Berlin, Germany, July 2019… Stage Tec, the Berlin-based manufacturer of professional audio technology, is rejuvenating its mixing console product family and launching AVATUS, a fully IP-based console. The AVATUS product launch was celebrated with selected customers and partners in the legendary Funkhaus on Nalepastraße in Berlin.
With AVATUS – a new mixing console interface based on IP technology – Stage Tec is relying on a completely new operating concept. Unlike previous consoles, there is no need for a center control section. 12 color-coded faders, two 21″ multi-touch displays, and 48 dual concentric encoders per unit can be combined to form sizes ranging from 12 to 96 faders. Modular, decentralized, and yet freely configurable, users can access all parameters at any time.
The channel parameters’ color coding guides the user intuitively through the functions of the mixing console. On each multi-touch display, audio channels parameters can be controlled in a large detailed view and the monitoring functions or current status of audio channels can be called up. Visual feedback on a wide range of operator actions gives the user confidence and an overview of their work. With its new patented concept of color coding the faders, Stage Tec supports a fast workflow.
Thanks to removable metering displays and significantly reduced overall depth, AVATUS can also be used in smaller rooms and offers a clear view of what is happening on stage. With the remote control via an integrated browser application, the user has an additional tool, for example for setting up loudspeakers on or in front of the stage or to accompany the rehearsals directly from the auditorium. Via the RUI, the most important AVATUS parameters can be accessed with the same color coding.
A great advantage of AVATUS is that the audio signal processing has been tried and tested many times, because, as with AURUS and CRESCENDO, the RMDQ DSP core built into the NEXUS Star Router is also employed here. Embedded in the NEXUS network, AVATUS has access to all inputs and outputs and can manage all resources. 128 freely programmable summing buses and up to 800 DSP channels are available.
AVATUS is a logical evolution of Stage Tec’s existing mixing console technology and preserves proven concepts. It is an ideal compromise between the AURUS, which has proved its worth for many years, and a tablet. “The IP console is backwards compatible and enables even long-term customers to switch from older systems to AVATUS without sacrificing the proven audio quality,” explains Rene Harder, member of the Stage Tec management board and responsible for innovation management. “The flexible design of the interface without equipment restrictions enables us to enter new markets that were difficult for us to reach previously, such as small production facilities, studios and above all the live sector.”
The scaling of the user interface has no influence on the number of channels or the functionality. Like all other Stage Tec consoles, AVATUS is constantly evolving. In the latest release scene automation, Automixer and dynamic NEXUS labels have been implemented.
With the launch of AVATUS, Stage Tec once again proves its role as a visionary in audio mixing console and network technology. The IP networking of the modular surface, the intuitive touch operation and the virtual interface RUI bring further tangible benefits for the customer. AVATUS enables a completely new customization and is therefore of interest to every user in broadcast, theatre and live applications.
AVATUS is already in use in the Prowa 2 and UHD1 OB vans of Swiss service provider tpc switzerland ag. Over the next few weeks, the IP console will be installed at other long-standing customers such as the Volksbühne and the Konzerthaus in Berlin and the Staatstheater Mainz.
About Stage Tec
Stage Tec Entwicklungsgesellschaft für professionelle Audiotechnik GmbH (Research and Development Company for professional audio technology), based in Berlin, Germany, specializes in the development and manufacture of innovative audio equipment. Stage Tec has an international reputation as one of the leading pioneers in the transition from analog to digital audio technology. NEXUS® won the Technology and Engineering Emmy® Award in 2010 as “the finest, most versatile audio routing system available today”. Key products include the AURUS® direct access console (2002), the compact AURATUS® (2006) and CRESCENDO (2009) consoles for broadcast and theatre, and the ON AIR flex broadcast mixer (2014). The AVATUS IP-based console will be launched in 2019 and picks up on the trend towards IP networking in the audio industry. www.stagetec.com.
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