F&F Productions’ GTX-18 4K HDR production truck has enlisted Calrec Audio’s Artemis Beam system to provide the sound for its productions. The truck rolled into Anaheim, California, last week for its first show, a UHD broadcast of the UFC fight between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier for AT&T Entertainment/DirecTV viewers.
   

The Artemis Beam on the GTX-18 features 64 faders and uses Calrec’s Bluefin2 FPGA technology, with 13 Calrec Hydra2 I/O devices and eight MADI I/O units for fiber-based signal transport. One I/O box is deployed in a booth kit that can be set up anywhere on location to deliver audio feeds from announcers. Other I/O units are part of stage boxes for use in live entertainment venues. The truck’s audio engineer is able to use the Artemis to store all of the settings and mix the sound from the booth.

“Calrec’s reputation in live broadcasting is huge, and the audio quality is second to none,” said Bill McKechney, vice president, engineering, F&F Productions. “We’re big fans; in fact, our first Calrec was an analog console we installed in our GTX-15 unit. Even then, we knew we could take the desks anywhere and there wouldn’t be much of a learning curve for the operators. And all along, Calrec has been advancing the technology to keep pace with the industry.

“There’s a reason why so many Artemis boards are installed on trucks throughout the country; Artemis’ smaller, more accessible footprint makes it perfect for a mobile install, and production crews are automatically comfortable with the desk. Most freelance engineers automatically know Calrec and can just arrive and start setting up the show, and the ones that don’t can come up to speed really quickly.”

Following the UFC fight in Anaheim, GTX-18 headed cross-country to Charlotte, North Carolina, for CBS/DirecTV’s UHD coverage of the PGA Championship at the Quail Hollow Club Aug. 7-13. After that, the truck will go to Miami for Telemundo’s live broadcast of the “Premious Tu Mundo” (“Your World Awards”).

“F&F Productions has really outdone itself with GTX-18. It’s a real showcase of the latest in 4K and UHD technologies, and it’s already been proclaimed the most capable 4K/HDR unit on the road by respected engineering teams from major broadcast networks,” said Helen Carr, regional sales manager at Calrec. “GTX-18 is the perfect setting for Artemis, which is field-proven as the most powerful, versatile, and easy-to-use console for mobile productions.”