Comprising a main control room, two edit rooms and a live room, the Sony facility has been equipped with an under-floor digital network by VDC, linking the edit and control rooms. This allows the music, sound effects and football commentary signals for Sony PlayStation games to be networked, with all the rooms able to communicate via the patchbay.
VDC specified their flagship Van Damme OFC pre-jacketed Blue Series multicore and splits in 2-pair, 4-pair, 8-pair, 16-pair, 24-pair, 32-pair and 40-pair cores, with multi-pin connectors. The Blue Series is designed for up to 48 balanced lines - giving, for example 40 sends and eight returns in a single multicore.
Sony audio manager, Dave Raynard said: "We got in touch with VDC when we were moving to these premises on the recommendation of Gearbox. The studio was fitted out by Studio Acoustics, who used standard computer flooring, which meant we could retro-fit the cabling."He added that VDC had become involved with Sony Computer Entertainment early in the project. "They showed a willingness to adapt as the specification changed and always dealt with any problems instantly. They spent a minimum amount of time on site, yet have created ultimate flexibility, enabling us to send data between the different rooms simultaneously. Via the patch bays we can also plug sound modules from other rooms into the main room."
(Lee Baldock)
