Studer has released a new digital mixing desk, the Vista 9, a 40-fader, fully networkable design for broadcast and live production applications. Following on the heels of the Vista 5, 6, 7 and 8 desks, the Vista 9 expands the platform’s Vistonics user interface with widescreen TFT metering and other innovations.
The control bay meter section can be configured to show any choice of output busses and input channels and displays up to 40 meters at the time. The new metering is designed for precision feedback on signal status, with channel meters able to show mono through to 7.1 channel signals in the upper section of the screen, while the lower portion can show bus assignment or an image of the surround composite, providing a clear, easily understandable display of the surround signal.
Each touch-sensitive TFT screen displays 10 channel strips of Studer’s Vistonics interface, with rotary encoders and switches mounted directly onto the screen to provide the operator with “where you look is where you control” ergonomics. Another new feature is the history mode, which records events such as overloads in the audio path of each channel and highlights them in red on the channel waveform. The operator can then review which channel had such an event up to 30 seconds after the event has occurred. In addition, all stereo inputs and stereo masters have a correlation meter bar above the bar graph display.
Studer’s context-oriented FaderGlow provides an instant visual overview of the console status by illuminating each fader group in freely-assignable colors. This improves both operator accuracy and reaction time while reducing the stress of mixing in a live environment.
In terms of control surface configuration, the new Vista 9 literally allows the operator to place any input, as well as the master channels, anywhere across the surface. This can be especially helpful when using multiple subgroups and simultaneous surround mixes.
Studer includes failsafe redundancy as standard with the Vista 9. Dual PSUs and a dual-control system ensure that component failure doesn’t mean loss of control over the mix, while a redundant network system maintains communication to the DSP core. The Vista 9 integrates with other Studer Vista and OnAir consoles and routers via Studer RELINK network technology. Communication to third-party control systems is also provided.
