Lawo has been producing cutting edge audio gear for more than a half century. Founded by Peter Lawo in 1970, the company began as a small engineering office in the Rhine river valley town of Rastatt, Germany, initially focused on building outboard processing gear and analog consoles based on audio modules. In the 1980s, Lawo developed the model PTR, a large-scale, programmable mixing console using a hybrid (digitally-controlled analog) topology and by the 1990s, created the first fully digital mixing consoles in its mc series, followed by the network-capable mc² series.
The innovations continued. Lawo’s early vision of IP becoming a single, unified infrastructure for all types of signal transport in broadcast and media production triggered a clear corporate strategy that continues today. This included developing the RAVENNA open media-over-IP standard more than 10 years ago and actively contributing to other open media standards such as AES67, Ember+ and ST2110.
Recently, Lawo revealed Phase II of its powerful A__UHD Core audio engine, and the next generation of the mc²36, its most compact, feature-filled, all-in-one audio production console.
The native-IP A__UHD Core is Lawo’s new console core for mc² consoles, delivering 1,024 channels of mc²-quality audio processing in a 1U chassis — something that previously required 10 times the rack space. Meanwhile, the new mc²36 Mk II raises the audio production bar by more than doubling the DSP channel count of the original. Also new is an ultra-compact 16-fader version that delivers big performance in the smallest mc² footprint ever. And a major new feature, IP Easy, simplifies the process of managing IP network devices.
Inside the A__UHD Core “Phase II”
Far more than an update, Lawo’s new software package for the A__UHD Core represents a major leap forward. “UHD stands for ultra-high density,” notes, Christian Struck, Lawo’s senior product manager for audio production. “And it lives up to its name. It has everything a live production console needs, including 1,024 channels of mc²-grade processing algorithms, multiple sets of monitoring matrices, downmixing/upmixing and is ready for next-gen audio formats such as Dolby Atmos and MPEG-H.”
A native IP device, A__UHD Core is designed to work within IP networks and manage networked devices. It is based on open standards such as ST2110-30/-31, AES67, RAVENNA, Ember+ and NMOS. And the 40-bit floating point processing supports 48k and 96k Hz operation.
But the appeal of A__UHD Core goes well beyond its power and ample DSP resources. It’s software-defined design offers a “future-proof” feature set, which can adapt to meet changing production requirements down the road, such as scalable performance needs; dynamic, on-the fly resource allocation from any mc² surface to any networked A__UHD Core; and more. Among these other perks include a “pooling” license to share resources between multiple mixing surfaces, whereby A__UHD Core can power several smaller consoles instead of one very large console — e.g. four consoles with 256 DSP channels each.
Redundancy for use in no-fail applications is also addressed, with the ability to tap into a second A__UHD Core that can be deployed locally, across campus or across the country, as a 1+1 hot-spare device that mirrors the active device and can take over seamlessly if needed. And backup powering is available via hot-swappable, redundant power supply units.
Full-on network interface redundancy is offered with the A__UHD Core’s eight front-panel ports that are split into four SFP network interfaces (each supporting up to 512 Rx and Tx streams with stream sizes between 1 and 128 audio channels) for dual, independent IP network connections. And ST2022-7 Class-C Seamless Protection Switching with extended buffer size enables flawless operation on WAN or LAN.
Enter the mc²36 Mk II
Sharing the technology of Lawo’s recently redesigned mc²96 and mc²56 consoles was the original mc²36, which on its debut in 2014, was quickly adopted into houses of worship, performing arts centers and touring theater applications where a compact, powerful mixer was required. Announced last month, the new mc²36 Mk II is offered in two frame sizes — the 16-fader (single 21.5” touchscreen, 32.8”x32.3” footprint, 83.8 pounds) and the 32-fader (dual 21.5” touchscreens, 52.9”x32.3” footprint, 121.3 pounds).
Among the new mc²36 Mk II features include: 256 DSP channels (160 inputs and 96 summing buses) with a total I/O capacity of 864 channels; up to 96 groups and 32 Automix groups; onboard A__UHD Core processing; Button-Glow and touch-sensitive rotary controls; color TFT fader-strip displays; seamless Remote Desktop Integration (to run third-party solutions directly from the mc²36 user interface); and full-on Waves SuperRack SoundGrid, providing operators with access to both Waves plug-in as well as the console’s selection of real-time signal processing. All of this and Lawo’s “IP Easy” feature that simplifies IP device management, automatically detecting and connecting new devices and handling details like IP addresses, VLANs and security features such as access control.
A wide range of peripherals are also offered, including the A__stage-series WAN-capable audio-to-IP Stageboxes, analog/AES3/MADI nodes, a modular IP node and Lawo’s versatile V__pro8 8-Channel Video Processing Toolkit.
“Now we can provide customers who need a small console with something they’ve never had before — an IP-native mixer with outstanding DSP power and comprehensive I/O connectivity. And it not only provides best-in-class IP connectivity, but also Lawo-grade mic inputs, line outs, AES3 and a MADI port for legacy equipment,” says Lawo senior technical product manager, audio production, Lucas Zwicker. “And moving the mc²36 to the A__UHD Core means all future developments will happen on a single platform, with production file compatibility between all mc² consoles.”
For additional information, visit www.lawo.com
