Responding to the surge in demand for live streaming services prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic, Swedish production company QTech has launched a new streaming division – QTech Live.
On the day following Sweden imposed restrictions on live performances in March, founder Timmy Qvarnström and CEO, Kevin Qvarnström began the transformation of the QTech warehouse near Gothenburg into a dedicated streaming facility. Although the company already possessed most of the equipment required for the venture, it lacked a mixing system with the versatility and ease of use to handle tight set-up times and a diverse programme of interviews, presentations and performances across three separate studio spaces.
In a move that typifies the community spirit shown by the professional audio world during the pandemic, long-time friend, Arnold Lindberg of Sound Industry Gbg AG offered to loan QTech his Allen & Heath dLive system, preferring to see it put to good use while touring is on hold. Lindberg has extensive experience with dLive, including a 2019 international tour with Swedish nu metallers, Lok, and was able to help QTech head of sound, Jesper Sirenius, to quickly master the new set-up. Lindberg’s dLive system centres on a DM64 MixRack controlled by an S7000 surface, with an IP8 remote controller providing an extra eight faders for managing FX returns. A Waves 3 card fitted in the S7000 enables access to a Waves Mobile Server for additional plug-ins.
‘I had never worked on an A&H mixer before, but with about an hour crash course with Arnold I was up and running,’ Sirenius recalls. ‘The dLive has been the perfect tool for our live stream set-up. With new bands and shows every day the switching between different setups is as easy as it gets. The drag and drop feature of the channels on the surface is one of the things that has made it super easy and quick to get the set-up of the day up and running within a minute.’
QTech Live is growing rapidly, streaming talk shows and sports events, as well as live shows by artists including Troublemakers, Attentat and Jävlaranamma, plus launch parties and interviews with bands.
