Cadac Supplies Digital Audio Network For Big Screen Programme

IBC2018 saw Cadac supply the digital audio network and mix consoles for the Big Screen programme of cinema presentations and screenings for the fifth year in a row.

An established centrepiece feature of the IBC conference, the Big Screen programme covers topics, themes, and insights surrounding the art, technology and business of cinema, from capture to exhibition.

Terry Nelson from IBC Technical Resources – specialist in audio and acoustics – spec'd a Cadac MegaCOMMS audio network in the auditorium to deliver the highest possible audio performance for the conference’s presentations and sessions. A CDC MC Router formed the hub of the network which comprised a CDC seven-s console, mixing audio from two CDC I/O 3216 and one 6448 I/O stage boxes sited around the auditorium, with a CDC six and a further CDC I/O 3216 handling the onstage presenter mics.

"On the practical side, the CDC MC Router enabled us to put stage boxes exactly where we need them, anywhere in the auditorium and then send audio from and to anywhere with an incredible 0.4ms total system latency. The NetCOMMS software also enabled the system to be amended on the fly making it exceptionally flexible," he said. "Sonic performance is second to none. The audio engineering is superb and with the CDC mix interface being so humanly intuitive, operational complexity is significantly reduced."

A further CDC six console and CDC I/O 3216 stage box were deployed to the 'Emerald Room' conference facility, along with an identical system configuration for the production duties in the IBC Newsroom.

The man on the console for IBC TV was Peter Craigie: "Everyone was impressed by it – it looks great, worked well, sounded brilliant and was very easy to use, once you've got your head around the architecture. I love the mic preamps, the buttons are great and the colour coding is a good thing – you know quickly what you are looking at. It feels like you are using a real solid board, rather than sitting at a control surface. I loved using the console and would definitely recommend it. I wish I could have mixed a band on it though!"