Cardiff-based theatre and live event rental company Stage Sound Services (SSS) has made a ‘future-proof investment’ in DirectOut solutions for theatre assignments
‘We’ve been using DirectOut Technologies’ kit since 2013 when we bought the original Andiamo Madi Analog converter,’ Huw Semmens says. ‘Following that initial investment, whenever we had a specific task that required a hardware solution, we found that DirectOut already had a suitable product in their line-up. We now have just under 100 DirectOut assets in our inventory, including ExBox.MD, Ma2chbox.XL, Madi.ridge, Madi.9648, Andiamo2, Andiamo.AES, Split.Converter, and the recent Prodigy.MP and Prodigy.MX.’
Having the shelves full of equipment that is used once and never again represents a wasted investment for a hire company, not being cost-effective in terms of rental returns or storage space. If a designer requests equipment that is not in the company’s regular rotation, it is down to Semmens and his team to ensure that the product is viable and cost-effective for the company, without disappointing the designer.
‘First, we will look at our existing inventory to check whether we carry something that’s able to achieve the same result,’ he explains. ‘If that isn’t possible, or the solution is too convoluted, we’ll establish potential future usability of this new item before deciding whether to invest. Solutions such as DirectOut’s Prodigy can replace several separate pieces of equipment, so for an application such as converting Madi streams to Dante and functioning as a patch bay for digital radio mics, it makes complete sense to invest.’
The change to digital radio mics in theatrical performances has had a knock-on effect for SSS. Theatrical performances usually follow a full schedule of shows, generally eight shows over six days a week, as two days also have matinee performances. This means that sickness or injury is likely to affect the performers’ ability to appear. When this happens, especially in musical theatres, an understudy covers the role. It is unusual for them to only cover one role, especially if there is a chorus, as understudies and swings usually have chorus roles to complete, too. The easiest way to get around this is to patch the mics as the performers switch roles throughout the show. In analogue systems, this could be via a bantam patch panel, or directly using XLR.
However, with the proliferation of digital transmitters and receivers, production sound engineers are looking for more accessible options: ‘A huge surge towards digital radio mics in theatre over the past five years has meant ExBox.MD, alongside globcon has been used in place of bantam patch bays for radio mic monitoring and patching,’ Semmens says. ‘Similarly, more shows are moving towards 96kHz systems. With band monitoring hardware generally operating at 48kHz, we have deployed the Madi.9648 as a bridge between these systems.’
The Prodigy Series is a range of solutions that have been designed to address numerous applications across live, broadcast, installation and recorded sound industries. It is this flexibility that has been most attractive to SSS and resulted in their continued use of the full range of products.
‘The modular nature of Prodigy is perfect for us as a rental company because it allows us to carry one or two types of host unit (MP and MX in our case) and a selection of I/O cards to cover most conversion requests,’ Semmens says. ‘Software/plug-in upgrades are also optional and granular, so we’ve been able to customize the specs of the units, adding Automator and OSC add-ons in our case, to ensure they’re exactly what we need.’
DirectOut prides itself on delivering bespoke solutions and Prodigy.MX, .MC and .MP can be tailored to deliver unique solutions to a range of applications. Combining DirectOut Products with third-party equipment to provide even greater flexibility, reliability and control, especially important in the ever-changing world of theatre.
‘The vast array of modules and control protocols available introduce so many possibilities. We have a couple of productions using Nemesis Research OSCA-1616IO to OSC convert button presses, controlled by a custom-built button panel, switching an alternative mic input into the console. Sonoros audio routing software is about to integrate control of DirectOut hardware so that pre-defined macros can be used to reroute audio, too.’
When your customers are as diverse as the client list of SSS, reliability and support are key concerns: ‘On the odd occasion that we’ve had reason to reach out for support, both our supplier, Aspen Media, and DirectOut themselves have been great, responding rapidly to our requests and resolving our issues,’ Semmens says. ‘We have a few Prodigy.MP on shows at the moment. I suspect our DirectOut products will be used for many years to come, and I never have any hesitation in recommending them. The reliability of DirectOut’s kit is second to none.’
More: www.directout.eu
