Manual

26 PRO X User Manual
Chapter 3: About The Control Centre
This chapter introduces you to the control centre and provides a brief
hardware description.
Overview of the control centre
The control centre has a combined control surface and GUI that provide an array
of easy-to-use controls for the precise manipulation of audio.
The control centre is of modular construction and is built on a robust MIDAS steel
frame chassis similar to those used for established MIDAS analogue products.
The frame houses three full size bays with a smaller one on the right. All of the
bays are controlled from a single processor and, collectively, provide the primary
mixing needs of the engineer.
All associated power supplies, computer motherboards, memory, graphics cards
etc. are housed within the control centre, which also contains a digital audio
router box that supports local FOH (insert) I/O connectors on the rear panel.
Substantial forced air-cooling is provided by a bulkhead and large (but slow
moving) internal fans. These produce very low noise, or can be turned o
altogether and are suitable for seated areas theatres and concert sound.
PRO X control centre
Externally, the control centre has three main areas: control surface, GUI and
rear panel. The control surface is populated with instantly recognisable controls
that are logically distributed in major sections. The GUI, which comprises two
screens at the top of the centre bays, enhances operation by providing visual
representations of the control surface and also gives you extra functionality.
The rear panel provides all of the control centre and network connectivity, and
houses the mains power sockets and isolator switch.
Multiple hardware fault types are tolerated by the control centre without loss
of audio control due to the dual redundancy and N+1 methods incorporated in
the system. This is further helped by the modular nature of the bays and GUI
independence. Either of the GUI screens can be used to operate the whole control
centre, even if none of the control surface hardware is working. The unit oers
the facility of universal input, N+1 redundant power supplies with three latching
mains connectors.
Bay and GUI layout
The control centre has four discrete bays that house the following control
surface controls:
• Input bays (12-channel and 4-channel) — two input bays provide fast
access to input faders and important signal processing controls.
• Mix bay — provides access to outputs and groups, a detailed processing
controller (all channels) and navigational controls.
• Master bay — provides access to the master output mixes,
monitor (A and B) faders, automation, comms control, assignable eects
control, and another set of detailed processing and navigational controls.
Figure 4: Bay and GUI layout
Two GUI display screens at the top of the central bays provide extensive screen
support (standard conguration) and extra functionality for the channels and
buses. For example, when mixing or processing. They also facilitate the use of the
GUI menu, which gives you access to the many powerful features of the control
centre, such as patching, eects, GEQs, diagnostics etc.
Control surface
The control surface is divided into areas whose function is, largely, dependent
on bay location. Each bay has assorted control elements with local feedback
and/or support from the two centrally located GUI display screens. The screens
can be remoted via external VGA connections, and third party systems can also
be viewed/controlled via an integrated KVM switch on the rear panel.
Figure 5: Main areas of the control surface
A — input fast zone: 16 input fast strips across the 12-channel and 4-channel
input bays provide the operator’s ‘must have now’ controls.
B — channel strip and mixes: processing areas, such as the D-zone (dynamic),
E-zone (EQ) and mix controls, provide a more comprehensive control by allowing
detailed adjustments to a single channel’s audio parameters.
C — channel and bus navigation zone: sections for channel and bus navigation
and selection. For details, see Navigation.
D — output fast zone: the new output-centric centre section, all
ows
the simultaneous display of 24 mono or stereo mix buses, and advanced
navigation buttons.
E — VCA and POP groups: VCA faders and POP group sections.
F — miscellaneous: master channel strips, A and B signal path monitoring,
communications, I-zone, surround monitoring and mute groups.
G — primary navigation zone: trackballs for mix and master bay GUI screen
control, and a screen access panel (between trackballs) for direct access to GUI
menu options.
H — automation: scene store/recall and system edit.
A C E H G C A
B D F B