A recent upgrade of the technical capabilities at the Finley Stadium/Citizens Bank Field press box and connected facilities at Campbellsville University (in Campbellsville, KY) saw AVL consulting and installation firm JCA Media implement an an Allen & Heath dLive CDM32 MixRack, a dLive C1500 surface and a numerous remote control options in the midst of more than nine miles of combined AV cabling.
“While it is a large building, it is primarily a football system with a few open mics needed for the main PA,” notes Alex Peake, project manager for JCA Media, which is based in Louisville. “The PA mix comes from an Allen & Heath IP8 Remote Control, an 11 and a 1/2-inch wide motorized eight-fader remote that works with the dLive system. The main PA operator just wanted quick level control for the stadium announcer mic, ref’s mic, and music, a sidecar sort of functionality which the IP8 handles with ease.
“A dLive C1500 control surface lives in the broadcast room where the crew can quickly tweak EQs and compression for the broadcast mix to be a little more hands-on there. It’s really cool just how flexible dLive is when it comes to both control and I/O options, especially since there are two broadcast rooms, a classroom on the second floor, and the President’s Suite on the third floor that all have I/O requirements as well. We used DX168 remote I/O units in each location that flow in and out of the CDM32 to give me the needed connectivity in those rooms. Audio control in each of the spaces is handled by wall mounted IP1s or the more tactile IP8s.
“These IP1 and IP8 units are so powerful,” Peake adds. “They are a quick way to give control of a dLive or Avantis or even an AHM. We connected them via a standard TCP/IP network connection and easily interface with other controllers and computers—all on a standard ethernet infrastructure. Campbellsville has an IP8 in front of the Play-by-play operators. Layer A is the monitor mix for Play-by-play 1 while Layer B lets Play-by-play 2 adjust their monitor mix. This is a pretty cool application with two of the six IP8 fader layers used as a monitor mixer for multiple folks.”
dLive Director is also in use across any zone in the venue that requires audio control. From exterior tailgating zones and over to the press box and various interior zones, access points for dLive Director offer audio control where needed. A multi-platform editor and control software for dLive, dLive Director allows for system configuration offline before the event begins and control of the mix live using a Mac or PC laptop or touch tablet. “If someone doesn’t have quick access to the dLive C1500 in the broadcast room,” Peake notes, “they can pull it up right where they are on their Mac and run what they need to. Pretty much wherever we have a screen, we’ve got access to Director, and therefore access to the dLive.”
