BUENA PARK, Calif. — Two years ago, Reuters America's Washington D.C., Studio A converted its video production to digital, based around a Ross Synergy MD Series production switcher. It was only a matter of time before the company would address the audio portion of the operations, and when they did, central to the change-over was the console choice.
Reuters Audio Control Room
Reuters' Studio A produces a variety of news shows and news magazine shows, such as: "Hispanics Today," WNET's (PBS) "Religion and Ethics News Weekly," "Democracy Now," and "Viewpoint with James Zogby" on Abu Dhabi Television. In addition, the company produces government work for Homeland Security.
"There was nothing really wrong with the console we had, but a number of issues had built up over the years of analog operation," states Keith Allen, Television Maintenance Engineer. "We needed more inputs, all the processing was outside the console, and generally we wanted to gain the flexibility that a digital console would give us."
"The choice of the Yamaha DM2000 came through the suggestion of contract audio engineers who work frequently in Studio A," Allen continues. "I asked two of them to explore digital console options at the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) Expo. I really respect their opinions, since they've been mixing audio as long as I've been working the video end. Their basic opinion was that the Yamaha console was proven, had been around, and was really solidly built. These were the guys who would be using the console. So based on their recommendation, we chose the DM2000."
Allen pre-wired the new racks as much as possible, then the crew gutted the approximately 12' x 14' audio control room (Studio A is 30' x 40'). The connection to the router itself and the connections to the intercom system were among the only things left. Allen then installed the racks and the equipment.
Though approval for the console purchase was secured in January 2006, the make-over was not complete until May. "We never thought that what should be the simplest part of the installation – getting the furniture – could be biggest headache," notes Allen. "A contractor failed to deliver on a custom table designed for the DM2000, and shipping problems delayed the delivery of equipment racks. Because of the way things run here, we had to find a 4-day window to put the room together. For the first month, we ran with the console on a folding table." Eventually Reuters had a custom table delivered by a new contractor, Arrakis Systems, who worked out an elegant design for the limited space of the control room; a rolling table for the DM2000 that allows access to the occasionally used computer and other equipment located behind it.
One of Reuters' freelance engineers, George Toman said, "the best thing about the DM2000 is the ease with which it can be programmed to fit any application." Toman was one of Reuters' consultants on the purchase of the console. "Like all digital consoles, it takes a bit of forethought during the initial set up, since reconfiguring during a live situation may require you to go through multiple pages while mixing," he adds. "However, four fader layers, channel copy function and programmable soft knobs make changing inputs easy."
Most of Toman and the other engineers' radio shows involve panel discussions, so having Noise Gates and Comp/Limiters on every channel is a real plus. Allen notes that Toman also likes the Windows-based outboard computer software and says "it's a real help since the small onboard screen can be difficult to see sometimes!"
Allen notes he and the others also based their recommendation on price. "There isn't another digital console out there in this price range that can compare with the power, quality and reliability of the DM2000," says Toman. "Whenever we've called Yamaha with a question, and if my factory rep wasn't immediately available – that's only happened once – another support person would call me back within 15 minutes. That's pretty rare in this business."
