STUDIO ONE'S console is certainly one of the main attractions of SAV studios and would appear to be ideally suited to video post production work.

The CM4400 is a mid-priced modular desk incorporating a very versatile digital routing system. By using microprocessor controlled analog switches, the CM4400 can easily he expanded from a minimal 1-2-2 to its maximum frame size of 44-12-24-2+2. Each channel has a single routing switch which makes it straightforward to create custom formats. A 24-4-8-2 can he expanded to a 24-8-16-2 hy simply adding two more sub group modules. The channel or sub group identity is established by DIL switches on each module.

The desk is finished in an attractive matt grey with the usual compliment of colour coded knobs and slider covers.

It comprises four types of modules; Input Modules, Sub-Group Modules, Master Module and Computer Module. The input channels accept both balanced microphone or line inputs. The input section comprises on/off switching of 48V phantom powering, a 30dB PAD, a phase reversal switch, a gain control for the microphone input and a switch for mic/line selection. The balanced line input has an input impedance of 10k and the input headroom is 26dB allowing a good deal of headroom for transients.

The equaliser section comprises a high pass filter (with cutoff point switchable between 50Hz and 200Hz), a HF boost/cut control centered at 12kHz, and a bass control centered around 50Hz. All controls give a maximum 15dB of boost or cut.

Each channel has six auxilliary sends which use only four knobs. The last two auxilliary controls can be switched between being routed to either aux. three and five, or four and six.

Beneath the cue sends is a single pan control, mute and solo buttons, a single channel routing button and the channel faders. To select channel routing, the user depresses the routing switch and then the switch of the group you wish it to be sent to. The relevant LEDs will light to indicate which group, or groups, each channel is routed to.

On the Sub-Group Modules are two EQ controls (10kHz and 50Hz), six auxiliary sends, controls for monitor level, pan, fader reverse, tape on/off and tape routing for each of the tape monitors. Additionally, there are two faders for group returns on each module and the single group routing switch for selecting group destinations.

On the master module are the master monitor, auxilliary and communications functions. Also it has an oscillator with 22 different frequencies, power supply test indicators, and two master faders and master routing switch.

To coordinate the different routing switches, the CM4400 has a Computer Module which contains a Z80A microprocessor, the RAM and EPROM. The unit contains a ni-cad backup battery which will store all the routing information for 60 days should the power to the desk be cut off. The Computer Module consists of a relatively bare panel with a keypad and two faders. On the keypad are numbers zero to nine and keys marked store, recall, unlock, inplace solo, and interrogate. A numeric display indicates the current patch memory or error indication. Without the CMS2 interface, switching between patches is achieved by manually pressing a single switch. By writing in a code to the keyboard, the operation of 'recall' will select the memory from its last location to its next location.

When the desk is used in conjunction with the CMS2 via the RS232 port, the switching of different routing patches can be automated by syncing to the multi track. This expands the possibilities of the CM4400 even further, as routing can obviously mean muting if a channel is routed to a group whose fader is down.

In addition to providing automation against SMPTE/EBU timecode, the CMS2 package also includes an eight way events controller for the starting of cartridges and other outboard equipment. It gives a VDU display of all details of its current status, and unlike many automated systems can be updated at any point of the proceedings. This means that you don't have to wait until the next run through if you want to make any alterations.