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TC Furlong Pivots to Virtual Live Event for Virtual Digital Console Expo 2020

From December 1st – 3rd, TC Furlong Inc. hosted its 10th Annual Digital Console Expo as a three day virtual live event. This year’s Expo featured content from seven leading manufacturers of digital consoles, including Allen & Heath, AVID, DiGiCo, Lawo, Solid State Logic (SSL), Waves, and Yamaha.

The Digital Console Expo has traditionally been an in-person event, held each year at Moody Church in Chicago. When it became apparent that an in-person event would not be possible this year, we pivoted to using our experience in virtual and hybrid live event production to bring our Expo entirely online, with the goal of providing the same engaging and valuable experience attendees have come to expect from the events of years past.

A New Format

The Expo featured morning Main Session presentations by two or three of our manufacturer partners each day, followed by afternoon Breakout Q&A sessions, giving attendees the opportunity to engage in direct dialogue with presenters in a small group setting. Some manufacturers also presented additional Deep Dive webinar sessions in the evening each day.

Each manufacturer’s Main Session segment consisted of a short, pre-recorded presentation, followed by a brief live segment with a member of the TC Furlong Sales & Marketing Team. Those who watched the Main Sessions live were eligible for a chance to win giveaway prizes from each of the manufacturers.

The Breakout Q&A Sessions were 30-minute, open format Zoom meetings. A virtual alternative to stepping into a manufacturer’s booth at an in-person Expo, the Q&A sessions were an opportunity for attendees to ask questions that weren’t addressed during the main presentations, and dig in to details about specific products.

The Expo also featured Deep Dive webinars from Allen & Heath and Lawo. Allen & Heath presented three webinars on their SQ Series, dLive Series, and Avantis consoles. Lawo’s Deep Dive focused on their mc2 Series of digital consoles.

All of the Main Session presentations and Deep Dive webinars were recorded, and are available for review on our YouTube channel.

Behind The Scenes

Switching to a virtual event this year was not only a hurdle for the format of the event, it also presented a challenge to the TC Furlong Live Events team, who were tasked with putting together the entire production. The annual trade show-style, live event at Moody Church has always been a TC Furlong team effort, but this year’s event was truly an interdepartmental project with the necessary video, audio, lighting, and overall event production all being handled in-house at the Lake Forest, IL office.

The first step was designing the office layout including the presentation set, the video playback/control, and audio control suites in a safe and pandemic-responsible setup. To allow for appropriate social distancing measures, the set for the shoot was located in one of our warehouse spaces, while video switching, technical direction, and audio mixing took place in separate office spaces throughout the building. All of these spaces were tied together with the necessary cabling for audio/video I/O and each location had a multi-view monitor setup to see what was happening all over the office.

Technicians were using FreeSpeak II wireless intercom to stay connected and had a separate intercom channel dedicated to stage announce/aux inputs to talk to and hear back from the hosts of the event on-set.  Audio for the program and other matrix outputs was mixed in our front lobby, and playback and Zoom audio returns were routed through monitors at each technician’s work area and into the in-ear monitors of the on-screen hosts.

The multi-camera shoot was routed to a video switcher in the office where a technician was able to handle switching duties.  Video playback of manufacturer presentations was handled locally, while manufacturers joined us live via Zoom from across the country.

While we weren’t able to gather in person for this year’s event, we’re proud that we were able to provide much of the same great educational content and opportunities for conversation via a virtual alternative. We’d like to extend our thanks to our manufacturer partners, and everyone who attended, and we look forward to welcoming everyone to our next Digital Console Expo in 2021!

TC Furlong Inc. is proud to be an authorized dealer for the manufacturers featured at this year’s Expo. To request a quote, or more information about any of the featured products at this year’s show, reach out to our Sales Team at sales@tcfurlong.com or call 847-367-9588.

We also carry many of the brands featured at the Expo in our rental inventory. To learn more about renting a digital console, or anything else in our extensive rental inventory, reach out to our Rental Team at rentals@tcfurlong.com or call 847-367-9588.

Is your organization looking to host a virtual or hybrid live event? TC Furlong Inc.’s Live Events team can provide a full AV production solution for your next event. Contact Jeff Cech at jc@tcfurlong.com to get started.

Why Buy From TC Furlong?

It’s no secret that there are more options than ever before to purchase professional audio equipment. At any moment, you’re a Google search away from a staggering number of online retailers offering a wide array of gear at any price point imaginable. Many of them are reputable authorized resellers; some, less so.

Naturally, we’d like to be your first choice when purchasing gear, which begs the question: why choose TC Furlong Inc.? What sets us apart from the many other options available to you? We believe that our technical expertise, design focus, Warranty Support Advantage, after-sale support, and competitive pricing provide long-term value to our customers that can’t be found at online retailers.

Technical Expertise

TC Furlong Inc. is a company made up of audio engineers and all-around gear obsessives. Our Rentals and Live Events Departments use the equipment we sell on a regular basis, and our collective decades of experience as engineers and technicians mean we’re able to provide thoughtful recommendations on the best solution for your situation. Chances are we’ve been in that situation ourselves.

We don’t push cookie cutter solutions or whatever a manufacturer might be promoting at a given time, because we believe there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to audio gear sales. Every customer, every system, and every facility is unique. Our mantra is Better Audio By Design, which means we take the time to tailor every system we sell from the bottom up, so you can be sure that your particular requirements are met.

After-Sale Support

We stand behind every piece of gear we sell for the long haul. Our Warranty Support Advantage program is unique in our industry, and provides unparalleled peace of mind with every purchase. If any new item you purchase from us needs service within the manufacturer’s warranty period, we will provide you with a no-charge loaner from our rental stock inventory while we assist you in dealing with the manufacturer to solve the problem. If an item needs service after the manufacturer’s warranty expires, we will provide a 50% discount off the normal rental rate for an equivalent item while we assist you in dealing with the repair, for as long as you own the gear. You can learn more about our Warranty Support Advantage at https://tcfurlong.com/warrantysupport/.

In addition to acting as an advocate for our customers in warranty claims, we are an authorized repair center for many of the brands we sell. We can diagnose and repair many issues at our Lake Forest, IL office, or even on-site at your facility in many cases.

We’re also available to support you on a 24×7 basis through our Emergency Audio Response service. If you experience a show-related emergency outside of business hours, you can always reach our support operator, and receive a call back from a member of our management team, usually within five minutes. Learn more about our EAR Team at https://tcfurlong.com/support/.

Competitive Pricing

Perhaps the best and most surprising thing about the perks we’ve described here is that they all come at no extra charge to our customers. In fact, in most cases we are able to meet or beat the pricing you’ll find at online retailers. Whether you’re looking to purchase a single mic cable, a full PA system, or anything in between, we’re dedicated to providing the same high level of service and competitive pricing on every single sale.

We know that you have endless options when it comes to your next gear purchase. That’s why we put so much focus on our technical expertise and quality of service. Anyone can sell you a piece of equipment; we want to sell you the right equipment, along with the knowledge that we’ll have your back for the lifetime of that equipment and beyond.

TC Furlong Inc. is an authorized dealer for over 100 manufacturers of professional audio equipment – check out our line card for a full list. Reach out to our Sales Team for a quote by calling 847-367-9588 or sending an email to sales@tcfurlong.com.

Demystify Audio: Direct Boxes

What does a direct box (or “DI”) actually do? What are the differences between passive and active DI’s? Which one is the best for my source? It’s well understood that direct boxes are an essential part of any stage package. However, as technicians, we probably put less thought into them than any other part of our signal chain. For a lot of us, the DI might just be a “magic box” that we know we’re supposed to use, but aren’t quite sure why. In this article, we’ll explore the basics of direct boxes, and give you some simple guidelines for using them.

What Does a DI Do?

Put simply, a DI is a device that takes a signal from a source, and adjusts it to the parameters your mixer or stagebox’s preamp will be happy with; namely a balanced, mic level, low impedance signal. To illustrate, let’s look at one of the most common sources that we use a DI with: the electric bass guitar.

The signal output from an electric bass is high impedance and unbalanced. The high output impedance means the signal will degrade quickly over a long cable run. Likewise, unbalanced cables are extremely susceptible to RF interference. For this reason, unbalanced cable runs should be kept as short as possible. A direct box will take the incoming signal, and convert it to a low impedance, balanced signal. The result? You can run a long XLR cable to your stagebox or console, without worrying about signal degradation or interference.

For another example, let’s consider a line level source, maybe an electric keyboard, CD player or other playback device. While there are a couple different standards for line level, both operate at an exponentially higher voltage than mic level, which will overload your mic preamp. A direct box steps down the voltage from a line level source, and again, outputs a balanced signal, which your preamp will accept.

Most DI’s have an input pad to attenuate particularly hot incoming signals, a ground lift to deal with any pesky hums, and a throughput (typically labeled “THRU”) to feed an instrument’s unaltered signal to the musician’s amplifier. Your DI might also have a polarity switch; if you’re running an instrument through a DI, and also have a mic on that instrument’s amp, it can be worthwhile to flip that polarity switch and listen to determine which setting sounds better.

Passive VS Active

Broadly speaking, there are two categories of direct box that achieve the described results in two different ways: passive direct boxes, and active direct boxes. Passive DI’s employ a transformer for impedance matching and balancing, while active DI’s use a preamplifier circuit. Active DI’s require a source of power – almost always 48V phantom power from the mixer. So, which should you use for any given source?

As a general rule of thumb, active direct boxes should not be used with devices that have “active” outputs – line level sources, like the keyboard described above. There’s no need to boost the strong line level input, so using an active DI would amount to introducing an unnecessary gain stage, and raising the noise floor in our signal chain.

Conversely, active DI’s can be hugely beneficial when dealing with particularly low signal levels from “passive” sources, like the electric bass we talked about earlier. While it will probably sound fine through any modern passive DI, the active DI’s preamplifier circuit can give the bass a little bit of a lift.

Conclusion

There are countless direct boxes on the market today. Maybe you need to plug in a phone or laptop for playback. Perhaps you’re looking for a DI to color (or even “colour”) your instrument’s sound to evoke vintage gear. Or, maybe you need a streamlined way to plug in multiple keyboards with stereo outputs. Our extensive rental inventory includes direct box options for all of the above, plus a lot more. Give our Rental Team a call at 847-367-9588, or email them at rentals@tcfurlong.com to make sure you have the right selection of DI’s on your next gig.

We’re also authorized dealers for all major professional audio manufacturers. For a purchase quote on a DI, or any other gear you may need, reach out to our Sales Team at sales@tcfurlong.com or call 847-367-9588.

 

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Demystify Audio: Wireless Intercom Systems

This is a continuation of our intercom systems blog series. To learn more about analog party-line intercom systems, click here Demystify Audio: Party-Line Intercom Systems.

Wireless intercoms have long been a staple of production intercom systems. In the simplest form, wireless communications can be handled by basic two-way radios, but in the modern era of digital communications, more complex systems are available on the market. In this article, we’ll go through the basics of wireless intercom systems and dive into analog and digital systems.

The Anatomy of Wireless Intercom Systems

The modern standard for production intercom systems is the ability to talk and listen simultaneously with many users. This gets technically complex when we move into the wireless domain because compared to a wireless microphone system that only operates in one direction, wireless intercoms have more specific frequency spectrum requirements. These requirements are handled differently in analog and digital systems.

All modern wireless intercom systems can be broken down into two main components: a base station and user stations (in this case, wireless beltpacks). The base station is the brains of the system and contains transmit and receive radios to communicate to the wireless beltpacks. The base station also provides interfacing to external systems such as other wireless base stations, stage announce outputs, and two-wire ClearCom or RTS party-line systems. Besides the wireless connection, the base station’s primary purpose is to provide the routing of signals between wireless users and these external systems. Lastly, the base station itself acts as a user station, facilitating communication to both wired and wireless users.

Wireless beltpacks (sometimes referred to as “drops”) allow users to connect headsets to talk and listen on the system through built-in transmit and receive radios. After being correctly configured, beltpacks transmit and receive audio wirelessly from the base station which routes the audio streams to other wireless beltpacks in the system and/or to other interfaced systems. Similar to analog beltpack stations, wireless drops allow users to talk on designated intercom channels via buttons that can be programmed to be latching or momentary functions.

Analog Wireless Intercom (UHF & VHF Systems)

Analog wireless intercom systems typically operate in UHF and VHF frequency spectrum used by TV station broadcast. As with wireless microphone systems, the norm is to coordinate these frequencies around FCC licensed TV stations in the individual markets.

For these systems, there are several frequencies that must be accounted for. In order for an analog wireless beltpack to be full duplex, that is to receive audio (listen) and transmit audio (talk) at the same time, separate dedicated frequencies must be used. A typical configuration for analog wireless systems is one system transmitter frequency that broadcasts to all beltpacks and one receiver frequency for each individual beltpack in the system.


A figure from the Handbook of Intercom Engineering.

Typically, analog wireless intercom systems use different frequency spectrums for the uplink (transmissions from beltpack to basestation) and downlink (transmissions from basestation to beltpack) portions. For instance, Radio Active Designs uses VHF frequenices (174-216 MHz) for uplink, and UHF frequencies (470-608 MHz) for downlink.


Learn more about the RAD UV1G System in our rental stock

Analog systems have been an industry standard for many years. One of their advantages is the simple, contained setup and deployment for a single area. Expanding systems to cover multiple areas can require significant additional hardware. Additionally, coordinating frequencies in the limited remaining TV spectrum can be difficult after the sale of the 600 MHz spectrum and ensuing repack.

Digital Wireless Intercom

Digital wireless intercom systems feature “Spread Spectrum” technology, which allows the transmitters and receivers to frequency hop within a certain frequency band. These systems work in dedicated “white spaces” in the wireless spectrum like 900 MHz, 1.9 GHz, and 2.4 GHz.

As opposed to the dedicated receive and transmit antennas of analog systems, most systems deploy cellular communication with many transceiver antennas networked together to the basestation. Most systems use standard CAT5 cable for antenna distribution, allowing for easier deployment of complex antenna systems through different spaces or zones.

With cellular-style digital wireless systems, like Clear-Com Freespeak II or Pliant Technologies CrewCom, coverage and capacity are important for antenna distribution designs. For instance, a single Clear-Com Freespeak II 1.9 GHz transceiver antenna can connect to 5 beltpacks at a time, but a Freespeak II basestation can connect up to 10 antennas and 25 simultaneous users. An example design would be to deploy 5 transceiver antennas for 15 users, and the beltpacks would seamlessly bounce from antenna to antenna based on the open slots and best connection available with no interruption to the audio feed.


Learn more about the Clear-Com Freespeak II System in our Rental Stock

Digital wireless systems can typically support more beltpack users on a single basestation and provide more flexibility and complexity than traditional analog wireless systems. On the flip side, they also involve a fair amount of programming and configuration to be properly deployed. The main draw to using digital wireless intercom systems in frequencies outside of the TV spectrum, allowing more usable RF spectrum for productions operating a large number of wireless microphone, in-ear monitoring, and IFB systems.

Conclusion

While there is no one-size-fits all solution for Wireless Intercom systems, and much depends on your application, it is an invaluable tool of the live production tool kit.

For questions about designing a wireless intercom systems or a quote on two-wire system components, contact the Sales Team at sales@tcfurlong.com. For questions regarding intercom items in our rental stock, contact the Rental Team at rentals@tcfurlong.com.

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Worship Services Moving to the Great Outdoors

Worship services moving to the great outdoors?

Social distancing recommendations, phased reopening plans, and the advent of nicer weather are all factors leading houses of worship to actively consider moving their services outdoors. Interest ranges from curiosity to uncertainly about how get started to full-fledged plans.

TC Furlong has been supporting outdoor services (and outdoor events in general) for much of its 47 year history. We are here now to support your planning as your organization weighs the costs, challenges, and options to move outdoors. Whether you envision a short-term rental system, a purchase, or just need some additional equipment to move your existing assets outdoors, we have the resources to assist you in getting exactly what you need.

On the rental side, TC Furlong has created a variety of affordable, portable, scalable, great sounding, and easy-to-use sound system packages that can meet the technical demands of any service and any size congregation. We can supply everything you need from the mics to the loudspeakers and everything in between including weather protection and storage solutions between services. Our packages are based on building blocks of loudspeaker coverage areas and can be supplemented with any accessory equipment you need including wireless mic systems, worship band support, or any other audio/video equipment and services your team requires.

In addition to the hardware–we are standing by to assist your team with support services including consultation, design, site surveys, staff training, delivery, and our famous 24×7 support that provides peace of mind to your team when you need it most. Package and accessory pricing is flexible and formulated to fit most any budget and provides deep discounts for multi-week use.

If you are considering moving your services to the great outdoors but need help in the planning and execution, contact a Project Manager at TC Furlong today at projects@tcfurlong.com or 888-823-8756.

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