HEBDEN BRIDGE, U.K. —BBC Wales has installed Calrec’s Bluefin2 high-density signal-processing technology, which the U.K.-based supplier of audio consoles for on-air and live production, says it has reached 100 installations with this sale.
BBC Wales installed a 40-fader Artemis Beam console with Hydra2 audio routing-capability in a renovated studio at its facility in Cardiff, Wales. This is the Welsh broadcaster’s second Artemis console, and the BBC’s other U.K. facilities utilize nine Artemis desks and one Apollo desk, all of which are equipped with Bluefin2.
“Calrec manufactures high-spec products in low numbers, and we only launched Bluefin2 technology at NAB in 2009, so to sell 100 consoles in three years is a significant achievement,” said Henry Goodman, head of sales and marketing at Calrec. “This milestone is an indication of the popularity and success of the current product range, and it's especially fitting that the BBC plays a role in that success because it is our longest standing customer.”
Bluefin2 used in Apollo and Artemis consoles is the company’s second-generation field programmable gate array technology (which enables HDSP). Calrec pioneered HDSP in broadcast-audio consoles by incorporating FPGA into its digital signal processing, which gives its consoles more power in a small space. Bluefin2 offers more processing power than its predecessor and provides a solution for multichannel discrete audio mixing.
Bluefin2, combined with Calrec products’ reputation for reliability and intuitive control, has helped the company to achieve major market share in the U.K. and the U.S., where the company’s products are installed in 70 percent of OB trucks. The consoles are popular for sporting events and live-to-air or live-to-tape programming.
