Avid S3L delivers for ESPN

Ben Davis, project manager for AV systems integrator Sound Image, chose the Avid S3L System to handle an Arizona State University Sun Devils vs. Stanford Pac-12 American football game to be televised on ESPN.

“The requirements for a standard [Sun Devils] game aren’t that demanding,” Davis explains, “but for the nationally-televised Stanford game, I knew that I was going to need something much more flexible and agile. We’re in such a small control room that a standard large-format console just wouldn’t fit, so when I started thinking about what kind of console I needed to facilitate all of the inputs, outputs, and the matrixing, it immediately popped into my head that this would be perfect for the S3L. The horsepower that it delivers in such a small footprint is ridiculous – unlike anything else on the market.” Preparing for the show, Davis had to contend with managing 32 channels of audio coming in from a variety of sources. He sent 16 channels to multiple destinations, including ESPN, KPR Radio, Stanford Radio, and paper press, as well as providing various announcers and performers with in-ear mixes.

“I originally thought that 16 inputs should get me by, but as the week progressed, the Pac-12 started adding elements like separate sends for all the playback devices, the pre-game show got more intricate with live talent, and ESPN was going to do all the starting lineup packages from the remote TV truck. My channel count easily doubled in three days, and I was making patch changes within half an hour of the beginning of the show!”

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