The broadcaster's main OB radio truck is equipped with an integrated Venue D-Show console, Stage Rack, and FOH rack. RTÉ also has the more portable D-Show Profile console, which will be used both as a backup system for smaller venues where carry-ins are required, and for additional redundancy and channel capacity at larger classical events and festivals for which the broadcasters provide coverage. To enable multitrack recordings of its broadcasts, RTÉ also purchased a Digidesign Pro Tools|HD system, which is connected to the D-Show mainframe and Sidecar combination through HDx cards.
The search for a new digital console began 18 months ago when RTÉ's previous OBV console started to become too high-maintenance. "It became a cheaper option to look for a replacement rather than keep repairing," reasons RTÉ's senior radio producer Anton Timoney.
A number of factors worked in the Venue system's favour, including its durability and dual redundancy, the D-Show console's ease of use, and the ability to create a consistent workflow with RTÉ's existing Pro Tools|HD systems. In fact, RTÉ has four Pro Tools|HD systems installed in its radio studios, a 48-track Pro Tools|HD system in the Concert Hall, and other OBVs equipped with Pro Tools LE systems for stereo recording.
Another important decision-making factor was that Digidesign's main service centre for Europe is based in nearby Sandyford, where RTÉ engineers first evaluated the console. "Having experienced unreliable service in the past, the importance of having local technicians on hand cannot be overstated," stresses Big Bear Sound's managing director, Michael Browne, whose company has been servicing the broadcaster's equipment needs for nearly two decades.
The live broadcast of RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra's presentation of Mahler's Eighth Symphony (Symphony of a Thousand) offered prime territory for Venue D-Show. "With an orchestra of 150, plus a 600-700-piece choir, the confidence factor in being able to mix on this desk was huge," Timoney says. For similar large-scale events, RTÉ can simply increase the channel capacity by slaving the D-Show Profile console's 48-channel Stage Rack to the D-Show and Sidecar system for a total of 96 channels.
(Jim Evans)
