HKR builds new studios with Lawo Crystal surfaces and Power Core DSP

Croatian Catholic Radio (HKR) has completed construction of all-new broadcast studios built around Lawo mixing & routing technology. Lawo Crystal mixing surfaces, a Power Core DSP engine, and RƎLAY VSC software were installed, with integration and commissioning provided by AVC Group.

Established in 1997, HKR is one of just half-a-dozen radio channels in Croatia which are licensed to broadcast on a national basis. Programming originating from their Zagreb headquarters is heard across the country via terrestrial and online distribution.

“After 20 years, HKR moved their studios to a new building,” said Zeljko Pemper of AVC Group Zagreb, which performed the studio integration. “They chose Lawo because of its reputation for flexibility and reliability — after all, when you’re broadcasting to a national audience, there’s no room for error.”

4 Crystal mixing consoles with Compact Engines are installed. The main on-air studio and its redundant backup studio are both fitted with 12-fader Crystals, with twin 4-fader Crystals at work in the two production & editing suites, with VisTool GUI Builder software providing context-sensitive screen displays for each of the four consoles. A Power Core DSP engine is used in the Tech Center to provide systemwide routing and audio I/O, while multiple copies of RƎLAY VSC Virtual Sound Card software interface PC audio workstations with HKR’s RAVENNA / AES67 audio-over-IP network.

“Power Core proved to be the centerpoint of the entire build,” noted Zeljko. “With hundreds of channels of AES67, analog, MADI and AES3 capacity, dozens of DSP channels, a routing matrix with more than 1,900 crosspoints, plus SMPTE 2022-7 Seamless Protection Switching, we think that Power Core is an amazing tool for broadcasters large or small. What else can do so much in just one RU of rack space?”