Soundcraft Vi Series™ Gets Offline Editing And Multiple Stageboxes
First, starting in March, the desks will support multiple stageboxes. This means that a digital patchbay can be created where the engineer can select the 64 inputs to a Soundcraft Vi6™ (or 48 on the Soundcraft Vi4™) from a selection of inputs available on any of the connected stageboxes. So, for example, with two stageboxes connected, there are 128 inputs to select from; with three there would be 172, and so on.
The Vi Series stagebox is the main input/output interface for the system, with up to 64 mic/line inputs and 32 line outputs available, or AES/EBU digital cards can take the place of mic/line I/Os.
Perhaps even more welcomed by any engineer using the Vi Series is the ability to set up shows and configurations offline on a PC, which can then be downloaded to the desk from a USB memory drive.
The Vi Offline Editor software will be downloadable free from the www.SoundcraftDigital.com website starting in March and can be run standalone in any location and the file transferred at any time. All routing, naming, EQ and dynamic settings and so on can be pre-configured offline. This also provides new engineers a superb opportunity to “test out” the console on their laptops before getting hands on. The editor can also be configured to control the DSP core in the absence of the desk control surface, and thus can provide control of audio in an emergency.