LONG BEACH, CA – Although it was less whimsical than the airborne contraptions flying off the pier at the Red Bull' Flugtag, the no-nonsense sound system used by On Stage Audio (OSA) did a better job at covering distance.
None of the contraptions at Long Beach managed to exceed the 207-foot Flugtag record set at a similar event in Minneapolis earlier in the year. But OSA was able to run audio and control data signals from the console to two parts of the pier 4,500 feet away.
Aided by the open-source IEEE 802.1 AVB bridging protocol for digital audio networking and HiQnet System Architect, OSA's control signal chain used four dbx SC 32 Digital Matrix Processors and 24 AVB-capable Crown CTs-3000 power amplifiers, plus a half-dozen network bridge switches from BSS Audio/NETGEAR.
OSA vice president Jim Risgin credited HiQnet for pin-pointing the equipment needed for the 105,000 people attending the event, allowing for better results with less technology. "The systems at Long Beach would have cost 10 times as much last year, in terms of hardware rentals and purchases," he said.
"AVB is the ultimate convergence of AV and IT," Risgin added. "We're able to use the much-less-expensive IT types of components, like terminations and the BSS Audio/NETGEAR switches we used here, rather than the more costly equipment made specifically for pro audio applications. We're leveraging the economies of scale of the IT industry."
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