AES 2008: Flexible, Successful - Theatre and Event Companies are Enthusiastic about the TRIAGON

SALZBRENNER STAGETEC MEDIAGROUP introduce the highly flexible TRIAGON mixing and control console / Current version on display at AES Convention 2008

AES Convention 2008, Amsterdam, in May 2008: Theatres, multipurpose venues and event centres place high demands on their audio systems. The mixing console must be sufficiently flexible to suit a variety of halls and stages. It should offer extensive automation capabilities, control not only the audio but also other events if possible, integrate into an existing audio or technical infrastructure and be capable of being installed into (often narrow) small spaces with little effort. »Though it sounds like squaring the circle, all of these are the legitimate everyday requirements of our customers in the theatre and event-related markets,« says Wolfgang Salzbrenner, managing director at SALZBRENNER Audio Video Mediensysteme, a branch of SALZBRENNER STAGETEC MEDIAGROUP. »The TRIAGON we showcase at the AES Convention 2008 is an exclusive integrated mixing-console and controller system that is the result of more than 40 years of experience in the theatre and events segments. It is suitable for almost any conceivable application in theatres and event venues.«

The basis of the TRIAGON, which is an offspring of the former C.A.S. 64 theatre console, is a multiclient-enabled audio server supporting up to 128 inputs and 128 outputs plus 84 assignable buses. The server can be controlled from the operating console, an 8×8 fader-remote unit, or a laptop computer—using either traditional Ethernet cabling or wireless LAN! A maximum of four distributed controls can act as clients accessing the server. But it is not just the software that makes the TRIAGON so flexible: The user interface is custom-built with operating panels in an 8-channel-grid. The bright 16:9 aspect ratio 20" TFT displays can be installed either onto the console itself or on a wall.

Integration with the SALZBRENNER P-DATA Bus and the SALZBRENNER MEDIA CONTROL makes the TRIAGON the perfect control centre. This combination allows for integrated control of lighting systems, building parameters, paging and stage-management systems, or players and play-outs using the TRIAGON user interface. Even the extensive automation is no exception to the rule: Complex scenes with extensive sound and lighting effects are timecode-controlled or triggered by a control signal or at the touch of a button—and can still be modified during reproduction. Like all SALZBRENNER STAGETEC MEDIAGROUP consoles, the TRIAGON integrates into the NEXUS audio network and uses its key features: support of a variety of formats, the proverbial reliability, and decentralised access to all I/Os on the network.

The event-centre concept of the TRIAGON has been highly successful. At this year’s AES Convention, a version of the console that is already in use at prominent venues will be on display. Early adopters of the system include the new Darmstadt Economy and Convention Centre (Germany) with 3 TRIAGONs, the Bavarian Parliament at Munich (Germany) with 2 units, the Burgtheater at Vienna (Austria) with 3 consoles, and the Drama Theatre of Baku (the capital of Azerbaijan) with 2 TRIAGONs. Another two units for the opera across the way from that theatre will be shipped to Baku during the next few months. »All those customers have one thing in common,« says Salzbrenner. »All the TRIAGON systems have been tailored to the requirements of the respective venue; in all those places, there are custom constructions, some larger, some smaller, that have been developed in close co-operation with the customers. Applications range from a remote-control unit, with extensive functionality, implemented at the Bavarian landtag to a made-to-measure console for the extremely cramped conditions at the Burgtheater. This is one of the TRIAGON’s key features: It adapts to any and all requirements.«