Leading provider of outside broadcast services NEP Ireland has standardised its five main OB vans on Calrec, following the purchase of two Calrec Artemis audio consoles – an Artemis Light and Artemis Beam for its Emerald and HD1 mobile production units, respectively.

Equipping the company’s OB fleet with Calrec consoles was a decision that made sense from several perspectives: ‘About four years ago we purchased an Artemis for one of our UK-based trucks, and since then we haven’t looked back,’ says OBSTV/NEP Ireland, Senior Audio Engineer, Rick Poster.

‘Calrec has a very large market share in the UK, and many of the freelancers we work with really weren’t familiar with our older consoles, but they knew Calrec. Plus, the company has moved forward quite strongly with the development of its Artemis console, and because we began using that product at the beginning of its lifecycle, we’ve been able to develop along with it and take advantage of better monitoring, including loudness monitoring, which is excellent. The I/O frames are easily configurable, and overall the Artemis is a great package for its size and price.’

NEP Ireland is also using Calrec’s Hydra2 networking capabilities to connect all of the OB units seamlessly. Poster highlights Hydra2’s ability to send audio over long distances using fibre-optic cable, and share those signals between each mobile truck. This reduces set-up time and the amount of temporary infrastructure that NEP needs to install within venues. Projects that NEP has used the Artemis for include Ireland’s Got Talent and the recent Bilbao Finals 2018 organised by European Professional Club Rugby.

Poster also commented on Calrec’s consistent and superb customer service. ‘From the day a desk arrives and throughout the service process, their technical support has been excellent. This obviously had a huge influence on our purchasing decision.’

‘One of the things we’ve learned over the years is that a combination of innovative and reliable consoles with a strong support system and quick set-up time is the key to keeping our customers happy,’ says Calrec International Sales Manager, Jim Green. ‘We’re pleased that NEP Ireland is harnessing the power of the Artemis console to keep its trucks modern and up to date.’

More: https://calrec.com