festival situations,â€� states Josh Berneking, who mixed front of house for all the acts on the Americana Stage. “The CL5 is much better in that situation. The new premium rack plug-ins, especially the Rupert Neve EQ and Compressor, sound great. I also like the increased naming and labeling capabilities; and color-coding my channels was a huge help at the festival. I also found that it was similar enough in navigation to the M7s that guest engineers walking up to the consoles having no experience were able to jump right in on the desk and mix on the fly with very little help from me. The Dante network and stage boxes worked great; they were very easy to patch on, and setup. We were also able to connect my talkback mic to the monitor console through Dante.” Jeff Neubauer mixed monitors on the Americana Stage.

“The console sounded great and was sonically very clean,â€� states Todd Dupree who mixed monitors on the Dance Stage. “We had two Rio boxes on our stage; they are great devices, well made, and solid. The indicator lights for signal, peaking, 48v, and the Ping feature worked great in the frantic festival setting.” John Adair mixed front of house at Dance Stage.

For more information on SE Systems, visit www.sesystems.com.

For more information on NEXO and Yamaha products, visit www.yamahaca.com.

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Photo ID: L to R SE Systems Chris West, Yamaha’s Joe Rimstidt, Doug Staab and Mark Rush, and SE Systems Thomas Dameron. Avett Brothers are on stage.

About Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems, Inc.:
Celebrating 125 years of Passion and Performance, and 25 years in the manufacturer of high quality digital audio consoles, Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems, Inc. (YCAS) provides a full line of integrated professional audio products offering complete systems solutions for the broadcast, sound reinforcement/installed sound, touring, commercial recording, and post production markets. With the addition of NEXO to the product line, the company remains the official U.S. and Canadian distributor for all NEXO speaker models. YCAS offers comprehensive in-house and field product training for its customers, a dedicated dealer network, and 24/7 technical support.

The highly anticipated world premiere of Warner Bros. “The Great Gatsby� lit up the screen in brilliant 3D, thanks to Christie Solaria® Series digital cinema projectors, which brought to life the splendor of the roaring twenties in rich, saturated colors and sharp, 4K-resolution. The star-studded event took place at Avery Fisher Hall, an iconic New York City venue at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

The Great Gatsby (Courtesy Warner Bros.)

Directed by Baz Luhrmann, the film is based on the classic novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. on May 10. The event was a glamorous evening worthy of the film’s 1920s setting, featuring an audience filled with the film’s stars—Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Isla Fisher, Joel Edgerton, and Carey Mulligan. A host of other A-list celebrities, including Jay-Z and Jake Gyllenhaal, also made appearances at the red carpet event.

“Christie is thrilled to have projected the world premiere of ‘The Great Gatsby’, a long-awaited movie based on one of the most beloved literary classics,� said Craig Sholder, vice president, Entertainment Solutions, Christie. “As a trusted leader in digital cinema projection, we were pleased that that our projectors displayed all the splendor and opulence of ‘The Great Gatsby,’ fully realized in 3D!�

Preferred Christie® dealer Digital Media Systems selected two top-of-the-line Christie CP4230 DLP® digital cinema projectors for the screening, which converged the light from two projectors to create a seamless image projected onto a silver screen. Gregg Paliotta, president and owner of Digital Media Systems, said that this 4K Christie solution was the only choice for providing the brilliant 3D images needed.

Avery Fisher Hall - Ready for Great Gatsby Premiere (Photo Courtesy Gregg Paliotta)

“We have done other major premieres at Avery Fisher Hall in the past, such as ‘Hugo’ and ‘War Horse,’ so Warner Bros. and Lincoln Center trusted us and Christie to deliver the high brightness and absolutely flawless picture quality needed to screen this major studio event,� said Paliotta. “The Christie projectors always perform to our expectations, and ‘The Great Gatsby’ premiere was no exception. We are proud to be an exclusive Christie dealer for that reason.�

DPA Microphones is delighted to announce the launch of the d:dicateâ„¢ Recording Microphone range, which combines the best capsules with the best pre-amplifiers to deliver superior sound for all applications where high quality audio is required.

The d:dicate range includes DPA’s new modular MMC4018 supercardioid capsule, the counterpart to the MMC4018V capsule used in the company’s new d:facto™ Vocal Microphone and one that is ideally suited to applications where clarity and audio quality are critical. d:dicate also includes the well-known MMC4007 hi-SPL omnidirectional capsule, previously known as 4007, now in a modular version. Widely used for measurement purposes, this capsule has an unbeatable dynamic range and can handle extremely high sound pressure levels. Both capsules is widely used for picking up drums, percussion, brass instruments – and for measurement purposes. Both are entirely compatible with other d:dicate preamplifiers.

Completing the d:dicate line-up are microphones from the familiar and well-loved DPA Reference Standard series, which has been absorbed into the d:dicate range with all former Reference Standard products now carrying d:dicate branding. These include the modular 4000 and 2000 series, which are manufactured to perform within very narrow tolerances and offer exceptional linear frequency responses, high SPL and superior gain before feedback. Within the 4000 series there are a wide variety of capsules including the new 4018 supercardiod, 4017 shotgun, 4015 wide cardioid, 4011 cardioid and 4006 omnidirectional. The 2000 series consists of two twin diaphragm capsules – the 2011 cardioid and the 2006 omni versions that are rooted in the design technology of DPA’s classic miniature capsules. All these capsules can be combined with a state-of-the-art A pre-amp, a B pre-amp with low cut and high boost filters, and a C pre-amp, which is a compact version for discreet miking.

Like all DPA microphones, every variant in the d:dicate range delivers clear, transparent and precise sound, along with the robustness and versatility that are the hallmarks of DPA’s ingenious engineering techniques. These high quality microphones are increasingly being employed in harsh live sound environments, particularly on drum kits where there is a demand for exceptional sound quality but where the microphones solution needs to be robust and sturdy so that it can be relied on time after time.

Christian Poulsen, CEO of DPA Microphones, says: “Our new d:dicate Recording Microphone range gives customers the ultimate in flexibility as any microphone in the range can easily be transformed into a new variant simply by choosing a different capsule or preamplifier. Customers will also find that owning several capsules is more cost effective than purchasing a completely new microphone.

“By gathering these microphones into a specific group, d:dicate now joins our other established product groups: d:fine™ Headset Microphones, d:vote™ 4099 Instrument Microphones and d:facto™ Vocal Microphones.�

New accessories have also been developed for the d:dicate Recording Microphone range, including modular active cables (MMP-ER with rear cable entry and MMP-ES with side cable entry) plus modular active booms (MMP-F) that are compatible with all d:dicate capsules. These new microphone solutions can be used in many different situations, for example as a podium microphone on a desktop or podium, suspended for high-end capture or on elegant stage stands. The active booms come in several lengths and configurations with flexible gooseneck and XLR termination, while the new active cable only adds a centimetre to the capsule, making it even more discreet than the compact C pre-amp, while giving comparable performance.

“It was difficult to split the preamplifier construction and make an ultra-compact head without sacrificing the sound quality,� Christian Poulsen adds. “However, we succeeded and now customers can have DPA’s renowned sound quality across many applications where we have not been widely used before, for example installation, concert halls, on stage, etc.�

The two new capsules and new accessories in DPA’s d:dicate Recording Microphones range will be available from August 2013. Former Reference Standard capsules and preamplifiers now included in the d:dicate range are available now.

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Editors’ information:
DPA Microphones is the leading Danish Professional Audio manufacturer of high quality condenser microphones and microphone solutions for professional applications in studio, broadcast, theatre, video/film and sound reinforcement environments. All DPA microphones and components are manufactured at the company’s purpose-built factory in Denmark.
For more information on DPA Microphones, please visit www.dpamicrophones.com

Thousand Oaks, California, May 6, 2013 – This Mother’s Day, help Mom bring the family together for summertime parties with an all-weather outdoor SunBriteTV.

SunBriteTV’s are designed for permanent outdoor use and starting at just $1,495, creating a modern outdoor entertainment area is now practical and affordable. Family movie nights under the stars, graduation parties, backyard BBQs- any outdoor get-together is complemented by the addition of a SunBriteTV.

“There’s no better way to thank a mother than with a gift that will get the whole neighborhood talking,� said Tom Dixon, Vice President of Marketing, SunBriteTV. “SunBriteTV’s are discussion-starters that will have your friends and family anxious to come back for the next party!�

All SunBriteTV models withstand temperatures from -24°F to 122°F and completely resist rain, humidity, salt corrosion, dust, and insects. Anti-glare screens are specially designed to deliver bright high-definition images in any outdoor climate, any time of day or night.

Every SunBriteTV includes a two-year warranty, a weatherproof remote, and 20 watt built-in speakers.
Optional accessories include a variety of wall-, ceiling- or pole-mount installation solutions, dust covers and FM Radio.

For more information on SunBriteTV please visit www.sunbritetv.com.

About SunBriteTV
SunBriteTV’s all-weather televisions have been time-tested in home installations, outdoor sports arena, restaurant and hotel patios and even on military vehicles participating in field operations. All models are available through SunBriteTV’s network of Authorized Dealers. To inquire about becoming an Authorized Dealer, contact SunBriteTV at 866.357.8688, or visit the Dealer Inquiry page at www.sunbritetv.com.

Internationally acclaimed for creating high quality live sound and recording microphones, DPA Microphones has now turned its attention to the installation market with the launch of two new microphones that give AV installers and conference organisers the clear, transparent and precise sound they demand.

At the top end of the range DPA is offering podium microphones that incorporate the modular capsules from the d:dicateâ„¢ Recording Microphones (formerly known as Reference Standard), which are acclaimed for their exceptional linear frequency responses, high SPL and superior gain before feedback. These new podium microphones combine the state-of-the-art capsules with newly introduced modular active booms to complete their modular nature. A number of different capsules are available and by choosing the exact capsule and boom combination, DPA customers can access the exact microphone for their needs.

Christian Poulsen, CEO of DPA Microphones, says: “Given the flexibility of our d:dicate range, creating a microphone for the installation and conference markets was an obvious step. We already had the high-end capsule and pre-amplifier technology needed to fulfil the brief, so all we had to do was employ some ingenious mechanical solutions. By doing this, we have been able to adapt our boom and cable technology so that we can deliver high-end installation solutions for a wide variety of applications. Whether this is for a podium, a desk top, a stage stand or even suspended from the ceiling, we have it covered with visually elegant and sonically superior products that boast all the robustness inherent in DPA’s ingenious engineering techniques.�

Alongside the high-end d:dicate solution, DPA has also developed a cost-effective, directional podium microphone based on its renowned 4060/d:vote 4099 miniature microphones.

This directional gooseneck microphone, which uses interference tubes and pre-polarized backplate to ensure speech intelligibility, was originally devised for the Nobel Prize organisation. The organisation had requested a dedicated podium solution for its 2012 Nobel Peace Prize presentation, which was taking place in Oslo City Hall, in a room with challenging acoustics. DPA adapted its existing miniature capsule to give an off-axis frequency response that negated room reverberation while preserving the needed on-axis sensitivity for voice level. It also positioned the capsule on a delicate gooseneck stand, which encompasses all that is best in sleek Scandinavian design. The result was so well received that the microphone was quickly adopted as a standard DPA product and is now available to all installation customers. This miniature podium microphone can even be used in a wireless configuration by employing the company’s ingenious adapter range, which is already used for other miniature microphones.

Both of these ingenious solutions for the installation market will be available from August 2013. For further information please visit www.dpamicophones.com

-ends-

Editors’ information:
DPA Microphones is the leading Danish Professional Audio manufacturer of high quality condenser microphones and microphone solutions for professional applications in studio, broadcast, theatre, video/film and sound reinforcement environments. All DPA microphones and components are manufactured at the company’s purpose-built factory in Denmark.
For more information on DPA Microphones, please visit www.dpamicrophones.com

Justin Timberlake seems to be just about everywhere these days, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise when his latest album’s release party turned up on The CW network. 36 Clay Paky’s new Sharpy Wash 330 luminaries were selected by lighting designer Nick Whitehouse to support the show. A.C.T Lighting is the exclusive distributor of Clay Paky fixtures in North America.

The one-hour special “Target Presents the iHeartRadio Album Release Party with Justin Timberlake” was recorded at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles during celebrations for the singer’s “20/20 Experience” album. The party included a live, national 30-minute radio special plus performances and interviews, which were recorded to air the next evening on The CW where fans also saw the world premiere of Timberlake’s new music video.

The special was the first show on which Whitehouse used Sharpy Wash fixtures. Clay Paky’s Sharpy Wash 330 is a compact, lightweight 330W washlight, with the luminous efficiency and optical performance of a 1000W fixture. It is extremely silent and quick and is fitted with a complete CMY color system, special colors, 6.5°-48° zoom, mechanical dimmer, beam shaping filter and motorized top-hat. It is an eco-friendly light, allowing considerable running and consumption cost savings.

Whitehouse wanted to give the El Rey Theatre an “old-school, Cotton Club look” and opted to use the Sharpy Washes as soon as they became available.

Timberlake appeared at several other club dates, and “by the time we got to the El Rey the lights were ready,” Whitehouse recalls. “I wanted to give the show a retro look; there wasn’t much movement, but there were a lot of color changes. I used the Sharpy Washes like par cans configured in groups of four; they gave that nice thin beam with frost in there.”

Whitehouse says, “I love all the Sharpy fixtures, and the Sharpy Washes performed even better than I expected. The show was a nice testing ground for future arena and stadium shows” where Sharpys and Sharpy Washes will comprise part of Whitehouse’s lighting complement.

Whitehouse will light Timberlake’s East Coast release party at New York City’s famed Roseland Ballroom on May 5 deploying Sharpy fixtures one more time to celebrate the “20/20 Experience.”

George Masek, A.C.T Lighting’s Vice President, Automated Lighting, adds, “We’ve always been a fan of Nick’s work – he’s always doing something cutting edge and different with the equipment he uses. We were excited when he chose the Sharpy Wash to support this production because we were sure it would be a great US debut for this tremendous new fixture and we weren’t disappointed.”

Francesco Romagnoli, Clay Paky Area Manager for North and Latin America, concludes, “We’re so please to see our new Sharpy Wash fixtures on so many high profile shows. Nick has always been a great user of our products and this show is an excellent example of that.”

Helps GB4D Rental House Simplify Network Audio Distribution High in the French Alps

TIGNES, FRANCE, MAY 2, 2013 – For the fourth year in a row, a portion of ESPN’s X Games has taken place overseas, this time in Tignes, France, a hot spot for skiing and snowboarding in the French Alps. In addition to X Games Tignes being broadcast from France this year for the first time ever, the annual extreme sporting event is going global, with additional events taking place through early August in Aspen (U.S.), Barcelona (Spain), Foz do Iguaçu (Brazil), Los Angeles (U.S.) and Munich (Germany). Situated at up to 12, 293 feet above sea level, the location of the games added a new level of complexity for Gilles Bouvard Events and Entertainment (GB4D), the France-based rental house that assisted ESPN with the sophisticated audio signal distribution necessary for the event. To help manage the coordination and weather challenges, the company turned to Optocore’s optical fiber network solutions.

The event in France was co-produced by Canal+ Events on behalf of ESPN, with GB4D providing virtually all of the audio equipment for the competition zones to assist A+ Events, another co-producer. With more than 125 athletes participating in the games, the team at GB4D knew it needed gear capable of managing not only proper audio distribution, but also able to withstand the snowy weather concerns. A longtime fan of Optocore, Gilles Bouvard, owner of GB4D, suggested Optocore’s interfaces as a way to ensure a successful signal flow within a redundant system.

“The audio vendor for the X Games was my former associate, Julien Terrier, with his new company A+ Events,� says Bouchard. “I suggested he use Optocore to provide all the fiber network signal distribution.�

The audio transmission was based around two Optocore loops—one ring for the Super Pipe competition area, with five Optocore X6R-FX network converters for the main PA and one for the VIP area—and a second for the Slope Style competition area, with two X6R-FX interfaces. The master control room was equipped with two DD2FR-FX (offering MADI ports), two DD32R-FX (AES-EBU) and one X6R-FX systems. GB4D was able to control the entire Optocore system from a single desktop PC.

As the distances between nodes were long, GB4D used approximately 984 feet (300m) of Neutrik X-TREME fibers for signal transport between all links. The primary ring measured a distance of approximately 1.3 miles (2.1km) and the secondary approximate 1,968 feet (600m), which was constructed around 12 nodes, plus spares.
L’Acoustics LA8 and Lab Gruppen PLM10000Q amplifiers fed the main PA hangs, while the Optocore LAN controlled the Super Pipe’s deck fills. Inputs included background music, live DJ feeds, wireless announcer microphones, various media and advertisement sources and TV truck feeds.

“Thanks to the Optocore network, the wireless links for the announcers was greatly simplified. Also, feeding signals into the system was easy,� explains Bouvard. “As for the outputs, the Optocore fiber network allowed a simple routing of the various signals feeding the amplifiers all around the site. The possibilities offered by macros allowed a simplified routing and ease of modification for all the various live and recording feeds.� GB4D designed a redundant FOH position, deploying two fully backed-up Midas digital desks.

Bouvard compared the challenge of working high in the Alps with the opposite climatic extreme GB4D faced when it recently deployed a vast Optocore and BroaMan network over a huge distance for Kuwait’s 50th Constitution Day celebration. “There was really little difference,� he says. “On the one hand we had the high temperatures and sand storms, on the other the very low temperatures and snow. We found ourselves in two similar extreme situations and we had to find reliable solutions.

“I think that working in those difficult environments helps us improve our technical expertise. We have learned to adapt technically to those constraints, for example with the PA and cabling, but more essentially for the monitoring of the systems, which is crucial in this type of event and in these conditions. The use of an Optocore network simplifies this enormously.�

With the increasing popularity of the X Games across the world, there are more technical challenges, especially in the months leading up to the event. “Reliability is fundamental,� continues Bouvard. “All the vendors present were snow and mountain specialists, so we were ready for any technical challenges. Plus, the ease of the Optocore implementation was a major step forward for this project. The most notable aspects were the simplification of the routing system, the increased reliability of the wiring on site, the total redundancy and the real-time monitoring of all system components.�

He added that GB4D technicians François Lund, Patrice Giono and Piotr Skotnicki have worked at X Games Tignes since it was first staged there in 2010. All three are certified Optocore technicians, and were responsible for realizing the design, implementation and operation of this year’s event.

About Optocore

Based in Munich, Germany, Optocore is the world market leading provider of scalable, high-bandwidth, low–latency fiber-optic networks for the transmission of audio, video and data. For 20 years, Optocore has been continuously innovating and setting new standards with regards to digital network technology. Optocore builds and develops synchronous optical fiber and CAT5 based network solutions for broadcast professionals, fixed installations and live event applications. Utilizing leading-edge technology and high-quality components, Optocore guarantees durability and therefore long-term market and customer satisfaction. Due to its open system architecture, Optocore’s platform offers other manufacturers the option to transfer conventional standard audio, video and data formats used in the pro audio industry over a fiber and CAT5 network. Technical expertise, QoS and an extensive support structure are guaranteed to all customers, together with the highest level of quality controls. For more information, visit www.optocore.com.

“SSL is a company that takes care of you through the sale and continues the relationship into the future�

VIENNA – A Solid State Logic C100 HDS Digital Broadcast Console has been chosen to make classical music sing for the new Musik und Theater (MuTh) Concert Hall, the permanent home for the Vienna Boys’ Choir (VBC). The 400-seat facility is also home to many other institutions and hosts performances ranging from the Vienna Philharmonic to dance and jazz presentations. The C100 is used for front of house live sound mixing, DAW capture, post production and live-to-air broadcast/streaming. The choice of the C100 was based in part on purity of sound and SSL’s responsiveness to client needs.

“While we looked at consoles from all the major manufacturers, SSL was our choice for many reasons,� says Roland Tscherne, technical manager and sound engineer for MuTh. “First and foremost, SSL offers the most clarity and precise sound, worthy of the internationally acclaimed artists who perform here. Second, unlike other companies, SSL was very willing to sit and discuss our specific needs and work with us to fulfill those needs. SSL didn’t stop paying attention once the console was installed, as we have received software updates that include many of the refinements we were looking for. SSL is a company that takes care of you through the sale and continues the relationship into the future. That attention is very valuable.�

The MuTh Concert Hall is also an educational facility for children and young adults who attend its co-ed kindergarten, elementary and high schools that are attached. The theatre places particular emphasis on children’s opera. The entire operation is conceived as a gathering place for educating young people in the performing arts and to foster collaborations with other established institutions centered on youth performing arts.

According to Tscherne, the C100 resides in the theatre itself, acting as the front of house console and the audio hub for the facility. The C100 has been configured to send stereo and 5.1 mixes to the house system for concerts and film presentations. At the same time, each mix combination and the individual microphone channels are sent to the DAW for capture, re-mixing and post production. If a performance uses 30 wireless and 60 orchestra microphones, one push of a button sends all the single tracks to the DAW, saving time, while giving the engineering staff more opportunity to concentrate on creating the perfect mix.

“When we first put in the C100, each engineer definitely had a wow factor going when they sat down at the console,� concludes Tscherne. “Because it was an SSL console, they were a little bit intimidated because they haven’t ever used a console like this. However, one hour later, they were impressed with the ease of use, comfortable with mixing a project and, most importantly, with the pristine sound. We look forward to a long and successful relationship with SSL.�

Solid State Logic is the world’s leading manufacturer of analogue and digital audio consoles and provider of creative tools for music, broadcast and post production professionals. For more information about our award-winning products, please visit: www.solidstatelogic.com.