AVNation TV

Tag: Dante Audio Networking

  • OSU’s Schottenstein Center Ups Its Audio Game With New DiGiCo Quantum225 Mixing Console

    OSU’s Schottenstein Center Ups Its Audio Game With New DiGiCo Quantum225 Mixing Console

    Located on the Columbus campus of Ohio State University, the Schottenstein Center is the largest arena in the Big Ten Conference and accommodates a wide range of productions. Beyond hosting OSU Buckeyes men’s and women’s basketball and men’s ice hockey games, the arena serves as the setting for major concerts, family shows, and other events, such as the Winter Jam, which annually brings together some of the biggest names in Christian music.

    The 20,000-capacity venue, also known as Value City Arena and less formally as “The Schott,” makes its commitment to aesthetics clear from the moment one approaches it. The Center features six unique terrazzo floorscapes, designed by artist Alexis Smith, comprising 350 gallons of epoxy over five miles of 1/16-inch zinc wire strips painstakingly bent and placed by hand, and 115 tons of stones, mother of pearl, and glass chips, prepared in custom shades.

    To keep the Center’s new sound as beautiful as its impressive flooring, the venue recently installed a DiGiCo Quantum225 front-of-house audio console paired with a DQ-Rack for Dante-connected I/O and processing. The project, completed just ahead of this year’s college sports season and including an Adamson PA system, was designed by Richmond, Virginia-based Anthony James Partners, with installation and integration done via Champaign, Illinois-based C.V. Lloyde Audiovisual.

    “This project was a huge step forward for the Center’s in-house production team,” states C.V. Lloyde Project Manager Jared Miller. “They had been working with a sound system and console that were probably 15 years old, so it really brought the venue up to date.” He cites the new console’s robust interface and Quantum processing features for the choice, but equally emphasizes DiGiCo’s comprehensive onsite training of the venue’s staff: “DiGiCo was there for multiple sessions, so everyone was able to participate,” he says.

    The 48-input/24-output DQ-Rack was also a focus. Miller notes its connection to the DiGiCo desk via a DMI-DANTE card means that all rack inputs and outputs can be accessed at both 48kHz and 96kHz. “The console and the DQ-Rack are a great combination for a venue like this,” he says.

    Jack Covert, Vice President of Anthony James Partners, the consultant on the renovation of the venue’s sound system, says their recommendation of the DiGiCo Quantum225 was made early on in the process. “DiGiCo is our ‘go-to’ for large arena and stadium-level sound systems because of its reliability and superior performance,” he says. “The Quantum225 was our first choice here.”

    However, Covert points out that the Schottenstein Center’s AV crew, part of OSU’s technical staff, are seasoned AV professionals and experienced with a wide range of pro audio systems. “There was a lot more to this project than simply great sound: the entire system had to be as flexible as possible to accommodate the venue’s range of productions, from Big Ten Division 1 basketball to ice hockey to touring shows like Disney On Ice,” he says. “That includes the audio console, which has to handle all of that. The staff at the Schott have seen it all, and they could see that the Quantum225 was the console this situation called for. It has the features, and it has the ease of use. It has everything.”

  • Elevating the Game: NBC Sports Enhances Audio Production with Dante

    Elevating the Game: NBC Sports Enhances Audio Production with Dante

    Sports broadcasting demands precision, reliability, and innovation, and few organizations exemplify this better than NBC Sports. Over the years, the network has consistently embraced cutting-edge technology to enhance its productions, delivering seamless coverage to millions of viewers. One of the most transformative technologies in their workflow has been Dante, an AV-over-IP platform designed for cross-brand compatibility, reliability, and efficiency.

    Introduced to NBC Sports in 2016, Dante has become the backbone of their audio and communication systems, revolutionizing how the network handles large-scale, complex productions. Dante empowers the network to push the boundaries of live broadcasting—from intercom systems to audio mixing, playing a crucial role in delivering seamless audio experiences for NBC Sports.

    Dante Networking 

    In 2016, the NBC Sports communications team made a decision to deploy a completely new technology for their intercom backbone. The OMNEO technology, developed by RTS Intercom Systems, combined Dante for audio networking and AES70 for control data. At the time, OMNEO was bleeding edge, and using it at high-profile events was a considerable risk, but it paid huge dividends.

    Afterwards, the communications team, led by John Pastore, NBC Sports’ Senior Director of Broadcast Communications, began integrating more Dante into their workflows, not just in their intercom systems but their audio systems as well. “In terms of bringing on new technology at NBC Sports, there is a very slow and cautious approach, which is typically how we like to do things,” said Pastore.

    Fast forward to today, where, for certain events, NBC Sports has rolled out 10 Dante-enabled audio systems engineered for reliability, flexibility, and ease of deployment. The setup for these types of events have included over 350 Dante-enabled devices, such as announcer consoles, analog-to-Dante converters, and high-density audio console I/O units. Together, Dante’s networked audio and built-in redundancy deliver robust and reliable performance, empowering NBC Sports’ teams to operate with confidence.

    The system has also at times featured 11 RTS Intercom systems that incorporated 140 Omneo keypanels, all tightly integrated with Dante to enable audio sharing between consoles, intercom systems, and engineering endpoints.

    Stamford Operations Center: Dante at the Core

    In Stamford, Connecticut, the NBC Sports Broadcast Operations Center produces coverage of events year-round. The Stamford facility has, at points, featured 100 Dante-enabled announcer consoles, and 18 high-density audio console I/O units, all integrated into the audio network. Fourteen Production Control Room intercom systems have used Dante as primary RTS trunking, enabling a dynamic and responsive production environment. In total, the global system has supported over 14,000 trunked intercom and audio resources—enabled by Dante’s unparalleled channel density and the management capabilities of Dante Domain Manager. Final program mixes have been produced using Calrec Apollo, Artemis, and Brio consoles, each outfitted with Dante connectivity to ensure smooth integration with the overall network.

    Analog to Dante: Scaling with Purpose

    NBC Sports’ Broadcast Operations Center now operates a vast Dante network of roughly 500 devices. But that figure only scratches the surface—the network includes numerous high-channel-count consoles and converters, totaling 10,000 Dante sources and 12,000 Dante destinations. The footprint continues to grow rapidly, as new control rooms come online, and legacy point-to-point audio interfaces are replaced with Dante. “That number will go up substantially,” said Pastore.

    Centralized Production, Distributed Flexibility

    This expansion is largely driven by the organization’s move to a Field Acquisition Unit (FAU) production model, with Dante playing a critical role in enabling this shift. The Stamford facility now includes 12 production control rooms, 15 audio control rooms, and two submix rooms—with additional buildouts happening on a regular basis. Under the FAU approach, mobile units deployed to events handle only signal acquisition, while core production tasks—video switching, audio mixing, graphics and replay are centralized at the Operations Center. “The success of our FAU model is reliant on the ease and repeatability we get from using the Dante infrastructure,” said Mike DiCrescenzo, NBC Sports’ Senior A1 & Audio Design Engineer.

    Modernizing Communications at the Core

    The transition from analog to Dante is especially evident in the Communications Machine Room, where legacy analog intercom systems now operate side by side with their Dante-based counterparts. The contrast is striking. Traditional racks filled with analog patchbays and multipin analog patch panels are steadily being replaced by modern setups featuring RTS Intercom ODIN frames and Cisco network switches. Bringing new intercom frames online has become significantly more efficient, requiring only a few network connections and familiar tools like RTS AZEdit and Dante Controller. “With Dante Controller, we can make a few clicks and drags, and our systems light up quickly,” said Niraj Patel, NBC Sports’ Broadcast Communications Engineer.

    Dante Network Control: Seamless Management at Scale

    Managing a Dante network of this scale requires advanced management and monitoring tools. To handle network segmentation, clocking, and the management of multiple subnets, NBC Sports deployed Dante Domain Manager. “Dante Domain Manager has been the only way we’ve been able to scale to meet our needs,” said Dave Meehl, NBC Sports’ Broadcast Communications Engineer.

    Given the complexity of the network and the number of operators involved in daily operations, the team needed to simplify some of the more intricate tasks. To achieve this, they deployed EVS’s Cerebrum broadcast control system, which makes API calls to Dante Domain Manager via Dante’s Managed API. This allows for real-time route changes without operators needing to interact with Dante Controller.

    To further optimize operations, control rooms across the facility are equipped with Densitron touch panels. These panels provide operators with intuitive XY routing capabilities, but with restricted access to only the sources and destinations they need.  This approach limits the scope of control, reducing the risk of accidental changes. “Tech managers and engineers are predominantly dealing with sources we’ve exposed via the Dante Managed API in Cerebrum,” said Paul Dryden, NBC Sports’ System Design Engineer. “The control side of things is critical, and we couldn’t do this without Dante’s Managed API.”

    Dante’s Evolution at NBC Sports

    For NBC Sports, Dante has become far more than just a technology, it’s a cornerstone of their operations. From its initial adoption to the advanced, high-performance workflows of today, Dante has empowered the team to continually evolve, tackle new challenges, and deliver exceptional sports productions. Its scalability, reliability, and flexible integration have redefined the possibilities of live broadcasting, enhancing both the technical execution behind the scenes and the viewer experience on-air. As the industry pushes forward, NBC Sports’ commitment to Dante reflects a broader truth: investing in the right technology not only enables success but also turns ambitious visions into reality.

  • JBL SRX Series Delivers Scalable, Consistent Audio for High-Energy Fitness Competition Tour with Vantage Production Group

    JBL SRX Series Delivers Scalable, Consistent Audio for High-Energy Fitness Competition Tour with Vantage Production Group

    When HYROX, the global fitness racing competition, launched its U.S. tour in 2021, the production setup was modest: a few events, smaller venues and one JBL VRX rig. But just four years later, HYROX has exploded in popularity, with events spanning multiple days and filling over 250,000 square feet of convention space, drawing in thousands of fans and elite athletes from around the world.

    “We started that gig in the spring of 2021 when COVID was still lingering, and we only had a few events in the U.S.,” said Daniel Nickleski, COO of Vantage Production Group by Sound Works and lead on the project. “Now it’s a global brand, and HYROX U.S. events alone take over massive convention centers. We needed an audio system that could scale with that growth while staying reliable and consistent.”

    To meet those demands, Nickleski and his team turned to the JBL SRX900 Series. The compact size, networked control, and full-range response made the SRX906LA the perfect solution to cover wide open floor plans filled with spectators, competitors, MCs and DJs. As the show scaled up, so did the rig. From just two tower lifts in the “rock zone” (where the competition happens) to now six tower lifts with four SRX906LA loudspeakers per lift, covering up to 300,000 square feet of space with clarity.

    Two of the largest HYROX events this season underscored the system’s scalability and performance. At Pier 76 in New York City, an open-air venue posed environmental challenges and required precise directional control and robust output – tasks the SRX906LA handled with ease. The HYROX World Championships 2025 at Navy Pier in Chicago pushed the system even further, transforming the sprawling convention space into a high-energy arena with powerful audio coverage throughout multiple zones.

    “The client immediately noticed the difference when we switched to JBL SRX,” said Nickleski. “They started saying, “these sound great’ and pointed to the towers we were using so they asked for even more.”

    The team deployed JBL VRX932LA-1 loudspeakers at the finish stage and four JBL VRX918S subwoofers to energize the final moments of competition, while JBL SRX906LA towers handled the majority of the event space. With minimal acoustic treatment in large, boomy rooms, the team avoided deploying subwoofers elsewhere, instead relying on the SRX906LA’s extended low-end capabilities. “I was walking through the venue and thought I was standing near a sub,” said Nickleski. “But it was just four JBL 906s on a tower 50 feet away. That’s a testament to the product.”

    System design was handled in JBL Venue Synthesis by systems engineer Brian Rutter, who received venue layouts from HYROX and used the software to best plan speaker positions and coverage zones. “We get Vectorworks or PDFs of each space,” said Rutter. “I drop them into Venue Synthesis and figure out the best

    coverage without blocking sight lines or pathways. The delay finder is probably the best I’ve used, we’re within five milliseconds of perfect from the first push.”

    Once the system is mapped, everything is exported to JBL Performance Manager, where Rutter and the team tune each zone in real-time. The system is powered via networked Crown amplifiers and connected using Dante, with remote access to make adjustments during the event.

    “With JBL, it’s not just the sound, it’s the ecosystem,” said Nickleski. “JBL Venue Synthesis and Performance Manager talk to each other. We don’t have to jump between platforms like we do with other brands. It’s accurate, scalable, and makes a huge difference.”

    HYROX events span multiple zones, including seating for thousands, walk-around spectators, and MCs covering hundreds of feet via RF mics connected over fiber. The team’s four-person crew travels with the tour and integrates with local labor to set up audio, video and wireless coverage.

    “The whole system scales beautifully,” added Nickleski. “If we have a bigger room, we just send another case of JBL 906s. It clicks onto the lift and we’re up and running. And the coverage…what we model is what we hear in the venue. That’s what our client hears too.”

    From the bleachers to the rock zone to the final sprint on the finish stage, the JBL SRX900 Series has proven to be the right tool for HYROX’s high-energy, high-stakes format. “It’s grown from three U.S. events in 2021 to 16 and counting,” said Nickleski. “And JBL has kept up with every step of that growth.”