Riverside’s Gerard Hughes (Head of Sound) discusses the Outside Broadcast provider’s choice of audio console for their ‘BOB’ truck.
Riverside Television is a broadcast technologies and outside broadcast supplier that provides a range of production services across Ireland.
From acquisition to post-production, the company’s output includes everything from news, current affairs and documentaries to live sports coverage, light entertainment and drama, with previous clients including RTÉ, TG4, BBC, Channel 4, UTV, ITV and many more.
As part of a recent expansion to their fleet of OB vehicles, Riverside identified Calrec’s compact Brio 36 as the perfect audio console for their new outside broadcast truck ‘BOB’ (designed by Megahertz Ltd, with the Brio supplied by Synthax Audio UK).
Gerard Hughes, Head of Sound at Riverside says, “Riverside Television’s owner Cyril O’ Regan was planning to build a new Outside Broadcast truck called BOB (Bigger OB). We started to look at the audio side of things early in the design, because we cover a large variety of productions.”
“We needed a system that was super flexible but had a small footprint – with as much I/O as we could get – and with the option to rent extra I/O if needed.”
“Reliability is key when doing live broadcasts, and the Brio 36 Medley ticked all the boxes.”
“The Brio 36 Medley ticked all the boxes”
“A game changer”
Due to the variety of different productions Riverside covers, the team settled on a Calrec Brio Medley with Dante and Waves SoundGrid cards. The network I/O cards are supported by three Calrec Br.IO stages boxes, one of which is located inside the truck.
When combined with the Brio’s built-in I/O, the setup provides a total of 48 analogue inputs, 32 analogue outputs, and 16 channels of AES I/O directly from BOB, and allows Riverside to easily integrate the console with other equipment in their racks.
Two additional Br.IO boxes are available for use on-set or pitch-side depending on production requirements, connected back to BOB via a Calrec H2Hub portable fibre unit.
“Having this amount of I/O in the OB has allowed us to have permanent connections without the need for patch bays,” Hughes continues. “We can virtual patch between our comms systems, routers, recorders, or our Newtek SKYPE TX and Glensound systems etc. All of which allows us to build and recall various show settings and productions quickly.”
“The Dante card is connected to two JoeCo BBR64 Dante multitrack recorders, one set as main recorder, and the second unit as redundant backup. Having a Dante card on the Brio has allowed us to iso record up to 64 channels, for pre-recorded productions and large music concerts, and the system has proved itself to be rock solid.”
The addition of a Waves SoundGrid card has provided Riverside with added flexibility when working on live music productions, which Hughes describes as “a game changer”.
“For musical productions we often need effects and audio processing that aren’t standard on most broadcast boards,” he continues. “The Waves card allows us to connect to a Waves Extreme X10 server running a range of Waves plugins, controlled via an Apple M1 Mac mini. It’s a game changer!”
Although the Brio is Hughes’ first introduction to Calrec mixing consoles, he speaks highly of both the desk’s feature-set and its ease of use.
“The Brio’s fader layout page is a great feature, it’s so easy to build the layout you need,” Hughes exclaims.
“I’ve used many brands of mixers over the years, but I was new to Calrec. As soon as I got my head around the menu system and layout, we were up and going in no time.”
“The assignable S1 and S2 buttons on each channel are also great for that important backup mic, without having to sacrifice another processing channel.”
“I also must add that the Calrec technical help and support has been great throughout this project. Simon from Synthax UK brought our desk to Megahertz, who constructed the OB early in the build, so a custom-made frame could be built. And as you can see, it integrates perfectly!”
“The Riverside team were great to work with,” says Simon Roome, Broadcast Sales Manager for Synthax Audio UK. “They’ve created a great looking OB and got to grips with a brand new mixing console really quickly. I’m so pleased with how everything came together.”
“This is the ideal application for Brio,” adds Calrec’s Anthony Harrison, Sales Manager for the UK, Ireland and the Nordics. “A fully featured OB van with easy access to lots of sources. We’re very pleased to see Riverside as a happy Calrec user.”
For more information on Riverside Television, visit www.riversidetelevision.com.
Calrec Brio Duet and Medley
Calrec’s biggest tiny console just got bigger! Calrec’s Brio consoles have been updated and expanded, with the ‘Brio Duet’ and ‘Brio Medley’ now featuring internal Hydra2 connectivity, comprehensive built-in I/O and an upgraded 96 input channels as standard.
The Brio Medley bundle also includes a Dante or MADI I/O module of your choosing, plus Calrec’s external Br.IO box, providing an additional 24 mic/line inputs, 16 analogue outputs & 8 AES I/O.
With standard or slim trims at no extra cost, Calrec’s Brio consoles are ready to go straight out of the box, and come packed with an extensive broadcast feature-set.
Fully loaded with dynamics and delay on every path, plus a huge internal router and multiple monitor outputs, Brio is a plug-and-play broadcast console with no DSP sharing that slots into any broadcast workflow.
Find out more about the Calrec Brio
If you’d like to know more about the Calrec Brio, Type R or Hydra2 network (or would like to arrange a practical demonstration), give us a call on 01727 821 870 to speak to one of our team, or contact us here.