HARMAN's Soundcraft Introduces ViSi Remote 2.0 With New Features for Si Expression, Si Performer and Si Compact Digital Audio Consoles

POTTERS BAR, United Kingdom – HARMAN’s Soundcraft is announcing Version 2.0 of its tremendously successful ViSi Remote iPad app, which allows remote control of Soundcraft Vi, Si Compact, Si Performer and Si Expression mixing consoles wirelessly from an iPad device. ViSi Remote 2.0 requires no additional hardware other than a wireless access router connected to the HARMAN HiQnet® Ethernet port of the console. With ViSi Remote 2.0, engineers are free to roam the venue and adjust mixes and other audio parameters directly from an iPad.

With 2.0 comes the ability for Si Compact, Performer and Expression users to adjust channel strip settings per channel including settings such as Gate, Compressor and EQ along with Pan, LR/Mono routing and phase invert switches. This functionality will be added to Vi consoles in a future update.

Soundcraft ViSi Remote 2.0 provides a variety of benefits for engineers including: optimize the front of house mix from anywhere in the room; adjust monitor levels while standing next to the artist; adjust channel strip settings remote from the console; extend the fader count of an existing control surface; use in standalone mode for familiarization with console functions; control a network of consoles (e.g. FOH and Monitor); provide a separate surface for DMX functionality (Si Performer only); and allow multiple users on the same console to control their own mixes.

App Store, Apple, iPad and iTunes are trademarks of Apple, Inc., registered in the U.K. and other countries.

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets – supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of 14,600 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia and reported sales of $4.5 billion for the last twelve months ended September 30, 2013.

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ARC Sound Works Its Magic As Shakespeare’s Globe Takes Full Production For First Time Ever with HARMAN’s Soundcraft Vi Consoles

LONDON, England – Over the years, London based live production company ARC Sound has produced many corporate functions in the Underglobe, the events space situated beneath London’s famous Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. But since the reconstruction in wood of the original Elizabethan playhouse on the Thames South Bank, a full production set up has never been allowed, or indeed attempted, in the main theatre space itself.

However, all that has now changed. To celebrate the Bard’s birthday this month, a concert audio production set-up was allowed into the 1500-capacity space for the first time. As James Dougill’s company has a long standing contractor relationship with the venue, they were asked to plan and produce a working solution which would meet both the technical requirements of the performances, whilst also being sympathetic to the unique nature of the building.

Billed as ‘an evening of music and magic’ ARC Sound dipped into their extensive inventory, and deployed a JBL VerTec line source array loudspeaker system and Soundcraft Vi series digital mixing consoles as the key sound reinforcement components.

“This production was unique, as The Globe hasn't allowed anything this ambitious to take place previously,” confirmed Dougill. “I am certain eyebrows were raised initially when all these flight cases started appearing in a venue made entirely out of wood. But the fact we were able to achieve this without creating any noise pollution was down to the detailed pre-production planning we undertook before the event.”

They also ensured that the main loudspeaker system complied with the maximum weight load of no more than a ¼-tonne to the oak beams in the theatre’s ceiling.

Headlining were The Magic Numbers, supported by singer songwriter Johnny Flynn, along with magicians Barry and Stuart, Piff The Magic Dragon and Chris Cox. With the exception of the Magic Numbers all other performances took place on an oval thrust, which was in front of the main loudspeaker array hangs.

For the main PA, ARC Sound suspended two symmetrical hangs of six JBL VERTEC® VT4887A compact line array elements, with two pairs of JBL VT4880A subs recessed under the stage apron. Each driver was individually addressed to provide alignment delay in a mini-cardioid configuration. Added to this were two fill clusters, each comprising three JBL VRX928LA Constant Curvature loudspeakers.

The ARC Sound director explained the rationale behind the design. “Although the throw distance was quite small, the coverage we required was steep—and since we were unable to suspend any further weight from the theatre ceiling, we opted for sharply angling back the VRX clusters. The key criteria here was the vertical coverage required to distribute sound evenly from the downstage edge right up to the third tiered balcony.”

The system was set up using a combination of the VERTEC LAC2 (JBL’s dedicated line array calculator) and Smaart field analysis, coupled with the company’s own extensive experience of deploying and using the products.

With a thatched open roof, James Dougill was mindful of the potential hazards of sound spill encroaching onto the Thames. “I wanted to get the boxes up into the air, focussed downwards, rather than on the ground pointing up,” he said. “Monitoring the volume during the show was more a question of using common sense than the SPL metering and LAeq measurement equipment we’d set up.”

At front of house ARC Sound fielded their Soundcraft Vi4, with 64-channel software upgrade, while down at the stage Raghav Narula was responsible for all of the onstage monitor mixes (also operating at near 64-channel capacity on one of the company’s Soundcraft Vi1 consoles).

James Dougill mixed the house sound, before creating a generic FOH set up (and an external rack of FX) for The Magic Numbers’ sound engineer Max Bisgrove — but instead, Max preferred to use all the desk’s internal reverbs and FX.

Summing up, Dougill said the quality of the amplified sound could hardly have been better. “The full range of VERTEC and VRX loudspeakers we stock gives us a very broad tool set to work with, and can be consistently relied upon to deliver. Their profile was ideally suited to this application, and if the glowing comments we’ve received about the sound quality are anything to go by, we got it right.

“It was a huge privilege to have been involved in this project — and The Globe were so delighted they are already talking about the next event.”

JBL and Soundcraft products were originally supplied to ARC Sound by HARMAN's UK distributor, Sound Technology Ltd.

HARMAN (www.HARMAN.com) designs, manufactures, and markets a wide range of audio, lighting and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer, and professional markets. It is a recognized world leader across its customer segments with premium brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, and Mark Levinson®, and leading-edge connectivity, safety and audio technologies. The company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with Harman audio and infotainment systems. Harman has a workforce of about 14,300 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia and reported sales of $4.4 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012.

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HARMAN’s Soundcraft Unveils Vi Version 4.8 Software for Vi2, Vi4 and Vi6 Consoles

FRANKFURT, Germany — HARMAN’s Soundcraft has announced a substantial new software update for Vi2, 4 and 6 consoles. The result of wide-ranging market feedback, Version 4.8 software contains a number of significant new features, with stage monitor applications in particular set to benefit most from the update. Vi1 users also benefit from some of the new features, using the same update file, downloadable free of charge from the Soundcraft website (DSP card upgrade may be required).

The most significant of the new features is the upgrade of the bussing system on Vi2, 4 and 6 to allow all 32 of the console’s mix busses to work in stereo mode when required - without stealing any other busses - to allow use as in-ear mixes. This doubles the stereo mix capability of the Vi2, 4 and 6 consoles (the number of mono mixes remains at 32) and puts it into a market-leading position in bussing capability.

Also of benefit to Monitor engineers; a new source selection switch has been implemented that allows each individual aux or group bus send from channels to be sourced from 4 different points in the signal path – post-fade, post-EQ & Dynamics, pre-Dynamics but post-EQ, and pre-EQ & Dynamics (existing software only allows the first two of these points to be selected). This gives great flexibility for creating monitor mixes for vocalists who do not want compression on their own mix, without the need to Y-split channels, and also allows more convenient operation when doing monitors from front-of-house in installed applications. In adding the new stereo bus upgrade, attention has been paid to Show compatibility, ensuring sensible behaviour when importing old shows into the new format, or even when importing a new format show back to a pre-4.8 console.

In order to benefit from the new audio features, Vi2, 4 and 6 consoles must have at least 3 DSP cards fitted to the Local Rack. Consoles with only 2 DSP cards fitted will require the purchase of a third DSP card in order to benefit from the new audio features and in this case will need to choose using an ‘Expansion Mode’ switch between 96 inputs and the old bussing system, or 64 inputs with the new bussing system. In order to have both 96 inputs and the new audio features a 4^th DSP card  will need to be purchased.

Vi1 consoles will not receive the ‘All Busses can be mono or stereo’ feature, pre-fade Aux send options or post-fade insert point features, due to DSP restrictions.

Yet another boost for monitor applications is a significant improvement to the Aux VCA functionality. This feature, which allows the VCA Master faders to control the aux sends of their member channels only for the currently selected monitor mix when the mix is on the faders, has now been made switchable on a per-VCA basis to allow the VCA to remain as the global channel VCA at all times if required. When a VCA is operating in Aux-VCA mode, a new ‘white/blue’ FaderGlow colour clearly indicates this. Monitor engineers can now retain control of important global elements such as ambient mics whilst having a monitor mix selected and adjusting groups of sources within the current mix using the Aux-VCAs.

Of primary interest to corporate sound engineers, a new post-fade option for the channel insert point has been added, making it possible to work more effectively with inserted automixer units such as the popular Dugan units.

The features described above use a significant amount of DSP resources, and are consequently only available on Vi2, 4 and 6 consoles that are fitted with 3 or 4 DSP cards. While these features are not available on Vi1 consoles, there are other new features within the 4.8 update that benefit Vi1 as well as the other consoles, such as those following.

For Front-of House applications, a much requested improvement is the addition of Stereo capability for Matrix busses. On Vi1 and Vi2, 4 and 6 consoles with only 2-DSP cards, this feature allows Mono Matrix busses to be linked into stereo mode, giving a maximum of 4 stereo Matrix on Vi1 and 8 on Vi2, 4 and 6. On Vi2, 4, and 6 with 3 or 4 DSP cards, it is now possible to have up to 16 Stereo Matrix busses, using the new ‘all busses can be mono or stereo’ feature.

A new Contribution Pan function allows each of the Matrix contribution signals, selectable from a multitude of sources including channel direct outs, bus and master outs and direct I/O patches, to be positioned within the Matrix bus’s stereo field.

Also for Vi1 consoles, V4.8 software allows increased flexibility of the Local I/O configuration, so for example one of the line out modules may be exchanged for a third Mic/line input module, giving a total of 48 mic ins and 16 line outs on the back of the console.

For all Vi consoles, it is now possible to select a bus mix as the external key input source for the Gate/Ducker on input channels. This allows more flexibility particularly when using the ducker to control ambient mics for a recording or in-ear monitor mix.

Finally, for all Vi consoles, a new coloured background can be chosen for the on-screen channel, bus and VCA label displays, making it possible to organise groups of sources by colour coding. The colour is chosen from within the on-screen qwerty keyboard, as part of the labelling workflow.

Along with the usual complement of bug fixes, the V4.8 software update represents the most significant uplift to the Vi-Series feature set for some time, and is available free of charge* from the Vi product pages of the Soundcraft web site. The Virtual Vi Offline Editor is also updated with the new features.

The new software is in final beta-testing, and is expected to be released by the end of May.

HARMAN (www.HARMAN.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets — supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.4 billion for the twelve months ending June 30, 2012.

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