SVG Sit-Down: Studio Technologies President Gordon Kapes Discusses Meeting the Technical Needs of REMI Production New product suite relies on Dante protocol for talent-cueing, IFB By Karen Hogan Ketchum, Senior Editor
Thursday, April 5, 2018 - 12:40 pm
Print This Story
Story Highlights
As REMI/at-home production grows in popularity, technology vendors like Studio Technologies are stepping up to provide the gear needed to make onsite production as seamless as possible. Recently, Studio Technologies upgraded its Model 5422 Dante intercom audio engine, Model 216 announcer's console, and Model 44D audio interface to better meet the talent-cueing and IFB needs of REMI productions. SVG sat down with Studio Technologies President Gordon Kapes to discuss the enhanced suite of products for REMI production, the importance of addressing the approach's biggest technical challenges, and what visitors to the company's NAB 2018 booth can expect.
Studio Technologies recently enhanced its REMI product suite. Tell me a little bit about the new capabilities it offers.
The main product in our REMI product suite is our Model 5422 Dante intercom audio engine. We released this product in late 2016/early 2017, and, since the concept of the product first came up, we knew that one of the final features we wanted to support was talent-cueing for REMI/at-home production. We've learned from the people who work out in the field, and, with our final software release, we've given the unit all the features we wanted to.
We felt that we were able to tackle an obscure but very important area, which is talent-cueing. On-air personnel typically want to hear production audio themselves, [as do] the other people involved in the production and audio signals. So we in firmware developed what I think are some clever and effective ways of generating these talent-cue signals. We're doing it in the Dante domain. We've chosen for many of our products to have audio flow over the Dante audio-over-Ethernet protocol. The Model 5422 is a Dante-enabled product, and we have seen people using our Dante products for onsite production. By adding IFB creation features, we felt that we gave people another strong tool to allow production personnel to be located remotely from the event site.
We put the ability in one of our standalone announcer consoles, which is a small box that you can plug a microphone and a headset into, and you can generate a high-frequency tone - in our case, 18 kHz - that adds in with the voice audio so that you can have a production person literally anywhere in the world press the button to talk to talent anywhere else at the event site, and you will transport your voice along the 18-kHz trigger tone and get to our Model 5422, which will then create the IFB.
We are familiar with having production trucks at the site, and the production trucks have large intercom systems that can generate all the required signals, but, as you start putting the production facilities in one location and the events in another, you [need to have something] onsite to generate IFB. That's the key thing that we saw that people are going to need, and that's why we added this remote IFB feature along with related features. The Model 5422 goes onsite where there isn't a truck any more, and now you can use our four-channel announcer console to generate a producer talk or a director talk signal and route that audio to the event site, and talent will hear excellent audio quality.
We think that many [major sports networks'] intercom systems, with a slight modification to programming, can generate the signals that our 5422 uses, so we created the suite of products to provide people a very quick proof of concept. Then they integrate the generation of this tone into their existing systems and have this capability very quickly. If they are not able to generate the tone, we add that tone-generation ability to our Model 44D interface, and so it does a very simple function.
It's one of these things that most people will never know about and care about if it is working, but, if it were missing, they would be missing an important part of a complete REMI implementation.
What are some of the most pressing technical challenges of REMI production, and how does Studio Technologies address them?
I would think that a big technical challenge is getting the audio signal from Point A to Point B or Point A to Points B and D and doing it fast and efficiently. It seems like the video signals are pretty well covered with some of the different providers, but our experience being able to quickly deploy multichannel audio is lagging a little bit. The second issue is, it's changing rapidly, and having people know, whether it's products from us or other vendors, that it can be done now. A lot of very nice solutions are available now, and you can achieve it probably better than you think.
Why is the REMI-production market an important one for your company?
With our offering of Dante-based audio Ethernet products, we feel that REMI is very real, and it's going to be very well used. If we can't be part of how people implement it, then we're simply not going to sell equipment. You combine that with the fact that we're problem-solvers that really enjoy being in this market, and we love spending time trying to solve these issues. That's why it's important to us.
NAB 2018 is just around the corner. What can visitors to the Studio Technologies booth (C7550) expect to see?
We'll be mostly talking to people about the REMI suite, but we'll also be introducing three new announcer consoles, which are, pieces of hardware to help people create on-air audio positions for talent. We'll also be showing a new Dante bridge, which will help people link to different local-area networks'; it
Most recent headlines
17/02/2025
TVBEurope talks to the team who brought a piece of broadcasting history back to life on BBC Wales last night
By Jenny Priestley
Published: February 14, 2025 ...
17/02/2025
Eligible studios will receive the relief directly from their local authorities, with no need to submit a claim
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: February 17, 20...
17/02/2025
As DEI initiatives come under pressure in the USA, supporters of Rise, which promotes diversity in the media and entertainment sector, discuss the continuing im...
17/02/2025
EIB Global loan will partially fund SES's continued O3b mPOWER medium earth orbit (MEO) fleet expansion enabling additional capacity worldwide. O3b mPOWER s...
15/02/2025
At Nielsen, Business Resource Groups (BRGs) play a critical role in nurturing a ...
15/02/2025
Innovation to empower creativity: Explore the latest in Lightroom
Rob Christensen February 15, 2025
0 Comments
Whether you want to remove distracting ...
15/02/2025
Wisycom, a worldwide leader in RF technology and provider of wireless solutions, announces a new distribution agreement with EQUAPHON. An Argentinian profession...
15/02/2025
DPA Microphones, the leading manufacturer of high-quality microphone solutions, is pleased to welcome Nicholas Nick Mariano and Vincent Vince Divine to the ...
15/02/2025
Tuxera, a leading provider of quality-assured file systems and networking solutions, will showcase how Tuxera Fusion SMB enables unprecedented performance for m...
15/02/2025
Bitmovin's latest Video Developer Report indicates an increasing role of AI, the slow adoption of next-generation codecs, and continuing challenges when it ...
15/02/2025
When Michelin Enterprises set out to promote its prestigious Hotel Guide in the new Sleepless in the Kitchen , campaign, veteran German/Slovenian gaffer Robert...
15/02/2025
Formula E, the world's first all-electric racing series, revolutionizing motorsport with cutting-edge technology and a commitment to sustainability has sele...
15/02/2025
Agile Content, a global leader in TV and video technology solutions, announces its rebranding to AgileTV.
The transition to AgileTV stems from a commitment to ...
15/02/2025
Hiltron Communications will promote the latest additions to its range of satellite communication products, systems and supporting services at GovSatCom 2025. Th...
15/02/2025
Following the success of the original Airglow Booklight, DoPchoice debuts a new addition to their inflatable line the Float. This lightweight, inflatable, round...
15/02/2025
LAS VEGAS Marshall Electronics has announced that it will debut its newest camera controller, the RCP Plus, at the 2025 NAB Show at Booth N2649 between April 5 ...
15/02/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has named Blake Sebo as the next general manager of KTUU and KYES, Gray's NBC and CBS affiliates in Anchorage, Alaska....
15/02/2025
KOKKEDAL, Denmark DPA Microphones will feature its new CORE+ technology for distortion-free microphone sound at the 2025 NAB Show, April 5-9, in Las Vegas....
15/02/2025
SWANSEA, U.K. QuickLink will launch StudioPro-NDI and StudioPro-3, two new models of its QuickLine StudioPro video production platform, at the 2025 NAB Show, Ap...
15/02/2025
Live From 2025 NBA All-Star Game Weekend: After 25 Years, Turner Sports All-In F...
15/02/2025
NASCAR Driver Cam on Max Embraces Cloud-Based Workflow for 2025 Season Chris Brown of WBD Sports says Mobii will play key part in delivering signals from the tr...
14/02/2025
Last month, we officially launched the Spotify Partner Program, a powerful new m...
14/02/2025
From an island off the coast of Lutruwita to the global stage in France SBS & ...
14/02/2025
The future of electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) land systems is evolving so that ...
14/02/2025
Here are 5 reasons why you should attend ISE 2025
Discover more about Calrec: Learn more about Calrec's legacy of innovation in broadcast audio solutions ...
14/02/2025
World Radio Day: On the same wavelength
By Graham Murray, International Sales Manager at Calrec
To mark World Radio Day, Calrec's International Sales Ma...
14/02/2025
DALLAS and TYSONS, Va. Tegna has concluded a broadcast rights agreement that makes Tegna's KFAA in Dallas the exclusive local television partner of the Dall...
14/02/2025
Amazon's Prime Video has released a new app for Apple TV that the streamer said delivers an improved streaming experiences with faster scrolling, improved s...
14/02/2025
CLEVELAND Telos Alliance announced a software update for its Axia Quasar XR and SR line of audio-over-IP (AoIP) mixing consoles and will show the offering at th...
14/02/2025
Puget Systems Returns to HPA Tech Retreat 2025 with New Analysis Tools for Puge...
14/02/2025
Glass Animals: Tour of Earth Uses Blackmagic Live Production Workflow
Brie Clayton February 14, 2025
0 Comments
80six deploys Blackmagic URSA Broadcas...
14/02/2025
A dispute between Paramount and Youtube TV that would have pulled CBS stations and Paramount's cable channels from the streaming service has been temporaril...
14/02/2025
Colourist Deidre (Dee) McClelland details how she helped shape the distinct look and feel of whimsical Oscar-nominated stop-motion film, Memoir of a Snail
By C...
14/02/2025
BitFire said it intends to introduce forward-looking services that simplify the launch of live production workflows, and enhance real-time collaboration
By Jen...
14/02/2025
The claim by the liquidators is the latest twist in the ongoing saga of the companys collapse at the end of 2021
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: February 14, ...
14/02/2025
A carriage dispute between YouTube TV and Paramount could come to a head today (Feb. 13), with the virtual pay TV provider threatening to pull all of the progra...
14/02/2025
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. LG Electronics USA has opened a new in-house, state-of-the-art virtual production studio at its 360,000-square-foot North American headqu...
14/02/2025
NEW YORK In a bid to help local broadcasters find new ways of monetizing their content, the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) and TVB have relea...
14/02/2025
WASHINGTON Three Democratic U.S. Senators have sent a stern letter blasting FCC Chair Brendan Carr for the weaponization of the agency for attacking broadcast...
14/02/2025
Years after launching the streaming service Apple TV+ in November of 2019, Apple has finally released a version of its steaming app for Android devices....
14/02/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. Red Digital Cinema will make its V-RAPTOR [X] and KOMODO-X camera systems available with Nikon's premier Z Mount, providing filmmaker...
14/02/2025
DAYTONA, Fla. The Fox Sports production of this year's Daytona 500 will see the addition of a few new tech elements and the continued unfolding of the broad...
14/02/2025
Watch Bryson Battles Blind Audition on The Voice Get a Four-Chair Turn Michael Bubl said the Boston Conservatory at Berklee musical theater senior might have...
14/02/2025
2025 Daytona 500: FOX Sports Looks To Ride Super Bowl LIX Momentum Into NASCAR S...
14/02/2025
14 Feb 2025
VEON's Kyivstar and the Come Back Alive Foundation Raise USD 2....
14/02/2025
Max Renews THE PITT, Starring Noah Wyle, For A Second Season
Max
Warner Bros. Television Group
The Pitt
New Episodes Of The Medical Drama From John...
14/02/2025
This year, Technicolor proudly celebrates 110 years of shaping the magic of cinema pioneering color, visual effects, and innovation that bring unforgettable l...
14/02/2025
NBA All-Star: More Games, More Teams, More Music, More Sound From the Court Turner Sports' team will deploy familiar tech to capture all the audio By Dan D...
14/02/2025
LIV Golf Continues To Innovate With Drones, Data-Driven Graphics, and All-Access...
SVG Sit-Down: Studio Technologies President Gordon Kapes Discusses Meeting the Technical Needs of REMI Production New product suite relies on Dante protocol for talent-cueing, IFB By Karen Hogan Ketchum, Senior Editor 
