Henry Engineering Sportscaster | Audio Control System

Designed to integrate with other Henry Engineering products such as the Sports Pod, the Henry Engineering SportsCaster is an audio control system for coordinating a sporting event for radio or video broadcasting. It may only take up 1 RU of rackmount space, but the SportsCaster boasts a panoply of controls and connections for on-air talent and behind-the-scenes players alike. Use the SportsCaster to coordinate between announcers, color commentators, spotters, field reporters, camera operators, crowd microphones, and more.

Designed for Use with the Sports Pod
On the front of the unit, you'll notice a section for Sports Pods, complete with level pots and mute switches. These controls allow the mixer to balance the voices of up to three on-air announcers or mute them, if they should go off on a dangerous tangent. The announcers route their Sports Pods (available separately) into this section so that the mixer can balance their signals.
Producer Control over Field Reporters & Camera Operators
The SportsCaster provides control sections for the field reporter and two auxiliary channels; the aux channels can be used for crowd-noise, PA system announcers, and other applicable audio sources. These can be switched between the full "program" mix (what everyone will hear on air) and a cue mix, for behind-the-scenes directives, if need be.

Comprehensive Talkback Routing
In the Talkback section, you'll notice three different switches: Pods, Field, and Cam. Pressing one of these buttons will route talkback audio to the announcers, field reporter, or camera operators respectively, effectively allowing the producer to address anyone individually with the push of a finger.

Headphone Controls for Those in the Field
For the camera operators and field reporter, a three-knob mixing section is provided. This lets the producer control the level of the communications, program, and cue mixes fed to the headphones of those in the field.

Comprehensive Headphone Controls for the Producer
The Producer gets another headphone-mixing section, with three level controls for the intercom, cue mix, and overall program. Below these knobs are three L-C-R pan switches, which let the producer pan different people to different parts of the audio spectrum. Thus, the producer can choose to put the overall program mix in the center, while the intercom only comes through the left headphone. To the right of this section are connections for the producer's headphones and talkback microphone. A talkback level knob rounds out the front-panel controls.

Intercom Functions
The SportsCaster offers a two-way intercom between the producer and announcers, and between the producer and the field reporter. A Cross-Comm feature allows three-way intercom between all three when it's necessary for the announcers to coordinate directly with the field reporter.

A Panoply of Connections
The rear of the unit offers eight XLR inputs and three XLR outputs, all of which correspond to the various players involved (announcer, field reporter, overall program, etc). Controls for mic and line-level are on hand, as are three 3.5mm Mic Remote inputs for the Sports Pod. Using a standard Cat 5 cable, you can also route audio from a Sports Pod directly into the SportsCaster, daisy-chaining the other two Sports Pods into the first one.