04 l February 2013
www.psneurope.com news EUROPE
DiGiCo and Waves solve multi-DAW interop issue with Soundtracs DiGiGrid
The two companies reveal innovative results of collaboration at NAMM, writes Dave Robinson
DIGICO AND Waves Audio unveiled a collaborative innovation at NAMM 2013 under the Soundtracs brand name: DiGiGrid. This range of real-time, networked hardware and software processing solutions enables users of native DAWs, Pro Tools and MADI- enabled live and broadcast mixing consoles to access Waves SoundGrid audio networking and real-time plug-in processing with the network managed by either the Waves Multi-Rack or eMotion software mixer. “The DiGiGrid network technology platform is built on Waves’ robust and field proven Ethernet-based SoundGrid technology,” Simon Blackwood, DiGiCo business development director, told PSNEurope. “We’ve been using SoundGrid for over three years in our live sound product line where there’s no second chance.”
EUROPE
Sennheiser and DiGiCo first to support Pro Sound Awards launch
INTENT MEDIA is launching a new awards event celebrating excellence in Live/Touring, Studio, Broadcast and Installation audio, jointly- backed by leading pro-audio business titles PSNEurope, Installation, Audio Pro International and Audio Media, and supported by MI Pro and Music Week. Leading pro-audio brands Sennheiser and DiGiCo have already demonstrated their support of the Awards by signing up as headline sponsors, even before the event’s official launch. The Pro Sound Awards will be held on 19 September at the world-famous Ministry of Sound nightclub in London, with some 16 different accolades
The major new event will be held at Ministry of Sound in September
handed out during the evening. There will also be a complimentary drinks reception and post-awards party. Award categories are:
+ LIVE/TOURING SOUND l Engineer of the Year l Tour Sound Production l After Sales Service
+ STUDIO l Engineer of the Year l Recording Production of the Year
l Studio of the Year + INSTALLATION l Team of the Year l Permanent Installation Project of the Year
DiGiGrid includes SoundGrid
I/Os, Pro Tools-to-SoundGrid I/Os and MADI-to-SoundGrid I/O devices, which will all be marketed under the reintroduced Soundtracs banner. “Moving back to studio market with Soundtracs was always something we planned to do,” says James Gordon, DiGiCo’s managing director. “The challenge was developing products with the right technology that would offer something revolutionary.” “The DiGiGrid concept is immensely flexible and unbelievably powerful,” continues Blackwood. “At NAMM, we showed
workstations with ASIO and Core Audio DAWs on the same network, sharing I/O devices and networked Waves DSP server technology allowing users to experience real-time monitoring and processing by use of the eMotion mixer.
at 48kHz “straight into a laptop’s Ethernet port for later virtual soundcheck use or, of course, access the network for signal processing”, says Blackwood. The reluctance of Waves – the second biggest developer of DAW plug-ins behind Avid – to adopt Avid’s AAX DSP format (meaning Waves plug-ins will not take advantage of HDX DSP processing, but instead rely entirely on the host computer’s CPU for power) has proven a thorny issue for Pro Tools users. The DiGiGrid line provides a software and hardware solution to this conundrum, while explaining in part why Waves rejected AAX DSP development plans at an earlier time. DiGiGrid products will ship
in late Q2 of this year. In a further development,
Soundtracs/DiGiCo MD James Gordon (left) and Waves’ executive sales & marketing VP Mick Olesh reveal DiGiGrid,and the MADI-to-SoundGrid I/O devices at NAMM
“We also showed the Pro
Tools market the DLS (DiGiGrid Link Server) and DLI (DiGiGrid Link Interface) products set up on Pro Tools AAX and TDM workstations, allowing users to access Waves real-time monitoring and DSP server-based plug-in processing to complement Pro Tools TDM
or open the door for AAX systems to run non-native Waves processing with all the advances that the AAX format delivers.” The handheld, compact DiGiGrid MADI interfaces, which evolved from the successful UB MADI box released by DiGiCo last year, can track and playback 128 channels
l Temporary Installation Project of the Year Broadcast Audio
l Team of the Year l Broadcast Event of the Year l Facility of the Year + MARKETING INITIATIVE/ CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR
+ RISING STAR + LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
+ GRAND PRIX A six-week lobbying process will allow candidates to put forward their nominations with the list of finalists announced prior to the awards night. Sennheiser business
development Alan March remarked: “At Sennheiser we are constantly ‘In Pursuit Of Perfect Sound’, so it’s great to be associated with an event that honours great audio. We’re confident that the Pro Sound Awards will become an integral part of the audio industry’s calendar.” David Webster, marketing
director at DiGiCo, added: “DiGiCo has a reputation for being ahead of the game, so
Waves announced that the US pro-audio plug-in company Plugin Alliance has joined Waves Audio’s pioneering Virtual Stock Software Distribution (VSSD) fulfilment programme as an alternative means of product distribution. With DiGiGrid ,the eMotion mixer and access to a larger range of third party plug- ins, observers can only speculate as to what Waves has in store for the evolution of the DAW. n
www.digigrid.net www.digico.biz www.waves.com
we’re delighted that, along with our friends at Sennheiser UK, we are the first headline sponsors of the Pro Sound Awards.” “We want the Pro Sound
Awards to become a must-attend annual event – an evening that salutes an intensity of effort but accompanies it with the informality of a great night out,” said PSNEurope editor Dave Robinson. “Come and join us: we’re going to have fun, while the great and the good of pro audio will leave the Ministry of Sound triumphant.” Ronnie Dungan, managing editor of Audio Pro International, added: “There are plenty of product awards out there but few that celebrate the individual excellence of the people working in the many and varied areas of pro audio. These awards will reflect the hard work, skill and imagination of those people.” More details will follow next month. To talk about sponsorship opportunities, contact Nick Beck via
nick.beck@
intentmedia.co.uk or call him on +44 20 7354 6000. n
www.psneurope.com
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