Bill Daly, system engineer and sound designer for PRG, was looking for an alternate way to run audio cabling during the taping of Wheel of Fortune’s Big XII College Week. The University of Missouri and University of Kansas marching bands were to perform five shows, playing at the start and close of the shows and during the bumpers going in and out of commercials, seated side-by-side in the audience. Show coordinators set guidelines stating that they did not want cables or snakes running across the middle aisles causing bumps that people might trip over. Daly decided to use Aviom, Inc.’s Pro16 Monitor Mixing System and Audio Networking products.
"What had ultimately attracted me to the gear was that the audio is distributed through a single Cat-5 cable," says Daly. "Aviom set up a test rig for us and I was really impressed by it. I thought it sounded very natural and was eager to use it for the upcoming remote of Wheel of Fortune in Kansas City." The system employed for the show included two AN-16/i-M Mic Input Modules coupled with two AN-16/o Output Modules, which delivered 32 channels of mike signals over just one cable.
Routing the cable across two main aisles while keeping it low profile challenged Daly. Most of the time, there is a specific route that allows engineers to position the cables without having to worry about the audience walking across them. In this case, the marching bands were seated in front of the audience bleachers, but off the main floor where the contestants play, creating an obstacle. Daly overcame this problem by using a flat power cable and a Cat-5 cable without creating a floor bump under the carpeting.
"Not only did the Aviom gear solve our problem, but the performances were flawless," continues Daly. "The AN-Series products worked very well. The bands were tight and in tune and the routines were the best they’ve ever sounded. I had absolutely no issues with the gear. It couldn’t have gone better."