Lawo leads with ACE in Prague.

New OBV with mc²56 debuts at the Nordic Skiing World Championships.

In the capital of the Czech Republic, leading outside broadcast service providers ACE Prague have specified a Lawo mc²56 console for their newest OB vehicle, a 12-ton High Definition TV truck called ACE 06.

The new vehicle is expected to debut on the 2009 Nordic Skiing World Championships which are being held in Liberec (18 February – 1 March).  As the world’s best and most experienced skiers compete in cross-country and ski jumping, ACE Prague will handle the broadcast coverage of the ski jumping events for host broadcaster Czech TV.  It is an important assignment as, for the first time, women are able to compete for ski-jump World Championship titles. 

ACE 06 is the company’s first HD vehicle, joining a fleet of seven OB trucks which cover a variety of projects from large sports and entertainment events to smaller indoor sporting competitions. Although it has a selection of digital audio consoles in the fleet, this is the first time that ACE Prague has chosen the mc²56. The project was carried out by Lawo’s Czech partner MediaTech as main contractor.

The 16+16 frame console is fitted with two DSP cards, providing 96 DSP channels, and two DALLIS I/O frames, one in the truck, the other used as a stagebox.  The DALLIS modular I/O system can be loaded with any combination of mic/line, AES, serial or SDI interface boards, up to 80 I/O per system, so this configuration offers an exceptional combination of capacity and flexibility.

The ability of the Lawo mc²56 to interface seamlessly with other technologies in the vehicle was a decisive factor for ACE Prague.  Lawo’s NovaConnect matrix control is used to integrate the audio production into the OBV’s Jupiter control system and with the on-board Riedel intercom.

Other persuasive features include the new MKII routing matrix, which provides an impressive 8000 crosspoints.  As it is integrated in the HD core of the mc²56, no additional router is required, saving money for the customer.  The mc²56, with its Audio-Follow-Video capability, allows up to 128 events to be controlled via Ethernet or GPI, bringing the excitement and atmosphere of competition directly to the TV viewer.  In a further stage of equipping, ACE Prague is likely to add full VST plugin integration with Dolby E, enabling storage of plugin parameters in snapshots and productions.