Border control: Calrec’s True Control 2.0 throws a net over the broadcast ecosystem
Calrec’s new ArgoM mixing console, launching at IBC 2024
Marking its 60th birthday, Calrec chose IBC 2024 to introduce a trio of integrated products, and although its Argo M mixing console and ImPulse V cloud DSP processing engine are likely to grab all the headlines, Calrec’s director of product management, Henry Goodman says it is the updated True Control 2.0 that ties everything together.
With three product introductions at IBC this year, Calrec’s new Argo M mixing console is the obvious headline grabber, an ultra compact, plug and play version of the company’s Argo range of consoles. But while it is busy drawing the eyes (and ears) of many IBC visitors, Calrec is also launching its ImPulse V cloud-based DSP processing engine which was soft-launched at NAB and is now fully integrated on the AWS platform.
But according to Calrec’s Director of Product Management Henry Goodman, the ability to pair both of these products with Calrec’s wider product range via its upgraded True Control 2.0 is where the real value is, and all three are designed to complement each other as part of a more expansive ecosystem.
Cross-border IEMs
Calrec first introduced True Control eight years ago as part of its RP1 remote production development, giving broadcasters remote access to a processing engine to both mix a live broadcast as well as create no-latency in ear monitoring (IEM) feeds from anywhere. Since then broadcasters have evolved far more distributed and flexible workflows, and Calrec is aiming to do the same with its True Control 2.0 protocol.
“When we launched RP1, the True Control mechanism allowed broadcasters to create local, no latency feeds for commentators and it worked really well,” says Goodman. “But now broadcasters are looking at expanding all their workflows and exploiting all the opportunities that modern technology and connectivity can deliver. There is no such thing as a standard broadcast workflow anymore.
“While True Control on the RP1 one gave operators control over faders, cuts and aux sends, what we’ve done with True Control 2.0 gives users can now control a channel path’s complete feature set.”
By integrating True Control into Calrec equipment like Type R, Argo and Calrec’s range of ImPulse cores, broadcasters have the flexibility to use a variety of control surfaces and processing cores to create no-latency mixes on anything from anywhere
Five times the control
In fact, True Control 2.0 provides control over five times as many parameters, adding remote control over route to mains and groups, routing to tracks, pan to mains and groups, pan to tracks, EQ, Dynamics 1 compressor/limiter, Dynamics 1 expander/gate/ducker, Dynamics 2 compressor/limiter, Automixer controls, input delay, path delay, insert on/off, spill faders, downmix faders, AutoFaders and direct outputs.
Calrec says that this addresses the evolving and more complex workflows that broadcasters are now exploring, and by integrating True Control into Calrec equipment like Type R, Argo and Calrec’s range of ImPulse cores, broadcasters have the flexibility to use a variety of control surfaces and processing cores to create no-latency mixes on anything from anywhere.
“One of our drivers was that broadcasters were finding more complex workflows for RP1, and their feedback was all about control; the ability to have control delay, or EQ, or a ducker to creat talkback across those lines. Our challenge was to find the most efficient way of providing all these extra features and extra workflows.
“We developed True Control to leverage the processing power of our exisiting DSP cores; the Type R core for example, is a 2U box like RP1, but it gives you a lot more. It gives you 120 channels, main outputs, group outputs, auxes, delay built into every channel. Because it’s a full mixer it delivers the extra feature sets broadcasters need.”
Broadening the scope
In addition to providing users with more control parameters, expanding True Control 2.0 to Type R, ImPulse, ImPulse 1, ImPulseV, Argo Q, Argo S and Argo M also expands broadcaster’s control networks without having to invest in new technology and allows any of these products to remotely control any other True Control 2.0 enabled product. Moreover, any one of these controller consoles can access up to five other consoles simultaneously. Calrec says it gives broadcasters the flexibility to scale their remote productions as needed by expanding the number of products it works with, which is where Argo M and ImPulse V dovetails at IBC.
“We have a lot of broadcast facility providers who have small trucks or small fly packs where they might use an RP1, but we realised that if they had a small controllable console they could use it for any number of events. Unlike the RP1, where there was a clear separation between the controller (console) and the controllee (RP1), we’ve integrated both the controller and controllee functionality into all these products.
“It means that broadcasters can use any Argo console to control any DSP, in different places and from different surfaces. Consoles like Argo and Type R can act as either the controller or the controllee; they can control DSP resources locally or remotely, including the cloud-based Impulse V solution which also has the controller and controllee applications built-in.”
Calrec’s g eneral manager, Sid Stanley, adds: “The ability to control anything from anywhere is an incredibly agile way to work because it provides access to more cores, more faders/surfaces, and more control from more locations. It simply gives our broadcast customers more options.”
Available in a 24- and 36-fader chassis, Argo M is built on the same award-winning technology that powers Calrec’s established Argo platform. Pictured, the ArgoM 36-fader chassis
Argo M
This works well with both Argo M and ImPulse V, which Calrec integrated into a wider True Control 2.0 network on its stand as part of its launch event at IBC.
Available in a 24- and 36-fader chassis, Argo M is built on the same award-winning technology that powers Calrec’s established Argo platform and delivers the same feature set and user interface as the larger Argo Q and Argo S consoles. Unlike the larger consoles, Argo M features integrated DSP processing, and requires no networking or PTP sync for independent operation, and it also has built-in analogue and digital audio I/O and GPIO, 3 x modular I/O slots for further expansion and a MADI I/O port via an SFP. This enables it to be used in both IP-based and traditional baseband environments.
It is available with 304 or 356 internal DSP processing paths, while external ImPulse and ImPulse1 processing cores can expand processing capacity to 432 DSP paths as well as provide additional redundancy. Up to four Argo surfaces can share access to a pair of redundant ImPulse cores, and Argo M can also connect to an existing ImPulse core alongside other Argo surfaces to create multi-console environments.
“The introduction of Argo M enables more broadcasters to take advantage of Argo’s flexible IP technology,” says Stanley. “All our broadcast customers are looking for more flexible workflows while still having the right monitoring and metering tools in front of them without the need for ancillary equipment. Argo M caters for a variety of workflows; cores and surfaces can be geographically diverse to enable remote and distributed production, as well as supporting interoperable networking and stage-box interfacing via AES67/ST2110-30 with ST2022-7 dual-network/packet merging redundancy with either 1G or 10G connectivity.”
ImPulse V
Completing the trio, the ImPulse V cloud-based DSP processing core is built on a patented x86 CPU optimal core processing (OCP) technology that operates in a virtualised Linux environment. With no requirement to buy into new control architecture, ImPulseV uses the same interfaces that Calrec customers are already familiar with and provides a virtualised Calrec audio mixing engine that operates in a cloud native AWS environment. It supports direct surface connections from Argo Q, Argo S and the new Argo M, as well as the Calrec Assist web UI. In addition, True Control 2.0 can be used to control Impulse V from any True Control 2.0 enabled console, such as Type R.
The standard 128 DSP pack at launch provides up to 128 Channels, 16 Groups, 8 Mains, 32 Tracks, 32 Auxes, 64 Direct Outputs, 128 Inserts and path delay on all Channels, Groups, Mains, Tracks and Auxes. ImPulseV supports stereo, 5.1 and full immersive formats up to 7.1.4 with 9.1.6 monitoring, and any channel or bus can be mono, stereo, 5.1, 5.1.4 or 7.1.4, providing a full toolkit for immersive productions and Dolby Atmos workflows.
“These three new products give broadcasters far more power and flexibility,” says Stanley. “Connecting and controlling geographically diverse cores and surfaces with zero latency for monitoring/IFBs, and providing control using a combination of proprietary, hybrid, IP, third-party and cloud connectivity delivers next level technical capability.”