By Matthew Hock, Chief Engineer,
Delta College Public Media
WDCQ has been using Logitek products for almost five years. We started when we upgraded our radio studios to a Mosaic/JetStream Mini installation in 2016, and we have just completed a TV studio change to Logitek’s mixIT-18 and JET67.
Our original Mosaic installation was a long process as we were changing an all-analog studio to AoIP. Lots of old wiring was removed for that one as it just wasn’t needed anymore. But, a studio is never really finished; new equipment comes on-line or there needs to be a change to incorporate a different workflow… it’s always changing. The Logitek equipment makes it easy to adapt to changing conditions.
When our old TV studio mixer was beginning to fail, we knew that was something we didn’t want happening while we were live on-air. I contacted John Davis at Logitek, who recommended the mixIT-18 / JET67 combination. We weighed our options and decided it was a good fit. The fact that we were familiar with JetStream Server was a huge bonus; it helps us understand how Logitek approaches audio routing. We also wanted something that would talk to both Livewire and AES67, and the JET67 does this.
Audio networking is a big deal here and Delta College Public Media has a pretty robust network for such a small station. When a new device is placed on line, whether for radio or TV, the port on the switch gets configured for our AoIP VLAN. We then test it to make sure that the switch is configured correctly by looking for dropped packets and audio issues. Delta College Public Media began building its AoIP network with some simple X-nodes, then the Mosaics came on line, then our NPR satellite receivers, then the Logitek JET67 and a Ross Iggy to bridge between our TV and Radio operations. Once everything is configured correctly, it just works! To keep the AoIP network straight, I keep a list of all of the audio multicast IP addresses that participate in the network. We’re currently up to 87 AoIP multicast addresses and a long way from topping out.
Delta College Public Media personnel mostly share MP3s with the TV editing systems via e-mail. The Mosaic/JetStream mini outputs are in the same AoIP network as our Radio Station Adobe Audition workstations. The Radio Station workstations are located on Delta College’s network, which is separate from the Delta College Public Media network, and have full internet access. The workstations have an AudioScience Livewire card for the AoIP network and a built in Ethernet port for the College’s network.
So far the TV operators really like the new board; they’re mostly happy that they aren’t getting crackle in the audio anymore when they change trim settings! The radio operators have been very happy with the Mosaics since their installation; one of their favorite features is that if the audio board goes “live” the wrist light changes color to green.
Overall, I’m impressed with the Logitek audio products. In the near future, Delta College will be upgrading the radio station area of the building. I’m actually looking forward to it. We’ve tried to make the audio system as modular as possible so moving should be painless. We just pack up the room, move it and connect the room back to the main network switch. During the move, radio operators can use the mix-IT TV console until the interim room is ready and then use the mix-IT again to move from the interim room to the new studio. It will really minimize downtime.