Having firmly established itself in the live arena, as with other consoles in the SD Series, British audio solutions manufacturer DiGiCo has now added a broadcast application specific extension which allows it to become the SD5B, putting this processing powerhouse firmly in the broadcast arena.
The SD5 fits directly into the shoes of the D5, the console manufacturer’s first digital mixing desk, but benefits from the advancements made possible by DiGiCo’s proprietary Stealth Digital Processing™ and floating point Super FPGA technology, which adds a host of new features and a much bigger punch.
As with the SD5, the SD5B’s worksurface is a low noise, heat dissipation worksurface benefiting from Hidden-til-lit (HTL) technology, yet its five digitally driven full colour TFT LCD screens, three of which are touch sensitive, have a new configuration that allows easy access to single or multiple users. There are also two interactive dynamic metering displays (IDM) and quick access buttons are positioned down the left side of the channel screens for fast and easy navigation.
Incorporating the master screen into the worksurface design has allowed for complete user feedback, but maintains a lower profile meter bridge. This still allows clear visibility of those on stage for the user, with everything in close reach to the mix position.
As with all SD range consoles, the SD5’s superior headroom, dynamic range and audio quality are of paramount importance and its feature set surpasses any other console in its class.
As standard, the SD5 comes with a 2Gb fibre optic system, which is capable of running 448 channels of I/O at 96kHz, plus 56 console-to-console tie lines, allowing connection to up to 14 of the SD variant racks. There are three redundant MADI ports and local I/O includes eight microphone inputs, eight line outputs and eight AES I/O (mono).
The SD5 has 124 input channels; 56 configurable busses, plus up to 5.1 master; a 24 x 24 fixed matrix; DiGiTubes on every channel, buss and output; 24 assignable Dynamic EQ; 24 multiband compressors; 24 stereo effects; 32 Graphic EQ; 10 x 4 (40) RGB backlit macro buttons; plus the ability to add a Waves upgrade.
For broadcast applications, the SD5B also includes dual solo busses for PFL and on-air soloing in mono, stereo LCRS and 5.1 and an LR/LCR/LCRS/5.1 Master buss.
“Since its launch last year, the SD5 has become incredibly popular in the live market,” says James Gordon, DiGiCo’s Managing Director. “The addition of the B software means that the broadcast market can now get all the great benefits of the SD5 in a package that’s tailored specifically to its needs.”
