DiGiCo Gets Broadcast Specific at NAB 2014

Drawing on its solid Soundtracs heritage, DiGiCo has successfully brought the power of FPGA technology and its proprietary Stealth Digital Processing™ found in the SD Series of consoles to the broadcast industry, with companies such as NEP and Sure Shot relying on the extensive scope of the companies products at some of the most demanding events in the world, such as the recent Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Due for release at the end of April, the new features will include eight additional Flexi busses for the SD9 and eight Flexi channels for the SD11i and SD11B; support for Optocore DD2, DD4 and X6 R-series interfaces; Post Fade insert for support of the new Waves Dugan plugin; the ability to bring AES output into the matrix; and the availability of aux sends on subgroups on live software.

Consoles on show will include the top of the range SD7B, which has the routing capacity, processing ability and user interface to form the heart of the most complex broadcast audio productions, and boasts a feature set that has been created to manage the extensive and challenging work of the broadcast market.

Next in line is the newest console in the range, the SD5B, which comes with a low noise, heat dissipation worksurface benefiting from Hidden-til-lit (HTL) technology. Its five digitally driven full colour TFT LCD screens, three of which are touch sensitive, have a new configuration that allows easy access to single or multiple users. There are also two interactive dynamic metering displays (IDM) and quick access buttons are positioned down the left side of the channel screens for fast and easy navigation.

Incorporating the master screen into the worksurface design has allowed for complete user feedback, but maintains a lower profile meter bridge. This still allows clear visibility of those on stage for the user, with everything in close reach to the mix position.

As with all SD range consoles, the SD5’s superior headroom, dynamic range and audio quality are of paramount importance and its feature set surpasses any other console in its class.

The SD10B, meanwhile, includes such innovations as multi-channel ‘folding’ under a single fader allowing users to configure stereo, LCR, 5.1, or up to eleven mono channels under a single fader strip that can be unfolded for individual control, or neatly folded up for convenience and efficient work surface use, making it an exciting, cost-effective option for any broadcast project.

Amongst its many features and benefits are 37 x 100mm touch sensitive faders, providing fast access to the console’s large number of channels, which include 96 with full processing, 12 of which can be configured as full Flexi Channels - and outputs that can be assigned across the surface. All inputs have dual mono inputs for fast ‘Main’ and ‘Alt’ channel switching.

The new SD9B adds surround capabilities to the standard SD9 ‘live’ system, providing 48 stereo channels, allowing up to 5.1 bussing, plus a full studio style Monitor Matrix, multiple Mix Minus busses, an additional eight Flexi busses and Backstop PFL functionality.

Finally, the SD11B is designed to be equally at home as a desktop console or mounted in a 19” rack and, with its eight extra Flexi channels, it is set to be the most powerful broadcast console yet for its size.

All consoles are compatible with DiGiCo’s SD Rack, which serves as a multi-sample rate signal splitter that also allows the ultra smooth DiGiCo microphone preamps to replace the standard mic preamps of an analogue or other digital console. DiGiCo HD-SDI cards allow the user to de-embed and re-embed any combination of up to four of the available eight AES3-compatible streams per I/O module. Gain Tracking™ and splitting is also available.