South African Music Awards are in Sync

(22/05/2013) Live events being recorded for broadcast are demanding ever more sophisticated audio visual and staging solutions. Awards shows in particular demand a smart projection system but until now the partnering audio solution was a bit of a mess. The Ghoemas Music Awards in South Africa had been considerably enhanced by the addition of Dataton's WATCHOUT multi-image display and presentation software and local WATCHOUT Premium Partner, PENMAC Audio Visual advised that advanced audio could be efficiently integrated to best suit the customer's needs.

PENMAC's Malcolm Finlay visited the Merging Technologies stand at ISE in January and was introduced to Ovation working seamlessly with WATCHOUT and providing a number of additional features that made this combination the ideal solution for the 2013 Awards on 14th April.

The two hour broadcast demanded 16 high quality audio feeds running alongside the WATCHOUT visuals and once the program was loaded onto both servers, all that was needed was to set the IP addressing, naming the audio track grouped file with the same names as the auxiliary timeline in WATCHOUT, then when you play the visuals, the audio follows in frame-accurate synchronization. If you prefer to use the Ovation as your master controller, Ovation will send triggers to the WATCHOUT timeline to keep the video content synchronized to the audio. Although communication is via TCP/IP, no programming is necessary because the drivers are already integrated into the main applications.

Malcolm Finlay had this to say about the outcome. Our experience with the first outing of this Merging Technologies solution is that it does what it says on the tin'. The initial (Ethernet) linkup between the two systems was achieved within five minutes and remained solid for the duration of the event. Other than the link to WATCHOUT, Ovation provides a great deal of flexibility to integrate audio with modern digital mixing consoles by way of any of the multichannel IP streaming audio platforms now available via fiber or copper. On this type of event, Ovation could also very simply extend its functionality into multi-track recording of the same event.

Aside from mainstream music applications, PENMAC is very excited about the new possibilities Ovation provides for surround sound multi-stream audio productions, particularly with a growing demand for stereoscopic productions. Literally hundreds of high quality audio streams are now possible to synchronize with your visual production. Theatres, museums and visitor centers can also benefit from this audio on demand' technology where not only digital communication triggers requests, but discrete contacts are also a means of instant content playback as and when required.

The final word comes from event sound engineer, Murray Lubbe: I always prefer to run a multitrack audio session with live performances as it provides good support, particularly on the backing vocals. At this event we used Ovation - synchronized to WATCHOUT - as the multitrack backup system and it was fantastic!

Merging Technologies SA is a Swiss manufacturer with over 20 years of experience in developing groundbreaking, professional Audio and Video products for a wide range of entertainment and media industries. With a dedicated user base in the elite end of the music, film, television, mastering and performances industries, Merging is committed to developing product ranges with unrivalled quality and flexibility, no matter what the application. Merging builds tools for people who want more from their systems, have a inherent need to push boundaries, and believe that quality always comes first, every time.

LINK:	http://www.live-production.tv/news/products/south-african-music-awards...
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