BSS Audio® Adds Telephone Hybrid Card Option To Soundweb™ London Conferencing Solution

BSS Audio®, a Harman International Company (NYSE-HAR), today added the Soundweb™ London Telephone Hybrid Card to its conferencing portfolio. The new Soundweb London Telephone Hybrid Card complements the highly-regarded Soundweb London AEC Input Card and the two cards represent a highly-integrated, premium solution for conferencing applications.

The Soundweb London Telephone Hybrid Cards are designed to populate any of the four card slots on Soundweb London BLU-800, BLU-320, BLU-160 and BLU-120 devices. These cards enable Soundweb London devices to interface with a standard POTS (aka PSTN or Analog PBX) telephone network and feature line and parallel set connections. The members of the Soundweb London family provide the building blocks of the perfectly tailored system solution.

The Soundweb London Telephone Hybrid Cards also have two analog inputs which allow each Telephone Hybrid Card to receive two microphone or line level signals. These analog inputs offer Phantom Power, configurable per channel and software controlled analog gain in 6dB steps from 0dB to 48dB.

HiQnet™ London Architect v2.08, which provides support for the Soundweb London Telephone Hybrid, offers a fully-featured integrated dialer, speed dial presets and Auto Answer control. All important buttons and feedback from the dialer are accessible from external control and third-party control systems, without the requirement of a PC on the network.

Iain Gregory, market manager for installed sound at Harman Music Group stated, “The Soundweb London Telephone Hybrid Card complements the superbly-performing and already highly-regarded Soundweb London AEC Input Card perfectly. With the reach of Soundweb London extended into conferencing applications, contractors and system integrators are able to leverage existing infrastructure, reduce implementation time and provide a powerful and truly integrated audio solution, using a single platform.”

Top London Nightclub Fabric Upgrades To BSS Audio Soundweb™ London

Succeeding in a fixed installation that provides a major upgrade to the quality of its networked audio, London nightclub Fabric has chosen to upgrade its three legendary dance rooms with BSS Audio Soundweb London devices. The system was sold through Harman’s UK distributor Sound Technology Ltd.

“The original Soundweb devices gave us great service but we realized that the available technology had become far more advanced. Processing speed is a lot faster, and the new devices have a much greater capacity,” stated Sanjeev Bhardwaj, head of technology for Fabric.

The new system consists of a BLU-160 and pair of BLU-120 devices in the two main rooms along with a pair of BLU-BOB output boxes, and a BLU-160 and single BLU-120 in the third room. All three rooms are fitted with password-protected BLU-10 programmable touch screen remotes for local control.

“Anything I can do on my laptop I can do on the BLU-10. We have set up separate gain controls for each individual speaker and have reset the crossovers with the result that the system provides us with amazing performance like we’ve never heard it before,” stated Bhardwaj.

The I/O configuration of the Soundweb London system was also a key factor. While the BLU-160 devices handle all the processing and are configured either 12x4 or 16x0, all the BLU-120 devices are configured for outputs and programmed 0x16.

“We have maintained the highest standards in each room and with so much more processing power available the system is no longer straining. We are also able to run it quieter than we did before — and yet it sounds better. Our regular DJs have been quick to remark on the improved sound,” stated Bhardwaj.

Although other options were considered for the upgrade, Bhardwaj believes Soundweb is still the most efficient and powerful system available. “The idea of the new Soundweb London and its digital audio bus was to future proof the club. I have so many spare outputs and we are still only using 56% of the processing power in Room 2. In fact it’s the best money I’ve spent in the last three years and I probably won’t need to look at processing again for the next decade.” stated Bhardwaj.

For more information on Sound Technology visit http://www.soundtech.co.uk

Norwegian Parliament Upgrades to BSS Audio Soundweb London

The Norwegian parliament in Oslo is using a large number of BSS Audio Soundweb devices for different applications, covering meeting rooms, hearing rooms and the main parliament assembly auditorium.

The plenary chamber recently saw a major upgrade to a Soundweb London system, relieving the older Soundweb Original system from its duties, which it has been performing since 2002.

The new system, installed during the Easter recess by Norwegian BSS Audio distributor, LydRommet AS, includes four BLU-320 break-in / out devices in an 8 x 8 configuration, and eight BLU-160 devices, all configured with four analog inputs, four digital outputs and eight analog outputs. Two BLU-10 touch screen remotes control the system locally, and the package includes a BLU-80 device located in the offices of the technical department for surveillance and monitoring of the entire system.

All 12 devices share the same control network and design file, but in terms of functionality there are two identical systems divided in separate Digital Audio Bus rings for full redundancy.

The matched configuration of the devices also serves as an additional back-up, enabling devices to be swapped easily if required.

The BLU-320 devices serve as microphone preamps and CobraNet™ interfaces, while all processing and distribution routing and management is taken care of by the BLU-160 devices. In addition to the sound reinforcement system in the auditorium there are more than 120 destinations including broadcast applications.

The new system replaces eight Soundweb sw9088iis devices and four high quality eight-channel microphone preamps. While the old system was utilizing close to 100% in DSP processing power, the new system is idling at around 20%.

In addition, the Soundweb London system introduces great improvement in signal-to-noise ratio, and the overall sound quality has been raised to a higher level.

BSS Audio Soundweb Leads the Pack at Cycling Velodrome For The Beijing 2008 Summer Games

Few sports test an Olympic athlete the same way that cycling does. It requires maximum strength and endurance for the cyclist to perform at the highest level. At the Beijing 2008 Summer Games, cyclists are competing in the brand-new Laoshan Velodrome, whose sound system is only matched in excellence by the Olympians themselves.

Laoshan Velodrome, which will host all cycling during the Olympics, has a capacity of 6,000 spectators. It features a 250-meter oval shaped track and a total surface of 32,920 square meters. Positioned in the arena are the BSS Audio Soundweb Original SW9088iis, one dbx DriveRack 260 control, along with Crown CTS 600 and CTS 1200 amplifiers powering two JBL AC2212/64 and two JBL AM 4315/64 loudspeakers. The system was sold through Hong Kong-based distributor Advanced Communications Equipment (ACE).

The Soundweb Original SW9088iis forms the heart of the audio system. In a single rackspace unit, it offers eight analog inputs with comprehensive LED monitoring, eight analog outputs and open architecture signal processing. With application-specific DSP allocation and a fully configurable signal path, Soundweb represents a scalable, networked solution, which can be fully tailored to the installation. A diverse range of control options, including wall controllers, online PC control and third party control systems ensure that the user interface is perfectly matched to the technical proficiency and control requirements of users.

“Laoshan Velodrome presented a challenge because of the arena’s smaller size, and unique events for indoor spectator viewing,” said Iain Gregory, Product Manager, Harman Music Group. “Soundweb was the clear choice for a digital audio system in this and many other Olympic venues. Incorporated with the other Harman products, it will produce the highest quality sound for the enjoyment of all fans who attend events at the 2008 Olympic Games.”

BSS Audio is a unit of Harman International Industries, Incorporated (www.harman.com).
Harman International designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment products for the automotive, consumer and professional markets, and maintains a strong presence in the Americas, Europe and Asia, employing more than 11,000 people worldwide. The Harman International family of brands includes AKG®, Audioaccess®, Becker®, BSS®, Crown®, dbx®, DigiTech®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, Mark Levinson®, Revel®, QNX®, Soundcraft® and Studer®. Harman International’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “NYSE: HAR.”

Harman HiQnet™ is the world's first connectivity and control protocol that integrates all product categories in the signal chain for professional audio systems of all types, size, and applications. Harman HiQnet no longer requires the user to manage multiple disparate operating systems or be responsible for programming individual signal processors, speaker controllers, wireless microphone systems, and mixing consoles. HiQnet was developed by engineers from across the Harman Pro Group and is coordinated by the System Development and Integration Group (SDIG), a team of dedicated systems specialists based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

BSS Audio™ Introduces Four New Soundweb™ London Family Members

New units feature low-latency, fault-tolerant digital audio bus

BSS Audio™, a Harman International Company (NYSE-HAR), introduces four new members to its acclaimed Soundweb™ London family of digital signal processors. The new BLU-800, BLU-320, BLU-160 and BLU-120 join the BLU-80, BLU-32 and BLU-16 devices in the series, reflecting BSS Audio’s commitment to continually offer increased flexibility and system enhancements. HiQnet London Architect, v2.00, provides support for the four new devices and several significant feature additions. A dedicated and comprehensively featured Room Combine Processing Object abstracts the complexity of room combining applications and greatly reduces programming time for such applications. The addition of Dynamic Metering allows efficient troubleshooting of Soundweb London systems through the use of simple signal presence monitoring. The recently launched HiQnet London Architect v2.02 introduces a parameter export from HiQnet London Architect for control of Soundweb London devices from HiQnet System Architect™ Custom Control Panels and wiring enhancements. The incredible flexibility and capability of the Soundweb London platform has resulted in global adoption and installation within a diverse range of applications, and these four new models represent the latest technological innovations as they take the power and performance of Soundweb to unprecedented levels.

The new devices feature a low-latency, fault-tolerant digital audio bus of 256 channels. In addition to providing a backbone for the transportation of multiple channels, this bus also facilitates the creation of large, fault-tolerant, centralized matrices containing multiple devices. The digital audio bus uses standard, inexpensive Cat 5e or Cat 6 cable, which enables a distance of 100 meters between devices; fiber media converters and fiber can be utilized to increase this distance in excess of 40km.

A ring topology ensures that if a single connection fails, all bus channels are retained with negligible interruption to audio. Comprehensive error reporting notifies users of a cable fault or termination issue so that necessary steps can be taken to restore the integrity of the system. Further processing fault tolerance can be achieved by spanning matrices over multiple devices.

The BLU-800 and BLU-160 models feature configurable DSP, boasting four times the processing capability of exiting Soundweb London DSP devices. The combination of the digital audio bus and increased DSP capability allow 128 x 128 matrices within individual devices and 128 x n matrices within a system.

Since its advent, the BSS Audio Soundweb London family has drawn acclaim for its flexibility and intuitive operation. All seven models offer pristine audio quality, advanced A/D and D/A conversion, 96kHz capability, drag-and-drop system design with CobraNet™ bundle assignment, Ethernet based control, an extensive range of control options from simple to sophisticated, easy expansion or reconfiguration of system hardware in the field and an upgrade path for future enhancements.

Each of the seven different processors maintains device level I/O flexibility and offers a different mix of signal processing, CobraNet and digital audio bus functionality, making a Soundweb London system the perfect match for any application.