Calrec Audio’s new Brio console has made its broadcast debut a whole week before its official launch, with Video Europe using it for live coverage of the season-opening match between English Football League Championship clubs Nottingham Forest and Burton Albion.

Video Europe, a London-based film and broadcast production company, chose the Brio for an audio console upgrade on OB5, its eight-camera HD OB truck. Built by broadcast systems integrator and equipment supplier WTS, OB5 has the smaller footprint required for central London productions such as film premieres, as well as Championship football and Welsh Premier League rugby matches.

"We were absolutely bowled over by Brio. It’s a fantastic product: compact, yet very robust and intuitive," said Video Europe sound supervisor Pete Leutner. "Brio fits perfectly into a medium-sized truck like OB5, where space is at a premium, but at the same time it delivers all of the functionality we need to handle very complex programmes."

"The Brio console was replacing an older existing mixer, so the close coordination with Calrec, plus the early delivery of the unit to WTS, was a huge benefit in allowing us to install and integrate it seamlessly in time for Video Europe’s job," noted Andy Morris, systems supervisor at WTS. "The initial configuration of the console was simple due to the large touch screen and intuitive and familiar user interface.

"We have always found Calrec products to be very reliable, with features and options designed to make integration straightforward. Brio appears to have the same qualities, making it a great fit for future projects of this size."

The Brio, which was revealed at the 2016 NAB Show in April, was pressed into service for the Nottingham Forest/Burton Albion match within a week of Video Europe’s receiving the desk, and with only a few hours available for crew training. Despite this, according to Leutner, the broadcast went off without a hitch.

"Brio has the same logic as Calrec’s bigger Summa desk, so it has a familiar feel which allowed us to get into our comfort zone quickly,” Leutner stated. “Brio not only has the full functionality we’ve come to expect from Calrec, but it’s extremely fast and easy to configure for routing, EQ, dynamics, and all of the other important sound functions we need."

"Brio provides something unique in its category — a mixing console completely focused on the needs of broadcasters and broadcast infrastructures,” added Calrec Vice President of Sales Dave Letson.

Calrec will showcase Brio at IBC2016 on stand 8.C61s along with some of its other new product innovations.

http://calrec.com/