Calrec Audio Sells First Summa Console in U.K. to Russia Today’s London News Bureau

Calrec Audio announced that RT UK, the latest channel from Moscow-based global multilingual news network Russia Today, has installed a Summa digital audio console in its London bureau to manage audio signals for its live news operation. The sale marks Calrec’s first Summa installation in the U.K.
RT UK installed a Summa 128 with a 3U modular I/O box furnished with a specific combination of cards to provide 24 mic/line inputs, 32 analog line inputs, 24 analog line outputs, eight opto inputs/16 relays, and 32 digital AES inputs and outputs. Hydra2 mic pre-amps, six bands of EQ in every channel, and four automixers all contribute to a clean high-quality sound. Off-air conference and auto-minus facilities provide sophisticated solutions to various and sometimes complex clean-feed requirements, including RT UK’s need for studio presenters to be able to talk to contributors via Skype or line feed while the program is on the air and while video contribution is being played. This mix-minus talkback capability is also important for allowing operators and presenters to talk to remote guests off the air before those guests contribute to a program.

With the Summa console, RT UK produces five half-hour live news bulletins every weekday and three in-depth news programs every week, all of which include studio presentation; interviews with guests in the studio and from remote sources via line feeds and Skype; video and audio inserts played from a server and audio player; stings and bumpers to punctuate different sections of the programs; and varying levels of production value and style. During off-air times, RT UK runs dummy programs from old news broadcast scripts to aid in cross-training and to give operators a chance to experiment with new techniques. The layout and controls accommodate multiple users and let RT UK’s occasional freelance operators come up to speed quickly.

“After extensive conversations with RT UK and observing their operation, it was clear that the new Summa console was the best solution for them,” says Philip Hatch, Head of Systems Integration at CVP. “Summa is targeted toward facilities of this size yet perfectly capable of growing with them as their output increases. Calrec’s Hydra2 I/O is renowned for audio quality, and the modular approach made it easy to configure the system correctly for the complex combination of inputs and outputs necessary for a news environment. Besides those, there were several other features that made Summa the obvious choice.”