CP Fiber Audio Setup Hits Road for NFL Season

NEP’s SS25C truck rolled up for its NFL coverage this season with a digital console upgrade and a new audio fiber network put together by CP Communications on an accelerated schedule.

The upgrade consists of a Stagetec Aurus console for audio submixing of all field, crowd, and camera microphones, and a Nexus system to transport all audio and control signals, including the intercom control data (RS-485) and four-wire signal from the truck bay to the booth and field. The Nexus also connects the trucks via fiber and MADI. Connections between the mobile units, booth, and field devices are via single-strand/single-mode fiber.

The upgrade was implemented during the last week of August at NEP’s headquarters in Pittsburgh. The system has already been used for three NFL games in Miami, New York and Dallas.

The system comprises a total of seven Nexus base devices and one Nexus Star, along with a 32-fader Aurus console installed in the submix trailer. Control stations running the Nexus GUI for routing, monitoring, and metering are positioned in the main production truck and the submix truck and at the announcer booth. The Nexus acts as the I/O for the Aurus and functions as a digital router, enabling any source or output to be routed to any other point.

Also as part of the upgrade, CP has outfitted booth and field kits to include the Nexus TrueMatch digital mic preamps, which deliver 158-dB dynamic range. “We’ve been using the Nexus mic preamps on several sporting events, including X Games, NBA Finals, and the MLB All-Star game,” says Kurt Heitmann, SVP of sales and marketing at CP. “The feedback from senior audio engineers has been phenomenal.”

Adds Stagetec USA President Rusty Waite, “We’ve been concentrating on the remote-sports market for a few years together with CP, and it’s great to see such a highly rated sports broadcast put their trust into our systems. As these trucks do a variety of shows for key sports broadcasters, the flexibility and expansion capabilities of the system [are] paramount. We can simply add base devices and expand to every other mobile unit and connect them all in a ring if needed.”