Harris Broadcast Communications today introduces a series of user-friendly features for analog and digital studio environments at The Radio Show, giving broadcasters more tools to empower on-air, production and networking capabilities in distributed and consolidated studio architectures.

Harris introduces programmable button panels that enhance routing capabilities and protect signal destinations, as well as standard metering designs across all Harris® PR&E® studio consoles to improve ease of use. New quad-meter enhancements for its largest console line also increase confidence metering for operators monitoring several on- and off-air sources at once.

Programmable Button Panels
The new “smart,” dynamic LCD button panels give operators and producers five programmable buttons to initiate audio routes or commands to and from any location. Foremost, the panels shield the air chain and other destinations from accepting undesired audio, maximizing protection in networked studio environments. This means that an on-air operator would need to approve a “request” from another studio to introduce that audio to the program. The buttons similarly protect for remote signal contributions, allowing operators to cleanly initiate mix-minus feeds on-air.

Operators benefit further from clarity on the actual “owner” of the audio source, with rich text and unique color screens offering clear visual information about where each signal originates. This is a key differentiator from competing systems that don’t identify the origination point.

Harris now offers its new programmable button panels on PR&E® RMXdigital® consoles, the VMReact™ logic processing engine and other PR&E® VistaMax™ audio networking systems. VMReact, introduced last year at The Radio Show, is a virtual toolbox that allows studio operators and engineers to customize and automate multiple processes in networked studio environments. This includes everything from switching audio routes to creating contact closures for various events.

Uniformity and Ease of Use
Harris enhances the look and feel of its metering applications at The Radio Show, introducing a standard design for meters, clocks and timers across its RMXdigital, NetWave® and Oasis™ on-air/production consoles. Harris also introduces quad-meters for most RMXdigital consoles, allowing operators to monitor additional sources. This improves metering confidence by ensuring signal integrity for program and off-air sources, such as web streaming and network routing.

Harris is also demonstrating its recently-introduced RMXengine™, offering an on-demand mix-minus and IFB for every RMXdigital fader. The auxiliary device also enables advanced dual-console operation for sophisticated dual-anchor studio operations — bridging two consoles together in a single studio. The aforementioned new programmable button panels also bring benefits to these applications, allowing for negotiated and protected air chain control between two consoles.

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About Harris Broadcast Communications
Harris Broadcast Communications offers products, systems and services that provide interoperable workflow solutions for broadcast, cable, satellite and out-of-home networks. The Harris ONE™ solution brings together highly integrated and cost-effective products that enable advanced media workflows for emerging content delivery business models. Additional information about Harris Broadcast Communications is available at www.broadcast.harris.com.