System Plus: The Evolution of Broadcast Audio
Live production and on-air broadcast operations are continually evolving. From content to delivery, workflow systems are constantly changing as broadcast operations demand greater integration and flexibility to maintain their creative edge.
Reliability, sonic quality and suitability for purpose are still essential ingredients – Calrec customers take these critical elements for granted. It is how technology integrates with workflow practices that manufacturers are increasingly judged on.
This is why the world’s biggest broadcasters trust Calrec. Calrec has been helping change the broadcast landscape since 1964, and our technology has evolved with our customers’ changing needs.
System Plus is a significant milestone in the natural evolution of the Alpha, Sigma and Zeta 100 Series consoles, offering affordable, flexible solutions to ensure your needs are met for years to come.
Providing solutions for all sizes of broadcast operation, System Plus technology adapts to meet the needs of all broadcast users and, when combined with Hydra audio networking, can maximise your studio flexibility via a resilient industry standard Gigabit networking technology.
The Alpha, Sigma and Zeta Plus consoles provide expanded functionality to offer greater integration with existing infrastructures and more configurability than ever before.
In keeping with Calrec’s reputation for long term usage and high return on investment, System Plus elements – both hardware and software - are available as optional upgrades to existing 100 Series consoles, enabling our established customers to continue to take advantage of our forward developments. This concern for the future needs of our customer base is at the core of all System Plus products which are designed to accommodate future developments and be upgradeable.
System Plus consoles naturally provide the same reliability, and high performance standards which typify every single Calrec desk.
The System Plus Console Platform
System Stablity
- Fully redundant power supply system with automatic on-line redundant capacity
- High DC voltage power distribution allows for wide variations of AC power without dropping DC operating voltages or damaging devices
- Console and racks boot from cold in less than 20 seconds
- Full control system reset in less then 15 seconds with no loss of audio
- Hot plugging of every card and module
- Hot plugged cards initialise on insertion
- Non-sequential power-on process
- Embedded proprietary operating system ensures independence from PC systems
- On board Flash ROM offers 99 memories independent of the PC
- Automatic background memory stores current status for fast loading on power up
- Independent DSP operation ensures audio continuity even during PC or control reset
- PC not required for sustained operation or boot up - PC failure or reset has no effect on audio signal
- SNMP reporting
Hardware Redundancy
- On-board hot spares provide full intelligent and automatic redundancy on the most critical system elements: PSU, DSP and control processors
- Automatic takeover occurs in the event of a card failure, ensuring protection against even the most unlikely occurrence of hardware failure
Metering
System Plus provides the widest choice available in console metering through conventional LED bargraphs or new TFT screen displays. The TFT system provides enhanced flexibility through full operator configurability of layout, size and colour without increasing cost over conventional bargraphs.
- TFT screens allow up to 3 rows of meters
- Each screen can have mixed sizes of meter: 1/3, 2/3, ½ and full screen size
- Size, Location and colour are all user definable
- User configurability ensures a high degree of redundancy
- VGA output from each panel (60Hz)
- Both bargraph and TFT metering systems allow for the provision of mechanical VU and PPM meters where required
Monitoring
The all new monitor system for Alpha and Sigma consoles provides simple, easy to use panels with expanded functionality:
- User configurable panels with full operator profiles allow the scale of monitoring to meet even the most demanding programme needs yet remain extremely easy to use
- The intuitive operation enables simple or complex monitor structures to be created quickly through a minimum number of buttons
- Extremely fast access to all sources is provided through an elegant hierarchical structure
- Up to 8 monitor outputs (4 x 5.1 and 4 x Stereo) are provided with fast access to all sources
- Up to 112 sources are available
- Monitor sources may be any combination of 5.1, Stereo and Mono
Interfacing
By using the proven Calrec Hydra audio network technology, System Plus provides a powerful and reliable means of sharing remote sources between consoles with an open path to accommodate future developments in standards and customer requirements.
Surround Channels
Surround channels use the resources of 2 x stereo channels (for L/R and LS/RS) and 2 x Mono channels (for Centre and LFE). These resources will be allocated from the available mono and stereo channels as the surround channel is assigned. An additional surround ‘spill’ panel gives direct access to controls of these discrete legs.
The advantage of using stereo channels for the L/R and LS/RS rather than four monos are:
- Allows faster operation compared to 4 monos when the signals need to be adjusted separately from the surround channel
- Ensures that during adjustment, the overall balance of the surround channel is not upset (e.g. by adjusting the EQ of L and then R)
- Allows adjustment of the front and rear width of the surround signal, this not possible if they are treated as mono signals
Monitor Panels
Sigma and Alpha Plus monitoring panels provide greater user configurability, simpler operation and hugely expanded functionality:
- Panels are fully configurable with full user profiles and multi-coloured intelligent switches for faster interpretability
- 7 different information banks to organise groups of monitor sources
- Ability to monitor up to 112 different sources at any one time
- Up to eight monitor outputs, with individual access to all sources
- 5.1, stereo and mono sources
