Video Europe’s Dan Dalton
Video Europe, a UK’s broadcast hire company specializing in sporting events, has recently invested in an InnovaSon Sy48 digital mixing console with stagebox and several I/O cards supplied by SSE Hire.
SSE’s digital systems manager, Richard Willis, says, “They specifically wanted a small-footprint, high-performance console capable of handling a full mix for live TV, yet remained compact and light weight enough for easy transport around the globe. One of their engineers mentioned that InnovaSon might be a good choice, so they approached us for a demo. Once they saw for themselves the amount of processing power housed in such a stripped-down and accessible format, they didn’t need any further convincing.”
The Sy48’s first job was live international cricket coverage in Sri Lanka for Sky TV. According to Video Europe’s Dan Dalton, who handles the company’s “fly-away” systems (complete broadcast packages designed for easy transport by air), “Our engineer on this job, Chris Doyle, was deeply impressed with the performance and handling of the Sy48. We all breathed a big sigh of relief at his reaction because Chris is a traditional analog guy used to using Calrec desks. However, after an hour or so of tinkering around on the InnovaSon, he was up and running. He found the control surface to be extremely intuitive and was delighted at the complete flexibility offered by the desk.
“He particularly loved the XFAD function, which allows one fader to control a set of expansion faders that are all available on the same layer; in other words instant accessibility to everything,” Dalton continues. “And. of course. the desk is completely configurable to whatever you want it to be, which is invaluable in a live broadcast situation where you can be guaranteed that someone is going to come up to you and ask for just one more feed to this or that. In fact, there wasn’t anything Chris didn’t like; he was all smiles, which makes us happy, too!”
As all InnovaSon consoles are EtherSound-enabled, Video Europe is currently considering the possibility of investing in InnovaSon’s EtherSound-enabled Dio Core stagebox system to allow the linking of one or multiple consoles to a network and/or to one another. “This could be the answer to a lot of cabling headaches and considerably reduce costs both in terms of hardware and weight,” says Dalton.
The console’s next assignment is a three-month stint in the West Indies covering international cricket events and test matches.
For further information on InnovaSon, visit www.innovason.com.
