One of the questions I am asked on a regular basis is, “What’s the difference between a broadcast audio console and a regular live sound console?” On a basic level, of course, both types take a bunch of inputs and let you create a variety of different mixes with them.
It may not be surprising, then, that sometimes one “type” of console can function just fine in a different role. For example, in most cases, a church creating a live stream or even actually broadcasting on television may not need all the extra capabilities found in a broadcast desk, but it’s still worth understanding the differences in order to make an educated decision. Here’s what you need to know.
Need for speed
First off, broadcast consoles are built for speed. In live television, the operator must be able to quickly respond to things happening on dozens, even hundreds, of channels. It is paramount, then, that every control be quickly accessible without requiring a lot of menus and layers. Fader layers are a part of the equation, too, but you’ll often see rather large console surfaces (even in broadcast trucks where space is at a premium) so that many faders are available at once. There are no second takes when you’re live, so getting to what you need--quickly and with muscle memory--is essential.
Broadcast audio engineers often must set up new channels or create audio routes very quickly to react to changing needs. They may also be asked to set up special mixes rapidly for on-air talent. These mixes, known as an Interruptible Foldback (IFB) feed, give the on-air talent a specialized form of in-ear mix. The mix will carry all of the program audio except the talent’s own mic (and thus it is known as a mix-minus bus). The producer or director may also speak into the talent’s earpiece directly, thus “interrupting” their mix, to feed instructions. Broadcast consoles make it very easy to create mix-minus feeds to IFBs quickly, but that would usually take some time (and quite possibly some planning ahead) to do that efficiently on a standard mixing console.
Calrec's Apollo Console adheres to the principle that an audio console for live on-air use has to be both reliable and easy to operate. The Apollo provides redundant hardware for all critical systems, and takeover is automatic and seamless. Hot spares mirror primary hardware and, in the rare event of failure, automatically take over with no disruption to the audio. This intelligent system covers DSP modules, control processor modules, router modules and all PSUs.
Is redundancy required?
You’ll also find a heavy emphasis on redundancy in any major broadcast product, and audio consoles are no exception. In addition to having dual power supplies for everything, there are usually two cores, which are the brains that actually do the mixing and processing functions. Typically, if one core fails, the other takes over instantly with no loss of audio. This emphasis on redundancy will usually carry through the rest of the system, as well, including the control surface (the part that actually looks like a mixer).
Trinity Broadcast Network recently purchased a Studer Vista V digital mixing system for its California headquarters. The new Vista V harnesses Quad Star Technology, which uses four processors to achieve major levels of redundancy in the control surface, delivering a powerful and dependable broadcast audio mixing solution in a compact form factor.
On the other hand, broadcast consoles don’t typically put as much emphasis on processing functions, such as internal effects engines or integration with external processing systems. They also don’t usually support a simple virtual sound check function like many modern production desks do. You’ll have plenty of routing capability to make all that stuff happen, but it’s up to you to have the external products and set up the signal flow. This may take up a lot of time and planning ahead, whereas it is often much simpler to get these functions running on a modern standard live console.
So far, we’ve established that this class of mixing desk is built for operator speed, handles large I/O counts, and is usually highly reliable and redundant. When, then, does it make sense for a church to have a proper broadcast audio console, and can a regular console do the trick?
Perfectly suited for FOH, monitor, and dual-role church sound applications, Digico's SD12 digital mixing console packs power and versatility into a compact footprint. Featuring 72 input channels, 36 aux/group busses, a 12x8 matrix, and LR/LCR buss - all with full processing. The SD12 is equipped with two 15-inch touchscreens for clear and intuitive navigation, plus a wide range of advanced connectivity options via available DMI cards.
Console choices
If you’re managing a reasonable number of inputs (let’s say under 100) and just need to make a great mix for live streaming, it’s likely that a traditional mixing console (something normally suitable for FOH or monitors) will do the trick for your broadcast function as well. This is what most churches seem to do, and I think that’s a reasonable approach. It may also make it easier to train volunteer mixers by using virtual sound check to let them hone their skills. And if all the consoles are in the same family, it is usually quite easy to share inputs among all the desks. However, if redundancy is high up on your list of criteria (keeping in mind that a live stream is a type of broadcast and not really any different than live television), a modest broadcast console is probably worth considering. Some of the major brands are Calrec, Studer, Lawo and SSL, and they’re often not nearly as expensive as you’d think.
The L550 brings SSL Studio-grade mic pre's to the stage, outstanding audio conversion, 96kHz operation and excellent summing. A deceptively simple ergonomic design combines multi-touchscreen control with assignable hardware controls, the use of color coding, and open architecture that lets operators configure the console layout to suit their own way of working.
Lakewood Church currently employs the Euphonix System 5 in its two broadcast audio suites (Euphonix was purchased by Avid several years ago) to take advantage of high channel counts and redundancy. In other words, we treated those rooms like you would a typical television broadcast facility. However, for many years, FOH and monitors also included Euphonix broadcast consoles for the same reasons. At the time of purchase, around 2004, there wasn’t a regular console available that had the I/O count and routing flexibility that a broadcast desk could offer (and Lakewood tends to use a lot of channels). Even when upgrading FOH and monitors in 2014, it still made sense to put broadcast consoles in those positions to take advantage of the added flexibility and operator speed. Hence, the Lakewood tech crew reports that it chose Studer Vista X systems and has been pleased with the choice.
Yamaha CL series consoles are designed to deliver pure, natural sound and a comprehensive range of "coloring" options that give the sonic craftsmen who use them the utmost creative freedom. The signal processors provided are plentiful, including Portico 5033/5043 EQ and compressor devices that bring Yamaha VCM technology together with the talents of Rupert Neve.
The takeaway
The takeaway from all of this is that the line between production consoles and broadcast consoles is somewhat blurry. Both types are equally capable of producing great mixes, and both come in a range of sizes and capacities. Research all of your options and demo the ones that seem like a reasonable fit--you may be surprised at what makes sense for you in the end.
