The revamp includes four Lawo mc²56 digital production consoles and two zirkonXL consoles.
and Bob Miles, Manager of Olympics
Another 48-fader mc²56 console can be found in Agincourt Control 9. This desk is fitted with four DSP cards, a single processor, 15 Madi ports, 32 AES3id I/O, and three Dallis frames. Production for TSN2 (The Sports Network), the most comprehensive provider of sports coverage from a Canadian perspective, is located here.
Lawo systems were also installed in four control room upgrades in CTV’s Queen Street Control 4 sudio – a Lawo mc²56 console equipped with 64 faders, five DSP cards, redundant processors, seven Madi ports, 32 AES3id I/O, and three Dallis frames. Additionally, three eight-port Madi cards were added to an existing Lawo Nova73 HD router to facilitate integration with control rooms ACR4 and ACR5 at the Queen Street campus. Another Lawo mc²56 was installed in Queen Street Control 5 – offering 48 faders, four DSP cards, a single processor, seven Madi ports, 32 AES3id I/O and three Dallis frames.
In addition to the mc²56 mixing systems, the Queen Street campus now has two Lawo zirkonXL consoles. Both Queen Street Control 2 and Queen Street FM2 (home to CHUM Radio) received Lawo zirkonXL desks– each equipped with 24 faders, four Madi ports, 12 AES3id I/O and 24 analogue I/O ports.
Robert Miles, CTV’s Manager for Olympics Audio Engineering, was responsible for designing and implementing the broadcast audio and communication systems for Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium’s Olympic coverage. After the Games, his responsibilities focused on the design and implementation of the post-Games equipment into CTV’s broadcast facilities. He reflected on the challenge of re-deploying the equipment and the benefits the Lawo systems provide that helped make the transition easier on everyone involved.
‘With Agincourt Control 8, we had the unique situation of a very late start date for the renovation and a fixed on-air date – specifically, the start of the 2010-2011 NHL season,’ he says, ‘Compounding this issue was the fact that the NHL Network was making the transition from to HD, and that the studio was going to stay in the original building until a new set was to be completed later in the hockey season. The simplicity of adding and integrating additional Lawo Dallis frames was a huge bonus for our build endeavor.’
‘We purchased an additional two Dallis frames to augment the capabilities of a post-Vancouver console looking for a new home,’ Miles continued. ‘One Dallis frame was installed in the studio and was interconnected with an mc²56 core located in the Annex Equipment Room (AER) with redundant, duplex multimode fiber that covered a distance of 1,500 feet. We installed the second new Dallis frame with the Telex Adam intercom frame located in the AER. Microphones connected to the Dallis in the studio were easily routed to the HD Core in AER, enabling the complete control of the microphone preamplifiers from the console surface in ACR8 and intercom signals were routed from one Dallis to the other.
‘I think the most rewarding aspect of this build was the reaction of the audio operators to their new home,’ he adds. Their previous facilities were all analogue and the signals covered considerable distances throughout the plant. Right from the first rehearsals, they were amazed with the sound of the microphones between the buildings. Now, they hear everything in the studio, including set chairs and camera pedestals. Lawo’s support throughout all of this was terrific. We had 11 weeks from “go ahead“ to rehearsals and we made it.’
The Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium relationship was established between leading media conglomerates CTV and Rogers Media to broadcast the 2010 Winter Games across Canada earlier this year.
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