Founded in 1992, Presteigne Broadcast Hire is rapidly becoming one of the world’s foremost broadcast dry hire and systems rental specialists.
Part of media services group Avesco PLC, Presteigne’s UK office was joined in 2005 by a second base in Cologne, Germany, and a new operation in Holland will be launched on 1st July this year. The company prides itself on its commitment to providing the most up-to-date broadcast equipment and expert staff to service a wide array of extremely high profile events.
These have included the Sydney and Athens Olympics, the Torino Winter Olympics, The FIFA World Cup, The Manchester Commonwealth Games and the 2005 G8 Summit. For the past six years, the company has provided equipment and personnel for coverage of the Wimbledon tennis championships, World Snooker Championships and Formula One Grands Prix in Brazil and Japan, while live music events are also becoming an increasing part of the company’s business.
Audio is often seen as the ‘poor relation’ of visuals in the broadcast industry, however Presteigne’s recent setting up of a dedicated audio department, equipped with the best possible technology, demonstrates the company’s commitment to providing a truly cutting edge service in what is a highly competitive market.
A key part of that development has been the addition of Yamaha M7CL-48 and DM2000 digital mixing consoles to its equipment stocks, which will be used by the company’s projects department and also available for dry hire.
“With shows becoming more complex, the need for more flexibility is essential,” says Paul Murray, Presteigne’s Head of Broadcast Audio. “The ability to change I/O requirements, recall different patches or settings plus the benefit of onboard dynamics and delay etc will only heighten the case for digital audio. This, of course, also lightens the load in terms of outboard gear. With 5.1 surround sound already upon us, the use of digital consoles is essential to handle the number of incoming and outgoing feeds.”
One of the key uses for the Yamaha consoles will be in outside broadcast (OB) applications at major sporting events. Here it is often inappropriate - either through space or cost restraints - for a dedicated OB truck to be deployed. Therefore the compact size and cutting edge facilities offered by the Yamaha consoles are an invaluable addition for Presteigne’s fly-away systems.
Indeed, the M7CL is already touring the globe for much of 2007, working on broadcasts of the Red Bull Air Race tour.
Purchasing both the M7CL and DM2000 also means that, for dry hires, Presteigne can provide all the benefits of a digital console, but which suit both experienced digital audio professionals and those more used to an analogue way of working. The user-friendliness of the M7CL is well-documented, it’s large number of faders and touch screen meaning that analogue users can get to grips with it extremely quickly.
“Another major factor was the price, size and facilities of the consoles, compared to an analogue equivalent,” adds Paul. “I think Yamaha has the market sewn up when it comes to powerful, compact digital mixers. I think it’s highly likely we will buy another M7CL-48.”
