Over the last few years there has been a growing need for a small digital audio mixer designed specifically for use in NLE edit suites, mobile trucks and OB vans, and Telecine bays. Small analog consoles lack the ability first to handle digital audio, but are also lacking in the features required in a video edit suite. The need to save and recall memory setups instantly. The ability to handle both analog and digital audio formats, including AES and SDI embedded audio. The requirement that the mixer integrate audio seamlessly into the video workflow, with a video-centric control surface and the ability to lock to house sync. And, that does all that with an audio quality equal to the standards demanded by video professionals.

Large digital consoles may provide some of the necessary tools for the video professional, but they are lost in menus, on a complex control surface, that is just too difficult to operate in most video applications. You have told us that it should not be necessary to work through this complexity to perform the most basic of audio for video functions. The physical size of these larger mixers is also a negative factor in many NLE edit suites. There just isn't enough room for a large audio mixer on the desk. At less than one cubic foot in size (16517cc) the Blue|328 is a perfect fit.

Ready for HD Video

While the space available in many edit suites continues to decrease, the audio requirements seem to only increase. The transition to HDTV brings with it the need to edit and monitor audio in 6 or more channels. Multi-lingual production, multiple bounce tracks for dialog and effects, conformance editing and other typical video editing operations commonly overwhelm stereo mixing decks designed primarily for music production. The 8 channel mixing ability of the Blue|328 offers a significant productivity increase in many video edit suites. In addition, the flexible 8 channel monitoring section provides the ability to simultaneously monitor the audio in stereo, surround or any other configuration desired, with custom monitoring setups instantly recalled at the push of a button.

Renegade has packed the Blue|328 with a number of other features the video professional will also find invaluable:

* Up to 16 video frames (max at 48kHz) of audio delay is available on each audio input, useful for compensating for the frame buffers often found in modern digital video gear.

* Record returns return a unity gain feed from a record deck to the mixer for quality assurance monitoring without using fader channels.

* Unity indicators by each fader confirm exact unity level settings on audio channels; a Clean Feed mode which bypasses front panel level and effects settings is also provided for Telecine dubbing applications.

* The operating level of the mixer is easily changed to match broadcast or facility specifications.

* 200 memory registers are available for storing room or show setups. Each register may be labeled with a long alphanumeric string for easy identification, and the first 16 are accessible with one button press from the front panel.

Uncompromising Audio

Of course, the audio must also sound as good as the video looks. Clean and vibrant sound is vital in assuring that both clients and operators—and ultimately the home or theatrical consumer—experience the maximum impact from a video production. Renegade strives to deliver nothing but the finest in audio design, using top-of-the-line chipsets and circuits in order to produce the most brilliant audio performances possible. All audio I/O in the Blue|328 is 24-bits, and all audio processing is done with a full 64 bits of floating-point precision. Noise and distortion specs are among the best in the industry.

Of course, sometimes the source material itself isn't the highest quality; that's when the built-in 3-band parametric equalizer and dynamics processor available on each input will prove invaluable. Gain trims are also provided on each channel to bring up soft sources or quiet loud ones, and phase reversal on input pairs allows stereo coherence problems to be fixed.

The Blue|328 is designed to handle the common 48kHz audio rates common in most video edit suites, but is also ready today for the higher 96kHz and 192kHz rates that are becoming common in some applications.

Download a brochure, or set up a demo of the Blue|328 with one of our distribution partners, and experience for yourself the sound of Audio for Video the Renegade way.

Features At A Glance

Detailed electrical and mechanical specifications are available in the Blue|328 Product Brochure.
(Specifications subject to change without notice.)