NEP Ireland standardises OB trucks with Calrec with purchase of two Artemis consoles

NEP Ireland has acquired an Artemis Light and Artemis Beam for its Emerald and HD1 mobile production units, respectively.

With the recent purchase of two Calrec Artemis consoles, NEP Ireland has now standardised its five main OB vans on Calrec. The company has acquired an Artemis Light and Artemis Beam for its Emerald and HD1 mobile production units, respectively. NEP Ireland is a leading provider of outside broadcast services across Ireland.

According to Rick Poster, senior audio engineer at OBSTV/NEP Ireland, outfitting the company’s OB fleet with Calrec consoles was a decision that made sense from several perspectives. “About four years ago we purchased an Artemis for one of our UK-based trucks, and since then we haven’t looked back. Calrec has a very large market share in the UK, and many of the freelancers we work with really weren’t familiar with our older consoles, but they knew Calrec. Plus, the company has moved forward quite strongly with the development of its Artemis console, and because we began using that product at the beginning of its lifecycle, we’ve been able to develop along with it and take advantage of better monitoring, including loudness monitoring, which is excellent. The I/O frames are easily configurable as well, and overall the Artemis is a great package for its size and price,” he said.

NEP Ireland is also taking advantage of Calrec’s sophisticated Hydra2 networking capabilities, which connect all the OB units seamlessly. Poster highlighted the fact that with the Hydra2 infrastructure, NEP has the ability to send audio signals over long distances using fibre optic cable and share those signals between each mobile truck. This reduces setup time and the amount of temporary infrastructure that NEP needs to install within venues. Projects that NEP has used the Artemis for include Ireland’s Got Talent and the recent Bilbao Finals 2018 organised by European Professional Club Rugby.

Poster also commented on Calrec’s consistent and superb customer service. “From the day a desk arrives and throughout the service process, their technical support has been excellent. This obviously had a huge influence on our purchasing decision.”

Jim Green, International Sales Manager for Calrec said, “One of the things we’ve learned over the years is that a combination of innovative and reliable consoles with a strong support system and quick setup time is the key to keeping our customers happy. We’re so pleased that NEP Ireland is harnessing the power of the Artemis console to keep its trucks modern and up to date.”