IBC 2017: Lawo to debut new Ruby radio console

Ruby, the new radio console with a customisable, context-sensitive visual interface, will be the star of the radio display this month in the Lawo stand at IBC Amsterdam.

Ruby’s sleek, streamlined low profile design was greeted with plenty of enthusiasm by broadcasters who saw it previewed at the spring NAB show earlier this year, the company claimed.

“Engineers kept telling us how much they liked ruby,” said Stephan Türkay, Lawo’s senior product manager, Radio OnAir. “And they meant it, because we’ve already received pre-orders for 91 surfaces and mixing engines from clients around the world.”

“In today’s radio studios, talent is glued to their computer screens,” added Türkay. “More recently, touchscreen smartphones and tablets have become an essential part of daily life. We at Lawo saw touchscreens as another opportunity to revolutionise radio.”

Ruby is designed to match modern radio operations, enabling talent to mix and route audio using the same touchscreen environment used by other studio tools. Alongside familiar physical faders and switches, a customizable display with context-sensitive multi-touch UI allows stations to add controls for other studio applications – such as playout systems, phone queues and codecs – streamlining workflows and making the ruby display a true operational hub for all studio devices.

“With ruby, operators can work the way they like: with touchscreen displays or physical controls. The choice is completely up to them,” noted Türkay. “We provide a wide range of preconfigured screens, or clients can craft their own custom screens with our sophisticated GUI builder.”

The result is a more natural and efficient way of working, with an additional huge benefit: reduced studio monitor clutter.

Ruby is a true AES67 radio console with RAVENNA AoIP built-in. Full dual-network redundancy, with instantaneous recovery from any network fault, makes it the perfect console for stations who require uninterrupted uptime. AES67 and high-density MADI interfaces are both standard, and eight expansion slots permit addition of mic, line, AES3 and studio I/O, making ruby the perfect console for stations who want to migrate to AoIP without sacrificing legacy infrastructure.

Ruby will begin shipping in October, 2017. It is available in configurations from 4 to 60 faders, with a variety of desktop or flush-mount frame styles.

Visit Lawo at IBC 2017 on stand 8.B50.