2 replies to this topic

[Mojoe]

Not long ago I went to the fairfield at NMIT melbourne where the people from Digidesign where showing off the Venue system and the D-show Profile system. My thought went to Profile set I think becouse it was the cheapest of the two.



For around $50,000 the console was going for.

[img width=750 height=560]http://akmedia.digid...large_17134.jpg[/img]

Features

• Small footprint: 45.3” x 31.1” x 6.65” (1150 x 790 x 169 mm)
• Provides 24 input faders in a single, compact control surface
• Fully compatible with all VENUE I/O components, including Mix Rack, FOH Rack, and Stage Rack
• Employs the same D-Show® software as all VENUE systems for complete show file portability between systems (running D-Show 2.5 or higher software)
• Eight output faders, plus eight rotary output encoders, provide control of all group masters and/or plug-ins
• Dedicated dynamics and EQ encoders offer control of both onboard dynamics and EQs as well as plug-ins
• Features eight fully assignable function buttons for flexible control
• Eight GPI inputs and eight GPI outputs allow D-Show Profile to send or respond to simple switch closures

Info from the digi website.

When I saw the console My frist thought was it look great, well layed out, runs the same software eq-plug-ins as the HD rigs, you can get a mix up and running without having to know the layout of the software, and all those little extras when there are things such as power failure.

But under all the hype my head started thinking and I realised that that when you buy this desk you also have to but a separate HD interface to go with. So now the money start to add up.

You would think if your going to dishout all the cash $70,000 all up with HD interface, that this is a system that run on software and I think that if this is dependent on the software why not sell it with the software?

What do people think of this?
What is your thought?

MOJOE

[rhythmboy]

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When I saw the console My frist thought was it look great, well layed out, runs the same software eq-plug-ins as the HD rigs, you can get a mix up and running without having to know the layout of the software, and all those little extras when there are things such as power failure.

One of my favourite quirks of the new-gen digital consoles is the power-fail redundancy features. Bloody expensive but bloody fantastic.

So the Digidesign channels each have their own DSP chip so if the software in the desk crashes audio still plays through the outputs yes? You lose plugs temporarily but at least you still have a mix...

Do these consoles have the double power supply redundancy feature? I know the Digico D5 consoles they have the Melb Arts Centre have this, so if one power supply dies mid concert the second kicks in instantly and if the software crashes still delivers audio to the outputs while the software reboots.

[Anders]

Hey guys, though id answer a couple of questions.

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You would think if your going to dishout all the cash $70,000 all up with HD interface, that this is a system that run on software and I think that if this is dependent on the software why not sell it with the software?

You do not need to purchase a HD system if your not recording your show. All of the processing is done in the "Mix Rack" which is the brains of the operation. This mix rack is where all the i/o and processing takes place and is included in the 50K price tag.

If you want to record into a HD system during the show then yes, you need to buy a HD system to record onto. This is a pretty cool thing, recording 48 channels which can be picked off anywhere in the signal flow of VENUE is really cool. Picking off the signal directly after the pre-amps means that when you play that HD session back through the VENUE system you may as well have the band still onstage in front of you. Or you can be at the next gig doing a soundcheck while the band is still doing their hair! This feature is called "Virtual Soundcheck"

Also, you can record up to 16 channels into your laptop LE system if you don't have HD. you just plug the mix rack into your laptop via firewire and the mixrack is seen by Pro Tools LE as a 16 input interface. No need to lug your 003 and extra pres from gig to gig to record with.

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Do these consoles have the double power supply redundancy feature? I know the Digico D5 consoles they have the Melb Arts Centre have this, so if one power supply dies mid concert the second kicks in instantly and if the software crashes still delivers audio to the outputs while the software reboots.

YES 

Every part of the system which needs a power supply has a spare just incase. If one fails you get a little message appear on the screen and the show goes on!

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So the Digidesign channels each have their own DSP chip so if the software in the desk crashes audio still plays through the outputs yes? You lose plugs temporarily but at least you still have a mix...

Kind of... The "mix engine" is like a virtual mixer and this runs on the DSP chips (it only needs a couple of chips to run all the i/o). The faders, mute and solo all communicate directly with that virtual mixer. If the computer dies for some reason, that communication continues.

Plug-ins are also loaded onto the DSP as well as the routing to and from the virtual mixer so if the CPU dies, the plug-ins still function as normal and pass audio. The control over the plug-in parameters is bassed on a GUI which is run by the CPU, hence if the CPU crashes you cannot change the plug-in parameters. They still process the audio though. Once the CPU has restarted, the GUI take control again and you can change your plug-in settings.