Ross Production Services chooses Calrec for live productions

Ross Production Services (RPS), the production division of Ross Video, has recently acquired its fifth 96-channel Calrec Brio audio console, thus standardizing Calrec technology in its mobile units.

The new Brio is installed on an RPS six-camera mobile unit, which is part of the division's fleet of eight units. With this purchase, three of the UMs now have Calrec Brios, including their 12-meter 12-chamber units.

Matthew Webster, chief technology officer at RPS, says, "Our preference is, of course, to use Ross equipment first, and about 95 percent of the equipment in our units is from Ross, but audio is the exception. We are going to fully standardize on Calrec consoles in the future. There's no doubt that Calrec is the industry standard for audio quality, and that's something our team has lacked for a long time."

Last fall, RPS finished building a new study in Connecticut which has a Calrec Apollo with 72 faders and two more Brios. This facility is RPS' main production center and handles a variety of high-profile projects for esports, esports and live entertainment clients.

RPS produces between 150 and 200 events a year, including live sports and eSports. In addition to working for major US television and cable networks, RPS managed production of EA's Madden NFL 21 championship series from its Connecticut facility, putting the Brios and Apollo into use. The facility was completed during the pandemic and has four control rooms (A, B, C and D), with the majority of the Madden project work being handled by control room A.

Webster points out that Calrec Apollo y Brio shined when used in EA's Madden work due to their hyperconnectivity y a la facilidad con la que se pueden compartir los recursos. En lo que respecta a las unidades montadas sobre una Sprinter, el espacio era escaso y el pequeño factor de forma del Brio es ideal. También destacó la formación a distancia que Calrec proporcionó como muy beneficiosa y eficiente.

“Estamos utilizando la red Hydra2 de Calrec y la interfaz MADI for all our connections. With Hydra2, our consoles can be connected to any studio at any time and any feed can be controlled by any desk. Each of our control rooms has its own dedicated router and each router sends its MADI to a single I/O box. The only reason we're not using AoIP right now is because we're in a growth phase with Ross Production Services, and our MADI/Hydra2 setup is a great ecosystem for us right now. Our operators love it and it reduces their workload,” says Webster.

Rob Lewis, national technical sales director at Calrec, says: "Ross Production Services has built a great reputation with many high-end clients who have different production needs and it is imperative that they have market-leading audio on all outputs. It is very rewarding to see our Brio and Apollo consoles being used to their full potential."