Lawo ensures uninterrupted broadcasts at Mediaset

Italian commercial broadcaster Mediaset has tapped Lawro’s solutions for the upgrade of its Virgin Radio stations. 

Equipment supporting the backbone of this IP-based production unit are three Ruby audio broadcast consoles, a Power Core DSP mixing engine, and VisTool visualisation and control software. Also included are Lawo RELAY virtual radio solutions, which support hardware-independent on-air and production work. 

Deployed by broadcasters worldwide, the Ruby mixing console is integrated with the Power Core mixing engine that is Ravenna/AES67 compliant and features network-link redundancy via the ST2022-7 standard to help ensure uninterrupted broadcasts. It is further equipped with high-density MADI and Ravenna interfaces, and eight expansion slots for the addition of mic, line, AES3, Dante and studio I/O.

Designed for modern radio operations, Lawo VisTool uses context-sensitive onscreen control to allow the user to mix and route audio using the same touchscreen environment used by other studio tools. It can even integrate controls for studio applications such as playout systems, phone systems and codecs directly into the mixing workflow. 

For this project, Lawo worked alongside ARET to deliver integration between the Ruby console and the VisTool interface. Users can manage the entire radio environment with just a few clicks, and operators can choose to use either the Ruby hardware or the VisTool interface to work virtually in every studio control room. 

The three studios share resources like codecs, playout and programme feeds via Ravenna, with pre-configured logic programming for intuitive operation, a setup that delivers flexible workflows for all talents.

Studio switching can be accomplished using the “Enable” and “Studio xx” buttons found on either the Ruby surface or the VisTool display. The Lawo Power Core’s internal matrix switches the chosen studios to the antenna after analysing the outgoing signal by DMS and internal logic.