Funded by The Arts Council, the new expandable DigiPage architecture was engineered by consultant Matt How's, to a conceptual design by Richard Noxell Sound Services, and replaces the previous system described by Theatre Studios Manager, Barbara Egervary, as "totally inadequate".
The Riverside is an expanding facility which today embraces two main performance studios, a cinema,TV studio and production galleries,rehearsal/workshop space,numerous offices and a large contemporary cafe/bar and terrace.
The complex has been divided into 16 zones on DigiPage, each of which has a dedicated local mic/line input, with six global inputs routable to any of the zones; these are currently used for show relay and COMs from the studios. The system features Alert, Evacuation, Bell and PreAnnounce Chimes, and Priority Ducking Circuitry.
At the Riverside, DigiPage provides a network link between three studio spaces (including TV and theatre) as well as the cinema (on another floor). The main DigiPage Microphone Station (with Master and Slave units) is situated at front-of-house, with three other paging stations set in strategic locations, and supported by 16 remote six-input DigiPage Wall Panels.
Powered by four Australian Monitor AIMS 480P amplifiers, the signal feeds out to 32 Australian Monitor Install 10 loudspeakers, positioned in the key zones, including dressing rooms, restaurants and corridors,along with four weatherised CS210W speakers out on the terrace at therear.
(Jim Evans)
