PA Plus and Crown Amplifiers Help "Howie Do It" On NBC's New Comedy Series

24 March, 2009, Elkhart, Indiana, United States

Canadian-based sound company PA Plus recently deployed Crown amplifiers in a unique live sound application for "Howie Do It," an upcoming unscripted comedy television series, commissioned by NBC starring Howie Mandel. PA Plus provided the sound for the live studio audience at the Colosseum at the Caesars Windsor casino in Ontario, as well as the broadcast portion of the production. The Colosseum is a 5,000-seat venue that was utilized for the show, which was the largest ever studio audience for an NBC series show.

Crown I-Tech amplifiers provided the power and processing for the system. All I-Tech amplifiers are equipped with comprehensive status, fault, and load monitoring via standard Ethernet networking and Harman Professional's HiQnet™ connectivity and control protocol and System Architect™ interface. "System Architect easily allowed us to create and store a series of presets dedicated to the broadcast," stated Mark Radu, systems engineer at PA Plus. The I-Tech amplifiers also feature advanced DSP processing which can be utilized for additional adjustment of line arrays.

"We were contacted by Ian Dunbar, who was head of audio for this project, to provide a complete audio solution for both the live studio audience as well as the broadcast production," stated Radu. Providing sound for a live television event was not an easy task and the setup presented many challenges. "The production team was building its own stage and set in front of the existing setup. This then required dedicated sound, lighting and video systems to support the television tapings," stated Radu. With the venue already equipped with an in-house Harman system, PA Plus was able to choose components from the existing sound system to use in support of their sound integration. "As host to the production, The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor offered the use of any or all of their in house installation to expedite the setup. After discussing matters with the venue's production manager, Todd Therrien, we came up with a plan that would best serve the television production yet still be non-disruptive to the regular operation of the venue," Radu added.

The I-Tech amplifiers powered 26 JBL VerTec VT4887 compact line array elements that covered the bleacher section of the audience. "Everybody involved was familiar with the product, the venue is a VerTec installation and we fully support VerTec within our own inventory," added Radu. JBL SRX712M monitors provided audio support for the floor seating. "Outfitted with the same family of driver components as the VerTec series, the SRX712M's would allow for a smooth transition between the floor seating and the bleacher sections," stated Radu. The floor level seating was covered by nine JBL SRX712M's and was augmented by six additional SRX712M's utilized as front fills.