NEP Adds Artemis Audio Consoles to Calrec Fleet
Story Highlights
NEP Supershooters has acquired two Calrec Artemis audio consoles, both to be deployed primarily for sports production in early 2011. Like its big brother Apollo, the more compact Artemis console relies on Calrec’s proprietary Bluefin 2 high density signal processing for power, and integrated Hydra2 networking to unify inputs and outputs regardless of the source’s physical location.
NEP’s first Artemis is currently being installed in SS29, a new truck designated to cover NASCAR races for Speed Channel. With integral high-capacity 8192×8192 crosspoint routers, the console’s Hydra2 network will allow Speed Channel to bring audio back to the truck from mics located on the racetrack.
NEP’s second Artemis is part of an upgrade to its SS9 truck, a mid-sized HD unit that supports both 720p and 1080i. SS9’s primary assignments will be producing the NBA and NFL.
“Because our goal is to give our clients the best possible service, we consider alternative providers every time we are in the market for an audio console,” says George Hoover, NEP CTO. “As things stand, though, we are an all-Calrec house. That’s because, as far as we’re concerned, Calrec just keeps beating the competition.”
Besides high-end routing and processing capacity in a modest footprint, the Calrec Artemis console features a combination of OLED displays, touch screens, and light-emitting knobs that provide instant visual feedback for the operator.
Artemis consoles rely on Bluefin2, the next generation of Calrec’s high-density signal processing platform, to provide substantial resources no matter what the sample rate. For example, at 48kHz, Bluefin2 gives Artemis up to 680 channel processing paths, 128 program busses, 64 IFB/track outputs, and 32 auxiliaries. Artemis also features a second compressor/limiter in each channel, more than 70 minutes of assignable delay, and three independent APFL systems for multiple operator use. Like all Calrec designs, the facilities do not share resources, making them available to the operator at all times.
“At Calrec, we don’t just build audio consoles, we build customer relationships,” says Henry Goodman, VP of sales and marketing, Calrec. “Our long-term association with NEP is an excellent case in point. Not only do we sell an outstanding product, we match it with the kind of customer service and support that earns customer loyalty.”