Sonifex has got the year off to an excellent start by winning several major high profile contracts and will be showing a range of new and exciting products to add to their successful current portfolio at the 2001 AES exhibition (stand number yet to be confirmed by the AES).
Due for release in May 2001 is the new Net-Log audio logger. Designed to be operated and controlled by PCs on a network, Net-Log combines the reliability of a dedicated hardware recorder with the flexibility of editing and playout over a network. It can record 4 mono, or 2 stereo, audio streams for playback using TCP/IP. Many radio stations throughout the world must log their station output for regulatory purposes. Net-Log allows them to do this with ease, being able to store over 6 weeks of audio on a 30GB hard-disk, together with the ability to archive to other media for long-term retrieval. Even if logging isn't regulatory, Net-Log can provide audio to the desktop of anyone at the station, for example : from their desktop, the sales team can check to make sure that advertising was played on time and create audio files to email to customers.
The phenomenal success of Redbox, a range of analogue and digital audio interface boxes, is set to continue. Throughout this year, Sonifex is launching several new additions to the range taking the total number of products available from 11 to 16. At last year's NAB show, Sonifex presented a limited edition gold anodised Redbox to celebrate the 1000th Redbox sale. Even without the new additions, Sonifex has already sold 3000 Redboxes with no sign of their popularity abating.
New additions include 3 unbalanced to balanced matching converters - the RB-UL1 single stereo, RB-UL2 dual stereo and RB-UL4 quad stereo units. A single microphone amplifier, the RB-MA1, and a single stereo to mono converter, the RB-SM1, were also released in February this year.
The RB-SD1 Silence Detection unit is being released in April 2001 and has been designed for use at transmitter sites or radio stations, where alternative signals can be switched in should the main broadcast audio path go silent. The RB-SD1 has 2 balanced audio inputs that are user-defined as either the main source or auxiliary source. The main source is constantly monitored and, in the event of it dropping below a pre-set level for a pre-determined amount of time, the unit will automatically switch through to the auxiliary signal. These silence detect levels are user definable and the silence interval can also be adjusted between 2 seconds and 2 minutes. The unit can operate in 2 modes - auto or manual. In both modes the unit will automatically switch over to the auxiliary source after detecting silence. When the main signal is again detected the unit will either return to the main signal automatically or manually depending on the mode chosen. The RB-SD1 can also be remotely operated and has full remote outputs for alarm indications and remote switching.
With several major sales in the European market for the Courier portable hard disk recorder, production of the machine is shifting into top gear. Since the Courier's launch back in 1997, Sonifex has responded to customers needs and has kept the product continually at the forefront of design technology with an on-going program of software additions and enhancements. The ISDN version of Courier includes a built-in codec that can be used for live reporting or data transfer. Comprehensive on-board editing facilities and compatibility with the majority of in-house editing and playout systems provides seamless audio transfer without the need for dubbing. A new portable telephone balance unit CO-TBU enables live commentary for the standard Courier or where ISDN is not available. Additionally, Sonifex has made product adjustments, customising the Courier specific to the customer's needs which, along with its current raft of features, has led to major orders from the BBC and Danish Radio.
Also on show at NAB is a range of analogue and digital telephone balance units and the Sentinel range of audio logging machines.
