International media technology partner the NEP Group is expanding its AoIP and remote production capabilities with the installation of four further Calrec Audio IP ImPulse audio processing and routing engines, joining those already in use in its Supershoorter 6, Supershooter 17 and Supershooter 25 mobile units. An additional system is being installed in the company’s next-gen IP truck, Supershooter 7, slated to roll out in 2023.

NEP is using the ImPulse systems with its Calrec Apollo mixing surfaces having been using ImPulse on a weekly basis in the US since January, providing ST2110-30 flows over a 10Gb fibre link between the Supershooter 17 field acquisition unit onsite and the Supershooter 25 production/crew workspace at a centralised production facility. The units are parked up to 2,500 miles apart, and the ImPulse at the facility can provide control on up to four Apollo mixing surfaces, with another at the remote site.

While both Supershooters 17 and 25 systems are running as part of non-IP fabric mobile units, Supershooter 6 is fully integrated into NEP’s switch fabric.

‘The future of broadcasting is utilising ST2110 IP routing systems,’ says NEP Group Senior Systems Engineer, Pat Zollinger. ‘All of our new production trucks and centralised production builds will be built leveraging IP technology and our in-house control system, TFC. Calrec has provided the support necessary for us to easily integrate the ImPulse core into our TFC system and represents a technological leap in I/O capacity in and out of the surface from the network fabric and control system.

‘We’re constantly updating and upgrading our fleet of mobile units, and Calrec provides NEP engineers with direct access to engineers and support staff. During our 30-year relationship with Calrec, we’ve used everything from the Q2, the Alpha, the Apollo and now ImPulse. We have great confidence in the ImPulse product line, and know that Calrec will be standing with us as we navigate the ever-changing IP landscape.’

ImPulse is currently the most powerful DSP engine available and has native SMPTE 2110 connectivity. Compatible with Apollo and Artemis consoles, it provides a simple upgrade path for Calrec customers moving to IP wprking, with 3D immersive path widths and panning for next-generation audio with height and 3D pan controls. It also has flexible panning and downmixing built-in. ImPulse allows up to four independent mixing environments to run from a single core, wherever in the world it’s located, and each independent mixer can access up to 1,458 paths.

‘NEP is a very important customer for Calrec and, as Pat says, the relationship goes deeper than that,’ says Calrec VP of Sales, Dave Letson. ‘We work closely and very well together and given the scale and complexity of what NEP does, it’s essential we provide them with technologies that allow them to continue to pioneer new ways of working, creating more efficient and dynamic workflows leading to increased content monetisation.’

More: http://calrec.com