Game Creek Video Purchases Sigma Digital Audio Desks

Calrec Audio, announced the sale of two digital audio desks to Game Creek Video. The mobile production company is installing a 96-fader Alpha along with a 64-fader Sigma, both of which feature Calrec’s space-saving Bluefin high-density signal processing system, into a new four-unit HD truck for FOX Sports.

“We chose the Alpha and Sigma because of the amount of processing power they offer within the tight sizing requirements of a mobile production unit,” said Pat Sullivan, president, Game Creek Video. “The Bluefin system provides more than double the processing power in less physical space.”

The multi-unit truck will be used by FOX Sports to cover NFL and NASCAR
events, with the Alpha providing the main audio support for all coverage,
and the Sigma being used on a support unit for the effects submix for
NASCAR. As is typical with such large sports events, the consoles will be
required to handle a large number of feeds from a variety of sources —
amounting to more than 300 channels for a given event, including 160 stereochannels and approximately 150 other channels.

The systems can handle such a large number of feeds thanks to the Bluefin technology, which doubles the processing power without increasing the system size. With the Alpha, for example, Bluefin provides up to 480
mono-equivalent channels on just one DSP card, with full EQ and dynamics. It also allows for up to 78 full 5.1 surround-sound channels.

With Bluefin technology, less heat is generated and less power consumed.
System resilience is provided by 100 percent redundancy of all processing elements on a second card — the equivalent of having another console as a hot spare. Both the cards can be located on an existing digital I/O rack, which saves space by removing the need for a DSP rack.

Game Creek Video launched its new HD truck with the Calrec Alpha console earlier this month, and the Sigma went on the road the second week of September. The addition of the Alpha and Sigma consoles to the new HD truck
makes a total of nine Calrec consoles purchased for Game Creek’s fleetsince 1996 — three analog desks and six digital desks.