Console Provides Flexibility And Power to Handle Diverse Workflow

CTS, a terrestrial religious broadcaster serving Ottawa, Toronto, London, Calgary and Edmonton, recently chose a Solid State Logic C100 HDS Digital Broadcast Console to handle audio for its new Audio Control Room B.
The console integrates with SDI video infrastructure and utilizes a versatile I/O system with stage boxes in multiple production spaces. The expansion into a new control room represents the beginning of a facility-wide upgrade for audio to increase production capacity and turnaround.
“We have been planning this expansion for several years and each time we took another look at consoles, the SSL C100 came out on top as the best suited to handle our range of productions,” says David Storey, director of engineering for CTS. “We go from talk shows to having full orchestras in our studios and we felt that the C100 would give us the most flexibility for our expansion into a second audio control room.”
The C100 is used to produce 100 Huntley Street, an hour-long Christian values-based talk show with multiple segments that range from remote interviews to panel discussions. The production engineers benefit from SSL’s powerful Dialogue Automix feature that provides excellent automated mixing for the panel segments. This show is aired coast to coast through the Global Television System in Canada as well as on CTS-TV. The console is also used for programs that range from full orchestras, bands and singing groups to game shows, to other types of talking head-type shows. Along with the Dialogue Automix, CTS purchased the new C-Play spot and music playout system fully integrated into the console, giving the station maximum flexibility.
“When looking for a console, we didn’t want to be a slave to a manufacturer’s concept of how we should work,” states Storey. “One of the key items in purchasing the SSL was that we did not need to re-invent our production wheel, just make our wheel spin faster and better, and the C100 does just that. Our engineering staff is re-energized by this console. We produced a segment with an eight-piece band. The beauty here is that now we have settings stored for a drum kit, for example, so the next time a band comes in with a drum kit, we push a button and there it is – very fast. From there the engineers can spend time crafting sound for the particular band, making it more refined, not trying to just get something on air in time.”
The C100 also serves 5.1 surround needs, post production of programs and to attract third-party clientele.
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