Stage Tec
Company History: Stage Tec Berlin
Berlin-based Stage Tec Entwicklungsgesellschaft für professionelle Audiotechnik mbH is still a young company focussing on the design and development of innovative audio components. It was founded on 1 July 1993 by outstanding engineers and distribution experts. A prototype of the Nexus routing system was introduced only four months later: at the New York AES Convention in 1993!
Just a few months later, the Museum of Musical Instruments in Berlin became the first to install a NEXUS network. Quite a coup for a young company — the distribution partnership with the well established STAGETEC Marketing Company was successful from the word go.
But NEXUS was just the first step on the way to an ambitious goal, the design and construction of a digital mixing-console system! The digital routing system was no longer simply a standalone universal interface, but became an integral component of the new mixing console. Development of digital signal processing, and an ergonomic and attractive user interface were the final steps on the road to achieving the dream. The CANTUS was born! At the 1994 Tonmeistertagung, it received an enthusiastic welcome from the audience thanks to its clever design. The CANTUS consolidated STAGETEC’s reputation as an innovative company for professional digital audio technology and was one of the foundations of future prosperity.
The designers have consistently produced a stream of innovative improvements, even in the details. The 18-bit converters, standard at the time, were developed into the patented 28-bit TrueMatch converter. This offers the widest dynamic range of any currently available converter. New components were added, and software and hardware were continuously improved. Further development based on the CANTUS saw the introduction of a dedicated film console, the CINETRA.
The most recent addition to the STAGETEC product range is the AURUS, a mixing console system for live applications and sound reinforcement, designed completely from scratch.
Since that time NEXUS and CANTUS have become worldwide players. Systems have been installed at the Kourou Spaceport, the United Nations, the Kremlin, many Hollywood studios, and countless theatres. Broadcasting is also a major activity with, for example, more than 30 CANTUS systems sold in Italy, most of them to the state broadcasting service RAI.
Meanwhile, the company’s old home had become much too small, so a new headquarters building was commissioned. In autumn 1999, the entire company moved to the new site in the heart of Berlin. The complex includes manufacturing production lines, well-equipped offices, various QC facilities, and even a recording studio. Today, the company premises are futureproof too. However, then as now, this success is built on two pillars — the founders’ and employees’ commitment and the helpful feedback and confidence of countless satisfied customers all over the world!
| 2011 | Successful delivery of the 9th Audio Seminar at Banz monastery |
| Introduction of a touchscreen control unit for the ON AIR 24 compact console. The interface provides six selectable parameter windows plus windows for 8 aux sends and 8 N–1 (mix-minus) paths | |
| Integration of loudness-metering and spectrum-analysis functions on the new NEXUS controller board | |
| 2010 | Introduction of the compact and intuitive ON AIR 24 broadcast mixer for self-op use. |
| TREM, the virtual channel expansion, emulates operating strips which are not present physically on the console. The TREM application runs on a separate personal computer connected to the console via Ethernet. | |
| The XHDI02 board for the NEXUS system supports all SDI formats standardised currently including the fast 3G-SDI format. | |
| Development of a setup application for the NEXUS system which enables users to change the NEXUS hardware configuration without vendor support. | |
| 2009 | With the introduction of the new XDEE Dolby E encoder board, NEXUS becomes the world’s first audio router on the market to incorporate a consistent workflow for Dolby E® signals. |
| CRESCENDO replaces AURATUS XL. With 300 audio channels, a freely configurable bus structure and a maximum of 128 summing buses, it is positioned between the AURUS and AURATUS consoles. | |
| Development of a new OMUX optical multiplexer featuring 4 ports. Versions include a NEXUS plug-in board and a 19" external unit. | |
| 2008 | Introduction of the new NEXUS XDED decoder which offers freely available processing of Dolby E® encoded signals within NEXUS, AURUS and AURATUS platforms |
| Presentation of two new boards for the NEXUS STAR router: The RSYNC board supports integrated synchronisation with HDTV support; the RMF02 MADI board now provides SFP optical modules in addition to BNC ports and also features an integrated signal processor for gain adjustment. | |
| Demonstration of the Virtual Surface wireless channel-expansion unit networked with the AURUS on a wireless LAN and providing 8 additional channel control strips | |
| Development of the XCMC board containing the entire audio-processing and control components of the AURATUS | |
| 2007 | New AURUS software release providing numerous convenient functions: an offline editor for AURUS configurations and an offline mode for NEXUS configurations |
| 24 AURATUS consoles ordered by German broadcaster WDR | |
| Introduction of the AURATUS XL, a compact mixing console with 140 channels | |
| The completely revised latest-generation NEXUS STAR offering full redundancy | |
| 2006 | Development and presentation of the AURATUS compact digital mixing console |
| AURUS record sales: 44 orders in the first six months, more than 100 sold consoles since 2003 | |
| AURUS wins the iF product design award | |
| The NEXUS “minirack” version goes into production | |
| 2005 | Development of a new AURUS software featuring plenty of substantial newfunctions |
| AURUS excels as touring console | |
| 2004 | Now available for NEXUS: SDI interface board featuring new audio SRC for asynchronous video streams |
| First AURUS installation in an OB truck | |
| 2003 | AES Convention in Amsterdam: Presentation of the NEXUS STAR digital audio router with additional functionality and new hardware options (e.g. programmable GPIs) |
| First installation of an AURUS console (E.T.A. Hoffmann Theater Bamberg, Germany) | |
| 2002 | Introduction of AURUS »the Direct-Access Console« at the AES-convention at Munich, Germany |
| CANTUS III with major software enhancements and hardware changes (updated Master section, reverse-routing display, rehearsal mode, improved snapshot automation) introduced | |
| 2001 | 150th CANTUS installation in Belgium (Radio-télévision belge de la Communauté française RTBF) |
| AES Convention: Introducing the NEXUS STAR, a powerful router for extensive audio networking |
|
| 2000 | 100th CANTUS installation (ABC Stage 59, Los Angeles) |
| Introduction of the NEXUS STAR at the Tonmeistertagung in Hannover (Germany) | |
| 1999 | First installation of a NEXUS system in the United States (20th Century Fox) |
| Occupation of the new company premises | |
| 1997 | Delivery of the first XMAD microphone A/D converter to the BBC |
| Introduction of the digital microphone beyerdynamic MCD 100 - the first microphone featuring TrueMatch converters | |
| First installation of the digital film console CINETRA at the Geyer Synchron, Berlin (Germany) | |
| Introduction of CINETRA at the AES Convention at New York | |
| 1996 | Introduction of the TrueMatch RMC at the Tonmeistertagung, Karlsruhe (Germany) |
| First installation of a CANTUS in Japan, Wakayama | |
| 1995 | First installation of a CANTUS console at the Bayerischer Rundfunk (Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation), Germany |
| 1994 | First installation of a NEXUS system in a broadcasting environment (SFB, Berlin) |
| Introduction of the digital CANTUS console at the Tonmeistertagung in Karlsruhe (Germany) | |
| Development Award by the German Department of Commerce | |
| 1993 | Introduction of NEXUS at the AES Convention, New York |
| 01June93 | Company incorporation |