Puidoux: April 2022.  MERGINGS NEW MISSION FOR ANUBIS Merging Technologies arrives at NAB 2022 in good health despite the last two years and the many challenges along the way. Demand for products remains exceptionally strong and the engineering team have been continuously developing products. NAB will see several new innovations being shown in a public forum for the first time. The MERGING+ANUBIS Commentary Unit Mission is the most recent and highly relevant to the NAB attendees. Developed in partnership with a major client, NEP, this Mission utilizes the same hardware as other Anubis Missions providing the standard single port unit and the SPS version with dual RJ-45 connections for ST2022-7 redundancy. There will be a modest charge for this new Mission if purchased with the hardware unit and for existing Anubis customers, once the key has been purchased, it is a simple firmware update.

The Commentary Unit Mission focuses on providing a very easy to use implementation of a broadcast commentary box, targeted at journalists commenting on all kinds of On-Air live events such as sport, e-sport, radio programs and more. Once running the Mission, the unit offers monitoring and commentary features for one single or two commentators, with all necessary microphone, headphone and speakers’ connectivity, best in class mic preamp and headphone amp and AD/DA directly in the box.

While giving access to traditional analogue I/O, the Commentary Unit Mission implementation also focuses on purely AoIP network audio integration, offering all required standards such as AES67, RAVENNA, ST2110, ST2022-7, NMOS as well as full remote access for operation and configuration through a full featured Web Interface and a Web Socket REST API. The Commentary Unit Mission user interface is entirely customizable to allow immediate usage of the unit when in live environments with minimal training for the simplest, mistake proof operation.

The Commentary Unit Mission offers support to one single or two commentators. The first commentator has the choice to use the Mic 1 input or the unit’s built-In microphone and the Headphone 1 output. When enabled the second commentator uses the Mic 2 input and Headphone 2 output and can either share the unit touch screen with the first commentator or be only controlled through the Web Interface and/or the mapping of the unit physical buttons.

 MONITORING

Both commentators are offered the monitoring of 8 stereo programs, 2 mono intercoms, their own sidetone and the sidetone of the other commentator. Both monitoring busses are patched by default to the unit’s internal headphone outputs but can be also routed to other outputs through the network. Any of these inputs can be hidden and renamed for a better and safer user experience. Various monitoring options are also available to customize the monitoring behaviour when On-Air, when talking, when receiving signal from the intercoms or when receiving commands from the broadcast console.

COMMENTATING

When operating the unit, both commentators can control their access to the On-Air output, can Mute their microphone (Cough Cut) and can talk to up to 4 available Talkback outputs. All these controls can be configured to be hidden, locked, latch/press-release, renamed, to offer an as safe and easy to operate experience. Various monitoring options are also available to customize the monitoring behaviour when operating these controls.

EFFECTS PROCESSING

The Commentary Unit Mission offers separate effects processing for both commentators and both signal paths, the On-Air and the Monitoring (Talk and Sidetone) paths. EQ and Dynamics are available on these 4 paths.

REMOTE CONTROL

The Commentary Unit Mission offers various ways of controlling both commentators’ actions:

  • The unit touch screen can, optionally, be shared by both commentators
  • All the unit’s physical buttons can be custom mapped to any commentator’s actions
  • A fully featured Web Interface allows for controlling both commentators separately, as well as giving access to all parameters of the unit for remote technical operators
  • A REST API permits taking full control of the unit through web socket for the complete broadcast orchestrator integration
  • GPI/O commands can be mapped to all functionalities

The Commentary Unit Mission is the latest development in the evolution of MERGING+ANUBIS and there are several more additions planned for 2022 and beyond. These are planned to streamline workflows and enhance the functionality of the unit.

About Merging Technologies

Merging Technologies is a Swiss manufacturer with over 30 years of experience in developing groundbreaking, professional Audio and Video products for a wide range of entertainment and media industries.  With a dedicated user base in the elite end of the music, film, television, mastering and performances industries, Merging is committed to developing product ranges with unrivalled quality and flexibility, no matter what the application. Merging builds tools for people who want more from their systems, have an inherent need to push boundaries, and believe that quality always comes first.

RAVENNA is a solution for real-time distribution of audio and other media content in IP-based network environments. Utilizing standardized network protocols and technologies, RAVENNA can operate on existing network infrastructures. RAVENNA is designed to meet the strict requirements of the pro audio market featuring low latency, full signal transparency and high reliability and is fully AES67 and ST2110 compatible. With a capacity of nearly 8 x MADI streams over a single Gigabit Ethernet link, it is also the first and only Layer-3 based IP audio protocol with full support for high-channel count DXD and DSD signals.

While primarily targeting the professional broadcast market, RAVENNA is also suitable for deployment in other pro audio market segments like live sound, install market and recording. Possible fields of application include (but are not limited to) in-house signal distribution in broadcasting houses, theatres, concert halls and other fixed installations, flexible setups at venues and live events, OB van support, inter-facility links across WAN connections and in production & recording applications. http://ravenna.alcnetworx.com