Toronto, Ontario, Canada – July 1, 2009 … Lawo, recognized globally as a leading manufacturer of digital audio networking and console systems for production, post production, broadcast, and related applications, is pleased to announce that Burlington, Ontario, Canada-based Broadcast Services International (BSI) has selected two Lawo mc²56 digital consoles to handle audio mixing for the forthcoming 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Berlin, Germany. Scheduled to run from August 15th – 23rd, 2009, not only will the best track and field athletes in the world compete in the German capital, but Berliners and the city’s guests will also have an opportunity to enjoy a special cultural program that will take place in celebration of this great occasion.
With 8 Emmy® Awards for Technical Production under its belt, including the prestigious George Wensel Innovative Technical Achievement Emmy Award (in High Definition), Broadcast Services International Inc. offers full service technical production, consulting, and engineering services for live television broadcasting, worldwide. The Lawo mc²56 consoles will serve as the main audio system in both the master control and sub-master control for BSI’s Japanese client, Tokyo Broadcasting Systems.
For this year’s IAAF World Championships, BSI purchased one of the two Lawo mc²56 consoles and will rent a second. The purchased mc²56 console incorporates 48 faders, 240 DSP channels plus a redundant DSP card, 64 AES stereo I/O’s, two MADI ports for connection to other systems, and a DALLIS I/O frame. The rental mc²56 console will be outfitted with 48 faders, 144 DSP channels, 32 AES stereo I/O’s, and MADI ports that will facilitate connection to the other mc²56 console and will support the sharing of system resources.
When asked about those features of the Lawo mc²56 digital consoles that made them the “right tool for the job” on the forthcoming IAAF World Championships, Locke Eady, Vice President of Operations for BSI, offered the following assessment, “Use of the Lawo consoles, networking, and router systems not only speeds up the on-site installation, but it greatly reduces the amount of pre-wiring and audio DA’s required in our design/build phase. One of the great benefits is that both our engineers and the Japanese engineers share a common understanding of Lawo consoles, as they are well known throughout Asia, Europe, and Canada. The BSI technical team were very comfortable with operating the Lawo consoles after only a few tutorials from Lawo’s technical support engineers and we have also set up several dates for operational classes with some of our freelance sound engineers to attend.”
Customer and technical support services are essential in mission critical broadcast applications and Lawo’s support services, which are considered by many to be the best in the industry, played a key role in formalizing the acquisition of the mc²56 consoles. “The Lawo sales and tech support guys have been great,” notes Jim Eady, BSI’s Managing Director. “Their biggest challenge has been to help the BSI team understand just how completely the mc²56 integrates into our systems and grasp all the value added features these consoles offer—so that we can use these tools for success.”
The IAAF World Championships in Athletics is a massive undertaking—requiring months of technical and logistical preparation. With the company’s focus squarely on this rapidly approaching sports extravaganza, Jim Eady commented on Lawo’s attention to detail as BSI makes its preparations. “Lawo North America, as well as their headquarters in Germany, have been outstanding in their support of our project’s requirements and are committed to configuring our consoles appropriately to ensure the success of our show. When the president of Lawo calls all the way from Europe just to check and see if we have everything we need, it shows you just how closely the company’s people are paying attention to following up on the details. This sort of attention to detail is precisely why we selected Lawo to begin with.”
For additional information about Broadcast Services International, visit the company online at www.bsi-tv.com.
About Lawo
Lawo is a manufacturer of digital audio networking systems and consoles for a wide range of applications from small to large scale audio production in television and radio, post production, and live sound. Established in the 1970s, the company’s manufacturing center is located in the Rhine valley town of Rastatt, Germany. For additional information on all Lawo products, visit the company online at www.lawo.ca.
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Photo info: Image of the BSI staff with the company’s new Lawo mc²56 console. From left to right: Jim Eady – CEO, Brooke Eady – President, Shea Eady – VP of Production, Locke Eady – VP of Operations, and Craig Lapsley – Lead Audio Engineer.
