SOUNDWAVES

The Calrec Broadcast Audio News Update

Issue 19

HYDRA2
GOES
MODULAR
calrec.com Putting Sound in the Picture
 HYDRA2 GOES MODULAR
Calrec has introduced a modular version of its popular Hydra2 I/O unit.

This compact 3U box has 20 slots which take an array of modules, and allows
the unit to be designed to a broadcaster’s exact specifications. Its modular
nature enables our customers to design and build a network around their
specific needs, resulting in a mix of audio interfaces with an extremely high
density of connections, saving rack space and cutting costs.
Designed for studio floor and outside broadcast applications, To illustrate the density and flexibility of these boxes one
the unit has all audio (including SDI) and control connections such box can deal with:
(Hydra2 links, GPIO, RSRS232) located at the front of the
unit, with power cables connected at the rear. – 40 mic/lines on XLR or
– 80 line inputs and 80 line outputs on DB25s or
Each of the 21 slots is 4HP, or 0.8 inches wide, with one – 80 unbalanced AES3 inputs or 80 unbalanced AES3
slot being a dedicated Hydra2 interface module. The remaining outputs on BNC, or combinations thereof or
20 slots are all available for other audio interfaces. These – 160 balanced AES3 inputs and 160 balanced AES3
cards can be made up of: outputs on DB25 or
– 32 embedders or 32 de-embedders (for 16 channel
– Mic/line inputs de-embedding), or combinations thereof.
– Line inputs
– Line outputs
– AES3 inputs (unbalanced)
– AES3 outputs (unbalanced)
– AES3 inputs & outputs (balanced)
– Dual SDI embedder
– Dual SDI de-embedder

Card types can be freely mixed, and as this is Calrec, both

primary and secondary Hydra2 links are provided as standard.
In addition, two PSU modules provide redundant power, and
PSU modules can be hot-swapped without interruption to As part of the Hydra2 network, each box will be able to deal
operation…as can any of the interface cards. with 512 bi-directional signals.

SDI embedders and de-embedders support SD, HD and The Modular box joins Calrec’s well-established range of
3G SDI streams and are able to decode all four groups fixed format boxes on the Hydra2 network, which provides
(16 channels) and later, as well as de-embedding 32 audio an enormous 8192² synchronous router with mini-GBIC
channels from 3G SDI as proposed by SMPTE. connectors. Hydra2’s router is a TDM-type router, capable
of true ‘one-to-many’ routing and is truly point-to-point; any
input on one router can address an output on any other. This
allows for enormous networks with highly flexible topologies
involving multiple routers.
02

Viewers Bowled Over by Calrec
in Florida

A record-setting 106 million Americans
watched Super Bowl XLIV, not to mention
millions of international armchair fans all
over the world. To cover one of the world’s
most popular and best-known sporting
events, NEP Broadcasting deployed five
Calrec Respond to European Growth
trucks at the game in South Florida, with

full 5.1 surround sound mixed via five
Calrec has strengthened its sales push
Calrec Audio consoles.
in Europe with the appointment of
Joachim Rankenhohn as Regional Sales
“Consoles from Calrec have two major
Representative.
advantages,” said Terry Kulchar, NEP
Broadcasting design engineer. “First,
Based in Germany, Joachim has worked
they’re reliable and when you have 106
in professional audio for over 20 years,
million viewers – more U.S. households In fact, from an audio standpoint, the
including 15 years’ experience in
than any other television program ever game was not the toughest part. More
International sales.
– you wouldn’t want to have a failure. challenging was the lengthy pre-game
Second, they are the predominant console broadcast with audio coming from every
With Diplomas in Micro Economics
for mobile production. That means you’d which way, including tailgate parties,
Engineering and Sound Engineering,
be hard pressed to find an audio operator announcers on a remote football field,
Joachim will be based in Southern
who isn’t familiar with Calrec.” and multiple studio sets. Then there
Germany and will manage Calrec’s
were the replays, each of them with
German-speaking and Middle East
Kulchar’s estimation of Calrec’s popularity an associated sound that had to be
distributor networks.
is backed up by 2010 survey figures from coordinated by cross-fading among
Sports Video Group, which revealed the sources then feeding back to the main
Contact [email protected]
company now has 65 percent of the HD show mixer.
mobile production market in the United
States, an increase on last year’s figure. Relying on their MADI capability, the
Alpha consoles made it possible to route
NEP Broadcasting had SS-24 on site multiple signals from one console to
to cover the actual game, with Ed Soltis another without each source having to
S

ports Video Group at the audio controls; NEP/NCP-8 for be represented on the control surface.
the extensive pre-game and post-game Instead, the system’s digital architecture
reveals
that Calrec shows, with Jack Stocker doing the did the heavy lifting. Another MADI
mixing; NEP SS-9 for tape-release mix advantage is that it relies on a single
now
has 65% of the and sub-mix of replay sources, with Kevin coax cable, which greatly simplifies set-up,
HD mobile production
Little on audio duty; NEP Denali Silver for
pre-game and halftime musical shows,
saving hours of labor and supporting
trouble-free broadcast.

market
in the US. with Ed Greene mixing; and NEP-SS 25
for the NFL Network and world coverage Kulchar himself logged more than 50 man
feeds, with Peter Puglisi doing the mix. hours preparing for and broadcasting the
Super Bowl. On Sunday night, along with

For the musical portion of the Super Bowl some 200 colleagues on the technical
coverage, NEP Broadcasting relied on a side, he celebrated success with a glass
1999 vintage Calrec Q2 analog desk that of champagne. On Monday, he was back
has enjoyed a storied career including at work bright and early, helping to take
multiple Academy Award broadcasts, the the whole thing apart.
American Idol finale, and other top-tier
entertainment shows. Beyond halftime, the
sounds of the Super Bowl were brought to
you by Alpha with Bluefin digital consoles.

03

Calrec Advertising

Since its launch at NAB 2009, over 20
Apollo consoles have been sold. The first
desk made its on-air live debut in October
2009 at London’s Fountain Studios for
the “X Factor” with Simon Cowell. The
final show attracted a phenomenal 19.1m
viewers – an audience share of 62%

With the launch of Artemis at IBC 2009,

Calrec now provide a range of cutting-
edge Bluefin2 consoles which allow
forward-thinking broadcasters to remain
one step ahead.

The addition of our intelligent Hydra2

network allows broadcasters to construct
Since its launch 12 months
complex routing networks while keeping ago at NAB 2009, over 20 Apollo
costs to a minimum. Our new range of
press ads celebrate this range. consoles have been sold.

MAS
ARTEMIS, FROM CALREC. APOLLO, FROM CALREC. HYDRA2, FROM CALREC.
SMALL SIZE… FORM AND FUNCTION, SEAMLESSLY MATCHED. INTELLIGENTLY NETWORKED.
Putting Sound in the Picture Putting Sound in the Picture Putting Sound in the Picture

IVE S
LOW POWER CONSUMPTION I / O PAT C H I N G & D E S K C O N F I G U R AT I O N
REMOTE DIAGNOSTIC SUPPORT

CONTROLLABLE
INTEGRAL 8192X8192 HYDRA2 ROUTER

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CLEAR AND EFFICIENT METERING. TFTS. FULLY CONFIGURABLE. SEAMLESS THIRD-PARTY METERING . COLOR CHANGING POTS TO DISPLAY FUNCTION.

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consoles every single day.
Hard working, rugged, powerful
Hydra2 forms the routing backbone for both the Apollo and Artemis consoles.
and operating in highly organized Today’s broadcasters need more and more audio channels at ever-higher
networks, Artemis provides much resolutions, more power to handle this increased channel count and more These desks are just one type of client capable interfacing with Hydra2, which provides an
more for far less. ergonomic control surfaces to manipulate them. enormous 8192² synchronous router at its core. A range of I/O boxes can be connected
via high density 512 bi-directional copper or fiber connections, while mini-GBIC connectors
Naturally, Calrec has the answer.
keeps connections simple and installation easy.
With the same levels of reliability which Calrec are world-renowned, and a
Highly scalable, Hydra2’s router is a TDM-type router, capable of ‘one-to-many’ routing
remarkably intuitive control surface which still manages to add enormous
and truly point-to-point. This allows for enormous networks with highly flexible topologies
flexibility, Apollo is nothing short of revolutionary. Able to operate at
involving multiple routers, inputs/outputs, control rooms and studios. And with adaptive,
multiple sample rates, Calrec’s Bluefin2 DSP engine equips Apollo with
intelligent software which automatically recognizes changes to the network and updates all
more than 1000 channels for 5.1 Surround production, and its internal
its clients, it’s also a very social network.
8192² Hydra2 router turns the console into a powerful networking tool.
Hydra2. Minimizing installation overheads and maximizing audio routing flexibility.
The world’s most successful broadcasters rely on Calrec consoles.
Apollo is the first of Calrec’s new generation.
2
calrec.com calrec.com calrec.com

Recent Sales Include

Canada DOME Omega USA NBC Universal – WRC Omega

Finland TV Tools Oy Zeta USA KBYU Omega
Hong Kong City University Zeta USA WHA Zeta
Hong Kong RTHK Zeta USA Channel 4 San Diego Omega
Japan MBS Apollo USA Game Creek Alpha
Japan Hibino Apollo USA NEP Supershooters Sigma
Japan Fuji TV Apollo USA NCP Mobile Television Sigma
Japan NTV Omega Flypack USA CBS CR58 Omega
Korea MBC Omega, Zeta USA NEP Supershooters Apollo
Korea CJ Media 4 x Omega USA Univison Bluefin upgrade
UAE Qvest Media/ USA F & F Productions 2 x Omega
Baynounah 5 x Zeta USA Lyon Video Apollo
UAE Sony/ADMC 2 x Omega USA Game Creek Alpha
UK CTV OB Apollo USA MLB Network Alpha
UK CTV OB Bluefin upgrade
UK BSKYB/Telegenic Apollo
UK NEP Visions 2 x Apollo
UK NEP Visions Bluefin upgrade

04
 SKY SELECTS APOLLO TO HELP EQUIP
WORLD’S FIRST 3D TRUCK
Calrec’s Apollo digital console has been chosen to outfit the world’s first
full-time custom designed 3D production truck.
Commissioned by BSkyB (Sky), and operated by leading Sky is also looking at using more discrete embedded audio,
UK Outside Broadcast outfit Telegenic, the Sky 3D truck will using all 16 of the SDI channels. This enables the broadcaster
hit the road later this Spring, as Sky rolls out Europe’s first 3D to utilize multi channel audio more effectively.
TV channel.
With a commitment to launching Sky 3D to its commercial
customers in April, and then to all residential Sky+HD
customers later in the year, the Sky 3D truck will be used
weekly on Sky Sports outside broadcasts, but also on other
genres of Sky programming. It has been designed to work on
all genres across Sky’s output producing both 3D and 2D
programming, and Sky has already been trialing tests using
Telegenic’s T5 unit, which houses a Calrec S2 console.

Sky’s 3D truck is a triple expanding HD truck with 63 sq metres

of interior space, and will accommodate up to 24 cameras, or
12 stereo camera rigs for full 3D programming. The 48 fader
Apollo console has over 1000 freely assignable channel
processing paths, which will give Sky the opportunity to enhance
its 5.1 coverage alongside the 3D image capabilities.

Sky Sports’ Operations Manager Keith Lane comments:

“We specified the Apollo not only because we needed cutting

edge technology, but operationally it is a natural progression from
the Alpha console. This is important as it is an easy transition
for operators to move from the Alpha platform to the Apollo. The
configurable nature of the control surface also gives us scope to
develop our techniques as our operations grow.”

The Apollo also has up to 78 minutes of assignable delay, which

will be of value to Sky during its live 3D broadcasts. Processing
3D video adds a significant amount of delay into the chain. Each
stereo camera rig is either a side by side or beam splitter/mirror
rig, and the production team will use a Stereo Image Processer
(SIP) controller to set the depth of image.

ON THE ROAD WWW.CALREC.COM

Calrec are on the road again this summer, showcasing its range Look out for Calrec’s brand new website launching soon, with
of award-winning broadcast audio consoles. To book a demo at a host of new features. Find us at www.calrec.com
any show, please email [email protected]

Exhibition Location Dates

NAB Las Vegas, USA 12 -15 April
KOBA Seoul, Korea 15 -18 June
Broadcast Asia Singapore 15 -18 June
TAB Austin, USA 11 -12 August
BIRTV Beijing, China 22 - 25 August

05
Calrec Audio Ltd
Nutclough Mill
Hebden Bridge
CONTROLLABLE
West Yorkshire

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HX7 8EZ

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England UK

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Tel +44 (0)1422 842159

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Fax +44 (0)1422 845244

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Email [email protected]

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SUPPORTS GPIO

1-TO-N ROUTING SOPHISTICATED

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CONTROLLABLE 1-TO-N ROUTING

WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTORS

ARGENTINA CYPRUS ICELAND NETHERLANDS SOUTH AFRICA Studio Consultants Inc.

ARS Technologies Panditec ltd Taurus ApS TM AUDIO Tru-Fi Electronics (North East USA and Eastern
Contact: Martin Sznaider Contact: Tasos Pandis Contact: Arne Lillevang Contact: Marc Kocks Contact: Richard Fulton Canada)
Tel: 0054 11 4574 3666 Tel: 00 35 72 275 3770 Tel: 00 45 45 76 98 12 Tel: 00 31 30 2414 070 Tel: 00 11 462 4256/7/8/9 Contact: Doug Simon
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Tel: 1 212 586 7376
[email protected]
AUSTRALIA CZECH REPUBLIC INDIA NORWAY SPAIN
Syncrotech Systems Design Elvia-Pro Spol, S.R.O Sun Broadcast Equipments Taurus ApS Consultores REPRESENTATIVES
Pty Ltd Contact: Jaroslav Roman Pvt Ltd Contact: Arne Lillevang Electroacousticos S.L.
Contact: Paul Heaton Tel: 00 420 224 999 411 Contact: Vinit Govil Tel: 00 45 45 76 98 12 Contact: Guillermo Alberdi KUWAIT
Tel: 00 612 9879 0800 [email protected] Tel: 00 91 11 4501-9906 [email protected] Tel: 00 349 4620 2338 Adawliah Universal
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Electronics Co
DENMARK ITALY POLAND Contact: George Guthrie
AUSTRIA Taurus ApS Aret ProfiAudio Ltd SWEDEN Tel: 00 965 953 5898
Media Logic Contact: Arne Lillevang Contact: Alessandro Asti Contact: Igor Pogorzelski Tranzicom [email protected]
Contact: Robert Trebus Tel: 00 45 45 76 98 12 Tel: 00 3902 9227 0873 Tel: 00 48 500 255 073 Contact: Ulf Reinhard
Tel: 00 49 30 259 24460 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Tel: 00 46 8 730 3710 Gulf Media
[email protected] [email protected] Contact: Ahmed Ammar
EGYPT JAPAN QATAR Tel: 00 965 537 9336
BELGIUM Integrated Systems Hibino Intersound Corporation Salam Media Cast TAIWAN [email protected]
AMPCO Contact: Ashraf Mannoun Contact: Mr. Tadashi Shimojima Contact: Sami El Shafai Hi-Pro Technology
Contact: Stef de Pooter Tel: 00 20 2 360-9798 Tel: 00 81 3 5783 3885 Tel: 00 974 483 6915 Contact: Christina Chen Marafie Engineering Group
Tel: 0032 3 844 67 97 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Tel: 00 886 2 2563 3811 Contact: Khalid Alnoubani
[email protected] [email protected] Tel: 00 965 2461 1218
FINLAND JORDAN ROMANIA [email protected]
BRAZIL TV Tools Oy AVC Al-Waseet Eurosound THAILAND
Phase Contact: Timo Kujala Contact: Ali Abu Kwaik Contact: Milko Valovsky DSE Co Ltd SAUDI ARABIA
Contact: Carlos E.O Capellao Tel: 00 358 9 525 9700 Tel: 00 962 6 553 0581 Tel: 001 514 934 6231 Contact: Chai Mekratri Delta Company Ltd
Tel: 00 55 21 2493 0125 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Tel: 00 66 2 930 6500 Contact: Suhail Tarabulsi
[email protected] [email protected] Tel: 00 966 1 465 0709
FRANCE KOREA SERBIA [email protected]
BULGARIA Euro Media Technologies Avix Trading Co Ltd Pro Video TURKEY
Eurosound Contact: Denis Derigent Contact: Mr. Joo-Hong Chang Contact: Zoran Crnomarkovic EREL First Gulf Company Ltd
Contact: Milko Valovsky Tel: 00 33 149 212000 Tel: 00 82 2 565 3565 Tel: 00 381 11 311 51 24 Contact: Ayhan Artut Contact: Orlando Castro
Tel: 001 514 934 6231 d.derigent@euromedia-technol- [email protected] [email protected] Tel: 00 90 532 255 0554 Tel: 00 966 1 219 0888
[email protected] ogies.com [email protected] [email protected]
LEBANON SINGAPORE
CHILE GERMANY Broadcast & Communication Team 108 (Support Center) VENEZUELA Modern Media Systems
Audiopro Media Logic System S.A.L Tel: 00 65 6748 9333 AVCOM Contact: Khalid Abdul Majeed
Contact: Antonio Monsaterio Contact: Robert Trebus Contact: Joseph Hallage [email protected] Contact: Juan Mendez Tel: 00 966 1 462 4266
Tel: 0056 2 269 2481 Tel: 00 49 30 259 24460 Tel: 00 961 01245656 Tel: 0058 212 239 0944 [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] SLOVAKIA [email protected]
Elvia-Pro Spol, S.R.O UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
COLUMBIA GREECE MALAYSIA Contact: Jaroslav Roman USA Tek Signals
Advanced Communication Panditec ltd Team 108 (Support Center) Tel: 00 420 224 999 411 Bexel ASG West Contact: Tariq Raja
Technology Contact: Tasos Pandis Tel: 00 65 6748 9333 [email protected] (Western USA and Western Tel: 00 971 2 6272 701
Contact: Daniel Amaya Tel: 00 35 72 275 3770 [email protected] Canada) [email protected]
Tel: 00 571 617 0060 [email protected] SLOVENIA Contact: Garrick Lewis
[email protected] MEXICO MTD Slovenija d.o.o. Pty Tel: 1 818 565 4314 Salam Media Cast
HONG KONG and CHINA Respuesta Integral S.A. de C.V. Contact: Dusan Gajic [email protected] Contact: Sandeep Ranade
CROATIA Jolly Proaudio Broadcast Contact: Rafael Rodriguez Tel: 00386 14 301270 Tel: 00 971 4337 4774
Kapetanovic Sistemi Engineering Ltd. Serrano [email protected] Bexel ASG East c s.ranade@salammediacast. com
Contact: Darko Kapetanoic Contact: Andy Leung Tel: 00 52 55 5794 6373 (South East and Mid West USA)
Tel: 00 385 01 6040 585 Tel: 00 852 2191 3660 [email protected] Contact: Helen Carr Qvest Media
[email protected] [email protected] Tel: 1 800 542 3332 Contact: Ahmad Hadi Alkayal
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