LUCID A/D AND SYMETRIX AUDIO PROCESSORS TEAM UP FOR COLOR CORRECTION MAGIC
LAUREL CANYON, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 2008: With the specialized color correction requirements of 3D movies and the exploding demand for high-end color
correction as more media delivery technologies come online, the construction of color correction suites in greater Los Angeles is on the rise.
System designer Charles Pell of Cobalt Blue Technology has completed a color
correction suite/digital theater for cinematographer super-couple Dominique
Martinez and Salvador Lleo's Laurel Canyon estate, in conjunction with Colin
Ritchie of Aarmadillo Inc., Quantel Corp, Chris Fichera of Blue Sky, and
master studio builder Ray Bermudez. The facility houses a state-of-the-art
Quantel Pablo color correction system (3D capable), a Cine-tal Cinemage
color grading monitoring system, and a Blue Sky 5.1 audio monitor system
featuring Big Blue, ION surround speakers and bass management controller.
This sophisticated system is capable of handling any electronic media
project.
Because the color correction system outputs four pairs of AES audio, a D to
A converter is required for audio monitoring. Audio delay is also needed, as
nearly all DLP video projectors are usually three to four frames behind the
audio, and LCD monitors can be up to two frames behind, due to video
processing requirements. To handle these needs, Pell installed a Lucid 88192
A/D and D/A converter and three Symetrix Deuce 722 digital signal processors
in the audio path. These devices transparently solved these problems to
deliver pristine frame-accurate audio.
Only a few years ago, Pell would have specified a digital delay to solve
this problem, but with the tremendous advances in DSP technology, no one
makes a delay-only unit any more. After a little bit of research, Pell
discovered that Symetrix has engineered the perfect solution.
The Symetrix Deuce 722 is a modest DSP unit with two inputs and two outputs
that contains the most frequently used processing blocks found in their
SymNet brand of full-blown, open-architecture DSP systems. And among those
blocks, of course, are the simple, but wonderfully accurate delays he
needed. Using his laptop and an Ethernet interface, Pell programmed the
three 722s to deliver a fully coherent 5.1 channel delay. Critical to
allowing the room to operate as either a color correction suite or a
theater, the 722s also include user presets for easy switching between the
Cine-tal (1.5 frames delay) and the SIM 2 HT-5000 (4 frames delay).
"The Lucid 88192 is stunning," said Pell. "It's like there's no conversion
going on at all, and the system now has the flexibility to route any source
to any destination, regardless of the format." The 88192 smoothly handles
192kHz sampling rates with bit depths up to 24 bits, and boasts eight analog
inputs, eight analog outputs, four pairs of AES/EBU digital inputs and
outputs, two ADAT light pipe inputs and outputs for all channels, and
word-clock inputs and outputs. Input formats are user-selectable in pairs
and all outputs operate simultaneously. "A true Clydesdale workhorse of
digital audio!" adds Pell.
The Pablo Systems SIM 2 HT-5000 projector contains three sophisticated DLP
chips with capabilities that underscore the fact that today's technology is
the stuff of last decade's science fiction. Each chip contains nearly one
million tiny mirrors that physically move to project the stellar image that
is the hallmark of these projectors.
Providing a true, reliable reference for the image color is the job of the
Cine-tal Cinemage LCD display.
"These timing issues will continue to pop up," remarked Pell, "so it's nice
to know that there is a simple, inexpensive, and, yet utterly, professional
solution. I plan to use the 88192 and 722s in all my future designs. And
although this room didn't call for it, the 722 has a ton of filtering and
equalization capabilities so I can tune future rooms without any additional
outboard processors. That will save my clients money and make my job much
easier!"
ABOUT SYMETRIX
For more information on professional audio products from Symetrix, SymNet,
Lucid and AirTools please call (425) 778-7728 or refer to websites, symetrix audio, symnet audio, air tools audio and lucid audio.
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