Calrec adapts to a new era with Argo, new at IBC 2022

IBC 2022 has hosted the presentation of the new Argo consoles from Calrec, an audio mixing system with a modular, flexible and delocalized philosophy.

Argo, the new modular solution with interchangeable hardware panels, use the user interface Assist of Calrec at its core. This means that whether you are working on physical hardware panels or in a remote GUI, the user interface will be the same as usual for Calrec users. The system of modular panels seeks to encourage broadcasters to adapt surface hardware to meet your requirements, with two rows of interchangeable mid-level panels on the Argo Q model, larger, and a mid-level row in the compact model Argo S. Calrec has also introduced a complete user template system to instantly change the hardware user interface to meet changing requirements or user preferences.

Calrec's latest solution is built around an expanded version of the popular Calrec ImPulse IP Core, which can be located anywhere since the location of the control surface is not tied to the processing core. Argo can feed up to four independent mixing environments, including headless mixers accessed over the Internet, and each mixer can access more than 2,350 processing routes in a single console, providing enough power to address immersive mixing and NGA demands.

Argo's physical control surface is also more agile, as it uses optically bonded touch screens to provide greater visual response and access speed. Soft panels provide a richer user experience and hardware panels allow users to build definable functions and apply them as templates, helping operators move around the surface more quickly and making it more intuitive. Additionally, Argo panels are Interchangeable and can be placed where needed.

Argo: a redundant and versatile system

Like all Calrec consoles, Argo is based on the Calrec specific surface redundancy. All control elements can be duplicated so that an operator can use any panel to access inputs and controls, while the functionality of fader movement adds more protection. When combined with standard redundant hardware, Argo provides SMTPE packet fusion along with a second layer of hardware redundancy to ensure broadcast uptime. On the other hand, Argo includes optional AoIP I/O modules that can be installed directly on the control surface, with a variety of I/O options. They can be installed in all console sections to provide the operator with a variety of input options, streamline cabling and save space in external racks.

With the increase in content that and the stations that add value to productions with NGA output formats increasingly complex, Argo provides tools to make everything easier to organize and manage. Multichannel sources can be controlled on a single fader but spill over more faders for finer control; Argo allows spill faders to be placed anywhere on the control surface, on any layer and in any position to free up space and make the workspace more adaptable to individual needs.

Argo, in short, responds to the new needs of the sector with these and many other features: key and ducker inputs; full eq and dynamics on auxes and tracks; flexible spill; user-configurable colors for faders; control links; insertions in auxiliaries; variable slopes on the EQ and filter racks; flexible panel layouts (wilds); enlarged DSP engine providing 2496 channels in a single console, and physical flexibility of up to eight sections to provide up to 96 faders. Several sections can also be combined or diversified geographically, while the ImPulse core Enhanced provides enough power to handle up to four Argo mixing environments on a single IP core.