Axia announces new modules and accessories for Element control surface

10 April, 2006, Cleveland Ohio, USA

Visitors to the Axia display at NAB 2006 will have a lot to see and hear, including a variety of new drop-in modules and studio accessory panels for the popular Axia Element control surface.

New accessories for Element include interface modules for Telos broadcast telephone systems, a Production Module tailored to the needs of production gurus, and Motor-Fader modules that work with Element’s Show Profiles feature to recall preset audio levels at the touch of a button. Six new Studio Control panels interface with Element to give on-air hosts, guests and producers remote control of headphone selection, mic channels and more.

“Element users are very creative. They really appreciate how easily Element can be customized to suit individual user preferences,” comments Axia president Michael Dosch. “As a result, they’ve given us great suggestions for new Element capabilities. These new modules and accessory panels incorporate some of those ideas.”

New Element module offerings include:

• A Motor-Fader module with four moving faders whose positions can be saved in an Element Show Profile for quick recall when loaded. Applications include allowing faders to be controlled dynamically by software applications, fast recall of setups for live on-air performances, or recall of preset levels for unattended board operation.
• A Production Module, designed with production power users in mind, that provides even faster access to channel EQ, Aux Send and Pan controls.
• Programmable SmartSwitch 5-button and 10-button user modules with backlit dynamic LCD displays. These modules can be custom-programmed to provide controls for recording devices, or “macro” keys for frequently-used switching applications. Unique per-user functions may be set, saved and recalled along with other Element Show Profile settings.
• Programmable FilmCap 5-button and 10-button shortcut modules provide on-board switching capabilities for applications not requiring the dynamic function changes found in SmartSwitch modules.

New Element Studio Accessory panels make it easy for on-air guests and hosts to take control of their environment. Six accessory panels are available:

• The Mic Control/Headphone Selector Panel is equipped with an LED alphanumeric readout; talent can choose their own headphone feed source as well as control mic channel on/off/mute functions. These functions are also available separately in the stand-alone Mic Control Panel and Headphone Selector Panel.
• Four-button programmable SmartSwitch and 5-button FilmCap accessory panels give talent remote access to customized software functions.
• The Producer’s Mic Control Panel, for use at a dedicated Producer’s position, gives talkshow or morning show producers control of their mic channel’s remote on/off/mute operations as well as dedicated Talkback keys for easy communication with studio guests and hosts.

Element control surfaces are packed with powerful features to meet the most demanding air and production applications, such as four Program buses, four Aux Send buses, mix-minus and dedicated talk and preview functions on each channel, one-touch record and monitor sections and more. Element works in conjunction with the Axia Studio Mix Engine, an Intel-based mixing platform running real-time Linux for bulletproof 24/7 reliability. A standard sVGA LCD monitor displays all metering, clock timer, status and options info.

Element is the first radio console that can be configured to run either stereo audio or discrete 5.1 surround programming; its flexible internal architecture can be configured for either stereo or surround operation with just a button-press.

One of Element’s most popular features is onboard three-band digital parametric EQ that can be applied to any source; engineers can predefine source-specific EQ that loads whenever a source is activated. And talent can have their own personalized mic compressor settings, thanks to onboard voice dynamics processing — compression, de-essing and expansion tools designed by Omnia Audio.

Element works with the Axia IP-Audio system, which allows broadcasters to build audio networks of any size using standard Switched Ethernet to connect a few rooms — or an entire facility. Axia IP-Audio networks can carry hundreds of digital stereo (or nearly a hundred surround) audio channels over a standard CAT-6 cable, eliminating much of the cost normally associated with wiring labor and infrastructure. The Axia system includes a family of “audio nodes” that allow easy mixing and matching of digital, analog and microphone audio, and eliminate PC sound cards.

Visit Axia at the 2006 NAB Convention, Booth N2714, for a complete demonstration of IP-Audio networking. For more information, contact Clark Novak at Axia, +1-216-241-7225, or e-mailcnovak@AxiaAudio.com.

This press-ready picture of Element can be downloaded from the Axia picture gallery atwww.AxiaAudio.com/pix.

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Axia, a Telos company, builds Ethernet-based professional IP-Audio products for broadcast, production, sound-reinforcement and commercial audio applications. Products include digital audio routers, on-air control surfaces, DSP mixers and processors and software for configuring, managing, and interfacing networked audio systems.