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Grass Valley Offers Tight Integration with Calrec Consoles

Latest Version of Ignite Automated Production System Integrates Calec Audio Consoles

Grass Valley™ has expanded the features and functionality of its Ignite™ Scalable Automated Production System to give customers more choice in how they want to implement it into their daily production workflow. At NAB2011, Grass Valley will highlight the latest version of Ignite software (v6.1) that, among other things, supports users with existing or future Calrec audio mixing consoles. Current Ignite customers can easily upgrade to version 6.1 to add external audio device control while still realizing all of the operational cost savings and technical benefits enjoyed by the more than 120 facilities worldwide that have already committed their program productions to Ignite.

This new support for Calrec means that many of the same advanced audio control features that are currently available with Ignite’s built-in Klotz audio console, such as cross fading, back-up sources, and automation panel access, are also available with third-party interfaces to audio board suppliers like Calrec.

With this new capability, an existing Calrec audio system can be integrated as part of the implementation of the Ignite production automation system, thus leveraging a customer’s previous investment in their Calrec audio board. In addition, while Calrec consoles can be automatically controlled via the Ignite interface, a customer’s existing Calrec audio panel can still be used manually whenever required.

“We’ve come to recognize that many of our customers, and potential customers, use Calrec audio consoles to produce their shows,” said Scott Murray, Senior Vice President, Live Production Solutions for Grass Valley. “We want these users to be comfortable in the knowledge that installing an Ignite system will not change the way they mix audio, and their initial investment in Calrec consoles is secure.”

With the ability to control Calrec’s Sigma, Omega, Alpha, and Zeta audio consoles, Ignite 6.1 now also provides enhanced audio controls of mixing consoles from Yamaha, and Wheatstone.

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With the new software, all of the 196 faders (maximum, the exact number depends on the mixer model) on a Calrec mixing console are controllable directly from Ignite. Of these 196 faders, 192 (maximum) are input channel faders, and the remaining four (maximum) are main faders that control the master output.

Ignite version 6.1 also gives users the ability to switch between primary and backup faders, and have the backup faders used for the duration of the show with no requirement by the operator to make modification to later show elements. Ignite 6.1 can also be used to control the fader level of input channels, group and VCA masters; switch Pre-Fader Listen (PFL) on or off for a particular Channel, Group, Main or VCA Master Fader; the ability to “Hold” a source open to enable talent “chat” in an ad-hoc fashion; it can function with Ignite’s “Live” and “Prep” modes; and support for custom-namable Virtual Sources.

As part of Ignite automated shows, the audio processing done by the Calrec audio console will also be fully automated. In addition, users can manually control their mixer from both the Ignite Audio User Interface and from the QUICbox automation panel audio sliders. The ability to combine both automated and manual audio control provides for ultimate production flexibility.

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About Grass Valley

With a rich history serving the broadcast and professional video industries, the Grass Valley name is synonymous with innovation, leadership, and performance. With a full range of products and services supporting many of the world's most high-profile television events, Grass Valley offers the most comprehensive portfolio of flexible and cost-effective digital technologies and systems available. Customers deploying Grass Valley solutions include most of the world's leading broadcast and teleproduction facilities, independent video professionals, as well as emerging content creators and distributors providing broadband, telecommunications, and transmission services. When you’re watching news, sports, or entertainment programming, whether on a TV, the Web, or a mobile phone, you’re watching Grass Valley at work.

Grass Valley

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