Avid has announced the immediate availability of VENUE 7, the next generation of software for the company’s VENUE | S6L digital mix system that introduces numerous new features and enhancements to the platform.
VENUE software now supports I/O sharing across three VENUE | S6L systems. It’s designed to provide more workflow flexibility while reducing costs and complexity. Support for I/O sharing is intended to make it easier for users to add a broadcast console or second monitor console to their setup or enable faster switchovers at festivals and concerts.
Further, with I/O sharing, microphone feeds can be split digitally over the network so engineers only have to build one set of I/O racks. In addition, all I/O configurations support Avid’s True Gain technology that’s designed to automatically manage gain compensation to help ensure that proper signal levels are maintained.
Users can now also send and receive up to 128 channels of audio between VENUE | S6L systems and Milan (media-integrated local area network) certified devices – including loudspeakers, amplifiers and other devices – with the new MLN-192 Milan Option Card and latest VENUE software. It’s designed for seamless plug-and-play connectivity to let users distribute audio to Milan-enabled devices over an Ethernet AVB network with no switch configuration or IT expertise required.
“As the world’s first live sound console to be certified by the rapidly growing Milan protocol and the only one to offer gain-compensated I/O sharing between three systems, this is more than just a software update – VENUE 7 truly takes a giant leap forward,” says Dana Ruzicka, SVP & GM of Audio & Music Solutions at Avid. “Although live performances have been hit hard by the ongoing pandemic, Avid remains fully committed to innovating for the live sound industry. We’re doubling down with the biggest software release since shipping the S6L system, giving engineers and sound designers the power and performance they need to deliver the best possible live sound productions.”
“In live sound you need reliability, rapid deployment, and high fidelity,” adds Richard Bugg, Avnu Alliance Pro AV Segment Chair. “The Avid VENUE | S6L is the industry’s first live sound console to be Milan-certified, guaranteeing it will work with other Milan-certified devices, giving users a fast and dependable solution with expanded functionality.”
The Avnu Alliance is a community creating an interoperable ecosystem of low-latency, time-synchronized, highly reliable networked devices using open standards through certification.
VENUE 7 also provides control of delay compensation to help users address plugin-heavy mixes with complex routing requirements. Aligning buses and matrixes is intended to be simplified through Automatic Delay Compensation (ADC) settings. Likewise, the new Input Delay Alignment command makes it easier to align selected input channels to compensate for any plugins inserted on those inputs. Using Avid’s True Time technology, this is intended to provide comprehensive alignment of audio signals.
Additional new VENUE features include:
• USB recording and playback – 2-track recording and playback using a USB flash drive connected to the S6L control surface. Users can perform basic live stereo recordings, play back stereo tracks for pre-show entertainment or walk-up music, play music between acts, and trigger sound effects or cues for theater performances.
• Upgraded mix capabilities – designed to allow users to expand their creative possibilities, such as adding analog “warmth” and “color” to mixes with HEAT available on every input channel, shape sounds more freely with unlimited graphic EQs on all output buses, enable parallel mix control, or filter out frequencies with HPF and LPF on every output channel.
• Enhanced processing and routing possibilities – four new post-fader plugin inserts and one post-fader hardware insert on every input channel make VENUE 7 well-suited for automixing workflows. In addition, 400 plugin slots available across all S6L systems and engines are designed to allow for better VENUE show file compatibility, while bus-to-bus routing is intended to enhance flexibility to route any Aux or Group to any other.
The new Avid VENUE 7 features and functionality are now available for all customers on an active support contract. Go here for more specifics.
