Canford Source Material Mag - Issue 6 (2021) by Canford Audio

canford.co.uk

SIXTH EDITION

A Canford Production

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UK Touring and Live Events â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The state of the nationâ&#x20AC;Ś Gravity Media innovate with custom solutions from Canford The Canford business - Something very important happened to Canford in December 2019... BAFTA nominated Composer Richard Jacques upgrades studio and reflects on twenty years as Canford client

NEW

REDEFINING POWER DISTRIBUTION SOLUTIONS • THEATRE • LIVE EVENTS • TOURING • BROADCAST •

• Space saving 1U compact designs • Wide selection of locking connector options • Overcurrent protection • High-contrast power status indicators • Upgraded 16A & 32A 2U C-Series • A ll-new E621 & E622 Floor Boxes for on-stage applications

CONTACT OUR SALES TEAM FOR MORE INFORMATION UK sales t: +44 (0)191 4181122 e: sales@canford.co.uk Int sales t: +44 (0)191 4181133 e: international@canford.co.uk 2 | Source Material by Canford

www.canford.co.uk/EMO

Call UK sales on +44(0)191 418 1122 or email sales@canford.co.uk

CONTENTS 2

EMO

Redefining power distribution solutions.

Hello and welcome to the sixth edition of Source Material.

Canford 12G 4K microMUSA

The Canford business

Something very important happened to Canford in December 2019...

S ALZBRENNER media installs Canford microMUSA patch panels at Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf and Festspielhaus Baden-Baden - one of the largest classical music venues in Europe

Television Mobiles install 12G 4K microMUSA from Canford

No Dispute Interview Recording

Gravity Media innovate with custom solutions from Canford

Sony DWX UNCHAINED

Noise UP It is accepted that prolonged exposure to loud noise can cause hearing damage, but noise does not have to be within the ranges that will cause hearing damage to be a problem.

B-Tech AV Mounts

Choristers of Canterbury sing Canford’s praises

#WE MAKE EVENTS

The new mobile friendly website.

Professional AudioVisual mounting solutions.

Customer review: “I am delighted to say that I have been a consistently satisfied customer of Canford Audio for more than 30 years.”

Need Cable? Rapid response standard and custom cable assemblies.

Essential back to work products Where possible we would like to support our clients. To that end, we have collated a range of products which may prove essential as customers fight to ensure the safety of staff members, protect visitors and keep businesses open.

NEAL Interview Recorders.

31 Level-limited headphones and headsets

Canford responds to customer trends with website update

Major Projects. Why system integrators are turning to Canford It would be fair to say that major installation projects are not for the faint of heart.

– Don’t let events go dark.

SALZBRENNER media - Turnkey Systems and Project Solutions on a Global Scale.

We at Canford have always strived not to be just another distributor, our ethos has always been to offer the most comprehensive range of products and solutions...

Introduction

Why buy Canford Brand Products?

UK Touring and Live Events - The state of the nation How things have changed within a relatively short period of time and who could have foreseen the challenges that would be facing us all in 2020?

Transitioning to a networked audio environment does not mean you have to abandon high-quality kit. Re-imagine audio projects and upgrade legacy equipment with Canford Dante Interfaces.

önig & Meyer Hygiene K Support Stands Protect your customers, employees and visitors.

K&M monitor stand 26754

Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk

Audio networking has never been easier or more affordable

Voice Technologies Plug & Play with Smartphones: Interview Kit VT506MOBILE.

Rip-Tie The Best Solution for Cable Chaos.

Source Material by Canford | 3

Maximising Engineer’s Safety and Signal Stability

Two of the most critical concerns of an Outside Broadcast Unit Manager are the safety of their team and the quality of their broadcast feeds.

Multi-award winning, BAFTA and IVOR NOVELLO nominated composer for film, television and video games Richard Jacques is quite possibly best known for his critically acclaimed orchestral scores.

LEN Broadcast Video Solutions.

Adlib

BAFTA nominated Composer Richard Jacques upgrades studio and reflects on twenty years as Canford client

TSL Audio Monitoring

Cost-Effective Tools for a Unique Production Environment

With requirements and specifications for wireless alternatives stinted by the developing restrictions of RF legislation and driven by the projected growth of consumer demands, the AV world looks to adopt more IT solutions.

Canford: A global Broadcast and Pro AV solutions provider

In fast-paced production environments, it is essential that broadcasters have reliable, flexible tools that fit seamlessly into their operations and offer ease of use and familiarity as personnel shift and move between productions.

Did you know that Canford has been exporting worldwide for over 40 years and has offices in France and Dubai?

Tecpro by Canford

Glensound Minferno – Be in Control

Canford expands rapid fibre termination service in response to strong demand

Reliable Wired Intercom.

Further investment would see Canford quickly expand its fibre department in order to stay ahead of demand, and maintain its promise of a ‘short lead-time’ fibre termination service.

Acoustic Design of a Broadcast studio When designing a broadcast studio, good acoustics play a key role not simply in creating quality content, but forming a reliable and efficient work environment.

Germ-free mics – a necessity in these times Even in the best of times, it is a good idea to keep your microphones clean and germ free – it’s just good practice. In these days of COVID-19, it is imperative.

Artnovation: Passion for acoustics Customise Your Design

Glensound Remote Commentators The Minferno is a smaller, more compact version of Glensound’s Inferno commentary unit. This is a great pedigree as the Inferno is the world’s most popular Dante commentary unit.

Rent | Buy | Install

The expectation of wireless

Green Go Revolution. Scalable. Intercom.

50 42

4 | Source Material by Canford

When it comes to new products we often take inspiration from customers who approach us looking for a solution to a problem that they have.

Green-Go Remote comms What sets Green-GO intercom apart from other intercom brands is its modular approach to digital networked communications.

Designing for the customer

Bubblebee sidekick 2 IFB in-ear monitor.

61 51

Canford Mains Distribution Units

Listen to the Voice Inside Your Head

Carbon Fibre Poles Panamic boom poles and distance poles.

Call UK sales on +44(0)191 418 1122 or email sales@canford.co.uk

INTRODUCTION

Source Material 2020/21 By Stephen Gallagher, Canford Marketing Manager

Hello and welcome to the sixth edition of Source Material. Each year I look forward to writing a short introduction piece for the magazine, which goes out annually to approximately 20,000 of our clients. It is usually an incredibly proud and positive time in which I’d reflect on the year gone by, and consider what I might say about the year ahead. It isn’t quite so easy this year! I find it impossible not to mention Coronavirus, and acknowledge the huge impact it has had on every one of us. Last year I wrote about the immense number of years our experienced team had clocked up, and the benefit all of that collective knowledge offers to our clients. When

I wrote that, I never imagined that the very same team would be pulling together to deliver a near ‘business as usual’ service across all departments during a global pandemic and national lockdown. While it is my photograph at the top of this page, Source Material is very definitely a team effort. As is our commitment to our clients. On behalf of all of us here at Canford, please accept this heartfelt thank you for your support during 2020 and you can rest assured we’ll be there to support you and your business through 2021 and beyond.

AVAILABLE NOW Canford 12G 4K microMUSA Smaller, lighter &12G performance

• Reduced weight and space-saving 1U design • 24, 32 and unique high-density 48-way configurations • Performance exceeds SMPTE ST 2082-1 • Suitable for composite and component video, 270 Mb/s SDI, uncompressed 1080i or 1080p HD-SDI video and 4K UHD (2160P60) video up to 12GHz

• Manufactured by Canford, 12G technology by Coax Connectors Ltd EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE FROM CANFORD FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk

www.canford.co.uk Source Material by Canford | 5

The Canford business Something very important happened to Canford in December 2019. It became employee-owned, thus ensuring full continuity of service, policy and ethics. By Iain Elliott CEO, Founder and Owner

Canford has been privately owned since I started the business in 1976, but the shareholders have aged gently and must now prepare the business for developing new leadership over the next few years. However, I couldn’t bear the thought of selling to another company, who probably would not maintain our company culture and ethos, as well as employment in the north-east of England and on Portland in Dorset. So, one day in January 2019, the owners were meeting with our accountants to try to determine what we could do. One of the partners in the firm said “Have you thought about an Employee Owned Trust”? We looked blank, we’d not heard of the concept, perhaps understandably as they were only created in a very recent finance act. It took a few months to get our heads around the idea and how it could be implemented, but it was clearly a “no 6 | Source Material by Canford

brainer” in terms of achieving continuity in the business. So, in December, Canford Group Ltd was sold to the newly formed Canford Employee Ownership Trust. The board of trustees currently includes two members of staff, whose remit is to represent all their colleagues. Canford is now owned by and will run for the benefit of current and future staff members. The Trust is intended to last for 125 years, at which point further decisions will have to be taken. Meanwhile, Canford is not going to be sold to another business. We’ve enlarged the board of Canford Group Ltd, bringing more industry knowledge to support the very gentle transition in the way the company is managed. We’re delighted to welcome Chris Arnold, former Managing Director of Neutrik UK, as a non-executive director. He joins Werner Bachmann, former CEO of Neutrik AG who has been with us for a few years, and John Slider, former Senior Vice President of Samsung Electronics Manufacturing UK.

Masses of extremely relevant knowledge of the business sector we operate in, as well as manufacturing, which now forms a substantial part of our business. No new management is coming into the company; we have all the talent we need! It’s been calculated recently that we have nearly 2000 “person-years” experience within the team, which helps give the quality of service and depth of knowledge that distinguishes Canford - the same team that you know, and (usually) love. The Employee Owned Trust status offers opportunities for the management team very gradually to take a greater control in running the business, and for the staff to share in profits in years to come. Canford Audio SARL, located in Strasbourg, France, is also a member of Canford Group. It’s serviced the French and North African market for 30 years, but has an upcoming new role as our “legal representative” in the European Union. From 1st January 2021, whatever the outcome of the unforgivably late attempts to settle a trade arrangement

Call UK sales on +44(0)191 418 1122 or email sales@canford.co.uk

The Canford business

between the UK and the EU turn out to be, we will use it to look after our EU customers, with transactions effectively the same as they are now. If we get tariffs, Canford will absorb them. From January 2022 it will enable us to CE mark our own products, essential in order to sell them in the EU, but not something a UK company will be able to do in the future. * Further afield, Canford Middle East continues to operate in Dubai, serving all GCC countries and beyond and is critical to our major projects business. Over the last 12 months we have been heavily involved in providing materials to six of the eight World Cup 2022 Football Stadiums along with many other sports stadia, studios and the occasional Royal Palace. During the last 12 months we have created a new and significantly larger fibre assembly area to handle the ever-increasing demand for fibre terminations. We have the capability and certification for Lemo SMPTE, Fibreco expanded beam, Neutrik opticalCON, and now offer MTP 12-way connector termination. To provide customer choice of cable, we hold substantial stocks of fibre cables from Draka, Belden, Percon, OCC and Furukawa, along with large stocks of Lemo SMPTE and Neutrik opticalCON connectors to help keep lead times to a minimum. Some of the connector assemblies are used in our range of fibre termination boxes that we manufacture at our metalwork unit on Portland in Dorset. All fibre terminations are carried out and tested to industry standards using state of the art polishing and testing equipment. The Portland site continues to develop its reputation for both standard and custom metalwork solutions, frequently for projects where every panel is different and often at short notice. Our in-house paintshop and laser engraving equipment enable all processes to take place under one roof, contributing to faster production times. The experience

and skills of the team mean that they can handle “less than fully drawn” designs or simple verbal requests and even sometimes spot errors (“if it’s an xxx connector, it doesn’t have those mounting holes”, for example) at an early stage to prevent a disaster and delay further down the line. Production innovation in our copper cable and electronics workshops at Washington keeps the product range fresh and relevant. Not highly complex, but still important functional products, mostly developed following dialogue with customers and often following custom specials manufacture. Cable assemblies, mains distribution, script lights and the Tecpro intercom system remain our core areas, but the “little black box range” continues and now includes simple Dante converters and other “toolbox” devices – the kind of products we are known for and have been making consistently for 40 years. The three production departments deliberately complement each other and many products, both custom and standard, are manufactured with input from all three areas. Our NEAL production team continue to build the iconic interview recorders that we’ve been manufacturing for 25 years. The analogue cassette format is long gone (although alive and well in so many TV crime series) but the CD format continues in strength. This summer we supplied several hundred recorders for use by the Department for Work and Pensions, a very useful order during the lowest point of the Covid-19 crisis in early summer. And a bit of trivia – why is there an 8 second tone at the start of the CD recording? When using a cassette, an interview recording could have been started before the leader tape had passed the record head. To prevent this, the 8 second tone ensured that the interview did not start until the leader tape had passed the record head, thus ensuring nothing was missed. However it became such a well-known

Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk

feature of the interview process that customers requested it be implemented on the CD recorders even though it wasn’t needed. Despite initially being designed for the judiciary system, the recorders can now be found in use in many companies for HR and fraud investigation use. With the multi copy digital recording each party can retain a copy of the interview, so that there is “no dispute” about what was said. The iconic nature of the NEAL recorders means that we regularly receive requests from production companies to hire machines for realistic shooting during production of the various crime dramas that are often seen on TV. Things were going really quite well, until March when the Covid-19 crisis unfolded. Like most other companies in the UK, business dropped away radically. We made the decision that we could and would continue to operate (with some changes), to support the many customers who were still fully functioning. A new product – the Panamic Distancing Pole – was developed and into production within a week; demand for 2 metre poles from news media organisations rose rather rapidly! All four manufacturing units stayed open; our entire team pulled together to adapt working practices, and in turn helped support both our existing customer base and many new customers in situations where their usual supplier wasn’t able to help. As an organisation we take great pride whenever we get an email or telephone compliment – everyone gets to hear about it. It’s great to see the smiles around the company; there really is a “family spirit” here. We appreciate knowing when we’ve helped someone, especially when timing is critical, as it is for many of our customers. So to conclude, thank you all for your business. We look forward to our next 125 years! * If you’re a manufacturer and will need an agent, give me a call

Source Material by Canford | 7

SALZBRENNER media installs Canford microMUSA patch panels at Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf and Festspielhaus Baden-Baden one of the largest classical music venues in Europe by Julian Roppelt, Marketing & Communications Manager at SALZBRENNER media.

Opernhaus Düsseldorf Zuschauerraum © HansJörg Michel

SALZBRENNER media, one of Germany’s leading system integrators for professional audio, video and media technology, has recently completed two major projects with Canford’s new 12G 4K microMUSA patching solution. SALZBRENNER media - Turnkey Systems and Project Solutions on a Global Scale SALZBRENNER media is one of the leading systems integrators for professional audio, video and media solutions. Their experience in designing, planning and manufacturing, as well as installing and implementing demanding projects, spans more than five decades and has made them a trusted partner for project managers and customers. They cover a vast range of areas and applications, from research and development of audio, video, media, and intercom technology and emergency alarm systems, to system integration and distribution. They design custom-built solutions from the planning stage to final implementation. The long list of successful projects ranges from theatres, operas and concert halls, to high-profile broadcast, sporting and music events, as well as public and religious buildings. The list comprises top-notch venues and institutions, such as the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, the Federal Chancellery in Berlin, Sydney Opera House in Australia, the Veltins-Arena (also known as the football stadium of Bundesliga club FC Schalke 04) and the Parliament in Hanoi, Vietnam. Despite regularly working on high-profile projects, SALZBRENNER media are one of only few systems integrators to provide both, large and small scale turnkey solutions. 8 | Source Material by Canford

Most of their products are made-to-measure and include innovative functions with ISO-certified production processes. With their headquarters in Buttenheim and subsidiaries in Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Papenburg, Chemnitz and Vienna (Austria), they implement projects worldwide. “Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf” – one of Germany’s biggest opera companies The Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf Duisburg GmbH is a theatre community serving the cities of Düsseldorf and Duisburg that represents a lengthy tradition of collaboration between these two urban centres. Ever since it was founded in 1956 it has been regarded as one of Germany’s leading opera houses. With an ensemble of top-quality soloists, distinguished chorus and the nationally- and internationallyacclaimed Ballett am Rhein Company, it has evolved into one of Europe’s premier addresses for both opera and dance. Its home lies within one of Germany’s largest and most densely populated cultural regions. The two cities of Düsseldorf and Duisburg alone account for almost 1.1 million inhabitants, but numerous neighbouring districts and a large number of outside visitors also benefit from the range of excellent work offered by the Deutsche Oper am Rhein.

Call UK sales on +44(0)191 418 1122 or email sales@canford.co.uk

SALZBRENNER media installs Canford microMUSA patch panels at Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf and Festspielhaus Baden-Baden - one of the largest classical music venues in Europe

In 2020, SALZBRENNER media was commissioned with the complete renewal of the stage management technology of the Opera house. The new system comprises a mobile stage management console, an IP-based cue light controller for light signalling, a new intercom system and the integration of the rehearsal sound system in the hall, which is independent of the main sound system, into the stage manager system. “Festspielhaus Baden-Baden”- one of the largest classical music venues in Europe During the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden appointed systems integrator SALZBRENNER media to replace their audio and video technology, as well as their sound system. With a capacity of 2,500 seats, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden is one of the largest classical music venues in Europe. The building features a unique architecture as the opera hall sits on the trackbed of a former railway station, whose neo-classicist structure serves as the entrance hall. The reconstructed opera house was designed by the Viennese architect Wilhelm Holzbauer in the mid 1990s in accordance with ideal acoustic values calculated by the acclaimed Munich-based physicist Karlheinz Müller. microMUSA provides vital video patching capacity Large format 3G SDI video distribution systems are used in both the Deutsche Oper am Rhein and Festspielhaus BadenBaden installations. All footage from the cameras of the audience and the conductor, for the recording or the monitors on stage, as well as recordings and transmission for the foyers, are transmitted via this video distribution. This is implemented using matrices from “Nevion”, which can transmit the SDI signals via copper or fibre optic cables. In both projects, matrices of 128x128 inputs/outputs are used in the control centres for the stage. Directly connected to each of these matrices are 16x16 fibre optic channels as connections for the smaller submatrices in the control rooms and production studio. The signals from the offset boxes, cameras, feeders and monitors are connected via 3G-specified copper cable and switched in the matrix systems (partly also automated). In these applications, the patch panels are connected before or after all copper SDI inputs and outputs, mainly for safety reasons.

In this situation, the microMUSA patch panels are paramount. In case of failure of a large matrix in such a system, it would be practically impossible to guarantee (emergency) supply on stage and in the control room or studio without them, and thus guarantee rehearsals or performances within a short time. In both venues there are emergency distribution boxes, which can be used to distribute the signals relevant to the performance to the monitors, recorders or streamers in the shortest possible time.

Festspielhaus Baden-Baden © Thomas Straub

Technical Consultant Joachim Lindemann explains: “We used Canford’s microMUSA because it offers a good price/performance ratio with excellent quality. The 12G specification offers reserves in 3G systems, because the transmission over copper lines is only possible up to certain cable lengths. The quality of the connectors influences the quality of the transmission path, and the high quality connections used within microMUSA allow for longer transmission distances. The workmanship and quality of the patch cords is excellent and the microMUSA patch panels are also available in a very high density (up to 32 channels in 1U). We also made provision for the use of larger diameter cables by using Canford’s 24-way micro panels”. Sarah Webster, Key Account Manager for Germany, comments: “microMUSA is a very important product range for Canford. It was developed in response to an increasing demand for 4K infrastructure products and provides 12G high density patching for applications where reliability is critical and space is at a premium. We are absolutely delighted that our longstanding customer SALZBRENNER media has selected to use microMUSA in two such prestigious venues in Germany.”

More information about SALZBRENNER media, their projects and products can be found online at www.salzbrenner.com. Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk

Source Material by Canford | 9

Television Mobiles install 12G 4K microMUSA from Canford Television Mobiles (TVM) is a specialist outside broadcasting company based in Bartlemy, Co. Cork, Ireland.TVM is a one-stop broadcast facilities company with a proven track record as a first class, reliable OB provider. Their ability to seek out and implement the latest technological developments has set them apart from other operators in the industry. Established in 1986, Television Mobiles provide state of the art OB trucks, specialised equipment, talented crew and the latest technological solutions to a wide variety of clients including production companies, TV channels and private clients. This, along with a policy of sourcing the most talented and skilled operators available, has ensured that the quality of the service offered by TVM is always of the very highest possible standard. TVM are currently providing coverage of the Gaelic Games Championship Season for Ireland’s national TV and radio broadcaster RTÉ, SKY Sports and TG4. Other recently completed, highprofile projects have included Soccer Internationals, the Pro14 Rugby Final, Ireland’s Fittest Family and a special 25th anniversary performance from Riverdance. This was filmed in 4K, on location at the spectacular 18th century Slane Castle, County Meath. Incidentally, it was the first time the dancers had performed together since early March when COVID restrictions brought an abrupt halt to tours of the UK and North America. TVM Operations Manager, Kevin Galvin comments: “We’ve been a customer of Canford Audio for longer than I can remember. Canford sell top quality products at an affordable price point. They always seem to have stock and their communication to us is second to none. I trust their technical department as they always seem to give honest advice.” 10 | Source Material by Canford

Based in County Cork, Ireland, Television Mobiles fall under the remit of Canford’s International Business Development Manager, Vita Gorkina who is responsible for major projects, new product introduction and key account management. Vita Gorkina added: “I regularly travel internationally for client visits and trade events, but Ireland has a special place in my heart and I always look forward to visiting the emerald isle and catching up with Kevin and the team at TVM. We’d recently launched our 12G 4K microMUSA video patch panels which are ideal for OB applications, so it was time to book a meeting with Kevin.”

In response to the increasing demand for 4K infrastructure products Canford have developed microMUSA, an exclusive range of video patch panels which are intended for 12G 4K ultra high definition (2160P60), 3G and 1.5G high definition, standard definition and analogue video applications. Designed to be lightweight and space saving, microMUSA is offered in three forms; 24-way Standard Density, 32-way

High Density and 48-way Very High Density. Performance exceeds the requirements of SMPTE ST 2082-1 making them suitable for composite and component video, 270 Mb/s SDI, uncompressed 1080i or 1080p HD-SDI video and 4K UHD (2160P60) video up to 12GHz. microMUSA connectors incorporate a unique positive location feature (“detent”) that indicates when the U-link or patchchord is fully mated into the panel, whilst additionally providing resistance to disconnection through vibration as found in some environments such as OB vehicles. Kevin Galvin: “Earlier this year we had another visit from Vita Gorkina and one of the products she introduced was the microMUSA video jackfield. I knew being a Canford product that it would be reliable and Vita persuaded us to use it on our latest Outside Broadcast truck OB11. OB11 is designed for 6 CCU cameras plus 2 radio cameras. It has a relatively small footprint for quick deployment but can still house up to 10 operators. We are always trying to reduce rack space in order to increase the number of operators so when Vita demoed the microMUSA it was a perfect fit. The ability to have 64 jacks in 1RU has excellent space saving and still allowing the patching of 4K signals.” TVM also hope to use microMUSA on their next truck build, OB10 which will see the light of day in Q1 2021.

Call UK sales on +44(0)191 418 1122 or email sales@canford.co.uk

NO DISPUTE INTERVIEW RECORDING With fraud soaring, compensation claims at an all-time high and the average disciplinary hearing or unfair dismissal costing companies thousands, impartially recording important interviews is becoming an essential way of working. Canford offers the NEAL range of digital interview recorders, transcribers, transcription software and a range of accessories to suit. NEAL recorders are PACE Act compliant and are already used by many law enforcement organisations worldwide. The iconic NEAL brand, which eagle-eyed clients will recognise from many a TV police drama, has been manufactured here in the North East since 1995 and also has a proven track record for interview recording solutions within organisations in Healthcare,

Human Resources, Housing, Trading Standards, Fraud, Environmental Health and Immigration. Visit www.neal.co.uk Benefits of NEAL Interview Recorders: • Simultaneous accurate, reliable and impartial recording • Time and Date stamping on all recordings • Ease of use by non-technical staff • Portable and fixed location recorders • Standard recording format for ease of replay and transcription • Two and three disc recorders available

MANUFACTURED IN THE NORTH EAST OF ENGLAND SINCE

Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk

1995

Source Material by Canford | 11

GRAVITY MEDIA with custom solutions By Stephen Gallagher, Canford Marketing Manager

If you are in any way involved with the broadcast industry you would be hard pushed not to be familiar already with Gravity Media. Headquartered in the UK where it works from five locations in London, the South East and Manchester, Gravity Media was formed by the coming together of four established broadcast and production houses: Gearhouse Broadcast, HyperActive Broadcast, Input Media and Chief Entertainment. Gravity Media is a £100m global brand with an impressive 30-year pedigree. Similarly, Canford was formed in 1976 and celebrated its 44th year in business during 2020. So, perhaps it was inevitable that Gravity Media and Canford would meet somewhere along the way and form what has become a solid partnership. A long-standing relationship founded on a mutual technical understanding and Canford’s ability not only to supply equipment, but to contribute to the design process and manufacture custom solutions. Always keeping up with the latest broadcast innovations (or pioneering them!), Gravity Media provides a number of integrated, end-to-end solutions across the full broadcast spectrum - production, programming and content services. The business serves clients in all markets, from sport and media to movies and entertainment, working all over the world from bases in the UK, Australia, 12 | Source Material by Canford

USA, France, Germany and Qatar. Over the years Canford’s manufacturing facility in Portland, Dorset has designed and produced an array of custom solutions for Gravity Media. One such development ensured the safe transportation of Gravity Media’s Flypacks to be used at a major international football tournament. Designed to be taken to any location in the world, these flyaway systems are routinely deployed to a multitude of applications from studio productions to remote outside broadcasts; from sporting events to reality TV. They contain everything required to deliver complex high-definition multi-format broadcasts. Canford designed a heavyduty 42U welded rack, engineered

to withstand the rigours of life on the road and offer much needed protection to the valuable broadcast equipment housed within them. Further collaboration has seen the introduction of a custom rack solution known fondly as “The Beast”. Gravity Media utilises some of the most sophisticated routing technology available. This is used in a range of applications, from workflows at multichannel video programming distributors, large national broadcasters or network hubs that require thousands of inputs and outputs (I/O), to studios and mobile production trucks. “The Beast” is a bespoke product that not only provides a means of transporting and protecting this critical hardware, but

Call UK sales on +44(0)191 418 1122 or email sales@canford.co.uk

Gravity Media innovate with custom solutions from Canford

innovate from Canford also incorporates patching to standard BNC panels which facilitates rapid termination and set-up once on site. More recently, Gravity Media’s experience within sports broadcasting and links to Qatar brought about a new opportunity to work with Canford, who’s Portland factory is regarded as the ‘supplier of choice’ for custom metalwork, laser engraving and bespoke connector panels.

Gravity Media – then branded Gearhouse Broadcast - was contracted to upgrade the technical infrastructure at the 40,000 capacity Khalifa International Stadium in Doha. Home to the Qatar national football team, Khalifa would become the first renovated venue to be ready for the 2022 football tournament. Gravity Media installed an in-stadium broadcast system, enabling broadcasters to plug into the permanent on-site infrastructure from multiple positions to enable a variety of live productions. The solution was based upon 51 custom wall boxes. As the stadium is a multi-purpose venue used for both football and athletics, the location of each box required careful planning to allow productions to be

as flexible as possible. Each wall box utilised custom connection panels from Canford. These provided for remote links to a central OB patch room – a solution that required some 131,200 metres of cable, including Triax, SMPTE, audio and single-mode fibre connection. Gavin Drake, Canford Production Manager Portland explains: “Canford has supported Gravity Media for many years on stadium infrastructure projects. Our significant experience in this field has enabled us to design and developed bespoke solutions to overcome the unique problems presented by these projects. Canford typically supply all of the wall box connection plates which will be located around the stadiums along with all of the termination panels within the rack room which handles the incoming feeds.”

Pete Dinnes, Gravity Media Installation Director commented: “Our relationship with Canford is invaluable. They are more than just another supplier. There is no room for error with our projects and the team at Canford have contributed an enormous amount towards the design and development of so many custom solutions. Their experience has proven time and time again to be a huge asset to us. We can rely on Canford to produce exactly what we need and to have it onsite, on time no matter where in the world it is required.” Following the success of the Khalifa project, Gravity Media rolled out Canford connection panels across multiple football stadia including the 60,000 capacity Al Bayt Stadium, Al Rayyan Stadium, and Al Thumama Stadium which will each welcome 40,000 fans during the football tournament in 2022.

Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk

Source Material by Canford | 13

NOISE UP!

By Paul Power, Technical Support Engineer

In 1963 the Wilson Committee on the Problem of Noise defined a straightforward definition of noise as “Sound which is undesired by the recipient”. And the World Health Organisation has ranked noise pollution as the second environmental threat to humans after air pollution. There is noise all around us whether we like it or not, a walk down our local street will find our ears being assaulted with all manner of sounds from cars, trucks, busses, industrial machinery, people shouting, sirens, etc. It is accepted that prolonged exposure to loud noise can cause hearing damage, but noise does not have to be within the ranges that will cause hearing damage to be a problem. There are a number of non-auditory effects of moderate levels of noise that can cause health problems which include, high blood pressure, heart problems, and increased stress levels. In addition noise can also affect the levels of productivity, multitasking, and motivation. In general, a person with good hearing has a hearing range from 20Hz to 20kHz, with infants being able to hear slightly higher than 20kHz. However, by the time we reach middle age this probably only extends to around 14kHz due to an ageing process of the hearing system called presbycusis, but what about sounds outside this range of hearing? Fear Frequency In the early 1980’s an engineer named Vic Tandy was working in a lab designing medical equipment when he suddenly noticed that he was feeling uneasy, breaking into a cold sweat and the hairs on the back of his neck were standing

up. He put this down to the hum of ventilation machines used to assist patients with their breathing that were being tested within the building. But he was a keen sword fencer and noticed one day that a blade clamped in a vice was vibrating, he then realised that the vibrations were caused by resonances within the room at low frequencies caused by sounds reflecting off of two or more surfaces, these were creating standing waves called room modes which he calculated to be 19Hz just below the threshold of human hearing. Sounds within this range are known as infrasound and in his case the source was a newly fitted room air conditioning system. He later learned that sounds within this range can cause discomfort in humans with some of the symptoms being dizziness, hyperventilation, blurred vision, and panic attacks. During the Vietnam war, the Americans worked on a project called the Urban Funk Campaign which experimented with the use of noise to intimidate their enemies. Using audio frequency oscillators mounted on helicopters they would blast tones during the night at the equivalent level of a jet

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taking off at close range. The British army are also reported to have taken elements of the American research and created a squawk box that was said to be used in Northern Ireland. Because of the method used to generate the low frequency tone of 2Hz within the squawk box, the beam of sound was so small it could target individuals inducing psychological effects like vomiting, seizures, and panic attacks, see http:// www.spannered.org/features/806/. Infrasound is outside the ranges of human hearing with respect to the lower frequencies, but, at the other end of the scale there are the frequencies that are too high for most humans to hear. Ultrasound Ultrasound is well known for being used in hospitals to allow doctors to view inside our bodies for example to check the progress of a pregnant motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s baby or to view internal organs to diagnose disease. But more recently frequencies within the ultrasonic range could be the cause of ill effects reported by a small group of people. Ultrasonic sounds are high pitched and are not in the range that most people can hear, however, they are close to the hearing range of frequencies for infants, young people, and some adults as a result can cause adverse effects like tinnitus, headaches, and nausea. People who are affected by ultrasonic frequencies have complained that they feel ill in certain buildings and have been to their doctor and have had their hearing checked, but it has been found to be fine. There are only a handful of researchers in the world looking into this phenomenon one of whom is Timothy Leighton of Southampton University. He found through site surveys with the use of specialist microphones and recording equipment all of the sites where people had reported feeling unwell ultrasonic sounds were being broadcast in that area, places like railway stations, stadiums, and restaurants. Lots of devices generate ultrasonic tones some of which are automatic door closers or pest control systems, many of the sites surveyed were unintentionally broadcasting ultrasonic tones over their PA systems. Research into ultrasonic noise pollution is sparse because not many people are aware of its effect, however, researchers are beginning to take notice and carry out investigations in this field, see https://asa.scitation.org/ doi/10.1121/1.5063351. Infrasound and ultrasound effects are rare and more common noise pollution is the type that we can hear and make tangible associations with.

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City Living If you are looking for a quiet life then living in a city is not the place to be, however for many people they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a choice in the matter. The UN predicts that by 2050 two out of every three people will live in cities, with almost one third of Europeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population living in areas where noise levels exceed 55dB sound limit recommended by the world health organisation. The main culprits for noise in cities are of course from motor vehicles, busses, and trains. Environmental noise can also affect house prices with the average house price being reduced by 2% for every 1dB increase in noise. Living in an apartment block or flats it could be your neighbour above or below that could be the source of the noise. If you live in the city that never sleeps, New York, you might need to treat your apartment to gain some silence. In one such apartment there was so much noise that owners had to raise their voices to be heard and the vibrations made the apartment shake so much that a bath full of water had ripples. Treating this apartment entailed wrapping pipes and ducts in acoustic barrier material, hanging walls, and ceilings on vibration absorbing rails, and floating floors at a total cost of $200,000, it would seem in this case silence is priceless or golden, see https:// www.nytimes.com/2015/12/13/realestate/soundproofing-fornew-york-noise.html. Wildlife It is not only humans that are disturbed by environmental noise animals are also affected, from fish larvae to whales. Concern is growing that our inability to appreciate noise in the sea is doing damage to marine wildlife and research into this problem is only now beginning to gather pace. The noise can come from many different sources which include military sonar, oil drilling, seismic surveys, dredging, and ships engines. The problem with sound underwater is that sound travels much faster and further underwater compared to in the air, sound in air travels at ~343 meters per second whereas underwater this is ~ 1500 meters per second. Recent occurrences of beached whales have been put down to military sonar confusing the creatures and in addition damaging their senses. Scientists say that the whales swim away from the sound causing them to become disorientated. A study conducted in the US just after 9/11 when there was much reduced shipping traffic found whales to be calmer than previously.

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noise up!

Birds are also affected by noise but can adapt by changing the pitch of their song to communicate. This is similar to humans where we subconsciously raise our voice but also change pitch, rate, and syllable length to compensate for noisy environments this phenomenon is known as the Lombard effect. Generally, birds living in urban areas where the noise can be characterised as containing lower frequencies, birds such as great tits and song sparrows have higher pitched song than that of their relatives living in quiet woodland areas. In contrast, other studies looking at the behaviour of European robins have found that the presence of human made noise could be interfering with their ability to reproduce and develop normal social behaviour. And that background noise appeared to mask communication of important information between birds, causing messages to be interpreted as being more aggressive prompting disproportionate force between rivals. Researchers have also looked at a large variety of animals to examine the effects of noise pollution on their behaviour. They found that all of the species studied were affected by human made noise. For example, during migration birds will avoid noisy areas and fish larvae find their homes based on sound emitted from coral reefs which can be masked by the engines of large ships, the consequence of this is that it can change the composition of species within an area adversely affecting the ecosystem. Anthropause The drop in human activity during the recent lockdown caused a drop in seismic activity by 50%, see https://www. imperial.ac.uk/news/200454/covid-19-lockdown-causes50-global-reduction/, which was the longest and most pronounced period of quiet ever recorded in human history. There is a global network of 117 seismic stations, which over the lockdown were able to identify possible earthquakes that previously may not have been picked up. Scientists say that as a result of the quiet period this could help them in the future to differentiate between human made noise and natural signals that might help to warn of upcoming natural

disasters, for example, human footfall and factories cause vibrations in the 1-8Hz, motorway traffic 10-30Hz and trains 20-30Hz. Noise and pollution caused by humans is known as anthropogenic, however, scientists are renaming this period of quiet as the anthropause. During the lockdown sound levels in urban areas of London dropped by 60% whilst sound levels in some areas of Paris dropped by 90%. For many, this was a welcome break, but not everyone relished it as some residents in New York missed the noise so much that the New York public library issued an album which included barking dogs, subway noise and, beeping horns. The period of lockdown and reduced noise is said to have had a positive effect on wildlife especially birds as it is reported that the lockdown coincided with the zebra finch mating season and as a result could see more and healthier zebra finches. There is also speculation that the reduction in traffic on the seas will have a positive effect on sea creatures, but the large number of underwater recorders used by researchers to gather underwater noise data are not wired back to land so have still to be collected and could hold a wealth of new information as a result of the lockdown restrictions. This unprecedented period of quiet has provided respite to humans and wildlife alike. In addition has provided scientists with a unique opportunity to further understand the acoustic environment. One nationwide study has been made possible through the quiet project https://www.ioa. org.uk/news/covid-19-quiet-project-%E2%80%93-callmeasurements which has enlisted acoustic engineers, noise consultants and, researchers to make sound measurements and upload them in a bid to build up a database to help understand the effects of noise on health and the economy. Further, the period of quiet will also help simulate what the soundscape in cities might be like in a decade when all cars could be electric assisting town and city planning. But the European Environment Agency reports that based on their projections it is unlikely that the number of people exposed to noise will significantly decrease in the future due to urban growth and demand on mobility, see https://www.eea. europa.eu/articles/noise-pollution-is-a-major.

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WHY BUY CANFORD BRAND PRODUCTS? By Graeme Lyon, Canford Product Manager

We at Canford have always strived not to be just another distributor; our ethos has always been to offer the most comprehensive range of products and solutions as possible with many of our 15,000+ products being available off the shelf for next day delivery. Brands such as Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, Shure, Neutrik, Sonifex and a plethora of others have always been part of the Canford portfolio, but what makes us truly distinctive is that over 40% of the products offered are Canford branded, of our own design, with many being manufactured in-house at our own UK based production facilities. Canford boasts three production sites across the group. These include a fibre workshop, a final assembly workshop and a metalwork site. The fibre and assembly workshops are both situated in our Washington Headquarters in the North East, whilst the metalwork site resides on the isle of Portland in Dorset. Now that tells you who we are, or rather who we strive to be, but it doesn’t tell you why customers buy Canford branded equipment. The depth and breadth of range is not only second to none, but also constantly evolving with new products and designs being added to support evolving technology as well as customer requirement. Now it may be the case that you may not know what each of our manufacturing facilities can offer, or the solutions that they can provide. Outlined below is a brief listing of some of the products that each facility produces. 18 | Source Material by Canford

Our Assembly Workshop in Washington focuses heavily on the production of Mains Distribution Units (MDU). Close collaboration with our in-house Design Team recently led to the successful launch of an all-new EMO range. The skilled team are also responsible for the production of Tecpro, our well known two-wire or “party line” communications system which can be found in theatres throughout the UK. Also ready-made cable assemblies: from the simple XLR to XLR cable available in a multitude of colours and lengths, to the more complex products such as Tourline, MIL26 multipin cables and customer special orders all originate from this busy workshop. As does Canford level limited Headphones and Headsets and the affectionately termed “Widgets & Glue” - these are products such as Mic splitters, line isolating units, attenuators, powered Loudspeakers, amplifiers, power supplies, converters and interfaces to name just a few. Our recently expanded Fibre workshop is under the same roof. Originally launched in 2016 following a strategic investment, the fibre termination team provide an industry leading, short lead time termination service for SMPTE Hybrid Fibre Camera cable assemblies, opticalCON DUO, QUAD, MTP and

HMA. Often working in partnership with our metalwork team to provide customers with a complete solution, the fibre team have introduced various Fibre Breakout Boxes to include SMPTE, opticalCON to LC, SC, ST Fibre connections in both singlemode and multimode offerings. Our Portland workshop in Dorset not only manufactures the majority of our internal metalwork requirements for both our Fibre and assembly workshops but also focusses on the production of a vast range of metalwork products. Rackmount termination panels with a comprehensive offering of connector types, sizes and colours, including audio, video, data and fibre combinations. A series of rugged steel wall and floor boxes offering a vast range of connection possibilities when combined with ‘Universal’ series connectors. A range of broadcast-style, fibre termination enclosures supplied fully-populated with combinations of industry-approved fibre throughcouplers and also an unrivalled range of rack accessories including blank panels, vent panels, shelves and other cable management products. To top it all off Portland also offers a custom laser engraving service, this process is not just limited to simple text,

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Why buy Canford Brand Products?

but can also incorporate intricate company logos and other graphics. With the addition of Canford designed cables, a comprehensive range of woodwork products including Wall mount and desktop boxes, free standing racks and Lecterns, the range of products on offer speaks for itself, but it doesn’t end there... Over the years Canford has come to appreciate that our standard product

offering may not be suitable for a particular client requirement. Having our own workshops means Canford has been well placed to help clients with their own specific custom needs. All three workshops are heavily involved in the design, quotation and manufacture of non-standard products. Now throw into the mix a 2-year warranty on all Canford branded products, an enviable reputation

and trusted brand, decades of experience and knowledge in the manufacture of our own products and finally a staff dedicated to delivering the highest quality of both product and service levels. Now taking all of the above into consideration, isn’t the question really “Why not buy Canford brand products?”

LEVEL-LIMITED HEADPHONES AND HEADSETS • No loss of audio clarity • Protects from hearing damage • Fitted in-line or discreetly within the earcup

• Fast turnaround – evaluation, fitting, calibration, test

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT

www.canford.co.uk/Hearing-protection-and-noise-control Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk

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Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let events go dark!

Live events have stopped in their tracks. The entire festival season was wiped out, the West End went dark, and venues of all sizes closed their doors. Without urgent support from government the entire event supply chain could collapse. Join the collective effort to amplify the industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s voice and help us get the support we need. #WeMakeEvents

WWW.WEMAKEEVENTS.COM

20 | Source Material by Canford

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Canford responds to customer trends with

WEBSITE UPDATE

If you have ever used the Canford website on a mobile device, you may have found it slightly frustrating to use. The original design was not optimised for mobile use, instead it simply scaled down to fit the smaller screen. This made the text very small and difficult to read, often requiring a lot of pinching to zoom in.Trying to tap buttons and links when using a fingertip made navigation of the site a challenge. Over the years there has been an increase in the number of Canford customers accessing our website with mobile devices. A general trend which has been accelerated by the COVID-19 outbreak. Our software development team made use of the “quiet time” brought about by lockdown to focus on some more complex tasks. One in particular has been to re-write the coding of our website to make it more accessible with a new, mobile friendly responsive design. The new mobile friendly website automatically adjusts its layout to suit the screen of the user’s device, presenting content in a more simple way while still displaying the same depth of product information Canford is known for. Also, key elements within the site, such as Buttons, will automatically scale up allowing for quicker and easier navigation. Whether you are working from home, site, temporary studio or sitting on a train... We hope that our ‘mobile friendly’ changes are helpful and come as a welcome update. Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk

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ESSENTIAL BACK TO At the time of preparing this piece, the reproduction (R) number and growth rate of COVID-19 is rising as the virus shows no sign of abating. Canford remains open during these challenging times. Where possible we would like to support our clients. To that end, we have collated a range of products which may prove essential as customers fight to ensure the safety of staff members, protect visitors and keep businesses open.

K&M HYGIENE SUPPORT STANDS A range of disinfectant stands, including floor standing, wall fixings, and table top stands.

• These stands have been designed specifically for hygiene reasons within education, offices, retail, restaurants, courtrooms and hospitals. (55-315)

BUBBLEBEE SAFETY APPAREL - VISOR CAP WIDE Removable face shield Cap with hidden adjustable ribbon strap.

• Manufactured from 100% cotton and allows the user to fix the included TPU visor via a zip positioned around the brim of the cap. (55-9421)

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SOCIAL DISTANCING FLOOR STICKERS

• Please keep 2 metres apart, footprint graphics, yellow (39-505) • People 2m apart graphics, yellow (39-506) • Let’s all be safe and stay 2m apart, blue (39-507)

(39-503)

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Essential back to work products

WORK PRODUCTS HEADPHONE WIPES Bactericidal lint-free wipes, impregnated with a 70% iso-propyl alcohol mix. Specifically designed for cleaning plastic headphone pads, also ideal for sanitising lip microphones.

• Wipes are 180mm x 135mm approx and available in a plastic dispenser can with snap-shut lid. (55-183)

CONTACTA STS-K002L-G SPEECH TRANSFER SYSTEM Surface mount kit, with hearing loop Contains discrete, free-standing, movable speaker and omni-directional microphone modules for the customer side. With a free-standing combined speaker and directional microphone module for the staff side. (26-366)

Hazardous: Only available for shipping to GB mainland addresses

CLEANING ALCOHOL - Iso-propyl Alcohol (Propan-2-ol)

CANFORD HEADPHONE HYGIENE COVERS 70mm-100mm (pack of 5 individually packed pairs)

An all-purpose cleaning fluid, harmless to

These covers, made of a non-woven lightweight material, stretch over headphone and headset earpads with diameters 70mm – 100mm.

tape heads, optical lenses and other delicate areas. Removes adhesive and other sticky residues, oil deposits, as well as general dirt build up etc. 99.9% pure alcohol. (55-175) Hazardous: Only available for shipping to GB mainland addresses

• They are supplied packed in pairs in individual plastic envelopes. Colour: Black. (54-9001)

CANFORD WINDSHIELDS

PANAMIC DISTANCE POLES

A range of foam windshields in a variety of standard colours, manufactured specifically for Canford Audio by Europe’s largest specialist windshield manufacturer.

• T he sizes cover most popular microphone shapes. (53-410) Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk

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UK Touring and Live Events By Erika Dobie, UK Business Development Manager

Today’s world seems to be at the complete opposite end of the spectrum in comparison to the world that we had when writing my first article two years ago about the booming live events and touring industry and the wealth of growing opportunities that we were seeing on a pretty much daily basis. How things have changed within a relatively short period of time and who could have foreseen the challenges that would be facing us all in 2020? The live music sector alone contributed £1.1billion in 2018, an increase of 10% on the previous year. The total contribution of the UK live music and live events industry to the UK economy is in excess of £100 billion each year, with the UK being very much the market leader and one that overseas counterparts aspire to. And then Coronavirus struck and turned the world on its head. . . This has impacted particularly heavily on live events and touring arenas where it has been impossible to adhere to social distancing measures, whilst maintaining financial viability. It has been described as ‘someone switching the light off ’ and everything literally stopped overnight. It is an industry at crisis point where we are seeing multiple company closures, loss of jobs and enviable skill sets which have typically been the life work of so many. It is heart breaking to see the situation that many of our industry friends, ranging from the large rental companies to the one man bands, now find themselves in. Andy Dockerty, MD of Adlib commented “ The pandemic has been devastating for the Live events industry. From the 20th March to mid October we have had over £15m worth of work cancelled and tragically had to make 55 of our workforce redundant, We are desperate not to lose any more of our incredibly talented team, however, it appears that all of the proposed government’s support is not fit for purpose for our sector. Our sector, when allowed will come back quickly, but until mass gatherings are allowed our income monthly is between 5% to 10% of our normal income. It appears that the governments programmes of support do not truly factor in the requirements of the industry supply chain. Venues appear to be getting some assistance whilst the needs of the production companies and their suppliers seem to have been overlooked. 24 | Source Material by Canford

We are currently witnessing some works returning in our installation departments which is encouraging. Our biggest investment since March has been into streaming systems with pretty much our only rental department income has been generated from. We have also managed to install streaming systems to clubs, churches and educational establishments. The whole Live Events sector is in the same predicament. However with the lack of support between now and a return date, there will be a lot of casualties and a fear that the equivalent European companies supported by their governments may take the mantle that the UK currently has as a world leader.” Broadcast service providers are also among the hardest hit further to tv production being shut down or delayed. As a key supplier to this sector, we have certainly felt the impact of this ourselves. During the first week of April, our revenue dropped by almost 70%. However, we remained open for business throughout, a decision of which has been pivotal to our own survival whilst providing valuable support to our customers. Alex Hadjigeorgiou,Technical Manager of broadcast rental company FAC365 says “I work for one of the few companies who has ‘Carried On’ during the Covid Pandemic . I consider myself very fortunate that our business has had enough work to stay afloat. We have been doing a combination of rental into broadcast and installation for the past few months. Whenever we have been onsite conversations have mainly revolved around the issues thrown up by the pandemic and the problems that none of us thought we would face. Actually getting hold of some products has been a real challenge which has frequently led to that commonly uttered phase - ‘Its strange times that we are living in. . .’ Thankfully Canford has helped us out on more than one occasion whilst maintaining their Call UK sales on +44(0)191 418 1122 or email sales@canford.co.uk

UK Touring and Live Events – The state of the nation…

usual high level of friendly service and support throughout. Rental companies have warehouses full of kit, but they are unable to provide a rental cost due to their admin staff being furloughed. They are unable to prepare the kit as they have no warehouse staff in, or sales teams that can give you the cost but no idea when the goods might arrive… Strange Times appears to be a huge under statement for a period of time that will be seen as the death of a large part of an industry that could be viewed as one of the UK’s biggest jewels in its crown. I just hope that enough companies make it out the other side so that we have some chance of rekindling the greatest entertainment industry in the world and the amazing staff that make it possible.”

WE LIVE IN HOPE. . . During lockdown, Canford provided some very useful GreenGO training webinars. These were well attended and gave customers the opportunity to refresh and improve their technical knowledge on this cost-effective IP comms system - which is now common place among AV and Touring clients hire stock. Similarly to Green-GO, many of Canford’s most recent product developments have evolved as a result of the touring and live events sectors becoming an ever greater part of our business. The relationships that we have with our customers are paramount, and we continue to work closely with them to design and manufacture distinctive products that are critical to their everyday needs during this unprecedented time and into the future. The new EMO Power Distribution panels are an example of this, where specifications were required to meet with the requisites of todays’ user and a range of 1U and 2U panels were born. Models offer various different locking connector options and LED power status indicators, whilst keeping size and weight to a minimum due to the importance of premium rack space and weight considerations. See www. canford.co.uk/EMO. Another typical requirement is for an Audio Splitter Panel or perhaps more commonly known in the north as a ‘JIZ’ panel.

It is used to passively split signals between multiple mixing consoles by way of a Tourline multipin connector breaking out to individual XLRs. Canford Manufacturing is indeed no stranger to these requests and different variations of this product are well within their area of expertise. See www. canford.co.uk/custom-panels

As a solutions provider, developing products that eradicate the ‘hassle factor’ and more importantly cost, is integral to our role. One such product is the Canford Universal Connection Panel - Rapid Assembly. Designed to allow rapid rear mounting of connector configurations without the need for specialist tools or fiddly nuts. Supplied complete with mounting frames and M3 screws. See www.canford.co.uk/ Canford-Universal-Connection-Panels-Rapid-Assembly Whilst we have not come through this completely unscathed, we have so far been fortunate enough to weather the storm. Many have had to adapt to a new way of working (ourselves included) and branching out into live streaming and virtual concerts/ events. Whilst there is a lot of ‘the unknown’ within these current uncertain times, we hope that Canford can at least provide some reassurance to our friends and colleagues out there that we are still here to provide the best possible levels of service and support throughout and that you and your families remain safe and well. Government support schemes are changing rapidly. All information correct 01 November 2020

Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk

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Hygiene Support Stands Regular and thorough hand hygiene is essential to fight viral infections such as the current Covid-19 coronavirus disease and, of course, pathogens in general. Especially in highly frequented areas and places where many people come together, germs can be transmitted quickly. Disinfecting the hands is vital to protect yourself and others from infections. However, facilities for hand disinfection must also be available. König & Meyer is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of all kinds of accessories for musicians and the music and entertainment industry. Thus the company’s core business was also heavily affected by worldwide lockdowns in the very early days of the Covid-19 Pandemic. Since then K&M has invested a lot of time to complement their assortment and introduced a new range of disinfectant stands in May, with additional products following throughout the rest of 2020.

You can attach useful information for your visitors to the poster display stand The disinfectant stands 80340, 80310 80395 as and 80315 and the disinfectant wall well as to the holder 80330 are in neutral white information and suitable for the most common board 80390. disinfectant bottles. The 80370 holder is The board also available in black and can be used can be as a table stand or wall mount. mounted For Euro dispensers K&M offers the easily on the disinfectant stand 80320 in white, the disinfectant disinfectant column stand 80350 in stand black and the table stand 80360 in black 80320 and or white. the disinfectant With the mobile disinfectant stands, column stand disinfectant holders and other equipment In addition, disinfectant bottles can 80350. be mounted directly on the stands from König & Meyer you can protect for the Euro dispensers thanks to the your customers, employees and visitors All products are 80396 holder. safely and sustainably from germs. made in Germany. The offer comprises different models On request, the The versatile tray 80380 can be which are ideal for use in commercial models can also be mounted on disinfectant stands or premises with high visitor frequency, manufactured in other generally to tubes up to a diameter of such as hospitals, doctors’ surgeries, 30 mm which can be used in many ways individual dimensions. retail shops, hotels, restaurants, schools, for facial or cleansing tissue papers, face event locations or business premises for masks or other hygiene products. 26 | Source Material by Canford

installation in entrance and waiting areas.

Call UK sales on +44(0)191 418 1122 or email sales@canford.co.uk

Monitor stand

26754

Solid and ﬂexibly adjustable · Height adjustable in 50 mm steps · Metal tripod base provides for stability and functionality · Felt pads ensure noise filtration · Tray tiltable and adjustable in depth

www.k-m.de

Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk

Made in Germany

5 year warranty

Source Material by Canford | 27

MAJOR PROJECTS. Why system integrators are turning to Canford It’s pretty incredible when you think how quickly times change and how much technology has developed and penetrated our lives.There are more devices, bigger screens, faster connectivity and this is just our day-to-day life. As the world intertwines with technology, the entertainment industry as well as professional audio visual sector is changing to accommodate those expectations resulting in huge demands being placed on infrastructural transformation. Canford is also part of this new reality and we have noticed an ever-increasing number of major installation projects. By Vita Gorkina, International Business Development Manager

WHAT DOES CANFORD CLASS AS A MAJOR INSTALLATION PROJECT? With our wide market coverage across Broadcast, AV and Theatre this would include the building or refurbishment of sports stadiums, broadcast studios, OB vehicles, schools, universities, theatres, places of worship, shopping centres and effectively any other environment that requires significant audio-visual infrastructure. WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES FACED BY OUR CUSTOMERS WHEN UNDERTAKING THIS TYPE OF WORK? It would be fair to say that major installation projects are not for the faint of heart and are a significant challenge to even the most experienced systems integrators. Just to progress to the bid stage there is an initial tender document that needs to be dissected in order to create a meaningful bill of quantities for the required hardware before sourcing competitive quotes. There is then the minefield of trying to plan and estimate the potential labour requirement and logistical costs. To compound all of this, these projects are seldom anything close to straightforward and they often present real environmental, structural and technical challenges which the successful bidder must cost in and overcome whilst at the same time trying to manage the end customer’s overoptimistic expectations of what is actually possible. 28 | Source Material by Canford

This all said, any project manager worth their salt would tell you that the hard work really begins after you have actually won the contract and you then need to convert the theory into “on the ground” reality, often within timescales that would seem like madness to any normal sane person. WHERE DOES CANFORD FIT INTO THIS EQUATION? With nearly 45 years of experience Canford is a leading global provider of audio, video and communications equipment. We’ve curated the industry’s most comprehensive range of products, which is continually updated to ensure Canford’s position as the “one stop shop” for many of the infrastructure products required for a major installation project. These range from connectors through to cables, panels, mains power distribution units and practically everything in between. To further support our customers, Canford also offers many of the major industry brands, including our own Tecpro and EMO ranges. However, before delivering products and solutions it is important to understand what is actually required. Through our extensive experience of dealing with big projects and going through tender documentation on a regular basis, we are now able to interpret end users’ needs and foresee any pitfalls that might have been unaccounted for in the design process. Call UK sales on +44(0)191 418 1122 or email sales@canford.co.uk

Major Projects. Why system integrators are turning to Canford

From consultation through to tender and then installation, here at Canford we are able to support our customers with the products, guidance and expertise that is needed for all major installation projects. WHAT MAKES CANFORD DIFFERENT TO OTHER PROVIDERS? Canford has, from the very start of its journey, prided itself on being different to other distributors. Historically this has been achieved by not only offering a full cross section of the most popular products, available from stock or on short lead times, but also by the fact that over 40% of our standard products are designed and built by Canford primarily as a result of communicating directly with our customers and understanding what they actually need. This very much still remains the underlying backbone of our business. However, in more recent years we have seen a significant increase in the demand for customised bespoke solutions particularly in relation to the major projects market and in true Canford fashion we have risen to the challenge. Utilising the significant technical knowledge and experience that we have gained over many years and coupling this with the three workshops across our two sites in the UK, we have developed a comprehensive set-up and approach that cannot be rivalled within our industry. Looking in detail at our workshops, the most recent addition is our specialist fibre termination facility in Washington. We are now not only capable of manufacturing our own wide range of standard ‘off the shelf ’ fibre and SMPTE cable assemblies, but we can also produce bespoke custom assemblies, adapters and break-out solutions in relatively short lead times. To facilitate this service we hold significant stock of most major cable types alongside a large inventory of the more popular connectors. With the rapid growth and expansion in this market area we expect to continue to increase both our capacity and product ranges going forward which will include additional connector options in the near future.

From our original Canford workshop, also at our Washington site, we continue to manufacture the flagship branded ranges such as Canford MDUs, Tecpro and EMO alongside a vast array of stocked cable assemblies and other popular Canford products. Again these same skill sets are easily and quickly adapted to developing and designing custom solutions, whether they are simply a variation of a standard product or a completely new concept. All of our custom products are built and tested to the same high quality standards that our Canford brands are renowned for. Last but certainly not least is our metalwork factory on the Isle of Portland in Dorset. Equipped with sheet metal working plant, vertical machining centres, a powder coating suite, laser engraving and an assembly workshop, this facility has been at the forefront of our now industry standard 19” panels and metalwork for over 20 years. Couple this with an equally long history of working with customers to design and produce bespoke solutions from simple variation on standard products right through to complete major stadium infrastructure packages, and you will begin to understand why Canford is the ‘go to supplier’ of many systems integrators when they need something made from metal that is a little “different”.

Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk

Source Material by Canford | 29

Major Projects. Why system integrators are turning to Canford

Though the responsibility for designing and building the system itself remains with the design consultants and systems integrators, Canford is always on hand to assist in these processes by utilising our comprehensive knowledge and history of both projects and solutions. In many cases we can avoid the need to re-invent the wheel as our standard product ranges or back catalogue of custom designs may already hold the answer. Even if it doesn’t, we are happy to work with the consultant or project engineer to develop the right approach once we have all of the required information. At the point where a design is finalised and an order has been placed we can quickly move to manufacture the product via one or a combination of our three workshops. WHY DO CUSTOMERS LIKE DEALING WITH CANFORD? Most customers would start by telling you that we are very nice people to deal with, whether it is on the phone, via email or when you meet us in person. This is not only true but very much at the core of what Canford is and strangely we do actually like our customers and hope you like us too. This said we also appreciate that you are talking to us for a reason and our aim is to try and help you in the best and most efficient way possible. This is why, unlike many companies, we don’t restrict your calls to just our sales teams and instead try to utilise our specialist skill sets within the business. If the requirement is for a major project, you would initially be directed to a member of our proactive

30 | Source Material by Canford

sales team or business development manager who can assess your requirement before deciding on the appropriate route. In many cases you would be given direct access to the relevant brand product manager or workshop who can then discuss the requirement in more detail before working with you to finalise a solution. Once that’s sorted, costs can be calculated and the sales team can generate a quote. We have historically found that letting your technical bods talk directly to our technical bods is the fastest and most direct route from A to B. ARE YOU PLANNING A MAJOR PROJECT? GET IN TOUCH! UK Sales 09:00 - 17:30 UK time Tel: 0191 418 1122 | sales@canford.co.uk International Sales 09:00 - 17:30 UK time Tel: +44 191 418 1133 | international@canford.co.uk Dubai Sales 09:00 - 17:30 UK time Tel: +971 50963 1201 | dubai@canford.co.uk Canford France Lundi au jeudi : 9h-12h / 13h30-18h Vendredi : 9h-12h / 13h30-15h30 Tel: 03 88 55 13 13 | ventes@canford.fr

Call UK sales on +44(0)191 418 1122 or email sales@canford.co.uk

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Thanks to a highly customisable collection of stocked components that are easily assembled to meet your exact needs, B-Tech’s award-winning System X range is the ideal mounting solution for installations into broadcast environments. A range of different options allow AV equipment to be installed in a variety of ways; fixed to the wall or floor, freestanding or mobile, or hung from the ceiling if desired. Curved setups are also possible thanks to a recently launched angled bracket. The finished solution is also easily accessorised by adding additional parts such as shelves, media cradles or any number of additional mounts.

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Now Available from B-Tech Following B-Tech’s acquisition of Mode-AL Display Engineering, B-Tech have launched a new range of premium mounting solutions under the Mode-AL brand. Featuring the well recognised and highly regarded Mode-AL aluminium profile. These stands are ideal for broadcast markets. For more info vist WWW.BTECHAVMOUNTS.COM

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Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk

B-TECH AV MOUNTS

Source Material by Canford | 31

Choristers of Canterbury sing Canford’s praises I am delighted to say that I have been a consistently satisfied customer of Canford Audio for more than 30 years. As an Engineer with the BBC for almost two decades (1988 to 2007) and subsequently having been involved with ‘live’ broadcasting in a wide variety of situations has meant that I need equipment that is reliable, of exceptional quality and dependable to an almost ‘military’ level of specification in some very different and on occasion, very challenging environments. More important than perhaps any of that is the need to be able to source, replace and rely upon a company who will never let me down. Canford are and have always been that kind of organisation. Their careful, informed selection of quality components – whether that be a cable, a single connector, or an entire talkback system is expertly researched and always contemporary. They will advise if asked and have never put profit above suitability when I have called upon such experience.

A little example: It’s Tuesday afternoon. 25th August 2020. Government advice on social distancing has changed following PM Q’s in Parliament. My employer – Canterbury Cathedral - is, following a strict period of ‘lockdown’ with regard to public performance, allowed once again to introduce ‘live performance’ from carefully socially-distanced Choristers and adult Vocal artists to perform in the splendour of the Nave. I am asked if I can make the recording and streaming of this possible by Friday for rehearsals and Sunday for live broadcast. I need a suitable high quality interference resistant mic cable to connect my specialist microphone to my streaming device. It must be long (50 meters), robust (there will be a great deal of pedestrian foot traffic, ‘cable-bashing’ and de/re-rigging) and ready to use. It needs to be on a drum with specific

What I most appreciate – and what I am fully prepared to pay for and champion – is their utterly superb customer service.They will deliver.They will sort out problems that arise and, as recently directly illustrated with a short-notice, bespoke order I requested – they absolutely will go ‘above and beyond’ to help. My technical choices are based upon suitability for application, budget and advice from expert sources. I prefer to pay for quality and the reassurance that I will be integrating a system that will work now and into the foreseeable future. Canford provide the support for me to achieve these aims. 32 | Source Material by Canford

Call UK sales on +44(0)191 418 1122 or email sales@canford.co.uk

Choristers of Canterbury sing Canford praises

connectors at each end and additionally a separate ‘tail’ of equal quality is required to connect the drum to my device. I cannot obtain a hot work permit to make up my own cable. A colleague suggests I order ‘something on Amazon’. I smile and do not reply. I call Canford. Their staff are operating under similarly challenging ‘Covid-19’ operating procedures. I speak with Lauren Wylie at almost close-of-business (4.30pm). This is the evening of the 25th August 2020. Lauren asks me if she can ‘see what she can do and will call me back’ – the cable needs to be hand built and finished at Canford for me. She calls back – the Canford crew will make my cable for me in their workshop! (N.B. This is a relatively low-value order – under £200 – but that is irrelevant to Lauren and Canford: I am their customer, big or small – doesn’t matter). It is finished, tested and dispatched the very next day. She expedites the delivery (for which I am not additionally charged!!!) and I have it installed, working, way ahead of rehearsal time. It’s good to go! Friday evening, the musicians arrive and mic placement is tested. The cable is connected, disconnected, moved about,

reconnected, run next to power when I don’t want it to be (out of ‘necessity’) and (deja-vu?) ends up almost exactly where I first positioned it. It sounds AMAZING … everyone is happy. It’s been in constant service every day since, live-streaming the audio from ‘World class’ professional musicians performing at a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Have a look at my photographs. THANK YOU CANFORD!

By Gerardo Calia, Canterbury Cathedral

NEED CABLE? Rapid response standard and custom cable assemblies... ...for situations where speed is of the essence!

Fibre • Audio • Video • Data • Power CONTACT OUR SALES TEAM UK sales tel: +44 (0)191 4181122 email: sales@canford.co.uk Int sales tel: +44 (0)191 4181133 email: international@canford.co.uk Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk Source Material by Canford | 33

Audio networking has never been easier or more affordable By Stephen Gallagher, Canford Marketing Manager

Transitioning to a networked audio environment does not mean you have to abandon high-quality kit. Re-imagine audio projects and upgrade legacy equipment with Canford Dante Interfaces. Manufactured in the UK, these costeffective network audio adapters offer plug-and-play simplicity. The range consists of three stereo audio adapters which convert between either analogue or digital, to or from Dante.

connectivity through locking Neutrik etherCON and XLR connectors. Each unit is powered by PoE (Power over Ethernet), no external power is required.

setting up a Dante network couldn’t be easier

The versatile design of these premium grade Dante interfaces makes them small enough for discreet integration at fixed installs, while the rugged extruded diecast box housing ensures they are robust enough to withstand an unforgiving life on the road with live events and touring companies.

Being part of a Dante system allows for scalability while providing low latency and easy configuration. Available free to download for Windows and macOS, Dante Controller software enables automatic device discovery, oneclick signal routing and user-editable device and channel labels, “setting up a Dante network couldn’t be easier”.

The adapters offer superior performance in analogue audio conversion and dependable

Dante is the most popular audio networking solution worldwide. Transmit high quality, uncompressed

Reverse

20-071 CANFORD CAN-AI ANALOGUE TO DANTE CONVERTER 2 channel

34 | Source Material by Canford

Reverse

20-072 CANFORD CAN-AO DANTE TO ANALOGUE CONVERTER 2 channel

audio streams over long distances without interference and ground issues common to analogue systems. • Premium grade professional Dante interface adapters • Ruggedized designed ideal for fixed install or touring applications • Locking connectors for maximum reliability • Cost-effective Dante upgrade for legacy equipment • Manufactured in the UK by Canford

Reverse

20-073 CANFORD CAN-DIO DANTE TO AES/EBU DIGITAL CONVERTER Bi-directional

Call UK sales on +44(0)191 418 1122 or email sales@canford.co.uk

Plug & Play with Smartphones: Plug & Play with Smartphones: INTERVIEW KIT VT506MOBILE INTERVIEW KIT VT506MOBILE with two matched VT506MOBILE microphones and an IA-2 Adapter to record with two matched VT506MOBILE microphones and an IA-2 Adapter to record two interview participants simultaneously two interview participants simultaneously

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For smaller cable bundles, fiber optics, USB, For smaller bundles, lowcable voltage power. For smaller cable bundles, fiber optics, USB, fiber optics, USB, low voltage power. low voltage power.

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Quick and Easy Tie and Release. Permanent attachment to your Quick and Easy Tie andcables. Release. most important Quick and Easy Tie and Release. Permanent attachment to your Stay organized and efficient. For smaller cable bundles, Permanent attachment to your most important cables. fiber optics, USB, cables. most important Stay organized and efficient. low voltage power. Stay organized and efficient.

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Resuable Gaffer TapeThrow less waste into Resuable the Gaffer landfill.TapeResuable Gaffer Tape-into Throw waste Quick and Easy Tie and Release. Noless Adhesive Throw less waste into the landfill. Noattachment Gummy Residue Permanent to your the landfill. No Adhesive most important cables. No Adhesive No Gummy Residue Stay organized and efficient. No Gummy Residue

The Best Solution for Rip-Tie, Inc. The Best Solution The Best Solution for www.riptie.com Cable Chaos.The Best Solution for Rip-Tie, Inc. Rip-Tie, Inc. MADE IN U.S.A www.riptie.com Cable Chaos. Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk

Source Material by Canford | 35

MAXIMISING EQUIPMENT PROTECTION ALONG WITH ENGINEER SAFETY AND SIGNAL STABILITY. LEN Galvanic Isolator products are designed to protect equipment and prevent failure, a key consideration when shooting “on location” such as a film set or live sporting event, as kit failure here has massive knock-on consequences to the shoot or live feed streams. Ground loops, unreliable power supplies or cables and doing everything in a rush can all combine to permit stray power signals being sent down the video feeds. LEN Galvanic Isolators completely protect the input video feeds from all these stray power voltages whilst letting through all the wanted video signals without distortion! Aside from the need to protect expensive and essential equipment from damage, two other critical concerns of an Outside Broadcast Unit Manager are the safety of their team and the quality of their broadcast feeds. Whilst these two topics may at first glance appear unrelated, where a video feed is derived from two or more pieces of equipment, differing potentials of the equipment’s grounds may increase the risk of both signal distortion, and under certain circumstances a voltage difference may also lead to an electric shock. LEN, a leading provider of signal enhancement products, designs and manufactures a broad range of galvanic ground isolators for 4K12G/3G/HD/SD SDI video use at their base in Crewe, England. A popular choice with Broadcast Engineers, these products provide full galvanic isolation of signal and ground paths, but also outperform broadband transformers for SDI signals, as they ensure that there is no distortion of the signal, by permitting the full bandwidth of the SDI signal to pass, whilst offering input and output impedance of 75 ohms and return loss better than 20dB. 36 | Source Material by Canford

LEN’s Galvanic Isolator range includes models in encapsulated enclosures suitable for rack mounting within an accessory panel and inline ‘barrels’, more suitable for in-line / portable applications or tailboard mounting, for incoming external feeds. As part of its new 4K range of products LEN’s L4KGI range of 4K Video Galvanic Isolators support 6G and 12G SDI full signal and ground isolation and are fully compliant with the SMPTE ST-2081 and SMPTE ST-2082 standards defining 6G and 12G interfaces as well as being backwards compatible with existing standards. In addition to widespread use in the broadcast industry, models from LEN’s range of Galvanic Isolators are also specified by members of the medical, security and defence communities, to support the safe operation of a broad range of essential and highly complex equipment. For example the imaging equipment in your local hospital legally requires protection for breakdown voltages of up to 4Kv, whilst demanding video feeds of the highest quality. Whether you are televising a summer festival, bringing tennis to the masses or working with medical grade applications, LEN’s range of Galvanic Isolators provide a cost effective, passive solution. All LEN products are manufactured in England and undergo thorough testing within LEN’s own in-house test facility as part of a rigorous quality control process designed to test against industry standards and LEN’s own exacting specifications, ensuring LEN is well positioned to support broadcasters seeking to take advantage of the latest developments in UHD signal enhancement technologies.

LEN can be contacted via:sales Telephone: +44 (0)418 1270 886157 Website: www.len.co.uk Call UK on +44(0)191 1122 or email sales@canford.co.uk

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Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk

BROADCAST STUDIO

Source Material by Canford | 37

Canford: A global Broadcast and Pro AV solutions provider By Debbie Carlisle, International Sales Manager

Many will know Canford as a respected manufacturer and supplier to the Broadcast, Proaudio and AV markets. Since Canford’s formation in 1976 we have gained a vast level of experience trading both in the UK and worldwide, and our reliance and resilience has enabled us to support our customers especially throughout this year, in what can only be described as unprecedented times. Despite the challenges of 2020, Canford maintains a very personal approach to its customers and will always take great care to continue this.

Did you know that Canford has been exporting worldwide for over 40 years and has offices in France and Dubai? Canford is not only the industry’s go to company in the UK, but also a global supplier to the Broadcast, Video, Professional Audio, IT and Electronics industries, successfully replicating its ethos for the ’One Stop Shop’ around the world. Foreign sales equates to approximately 36% of Canford’s turnover and so far this year alone we have shipped to 93 countries, from our European neighbours to the crystal shorelines of the Cayman Islands, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago. International Sales is made up of a friendly, personable and professional team of 6 based at the head office in Washington, UK. We are a multi-lingual team speaking German, Russian, Latvian, Hungarian, Spanish and French with a written understanding of other languages such as Italian, Dutch and Polish.

38 | Source Material by Canford

Our very own Account Manager Sarah Webster, with the help of our Internal Web Development team have invested a lot of time and effort in the creation of a German language website, Canford.de, where the ordering pages and all supporting documentation are in German. The highest level of customer service is key to our success. Our aim is to understand our customers, adapt to their needs, be as helpful as possible and do our utmost to deliver. With the backing of Technical and Product specialists and the support from our International Business Development Manager, Vita Gorkina, we are able to share our knowledge and be a solution provider to our diverse worldwide customer base. We endeavour to make the experience of working with Canford as seamless as possible, giving the customer a choice on their invoicing currency, favourable

payment terms, account specific pricing, real time stock levels, estimated lead times and access to our TechZone. Despite the ever-growing online competition, the ‘One Stop Shop’ still has its place in our industry, especially when it comes to consolidating and economising on shipping costs. Canford’s product offering is vast and provides customers with a wide range of branded products and choices; however Canford has always strived to be more than a “box shifter” so with our design teams, manufacturing workshops and long serving, skilled staff we have built a reputation as an in-house UK manufacturer, supported by a 2 year warranty on our own manufactured items. For our International customers, from major national broadcasters to one-man businesses, it is important for them to know that they are working with a trusted company. Quality and customer satisfaction is paramount, so for

Call UK sales on +44(0)191 418 1122 or email sales@canford.co.uk

Canford: A global Broadcast and Pro AV solutions provider

Canford, ISO9001:2015 is a framework that embodies the philosophy of quality and continual improvement on which the company is built. For all your exporting requirements, whether that be an export customer or a UK customer wishing us to ship their order abroad, we are here to support you.

Canford Audio Sàrl started on October 1, 1988 by Ray Kin at his home in Lunéville with around fifty clients including Radio France Paris and France 3. Over the years that followed, attending numerous exhibitions, customer visits and marketing, sales grew and at the end of 1990, the office moved to Alsace in Illkirch Graffenstatden. Further success followed and with increasing customer numbers the name of Canford Audio Sàrl has become a familiar name in the Audio and Broadcast world in France. Its success has been made possible by good customer retention, high levels of customer service, good stock holding and fast shipping from the UK warehouse as well as the development of Canford.fr, a fully French version of

the website. In 2009 the office moved to Erstein and following the retirement of Manager Ray Kin in August 2016 after 28 years at the helm, Thomas Nicolle became General Manager. Thomas joined Canford as a commercial engineer from Neutrik before progressing to his new role which sees him coordinating the commercial, technical, marketing and management for our French office. Alongside Thomas, a team of 3 take good care of sales administration, accounting, marketing and translation. Thomas specialises in fibre, video and audio cable, all types of connectors, video and audio interfaces and uses these skills to support high-profile projects and clients such as La Philharmonie de Paris with Tech audio and AMG Fechoz, France Télévisions, Radio France, Le Grand Prix de Monaco with Mediacom, Videlio Media for OB Van and broadcast projects to name a few. Thomas comments “Canford truly has a global offering of branded products and has built a reputation of quality when it comes to Canford branded and inhouse manufactured products like metalwork, fibre and cable assemblies. In 2014 Canford opened its office in Dubai which is located in the Al

Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk

Garhoud area. The office is run by our Middle East Sales Manager, Danny Zacharia. Danny joined Canford in 2015 from a cable supplier based in the UAE and has helped take the business from strength to strength. Danny, who was born in India, has been living in Dubai with his young family for 10 years, comments “In March 2021 I will be completing 6 beautiful years working with Canford, who always function like a family. I am always just a phone call away from support from the team back in the UK and this contributes to building a positive team spirit”. Danny focuses on field sales to UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan where he promotes Canford’s wide product offering to existing and prospective customers through a relationship-based approach and product demonstrations. Like our team in Washington, Danny is also happy to speak to his customers in English, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam or Arabic. A large proportion of the requirements from the GCC market are project based which, given the breath of our product offering, gives us the ability to offer the client a complete solution. One of our biggest achievements this financial year was to supply Triax and SMPTE cable assemblies to Al Kazz Sports Channel, Qatar for the 24th edition of Arabian Source Material by Canford | 39

Canford: A global Broadcast and Pro AV solutions provider

Gulf Cup tournament. Our Production team successfully manufactured the requirement in a very short period of time and was therefore able to meet the client’s tight delivery deadline. We successfully secured the supply of 4K installation material required by both the OB Department of Abu Dhabi Media for upgrading a truck and also for new OB trucks at Ministry of Interiors in Bahrain, working alongside Dubai System Integrator, BSS. Through Qatar System Integrator, Media Group International, Canford supplied Wharton clocks along with the installation material to Qatar Radio Network. Danny explains why he feels Canford stands head and shoulders above competition in the region: “Our excellent regional market knowledge ensures we are competitive in terms of pricing. Our extensive profiled stock holding allows for a swift 2 day courier shipment to the GCC, but we can equally cater for air or sea freight of large pallet or container shipments”. Danny goes on to say “Canford’s website stands out as one of the best in the region with customers feeling comfortable to use it for viewing our full product offering, its vast amount of product technical data and product selection tools. Finally we cannot forget the dedicated and skilled teams from head office who support the office in Dubai and together we make it all possible.” To support our export business and our satellite offices, the company has developed a dedicated International Shipping Department. Together at

40 | Source Material by Canford

Canford the team has accrued over 61 years of exporting experience. We utilise a network of trusted couriers and forwarders who provide a high-quality service which is best suited to handle our Business to Business deliveries in the UK, Europe and Worldwide. From our warehouse, with a stock holding of £3 million, we can move goods swiftly around the world. For example Dubai, Doha, Muscat and Riyadh on a 2 day courier service, or next day to Europe. Our shipping team takes the complexities out of exporting and provides our customers with all of the documentation required to clear customs. These include Certificates of Origin and EUR forms that are certified and approved for customs by our local Chamber of Commerce, conveniently located just under 10 miles away from our headquarters. Letters of Credit, Certificate of Conformities and Export Control Regulations are handled by the team too. Shipping Manager, Ian Farina explains “Quick deliveries don’t stop at the smaller shipments.To ensure we can ship larger consignments with a tight deadline, Canford hold ‘Known Shipper’ accreditation, which involves our premises being audited annually by the Civil Aviation Authority.” “This speeds up the movement of goods through the airport and reduces the risk of delay onto the aircraft.To offer an example of this, a 3 piece 1,000kg consignment to Jordan was collected at 10:50am on Tuesday and arrived at Amman airport 11:05pm on Thursday.”

One thing for sure is that we really do love to export and whatever the challenge, we can be trusted to move goods around the globe in a timely and secure manner. When this Source Magazine hits peoples’ desks, we will be within a few weeks of the Brexit transition deadline and, at the time of print, still not entirely certain what that might mean. What we do know, as we said this time last year, is that despite all that is going on in the world of politics, Canford’s desire to provide its European and overseas’ customers with the same level of service as its domestic customers, hasn’t wavered at all. We are ever confident that come what may we have a robust plan in place to enable us to continue servicing all our European customers without disruption. We still offer the same clear message to our European customers: Rest assured, you’re in safe hands. It’s business as usual! international@canford.co.uk / +44 191 418 1133 for all your exporting needs. ventes@canford.fr / 03 88 55 13 13 for all of our customers in France. verkauf@canford.de /+44 191 418 1198 for all of our German speaking customers. danny.zacharia@canfordme.com / 05 0963 1201 for all of our customers in the GCC.

Call UK sales on +44(0)191 418 1122 or email sales@canford.co.uk

RELIABLE WIRED INTERCOM

• • • • • •

tecpro by Canford

International Sales tel: +44 (0)191 418 1133 UK Sales tel: +44 (0)191 418 1122

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Revolution. Scalable. Intercom.

For live events, broadcast and industry • 32 channel matrix free comms (wired and wireless) • Full duplex, low latency, clear audio • Low Data rate for network friendly operation • License-free DECT wireless system (1.9GHz) • Interface with third party analogue and digital systems • Bridge to Green-GO users world-wide over the internet • Create simple or complex systems – from 2 to 3000 Users Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk For more information email greengo@canford.co.uk or visit

Source Material by Canford | 41 www.canford.co.uk/Green-Go

GREEN-GO By Charles Phelps, Canford Technical Support Engineer

Topology What sets Green-GO intercom apart from other intercom brands is its modular approach to digital networked communications. With no matrix or base station required, an entry-level system can comprise of a handful of wired belt packs, appropriate headsets and an unmanaged PoE switch. Despite their compact design and regardless of system size, each device has access to 32 channels with a full 16 bit, 7 kHz dynamic range by default. Coupled with low data bandwidth and latency, Green-GO comms can sit on virtually any data network with minimal impact. Straight from the box, belt packs come with a factory default configuration. If there is no domain host available on the network to supply IP addresses, the belt packs will automatically set their own addresses. Simply plug each belt pack into a separate port on a PoE switch to establish communications. As technical requirements and budgets grow, the system expands by simply adding more devices whenever the need arises. Green-GO wireless belt packs operate in the 1.9GHz DECT spectrum, which is licence-free in Europe, the USA, and many other countries. They share the same specifications and operating system as the wired packs so swapping between the devices is relatively intuitive. Interfacing with external audio systems including intercom is comprehensive and robust. Analogue in/out, party line linking, Dante and multisite/remote connection capabilities make the selection and application of products very diverse, suitable to work to your requirements and workflow, making Green-GO digital comms a very versatile system.

More so given the current global concerns, customers throughout various industries consider alternatives to being physically present at events and communications is a key part of that. Looking at solutions for remote working the 26-781 GGO-BRIDGEX Is a very useful tool for multisite/wider network communications, not only for linking international sites but also for supporting connections over wireless links or strictly managed internal networks. Splitting the workforce, linking two or more complete systems together on a handful of channel is viable option in a variety of applications.Yet the ability to linking individuals to a host system currently appears to have the greatest appeal. Typically, we find Remote workers using a 26-775 GGO-BPX wired belt pack or were needed a 26-788 GGO-MCXD multichannel station, Establishing communications to the event space through their home or hotel router. Alternatively for venues were Green-Go is not already present, An innovative extension of the ‘Remote’ concept utilises a 26-768 SGOO-SI2W 2-Wire interface or 26-769 GGO-SI4W 4-Wire interface as remote users. Linking directly to party line systems or presenting channels as an analogue line in/out, allowing established comms systems to communicate externally with relative ease.

Bridging logic “Bridging” in Green-Go terminology refers to establishing communications between two or more different local access networks (LAN) via the internet or wider access network (WAN). Each 26-781 GGO-BRIDGEX supports up to four independent streams/connections with each link requiring its own unique UDP port allocation to establish a Point to point connection. Multiple devices can be utilised in a given system, requiring approximately 500Kbps per streams/connection, the limitation on maximum capacity is your internet service provider (ISP) bandwidth.

42 | Source Material by Canford

Call UK sales on +44(0)191 418 1122 or email sales@canford.co.uk

Green-Go Remote comms

REMOTE COMMS In every connection, we have an active and passive component, the passive component is always a Bridge, But the active components, can be a Bridge (Group Bridge) or wired Green-Go device (remote user), depending on the type of connection desired.

26-788 GGO-MCXD

26-784 GGO-SW18GBX

Group Bridge mode two separate and independent Green-Go intercom networks, each with its BridgeX interface, creating an intercom group per stream that is common between sites. The system attached to network A has a group channel that is linked through its BridgeX ‘out over’ its local gateway looking for the public address to network C. The connection then goes ‘in over’ from the external address of network C to its passive bridge, communicating to its local system on given group channel.

26-795 GGO-DNTI

26-781 GGO-BRIDGEX 26-796 GGO-RDX

‘out over’ network A

Wired device to Bridges connections (remote user) allow a single device to become a full member of the host system

“Active” connections do not typically require any network address translation (NAT) ruling to see ‘Out over’ their network, whereas “Passive” connections require port forwarding to translate the request ‘in over’ through their local networks firewall.

26-765 GGO-SW5

network B

Remote User mode a single GreenGo device per stream connects to passive BridgeX from a separate network and becomes a full member of the host system. The Device attached to network B looks directly ‘out over’ its local gateway (via a switch for PoE) looking for the same address of network C but on a different predefined UDP port number. The connection then goes ‘in over’ from the external address of network C to the passive bridge alike before, providing the remote device access to all the channels and functions you would expect if connected locally.

Bridge-to-Bridge connections (group) allow larger systems to communicate over predefined groups

‘out over’

26-775 GGO-BPX

‘in over’

network C

26-781 GGO-BRIDGEX

26-773 GGO-WAA

26-784 GGO-SW18GBX

26-776 GGO-WBPX 26-786 GGO-MCX 26-782 GGO INTERFACEX 26-776 GGO-WBPX

For all Green-Go, enquiries and support please contact us via greengo@canford.co.uk Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk

Source Material by Canford | 43

BAFTA nominated Composer Richard Jacques upgrades studio and reflects on twenty years as Canford client Multi-award winning, BAFTA and IVOR NOVELLO nominated composer for film, television and video games Richard Jacques is quite possibly best known for his critically acclaimed orchestral scores. His impressive repertoire of work can be heard on blockbuster franchises such as James Bond 007: Blood Stone (Activision), Mass Effect (BioWare), Little Big Planet 2 (Sony), Alice in Wonderland (Disney), Starship Troopers (Empire/Sony Pictures) Headhunter (Sega) and many more. Jacques’ dramatic music features in numerous TV and movie theatre campaigns for some of the world’s most prestigious media agencies, and top name brands such as Audi, Bacardi, Mercedes-Benz and Stella Artois.

You have two studios. Has lockdown limited your access to both locations? Have you turned to Zoom like so many of us, and how has that worked out for you?

What is less well known about Richard Jacques is that he has been a valued client of Canford for around twenty years. Taking a short break from his busy schedule (currently working on a new soundtrack), Richard caught up with Canford Marketing Manager, Stephen Gallagher to discuss his most recent purchases and the impact COVID-19 has had on his work.

Regarding COVID 19, I have been very fortunate in that I often get booked up with work up to 3 years in advance so in that respect I feel lucky that I am working on a big video game soundtrack that will be completed in late 2021. The game development team have all been working from home so we are still working to schedule and the development has not been impacted. Having more time would have been a luxury but that is not the case in the instance, it’s still 80 hour weeks!!

My main studio is in Fulham, South West London and I have a small studio in my house with a duplicate composition rig. I made these changes around Christmas time so that I can compose in either studio since my workload is always pretty heavy. This meant that I had to get all the computers set up in the same way, especially with regard to hard drives and sample library allocation, so I can simply take my iLoks between studios and just open up my current Logic and Pro Tools sessions. So far it’s working very well and I haven’t come across any problems. I knew that lockdown was coming so back at the end of February I made sure all my project drives and sample library drives were up to date between studios. In fact I started writing in my home studio about 3 weeks before lockdown. As there was no public transport running during lockdown (except for skeleton services for key workers) I was composing in my home studio until around early May, but due to a few weeks of warm weather during April, it became harder and harder to work there since my home studio is not air conditioned so I was getting up 4am to start writing before the home

44 | Source Material by Canford

Call UK sales on +44(0)191 418 1122 or email sales@canford.co.uk

How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted your work? Have projects been pushed back and have you found yourself with more time to plan/prepare?

BAFTA nominated Composer Richard Jacques upgrades studio and reflects on twenty years as Canford client

studio got too warm in the afternoons (it was regularly 45 degrees during this time due to running lots of monitors and computers). I then bought a new bike, like many people I would imagine, and started cycling to my studio from early May, to take advantage of the air conditioning, not to mention having my main Pro Tools system, synths and outboard. It’s around 15 miles each way but I take a very pleasant route so it’s actually been worth it for not only health reasons but also to clear my head before a busy long writing day. I’m still cycling to the studio now, and occasionally take public transport. A lot of people asked me how I found the isolation, but being a busy composer, and spending 14 hours a day in a room on your own, I have in reality been isolating for 26 years! One good thing about the lockdown was that I was able to help some young composers, as my friend and colleague, (TV composer) Michael Price arranged an 8 week mentoring programme, so I was able to mentor 2 young composers in the art of video game composition. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and one of them is about to start as my assistant. Zoom has indeed been a great facilitator in terms of communications, but in reality most of my work comes from the US, Canada and Japan these days so video conferencing has been a part of my day to day life for over 15 years. How do you see social distancing impacting on your work in the future? Can an orchestra work as well under those conditions? It’s probably a little too early to tell yet. I have projects until 2024 so nothing has impacted on my composition, but recordings are a completely different ball game. I’m booked to record my current score at Abbey Road in March 2021, but there are already certain social distancing requirements in place. For example we can (under current guidelines) only record a choir of 10 singers, so we may have do to some tracking and layering which could work out more expensive, especially with regard to studio time. Also the maximum number of musicians in any one studio at any one time is greatly reduced, so I will trust my engineer to do some careful mic placement and we will have to be mindful of the distances between musicians when we come to mix the score. I don’t see any real problems though, it’s just a

different way of working that’s all. I can see many people (including myself) making use of remote recording technologies such Source Connect in the future, in a way that is our very own “Zoom”. I really want to support the outstanding session musicians who literally were unable to work during lockdown, and bring so much to my scores. You have been a Canford client for many years. What keeps you coming back, and how do you find our service? I have been dealing with Canford for around 20 years now, and always find the service excellent. For me it’s important to have updates and good communication on lead times and Canford always let me know if there is a stock shortage or a delay in shipping. This suits me very well so I am able to plan any studio upgrades or maintenance around my writing schedule. Also the technical service is second to none, and Canford’s technical engineers are always on hand to answer any specific questions, or recommend alternative products and solutions. I could not fault the service. Even during lockdown, when most suppliers were struggling with stock arriving from manufacturers (indeed, understandably so) I was able to place orders and get the deliveries as if there was no pandemic. As ever, many thanks for your most recent purchase from Canford. It looks like you are upgrading your studio setup? Can you tell us a little bit about what you are doing? I have used Furman Power Conditioners supplied by Canford for over 20 years, and the recent purchases are going into new racks that I am building to house more outboard and some vintage synths, plus some more convertors. I currently run 7 in the main studio and 2 at my home studio. I’ve always had the PL-PLUS C E LED indicator version, it’s useful to see any power fluctuations when trouble shooting. It’s always reassuring knowing my gear is receiving clean protected power.

Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk

51-892

Source Material by Canford | 45

Audio Monitoring Without Compromise

The MPA1 product family provides quick and simple operation, with each model available as a Solo or Mix variant. Built on 30 years of global broadcast expertise. Ideal for use in OB Trucks, Fly-Aways, SNG and ENG Trucks. Created in partnership with the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading broadcasters. Facility-wide management possible from a single desktop PC via Web Gui. SNMP for control and remote management via TallyMan control systems.

Display

Inputs

DISPLAY MPA1 RANGE

Video

Outputs

INPUTS

Bargraph Meter

3G SDI

MADI

AES (Pair)

Analogue (Pair)

Dante / AES-67

Analogue Fixed / Variable

Features

OUTPUTS HDMI

MADI

FEATURES Web UI

MPA1-Solo-SDI

F&V

MPA1-Mix-SDI

F&V

MPA1-Solo-MADI

F&V

MPA1-Mix-MADI

F&V

MPA1-Solo-DANTE

F&V

MPA1-Mix-DANTE

MPA1-Solo-8

F&V

MPA1-Mix-8

F&V

E. enquiries@tslproducts.com T. +44 1628 564 610 T. +1 818 898 3380 46 | Source Material by Canford

WATCH

LISTEN

READ

Mixer

COLLABORATE

www.tslproducts.com Call UK sales on +44(0)191 418 1122 or email sales@canford.co.uk

Cost-Effective Tools for a Unique Production Environment In fast-paced production environments, it is essential that broadcasters have reliable, flexible tools that fit seamlessly into their operations and offer ease of use and familiarity as personnel shift and move between productions. With the smallest form factor on the market, the MPA1 range has been designed to meet the demands of even the most compact and space limited environments. As live productions grow ever larger and more complex, facilities often require audio monitoring across multiple feeds and infrastructures. Managing Multiple Standards A demanding production, recorded in multiple formats, with differing audio configurations, feeding multiple networks, demands audio monitoring to accommodate different formats and standards. Adopted by leading broadcasters in Europe and around the globe, including NEP UK and US, Canal+ (France), Cinevideo (Italy) and All Mobile Video (US), the range has been used within major sporting events and productions to provide efficient and precise solo / mix audio monitoring, as well as video confidence monitoring. The range has recently been expanded with the addition of the MPA1-MIX-V range, which features a re-designed user interface to specifically address the challenges of live production. With its wide range of input formats, customers can select the interface that best fits their production needs. Coupled with the SNMP control capabilities found on all MPA1 audio monitors, the MPA1-MIX-V range of audio monitors creates clear opportunities for integration with broadcast control systems, serving to maximise both operational and engineering efficiency. “We are always looking for ways to enhance the workflow of operators within our OB trucks,” says Michael Naugle, design engineer for NEP’s U.S. Broadcast Services team. “The newly designed TSL MPA1-MIX MADI-V units feature an extremely intuitive layout. The left to right ascending order of the knobs is very user-friendly as the operator can easily find the channel they need, without having to look directly at the panel. The ‘V’ pattern also has a nice aesthetic look to it.” Meanwhile, Canal+ chose the MPA1-Mix-Dante as it fits seamlessly into their IP-based workflow at its Paris Canal+ Factory facility, offering excellent overall

audio quality for their custom mixes whilst also fitting right in to their existing IP infrastructure. “This commitment to supporting new and existing infrastructure types is a key feature of TSL’s AMUs, and helps customers navigate the transition to IP at a pace that suits them.” Explains Stephen Brownsill, Audio Product Manager at TSL Products. “We are dedicated to serve existing and future facilities which is why our IP roadmap aligns with that of AIMS, AMWA and the adoption of open standards.” For operators, the MPA1 is a trusted go-to-air production tool. Features such as programmable presets provide both quick setup and quick recall capabilities, enabling groups of channels to be monitored with ease and accuracy - particularly important when planning the monitoring setup for different parts of a live production; or in a quality control / intercoms role, where features like ‘scroll to hear’ allow fast and efficient audio monitoring. The MPA1 also offers the ability to display both the video and audio components present in an SDI source, providing confidence with source selection. Continuing the recognition for enhanced connectivity of its devices, the MPA1 audio monitoring range supports SNMP, allowing customers to realise more comprehensive and streamlined workflows, whilst also benefitting from smarter and more intelligent integrated solutions where users can remotely control their MPA1’s using TSL’s TallyMan control system or any third-party control system supporting SNMP. Find out more at www.tslproducts.com

Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk

Source Material by Canford | 47

Acoustic Design of a Broadcast studio When designing a broadcast studio, good acoustics play a key role not simply in creating quality content, but forming a reliable and efficient work environment. There are some essential points to address when designing an acoustic treatment: Noise floor It is important that you can hear the exact content your system is playing. This isn’t always linear. In practice we hear the content, plus the background noise of the studio. All the equipment in the room will emit noise, and any sound that comes from external sources will also disrupt what you hear. Background noise has a direct effect on the dynamic range of a studio - the louder a system has to be to mask background noise will lower the resolution of the system. Blocking these external sources relies on the soundproofing of the space. The first step in building a broadcast studio is to guarantee proper soundproofing - this is usually done by employing a box-in-abox type design, supporting an internal structure on anti-vibration supports with layers of high density dampening material and absorption. Additional steps should be carried out in regards to entrances and ventilation systems. Once the studio is properly soundproofed from its surroundings, the internal sound quality can be addressed. Room Acoustics Broadcast studios are designed to have a specific reverberation time over the frequency spectrum. The room will always affect the source material - the objective is to achieve as linear a room

48 | Source Material by Canford

response as possible, with leeway for slightly higher reverberation in the low frequency range, so it does not distort the content - this is what is called a neutral room. This is a straightforward criteria to calculate and measurement. But using reverberation as a global metric can be misleading when evaluating the acoustic quality of a space. The reverberation time is a function of the size and material contents of the space - it shows the average value of the space as a whole, but not how sound behaves at certain points in the space. When designing an acoustic intervention, there are many other factors to account for. First off, low frequency control requires special attention, as it may require certain locations to be used for bass traps, or other tuned low-frequency absorbers. Certain critical locations, such as first reflection points require absorption to prevent phase cancelling and resulting stereo image distortion. Once the primary issues of minimising background noise, low frequency room modes control, first reflection points treatment, then the fine-tuning of the room can begin.

Sound Quality When designing a broadcast studio, a common fallacy is to use too much absorption material in an attempt to reach the standardised reverberation time. This can lead to very “dead” environments, where a lot of information in the content is lost to the room before reaching the listener.

A lot of the time, a studio can have more than one user, or even more than one setup depending on function, making it critical to have a homogenous sound field - the sound level should be as constant as possible around the space. To achieve this, it is important to balance the amount of absorption material that essentially removes energy from incoming sound waves with diffusion, that spreads the energy of the sound waves over a larger area. The ceiling and back walls are ideal locations for diffusion, where they aid in creating homogeneous sound fields along their respective axis.

Call UK sales on +44(0)191 418 1122 or email sales@canford.co.uk

Passion for Acoustics.

Customise Your Design Distributed by Audio-Technica Ltd.

Designing for the customer By John Driver, Head of Design and Fibre Technology

When it comes to new products we often take inspiration from customers who approach us looking for a solution to a problem that they have. Whether this is a simple cable assembly, cable adapter or a more complex device our aim is to produce something that is reliable and easy to maintain whilst doing the job it’s supposed to do. Recently when tasked with updating the EMO touring range of Power Distribution Units, our first step was to involve our Business Development Managers. They canvassed our customers to establish what was required by way of both essential features and what would be useful to see included within a new product range. We took all of this information on board, incorporated our own features and decided upon the range that you see today. Once the CAD drawings of the proposed units had been drawn up, we again went back to the customers to show them the results with very positive feedback. We established a range of Power Distribution units that consists entirely of locking connectors to prevent accidental disconnection, a mixture of connector types on units to provide more flexibility, and the inclusion of a traffic light indication system to check the status of the power and earth connections. We even changed the colour at the customer’s request to assist with intelligibility in the dark. The units have been well received and one of our customers specifically made contact to show his appreciation of the traffic light system, which highlighted an earthing problem in a venue that they were visiting. The result of everyone’s effort can be seen below:

As well as the standard ranges that we offer, we are often asked to supply slight variations of our own products. In most instances we can do this due to the flexibility that we have as being both a manufacturer and a distributor. The design process often includes both mechanical and electronic requirements where we have the advantage of being able to call upon all of the resources that Canford has available. Having both metalwork and electronic manufacturing facilities allows Canford to have better control of the design process. Both facilities work closely together to ensure that proposed designs are achievable and that they are fully functional. In order to further support this, Canford invested in our own 3D Printer which allows us to trial designs quickly and cost-effectively, before committing to expensive tooling. Over the years Canford has developed its own style of extruded boxes and we recently extended the range further. We use these extrusions in a modular fashion as it simplifies product design, reduces inventory and helps to create a recognisable brand or family for Canford. With all of the resources available to us, from supply chain to design and manufacturing, Canford is often the ideal one stop for customers involved in large projects requiring both standard and bespoke manufactured products. Of course underpinning all design work are the various compliance standards such as LVD, Product Safety, EMC, both emissions and susceptibility along with RoHS etc. All of these standards ensure the products that are made by Canford are safe, that they will live happily alongside other equipment and that they don’t contain hazardous substances.

50 | Source Material by Canford

Call UK sales on +44(0)191 418 1122 or email sales@canford.co.uk

Designing for the customer

As I write this we are currently in the process of revising all of our artworks and documentation in preparation for the UK’s complete departure from the EU. You will soon start to see the following mark on products, sometimes along with the familiar CE mark. Now as the Brexit transition draws to a close the familiar CE mark will no longer have relevance in the UK from January 1st 2021 and all products manufactured or sold in the UK will need to have the UKCA mark to show that they meet with the relevant UK legislation. As Canford’s products will continue to be available in Europe, they will still carry the CE mark to show compliance with the EU regulations as well as the UKCA mark to show compliance with the relevant UK legislation. It is useful to know that both the CE mark and the UKCA mark will be underpinned by the same standards that they are today; therefore customers can be assured that product safety and quality will not be compromised due to the UK leaving Europe.

CANFORD MAINS DISTRIBUTION UNITS • Manufactured in the UK by Canford

CURRENT METERING

SEQUENTIAL AND FILTERED COMBINATION

SEQUENTIAL ON/OFF

• Designed for Broadcast, Live Events and Touring

FILTERED

• Reliable, high-quality components used throughout • Extensive range for every application NEW Canford MDU brochure available to download at Canford.co.uk/news

SWITCHED ONLY

STANDARD

CONTACT SALES FOR MORE INFO ON OUR MDUS UK sales tel: +44 (0)191 4181122 email: sales@canford.co.uk Int sales tel: +44 (0)191 4181133 email: international@canford.co.uk Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk

www.canford.co.uk Source Material by Canford | 51

The expectation By Charles Phelps, Canford Technical Support Engineer

Having previously discussed some of the fundamentals of AV networking and its typical physical layer medium in editions 3&4 of Source Material, the game is changing with the demand for equivalent or enhanced performance, particularly across the vast audio-visual industry. The application of copper free solutions offers an attractive option to other methodologies, yet the demand for increased performance pushes the limitation of this format, more so than the traditional physical mediums. With requirements and specifications for wireless alternatives stinted by the developing restrictions of RF legislation and driven by the projected growth of consumer demands, the AV world looks to adopt more IT solutions. Engineering protocols that transport higher data rates over smaller bandwidths. Not an ideal situation, growing demand presents this unique complication. As bandwidth and throughput requirements increase, the maximum transmission distances over copper cables reduce significantly. With the latest specifications of cat7 and HD-SDI, manufacturers are “keeping up” with the latest 10GB data and 12G SDI standards up to typical maximum lengths around 60 meters between nodes. Beyond this, we need to look for alternative transport methods to carry the volume of data over the required length. System designers may find themselves looking at fibre or wireless solutions, if you can run a cable, run fibre. Having copper convertors at either end of your run allows users to retain compatibility to legacy equipment with the medium offering high data rate transfers at impressively long distances. Our fibre department is growing dramatically every year, certified to terminate to a variety of specifications and requirements, please see visit our website to see the latest range of Fibre optic cables solutions, and get in touch with us about all your fibre needs.

52 | Source Material by Canford

That said, more and more we see inquiries into wireless technologies, using radio frequencies to carry data around a space. From system information, through to high bandwidth audio and high-resolution video, there is a variety of different applications and levels of desired ‘mission-critical’ resilience. With the 700 MHz clearance making way for 5G consumer networks, the RF spectrum available for the AV market is getting smaller every year. This push has influenced manufacturers to translate between the analogue and digital worlds, adopting IT networking protocols to reproduce data as lossless as possible with consideration for broadcast capacity, potential channel count, and dwindling commercial RF space. Because of this, some manufacturers have explored using the domestic 2.4 and 5 GHz ‘Wi-Fi’ bands, with varying success. On paper, the channel and timing spacing make an attractive platform to work in. However, an unfathomable number of smart devices share this space. Which in practise presents transportation that works in rehearsals can easily fall over with a large enough audience, generally classing the RF space as void for medium to large events. That said the medium does benefit from enhanced quality of service through the demand of generalised usage, for smaller venues or controlled spaces these systems work well, offering high channel counts whilst removing the ongoing cost of licencing frequencies. With any given data network, knowing or (where possible) testing the available space, working with other parties of a production that may implement similar solutions, is essential to reducing the risk of loss on an event. The use of licence free RF space can saturate with little control over the quality of service in busy environments. Licenced frequency equipment offers better rigidity but typically at a higher upfront cost and potential ongoing cost for frequency allocations. Wherever possible I would personally suggest utilizing wired solutions, although running a physical line is not always practical, it does offer a more generalised resilient medium than any wireless technology can.

Call UK sales on +44(0)191 418 1122 or email sales@canford.co.uk

The expectation of wireless

of wireless In the audio world, products alike but not limited to Shure’s Axient/suffix ‘D’ products or Sennheiser’s 600/900 ranges are offering promising logic for this problem. Utilizing integrated high-speed encoding/decoding they present a decent representation of the source signal carried over a fine digital RF bandwidth. Achieved by cleverly reducing sideband noise on the carrier frequencies, enabling users to pack channels tighter together, surprisingly channel counts are improving, even with the before mentioned loss of space due to the improved spectrally efficiency. Currently, digital systems come with a significant price difference when comparing high-end systems from both methods, and the comparative differences tend to null out especially when you start looking at singlesideband modulation, eliminating the carrier and one sideband from the transmitted signal. The below spectrogram firstly is not to any scale and is oversimplified to convey the intended message, representing a channel from each of the two discussed carriers. Analogue signals have inherent sidebands, which usually results in wider channel spacing to counteract this. Encoding a digital signal however, sidebands are nominal or at least minimal, allowing much closer channel spacing and thus more potential available channels. That said this is only one of a multitude of factors that influence signal integrity.

The biggest demand in this domain is video, requiring a much larger data rate than that of audio or typical network traffic. When investigating local wireless transport options there are products like, but not limited to, Ubiquiti’s nanobeam or the more industrial Rajent’s mesh net. They utilise dedicated routing with spectrum management (increasing the bandwidth making it more exposed to interference) and dependant on budget and or system limitations, aggressive compressive source encoding (reducing the load at the cost of quality). Generally requiring a mix of formats in these situations, yet the behaviour of WI-FI will still be subject to a plethora of environmental influences. It is important to make a distinction between the previous commercial capture transport and consumer streaming services like Netflix or Amazon, which use infrastructure to reduce the required bandwidth through high buffer sizes, variable bit rates, and intermediary proxy servers to achieve low loss media to the masses. The below image graph is an approximation but serves the purpose of highlighting the data load required between providers to transport the different aspect ratios. This would be a challenge on many wired systems and yet expected to transport over a domestic line and streamed to a consumer Wi-Fi enabled product. Streaming Service bandwiths

Analogue vs Digital spectrum space Channel spacing

Amplitude

Frequency

Bandwidth (Mbps)

Analogue Digital

Netflix amazone prime YouTube BBC iPlayer BT sport 5

License exempt: 173-175, 863-865 MHz, 1.9, 2.4 GHz Shared license: 606-614, 823-832 MHz, 1.8 GHz Co-ordinated license: 176-208, 470-606, 614-694 MHz, 1, 1.1, 1.5 GHz

SD (480)

HD (720)

4K (4096)

Picture definition

Wireless Fidelity: 2.4, 3, 5, 11, 24, 60 GHz

*All listed frequencies are available for use in the UK as of October 2020, for updated availability, please check: ofcom.org.uk* Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk

Source Material by Canford | 53

Glensound Remote Off Tube Reporting It is not unusual for a sports commentary or a news report to be carried out by just watching it on a screen, and commentating on what is seen as if the commentator was actually at the event. This is commonly referred to as commentating ‘off tube’. This would still normally be at the TV or radio station, in the studio. The arrival of Covid 19 dramatically increased homeworking across all industries, not just broadcasting. The ‘off tube’ reports were now the only way reporting could happen, but now not even at the broadcasters studios – these now had to happen from the commentator’s or reporter’s own home. Luckily Glensound had existing products in its range that helped engineers in the set up and management of this for the non technical. Glensound Minferno The Minferno is a smaller, more compact version of Glensound’s Inferno commentary unit. This is a great pedigree as the Inferno is the world’s most popular Dante commentary unit. The main difference with the Minferno is it has fewer talkbacks and returns than its bigger brother, making the box much smaller and simpler to use for the non technical that do not need as many controls.

The Minferno on air & talk buttons are large and square for simple use with bright LED illumination. As is typical on Glensound units, these buttons can be configured as: always on and muted when held down (cough), latching on/off, or momentary (PTT). There is also Glensound’s intelligent mode where a short press latches the button, but a longer press is treated as a momentary action. Pressing a talkback button will also mute the mic to the main programme output. Monitoring Each of the inputs from the network comes into the headphone mixer via its own pot for level control. A neat function is that next to each pot is a small push button that when pressed brings up the LEDs on the headset graphic that shows whether the individual input is routed to either the left ear, right ear, or both. In this way the user can simply get the balance they want of the incoming sources in each earphone. Redundancy There is extensive redundancy on the Minferno. There are four possible network paths; a primary and redundant on copper Ethernet, and a primary and redundant via SFP slots for fibre modules. The Minferno can be PoE powered from either copper Ethernet connection. If not using PoE you can use an external 12VDC power supply.

Talkback There are 4 versions of the Minferno and the only difference between them is the number of talkback channels and associated returns on offer. The base Minferno just has the single mic input to the network, with one return. Each of the further three versions add an extra talkback channel and return, so 4 in and 4 out as a maximum on the Minferno 3. Physically each Minferno is the same size at 144mm wide x 179 deep x 76 high.

Move Audio Between The PC & Minferno Using a Dante network audio device at home is actually much easier than you might imagine. Firstly, you need a direct network cable connection to the PC or router. Audinate have a Dante software based sound card called DVS (Dante Virtual Soundcard). This gives you multiple channels of I/O directly on your computer – and it only costs £30. Any software running on your PC can now select DVS as its sound card.

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Call UK sales on +44(0)191 418 1122 or email sales@canford.co.uk

Glensound Remote Commentators

Commentators Connecting The Reporter To The Broadcaster From the various soft IP codecs or browser based IP coding services, the Minferno can now be interfaced back to the broadcaster. The application that Glensound frequently find used with its Minferno in this way is called Unity Connect and is a multi channel software IP system. For details visit www. unityintercom.com. Audio Quality A major reason Glensound have been the market leader in commentary units for so long is their audio quality. Indeed it can often be necessary to add further processing to the mic signal to make it sound better - but this is not necessary with Glensound. An average sports commentator is fairly unforgiving to a mic input. Unexpected screams into the mic are not uncommon, so the mic amplifier has to be able to manage the short term peaks without clipping or distortion, and with low noise. Glensound amps have a wide gain range and high headroom before any clipping could occur. There is also a compressor/limiter system developed by Glensound over many years called ‘Referee’. This gradually compresses the incoming signal as it approaches clip, increasing the ratios gently to ensure peaks are managed effectively, but without affecting the overall dynamic range of the audio.

Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk

Remote Control You can make input adjustments on the rear of the Minferno for both the input type and gain, and this can be locked if required, but often the Minferno is remote controlled, especially if it is being used at a commentator’s home. As the Minferno contains its own web server, a web browser only needs to put a Minferno’s IP address into a browser search bar to bring up the remote control interface. This makes the system really powerful when the remote operator is across the open internet. The IP address of the remote control stream is separate from the audio transport stream used by Dante so we can set up distance control separate from the local network. As long as the Minferno has a static IP address you can set up port forwarding on the router that the Minferno is connected to. Now using the public IP address of the location of the Minferno, with the port number, means any internet connected PC can remote control it. An engineer who may be at the studio, or indeed at home himself, can now control and monitor the Minferno used by the commentator at their home. When Covid 19 has passed, it is expected that this new way of remote working will be left behind for many that have found that working from home with Glensound Minfernos actually works quite well!

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56 | Source Material by Canford

Call UK sales on +44(0)191 418 1122 or email sales@canford.co.uk

Canford expands rapid fibre termination service in response to strong demand By Stephen Gallagher, Canford Marketing Manager

Canford announced its in-house fibre termination facility during the 2016 International Broadcast Convention (IBC). Attracting over 55,000 attendees from 160 countries, IBC “the world’s most influential media, entertainment and technology show” provided the ideal launch-pad, and an opportunity for the Canford team to speak directly with international customers about this exciting development.

Canford Head of Design and Fibre Technology, John Driver comments: “Our fibre termination service has been a great success. It has been hard work along the way, but we have exceeded our own optimistic expectations year-on-year. We found ourselves expanding ahead of when we might have anticipated, and with that physical expansion we’ve also expanded our product offering and stock holding”.

Located at the company’s Washington, Tyne and Wear headquarters, Canford’s fibre termination service was setup to provide a short lead-time service for the termination of LEMO SMPTE, and Neutrik opticalCON connectors in response to customer demand.

The company’s most recent fibre expansion came just prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. The fibre team remained operational throughout lockdown and saw a marked increase in demand for its pre-terminated cable assemblies.

Canford quickly established itself within the Broadcast, Live Event and Touring markets as a reliable and speedy source of high-quality fibre products. With this came a significant and sustained demand as Canford became entrusted to supply fibre links for use at international football tournaments, major live events and even a royal wedding. Further investment would see Canford quickly expand its fibre department in order to stay ahead of demand, and maintain its promise of a ‘short lead-time’ fibre termination service. The service grew organically, initially expanding into ‘the room next door’, followed by further strategic investment and a permanent relocation to a significantly larger, newly renovated clean-room environment. As well as committing more physical space to fibre termination, Canford has continued its investment in recruitment and staff training, sophisticated production and test equipment, and has made a commitment to increasing its stock holding of raw fibre cables, connector assemblies and finished goods.

John Driver explains: “Thankfully we had already bolstered our stockholding of SMPTE cable assemblies. Our recent expansion has meant we were able to get ahead of demand and now routinely keep stock of common assemblies such as our Canford SMPTE311 Camera Cables. We also found that customers were unable to carry out ‘normal’ installations during lockdown. Instead, they were adapting to more temporary systems, with a greater emphasis on rapid deployment – particularly within football grounds as a result of the rush to finish the delayed football season, with many games being broadcast due to the absence of fans. Canford’s fibre work often ties in with its custom metalwork capabilities, bringing fibre and metalwork together as a single, complete solution. We were able produce fibre termination boxes at truly short notice for clients during these challenging times”. The Canford Fibre Termination Team continued with training and development during lockdown as the company expands its offering to include MTP/ MPO highdensity fibre connectivity.

For more information regarding Canford’s fibre termination service visit: https://www.canford.co.uk/News/599 Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk

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Germ-free mics – a necessity in these times

EVEN IN THE BEST OF TIMES, IT IS A GOOD IDEA TO KEEP YOUR MICROPHONES CLEAN AND GERM FREE – IT’S JUST GOOD PRACTICE. IN THESE DAYS OF COVID-19, IT IS IMPERATIVE. Microphones are often well-handled tools – passed around from engineers, assistants, costumers, talent and back again. Through all this handling, spit, sweat and skin leave traces on the microphone and cables. So how can you keep your microphones clean and ensure the safety of everyone involved? First, make sure the basics are in order. Wash your hands, use disinfectant and stay home if you have any symptoms. Of course. Next, disinfect your microphones regularly. Right now, it is recommended to disinfect them after every single use. This might not always be possible, but it should be practice. Next, we need to make a distinction about cleaning mics versus disinfecting them. Cleaning mics involves physically removing dirt and germs from the mic with soap and water. Disinfecting mics means killing germs with a proper chemical agent like an isopropyl alcohol and water solution* (on surfaces only). Finally, different types of mics have different cleaning and disinfection needs. You can’t treat your handheld mic the same as you do your miniature lavalier. * Pure isopropyl alcohol evaporates too quickly on surfaces to kill germs. By adding 20% water, its disinfectant properties will be extended for enough time to work properly.

HANDHELD AND PENCIL MICROPHONES Cleaning To clean these microphones, remove the grid, if possible, and clean it with lukewarm water and soap. After letting it dry, replace the grid on the capsule. Wipe down the surface of the rest of the mic with a cloth moistened with soap and water. Afterwards, and if possible, leave the microphones to dry for 72 hours before reuse. This step allows any germs left on the surface of the mic time to die. Alternatively, some germs die at high temperatures and it is possible to leave the mics in the oven at 60°C (140° F) for an hour (please note, this will age the microphone slightly). Disinfecting with alcohol

55-175 Canford Cleaning Isopropyl Alcohol An all-purpose cleaning fluid, harmless to tape heads, optical lenses and other delicate areas. Removes adhesive and other sticky residues, oil deposits, as well as general dirt build up etc. 99.9% pure alcohol.

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To disinfect handheld and pencil microphones, wipe down their surface with a cloth moistened sparingly with an isopropyl alcohol and water solution*. It is important to make sure that no isopropyl alcohol comes into contact with the microphone membrane, which cannot take harsh chemicals.

55-183 Bactericidal lint-free wipes, impregnated with a 70% iso-propyl alcohol mix.

Call UK sales on +44(0)191 418 1122 or email sales@canford.co.uk

DON’T FORGET THE CABLES AND STUFF MINIATURE & SUBMINIATURE LAVALIERS AND HEADSETS Cleaning All DPA CORE Microphones are IP58 rated meaning they can be submerged in up to 1m of water for up to 3 hours without any adverse effects to their performance. To remove sweat and impurities that can get stuck in these smaller microphones, rinse them in demineralized water, and wipe them gently with a damp cloth. All grids, caps and foam windscreens should be removed. This allows for a proper rinse and for the water to evaporate fully when drying out. No cleaning fluids should be used - only demineralized water is needed. Here are the steps you should take to clean a miniature microphone for sweat and impurities 1. Pour a bit of demineralized water into a small container. 20-30 ml should be sufficient. Do not add any kind of cleaning fluid.

2. I f you haven’t already, remove the grid from the mic element.

3. Dip the microphone into the demineralized water and stir gently.You may want to gently shake off the water of the mic and repeat this step a few times. 4. After repeating step 3 as many times as desired, give the mic a final shake to get it as dry as possible. 5. Lastly, leave the microphone out to dry overnight - without the grid. After a day, it should be completely dry and you can mount the grid again. Disinfecting This is more the less the same as with the larger mics. To disinfect miniature and subminiature lavaliers and headset microphones, use a cloth moistened sparingly with an isopropyl alcohol and water solution* to wipe them down on their surface (with the grid attached). This also applies to headsets, clips, booms, grids and adapters. As an alternative, leave the microphones to dry for 72 hours before reuse. Some germs die at high temperatures and it is possible to leave the mics in the oven at 60°C (140° F) for an hour (please note, this will age the microphone slightly).

Canford foam windshields - in a variety of standard colours and sizes.

We have talked a lot about mics but the cables they are attached with (as well as the clips, mounts, adapters and other paraphernalia) also need to be kept clean. To clean cables, rub them gently with olive or coconut oil. This will remove residue like paint or sweat and will leave the cable hygienic and fit for use. Alternatively, wipe them with lukewarm water and soap. Do not splash soapy water into connectors or microphones. Afterwards, leave them to dry on their own for at least 72 hours – this will allow time for any germs to die. Unfortunately, cables cannot be disinfected with isopropyl alcohol or other harsh chemicals, as this will make the cable jacket brittle over time. We recommend being very thorough when cleaning cables to remove as many germs as possible. UV-C light is also known to kill germs. The performance and condition of our cables will not be affected by a UV-C treatment. Please note that UV disinfection depends on line-of-sight, so make sure to expose as much cable to the light as possible and repeat treatment if necessary. Observe instructions for use for your equipment and protect yourself from the harmful radiation. Avoid exposing any part of the capsule to the UV radiation as this may damage the sensitive components inside. To clean foam windscreens, both large and small, remove them from the mics and wash them gently with warm water and soap. Leave them to dry on their own for at least 72 hours – this will allow time for any germs to die. Unfortunately, foam windscreens cannot be disinfected with isopropyl alcohol or other harsh chemicals. We recommend being very thorough when cleaning windscreens to remove as many germs as possible and leave them to dry for 72 hours. This will allow time for any germs to die. Other accessories and paraphernalia be disinfected using a cloth moistened sparingly with an isopropyl alcohol and water solution to wipe them down on their surface. Following these simple steps ensures that your mics are clean, germ free and ready to go. And remember, all of these types of mics are durable tools, made for use and reuse. Cleaning and disinfecting them properly is a part of proper usage and will not harm them in any way – on the contrary, proper mic hygiene will prolong the lifetime of your mics and ensure they work properly each and every day.

Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk

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LISTEN TO THE VOICE INSIDE YOUR HEAD THE SIDEKICK 2 IFB IN-EAR MONITOR

The most invisible, durable and comfortable IFB in-ear monitor yet. Try it today.

bubblebeeindustries.com/thesidekick2 60 | Source Material by Canford Call UK sales on +44(0)191 418 1122 or email sales@canford.co.uk

CARBON FIBRE POLES

Titanium Tip

PANAMIC BOOM POLES Available in mini, midi or maxi sizes, which includes three, four and five section poles ranging from 0.73 to 5.00 metres in length. SILENT OPERATING Each section houses an Unique adjustable end stop enabling quick adjustment and keeps each section tight, eliminates the risk of rattle noise from loose sections or worn components.

Nylon Bushes & Precision Locking Rings

STRONG & LIGHTWEIGHT Poles are hand-crafted in the UK from the highest quality carbon fibre. • The carbon fibre construction reduces bend and ensures precision positioning • The Titanium tip is approximately 1/3 of the weight of an equivalent Stainless Steel tip

Adjustable End Stops

RELIABLE & DURABLE Boom operators can work without worry of sticking or binding. Each section houses an Adjustable End Stop, Nylon Bushes & Precision Locking Rings. This helps prevent jamming, sticking or binding and provide great resistance from dirt ingress. • Tough, detachable, corrosion resistant Titanium Tip • Designed so that, in the event of damage, all components can be replaced by the user

Carbon Fibre Construction

• Durable, wear resistant nylon web handles

Panamic p o l e s

a p a r t

Panamic Distance Pole

Specifically designed for field news reporting. It’s a two section pole, 2.05m when fully extended, which, once a microphone is fitted, will result in around a 3 metre separation between interviewer and interviewee. • Assembled from existing Panamic components, so shares the excellent handling characteristics of the long established Boom Pole range • Ensures distance between interviewer and interviewee • Rapid design and manufacture in response to COVID-19 crisis

Panamic Boom Pole

NEW PANAMIC DISTANCE POLES

Nylon Web Handle

• Resilient rubber end cap protects the carbon handle section from impact with the ground

Rubber End Cap

CONTACT THE CANFORD SALES TEAM UK sales t: +44 (0)191 4181122 e: sales@canford.co.uk Int sales t: +44 (0)191 4181133 e: international@canford.co.uk www.panamic.net

Call International sales on +44(0)191 418 1133 or email international@canford.co.uk

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FIBRE CAPABILITIES NOW INCLUDE F IBRECO HMA TERMINATIONS Fibreco Expanded Beam connector termination

• Withstands harsh environments, such as Touring and Festivals • Reliable with reduced sensitivity to dust and dirt contaminants • Time saving hermaphroditic mating • Simple, on-site cleaning • Singlemode and Multimode versions • Custom cable assemblies available – contact Canford

CONTACT OUR SALES TEAM UK sales t: +44 (0)191 4181122 e: sales@canford.co.uk Int sales t: +44 (0)191 4181133 e: international@canford.co.uk www.canford.co.uk