Iowa PBS Completes Integration of Three Networked Solid State Logic System T S300 Mixing Consoles

David Feingold, Senior Audio Engineer/Production Technician Senior at the award-winning network, explains that the new integration is the first step toward a wider Dante AoIP implementation at the facility. “This is the first time we've used Dante. We only have two other pieces of gear — outboard recorders — that use Dante right now, but we can expand, which is really nice.”    

There are other digital consoles on the market, he continues, “But System T has Dante integrated, so you don't ever have to go out to the Dante Controller to route things. I really enjoy how quick it is to route things directly from the console. That's all Dante, so that was a big draw.” Plus, he says, “The sound quality of the System T is exactly what I would expect from SSL.” 

The new System T consoles also have a lot more features built into them, Feingold says. “The de-esser is a huge thing for me. You used to be able to sidechain a de-esser in the C100 but now it's built into every channel in the System T — and it works great. The Automixer is another huge thing for our roundtable shows that we do. I use it subtly, not as a mixer, but more as a ducker. The way that System T integrates with Pro Tools through the HUI control is very cool, as well,” he says. System T’s advanced DAW control enables operators to not only make level changes using the console faders but also adjust plug-in parameters. 

Overall, Iowa PBS generates a wide variety of programming, from sports, arts and entertainment to agriculture and politics, including the caucuses each election cycle, not to mention regular pledge drives. Control Room 3’s S300-48 drives the audio for two weekly shows, including an agri-business program, Market to Market. “Sometimes we take that show, and a show called Iowa Press, on the road. We also do a big music show, Studio 3 LIVE,” Feingold reports, which features local, regional and national artists. “We've also had different outside shows, such as PBS NewsHour, come in and produce stuff in the studio. So we are able to accommodate them, too.”

All six production technicians at the station handle everything from video editing to audio mixing. Feingold took the lead on building showfiles for the Control Room 3 console for its regular shows. “Then we just build new showfiles for new shows,” he says. The remote truck handles a wider assortment of productions, but it does cover certain sports regularly, so showfiles have been built for those and other frequent events, he says: “You can refer back to those, so you're never starting from scratch.”