Volume 6, Issue 5 — May 30, 2017
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Editorial
- The Sound of Sound
Dr. Frederick Ampel : President & Principal, Technology Visions Analytics House of Worship Trends The Future of HOW
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The Sound of Sound
By Dr. Frederick Ampel President & Principal, Technology Visions Analytics
In a world of steadily increasing digitization, robotization and electronic origination of everything from voicemail prompts to virtual customer support, the musical world has not been left out of the progression to artificial sources. Of course there remains the world of orchestral, operatic and some styles of folk/country music performances, which are as unrepentantly “live” acoustic events as they ever were. But even those supposedly sacred spaces have been quietly infiltrated by recorded tracks, electronic sources, synthesized music support and all kinds of “augmentation.” The HOW music world is no different in this respect than any other style or format.
Perception Is Necessary
What this trend towards artificial sources has created is a lack of cognition of what things actually sound like and how natural, acoustic sources create a “space” or congregate to become a performance as perceived by the listener. Without exposure to non-reinforced natural acoustic sources, it is extremely difficult to have any kind of mental image of what people, instruments and most importantly multiple individual instruments or groups of anything actually sound like. Without that mental “file,” the tendency is to assume that every source needs to be processed or helped in some way in order to sound right.
Certainly a portion of this predicament has been created by the world of sampling and the stunning growth of digital keyboard and synthesizer capabilities. Literally anything that produces sound can be sampled and reused whenever and wherever it is desired. There is no need to find someone who knows how to play, use or operate that device, no need rehearse, no need to deal with actual people and their numerous “issues,” and most importantly for the professional musicians, no need to pay them. Punching up that cembalo dulcimer or Irish harp sample on a digital keyboard is much faster and easier than getting a person to play one, let alone finding one.
The problem is that however accurate the sample might be (and that varies dramatically depending on the sampling device/method and from prerecorded loop to prerecorded loop), it’s still just a sample — a minuscule, frozen moment of some portion of the acoustic output of the particular source. It is most certainly not a high-definition picture of the whole of the source, especially not of that source as heard live with all of its complex harmonics and ear/brain/room interactions.
Do not forget that any “sample” is really only a spaced series of ‘stills’ of the loudness of the continuously variable analog input signal. If it helps, think of them as frames in a movie, so many per second, each of which is then saved as a binary value (zero or one) in some kind of computer style memory. Then, when you play the sample, those stored loudness values are played back (hopefully) in the correct order, reconstituted by a chip called a DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) as a variable waveform, and what we hear is an pseudo-accurate replica of the sound that was originally ‘sampled.’
How high the sample rate was/is or what kHz it was archived at or how slick the microphones were or any of that are all irrelevant. The actual sample library size needed to truly recreate any natural source beyond the ability of the human ear to discern the difference is so huge as to be outside the realm of feasibility for all practical purposes. Yes, I’m sure you could stack up enough storage devices to accomplish the task (terabytes, at least), but that would be for just one specific guitar and specific player, for example. If you change just one string’s tuning even a semi-tone, you have to start over.
More prosaically, especially in the world of HOW music, take the case of the legendary Hammond B3 Organ and Leslie Speaker combination. If you move just one tone bar 1/4”, it’s a wholly different set of parameters, and there are lots of tone bars and lots of possibilities (pardon me while I fire up the Cray supercomputer to calculate the possibilities — we’ll get back to you with the answer in a couple of months).
Now throw into the equation the variables associated with the rotating speaker in the Leslie cabinet and the absolutely humongous number of harmonics and overtones that adds to the “sound” of the organ. Oh, and by the way, how loud the speaker is playing also builds in another googol (a googol is the large number 10100) of dataset variables, but you should get the point by now. (Let me add in another two or three NSA grade super computers to the calculation process to get that answer in a year or so.)
That doesn’t mean you can’t fool the ear into thinking it heard the real thing, sort of, just like you can use multichannel time differences to create localization effects or perceptive positioning of a source. But it’s not the real thing; it’s just close enough that you can get away with it… sometimes.
There’s an old remark supposedly attributed to Sir George Martin (the celebrated Beatles producer/engineer) that goes, “If you want real strings, hire real string players.” The other well-used phrase is that you only get points for being close in horseshoes, hand grenades and nuclear weapons.
If for some reason, you believe that by now, in the 21st. century we should be able to do this perfectly, think again. Here is a spectral graph of two ‘samples’ of a violin and the other of a flute. Both are playing the same note G4. G has a frequency of 392 Hz and the harmonics are all multiples of this fundamental frequency (or about 800 Hz, 1200 Hz, 1600 Hz, etc.).
It is immediately obvious that although they are both playing the same note, the frequency spectrum of their G4 content is radically different, which is why we know when we hear the actual instruments themselves making this note that one is a flute and the other is a violin.
(For an excellent reference to the actual frequency spectrum of any musical instrument see, go here. This site allows you to look up a huge number of instruments and see the frequency rage they produce and the bandwidth they cover.)
Why Does This Matter?
Why does all this matter to the HOW readership and especially those tasked with or who have volunteered for sound reinforcement duties? It matters because the people who attend the service, no matter the denomination or style of worship, will use their ears to determine the success or failure of our efforts. Sure, they might not know you’re using a sample, or how much you’re processing the signal, but they do know if it sounds real and right to their ears. Even if they have never actually heard the specific instrument up close they have a mental ‘picture’ of what it is supposed to sound like- and that’s all that matters- both to you and to them.
So before we get to the rules of the road so to speak, there is one thing that every “sound” person should do, no matter what level of experience you have, and that is LISTEN to the real thing! This means, quite simply: Spend the time to carefully listen to what the instrument or voice sounds like, in its natural, un-processed, un-reinforced, un-sampled, un-digitized state.
Go to a rehearsal or practice session or a music school, or store that provides lessons, or anyplace you can actually hear an acoustic guitar or any other instrument and just listen. Build up that mental file picture of what the instrument sounds like to your ear so that when you have to reinforce it you will know whether the microphone or pickup is giving you something that actually resembles the real un-adulterated sound of that particular source.
Equally important is to listen to the musicians in your worship space without any technology between your ear and their sound. You need to know what they are hearing, before you can create a presentation of that sound to the congregants.
Thus, it should be the golden rule in worship sound reinforcement (or any reinforcement for that matter) that any sound reproduction attempt should be focused on producing a convincing and realistic presentation of what is happening ‘on stage’ or wherever the live source(s) are.
This means recognizing some essential rules that more often seem to be forgotten if not ignored in current practice. These rules are like the famous t-shirt showing Einstein’s face that says “186,000 miles per hour is not just a good idea, it’s the law.”
Unlike the absolute rules of physics (at least non-quantum physics), these rules are like the edge barriers on freeways — stay in lane and you’re fine, drift too far and…
Rule Number 1 — Not everything in a mix needs to be heard all the time. Music is a dynamic entity and it flows — instruments move in and out of focus. Trying to make everything audible leads to mush. Sure, the worship leader, pastor, minister, priest or whom ever is the primary speaker MUST be heard, just like the lead vocal, but even the head honcho has to take a breath now and then.
Rule Number 2 — Unless you’re Phil Spector, a wall of sound is a bad idea. Music needs space around both the total program and each individual part. Think in 3D, not 2D. Think vertically and horizontally. Way, way, way back in the early 1970s when I was just a newbie engineer, one of the studio’s old dogs wandered in about 1 a.m. when I was working on “my stuff.” He just stood there for a while and then when the 16-track stopped he said, “Nice sounds, but you have no space between the speakers.”
I just looked at him with a deer-in-the-headlights expression, and he said, “Here, I’ll show you,” and proceeded over about 10 minutes to redo the mix so the rhythm section sat stacked up in the middle and the other instruments were spread out left to right and top to bottom, making nice holes for vocals and solos. You could even hear the cool reverb effects I had spent so much time on.
Rule Number 3 — If it’s too loud, it’s too loud. Proving you can reach the physical performance limits of the sound system proves nothing except you have the wrong focus. Loudness is no substitute for quality or esthetics and is not a requirement.
Just because you have a system that can produce 100dB+ does not mean you have to add the entire audience to the rolls of the hearing impaired. Besides, as level goes up the ability to discriminate among the various parts of any performance goes down. Your ability to discern subtleties vanishes into the dBs.
Rule Number 4 — Mixing is a subtractive art, not a game of how many faders can you push to the stops. 99 44/100 percent of the time, less is more. Watch the really good live sound engineers. They don’t just jam everything up and try to make sense of the subsequent cacophony. They blend, scale, assess and control the sound. In fact years ago the job used to be referred to as a “balance engineer.” It’s still is a game of balance!
Rule Number 5 — If it doesn’t make sense, it won’t sound good. Think before reaching for that knob or throwing technology at something. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Having a digital mixer with copious amounts of signal processing does not imply that every effect has to be applied to every instrument and voice on every performance. The gear won’t spoil if you don’t use it. Before you insert that EQ, compressor, etc., decide why you’re doing it and what your goal is.
Rule Number 6 — It’s still ultimately all about the service and the word being delivered to the parishioners, not your technical genius. Showing how cool you can be only shows how little you understand why you’re there.
I like to think about this whole process using another infamous slogan seen on 1970s’ bumper stickers in the northeast: “E=MC2±2dB.” The rules are there, but this is live HOW sound and things need some maneuvering room to function. Be smart and be flexible, and the performance will always sound better. Leave a Comment
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Cost Depreciation and the Amortization of Church AVL Technology
By Anthony Coppedge House of Worship Technology Consultant
How do you make that large technology investment look approachable? Sell the cost-per-service value. To help churches invest wisely in their Audio, Video and Lighting (AVL) technologies, then start with defining value before price is discussed. The price should be what something is after the church buyers have determined the value they can expect to meet their short-term and long-term needs. The house of worship needs to understand cost depreciation and the amortization of church AVL technology.
Thinking long-term about technology is not something most church leaders have ever considered; they have a pain point, so they buy or lease technology to remedy the pain. This piecemeal approach is actually visible to the naked eye when looking at the front of house booth or video production room at a large percentage of churches, with a mashup of products and brands smattered in equipment racks and on shelves. Though pain points tend to crop up, the systems integrator has the ultimate role to play in building up the relational trust equity to help churches think through their purchases not in terms of cost, but in terms of cost-of-ownership.
Depreciate Those Assets
Depreciation indicates how much of an asset’s value has been used up over time. For example, if a church buys a piece of equipment for $50,000, it can either write the entire cost of the asset off in year one, or it can write the value of the asset off over the life of the asset, which may be 10 years for certain technologies. In business, many owners prefer to expense only a portion of the cost, which artificially boosts net income/revenue, which is not too different from how church accounts operate. In addition, if the equipment can be resold for $10,000, it has a ‘salvage value’ of $10,000. Using these variables, we calculate the depreciation expense as the difference between the cost of the asset and the resale value, divided by the useful life of the asset. The calculation in this example is: ($50,000 – $10,000) / 10, which is $4,000.
This means the church’s accountant does not have to write off the entire $50,000, even though it paid out that amount in cash. Instead, the church only has to expense $4,000 against net revenues. The church then expenses another $4,000 next year, and another $4,000 the year after that, and so on, until the value of the equipment is completely written off in year 10.
Though I’m not a tax expert, I know that contrary to popular belief, churches do pay taxes on certain things like UBIT (unrelated business income tax). They do have to recognize depreciation in their financial statements during filing and do benefit from depreciating assets, just as for-profit businesses do.
Amortize to Prioritize Purchase Decisions
In the finance world, depreciation is applied to tangible assets, whereas intangibles are amortized over time. The principle, however, is that the true cost of technology is a combination of factors, including the purchase price, the expected lifespan of the equipment, the ongoing maintenance cost and the amortization/depreciation schedule. The value of an AVL system is not calculated at the end of a summarized equipment list. No, the net effect is greater than the sum of the parts. So while the depreciation is based on a write-off of the cash investment, helping the church buyer better understand the cost of ownership when it is amortized against usage is a helpful construct for positioning the value of certain technologies against the desires and expectations of the church buyer for the usefulness of the technology as it pertains to how well the technology will meet their short and long-term needs.
A simple example is this: A $50,000 product that can fit a church environment for five years, with five services/events per week would, amortized, cost about $40 per service/event. Framed in a value proposition, this represents the cost a church would gladly spend each week to have its services operate smoothly.
Help the church understand the usable lifespan of your technology so that they can amortize the initial cost out over the lifespan of that product, in not only years but also in the number of services it will likely handle before it’s time to upgrade it. Considering the huge number of churches with multiple services (and even multiple venues and campuses), it’s not unreasonable for a church to have more than 250 services/special events in its venues per year. The value of repurposed equipment can also be a factor in helping to establish a realistic amortization schedule for the life of a product when it is used in primary, secondary and tertiary venues over the years.
Does Your Value Proposition Include Cost of Ownership?
If the value proposition is not a part of the sales process, the price will invariably become the sticking point. When you speak primarily to the price, you’re only talking about the short-term. But when you speak to the value proposition, you’re addressing the long run and helping the church to determine their investment threshold and commitment to leveraging technology. With a value proposition and estimated depreciation schedule over a five to 10 year period, the church can better understand the holistic value of their investment. Further, the amortization discussion flips the convention of a high up-front price for a single purpose to a multiple-purposed viewpoint of cost-per-service.
The quick, easy thing to do is send a templated proposal that includes a generalized equipment list and a pseudo-line item list of equipment. The church buyer can’t see the value — nor how to think about cost-per-service — against a litany of prices and model numbers. Instead, present the value: what the church’s expected cost-per-service/per venue could be based on meeting its short and longer term needs.
Have you ever priced a church AVL upgrade or new system with a cost-per-service value? Share your opinions and experiences in the comments below. Leave a Comment
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The Rise of Business Intelligence for AVL in Churches
By Anthony Coppedge House of Worship Technology Consultant
Churches deal in large inventories of complex Audio, Video and Lighting (AVL) technology across multiple venues and increasingly across multiple campuses. The advent of the church technical director in the 1970s has become a standard role in even medium-sized churches where the ubiquitous presence of AVL is the norm, not the exception. What these churches continue to need is a way to identify the return on technology — the intangible value at the intersection of ease of use and seamless experiences — that translates indirectly back into the quality of the service or event via the rise of business intelligence for AVL in churches.
For decades, systems integrators have sold the simplicity of combining functional operation among and between AVL gear via third-party access and control systems from AMX, Crestron, Extron and others. This was the first tiny step towards building a path towards creating a visualization system to escape the operational systems and launch beyond to the world of business intelligence.
The Rise of Business Intelligence for AVL in Churches
Business intelligence (BI) refers to technologies, applications and practices for the collection, integration, analysis, and presentation of business information. The basic purpose of BI is to support better business decision-making through the visualization and representation of meaningful and relevant data. But how do you represent a local church’s main value stream when they’re not selling a product or service with cause-and-effect metrics like click-through rate or e-cart abandon rates? You identify what is valuable to them and help quantify their expectations against the real-world performance of the AVL technology.
Church leaders don’t want to think about technology during services. From a technical standpoint, they want and expect a zero percent failure rate. From an operational standpoint, they expect seamless operation by staff and/or volunteers. Subjectively, they may feel that one service was ‘better’ than another based on their experiences with how well the AVL technology and/or operator performed. To address this, it is entirely possible (and I’d say a recommended best practice) to visualize a dashboard and reporting mechanism that identifies the ‘uptime’ of equipment on a service-by-service, weekend-by-weekend basis. This provides a level of confidence in the technologies that the church has invested heavily in, and it provides a running set of totals for the technical director to identify which components are nearing expected, routine maintenance and which components have experienced a failure.
More subjectively, the data might also represent the overall operation of AVL together, underscoring the significant complexities of operating the equipment by staff and volunteers. Patterns of usage, for example, may lead to the discovery that a percentage of lighting instruments are rarely used in one venue and may be better suited for another venue the church uses, making the re-purposing of equipment a better option than adding additional equipment and technical infrastructure. For the majority of churches with multiple venues, either on the same campus or at satellite/multi-site campuses, a visualization dashboard could report the overall health of each AVL system, in each venue and which technologies are in use. This provides the technical teams with instant access to their overall AVL infrastructure and allows for troubleshooting from any location as well as instant notifications to key staff of any issues. Further, it represents a holistic viewpoint for seeing utilization patterns for noting preventative maintenance and setting automation to turn off any AVL technology that is accidentally left on — think projectors burning expensive lamps, moving light fixtures and even digital signage left on during off-peak hours.
High Availability Is Important for Churches Too
The term ‘high availability’ (HA) has been around in the information technology space for decades, signifying systems that are durable and likely to operate continuously without failure or interruption. The term implies that accommodations for failure have been considered and solved in the form of redundant components. A data center in the IT world will have at least two independent power sources, full electrical back-up and independent zones that prevent one failure from cascading across the entire center. This level of expense, engineering and redundancy is justified by having HA zones for mission critical technology performance that sustain a revenue-generating business.
In the house of worship market, HA should be defined with each church at the beginning of scoping a new AVL build or retrofit. How much availability is expected? What kind of costs are involved with creating HA for a defined set of key systems such as lighting and audio? A visualization of the key infrastructure (HA) zones would make for an informative dashboard to highlight the investment and provide an overview of status and alerts to notify technical personnel in case of failures or warnings. Taken to a larger scope, churches with multiple campuses spread across a geographical area would be very interested in a heads-up dashboard that identifying the operational readiness and status of each venue.
Church technical staff need to be able to see top-level systems’ status on their mobile devices, as these operators are quite often moving between venues and not always available to physically troubleshoot a problem. While an AMX, Crestron or Extron control system could help, visualizing the BI dashboards on a mobile app provides the anywhere, anytime access that has now become as important to church techs as it is to IT data center managers. Pastors and technical directors alike would benefit from seeing what is possible when meaningful data is visualized, summarized, analyzed and presented in a helpful way.
Though this may sound like a ‘someday-in-the-future’ article, I submit that with open standards and protocols instead of the outdated proprietary control languages used by AVL manufacturers, this could be made much easier on systems integrators. The need for BI in the church world is here now. It may be harder to tie it all together into one dashboard view from a variety of control interfaces, but that shouldn’t stop the savvy systems integrators and consultants from designing these big-picture visualizations today.
When do you see visualizing operational and systems data in a business intelligence view for churches? Share your views and opinions in the comments below. Leave a Comment
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Alcons Launches LR28/110 Wide Dispersion Larger Format Line Array Alcons has launched the LR28/110 Wide Dispersion Larger Format Line Array — a three-way, line-source sound system for use as vertical array with extended horizontal coverage in up to the largest applications.
Originally introduced in 2015, the LR28/80 features an 80º horizontal dispersion pattern, but is identical to the new, wide-dispersion LR28/110 in all other aspects. Both models combine the highest sound quality possible with very high SPL capabilities and throw. It is a true ‘what you mix is what you get’ (WYMIWYG) solution, where the system doesn’t add anything to the original source: input = output.
The RBN1402rsr and mid section (featuring four high-efficiency 6.5″ midrange transducers) are jointly mounted on an aluminium cassette for optimised heat-dissipation/reduced power-compression and prolonged system output.
The LF section comprises two reflex-loaded, custom 14″ woofers with reinforced cone and large voice-coil Neodymium motor structure for improved heat dissipation and reduced power compression.
The LR28/80 and LR28/110 are powered and controlled by four channels of the Sentinel10 amplified loudspeaker controller; Through the integrated processing and feedback, the ALC offers LR28-specific drive processing with array compensation, filter-presets, system EQ, phase-matching and other facilities. The Signal Integrity Sensing pre-wiring of the LF and MF sections ensures dynamic cable/connector compensation between the LR28 and Sentinel, resulting in a fast, tight mid/bass response and reducing distortion even further.
The patent-pending rigging system enables angle setting on the cabinets without lifting the array, resulting in safer and faster set-up with minimal handling. The flying system facilitates two different ways of array assembling — caterpillar and pre-rig-style — with compressed and non-compressed suspension. It has a WLL of 24 cabinets under 10:1 safety.
The LR28/110 is element of the Alcons application-configurable touring package, including the LR28 line-arrays, LB28 bass array-extension, BC543 cardioid subwoofer system, Sentinel amplified loudspeaker controller, ARC 3D-simulation tool and power / signal- distribution and transport logistics.
Here are all the specs. Leave a Comment
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Earthworks Ships CTB30 Boundary Microphone Earthworks is now shipping the CTB30 boundary microphone designed for conferencing and speech applications. The CTB30 delivers speech intelligibility and coverage coupled with a low profile appearance for conference rooms, boardrooms, classrooms, lecterns and houses of worship.
Optimized for speech, Earthworks says the CTB30 features a flat frequency response from 60Hz to 30kHz and an incredibly fast diaphragm settling time that allows more subtle details of the human voice to be reproduced. Its True Semisphere polar response provides an omni semisphere of coverage and delivers the same high intelligibility of each orator speaking around the microphone without loss of high frequencies. The wide and even coverage across the microphone’s pickup pattern means that just one CTB30 can provide excellent coverage for a 12 foot conference table that seats up to 12 people.
Incorporated into the microphone’s design is a specially engineered filter to significantly minimize the unwanted noises of table thumping, paper shuffling and HVAC. The CTB30 also includes RF shielding to prevent interference from cell phones and other electronic devices.
Measuring just 4.1 inches in diameter, the CTB30 provides a very low profile miking solution and is available in black, white, silver or Nextel Dark Black finishes. The CTB30 comes with a 10-foot (3.04-meter) low profile cable with XLR-3M attached, and is designed to exit from the side or bottom of the microphone. The XLR can be removed, allowing the cable to run through a small hole in the table surface for a permanent installation. Two 6-32 screw holes and a keyhole are found on the bottom of the microphone for secure mounting, allowing a more permanent installation option if required.
Here are all the specs. Leave a Comment
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Synthax and RME Announce Major Firmware Update for ADI-2 Pro Synthax has announced an update for the RME ADI-2 Pro AD/DA converter. Besides correcting a least significant bit error in the input channel 2 (analog right) and an invalid mixer parameter, the new update extends the ADI-2 Pro’s functionality.
In addition to a new DSP code optimization (rewriting and restructuring parts of the DSP code to lower system resource usage), they’ve also activated the full frequency range for the third EQ band, which can now operate down to 20 Hz. Similarly, there has been an overhaul of Channel 1 and 2 Handling by separating settings memories for Main Output 1/2 and Phones Output 1/2 — there are now individual settings for both sets of outputs.
With this update, the rear outputs now also ramp up the volume when either switching between front and back manually or when removing a phones plug. Further, before switching an output into the Off state, volume is temporarily reduced because the quick mute by the relay often resembles a click sound, which does not happen at lower volumes. With this update, RME has optimized the digital volume control to preserve a full 190 dB distortion-free resolution at the digital outputs.
The updated firmware also provides LCD Tint control and the IPS panels used in the ADI-2 Pro come in a wide range of colors, from bluish white up to a faded yellow. Likewise, there are numerous improvements to the Graphical User Interface (GUI) and several new functions, including Bass/Treble Enable On/Off, the ability to toggle between the Phones and Rear outputs by pushing the Volume button for half a second and changing the digital output’s source so they get their signal from the Mains Out 1/2. Additionally, there is now dedicated Mute capability via a Mute entry in the I/O menu of outputs 1/2 and 3/4, re-mapped function keys for improved efficiency, plus a Bit Test to ensure full bit accuracy when working in the digital domain.
The latest update for the RME ADI-2 Pro can be found here. Leave a Comment
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Key Digital Intros HDMI SwitchersKey Digital introduces the KD-PRO2x1 and KD-PRO4x1 HDMI switchers with 4K@60Hz 4:4:4 chroma sub-sampling and features a TMDS bandwidth of 18 Gbps. KD-PRO2x1 is a two-input, one-output HDMI switcher and the KD-PRO4x1 is a four-input and one-output HDMI switcher. Both feature audio de-embedding of analog L/R balanced/unbalanced and digital coaxial audio and are HDR10 (High Dynamic Range) capable. Deep Color is supported with ranges up to UHD/4K 30Hz 4:4:4/12 bits or 60Hz 4:4:4/8 bit as well as 3D ready. They also support lossless compressed digital audio formats including Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby Atmos.
The KD-PRO2x1 and KD-PRO4x1 have EDID controls and come with a built-in internal library with 15 default EDID handshakes for inputs in addition to native EDID date for output/display.
All of the specs are here. Leave a Comment
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Atomos 19″ Sumo Monitor-Recorder Delivers 4Kp60 HDR to the Set and the StudioAdding HDR and 1200-nit brightness to a 19” monitor at a list price of $2,495 is an amazing feat itself, but the addition of recording, switching and playback is a true revolution, completely redefining how production monitors will be used on set and in studio. This is exactly what the new Sumo Monitor-Recorder from Atomos does.
Sumo’s native 1920×1080 10-bit LCD panel is driven by the AtomHDR engine, which maps the Log/PQ/HLG from popular cameras, game consoles or TV makers to perfectly resolve 10+ stops of HDR in real time and output to larger HDR/Rec709 displays for on set review. It can also be used with popular NLE or grading suites for affordable HDR or SDR editing or grading in the studio.
In addition, it can capture the RAW output from Sony FS5/FS7/FS700, Canon C300MKII/ C500 or Panasonic Varicam LT over SDI up to 12-bit 4Kp30 as CDNG or 10-bit Apple ProRes / Avid DNxHR up to 4Kp60 / 2Kp240 depending on the camera’s capability. The processing power of Sumo can preserve pristine quality direct from the sensor with data rates of up to 3.2 Gbps. Record direct to high capacity and widely available 2.5″ SSDs that provide an affordable solution for long recording times.
Switch and mix a live record and stream or record four HD ISO recordings using the QuadLink SDI connections. Switch between feeds on screen with cueing, cross fade and hard cuts from the locked sources or tag and adjust final edits with advanced metadata tagging preserving ISO feeds, with the desired final result infinitely editable.
Eliminate the need for a separate audio recorder by using the full size XLR connections to connect and power external microphones for balanced analogue audio with dedicated meters and adjustments for frame delay and gain. 48-volt phantom mics or line level audio are all seamlessly synchronized for the most advanced audio feature set in a monitor today. There is also a 3.5-millimeter stereo headphone jack and built-in speakers for on set review or complete internal recording review anytime anywhere with clients or production team. You can connect SDI or HDMI devices and convert between HDMI 2.0 and 3G QuadLink/6G/12G SDI in any combination. Quad SDI inputs connect cameras with multiple 1.5 or 3G SDI outputs without the need for converters. HDMI 2.0 supports up to 4Kp60 input/output along with the very latest Atomos open protocol that supports HDR automation including importing of camera settings. There is also support for Genlock and LTC timecode.
The 19” Atomos Sumo will launch in Q3 2017 and lists for $2,495 — here are the details. Leave a Comment
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BTX and Reach Announce the Release of the Bee3 Recording and Streaming Production Switcher BTX Technologies announced today that Reach is launching the Bee3 all-in-one content recording and streaming live production switcher to complement its line of Bee series AV over IP solutions.
The $3650 Bee3 is an all-in-one, purpose-built appliance for the recording of content that needs to be simultaneously streamed to a CDN service. Content including training, meeting, sporting events or other knowledge transfer material can be uploaded directly to YouTube, Wowza, Anystream or for on-demand viewing as well as streaming directly to Facebook Live.
This compact product has a seven-inch touch screen and comes with 2 HDMI inputs and has a built-in production switch quality transitions including cut, and dissolve.
The Bee3 and entire Reach product line can be seen at InfoComm in Orlando, June 14-16 in the BTX booth #3901 but here are all the specs. Leave a Comment
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Lectrosonics Introduces the Duet Digital Wireless Monitor System with Dante Inputs Lectrosonics announced the a new digital wireless monitor (IEM) system, the Duet. The new system consists of the M2T dual-stereo half-rack transmitter and M2R diversity belt pack receiver. The Duet covers the UHF frequencies of 470-608 MHz in a single range, uses digital modulation for transmission and can accept analog or Dante digital inputs. The new system is designed and developed with professional touring, installation, theater, filmmaking and broadcast customers in mind.
The M2T half-rack transmitter houses two independent stereo transmitters allowing for up to four stereo or dual-mono transmissions in a single rack space. The audio inputs can be individually configured to be analog or Dante compatible. The analog input connectors are full size XLR/TRS combo types for balanced line level analog signals while the input preamp circuits use a special balanced amplifier with very high common mode rejection to minimize hum and noise. A Dante Ultimo interface via dual RJ45 connectors accepts Dante networked audio inputs and can cascade the digital stream to additional units via CAT6 cables. An additional RJ45 jack provides an Ethernet connection for programming and control via Wireless Designer software and a USB jack on the front panel allows for firmware updates. The transmitter features a full color, backlit LCD for high visibility in any environment, while the chassis is all-metal and can be racked singly or in pairs using included rack mount hardware.
The M2R bodypack receiver employs antenna diversity switching during digital packet headers for audio. The 24-bit digital audio stream guarantees sound quality with wide dynamic range, low noise floor and stereo image. The headphone jack is fed from a stereo amplifier with 250 mW available to drive headphones or earphones to sufficient levels for stage performance or other noisy environments. A high-resolution, color LCD allows for a wide range of menu options, including precise limiter settings, using detailed graphics. The M2R runs on two AA batteries for an operating time of over four hours with alkaline cells.
Both the M2R and M2T units have two-way IR sync, so scan data from the receiver can be sent to the transmitter and thus onto the Ethernet network for use by Wireless Designer software for frequency planning and coordination purposes. Additionally, the system includes a FlexList mode, where a number of names and associated frequencies can be stored in the receiver. This way, a monitor engineer can quickly find and listen to any of the performers’ mixes on the stage.
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Crest Audio’s Tactus Digital Mixing System to Ship by InfoCommCrest Audio partnered with Waves to create the Tactus Digital Mixing System, a modular touch-screen based mixing system, which the company has announced will ship prior to the upcoming InfoComm show in Orlando, Fla. in June. The Tactus system consists of both hardware and software components incorporating the Waves eMotion LV1 software. The Waves eMotion LV1 mixer application runs on a Windows® PC or Mac® with one, two or three multi-touch screens.
Using the Waves Soundgrid audio network protocol, the Crest Audio Tactus systems comprises of three hardware units, the Tactus.FOH, Tactus.Stage and Tactus.Control, with each addressing the input and output, monitoring and control plus synchronisation requirements of audio signals at the stage and front of house points. The system’s modular approach provides scalability for any size event.
The Tactus Digital Mixing System includes a customizable touch-screen that puts all of the audio routing, processing and mixing tools within immediate reach. Designed to work with the new Waves eMotion Mixer for SoundGrid, the Tactus Digital Mixing System hardware is comprised of the Tactus.FOH, the audio processing core for the system, and the Tactus.Stage and a 32-in/16-out remote stage box. The modular capability of the Tactus Digital Mixing System, which interconnects via standard Gigabit Ethernet cabling and an internal Gigabit switch, allows multiple configurations in a range of channel counts to best suit each application.
The Tactus.Stage includes 32 microphone/line inputs and 16 line plus to two AES outputs. The digitally controlled mic preamps feature low input noise, high slew rate, very low THD, and 66dB adjustment range in 1dB steps to maximize dynamic range. An integrated gigabit Ethernet switch allows for easy networking. And, you can combine the Tactus.Stage I/O interfaces for a total of 64 stereo inputs by 32 stereo outputs.
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Acoustic Geometry Ships CornerSorber
Acoustic Geometry’s new Acoustic Bass Management (ABM) line, the CornerSorber, is now shipping. This corner-placement bass absorber utilizes a Mass-Loaded Vinyl (MLV) absorption membrane in a cutting-edge design that mitigates low-frequency room modes for accurate sound reproduction in a room.
The CornerSorber is a bass absorber design that allows maximum pressure-zone room-mode reduction due to close-corner placement. The uniquely-shaped bass absorber is beveled on two sides and the top, allowing a pair of CornerSorbers to be set up three inches from, and parallel with, each corner wall, either vertically or horizontally, for the most efficient and effective reduction of low-frequency room-mode pressure waves.
Acoustic Geometry’s ABM system allows for a high level of low-frequency performance when utilizing both CornerSorbers and Curve Diffusors, which also feature accurate, lab-tested low-frequency MLV membrane absorption. The combination has a complementary range of frequencies that produces consistent bass-energy absorption from 45Hz to 200Hz, which corresponds to room-mode dimensions from 5.5 to 25-feet. The CornerSorber’s form factor of 24 by 42-inches, with a 6-inch depth, allows both a small footprint and either vertical or horizontal orientation. With the Curve’s smooth phase-coherent diffusion, the combination of Curves and CornerSorbers will evenly control frequencies below 200Hz, as well as evenly diffuse mid and high frequencies, which is the ideal acoustic treatment solution for nearly any room.
This cost-effective system can be used in many applications, including recording and mastering studios, video production and post houses, audiophile listening rooms, home theaters, live-performance and event venues, concert halls and auditoriums. Acoustic Geometry’s ABM CornerSorber will also complement any room design. Various finishes are available, including black-painted oak (stock), custom stain and paint colors, and several wood veneers (including clear-finish maple, cherry, and walnut).
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Video Clarity Announces ClearView Venue Player DisplayPort Video Clarity today announced the launch of ClearView Venue Player DisplayPort (DP), a video server that is spec’d to automatically plays multiple uncompressed RGB video segments to multiple screens in precise timing and sequence via the DP interface. ClearView Venue Player DP is designed for theme parks, live events, staged shows, exhibits and other environments that rely on repeated, synchronized video playback for entertainment and display.
The ClearView Venue Player DP offers from 2 terabytes up to 32 terabytes of storage and up to four channels of fully uncompressed 2K or three channels of 4K video on four DisplayPort outputs. In large venue applications that use multiple source-video signals to create one large image, image blending is included as well a the capability to manipulate the image for a curved screen or wall.
Users have browser-based control over configuration and playback from a laptop or tablet via an IP network or Wi-Fi. Here are all the detailed specs. Leave a Comment
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DPA Microphones Intros New d:vice Digital Audio Interface at InfoComm 2017 DPA Microphones will debut its new d:vice MMA-A Digital Audio Interface and DSM6000 Microphone Base at InfoComm 2017 (in Booth 6169). The MMA-A features a small form factor that allows the user to pull out the d:vice for any unexpected situation that might arise during their day. The sound and ease of installation provided by the new microphone base, in combination with the d:screet SC4098 Podium Microphone, DPS says caters to the different industry needs and wants of architects, AV consultants, system integrators and installing electricians.
DPA’s brand new d:vice MMA-A Digital Audio Interface is a high-quality, two-channel microphone preamp and A/D converter offering mono, dual and stereo capabilities. The d:vice comes with interchangeable lightning and USB cables for connectivity. Its MicroDot inputs allow the d:vice to be connected to all DPA miniature microphones, including the d:screet Miniature, d:fine Headset, d:vote Instrument and even the d:dicate Recording microphones with the optional MMP-G preamp.
Designed to be placed on a table or podium, or attached to a ceiling or wall, the DSM6000 Microphone Base is available in two colors — black and white — and comes with either a MicroDot connector, an XLR connector or unterminated leads for connections to Phoenix blocks. The d:screet capsule is mounted on a boom that, for the tabletop version, has a gooseneck at the top and the bottom, which allows users to position the mic exactly where they want it. The ceiling version consists of one gooseneck. In both versions, the cable can exit to the side of or beneath the unit.
DPA’s new DSM6000 Microphone Base is currently shipping while the d:vice MMA-A Digital Audio Interface will be shipping at the end of May. Both are here. Leave a Comment
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For all you REGULAR readers of rAVe HOW out there, hopefully you enjoyed another opinion-packed issue!
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