Optocore AutoRouter improves the sound system of the Finnish Musiikkitalo

The Finnish concert centre has once again placed its trust in Optocore with AutoRouter installation, that adds flexibility and frees up the FOH console for a versatile role.

Musiikkitalo (Helsinki Music Center), An important concert center, Finnish Television & Recording Studio, You've upgraded your infrastructure Optocore with the addition of AutoRouter, one patchbay intelligent, that provides greater flexibility when releasing the audio console DiGiCo SD8 in FOH.

Although the venue originally opened in 2011 as a concert space with capacity for 1.700 people, Musiikkitalo revamped its infrastructure six years later and introduced an Optocore network for the first time, supplied by your distributor Intersonic.

"The original design was overloaded and it was too awkward to add anything, so we installed a pair of Optocore DD32FRs for signal distribution to amplifiers and SD racks, as well as DiGiCo's FOH mixer", explains Musiikkitalo's head of studio, Jori Tossavainen.

As you add Pauli Molnar, Sales Director at Intersonic, "We have supplied most of the audio equipment to Helsinki Music Center since day one, So we're very familiar with them. Optocore is a popular high-end professional networking solution in Finland, so we had some experience with the brand even before we took over distribution.".

That's why, this latest and recent update had to rely on Optocore again; a clear decision for Jori Tossavainen, as well as for Kirsi Peteri, Head of Venue Sound, who also oversees five satellite halls at Musiikkitalo. Both prepared the specifications to carry it out.

"AutoRouter has been essential to the upgrade," says Tossavainen. It is perfectly suited for installations with multiple connection points and mobile stage boxes, as well as for live events, as is the case with Musiikkitalo".

Compatible with standalone Optocore networks and DiGiCo fiber loops, The same functionality is also available for TwinLANe cards of Yamaha and the AVB network of Avid, enabling smarter theatre sound systems to be designed using flagship consoles.

"With this upgrade we decided to free the old DiGiCo SD8 from its FOH position and deploy it as a portable unit," says Tossavainen. At the same time, we move into the digital divide, so we freed up an SD rack that could be moved alongside the SD8, both connected by the AutoRouter to the main system".

In addition, A couple of devices were added to the update Optocore M8 Madi, as well as a new console DiGiCo Q338, with a Optocore loop in FOH, replacing the previous SD8.

In the broadcast and recording part, The old consoles have been replaced by three Lawo mc² 56 for control rooms, through a Ravenna network and the Anubis and Horus interfaces Merging Technologies. The total budget for the upgrade has been about 700.000 Euros.

As for the M8, stage microphones are distributed to Optocore through Madi from the Horus, while Musiikkitalo also has a link between the Madi DirectOut M.1K2 matrix and the Optocore.

"This is essential to have the same signals across the Optocore network. Now we have all the signals for FOH mixers and monitors., and if necessary are present in the SD11 of the video control room", Tossavainen stresses.

Thanks to this update, changeover times between productions have been reduced. "Because we have a huge building, The distances between production spaces are large. Optocore works and is reliable: with complex connections, If something doesn't work, it costs many hours of work. We can now share all signals more flexibly and efficiently, as we operate on seven different networks simultaneously, Optocore being one of them".

Other articles on Avid, Digico, Intersonic, Lawo, Musiikktalo-Helsinki Music Center, Optocore, Yamaha