Broadcast News

Bookmark and Share
13/09/2022

Calrec Audio Unveils New Audio Mixing System

News Image
At IBC 2022 Calrec Audio will unveiled a new audio mixing system designed to keep pace with the changes broadcasters are experiencing in their production workflows.

Designed to adapt to changing production needs, Calrec’s Argo is a new approach to audio mixing, with a flexible control philosophy that breaks the traditional geographic tie lines between processing and control.

Argo is fully modular with interchangeable hardware panels and uses Calrec's time-served Assist UI at its core. This means that whether you are working on physical hardware panels or on a remote GUI, the user interface is both familiar and easy to drive. It's modular panel system encourages broadcasters to adapt surface hardware to meet their unique requirements, with two mid-level rows of interchangeable panels on the larger Argo Q model, and one mid-level row on the compact Argo S model. Calrec has also introduced a comprehensive system of user templates to instantly change the hardware user interface to meet changing requirements or user preferences.

Argo is built around an expanded version of Calrec’s popular ImPulse IP core. ImPulse can also be located anywhere; the location of the control surface is not tied to the processing core. It can power up to four independent mix environments, including headless mixers accessed on the public internet, with each mixer able to access more than 2,350 processing paths on a single console; this provides enough power to deal with the biggest immersive and NGA mixing demands.

"Broadcasters are under greater pressure to create more content cost-effectively as they are all competing for the same viewers in an increasingly congested market," said Calrec's VP of Sales Dave Letson. "At the same time, production workflows have to be more flexible to be more efficient, cover more content and work as part of distributed production models. Broadcasters’ move to IP based networks is encouraging more remote working in more fragmented workflows; we've designed Argo to work within each and every one of these new paradigms.

"As broadcast infrastructures migrate to new environments, broadcast consoles need to work in different ways to ensure that they remain a safe investment. On Argo, Calrec’s Assist GUI is central to the operation of the console and is directly transferable onto a browser to provide portability, backup, and on-the-fly configuration in remote locations."

Argo's physical control surface is also more streamlined, using optically bonded touchscreens to provide unrivalled visual feedback and speed of access. Soft panels provide a richer user experience and hardware panels allow users to build definable functions and apply these as templates - this helps operators move around the surface faster and makes it more intuitive.

Argo's panels are also interchangeable and can be placed wherever they are needed. This makes it easy to grow and adapt the console to individual requirements and it means the desk can easily be split for sub mixing or mixing in other locations.

Like all Calrec consoles, Argo builds on Calrec’s broadcast-specific and industry-leading surface redundancy. All control elements can be duplicated so an operator can use any panel to access inputs and controls, while fader scrolling functionality adds more protection. When combined with redundant hardware as standard, Argo provides SMTPE’s hitless packet merging alongside a second layer of hardware redundancy to guarantee broadcast uptime.

Argo includes optional AoIP IO modules which can be fitted directly into the control surface, with a variety of I/O options. These can be fitted into every section of the console to give the operator a variety of input options, make cabling more efficient and save space in external racking.

With NGA content on the increase and broadcasters adding value to productions with increasingly complex NGA output formats, Argo provides tools to make everything simpler to organize and manage. Flexible immersive spill helps maintain total control over multi-channel formats but with no need for dedicated surface real estate. Multi-channel sources can be controlled on a single fader but spilled out onto more faders for fine control; Argo allows spill faders can be placed anywhere on the control surface, on any layer and in any position to free up space and make the workspace more adaptable to individual needs.

New operational features include: Key Inputs and Ducker; full EQ and Dynamics on Auxes and Tracks; Flexible Spill; User configurable colours for faders; Control Links; Inserts on Auxes; Variable slopes on EQ shelves and filters; Flexible panel layouts (Wilds). Argo has an increased DSP engine which provides 2496 channels on a single console, and physical flexibility up to eight sections to provide up to 96 faders. Multiple sections can be combined or geographically diverse, while the enhanced ImPulse core provides enough horsepower to drive up to four Argo mix environments on one IP core.

calrec.com
VMI.TV Ltd

Top Related Stories
Click here for the latest broadcast news stories.

04/03/2024
Calrec To Highlight Its Argo Audio Mixing Control Platform
Calrec's award-winning Argo audio mixing control platform, which won NAB 2023 Product of the Year, will be highlighted at this year’s NAB. On show for
22/02/2023
Calrec's Argo Mixing Control Platform To Debut At NAB 2023
Calrec's award-winning Argo audio mixing control platform is making its NAB debut with both the Argo Q and Argo S on show. Designed to adapt to changi
20/11/2023
Calrec's Argo Q Console Nominated For NAMM TEC Award
Calrec has announced its flagship Argo Q console has been nominated for a NAMM Tech Award (TEC) in the Outstanding Technical Achievement in the Large
03/10/2022
Calrec Launches New Argo Series Of Consoles
Calrec has launched its new Argo series of consoles at IBC 2022. Both the larger Argo Q and the compact Argo S versions offer the option to integrate
17/10/2022
Calrec To Unveil New Audio Mixing System In The US
For the first time in the US, Calrec will be showing its new audio mixing system – Argo - designed to keep pace with the changes broadcasters are expe
23/01/2024
Atlona Unveils Alternative To Touch Panels For AV Control
Atlona has introduced an alternative to touch panels for AV control in smaller spaces and less complex applications. Available immediately, the AT-VKP
01/02/2023
NewTek Strengthens Line Of Control Panels
NewTek has strengthened its line of Control Panels with the all-new Flex. With Flex, operators can now take direct control of PTZ devices, audio conne
09/08/2022
TSL To Display Full Suite Of Universal Control Panels At IBC 2022
TSL is to showcase its full suite of Universal Control Panels at IBC 2022 (Stand 10.B41). TSL's standalone, independent Universal Control Panels can b
16/06/2022
Intracom Systems Adds Hardware Control Panels To Its VCOM Platform
Intracom Systems has added a series of hardware control panels to its VCOM™ platform, its IP-software multi-channel / multi-access communications solu
30/09/2002
Leitch unveil new router control panels
Leitch Technology Corporation have announced the launch of their new Alphanumeric Breakaway (ABA) Ethernet-enabled series of router control panels, de
29/10/2024
Live Media Group Installs 72-Dual Fadar Calrec Argo Q
All-American mobile truck provider Live Media Group is stepping up to the mat with the installation of a 72-dual fader Calrec Argo Q and a 48-fader Ar
26/04/2024
Calrec Scoops Third Award For Its Argo Range
Calrec has announced the benefits of its highly flexible approach to customer service has been recognised with a third award for the Argo range. The d
14/11/2023
Brompton Technology Processing Delivers For Argo Visual
Argo Visual, a multimedia equipment rental company based in Jakarta, Indonesia, is a long-time user of Brompton Technology LED processing. Since its i
04/02/2013
ARGO Wins UK Regional Critics' Film Of The Year
The thriller Argo, directed by and starring Ben Affleck, has been voted Film of the Year by the UK’s regional critics. The prestigious accolade is the
12/05/2023
Calrec Audio Scoops Prestigious NAB Award
Calrec Audio has announced that its configurable Argo audio control surfaces have won the 2023 NAB Show Product of the Year Awards. The official award