Spain’s Telefonica Broadcast Services has upgraded its HD OB truck with a Calrec
Summa console, making it one of the only companies in the Spanish OB market to
offer a broadcast-specific audio console.

“We produce events for almost all major broadcasters in Spain, as well as foreign
companies. Today it’s a soccer game. Tomorrow it will be basketball. After that we
might broadcast an opera. We have to be able to manage any setup our clients
require and guarantee their big productions will go to air with no problems,” said
Luis Garcia Colombo, Telefonica OB audio engineer.

“The Summa ensures we can do it in a way that only a broadcast-grade desk can.
We don’t even have to think about whether we’ll be able to handle the setup; we
simply know that we can. It’s easy to see that it’s not just an audio console, but a
TV audio console, and that gives us an edge in the market.”

The Summa’s technology and functionality make it possible for Telefonica to handle
larger TV productions than ever before and put the company in a better competitive
position. Summa’s feature list — such as 128 channels, four mains, 32 tracks, an
oscillator, the number and variety of inputs and outputs, and the Hydra2 networking
infrastructure — boosts the quality of Telefonica’s HD OB truck and reduces setup
time between productions.

Telefonica primarily covers sports and Champions League football in Spain. Calrec’s
Soccer Sidekick iPad® app, an assistive mixing tool that simplifies the job of
tracking on-pitch audio during a football game, is especially useful. The operator
uses the app to help calculate the optimal mic/fader configuration at any given
moment, which makes it possible to capture important on-pitch events while
minimizing the amount of crowd and venue noise.

“There are not many broadcast-specific desks in the Spanish OB market, so
installing a Summa is a big step forward,” said Jim Green, Calrec’s international
sales manager. “Telefonica is making a bold statement to the broadcast
marketplace about its commitment to improving quality and output.”