Solid State Logic (SSL) used NAB to introduce its new C10 HD digital broadcast audio console. The C10 HD builds on the success of the company’s popular C100 platform for a wide range of on-air applications, with intelligently simplified design and operation in a cost-effective, compact form.
The C10 HD console integrates all DSP signal processing and operating hardware into a convection-cooled control surface. The console comes in two frame sizes — 24+8 and 32+8 — with scalable DSP and I/O options. The simple control surface layout is complimented by a clear graphical overview of all signals, augmented with SSL’s Eyeconix feature that presents thumbnail pictures of sources for fast visual recognition and navigation.
The C10 offers four access levels to the console’s features — admin, certified, express and lockdown — to provide the appropriate functionality to engineers and staff with different mixing skill levels. For example, the express setting allows a junior engineer to make critical changes without the possibility of changing the entire setup. The console also offers a sophisticated dialog auto-mix engine that automatically balances the individual voices, overall volume and ambient noise of a “talking heads” discussion, with minimal operator setup or intervention, thus optimizing the audio mix and avoiding up-cuts and missed cues.
The C10 HD features full 5.1 surround mixing capabilities, adding a new 5.1 UpMix algorithm that generates surround imaging from stereo sources. This allows users to match their facility’s broadcast to other 5.1 material from a network feed or create 5.1 elements from existing stereo material.
The system is compatible with the C100 HD and MORSE products, allowing for integration within a large facility and providing scalable and arbitrated resource sharing. Full processing redundancy within the console surface is available as an option.
