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[Nick Perry]

Hi all

Recently had a idea that could well be the future of digital consoles. I am sure I'm not the first person either.

DigiCo have shown us that they can provide huge amounts dynamically assignable DSP. This makes their desks very flexible with aux/group/matrix assignments etc...

The next step could well be based on:

- Central DSP unit with expansion.
- Virtual consoles (same concept as with VMware in the computer world)
- Dante connectivity (Dante is rapidly growing and connectivity is available for almost all popular live sound consoles)
- Multiple options for control surfaces. Physical and software (iPad, web based)

This would allow best use of the very powerfull FPGA DSP DigiCo is currently using.

Combined with a very slick GUI this would allow a very flexible audio system.

For example:
- 1 virtual console FOH (27 busses plus dual solo)
- 2 virtual monitor consoles (35busses each plus dual solo)

This would also open up options such as combined or separate channel strips etc between consoles...lots of variations possible.

Interested to hear people's thoughts of this.


Cheers

Nick

[Ryan Ainsworth]

My prediction leans towards people using a DSP engine, an I/O box, and a big toy screen monitor. I think we'll see touchscreens a become a standard over the next decade or so. As much as we all love having physical faders, I think they could go the way of the buffalo. I used the Yamaha StageMix app to mix a few shows with an M7, and I was in love. Best parametric Q control ever.

[Frank DeWitt]

It seems the way to go.  There was a reason for putting the preamp, the routing, and all the controls in the same box but that reason is gone.  A good analog console has a large number of mixers built into it but we call them Auxes.  Separate them out into more control surfaces. one for FOH one for radio or TV feed, ETC. At the next gig click on the GUI that puts the auxes together in a traditional format.

[Keith Broughton]

My prediction leans towards people using a DSP engine, an I/O box, and a big toy screen monitor. I think we'll see touchscreens a become a standard over the next decade or so. As much as we all love having physical faders, I think they could go the way of the buffalo. I used the Yamaha StageMix app to mix a few shows with an M7, and I was in love. Best parametric Q control ever.

Think LARGE touch screens. Big enough to be a full control surface.
"And sir, it's wafer thin" ... 
As for the iPad...cool but "best Q control ever"?... not so much in love.
Still a very useful item for walking the room or setting monitors.
Wouldn't want to mix a show on one.

[John Roberts {JR}]

My prediction (years ago) is for console as separate function goes away with the technology embedded inside powered speakers and wireless microphones. Components that will never go away. 

The mix engineer interface hasn't been completely invented (yet) but will be an evolution on game controllers, and glasses that project a heads up image, and cameras that watch and interpret hand movements.

The interface is a little futuristic and will be embraced first by a younger generation of operators who grew up using similar technology to play games.

or not.... the future hasn't happened yet.

JR

PS: I also predict major changes in what mix operators still have to control. The things that don't change from gig to gig, should not have to be tweaked every time, so the operator can deal only with the smaller subset of parameters that benefit from human judgement.

[g'bye, Dick Rees]

PS: I also predict major changes in what mix operators still have to control. The things that don't change from gig to gig, should not have to be tweaked every time, so the operator can deal only with the smaller subset of parameters that benefit from human judgement.

One fit seizes all?

[Sam Feine]

It seems like the original concept is already somewhat realized by the SAC software. It would however be very nice to see it built into a desk with an actual control surface.

[Caleb Dueck]

Is SAC popular because it's so powerful and easy to use, or because it's cheap?  With as often as Behringer preamps are mentioned, it seems like the latter. 

Would users pay $15k-$35k for a SAC all in one?  What would differentiate it from all the other established options? 

Back to the original question, a closed source mixer that is the same today in the US as next week in Europe is important.  The whole is higher than the pile of parts. 

[Chris Johnson [UK]]

Interesting.

First off, its not just digico who uses FPGA processing. They are just the only people who make live sound consoles who do. In the broadcast world, this is commonplace.

Secondly, what you are describing, with seperate control surfaces and DSP kind of already exists, again, particularly in the broadcast world.

I'm sure more modularity will make it into more cost effective live sound products, at the moment, its really just A&H who adopt this model (iLive...).

But lets not base it on Dante... Dante is very clever and makes great use of existing network infrastructure. But simpler point to point systems like AES (Madi) are more reliable, and don't require so much ethernet hoop-jumping. Madi over fibre is the way to go. cheap and reliable. No weird clocking schemes, etc...

Dante is like powerline ethernet. If you've got a network, and you need to send audio down it, its great. But that doesn't mean we should now only ever send ethernet down power cables... Its added complexity. It would be better to just run an ethernet cable where possible. Same with audio. Serial data streams with no switching are the way to go.

[Frank DeWitt]

Is SAC popular because it's so powerful and easy to use, or because it's cheap?  With as often as Behringer preamps are mentioned, it seems like the latter. 

SAC is popular with me because it is powerful and easy to use, and being modular it can grow.  As a example, We added 10 IEM channels to it last year.  It required 10 used laptops and a headphone amp. 

I had a video guy ask me 15 minutes before a wedding  if he could have a few audio channels mixed for his video.  I had already set up a mix layout with just the 7 channels that were in use.  I made a clone on a new mixer, handed him a cable and a laptop and told him to take what he wanted.   I also like that because it is modular, I was able to build it completely Behringer free and have it reliable.

[ProSoundWeb Community]