The latest channel launched by Moscow-based news network Russia Today, has installed a Calrec Audio Summa digital audio console for its live news operation. The placement of the console at RT UK’s London bureau marks Calrec’s first Summa installation in the UK.
‘With the number and complexity of news programmes we produce each week, and the number of audio sources required to do it, we needed a console that would keep pace with our dynamic operation, with comprehensive channel processing and bus facilities that could cater for every clean-feed scenario – Summa meets every requirement,’ says RT UK Sound Supervisor, Eric Wisby, who worked with fellow sound supervisor Tony Cosaitis to manage the console’s configuration and installation on behalf of RT UK. ‘Summa’s relatively small size makes it useful for small TV control galleries and outside broadcast vehicles. It carries a lot of capability in a reasonably sized footprint. And it is a given that any Calrec mixer is going to produce excellent sound.’
RT UK installed a Summa 128 with a 3U-high modular I/O box furnished with 24 mic/line inputs, 32 analogue line inputs, 24 analogue line outputs, eight opto inputs/16 relays, and 32 digital AES inputs and outputs. Off-air conference and auto-minus facilities provide sophisticated solutions to various and sometimes complex clean-feed requirements, including RT UK’s need for studio presenters to be able to talk to contributors via Skype or line feed while the programme is on the air and while video contribution is being played. Mix-minus talkback is also important for operators and presenters to talk to remote guests off the air before they contribute to a programme.
With the Summa console, RT UK produces five half-hour live news bulletins every weekday and three in-depth news programs every week, all of which include studio presentation; interviews with guests in the studio and from remote sources via line feeds and Skype; video and audio inserts played from a server and audio player; stings and bumpers to punctuate different sections of the programs; and varying levels of production value and style. During off-air times, RT UK runs dummy programmes from old news broadcast scripts to aid in cross-training and to give operators a chance to experiment with new techniques. The layout and controls accommodate multiple users and let RT UK’s occasional freelance operators come up to speed quickly.
‘All the controls are smooth and easy to use. Adjustment of any control is totally calibrated, accurate, and reproducible, which is important if several operators are going to use the desk and have their own settings,’ Wisby said. ‘The dynamics are transparent and effective, the equalization is fine-tunable and easy to use live, and because everything does what it says it’s doing, you quickly realize you don’t need to over-adjust anything to get the desired result.’
UK systems integrator CVP was key to the sale and installation: ‘Summa is targeted toward facilities of this size yet perfectly capable of growing with them as their output increases,’ says Philip Hatch, Head of Systems Integration at CVP. ‘Calrec’s Hydra2 I/O is renowned for audio quality, and the modular approach made it easy to configure the system correctly for the complex combination of inputs and outputs necessary for a news environment. Besides those, there were several other features that made Summa the obvious choice.’
‘The way RT UK is using the Summa console is a prime example of Summa’s value in small broadcast operations, which can be every bit as involved and fast-paced as their larger counterparts,’ adds Calrec UK Sales Manager, Jim Green. ‘Summa offers processing power and resilience that are unmatched anywhere at this price point. This installation marks the first step toward establishing Calrec in the small-format broadcast console market in the UK.’
More: www.calrec.com
