Lawo at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011

posted:

09/05/2011

Two Lawo equipped OB trucks guarantee professional sound for the unilateral programmes of ARD and ProSieben

For German broadcasters ARD and ProSieben, the whole of May 2011 revolves around the European Song Contest (ESC). The lateral Signals for the EBU are produced with Stagetec Aurus audio mixers by ARD/ZDF at the international broadcast compound in Dusseldorf while the unilateral audio signals for ARD and ProSieben will be managed by outside broadcast units equipped with Lawo technology.

Eurovision on ProSieben ...

Starting on May 9, the first daily broadcast of a special show ‘Eurovision Total’ will be broadcast on ProSieben. ProSieben will then show the first semi-finalon May 10, while the second semi-final will be broadcast by ARD on May 12. Park Studios GmbH has been contracted by ProSieben to produce the unilateral audio signal in Düsseldorf. In order to be able to produce the ESC programmes around the Contest in HD, the company has sub-contracted the job to Media Mobil GmbH’s MMG Ü8 truck. However, Martin Mallach, the sound engineer responsible for the ProSieben programme in the run-up to the finale, will not have to adjust to new audio to accommodate the equipment change. Both OB trucks are equipped with Lawo mc²66 consoles. Mallach is a committed mc²66 user, and considers it “justifiably the standard when it comes to OB trucks”. The 56-fader Lawo console in the MMG Ü8 is fully 5.1 capable. Two stage boxes with 40 mic inputs and 16 return paths plus two further stage boxes with 24 mic inputs and 8 return paths can be connected via fibre optics. Only part of this capacity is used to support the production of the "Eurovision Total" show in the 120qm studio of ProSieben in the Esprit Arena in Dusseldorf.

... and on ARD at the Reeperbahn

On May 14, Lena Meyer-Landrut will have to defend her winner’s title in the final of this year’s song contest, which will be held in Düsseldorf’s Esprit Arena. With Hamburg being the second German ESC capital along with Düsseldorf, the official party will be held in Hamburg’s Reeperbahn. This young, but already traditional event begins at 8:15pm with ‘Eurovision Song Contest – Countdown für Deutschland’. Following the broadcast of the final from Düsseldorf, a mega ‘Grand Prix’ party will kick off on the Reeperbahn at 00:15am, covered live by ARD. SWR’s FÜ2 HD truck will be used for broadcasts before and after the final round, as well as during the voting to produce the unilateral signal. This truck is also equipped with a Lawo mc²66. FÜ2 HD’s Lawo console features a total of 140 microphone inputs, 192 DSP channels, and 56 faders. The router is equipped with a redundant router card and provides a maximum of 8,192 x 8,192 crosspoints. Matthias Eberhardt, technical director for FÜ2 HD, is above all convinced by the usability of the Lawo console: “The controls on the mc²66 are just so intuitive. And our broadcasts also benefit from the console’s ability to create stereo and 5.1 surround sound simultaneously.”

About Lawo AG

Lawo, headquartered in Rastatt/Germany, specialises in developing, designing and manufacturing mixing consoles and matrix systems for radio and TV broadcasters, as well as for use in live events. Standards of high quality and innovative technology are supported by more than 40 years of experience in the field of professional audio technology. Lawo’s product range covers digital audio mixing consoles for use in radio, broadcast, production and live applications, including the required software. In addition to the provision of matrix systems and audio networks, Lawo also carries out project engineering tasks and acts as a main contractor for radio OB trucks; these services include user training and maintenance. This high level of expertise results in a comprehensive support service for Lawo customers.