Calrec Plans U.S. Debut of Callisto Audio Console at AES

At AES, Calrec will make the U.S. debut of Callisto, a new audio console for live broadcasters. Callisto is designed for broadcast professionals who need to produce creative and engrossing broadcast audio easily, but may not require the full resources of the company’s Apollo and Artemis audio consoles.

Calrec designed Callisto to keep the user interface simple and straightforward with a focus not just on features and capabilities, but on the totality of the user experience. Callisto’s mechanical design is refined, with a lean construction that keeps components and materials to a minimum. Disciplined power distribution means the console is up to 30 percent more efficient than a comparable Artemis Light. Service access is from the front of the console, and the entire control surface can be replaced by removing just 12 screws.

“AES is a must-attend conference for Calrec because it attracts the largest gathering of audio professionals in the industry,” says Henry Goodman, Head of Sales and Marketing, Calrec Audio. “It’s the perfect venue for making the U.S. debut of our patented and award-winning Soccer Sidekick audio mixing tool and our elegant Callisto audio console.”

When designing the new console, Calrec focused on ensuring that Callisto’s highly intuitive GUI would be suitable for a broad range of operator levels. Users control the console via a 17-inch multitouch screen inspired by familiar tablet technology, with a straightforward interface that uses established finger gestures to navigate the system. The crisp, high-resolution display provides elegant controls and clear presentation of information.

Soccer Sidekick Audio Mixing Tool
Calrec will also make the U.S. debut of its patented Soccer Sidekick iPad app, an assistive mixing tool designed to simplify the job of tracking the on-field audio during a soccer game. It provides an alternative approach for highly experienced operators while allowing those with less experience to create a quality mix very simply.

One of the many tasks the audio operator must manage is to capture important on-pitch events while minimizing the amount of crowd and venue noise. The operator typically follows the action using a mentally challenging workflow that requires projecting a 2D location from the pitch onto the 1D row of faders on the desk, fading up only the most appropriate microphones for that moment in time. Soccer Sidekick provides a more intuitive and straightforward interface to assist the operator in this task. After defining the position and direction of the pitch microphones around an aerial image of a pitch on the display, the operator simply touches the corresponding area on the screen to indicate one or more locations of interest. The Soccer Sidekick then calculates the optimal contribution from each microphone to best capture events at those locations and moves the appropriate faders on the desk. The operator can take over control of the faders manually at any time, maintaining complete control.