Fifteen Calrec Audio consoles provide audio to broadcasters at the iconic annual tennis tournament in London
For the second year running, viewers around the world enjoyed high-quality audio courtesy of 15 Calrec consoles, in tandem with Calrec’s audio networking and routing technology. An additional three Calrec consoles were also deployed in NEP’s OB trucks, covering the Centre Court, Court One and Court Two.
“We have worked extensively with Calrec over the years” explains Jimmy Parkin, Sound Engineer for NEP Broadcast Services. “The networking flexibility and easy scalability of their technology were central to the success of this Wimbledon 2019 project. We needed audio operators to be able to easily access any source from any court, without having to move anything or plug anything in; any console can “talk” with any other console on the network.”
“We also needed to integrate IP networks with Calrec’s Hydra 2 networking technology and using their interfaces made this very easy. Pre-event offsite planning, using Calrec’s H2O GUI for the Hydra 2 network, meant that we could accurately name and label ports before any hardware was connected.”
“We needed audio operators to be able to easily access any source from any court,
without having to move anything or plug anything in”
Host broadcaster Wimbledon Broadcast Services (WBS) provided an IP-based video network (SMPTE ST2110), with eleven of the total Calrec consoles connecting to this host network (10 Summa and one Brio 36), including for the Wimbledon Channel and the media centre.
In addition, NEP worked with a major US broadcaster for their coverage, including streaming, using an additional three Calrec consoles – two Artemis and one Brio – in their three control rooms.
Parkin adds, “It worked seamlessly. The way that Calrec’s technology allows resources to appear on a network, and then how effortless it was to move those resources across the network, made our life so much simpler. Adding additional I/O boxes was also really easy too. This was a very complex project, but we were working with good people and great technology.”
Andy Birkinshaw, International Sales Manager with Calrec, said, “We have a longstanding relationship with NEP, having worked with them on many large-scale projects. Wimbledon is such a massive sporting event and we’re very proud of what our technology helped NEP to achieve. We will continue to see mixed IP/proprietary environments, with this a clear example of how our technology works in such a complex scenario.”
Find out more about the Calrec Brio Find out more about Calrec Hydra2 Audio Networking
If you’d like to know more about the Calrec Brio and Hydra 2 network, or would like to arrange a practical demonstration, give us a call on 01727 821 870 to speak to one of our team.
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