MURFREESBORO, TN – Matt Manix, owner of Method Audio, a Tennessee-based audio company specializing in recording and producing live music for broadcast, is an early adopter of DirectOut’s PRODIGY.MC.
More details from DirectOut (www.directout.eu):
DirectOut is an industry leader in the field of audio conversion and the PRODIGY series is renowned for its stable and robust solutions for a variety of audio applications. The PRODIGY.MC is a modular audio converter and the device of choice for Matt Manix, owner of Method Audio, a Tennessee-based audio company specializing in recording and producing live music for broadcast.
Manix began his career with live bands, touring the world and noticed the prevalence of PRODIGY series products when interfacing with outside broadcast (OB) trucks. When he made the jump to broadcast sound himself, he really began to understand the versatility of the PRODIGY series, starting with the EXBOX.MD for MADI to Dante conversions and quickly purchased his own when the .MC was released.
“We were early to adopt the PRODIGY.MC,” Manix recalls. “To begin with we used it as a stage box really. Our .MC is loaded up with analog and we make use of the modules; we’ve got MADI, Dante and SoundGrid, everything you need to get things going, so it’s really useful. We also utilize the PRODIGY.MP, mostly in location recording situations or broadcast where we’re interfacing with other audio teams.”
Utilizing the modular design of the PRODIGY series allows users to benefit from a variety of different features, without having to purchase multiple units. The PRODIGY series is compatible with a full range of DirectOut cards, enabling the user to make multiple conversions, and also offers network audio with the RAVENNA module. Matt is used to high profile televised performances, producing the COPA America half time show with a performance from Shakira in Miami, The People’s Choice Country Music Awards, and working on the March Madness Music Festival. The bulk of the performances Manix produces are for broadcast in some form, either traditional broadcast media, web-streaming, promotion or a pre-record for use in a TV show.
“We really put the .MX through its paces during March Madness, that show is a big one!” Manix recalls. “The PRODIGY is always the backbone of a design for a largescale project, allowing us to interface with lots of different audio or video crews, I always have it on a show. It’s the kind of device that when it’s not there, it’s very obvious because I almost always reach for it.”
In situations where Manix has to work without a PRODIGY series tool, he can immediately tell the difference.
“Recently I worked on a show without producing it and the PRODIGY was not specified. From working with DirectOut solutions I kind of take it for granted that a given device can SRC (sample rate convert) when it says it can, but I found out the hard way that this is not always the case. So now, I’ve always got to have DirectOut products on a show, especially the PRODIGY series.”
It is not just the reliability of the hardware that is a bonus for companies like Manix’s Method Audio. The relationship with DirectOut is a true support system for him, even across multiple time-zones.
“I had rented a PRODIGY.MP to a client who then sub-let it to another company for a massive corporate show in North America,” he says. “The original company prepped everything and sent the equipment out, but once it got out into the field, the user realized they needed a different license package that wasn’t loaded up onto the device.”
PRODIGY series licenses are installed via license files, which are coupled with the device’s serial number. This miscommunication could have caused real difficulty for the event team. Getting the new license approved and installed quickly, with fit-up and rehearsals in progress, could have been stressful, especially with it being late in the day. Manix decided to try something a little different to support his client and put a message on Facebook.
“I got on Facebook messenger and contacted my friend at DirectOut. I asked if he could help me out, and he said absolutely! He was having Friday night dinner with his family at home, but he contacted the support department, asking them to assist. They sent me a teamviewer-link, which I forwarded to the client, and we were all sorted! Crisis averted at the 11th hour. It was beautiful!”
Knowing that the equipment is totally reliable, and help is there when needed, allows engineers to concentrate on what is important. For Manix, this is producing amazing content for broadcast across the world, the support is something that he really appreciates, as he concludes.
“If you need tech support, through their email or website, it’s just so fast,” he says. “The responses are always so detailed. I get screenshots rich with information, and they always have a device there. They’re running in the same manner you are, so they know exactly what you’re dealing with and can react very quickly. DirectOut is outstanding!”
