Spanish OB Tilt employs Rascular for flexible sports broadcast audio routing
Spanish bespoke audio and video OB broadcast service provider Tilt has installed Rascular’s RouteMaster router control technology as part of a sports-based upgrade to its UM003 OB truck.
Inside the newly refurbished UM003 OB truck from Til
Tilt decided to upgrade the audio technology in its biggest OB unit, UM003. This is a 16-camera truck with an expandable side, four EVS systems, and GV mixer and router. The recent upgrade included the installation of a Calrec Artemis desk along with its Hydra 2 audio networking technology. The Riedel intercom system was also upgraded, including a Riedel MediorNet system for signal transport.
Tilt needed a router control system to allow easy crosspoint switching on the Hydra 2 network to route the correct feeds to the EVS systems. The company upgraded the OB four months ago to serve the needs of all its clients. When it carried out the upgrade it realised its sports clients would need more functionality regarding audio, as, said Jaume Bordoy, owner of Tilt: “Our clients, particularly those in the sports sector, increasingly need to be able to access a wide variety of audio sources. They need channels for live, slomos, replays, ambiance and post-match interviews; they need to be able to change audio routing for all these requirements. In order to free up the audio operators, the operators who are controlling the EVS systems can simply use Blackmagic control panels to easily route sources because of the functionality provided by RouteMaster.
“Operators find it very easy to learn and use and it’s far more cost effective and flexible than alternative router control technologies. We are very happy with it and are now looking to expand its use,” he added.
On why he chose Rascular, which is a software design company that creates manual and automated control applications for third party, professional video technologies, Bordoy commented: “It makes everything we need. The other option was a full hardware controller system, which is too expensive for us and for what we want to do. Rascular is like a hardware controller, but it is software, therefore it’s affordable, flexible and easier to use. There’s no need to buy an expensive machine for a relatively simple operation.”
Ephraim Barrett, sales director at Rascular, said: “RouteMaster is a very flexible product when it comes to accurate and easy router control, especially in fast-paced live environments. Because it works with so many protocols – including NewTek’s NDI with the latest version also capable of tie-line support – it allows routing systems to be easily mixed and matched. This means that upgrades, like the one Tilt has just carried out, become more possible with a more flexible approach allowed.”
As for the future, Bordoy commented that Rascular has many possibilities. “Rascular can order change on the MediorNet system, so now we’re looking to see if we can make a bigger MediorNet sysrems, using Rascular as the control. Rascualr is better than we thought!”