GB4D deploys Optocore preamps in Paris
- Details
Specialising in the delivery of large-scale shows globally, Gilles Bouvard Events and Shows (GB4D) has been working on this event with Radio France since 2015. This year, thanks to a successful experiment, they extended the traditional site wide Optocore redundant optical fibre loop by deploying an additional 152 Optocore X6R preamps.
Explaining the reason, Bouvard said, “We had conducted several experiments with Radio France prior to the event, including the recording and capture of a jazz concert at La Maison de la Radio, with immersive sound, using a 22/2 multi-channel mix."
The idea had emanated from Radio France’s Pascal Besnard and Bruno Lompech, with the latter taking up the story. “Before thinking about mixing 22:2 specifically, I thought of the huge possibilities of audio network coverage that Optocore offered, and suggested it as an alternative to other more audio-oriented IP systems. We could envisage something far more innovative than a simple stereo mix to our FM transmitters.”
The audio recording was made using 48 Optocore preamps wired to a LAWO console for the antenna sound. The concert was mixed by a Yamaha Nuage post-production console for the immersive sound, all connected via a MUX22-IVT/MADI, for audio and video from Optocore sister company, BroaMan. Tuning in to the live concert in Studio 105, listeners were immediately immersed in a 16:2 sound field. Distribution of audio stems to the 18 inputs of the immersive sound converter was handled uniquely by the MUX22 IVT / MADI.
Meanwhile, a BroaMan Route 66 16/24 video router retrieved HD SDI camera signals, distributing video to the sound engineers in all studios, and broadcasting the concert to the Dailymotion video-sharing platform, with images and sound immersivity mixed in 22:2.
As Lompech explains: “We distributed to other studios because ultimately we wanted to be able to operate any of our studio mixes to any or all of the mixing booths.”
The opportunity for such an elaborate mix both on the net, and simultaneously for Radio France’s Radio Frequency Modulation (FM Radio) antennas had been the brainchild of Radio France’s Hervé Desjardin. “This was all made possible by the quality of the Optocore preamps, and the speed of distribution of audio channels from one studio to another, with almost zero latency,” says Lompech.
GB4D detailed 144 preamps for the stage - 120 for FOH and 24 Dual Mic preamps for solo monitors. In addition, eight FOH preamps were used for the on-site public ambient sound, in addition to the live radio and television sound recording; at the same time a multitrack recording was performed on a 128-channel Pyramix from the FOH console, facilitated by the additional MADI ports (3 and 4) on BroaMan's bidirectional Video and Data MUX22-IVT/MADI converters, and M12 - an Optocore MADI router with eight MADI ports.
The 5.1 OB truck on duty is already equipped with 120 Lawo preamps and is generally supplemented with Optocore preamps. "The quality of the Optocore preamps is extremely high, and so it makes no difference to Radio France’s sound engineers whether they use Lawo or Optocore preamps, especially when Optocore gain and phantom can be controlled directly from the Lawo console,” says Gilles.
Laurent Fracchia, one of the sound directors at Radio France, realised the final sound mix for radio and TV. He had prepared a rescue mix of four stereo groups that was distributed in MADI in the Yamaha DM1000 as a back-up if necessary. The console was implemented on the Optocore network to manage TV commercials and wireless microphones for pre-show presentations, and was also used to broadcast the soundtrack of the fireworks.
(Jim Evans)
