HEBDEN BRIDGE, U.K.—Ross Production Services (RPS) has purchased its fifth 96-channel Calrec Brio audio console, standardizing on Calrec technology.
RPS has installed the console in one of its six-camera OB Sprinter vans. In all, RPS has eight production vehicles, and with the addition of the latest console, three have Calrec Brio boards, including its 40-foot, 12-camera units.
“Our preference is of course to use Ross equipment first, and about 95 percent of the gear in our trucks is Ross, but audio is the exception,” said Matthew Webster, RPS technology manager. “We will be fully standardizing on Calrec desks moving forward. There’s no question that Calrec is the industry standard for quality audio, and that’s something our team has been lacking for a long time.”
In fall 2020, RPS completed a new studio facility in Connecticut featuring a 72-fader Calrec Apollo console and two Brio boards. The facility is the main RPS production hub. It handles a variety of high-profile projects from the esports, sports and live entertainment arenas. Completed during the pandemic, the facility has four control rooms.
In the mobile units, the small form factor of the Calrec Brio consoles was ideal for the compact space allocated to audio, he added
The Calrec Apollo and Brio consoles served RPS well during the production of EA’s Madden NFL 21 Championship Series because of their connectivity and the ease with which resources can be shared, said Webster.
“We’re using Calrec’s Hydra2 network and the MADI interface for all of our connections. With Hydra2, our consoles can be connected to any studio at any time and any feed can be controlled by any desk. Each of our control rooms has its own dedicated router and each router sends its MADI to a single I/O box,” he said. “The only reason we’re not doing AoIP right now is because we’re in a growth phase with Ross Production Services, and our MADI/Hydra2 setup is a great ecosystem for us to be in at the moment. Our operators love it and it cuts down on busy work for them.”
RPS is Ross Video’s in-house production service division. It produces between 150 and 200 events per year.
More information is available on the Calrec website.
