Brampton, Ontario, Canada… When corporate management of Rogers Communications– Canada’s largest wireless voice and data communications services provider–decided to upgrade their presentation space at the company‘s Brampton Park facility, they sought the expertise of Toronto-based Cinequip White Incorporated, a full service sales company serving the broadcast, theatrical, video, film, and architectural industries throughout Canada. To ensure the finest wireless microphone performance, along with flexible signal routing and DSP capability, the design team at Cinequip White selected several products from the Lectrosonics catalog.
Rogers Communications‘ Brampton facility is home to approximately 4,000 employees and is the one of the main hubs for the company‘s Canadian operations. Spread across 65 acres, the sprawling complex serves as the main network operations center in addition to being central to the corporation‘s management initiatives. The overhaul of the company‘s presentation space, which features a 177-seat theater and includes a full audio/visual setup encompassing high definition projection and video conferencing capability, was penned by Wayne Korhonen, Cinequip White‘s Field Service Project Coordinator.
The upgraded facility, which is used for demonstration, training, and corporate meetings, now includes wireless microphone channels, three remote PC inputs, a telephone codec interface for video conferencing, and support for full 7.1 surround sound. According to Korhonen, “This room is a state-of-the-art audio/visual conferencing facility, and in addition to the wireless microphones, there is quite a bit of supplemental equipment that required audio inputs. To accommodate everything, we needed to arrive at a 30-channel input configuration, so for this, we installed two Lectrosonics DM Series digital audio processors–the DM1612 and DM1624 digital automatic matrix mixers–bussed together.”
“This combined setup enabled us to address the telephone codec interface, provide equalization for the room, as well as managing the system‘s multiple audio inputs and output routing,” continued Korhonen. “To facilitate unattended operation, the entire setup is governed by a Crestron automated control system that enables and disables the various inputs for any given configuration in addition to controlling the room‘s overall volume level. Of equal significance, we have the input capacity in place to accommodate future expansion.”
In addition to the Lectrosonics DM Series mixers‘ ability to be interconnected, thus providing an easy way to expand channel capacity, Korhonen was equally impressed with the ease of programming them and their ability to handle all signal processing tasks. “All programming was handled via Lectrosonics LecNet2 software,” notes Korhonen. “The software provides an intuitive means of configuring all the mixer‘s inputs, output routing, and other parameters, along with monitoring channel activity.”
To facilitate freedom of movement while enabling presenters and others to have the best audio quality possible, Korhonen also specified Lectrosonics Digital Hybrid Wireless™ wireless microphones. Revolving around the Lectrosonics Venue Modular Receiver System, which is capable of six independent wireless mic channels, the Rogers presentation space is currently outfitted with four wireless microphones. The system is currently stocked with four VRS receiver modules, augmented by two Lectrosonics SNA600 dipole antenna kits with the ARG15 coax cables. Wireless mics include two Lectrosonics UT Series handheld transmitters outfitted with Lectrosonics VMC cardioid capsules and two Lectrosonics UM400a belt pack transmitters coupled with the Lectrosonics M152 lavaliere microphones.
Reflecting on Rogers‘ redesigned A/V system, which was placed into service this past September, Korhonen had nothing but praise for the Lectrosonics equipment. “I‘m extremely pleased with the system‘s performance,” says Korhonen, “and of even greater importance, so is Al Pais, Rogers‘ lead A/V technical specialist. The quality of the Venue‘s RF design is first-rate. With the system‘s pilot tone feature, the end user never has to be concerned about pops or clicking noises as they switch their wireless mics on or off. With the Venue system‘s expandable design, the client can easily add two additional wireless channels simply by adding two more modules. This, coupled with LecNet2‘s ease of programming the DM Series processors makes it entirely feasible to expand the audio system as their requirements evolve. For Rogers, scalability was important and the Lectrosonics equipment addresses this issue very nicely.”
About Lectrosonics
Well respected within the film, broadcast, and theater technical communities since 1971, Lectrosonics wireless microphone systems and audio processing products are used daily in mission-critical applications by audio engineers familiar with the company’s dedication to quality, customer service, and innovation. Lectrosonics is a US manufacturer based in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.
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