Archives for March 2001

Orban/CRL is releasing the OPTIMOD-FM 8200 Signature Series. The special edition Signature Series units, featuring a redesigned front panel bearing the signature of the OPTIMOD line’s renowned engineer, Bob Orban, celebrate the 10th anniversary of the 8200, the world’s all-time, best-selling digital audio processor.

“The 8200 was the first successful digital FM processor and now it’s a classic,” stated Orban/CRL President and CEO Jay Brentlinger.

The 8200 Signature Series includes new presets custom-tuned by Bob Orban and Orban VP of Product Development, Greg Ogonowski. The units also feature Orban’s Digital Sample Rate Adaptive converter as standard.

Over the last decade, sales of the OPTIMOD-FM 8200 have outstripped the combined sales of every other digital audio processor, becoming the broadcast industry standard for clear, consistent sound.

“In the past, many of our competitors had claimed to be building and selling digital processors,” continued Brentlinger, “but they were really digitally controlled analog processors. The OPTIMOD-FM 8200 was, in fact, the first processor to use DSP (Digital Signal Processing) to control and condition the audio.”

“Sales of our OPTIMOD line of audio processors speak for themselves,” said Orban/CRL VP Jim Seemiller. “Over 30,000 units have been sold in the 26 years since the line was introduced, and sales of the 8200 have led the way. With the release of the Signature Series, we expect demand for the 8200 to continue strong.”

According to market research firm IDC, the market for MP3 and other compressed audio players is expanding, both in terms of vendors and the type of new, innovative devices being produced.

According to IDC, worldwide compressed audio player shipments will continue to grow at a torrid pace, increasing at a compound annual growth rate of 51%, from 3.3 million in 2000 to nearly 26 million in 2005. Compressed audio player shipments in the United States will follow a similar growth path, jumping to 18 million in 2005 from 2.8 million in 2000.

“The market for compressed audio players will continue to grow, and it will grow significantly beyond devices resembling the original, portable Rio-like units,” said Susan Kevorkian, analyst for IDC’s Consumer Devices program.

“Because of the cost and capacity constraints of flash memory, an increasing number of vendors and consumers alike are turning to cheaper alternative media to transport their music. This is opening up opportunities for more interesting and innovative products to develop. Toward the end of the forecast, alternative media devices will have a strong worldwide presence.”

IDC says portable systems will continue to dominate the market. By 2005, this segment will comprise 61% of both U.S. and worldwide compressed audio player shipments and more than half of the worldwide market value.

“New product innovations have brought exciting changes in storage capacity and functionality,” said Bryan Ma, senior analyst for IDC’s Consumer Devices program.

“By 2004, we expect portable hard-drive-based jukeboxes to outship basic portables. In addition, MP3 decoding capabilities are increasingly being added into traditional portable CD players, thus enabling them to outship basic portable compressed audio players in the United States by 2003.”

Despite the dominance of this category, IDC believes growth in other form factors, including automotive, home networked receivers, and streaming Internet radios, will occur, although much more slowly. Sales of compressed audio players will continue to be lopsided in favor of the United States; however, non-U.S. markets will gain momentum. “The key factor to watch for in non-U.S. markets is PC penetration,” Ma said.

AMEK, the British-based manufacturer of professional audio mixing consoles and signal processing devices, is launching two major console developments at the 2001 NAB Convention (Las Vegas, April 23 – 26). The 60-channel Media 51, a new, large-frame version of AMEK’s mid-price multi-format analogue console, is joined by the new Galileo 360V multi-format console, which extends the choice of AMEK’s surround sound production consoles and represents a top-end solution for film dubbing, music recording and broadcast. Also on show are the Recall RN live event and on-air production console, the small-format BB100 broadcast console for production and on-air use, plus the System 9098 and Pure Pathâ ranges of outboard signal processors, including the new Driver in a Box.

The Media 51 is increasingly being utilised in post-production environments; its compact size and unique spread of features also proving popular for outside broadcast and mobile facilities. It is AMEK’s first mid-priced analogue mixer for more than 5 years, with the new 60-channel version extending its range of applications still further. The first entry-level multi-format desk to feature Mr. Rupert Neve’s audio designs, the Media 51 is principally designed for recording facilities in the broadcast and post-production sectors, and is equipped to handle 5.1, 7.1, LCRS, LCRSS and stereo formats. The console’s comprehensive package of features includes AMEK’s Supertrue™ V4 console automation as standard, providing fader, switch and event automation, Virtual Dynamics®, Recall, & Visual FX™. Supertrue is now cited as having the largest installed user base of any console automation system in the world.

The Media 51’s master module offers comprehensive surround monitoring facilities, including multiple solo, cut and metering modes, easy insertion of encode and decode processors, extensive downmixing and stem monitoring capabilities, master Playback/Direct (PEC/Direct) switching, and comprehensive speaker control. An optional motorised joystick panel can be fitted to the console, offering multiple panning modes in formats up to eight channels wide with four switchable divergence settings, and an ‘expand’ feature that provides image enhancement at high frequencies in stereo or wider formats.

Also making its debut at NAB 2001 is an enhanced version of AMEK’s successful Galileo console. The Galileo 360V is a powerfully-equipped multi-format production console, which addresses the growing need for multi-channel audio in post-production, film dubbing, music recording and broadcast production. It provides comprehensive mixing and monitoring facilities for surround formats up to 8 channels wide, with a high degree of connectivity and control. Sitting towards the top end of AMEK’s product range, the audio circuitry has been designed to offer the best sonic performance and features a Microphone Amplifier designed by Mr. Rupert Neve, plus the proven musicality of the AMEK 4-band fully-parametric equaliser. At NAB, the Galileo 360V is being demonstrated with the AMEK Supertrue V4 moving fader, switch and event automation. As standard, it is also fitted with automated dynamic panning, via two integral joysticks, and high resolution master bargraph metering.

New from AMEK’s Pure Path series is the Driver in a Box (DIB), which provides eight high-quality, transformer-coupled line amplifiers in a 1U rack, and is designed for driving long cable runs in broadcast and live performance applications. Primarily a unity gain device, the Driver in a Box offers a gain trim control for each balanced and floating channel – allowing matched output levels to be set. Each channel also has a dedicated Phase selector, and a “SILK” setting, which emulates the sound of Mr Rupert Neve’s original circuit designs. DIB’s versatility also makes it suitable for a variety of traditional audio engineering tasks including line transmission, line reception and distribution amplification. As well as providing audio enhancement of mixers or digital audio workstations, DIB can also finds applications as a mix amplifier, Mix Minus system or, when used in conjunction with the Channel in a Box, a Pure Path mixing system.

On show at NAB will be other examples of AMEK’s signal processing modules – all designed by the company in conjunction with legendary audio equipment designer, Mr. Rupert Neve. These include the Pure Path Channel in a Box – a complete input channel strip, with independent mic and line inputs, 4-band EQ and compressor – plus the extremely popular System 9098 range. The System 9098 units encompass a dual channel Compressor/Limiter, a Dual Mic Amp module and an Equaliser – with four band EQ, filtering and a comprehensive microphone input section.

With a proven track record across a wide variety of applications, AMEK’s Recall RN represents one of the most flexible production consoles available, satisfying the demanding criteria of both on-air broadcast and television production, in addition to front-of-house operation for live event sound reinforcement. Notable projects using the Recall’s fast-reset facilities include prestigious music events – such as the Grammy® Awards, the Eurovision Song Contest and the MTV Music Awards – plus large-scale music concerts and fixed installations, including Sydney Opera House® and Opera De Paris. Recall features audio circuitry by Mr. Rupert Neve, and AMEK’s Showtime™ fader, switch and event automation, which permits fast, precise and flexible control of console settings, while reducing an engineer’s routine-task workload to give greater freedom for concentrating on the more creative aspects of their work.

The small-format BB100 audio console, for production and on-air applications, is available in configurations from 10 to 32 inputs, with zero, four or eight mono subgroups, and offers fully-balanced input and output connections, plus four internal Mix Minus feeds. It is easily configurable for a variety of custom options, through the use of internal factory-set links.