With millions of viewers tuning in to the fast-paced action of stock-car racing throughout the season, the United States’ largest sanctioning body of motor sports recently completed a major studio upgrade – placing a Calrec Audio Summa digital broadcast audio console at the centre of its audio.

‘Calrec’s reputation for sports coverage throughout the industry speaks volumes and made us the leading contender in their upgrade process,’ says Calrec Audio National Technical Sales Manager, Rob Lewis. ‘As the most relied-on brand in US sports, many A1s are already very familiar with mixing on Calrec consoles.’

Summa is designed for live broadcast applications with a focus on instinctive operation suited to the high-speed action of American car racing. Control is via a 17-inch multi-touchscreen inspired by familiar tablet technology, with a straightforward interface that uses established finger gestures to navigate the system. Bluefin2 technology gives Summa a pool of 180- or 128-channel processing paths, eight groups, four mains, 16 auxes and 32 tracks, ensuring that it captures all the action of action sports. Its Hydra2 core provides Summa with the same integral router technology as the Apollo and Artemis consoles, which are also popular in live broadcasting.

‘Another motivation for the Summa being chosen is for consistency and compatibility; other broadcast trucks that cover these racing events already have Calrec consoles installed,’ adds Lewis. ‘This helps to create an audio and operability consistency throughout the broadcast audio workflow chain, from the track to the studio. It has worked out incredibly well and the client is very happy.’

More: www.calrec.com