ELEMENT IN DEPTH {LEGACY PRODUCT}
The Choice of Connected Broadcasters Everywhere.
Axia was launched by Telos in 2003 to make digital mixing consoles. But we had a unique vision: Axia consoles would be integrated with the routing switcher, and networked to share resources and capabilities throughout the studio complex. Using this intelligent network of studio devices, talent would benefit from consoles more powerful and easier to use than ever. 10 years and more than 6,000 studios later, broadcasters have made Axia consoles the most popular networked consoles in the world, powering studios around the globe for the world’s most demanding broadcasters.
So, why have broadcasters made Element the world’s most popular IP-Audio console? Simple: when our team of obsessive console engineers first began designing Element, they asked broadcast professionals to describe their ideal mixing console. “Powerful,” they said, “but easy to use, with the capabilities of a full-up production board.”
So our engineers went to the lab and blended the best ideas from old-school analog consoles with innovative new technology to produce bullet-proof boards that can actually make shows run smoother and sound better.
Like all Axia broadcast equipment, Element consoles connect using standards-based Livewire IP-Audio networking technology, invented by Telos. Using Livewire, broadcasters can easily network studios, consoles and audio equipment using standard Ethernet. Livewire can carry hundreds of channels ofreal-time, uncompressed audio plus synchronized control logic and program-associated data on a single CAT-6 cable, reducing cost, complexity and studio construction time.
Because Axia networks are intelligent Ethernet-based routing systems, machine logic always follows source audio. When your operator loads a source to any fader, in any studio, that fader’s controls are immediately communicating with the source device. Thanks to this scalable network technology, integrated router control is a standard feature of every Element.
Talent raves about Element Show Profiles. Each console contains up to 99 storage locations that operators can use to set, save and recall their favorite settings with the push of a button — audio sources, fader assignments, monitor settings and more. Show Profiles can also contain talent’s personalized mic processing and voice EQ settings that load every time they’re on the air — and, in case a jock gets himself into unfamiliar territory, Element provides a convenient one-key “panic button” that returns a Show Profile to its default state instantly.
There’s plenty of power under the surface, too. To make sure you have plenty of mixing capacity, Element features 4 Program buses, plus 4 Aux sends and 2 Aux returns, along with 16 five-channel “Virtual Mixers” that let you mix multiple audio inputs using virtual faders. More built-in convenience: Every voice channel has studio-grade Omnia audio processing, including mic compression, de-essing and gating, plus three-band parametric EQ, which can be set and saved with each Show Profile. Need a headphone processor for your talent? Element provides that, too, with built-in headphone processing to save the cost of a separate side-chain.
You’ll also find fully-automatic mix-minuses; one for each fader if needed. Mix-minus settings are saved for each audio source, so that sources, backfeed and machine logic all load at once. And every fader has a “Talkback” key to communicate with phone callers, remote talent or other studios using the console mic; use them singly, or in multiple to communicate with entire groups of locations at once.
Axia’s Livewire Ethernet backbone makes it easy to integrate and control all kinds of different devices on the same network. And Element puts those controls right on the console, where they’re most useful. For instance: phone hybrid modules with dedicated faders control Telos talkshow systems. There’s a dial pad, too, so talent can dial, answer, screen and drop calls without ever taking their eyes – or attention –off the console. Which translates into smoother, more error-free on-air phone segments. Axia’s IP Intercom system connects to the Livewire network too, and drop-in Intercom modules for your Element place multi-station intercom controls right at jocks’ fingertips. Which means that talent can now easily take broadcast-quality intercom audio directly to air, with only a button-press or two.
As with all Axia consoles, engineers can administer Element remotely. A password-protected Web server lets you examine the state of the console and make configuration changes. With SoftSurface companion software, you can even take direct remote control of Element from your office, home, or anywhere there’s an Internet connection.
There’s more to building a great board than just features, of course. Consoles have to perform flawlessly
24/7, 365 days-a year, for years at a time. So Element is fabricated from thick, machined aluminum extrusions — rigid and RF-immune. Power supplies are hardened for reliable, continuous uptime, and fanless for silent in-studio operation. Modules can be hot-swapped. Silky-smooth conductive-plastic faders actuate from the side, so dirt can’t get in. High-end optical rotary encoders mean no wipers to get dirty or wear out. And our avionics-grade switches, with LED lighting, have been tested to withstand more than five million operations.
Some folks have said that Element consoles are over-engineered. To which we say, “thank you”! Not everyone appreciates this kind of attention to detail, but if you’re one who seeks out and appreciates excellence wherever you may find it... Element just may be the answer you’ve been looking for.
Your station is customized to your listeners. Shouldn’t your console be customized to your talent? Mix and match a variety of Element module types with enhanced features to suit your station’s operational needs. Like integrated controls for phones, codecs and intercoms, EQ modules designed to speed off-air production, even motorized faders for remote control or integration with your delivery system. Choice is good!
4-Fader Module
The 4-Fader module is the heart of any Element. Use it for any source: line, mic, hybrid, phone or codec source. Comes in standard and motorized-fader versions for use with automation systems or other moving-fader applications.
Monitor Modules
The other basic module every console needs is the Monitor module. Element offers two types.
The Expert Monitor/Navigation module shown here has extended monitor, headphone and preview controls, plus a numeric entry/dialpad that can be used with Element phone modules, plus convenient profanity delay controls that can be linked to your delay unit.
For studios where expert monitor controls are not needed, the Standard Monitor/Navigaion module is a space-saving design that incorporates two faders in addition to the numeric entry/dial pad and basic Monitor/ Headphone controls.
Call Controller Module
The Call Controller module has two faders plus integrated line switching controls with Status Symbols, for on-console control of advanced Telos broadcast phone systems. Available in standard and motorized-fader versions.
Switch Modules
Two available styles of programmable switch modules work with Axia PathfinderPC routing control tools. They make it easy to put custom routing salvos or simple machine logic right at talent’s fingertips.
Economical Film-Cap switch modules are perfect for giving talent access to often-used machine-control or GPIO-triggered routing commands. LED button backlights can be individually changed to any of 8 colors.
Need to give operators more complex control of routing functions? SmartSwitch modules feature dynamic, backlit LCD displays. Button functions, colors and even text can be programmed to change in response to user input using Axia PathfinderPC software. Construct custom routing salvos, cascading machine-logic command sets, or other complex routing operations.
IP Intercom Modules
Element consoles come equipped with a sophisticated Talkback system that allows board ops to communicate directly with remote talent via individual Talkback channels. But when larger facilities require even more powerful communication capabilities, these 10 and 20-station intercom modules,
part of the Axia IP Intercom system, put broadcast intercom controls right in the console. Station presets and GPIO functions for both types of modules are programmed using any standard Web browser.
10 and 20-station OLED Intercom modules feature high-resolution programmable OLED displays that indicate assigned stations. The 10-Station Filmcap intercom module has 10 LED-lit film-cap buttons for economical on-console IP Intercom integration.
Mixing Engines
Element consoles give you choices at every turn, and mixing engine platforms are no exception. You can build your Axia network using a la carte components – an Element control surface with a powerful Linux-based StudioEngine and separate xNode audio interfaces – or you can choose the PowerStation integrated console engine, an all-in-one powerhouse with audio I/O, DSP mixing engine and integrated zero-configuration network switch.
StudioEngine
Pair your Element with Axia StudioEngine, an extremely powerful mixing and processing device based on a blazingly-fast Intel processor. Each StudioEngine is fanless, has dual-redundant field-replaceable modular power supplies, and has so much CPU power it can outperform the very largest digital or router-based consoles. StudioEngine has multiple simultaneous inputs, outputs, mix-minus feeds,
monitor signals, EQ and voice processing; it’s the power behind state-of-the-art broadcast studios from
New York to Tokyo.
PowerStation
PowerStation is what we Axians refer to as an “integrated console engine”, an all-in-one titan that makes it easier than ever to install Axia studios with Element consoles. Inside that ruggedly handsome case you’ll find a super-powered DSP mixing engine, husky power supply sourced from telecom gear designed for harsh environments, plenty of built-in digital, analog and mic I/O, plus EQ, voice processing — and even a custom, built-for-broadcast Ethernet switch with Gigabit connectivity.