Part of the education and training enjoyed by students at the Leipzig University for Technology, Economy and Culture (HTWK), the Faculty of Media provides the opportunity to work with a Lawo mc²36 Audio Production Console.

The aim of the HTWK (Hochschule für Technik, Wirtschaft und Kultur Leipzig) is to enable students to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world productions, as part of a Media Technology bachelor programme designed to build cross-media competence in all aspects of media production.

The 24-fader mc²36 has an integrated Waves SoundGrid server, providing access to further real-time signal processing than the console’s internal DSP engine. This makes the complete Waves Plug-in Collection available to students –Reverbs, Multi-Tap-Delays, Graphic Equalizers and Multi-Band-Compressors are controlled directly from the console’s keyboard and touchscreen. All plug-in settings can be stored and recalled together with the console snapshots. As the mc²36 is natively equipped with Ravenna/AES67 technology, it can be seamlessly integrated into IP infrastructures.

‘The decision to use a Lawo mc²36 production console in our Video Studio was preceded by some long-term market research and evaluation,’ explains HTWK Leipzig Laboratory Engineer, Christian Birkner, who manages the Campus Studios. ‘Along with market acceptance, performance, flexibility and reliability were the key factors we considered while searching for a new mixing console. The large number of mc²36 installations, our findings during studio visits, and discussions with users showed that it met all requirements and fitted our concept and budget frame.’

The Lawo console handles all audio signals in the Video Studio, giving students the opportunity to learn and adapt not only the workflows of a practical digital production console, but also AoIP concepts. These are important considerations for the HTWK, where the understanding and experience of technologies carries an equally high value to the application of audio tools.

‘The console’s workflows can be easily comprehended,’ says Birkner. ‘This means that there is a short learning curve, particularly through combined operation via console and touchscreen – he intuitive setting of EQs. With this user-friendly operation, the students easily gain in-depth familiarity with a philosophy they can apply as media professionals.’

For extended connectivity, in addition to the mc²36’s local I/O, Birkner and his team have adopted an mc² Compact I/O stagebox. This provides an additional 32 mic/line inputs, 32 line outputs, eight digital AES3 inputs, eight digital AES3 outputs, eight GPIOs, one Ravenna port and one Madi Tie-Line port (SFP).

As part of the integration of the A/V studio, Birkner also installed a Lawo V__pro8 ‘toolbox’ for processing HD-SDI video, and embedding/de-embedding their accompanying audio. The video processor also offers high-quality format conversion and colour correction. Thanks to an 8x8 video matrix and a 384x384 audio matrix, every signal can be patched to any other signal. An advanced HTML5-based GUI allows easy operation in daily work.

‘By closely integrating theory and practice – specifically by using professional equipment – we achieve a comprehensive practice-orientated education and can keep the commitment of our students at a high level from start to finish of their studies,’ Birkner closes.

More: www.lawo.com