News Archive

OPTOCORE at the Abu Dhabi Classics opening gala dinner

Munich, December 19th, 2008

The famous Emirates Palace Auditorium with its superb acoustics, its 1100 seats, and its exceptional seating comfort – there could have been no better scenery for the inaugural gala of the Abu Dhabi Classics season 2008/2009. Under the motto ‘Journey of Emotions’ Oscar winning actor Jeremy Irons hosted an evening with an unforgettable musical journey featuring some of the world’s greatest musical artists from classical, gipsy, jazz, and flamenco. The show featured performances of Indra Thomas, Roby Lakatos, Arcadi Volodos, Till Broenner, Arcángel, and The Musicians of the Nile.

Dubai/United Arab Emirates based Production Technology LLC (Protec) provided the technical equipment for the evening and was responsible for a perfect performance of the system. Established in September 1999, Protec has emerged to one of the largest supplier of sound, lighting, audio visual and other equipment of the region. Protec has been investing in the latest state-of-the-art equipment; it is therefore not surprising that one of their latest investments included OPTOCORE devices and equipment.

John Parkhouse, 1st Engineer at Protec’s Audio Department, was delighted using OPTOCORE for the first time. “The OPTOCORE system was employed for the first time since Protec’s purchasing on the opening gala dinner at the Emirates Palace Auditorium. It included YG2 and YS2 cards situated in the FOH Yamaha M7CL console with 2 x 150 meter Optocable to stage connecting the LX4AP stage unit. Monitors were connected using D-sub breakouts direct from the LXA4P. Additionally there was an LX4B unit on standby as an optional record split for TV, which was not utilised in the end. The OPTOCORE network and matrix was programmed during prep and performed flawlessly during the entire event.”

John Parkhouse felt quite comfortable regarding the fact that the OPTOCORE system was in use for the first time. “One aspect that I feel really helped in using the system for the first time was the fact that in the week prior to the event, Protec Audio crew was invited to attend the OCT (OPTOCORE Certification Training) at Thomsun Trading Establishment in Dubai, with OPTOCORE’s support engineer Marc Wesler. Marc was able to help us realise the full potential of the system with detailed and insightful advice on how to get the best out of our units.”

Summing up, John Parkhouse added, “It is safe to say we are delighted with our OPTOCORE and the enormous benefits it brings both during the setup and the show. We are looking forward to take out the systems as much as possible with the events next scheduled and to use OPTOCORE at a Russian Arab Gala dinner with multiple musical and dance performances at The Madinat in Dubai followed by the Kylie Minogue show at Dubai Festival City. OPTOCORE will also be in use on the George Michael and Alicia Keys concert which is the biggest concert in terms of audio ever in the UAE!”

www.productiontec.com

Optocore the Hub of Major Audio Upgrade at GM Place in Vancouver

Munich, December 3rd, 2008

The Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League have completed a major upgrade of the audio system at General Motors Place in time for the start of the 2008-09 NHL season. The entire system, from the new Soundcraft Vi6 console to the L-Acoustics loudspeaker line arrays, is connected and managed via a dual redundant Optocore fiber optic digital audio network.

The Optocore installation in Vancouver follows the deployment of a similar Optocore network in the Bird’s Nest Stadium at the Beijing Summer Olympics in August. In response to ensuing increases in business and technical support demands, Optocore is ramping up its world-wide operations, and recently expanded its North American office in Toronto.

“Optocore is the key to everything we’re trying to do here. It was a very important choice for us,” said Fred Michael, president of Rocky Mountain Production Services (RMPS), who installed the new $1.7M sound system that features improvements to the performance sound reinforcement system, intercom, and system infrastructures at General Motors Place.

Via Optocore, all audio on the network is available everywhere in the facility. “The fiber ring travels some 200 degrees around level Zero at the bottom floor of the building and up a riser to the 500 level where it rings around the other side of the rink. From there, it runs up to the 600 level where the clock and amplifiers are located. It then returns to the 500 level and goes the other way in the tray, and then down a different riser back to the ground where it hooks back up to the beginning. Theoretically 512 channels of audio are available at every location in the building where there is an Optocore interface box,” said Canucks Sports & Entertainment’s chief audio technician John Riley, who designed the new sound system. Full story...

OPTOCORE visits the antique city of Jerash, Jordan

Munich, November 10th, 2008

One of the most complete, best preserved and fascinating sites in Jordan is the provincial Roman city of Jerash, located north of Jordan capital Amman in the Biblical land of Gilead. Pax Romana, the “Roman peace”, made exceeded trade possible and Jerash flourished in the first century AD. Jerash South Theater represents an outstanding site for an event; an excellent opportunity for OPTOCORE to show all its advantages.

This summer, audience and spectators were able to attend an exceptional open-air experience at the Jerash South Theater, the biggest of Jerash's three antique amphitheaters. Between July 8th and August 9th, visitors were able to enjoy a magnificent season of events by top Arab and International performers along with Jordan's mild weather, in the ambiance of historical and archaeological wonders. Highlights were a show with Elissa, George Wassouf, Omar Al Abdullat, an Algerian Night with Faudel, Biyouna and the famous Khaled & the National Barbes Orchestra, and a grandiose show with Placido Domingo, the Cairo Opera House & Cairo Symphony Orchestra, along with Julia Migenes and Monica Yunus.

OPTOCORE equipment was supplied by Lumière & Son located in Paris / France. System designer and Managing Director of Lumière & Son, Pierre Heyligen was responsible for planning and installing the system. For FOH, a Yamaha PM5D digital console equipped with OPTOCORE YG2 and YS2 miniYGDAI cards exchanged signals with an OPTOCORE DD32 device via optical fiber. Following the signals were exchanged with an analog MIDAS HERITAGE 3000 console and various effect-racks using the DD32 and OPTOCORE X6-Series modules. The monitor system was set up similar. A Yamaha M7CL digital console again exchanged its signals with a MIDAS XL 250 analog desk and effect-racks utilizing OPTOCORE DD32 and X6-Series modules.

Pierre Heyligen said, “With the use of OPTOCORE we were able to change a set of musicians in a maximum of 15 minutes. Every microphone and effect line and mixing desk, analog and digital, was connected to OPTOCORE. This way we were able to change all the configurations of each band without having to plug or unplug any cables. No line check was necessary during all the shows.” Pierre Heyligen added, “We had 17 shows in one month and the system was running constantly and most important flawlessly. On July 11th, for example, we had to change between four bands each with 40 microphones. The first changeover took us 11 minutes, the second 9, and the third only 7 minutes. Can anything else describe the advantage of such an OPTOCORE based system?”

For Pierre Heyligen the absolute highlight of the month was the appearance of star tenor Placido Domingo. “We had 80 SCHOEPS microphones in use, which is quite a number, but still for the system this was no problem at all. We, at Lumière & Son have been working with OPTOCORE for several years and we never regretted it, it is a fantastic system to use!”

www.lumiereetson-paris.fr

OPTOCORE appoints Tine Helmle to Board of Directors

Munich, October 30th, 2008

OPTOCORE, the leading global supplier of high performance fiber optical network products for the transport of audio and control data signals, today announced the appointment of Tine Helmle to the company’s Board of Directors.

As OPTOCORE’s Director of Sales and Marketing, Tine Helmle has collected more than five years of experience in the pro-audio industry with a strong emphasis on fiber optical network technology and its commercialization.

Tine Helmle: "When I meet Marc Brunke back in 1998 and heard about Optocore for the first time, I was highly fascinated by the technique and idea. It all started with Marc as a musician being awfully annoyed about buzzing PA-systems caused by copper cables. There had to be some sort of solution to avoid this. When he found out that there was absolutely no audio network, he started to build his own. Why not send audio signals via optical fibers, disturbance-free and in addition extremely light. Today OPTOCORE is the leading company in this field."

As a graduate in theater and communication studies, Tine Helmle has been working for several well-known companies, before joining OPTOCORE as full-time staff in the year 2003. Her pre OPTOCORE work included the production of video and film clips for marketing departments of various companies such as Siemens. Bringing along this experience, Tine Helmle managed to push the company to where it is today.

"We are delighted to have Tine Helmle join our board," said Marc Brunke, Chairman, and Managing Director of OPTOCORE. "Her knowledge of all aspects of the fiber optical professional audio business, and her experience in management while maintaining a focus on business objectives, will be of great value to us. She brings along a tremendous corporate development and marketing background, as well as a unique width of experience gained from guiding the development of our company over the past years."

Tine Helmle: "Being on the Board of Directors of OPTOCORE is an exciting opportunity for me to contribute to the growth of a rapidly expanding company in what I believe is an important industry."

OPTOCORE succeed with worldwide Optocore Certification Training seminars

Munich, October 27th, 2008

Due to the constantly increasing global demand for the fiber optic OPTOCORE network, OPTOCORE has successfully offered Optocore Certification Training (OCT) seminars in several countries around the world. Recent OCT sessions were held at Thomsun Trading Establishment in Dubai, OPTOCORE's distributor for the United Arab Emirates, at Lumiere & Son in Paris/France, OPTOCORE headquarters in Munich as well as a session at OPTOCORE North America Inc. in Toronto/Canada and a session organized by HD Pro in London/UK.

The use of digital networks and fiber optical cables for the transport of audio signals becomes increasingly popular in the pro audio world. However not only supply and demand is growing, there is also a desire for deeper and substantiated knowledge. Digital technology provides a huge platform of possible applications and therefore asks for a great expertise in order to comprehend all the possibilities.

OPTOCORE is the worldwide leading pioneer for digital optical fiber network technology. Thorsten Schulze, OPTOCORE Support and Product Manager stated; "We are very eager on passing on our experience and knowledge. Both participants and OPTOCORE benefit from the seminars. The OCT helps us to give our customers a detailed understanding of OPTOCORE and its products and OCTs are always an exchange of ideas, which we think is very conductive for further developments." Tine Helmle, OPTOCORE Director of Sales & Marketing added; "We started off with the first OCT in fall 2007 at Audio Export - Georg Neumann & Co. GmbH, our German distributor in Heilbronn. Subsequent, OCTs were held in Poland, at Procon Hamburg, Crystal Sound Karlsruhe, and AMPTEC our distributor in Belgium, as well as and the recent ones mentioned above. We are very aware of the importance of such an event and so far they were all a real success!"

OPTOCORE will hold future OCTs on a regular basis and would like to invite customers and other interested parties to join an OCT session. For further information, please refer to www.optocore.com or contact inquiry@optocore.com.

The Audio Truck Inc. 'Fibred' with OPTOCORE

Munich, October 16th, 2008

For 25 years Danny Greenspoon has been an audio engineer, and for 20 of those he has doubled as a producer with multiple multi-platinum albums and 4 JUNO Award and 2 Gemini Award wins to his credit. He is also well known as a fine guitar player who for years accompanied a wide range of Canada's elite performers.

For the last 12 years he has been the owner/operator of The Audio Truck Inc., a Toronto based mobile studio. Covering a diverse clientele that includes live broadcasts, big events and well as editing musical recordings when stationary Danny recently underwent the process of upgrading his truck with new Yamaha DM2000 consoles all configured around an OPTOCORE fiber optic transport network.

The truck is the second mobile studio that Danny has owned and was originally a mobile broadcast van used by groundbreaking Toronto FM station CFNY in the '90's. Having used it on previous shows and liked it, when he found out that it was up for sale he instantly realized it was perfect for his operations growing needs. To respond to his customer's increased requirements as well as quick switchovers on multiple artist shows Danny saw the potential of digital consoles but committed himself to improving, not sacrificing the sonic quality that his work was known for if he migrated from analogue to digital domains. The use of remote mic preamps and fiber optic cabling yielded him the ease of handling as well as improved audio by capturing it at the sources that were frequently up to 500ft away.

A major concern, as a predominantly live event-recording engineer, was having a comprehensive, fault-tolerant 'platform' as well as extensive matrixing and flexible routing to supply a redundant, simultaneous backup. Danny's extensive research led him to OPTOCORE as the solution to all his criteria.

An OPTOCORE DD32E network device receives all AES outputs from the remote stage rack's Yamaha AD8HR's via a 15 lb. 150 m reel of OPTOCORE tactical grade fiber cable with Expanded Beam connectors in the trucks patch bay. The complete system is a 5 node dual redundant ring where the other four network devices are an OPTOCORE DD4ME MADI interface for his ProTools rig, another DD32E that feeds a Tascam X48 backup recorder and two sets of YG/YS interface cards installed in his 2 DM2000's. This allows via OPTOCORE's emulation software the ability to control the gain of the preamps on the stage - invisibly from the desk. Additional system pluses find them using the stage box's DD32E's composite Video In/Out connectivity to keep a close eye on the events on the stage on monitors in the truck.

The essence of being mobile is that everything is always in motion and efficiency is a premium goal in redesigning a truck. Danny consistently tells people, "I can't believe that with one finger I can lift a 500ft snake that can do 256 channels where before my 48 channel snake was at least a 2 person lift and only went 300ft and didn't sound as good"

As to the performance of his new system, "I was shocked when I plugged in the system for the first time and really listened. It was unsettlingly clean and instantly perceivable as quieter but still remaining transparent."

Danny's investment in OPTOCORE now allows him to further support one of his clients -CTV Broadcast who recently bought the first of three extensive OPTOCORE systems that will inevitably see there downtown Queen Street studio, mid-town MTV Canada studio and suburban broadcast center interconnected. His ability to be a remote mobile resource to them is a great pairing of OPTOCORE enthusiasts.

www.theaudiotruck.com

OPTOCORE North America Inc., with Director Bill Coons, at the AES 125 - to be held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco between October 2nd and 5th.

Munich, September 26th, 2008

OPTOCORE is the leading pioneer in the world of digital audio transmission via fiber optical cables. Marc Brunke, OPTOCORE's founder and Managing Director: "We are working and researching in the field of digital audio transmission using fiber cables since the early 90's, a long time before this field became interesting for the pro audio community. Today we are the worldwide leading company in this field and we not only managed to convince the pro audio world of the advantages, but also kicked off quite a boom. We are very excited to present our first own booth as OPTOCORE North America Inc. at an US trade fair and are looking forward to welcome our key clients at this years AES in San Francisco."

OPTOCORE at AES: Booth 734

OPTOCORE at the MTV Hip Hop Open 2008

Munich, September 4th, 2008

Since 2000, Stuttgart/Germany is the host for the very popular MTV Hip Hop Open. It all started as a small event with local artists - today it can be considered as one of the biggest rap events in Europe with a top line-up. 8000 kids celebrated 12 hours of hip-hop culture and music to the tunes of international stars such as LUDACRIS and Ice Cube along with German highlights such as Dynamite Deluxe and Culcha Candela.

The Suedwestrundfunk (SWR, "Southwest Broadcasting"), a public broadcasting company for the southwest of Germany, recorded the entire event on audio and video. Due to utilized capacity of SWR's own OB vans, an additional van had to be supplied by MBM Musikproduktion located in Darmstadt/Germany. In order to fulfill the demands of the SWR, an OPTOCORE system was integrated into MBM's OB van. The SWR supplied the necessary devices from their own stock and Juergen Buss, SWR Director of the Outside Broadcasting Department in Stuttgart, together with MBM technicians, was responsible for the configuration.

A LX4AP served as stage box for the transport of 48 audio channels and the transport of the video signal from the monitoring camera. A DD4ME device was used for the exchange of MADI signals. The Optocore devices communicated with a Sony DMX R100 digital console, a DAW Magix Sequoia Vs. 10 for signal processing and the Sony DV camera on stage. The distance between OB van and stage added up to 250 meters, which were easily covered using two OptoCable 4/150 cable reels in a row.

Juergen Buss stated, "The OPTOCORE system is very impressive! One of the big advantages of the system compared to the analog world is the possibility to connect a stage box with 48 IN and 16 OUTs with a console using only one single thin optical fiber. An additional reason why we decided to invest into OPTOCORE equipment is the support of the MADI format. When we bought the system, it served as a connection between an analog OB van and our mobile multi-track HD recording system, which included a MADI card. A third reason for selecting OPTOCORE is that we can now easily expand the inputs and outputs of our vans, which possess a free MADI port. Last but not least we save a lot of assembling and disassembling time during events, as we no longer have to pull copper cables." Olaf Mielke from MBM Musikproduktion added, "We were quite taken with the OPTOCORE system, especially because we were able to set it up and integrate it into our system without any problems. We were very satisfied with its operation."

The system was in non-stop use for two days, once again showing its reliability and helped to make the MTV Hip Hop Open 2008 a full success.

Audio and Visual Effects with OPTOCORE at July 14th Celebrations in Paris

Munich, August 22nd, 2008

On July 14th, almost every city and village in France celebrates the 'Fêtes National' and fireworks usually accompany the celebrations. The biggest of all festivities is held in Paris, it regularly attracts thousands of viewers. This year's revelry was exceptional, with a big concert one and a half hours before the traditional fireworks went off. Around 800.000 spectators attended the concert, organized by the Ministry of Culture, and the following firework.

The concert was also broadcasted on TV, therefore the promoter asked for highest standards regarding sound and light. Wissous/France based De Préférence was in charge of audio and Longjumeau/France based Impact-Evénement for the lighting system. Two established companies, both relying on OPTOCORE and its outstanding fiber optic network technology.

For audio, the technicians of De Préférence created a loop of eight devices including OPTOCORE's YG2 cards and DD32E. The ring communicated with Yamaha equipment on stage and FOH, and exchanged audio and control data. For the lighting system, Impact-Even used two YG2 cards and two DD6NE devices for the transport of Ethernet in combination with a MA Lighting GrandMA and NSP. Distances of up to 800 meters had to be covered by both sound and light, which were more than easy to handle simply by using OPTOCORE.

Five rings shine above Beijing!

Munich, August 9th, 2008

The five ring symbol that is recognized worldwide as the logo of the Olympic Games is coincidentally similar to the basic system configuration of the OPTOCORE installation in the 'Bird's Nest' - Beijing's new National Stadium where the opening and closing ceremonies was hold.

To follow up on the success of Athens in 2004, OPTOCORE was again assigned the responsibilities for the transport of the audio signals via optical fibre to locations around the 91 000-seat venue, that spans a huge distance of 333m by 298m. As is the case where every Olympic production attempts to outdo the previous one, the BOCOC (Beijing Olympic Committee) staged an extraordinary production, that was watched by a worldwide television audience estimated at 5 billion.

The multifaceted show incorporated unique aspects of both, Chinese and international cultural as evidenced by the theme song performed by Chinese singer Lui Haun and British diva Sarah Brightman. The finale of the show was a pyrotechnical display of astounding proportion and complexity synchronized to an impeccable quality sound system provided by Bei Ao via a 68 component Optocore network. For live events of this magnitude and complexity once again Gary Hardesty, was awarded the responsibility of System Designer due to his expertise garnered from past Olympics and huge events, such as World Youth days where audiences exceed 1 million attendees. Gary's initial designs were based on Optocore as reliability and confidence are always his #1 priority because "with almost four billion people watching, you only get one chance to get it right." Working with Olympic organizations production staff and the technical support team at Optocore, a design based on five redundant bidirectional multimode fibre rings was created and installed by Bei Ao, with the help of Leifull, the Chinese Optocore Distributor.

The five 'rings' allowed isolated distribution to zones, that comprised the playing field, the stadium's second seating level, roof located speakers, the stadium's house system via the control room and a fifth 'ring' to provide remote preamp inputs on the centre stage and VIP area signal returns only used during the opening and closing nights.

All signals from the main control room in the stadium were processed by a Meyer Sound Galileo Loudspeaker Management System, which fed adjacent Optocore X6P-16IN and X6-OUT AD/DA converter modules which in turn were connected to Optocore DD32E network devices connected to the fibre run throughout the building. Via Optocore's software any signal could be routed to any of the amplifier rack locations around the building where additional DD32E and X6-16OUT units converted the signal from digital back to analogue for connection to amps and speakers with no signal degradation or latency.

As noted, special design considerations from the onset for instanteous fault tolerant switch over in case of signal interruption are always part of Gary Hardesty's mandate for mega-events thus the choice for Optocore. "The fact that every network device can switch to it's redundant AC supply, redundant optical input/output ports or word clock instantaneously in one sample, allows me the peace of mind to focus on the show not worry about the equipment. With miles of fibre, a lot of connection points and hundreds of technicians around the building there are a lot of potential 'variables', but our use of leading edge products for the system afford us the confidence you need going into these type of productions." Gray went on to add, "The real big plus is the pristine quality audio that the audience will get. The X series preamps are up there with the best I've heard and when packaged with the Meyer thru an invisible transport media it yields astounding results. Our engineers now actually get to 'mix' a show that has nuances as apposed to years ago where massive systems lacked the subtlety and the challenge was more about 'distributing' the audio than 'presenting' it."

Luca Giaroli International Sales and Technical Manager for Optocore who's been involved from the beginning commented, "We are very pleased with the final result of our efforts. It was a great team effort on an international level which sort of mirrors the Olympic theme. This gig has been the most important in my career, but thanks to the great design of Gary, the reliability of our systems and the fibers and connectors from Fiberco, I could keep on going offering everyone shots of espresso from an Italian espresso machine brought to China and it kept myself busy, since the entire Optocore system performed flawless since the beginning of the rehearsals.

Right after the show, Gary Hardesty commented: "It has been great to work with Optocore, it's been flawless, the sound has been great, the team's been great: it's simply been perfect!"

Cooperation between OPTOCORE and Neumann brings up excellent new possibilities!

Munich, July 31st, 2008

OPTOCORE is proud to announce its next huge step towards universal digital connectivity. Due to the cooperation between OPTOCORE and Neumann (www.neumann.com), it is now possible to transport, distribute and route Neumann digital microphone audio signals and control data using one digital network - one network connection for all signals with no limitation in distances and a guaranty for high quality. Distribution becomes much easier and is now possible by using the OPTOCORE Network technology.

Neumann, the well-known microphone company from Berlin / Germany have been leading pioneers for professional microphones over the past 80 years. Some of their latest developments include the Solution D Series digital microphones with AES42 interfaces. A most advantageous A/D conversion, especially developed synchronization technology and the capability of controlling standard microphone parameters and various integrated signal-processing functions remotely ensure that Solution-D meets the most demanding professional audio production requirements.

Audio signals are available at any point of the network as AES/EBU and MADI as well as conventional analog format. OPTOCORE has now developed a RJ45 to Sub-D adapter cable allowing every OPTOCORE device equipped with a RS485 interface to communicate with Neumann microphones. Neumann offers an AES42 to RS485 and AES/EBU converter with two microphone channels, an eight channel version will soon be introduced. The converter (DMI-2) is remotely controlled via RS485 using a PC/MAC. All signals can now be transmitted via Optocore fiber optic networks to and from Neumann Solution D Series Microphones using Neumann DMI-2 interfaces. This also counts for any other microphone as long as it is AES42 compatible. Neumann has intensively tested the functionality and adjudged it as simple to use and is very satisfied with the results. The complete audio production signal chain is entirely digital using the OPTOCORE network.

High standard state-of-the-art digital microphones pass on signals to interfaces connected to the high quality and synchronous OPTOCORE fiber optic network. High flexibility in regards of output format, cable length and position of control brings up excellent new possibilities, especially for high profile audio productions, studio and broadcast applications. Neumann DMI-2 can be controlled over extremely long distances with a PC connected to an OPTOCORE device. Optocore offers the equivalent interface no matter whether MADI, AES/EBU or analog is the appropriate output to pass on signals to other devices.

Adapter cables for the connection of Neumann devices with OPTOCORE devices are forthwith available.

Optocore at Glastonbury 2008

Munich, July 9th, 2008

Optocore devices were used again for the digital returns system on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury this year, sending multiple AES channels to stage processors and distributing them, as well as transporting the RS485 control signal.

Andy Huffer of Optocore's UK distributor, HD Pro Audio, explained the setup, "At FOH, the AES outputs from the Digidesign Profile console were sent to the Optocore DD32E device, with all digital devices locked to an external wordclock. The DD32E also received an RS485 input from an XTA DP226 processor located at FOH."

"These signals (both AES and RS485) were then sent to the Optocore DD32 device located on stage, and distributed. The AES signals were patched to multiple outputs via the Optocore internal matrix, allowing the same signal to be sent to multiple XTA DP226 processors where necessary - as in the case of the main PA hangs, where one input signal was "zoned" via several DP226s. The RS485 signal was also sent from the DD32 device to the first DP226 in the RS485 chain on stage. Custom XLR panels were used to allow for easy patching of all amplifier and processor racks with 4 way AES multicore cables".

Huffer concludes, "The main advantages of using Optocore for this application were the easy transport and distribution of multiple AES signals, an area traditionally full of cable and wordclock issues, plus the solid transportation of RS485 control data, which can prove unreliable over long distances and multiple connections".

The complete system for the Pyramid Stage was supplied by Wimbledon-based RG Jones Sound Engineering and system design was by Simon Honywill, who commented afterwards, "The system was absolutely rock solid throughout, Andy's co-operation and ability was total as ever and the nasty place that is the Pyramid Stage multicore trap was significantly less crowded. I was determined to maintain the signal in the digital domain from mic input to loudspeaker processor output, and this was an elegant solution".

OPTOCORE Establishes New Operations for North America

Munich, June 20th, 2008

To respond to recent significant increases in business and associated technical support demands throughout the US and Canada, Optocore who has its headquarters in Munich are pleased to announce they will be moving their North America office to Toronto, Ontario from the previous location in Totowa, NJ.

As of June 1, 2008, all operational aspects will now be the responsibility of the newly appointed Managing Director - Bill Coons, known throughout the industry as the Director and owner of Contact Distribution who has been the Canadian distributor for Optocore for the last 1.5 years. Bill Coons commented, "In a very short period of time since we introduced the brand we have had great success having placed fiber optic network systems in various critical applications from broadcast, mobile recording and commercial installations across the country where no other product offered the functionality or the quality of Optocore devices. We've now got the country's leading consultants and designers standardizing on the product and a number of the top integrators and technicians having completed the OCT - Optocore Certified Training." Bill went on to add, "To date the existing rep network in the states has achieved similar success with some major production companies and integrators. From New Years Eve in Times Square to numerous installs in theme parks, performing arts centres, churches and large sports venues Optocore's abilities are being recognized creating a demand that we have to respond to."

Optocore's recent release of the DD2FE optical MADI network interface allows for Studer and Soundcraft digital consoles to be added to the expanding list alongside Yamaha and DiGiCo as the only unilateral fiber network platform that supports the major digital consoles.

Marc Brunke, Managing Director and head designer stated, "We've been impressed with Bill's enthusiasm and marketing talents and the initial response from the US reps share this as many have known him for years. We believe that we have got a great team together to support our existing customer base as well as the new opportunities we're being presented with."

Tine Helmle, Optocore Director of Sales and Marketing, said: "It's comfortable to know that our sales and marketing activities in North America are in Bill's hands. With him being in the professional audio business for so many years we can not think any one better to represent our company!"

Optocore products are considered the leading edge of fiber optic based premium audio and control transport having been used in high profile, critical applications throughout the world since the company's formation in 1994. The implementation of an Optocore fiber optic network into Mediaset's (Italy) new OB van, the European Song Contest in Belgrade, a fixed installed Optocore network at the American Garden Theater at Epcot Center, Orlando, Florida and the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing are only a few of the latest projects involving the company's state-of-the-art products.

OPTOCORE Supplies Six DD32E for the Realization of the European Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade/Serbia

Munich, May 30th, 2008

The European Song Contest is annually held among the active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union. Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then gives votes for the other countries' songs in order to determine the most popular song of the contest. The competition has been broadcasted annually since its inauguration in 1956. It represents one of the longest-running television programmes in the world. The latest audience figures of the recent years quote the popularity of the event, up to 600 million people watching international wide. The show is not only broadcasted in Europe, a great number of countries worldwide follow the event despite the fact that these countries do not participate.

23 countries participated in the 53rd final of the European Song Contest in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. The complexity and the challenging procedure of the event call for dependable technical equipment. PROCON Group, responsible for the technical outfit and realization of the contest, focused on reliable professional audio companies in order to supply a trustworthy PA system. Six OPTOCORE DD32E network devices exchanged digital audio signals with two of Yamaha's PM5D and two DM2000 consoles along with a number of Yamaha AD8HR and AD824 modules. The DD32E with its four principal ports for connection and transport of 32 AES/EBU channels (64 digital audio channels) suited perfectly for this application. The channels are user definable as inputs or outputs, this offers utmost flexibility. Redundant fiber connections using the two provided optical LINK-interfaces offer a dual redundant ring structure providing maximum safety in a logical network along with an outstanding low latency. With Yamaha and Optocore microphone preamps, the DD32E enables the gain control of the preamps on stage from a Yamaha digital console at FOH.

OPTOCORE and Yamaha together offer outstanding solutions for the transport and exchange of digital audio signals. Their products and innovations provide the highest safety standards along with supreme sound quality, best suitable for any kind of permanent or mobile application, as well as for such big and complex events as the European Song Contest.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates - OPTOCORE Appoints Thomsun Trading Establishment as its New Distributor for the Middle East

Munich, May 21st, 2008

Just on time for the PALME 2008 in Dubai, the Middle East professional sound, light, music, audio visual and systems integration exhibition OPTOCORE appointed Thomsun Trading Est. as its new distributor for the UAE. Led by Managing Director Mr. K.V. Thomas and with an unexcelled network of sales and support teams along with dealers and partners in the region, Thomsun Trading Est. is a well-known and recognized distributor for pro-audio, audio visual and music instrument products and support.

Established in the UAE in 1976 by founding directors Mr. K.V. Thomas, Mr. P. Shrinivas and Mr. V.T. John, Thomsun Trading Est. puts heavy focus on niche markets and represents a multi-faced business enterprise. The diverse sectors cover pro audio, consumer audio and musical instruments; electro-mechanical products; printing and packaging industry; pre-press and digital printing solutions; logistics and distribution; seafood and meat processing industries; supermarkets and bakery; home furniture; IT training and consulting among others. The Thomsun Group has emerged as a market leader in its fields of operations through its focused approach, strong market intelligence, attention to details, sound deployment of modern technology and a commitment to quality. The ambition is to provide all customers with the most cutting-edge products along with the best possible service and support.

Mr. K.V. Thomas says: "OPTOCORE is a unique fibre-based network solution for the broadcast and live markets. It effectively integrates with our existing range of pro-audio products to provide these markets with a high quality end-to-end solution."

According to Mr. A. Ghurde, Thomsun Assistant Project Manager, the decision for OPTOCORE was quite easy. "As we are very active in the broadcast, fixed installations and live/rental markets in the region, OPTOCORE was simply the best solution we could offer to our customers in this market. The OPTOCORE technology was designed from the scratch for real-time transport of audio, video and control data. The OPTOCORE Network is the only solution of its kind based on fibre and provides a high performance, high bandwidth secure network for professional audio, video, studio, broadcast and installation industry. Besides the obvious advantages in terms of technology offered by OPTOCORE, the OPTOCORE advantage lies in the assurance of high quality products with consistent technical support and competitive pricing."

Mr. L. Kanikaraj, Thomsun Trading Division Manager points out, "We have added a great product to our portfolio which I am sure will benefit our customers in the region. I look forward to great things to happen in the future.

For Tine Helmle, OPTOCORE Director for Sales and Marketing, Thomsun Trading Est. is ideally positioned to distribute OPTOCORE systems with the long going customer service and support. "The traditions at Thomsun Trading strongly reflect the traditions at OPTOCORE. We are both deeply committed to listening to the needs of our customers and - not simply coming up with a solution - but delivering systems that meet the application challenges, technology requirements and commercial demands of distinct projects. We look forward to work with Mr. Thomas and his team and to advance the service and support OPTOCORE provides our customers in the Middle East region."

OPTOCORE is proud to announce close cooperation with Soundcraft and Studer

Munich, May 15th, 2008

OPTOCORE has welcomed Soundcraft and Studer as the latest members of their increasing community of partners. The three companies share the interest of developing state-of-the-art products for the professional audio industry and together they have now initiated the DD2FE, formerly known as DD4ME OPTICAL MADI device. Tine Helmle, OPTOCORE Director for Sales and Marketing, points out, "We are more than pleased to have Soundcraft and Studer "on board", with DiGiCo, Yamaha, Soundcraft and Studer we do now work together with some of the most well-known digital console manufacturers."

Soundcraft and Studer digital consoles now benefit from this new MADI interface. The DD2FE provides two fiber optic MADI ports allowing access of up to 128 in- and 128 output audio channels in an OPTOCORE network. The huge amount of channels exchanged by one DD2FE makes it the ideal and most cost effective interface for digital console systems. The DD2FE offers redundancy and the unique possibility to connect two Vi Series digital consoles to a single stage box, so that both FOH and monitor desks can share the main I/O connection, the perfect solution especially when it comes to challenging events.

OPTOCORE, Soundcraft and Studer have already successfully worked together on the celebrations of New Year's Eve in Times Square, the symbolic center of New York City 2007. Audio signals were seamlessly exchanged between FOH located at 44th street and the two stages on 46th and 47th street. A Studer Vista 5 SR FOH console communicated via the Studer SCore Live with two DD4ME devices exchanging MADI signals. An OPTOCORE fiber loop transported the signals to the respective stages, equipped with one DD4ME device at each place, which exchanged the MADI signals with two Studer SCore Live racks and a Soundcraft VI6™ console. OPTOCORE and its outstanding technology was the only solution to this application due to the extremely long distances, the high channel count and the different stages in use. The longest OPTOCORE cable connection used covered 500 meters! The highest quality audio signals were guaranteed due to the fact that everything remained in the digital domain.

With the DD2FE, OPTOCORE offers an additional innovative device for its optical digital audio network and the transmission of audio and data signals via fiber. The DD2FE represents a smart device - ready to face all the upcoming challenges, offering even more flexibility.

De Préférence - France Top Address for the Special Events and a specialist for Optocore

Munich, May 01st, 2008

Wissous, a small town located about twenty kilometers south of Paris / France, is the base for one of the exclusive companies for the realization of what one could call "the very special events". De Préférence is the name one should look out for if it comes to events beyond the usual show. Founded by Alain Français in 1989, De Préférence quickly established a well-known reputation all over the world. The creed of the company is to provide state-of-the-art equipment alongside with brilliant knowledge in order to solve even the most challenging situation of any event.

Back in the founding years, Alain Français and his team quickly realized the importance of reliable equipment and especially the capability of knowing how to run it. These qualities are most important in order to step out of the huge group of event companies. De Préférence serves the demanding event market with the most modern technology; hence, it is not surprising that the choice was made in favor of Optocore when the step from an analog to digital multicore had to be completed. "It was no easy decision for us when we took that step about four years ago. We were just rewarded with the job of the inauguration of the new Airbus A380 in Toulouse / France and it was clear to us that this will not be the easiest job to do, especially with an estimated microphone line of over 300 meters. It was apparent that copper cables could not be the right answer so we searched the market for a better solution. Of course we also had to keep the investment in mind, but as it came to Optocore we were convinced pretty fast that any investment into this product would be paid back a several times more," commented Alain Français.

The list of De Préférence first-class references is countless: The inauguration of the Airbus 380A, the presentation of prêt-à-porter collections in Paris, the presentation of the Renault Twingo at Stade de France in Paris, a two month tour and recording with Florent Pagny and a symphonic orchestra, the latest recording session of The Cure, several events in Qatar and the opening and closing ceremony of the Pan African Games in Algiers / Algeria are only some current examples.

Alain Français added: "The events we work for are usually live events and often put up a lot of challenges during realization. We therefore have to be able to rely on our equipment. We are on the safe side with Optocore, it offers best quality, we use less cable, there is no more buzzing, no loss in signal and as a result more dynamics and a lot of input. Optocore opens new opportunities regarding the transport of signals. We use Yamaha consoles and the compatibility with Optocore using the YG2 and YS cards brings further advantages. Our equipment includes several different Optocore devices such as YG and YS cards, DD32Es and DD4ME MADI devices; this offers us a broad flexibility. A good example is the two-month long Florent Pagny tour with venues changing almost daily. The tour was accompanied by a symphonic orchestra and brought along a high technical effort, especially during the show at the famous Olympia Hall in Paris where we did both PA and recording. I had to use a lot of different devices but the system ran perfectly and everybody was pleased."

De Préférence is already planning the future: amongst others, several recording sessions, a big show in Arabia and the big festival of fireworks in Chantilly / France are on the upcoming schedule and Optocore will be a reliable companion.

Optocore Appoints HD Pro Audio as UK Distributor

Munich, March 18th, 2008

Optocore, the Munich-based world leader in optical network and multicore technology, is pleased to announce the appointment of HD Pro Audio as exclusive distributor for its products in the UK.

HD Pro Audio was established by Andy Huffer and Mark Brown, with a clear view that to be outstanding the company not only needed to provide a well-defined core range of exceptional brands for digital audio mixing, recording and networking systems. Experienced service and support were equally important to help customers choose the right products and gain the maximum benefit from their investment.

"Having been personally involved with Optocore for the best part of a decade now, I am very pleased that HD Pro Audio has been appointed as the new UK distributor", commented Andy Huffer. "As a key brand within a focussed portfolio of professional audio products, both HD and Optocore can only benefit from our concentrated approach to sales and distribution. We see great things for the future of Optocore in the UK".

Marc Brunke, Optocore Managing Director and founder, was equally enthusiastic, "It is an excellent move for Optocore to work with HD Pro Audio as they are specialists in professional audio sales and offer a strong range of state-of-the-art products along with the necessary support. We feel very comfortable with HD Pro Audio being our new UK distributor and look forward to a long and successful corporation. We are particularly happy that Andy Huffer is part of the team. We have known each other for many years and I consider Andy to be one of the top leading experts for Optocore in the UK."

Tine Helmle, Optocore Director of Sales and Marketing, added, "Everyone here at Optocore feels great about HD Pro Audio being our new distributor and we look forward to a flourishing future."

Optocore follows the maxim of highest standards regarding customer support and service, knowing that this is the only solution for happy clients and successful products. The pool of Optocore Distribution all around the world follow the same dictum. HD Pro Audio has outstanding and experienced sales and support staff and is able to provide a wide range of services including high standard training. With all the years of experience behind HD Pro Audio, the team provides product support that is second to none - just the right company for the distribution of Optocore high-tech products.

HD Pro Audio are based in Egham, Surrey England and can be contacted on +44 (0)1784 433687.

More than 10 Optocore devices in less than 10 square meters - Mediaset's new OB Van 27

Munich, March 01st, 2008

Located in Cologno Monzese (MI) Italy, Mediaset is one of Italy's leading TV broadcast networks providing broadcast contributions from various sectors such as news, showbiz, live- and sport events. Mediaset has already successfully used Optocore devices in the past; this made the decision easy to rely on the outstanding quality and reputation of Optocore devices for the technological heart of one of Mediaset's latest investments.

The new OB Van 27 is designed for the outside broadcast of soccer and MotoGP sports events and is equipped with the latest state-of-the-art audio-, video- and broadcast technology. The Mediaset Engineering Group around Aldo Medici and Luciano Consigli were responsible for the technical interior of the van. 12 x DD32E, 3 x YG2 and 15 x YS2 Optocore modules form the core of the new Mediaset OB Van 27. It brings together all audio sources (video camera, audio multiplexer and demultiplexer, video tape recorder, jingle machine, microphones, audio monitors etc.) with the main console, offering both transport and matrix functions.

Two interconnected Optocore rings form the heart of the system. The first is located inside the OB van and comprises 7 x DD32E digital I/O modules in addition with an YG2 and 7 x YS2 optical digital Mini-YGDAI cards for Yamaha devices. The cards are plugged into a set of Yamaha DIO8s that are part of the PM1D system, the main console of the van. The second ring includes a set of YG2 and YS2 cards hosted by a further DIO8s, also part of the PM1D, and an additional set of YG2 and YS2 cards plugged into a spare DM1000. Supplementary DD32Es complete the second ring for internal and external audio connections. The Yamaha PM1D console is the main crossing point for the audio signals between the two Optocore rings. The van also provides three racks used outside to collect and distribute audio signals. They are each equipped with a DD32E along with Yamaha AD8HRs and DA824 for A/D - D/A conversion. All installed Optocore devices are equipped with mono mode (9/125) fiber transceivers.

Mediaset is enthusiastic concerning their new OB Van 27. "After a successful couple of years with flawless usage of a simple 3 devices Optocore network for the MotoGP productions, when we had to decide the networking for the new OB Van, we didn't have any doubt about the choice. The availability of the new YG2 and YS2 made the choice of the PM1D very easy to take. The legendary reliability of the PM1D and the Optocore system allow our engineers to focus their attention totally on their job, not thinking about any emergency plan!" says Aldo Medici.

Luca Giaroli, International Sales and Technical Manager of Optocore, was responsible for the in-house support. He says: "It was an interesting and challenging project, especially concerning the synchronous connection of more than 450 channels of audio from and to more than 200 different devices, by means of a "simple" Optocore network. Mediaset project managers perfectly understood the great potential of Optocore, not only as digital optical fiber network, but also its great intrinsic matrix system. Most of the time people think about the fiber for long distances. In this project, more than 10 Optocore devices are installed in less than 10 square meters! The Mediaset engineers were astonished during the design process, a little skeptical during the debug session and very excited once everything was running."

Once again, Optocore proves its established and well-known reputation for reliable and high standard digital audio technology, especially in combination with Yamaha products. The Mediaset OB Van 27 and its outstanding design would have been impossible without Optocore.

Times Square NYC - Optocore and Studer work together and welcome the New Year

Munich, January 14th, 2008

New Year's Eve in Times Square the symbolic center of New York City - the world holds breath and cheers as the clock strikes twelve. The famous New Year's Eve Ball descends from the flagpole atop One Times Square, Optocore took part in saying goodbye to the passing year and welcoming the year ahead.

As one of the world's leading production companies Maryland Sound International (MSI), Baltimore (www.marylandsound.com) has emerged as a leader and pioneer in sound reinforcement. MSI organizes once-in-a-lifetime events such as the Berlin Wall Concert, sports, television, corporate and concert events as well as mega events such as presidential inaugurations (using Optocore) and the New York's New Years celebration in Times Square.

Robert Goldstein, Owner and Managing Director, and Ryan Beck, MSI System Designer and FOH Engineer, enthusiastically used Optocore to realize the high duties and responsibilities of the New Years Eve mega event for the third time in a row. With the support of Optocore Support Engineer Marc Wesler four DD4ME dual MADI network devices were integrated into the system. Audio signals were seamlessly exchanged between FOH located at 44th street and the two stages on 46th and 47th street. A Studer Vista 5 SR FOH console communicated via Studer SCore Live with two DD4ME devices exchanging MADI signals. An Optocore fiber loop transported the signals to the stages. The respective stages were equipped with one DD4ME device, which exchanged the MADI signals with two Studer SCore Live racks and a Soundcraft VI 6 console.

Optocore and its outstanding technology was the only solution to make this installation with its extremely long distances, the high channel count and the different stages possible. The longest used Optocore cable connection covered 500 meters! Highest quality audio signals were guaranteed due to the fact that all remained on a digital format and level. "One definite advantage of the system!" Marc Wesler sums up the exciting evening. "It was a great pleasure for me to see how it all fit together perfectly. Once again I would like to thank MSI for the perfect cooperation."

Optocore Certification Training

Munich, Dezember 05th, 2007

The use of digital networks and fiber optical cables for the transport of audio signals becomes increasingly popular in the pro audio world. However not only supply and demand is growing, there is also a desire for deeper and substantiated knowledge. Digital technology provides a huge platform of possible applications and therefore asks for a great know-how in order to comprehend all the possibilities. Only a well-founded understanding can utilize the complete broadness of applications and simplify the day-to-day work.

Optocore is the leading pioneer in the world of digital audio transmission via fiber optical cables - who else could be more appropriate to pass on knowledge and experience. Marc Brunke, Optocore's founder and Managing Director: "We are the leading company in this field and we not only managed to convince the pro audio world of the advantages, but also kicked off quite a boom. It is a logical consequence that we would like to share our knowledge. We therefore initiated the Optocore Certification Training, not only to explain our products but also to pass on our experience."

The Optocore Certification Training (OCT) provides a detailed insight into the utilization of Optocore devices as well as their integration into the OPTOCORE OPTICAL DIGITAL NETWORK SYSTEM. The Optocore Network provides several exceptional features making it a unique and outstanding system. Optocore would like to use the OCT to deepen the technical knowledge in order to enable the participants to use the Optocore system and all its advantages in temporary and fixed installations.

The Seminar is planned as a two-day event. Optocore personnel will introduce the various devices of the Optocore family and demonstrate their function, utilization and integration into the OPTOCORE OPTICAL DIGITAL NETWORK SYSTEM. Furthermore an introduction into the configuration- and control- software, OPTOCORE CONTROL, will show how easy the complete system can be set up and managed. Additionally the seminar will provide an insight into the digital fiber optic technology, the cables and their maintenance. Substantial knowledge in this field will provide a great advantage during daily work. Practical examples and training will round off the seminar.

The OCT will be summed up with a short multiple-choice test and the successful participation will be awarded with a certification entitling the participant as an Optocore Technical Consultant.

Optocore would kindly like to invite you to participate in an Optocore Certification Training Two OCT sessions are scheduled for May and October 2008 at Optocore Headquarters in Munich, Germany. The corresponding dates will soon be announced on our homepage. For pre-registration please email to inquiry@optocore.com.

Optocore goes east and welcomes MediaTech as new distributor

Munich, November 19th, 2007

Optocore warmly welcomes MediaTech as the new distributor for Slovakia and the Czech Republic. "We are very contented regarding the cooperation with MediaTech knowing that their company policy and employees fulfill absolute highest standards. We especially reward the obligation concerning the activities in turn-key projects of radio stations, studios, theaters, etc and the excellent work of the MediaTech installation team," says Marc Brunke Optocore's Managing Director. Tine Helmle, Optocore Director of Sales & Marketing adds, "MediaTech has build up a perfect network of about 200 dealers for high quality audio products in the Czech and Slovak Republic. This will help us to bring the advantages of Optocore to the professional audio world of both countries."

Located in Bratislava, Slovakia and in Chrudim, Czech Republic, with an international office in Oslo, Norway, MediaTech is one of the leading companies for the distribution and installation of pro-audio products meeting the demands of ISO 9001. MediaTech is well known for its brilliant marketing and sales activities as well as for its engineering personnel and servicing facilities. Definitely further reasons for cooperation, but what were the reasons for MediaTech? Miroslav Paciga, MediaTech's Technical Manager puts it to the point: "After intensive research of all available audio network systems we choose Optocore because it has many advantages and is best fitted to our applications. Live sound and broadcast business is growing with more and more applications including digital mixing consoles and there is a need for digital audio multicore and networking. We expect to have reliable and proved system for small to large applications and to make a step forward in positioning our company on our pro-audio market. The overall technical concept makes Optocore so special. Long-term reputation, lots of important applications and a well running company with good support also came into account. From technical side we focus on a native optical system, capacity, easy setup and use. Optocore is a dedicated audio network not based on hosting on other networks."

Optocore and MediaTech are looking forward to a long and successful partnership and as Miroslav Paciga mentions, there are several planed projects involving Optocore: "We are working on a replacement of an analog multicore in TV OB vans and multi-mixing console interconnection for TV live musical shows. Beyond other projects we are also working on an audio network at the Academy of Arts in Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia.

Optocore participates in winning the Guinness Book World Record - DreamHack, worlds largest LAN-party

Munich, November 09th, 2007

Winter 2006, DreamHack wins the Guinness Book World Record for the largest LAN-party with 10,638 visitors attending. A stunning event and Optocore is pleased to have participated in last winter and this years summer occasions, helping to accomplish it for everybody's contentment.

DreamHack is held biannually at Elmia Exhibition Center in the city of Jönköping, Sweden. In order to host the world's largest LAN-party, the organizers have to fulfill plenty of modifications within the halls, first and foremost the electrical and audio installations have to be adjusted. 4554 computer seats for gaming and communication, a main stage for show events and a number of booths for selected exhibitors and sponsors etc. are set up in two huge halls of the exhibition center. Both halls, every single seat and booth, as well as the audio, video and light systems have to be interconnected. About 3,000,000 Watts (!!!) of electricity is needed and over 70 km of fiber cables and network cables are used. Magnus Jerkrot, technical supervisor, mentioned: "Everything runs 24 hours on four days. We build up DreamHack three days before the event starts and pull everything down in 10 hours."

Optocore is the network system which was capable to deal with this challenge, especially operating non-stop over such a long period of time. A high-tech solution for a high-tech event, offering utmost flexibility with a straight forward network for the transport of audio signals. The decision to choose Optocore was made very easy. Two DD32E devices along with one X6-16 OUT were sufficient to get the main stage system with a Yamaha DM2000 mixing console running. Furthermore video signals were send from FOH to the record computer located on the main stage. Optocore's fiber cable technology fitted perfectly into this technologically advanced, groundbreaking event and DreamHack was ready to go.

Permanent Optocore Installation in the Opéra Bastille Paris

Munich, October 22nd, 2007

Designed by the Canadian-Uruguayan architect Carlos Ott, the Opéra Bastille Paris was inaugurated on July 13th 1989 as part of the French Revolution Bicentenary celebrations. Its 2,700 acoustically consistent seats, its unique stage facilities, its integrated scenery, costume and accessory workshops, as well as its numerous work areas and rehearsal rooms, make the Opéra Bastille one of the great modern theaters of France.

Not only the outside and inside of the building itself are very impressive, the technical system inside is of greatest quality and standard. This counts for the theater and stage techniques, lighting systems and especially for the audio system. Regarding the audio systems the Opéra Bastille was always leading in the world. They were the first to work with an analog console with digital total recall remote, today they are the one of the first operas to work with Optocore. During technical modifications starting December 2006 and ending in May 2007, highest standard digital audio equipment was integrated and once again Optocore and Yamaha build up the base of the system. Three PM1D consoles located in three halls of the opera are linked up using three Optocore YG2 and 21 YS2 cards along with two DD32E's, two X6P-16 IN and two X6P-8/8 devices forming a redundant ring.

Opéra Bastille sound directors Philippe Taberlet and Serge Dupond were looking for a system which would be able to fulfill three main aspects: The Yamaha PM1D's had to be linked up by a system capable to read the Yamaha remote protocol, the system had to offer galvanic isolation between the different points of the ring and the network had to offer redundancy.

Primary contractor was Le Team from Nanterre, France, a company specialized in audiovisual fiber optic solutions. Le Team project managers Marc Belleville and Frédéric Protot approached Optocore's French distributor Philippe Moreau knowing that only the Optocore Network System was capable to fulfill these aspects. All parties involved, mentioned the most interesting and challenging part of the project: the ring network with integrated redundancy, high quality audio mic preamps and converters. The shows at the Opéra Bastille are an incredible experience thanks to the advanced and outstanding technologies offered by Optocore and Yamaha.

Optocore training days with Yamaha!

Munich, October 1st, 2007

Optocore and Yamaha products form a unique and seamless integrated audio network solution for an enormous range of applications. In order to enhance the profound knowledge about Optocore network technology and devices, Optocore and Yamaha arranged seminars for Yamaha employees in Hamamatsu - Japan, London - UK and Rellingen - Germany.

Optocore and Yamaha, two leading companies in the field of digital audio technologies, have already "met" at several big events, such as the opening and closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in Athens 2004, the 15th Asian Games in Doha 2006 and the Papal Visit on the occasion of the World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany 2005.

Many audio companies combine the sophisticated advantages of Yamaha and Optocore products: The high regarded DSP-processors and digital consoles of Yamaha are used for audio processing and mixing. The excellent abilities of the OPTOCORE ® OPTICAL DIGITAL NETWORK SYSTEM guarantee a high quality transport of Yamaha control data and audio signals.

The basic idea of the seminar initiated by Yamaha and Optocore, was to improve the support for the customers that use Yamaha products in combination with Optocore devices. Yamaha's Technical Marketing Groups had the opportunity to get detailed information regarding Optocore technology as well as fiber optical audio and data transmission. Practical exercises deepened the skills to configure and operate an integrated network.

"The training was very fruitful, thank you very much." Hiroshi Hamamatsu, Yamaha's Technical Marketing Team Manager replied after the two days of training. "After we could share the necessary information, we are ready to enhance the support for our customers." Marc Wesler, Optocore's Technical Manager and lecturer in Hamamatsu and London, added: "The training was very effective for Yamaha and Optocore. Yamaha appreciates the Optocore network technology and its high reliability. They are familiar with the abilities offered by the combination of Yamaha and Optocore due to all the events, where our products worked together. I was welcomed in a truly friendly manner and the seminar was held in a very productive and open atmosphere. It was the right platform to share and advance the knowledge regarding the numerous varieties of combinations."

Optocore welcomes Contact Distribution Ltd. Canada as new Distributor

Munich, August 30th, 2007

Optocore is pleased to announce Contact Distribution Ltd. Canada as the youngest member of the worldwide Optocore Family. For almost 20 years Distribution Ltd. has taken care of the needs of professional audio and video operators in North America by providing best possible equipments and solutions.

Bill Coons, Contact Distribution's President and Director of Sales, points out that one major philosophy of his company is to present the customer the "best of brand" solution instead of average or "me too" products. "The final results need to be significant and forward thinking … Something special. A set of solutions no one else has. So Optocore was an obvious choice … Optocore products for the current majority of applications usually exceeds all the requirements, which positions them as the best solution. Bottom line - the product is flexible and dependable."

A further important factor for the cooperation of Optocore and Contact Distribution Ltd. are the people involved. Bill Coons and John Lee, Managing Director of Optocore's United States Team, have been working closely together for more than 20 years. John Lee encouraged Contact Distribution Ltd. to become his Canadian partner and Bill Coons was convinced that Optocore would be a success.

The decision to become the Canadian Optocore distributor was enhanced by the supportive and cooperative contact to Marc Brunke, Optocore Managing Director, and the rest of the factory. Bill Coons: "The other shining star that cemented our involvement was Luca Giaroli, Optocore Product Manager, who generously spent a lot of time at the NSCA show explaining the product to the other Canadian dealers and consultants we'd brought by the booth and getting to know him. Intricate, advanced technologies absolutely need the 'go to' guy and in the 30 years I've done this job Luca is probably one of the top two or three factory support guys out of the hundred or so I've worked with. All the dealers and my staff instantly concurred. " Marc Brunke adds: "We are very excited about the cooperation with Contact Distribution. I consider Contact as the perfect partner to distribute the product line of Optocore in Canada. We are looking forward to a long and prosperous partnership."

Optocore "meets" Barbra Streisand on her first ever tour of Europe!

Munich, August 27th, 2007

The grand diva of showbiz finally in Europe for her first tour, for many of her fans almost unbelievable, but the dream should become true in summer 2007. Looking back on more than 60 record releases, 17 films, two Oscars, eight Grammies and nine Golden Globes, it is certainly no surprise that she was welcomed with standing ovations and Optocore was ready for her.

The tour was a mix of indoor and outdoor shows, the technical equipment therefore had to fit both applications. Bruce Jackson was in charge of the sound design and mixing, a great virtuoso and expert, who has mixed for Elvis and Bruce Springsteen, among others. He has been at the front of audio technology development for more than three decades.

One main challenge on this tour was an extensive delay system in order to reach every seat with the best possible sound. 36 L'Acoustic KUDO line source arrays basically made up the delay structure. Due to extremely long distances and harsh conditions, Bruce Jackson had to come up with a solution in order to send AES/EBU signals as well as Ethernet without any loss in quality.

As Audio Director for the Asia Games in Doha Qatar, Bruce Jackson remembered the particularly good audio quality and reliability of the Optocore Network System. "I have successfully used Optocore previously with the most recent instance being a very complex stadium set up for the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar in the Middle East where extreme temperatures can be a challenge. German built reliability is a big plus in tough conditions."

For the Barbra Streisand tour, two DD6NE and two DD32E devices were integrated into the PA system for the instantaneous transport of AES/EBU and Ethernet control signals. As expected they perfectly met the requirements regarding the high-class audio transmission and the convenient handling. Once configured, the devices worked without the extra use of a PC. The transmission of Ethernet using the Optocore fiber connection simplified the complete procedure of each show, no additional cables had to be laid for the control of the Dolby Lake Processors and Dolby Contours.

Bruce Jackson is exalted: "Some of the delay feeds ran hundreds of meters, well beyond the distance we could reliably send AES/EBU over copper. Optocores nicely integrated fiber optic system gave us the ability to send our AES signals over virtually unlimited distances in addition to simultaneously carrying the Ethernet control for our Dolby Lake Processors and Dolby Contours. No computer based configuration was necessary and the Optocore was reliable from show to show in very unfriendly conditions, it rained during every one of the outdoor setups."

Orenburzhie Sports Complex plans for the future with the help of Optocore

Munich, August 20th, 2007

Russia is one of the leading sport nations of the world and has always put great emphases in the support of their athletes and the facilities. The construction of the new Orenburhzie Sports Complex in the city of Orenburg, 1500 km southeast from Moscow, is the best example.

This state-of-the-art sports arena not only includes the opportunity to accommodate sport events; its concept goes much further. The Orenburhzie Sports Complex is equipped with the most modern technical equipment and is therefore ready to host shows and live events besides the usual sport actions. ISPA - Engineering Russia (www.ispa.ru) was assigned with the installation of the PA system and came up with the ideal solution. Optocore's stunning potentialities in the field of digital data transmission using optical fibers came to account. The Yamaha PM5D FOH unit and the Yamaha M7CL-48 monitor console are each equipped with Optocore's YG2 and YS2 cards featuring the Yamaha miniYGDAI standard. Both consoles are integrated in a network with the LX4AP working as an analog interface, enabling the control of the microphone preamps of the LX4AP directly from the consoles. A PC at FOH can be used for the flexible configuration of the network, the storage of settings for different applications in the multipurpose arena and the activation of the Yamaha Emulation Mode. The outstanding abilities of the OPTOCORE OPTICAL DIGITAL NETWORK SYSTEM guarantee the high-quality audio transmission of signals from Sennheiser and Neumann microphones to the dbx DriveRack PA Processor and Lab.gruppen amplifiers of the PA. The perfect and flexible network solution for today's purposes and at any time expandable in the future.

The Orenburhzie Sports Complex crew and ISPA - Engineering are now anxiously waiting for the grand opening of the outstanding multipurpose arena in early autumn 2007. Definitely Orenburg will soon be one attraction richer.

"Almost invisible, we just forget that it is turned on."
"Coliseu do Porto" equipped with Optocore!

Munich, August 1st, 2007

Located in the northern town of Porto, the "Coliseu do Porto" is one of the most impressive and symbolical Portuguese venues. With a capacity of 2955 seats and 3500 standing spaces the Coliseu looks back on over 60 years of concerts, operas, ballet and theatre performances.

In order to optimize the audio transmission between FOH (Yamaha PM5D) and stage (NEXT PA system and monitoring) in the main hall arena, the Coliseu Technical Team around Luís Barros looked for a high quality solution. After consideration of various possibilities, Luís Barros and his team were convinced by Optocore's fiber optical option recommended by Optocore distributor for Portugal, Garrett S.A Sales Director Raúl Fernandes. One LX4AP on stage and one LX4B at FOH now offer the requested quality and flexibility. Luís Barros is very pleased and says that the system "has an incredible quality and transparency. Almost invisible, we just forget that it is turned on. Suddenly we hear microphones."

Glastonbury's Main Pyramid Stage Goes Digital With Optocore.

Munich, July 9th, 2007

Even the mud could not stop Optocore's success supporting a technological breakthrough on this year Glastonbury Pyramid Stage. The Optocore optical fiber solution offered the perfect answer to link up the digital path between the Digidesign D-Show VENUE FOH consoles and the Funktion One speakers on stage.

Simon Honywill, system designer for the control and monitor system suppliers RG Jones Sound Engineering, asked for a high-speed digital transmission from FOH to the stage in order to allow the utmost comfort and potentialities for the 36 acts and their sound engineers appearing on the Pyramid Stage.

Marquee Audio, the official UK distributor of Optocore fiber networks, along with the excellent support offered by their digital expert Andy Huffer came up with the solution integrating three DD32E network devices for the transmission of a maximum amount of digital data at high speed. One DD32E was placed at the FOH console, and the other two were placed at the left and right stage wings. "The idea was to establish a 100% digital solution via AES I/O's," explained Andy Huffer. Two Digidesign D-Show VENUE's piggy-backed between the main stage acts throughout the festival fed AES signals to the D-Show Profile. The output was transmitted to the AES inputs of XTA 482 processors, along with RS485 control data, via DD32E using optical fiber. As a result the control of the XTA 482 processors on stage was done from FOH without any additional connection.

Andy Huffer pointed out that the combination of Optocore's ultra-high speed transmission and the VENUE's mix-buss algorithms resulted in optimum audio quality. "It was noted particularly how clear the vocals sounded," he said. Simon Honywill agreed. "We wanted to keep the signal in the digital domain for as long as possible - and were able to do so right up to the speaker processors. The reaction received was really positive - it all worked seamlessly … ."

NEW! Cover extreme long distances with OPTOCOREs latest development - the DD8RP Repeater Device.

Munich, April 28th, 2007

OPTOCORE GmbH is pleased to announce the new DD8RP Repeater Device. Rounding off the OPTOCORE Optical Digital Network System, the DD8RP repeater unit offers an utmost flexibility in any application asking for data transmission over extremely long distances.

OPTOCORE devices are usually equipped with multimode transceivers, which allow data transfers covering distances of up to 700 m via fiber optics. However today's events, such as open-air festivals, outdoor sport or gala events etc. sometimes include even longer distances. The DD8RP repeater unit offers four independent Link ports, each of them equipped with a pair of user changeable SFP (small form factor plug-able) transceivers. Each slot can be equipped either with mono or multimode modules. The Link ports therefore enable data transmission over almost any distance, running the device in mono mode (up to 100 km) or multimode (up to 700 m). On one hand the DD8RP unit can be used as a pure repeater for several multimode applications, using the four independent ports for a data transfer covering distances longer than 700 m, on the other hand it can also be adopted as a converter from mono to multimode.

Complex outdoor events not only bring up the problem of long distances, sometimes such "simple" things, as an adequate electric power supply can also become a problem. The DD8RP has the sufficient solution offering an universal AC power supply, and also a 12V DC power supply for redundancy and well-suited for any battery packages, UPS (uninterruptible power supplies) or standard AC adapters. Using only 1 RU of a 19" rack, the DD8RP is especially designed for low power utilization and therefore manages to work without additional cooling such as fans.

In addition the DD8RP contains fully re-programmable logic, a RS232 and a USB port offer a perfect device control and fiber check-up via OPTOCORE CONTROL software. Status LEDs offer a immediate control of all ports and power supplies.

"Best OPTOCORE Distributor of the Year 2006" goes to ....

....AUDIO EXPORT Georg Neumann& Co. GmbH!

Munich, April 2007

For the second year in a row OPTOCORE GmbH has awarded German Distributor AUDIO EXPORT Georg Neumann& Co. GmbH as 'European Distributor of the Year'. Audio Export received the award to honour its outstanding sales growth in the business year 2006. The award was presented at the Prolight & Sound 2007 in Frankfurt, Germany.

Audio Export handles distribution of all OPTOCORE professional audio products in Germany and Austria.

Christoph Keller, Head of Sales at Audio Export comments: “We’re really proud of winning this award once again this year. We experienced a very exciting year with Optocore in 2006 as many new products were launched for various vertical markets. Therefore we could strengthen our very good position in the live touring market as well as developing the broadcast business. The DD4ME - MADI to Optocore interface is versatile tool for broadcasters which opens the Optocore network to this part of our industry. We are looking forward to another great year with Optocore and their products.”

OPTOCORE at the Asian Games in Doha!

Munich, February 1st, 2007

The Asian Games in Doha in December 2006 were the largest sporting event ever held in Middle East.
The Opening and Closing Ceremony in the Khalifa Stadium was a spectacle of pyrotechnics and ani- matronics.
An overwhelming num- bers of international and local designers and artists worked for over two years to present the biggest ceremonies, Asia ever had.

The Audio System was designed and consulted by Scott Willsallen, who was also responsible for the Olympic Games in Athens 2004, were Optocore powered both Ceremonies.

For the Asian Games, he designed a system using three digitally combined network rings including 19 DD32E / DD32 nodes, several X6 and a total length of 5.500 meter fiber cables. From the field inputs, through consoles to the loud- speaker processors everything was digital.

Scott Willsallen comments: "Once again Optocore transported the highest quality digital audio in a mission critical application transparently and effortlessly. My sincere thanks to Marc Wesler and Marc Brunke for their support and their remarkable products."

Soundware Norway new Optocore Distributor!

Munich, January 15th, 2007

With beginning of the year 2007 Optocore announces Soundware Norway as new and solely distributor for Norway. Soundware Norway is one of the leading suppliers of professional audio equipment in Norway.

"Our main customers are broadcasters, recording and postproduction studios and theatres. We focus on being a full-range supplier including project planning, sales, service and support - we have designed systems for the biggest broadcasters, both for TV and radio.
Optocore will definately strengthen our line of products and also open new interesting markets." says Gunnar Nessa, Product Manager of Soundware Norway.

Marc Brunke, Managing Director of Optocore comments:"We are very happy to welcome Soundware Norway as our new distributor and looking forward to a prosperous and succesful cooperation in Norway."

NEW! Optocore introduces a mini YGDAI card for Yamaha products at AES in San Francisco!

Munich, October 6th, 2006

Optocore announces the AES Expo launch of their Y-Series Network Modules designed for use in all Yamaha Digital Consoles. The Y-Series modules are designed to fit into YGDAI Mini-slots on the rear of the consoles or in the DIO8 for the PM1D.

Optocore's YG2/YS2 modules bring the pioneers of digital sound processing and the pioneers of audio networking together. Up to 64 audio inputs and 64 audio outputs per YG2 module can be transmitted to and from any Yamaha device, while multiple modules can provide up to 512 audio channels per Optocore network ring on one single fibre pair. The Optocore protocol is the same found in all Optocore branded products as well as other manufacturer brands of devices equipped with an Optocore connection.

The YG2 includes a full 10/100MBit Virtual Ethernet Switch to form a single large standard Ethernet switch embedded in Optocore devices for plug-and- play Ethernet usage. Remote control of Yamaha or Optocore Mic Pre’s-A/D Converters directly from the console work surface is also possible as the Optocore protocol transports the necessary data with no additional hardware or interface. The YG2 main module has full access to all 16 Inputs and 16 Outputs of a mini YGDAI slot. Each YS2 sub module connects an additional 16 channels of I/O to and from the YG2 module via CAT5 cables, up to the full 64 I/O channel complement.

This is a very exciting time for Optocore," says Marc Brunke, President and Chief Design Engineer of Optocore. "We are pleased that Optocore can work so closely together with Yamaha. The development of these Y-Series Modules allows us to bring fiber directly to the mixing console, saving time, valuable rack space, and money."

For more information please click here:

Product Introduction YG2/YS2 PDF

YAMAHA PRO AUDIO

OPTOCORE appoints new Distributor in Sweden!

Munich, October 1st, 2006

OPTOCORE GmbH announces the selection of Svensk Musik TTS as the new distributor in Sweden.

Svensk Musik TTS, a fusion between two major players within the music industry, both with 25 years of industry experience, is today one of Sweden's largest distributor of MI and Professional Audio equipment.

Anders Lindstedt Sales Manager of Svensk Musik TTS said "Our aim is to market and sell professional sound equipment, music instruments and accessories from strong, well-known brands to companies and institutions, active within our primary segments - MI-stores, installers, sound contractors and PA rental companies."

"We regard Svensk Musik TTS as an excellent distribution partner to meet the steadily increasing demand for OPTOCOREs range of highly acclaimed audio network system in Sweden. We look forward to our future with Svensk Musik TTS and are confident that their commitment to excellence will provide the distribution channels to best reach the Swedish customer." Claims Marc Brunke, the Managing Director of OPTOCORE.

NEW! Point to point device from OPTOCORE!

Munich, September 4th, 2006

Optocore GmbH is pleased to announce the new PTP32E: with the PTP32E OPTOCORE opens a new entry level to digital signal transport.

The PTP32E is a 1 RU digital audio device with the same technical features as a DD32E except its network capabilities at a very attractive price point. It enables a point-to-point link with redundant fiber connection for a total of 32 AES digital audio channels in user selectable Input/output configuration in groups of four (32-0, 28-4, ..., 0-32). Also included are bidirectional composite video, 4 times RS485 / RS422 / DMX / MIDI / CAN, and redundant power supplies.

When changing your equipment from analog to digital you can use two PTP32E as replacement for your analog multicore. You can use two PTP32Es as a digital multicore for any converter and any console - or combine one PTP32E with our LX4AP stage box as a complete remoteable analog frontend multicore for digital consoles.

When you see your digital needs growing, the PTP32E can grow with you. The PTP32E is upgradeable into a DD32E. So if you need network functionality lateron, your today's investment in a PTP32E is safe.

New distributor of OPTOCORE in Australia - Jands Pty. Limited

Munich, July 24th, 2006

OPTOCORE GmbH is pleased to announce Jands Pty. Limited as its latest distributor for Australia.
"OPTOCORE is very glad to have Jands Pty. Limited on board to carry the line of OPTOCORE. We are looking forward to a long and prosperous partnership,” says Marc Brunke, the managing director of OPTOCORE.

Jands was founded in the 1970's and rapidly became Australia's premier touring production company, hiring Lighting, Audio and Staging to the premier local and international Rock and Roll acts of the time. While continuing to be successful in the production business, Jands has now grown into Australia's largest distributor of Professional Audio, Lighting and staging products. Jands brand of lighting control consoles and dimmers, designed and manufactured in Australia have become well known both locally and internationally for innovation and reliability.

"Jands is very excited about the opportunity presented to us with the Optocore product. It fits well with our current offering of high quality, internationally acclaimed Audio and Lighting equipment," declares David Bell, Sales and Marketing Director of Jands.

Optocore did the Opening Ceremony of New Central Station in Berlin!

Munich, Mai 2006

For the light show at the opening of the new Berlin central station OPTOCORE reunited what was seperated for the last 20 years - it transported light and audio data over the same cable.

The network included 4 DD6NE and 4 DD32E for Ethernet, Audio, Video and DMX transport.
Ethernet was used for interfacing all the lightning equipment, Audio for the complete sound needed for about 600.000 spectators, Video was used for the screens and DMX for the lights at the audio towers.

Procon Event Engineering GmbH installed a redundant OPTOCORE system with 8 devices for one of the biggest light shows ever. For half an hour about 600.000 spectators saw a symphony of light - with hundreds of beamers, laser, pyrotechnic and moving lights mounted on moving trains.

The entire data for all the lights was distributed via 4 DD6NE - OPTOCORE's Ethernet Switches. To the moving trains the data was passed via WLAN. The total length of the fiber cable needed was 2250 meter.

Additionally OPTOCORE transported Audio for the entire show on the same fiber. The main task was to distribute the audio sum to a very large area and the broadcast vans, and also the stage was connected via OPTOCORE.

OPTOCORE's Video was used to feed the main screen in the station, and DMX was used for dimming the lights at the audio towers during the light symphony.

Audio Export is OPTOCORE Distributor of the Year!

Munich, April 2006

OPTOCORE GmbH has awarded German Distributor AUDIO EXPORT Georg Neumann& Co. GmbH as 'European Distributor of the Year' for the first time. Audio Export received the award to honour its outstanding sales growth in the business year 2005.

Audio Export handles distribution of all OPTOCORE professional audio products in Germany and Austria.

Christoph Keller, Head of Sales at Audio Export comments: "Since we've started doing business with OPTOCORE in July 2003 we experienced a growing demand in high quality distribution systems for audio, video and control data. The OPTOCORE products satisfy those demands in a perfect way due to its 'state of the art' technology.
In addition to that, the products that were launched during the last few months put us in a position not only to satisfy the touring and fixed installed market but also the needs of the professional broadcast industry.
We are really proud of being appointed 'European Distributor of the Year' and looking forward to the future with great new products and projects."

NEW! Network device with Ethernet switch from OPTOCORE! NEW!

Munich, March 2006

OPTOCORE GmbH is pleased to announce the new DD6NE: with the DD6NE you establish a virtual Ethernet switch in your OPTOCORE network.

DD6NE's have each 6 standard RJ45 ports and use part of the OPTOCORE network for Ethernet, and all devices create automatically a big switch - as if all devices connected were in the same room in the same network, even when they are really hundreds or thousands of meters away.

In addition the devices extend your LAN far beyond the technical limits of a traditional Ethernet. The devices feature fully IEEE 802 compatible 10/100Mbit Ethernet ports, but enhance it by redundant power supplies and a guaranteed fibre redundancy without difficult Ethernet setups like spanning tree.

The DD6NE addresses the increasing importance of Ethernet in our industry for controlling devices or linking computers in various places. As Audio and Video are NOT part of the high latency Ethernet concept, you now have the best performance of both worlds in a single fiber - an OPTOCORE ultra low latency network for audio and video and a virtual switch for easy computer data exchange.

Neutrik Zürich AG is the distributor of OPTOCORE in Switzerland

Munich, February 16th, 2006

OPTOCORE GmbH announces the appointment of a distributor for Switzerland: Neutrik Zürich AG.
"This appointment reflects the dynamism and attractiveness of OPTOCORE. Neutrik Zürich AG helps us to improve our geographical presence as well as strengthen our growth trough a new sales channel. With Neutrik Zürich AG we have found a reliable and strong partner for Switzerland". Says Marc Brunke, the managing director of OPTOCORE. The cooperation starts from Feburary 2006.

NEW HEADQUARTERS FOR OPTOCORE USA!
US COMPANY WILL PLAY A BIGGER ROLE IN WORLDWIDE MARKETING.

Totowa, NJ, January 3rd, 2006

Marc Brunke, President of Optocore, Inc., is pleased to announce the relocation of the USA headquarters from Tucker, GA to Totowa, NJ, effective January 3, 2006. "It is the next major step in our market expansion in the Americas", said Mr. Brunke. "We are so fortunate to have been able to experience the kind of growth in 2005 that allowed us to make such an important move so quickly", he added.

In a unique alliance of independent professional audio manufacturers, Optocore, Inc. joins Powersoft Audio USA, Inc. and APB-Dynasonics, Inc. in their headquarters in Totowa, NJ. "This is a great opportunity for three complementary companies to share resources and grow together", said Tom Bensen, Optocore, Inc.'s Director of Sales and Marketing. "Having three companies under one roof makes all of us tremendously efficient. We have common staff and infrastructure that serves a common customer base. It is a wonderful marriage", he said.

In addition, Optocore's US operation will expand its activities to include the all of the countries of the continents of North and South America, thus making the US company an even more integral part of the company's worldwide market expansion. With executive management and market direction from industry veteran, John Lee, Optocore, Inc. is poised to grow exponentially. "I am very excited at the prospects that lie ahead", said Mr. Lee. "The Optocore 'fit' with the other brands we care for globally, i.e. Powersoft and APB-Dynasonics, is absolutely perfect. The ability to join forces and work as a team, finding common customers and Distribution, while utilizing common sales management, administration and technical support staff makes us a truly unique operation", he added.

With the introduction of several new products, such as the LX4A/P 1dB gain step 48x16 stage box, and the DD6NE 6 port Ethernet-fiber converter, the company is poised for another record year in 2006.

Optocore, Inc.
20 West End Road
Totowa, NJ 07512
Tel 973 785 4774
Fax 973 785 1105

Optocore in the Berlin Olympic Stadium!

Poor Herta BSC! For four long years Berlins famous football club was without a home base. The Olympic stadium, where they used to play, was originally build in 1936, but needed to be renewed from 2000 till 2004.

Now the football club and the fans can return in their renewed home.

During the renewal Optocore devices were installed. Several DD32's and X6's in different locations in the stadium were build as a network ring. The devices are located in two corners of the roof and in the directors room. The devices are controlled by a DiGiCo DS-00. The Optocore network system not only transmitt audio signals, but also CAN-Bus and RS 485 data.

Apart from that Optocore is as well used as the heart of an alarming system, which warns the spectators and fans in the case of an emergency.

OPTOCORE with 65 devices at World Youth Day 2005 in Cologne!

This year, the Catholic church's 20th World Youth Day took place in Cologne, Germany from August 16th - August 21st. During this time dozens of events were held, led by bishops and clergy from all over the world.

The main highlight of the six-day event was the arrival and participation of Pope Benedict XVI in Cologne, who held his first meeting with Youth Day participants, on August 18. It was the Pope's first major foreign trip since his election in April. He addressed the massive crowds for the first time from a boat on the River Rhine. Pope Benedict XVI presided over the final Mass held on Sunday, August 21, bringing the WYD ceremonies to an end.

For this occasion, OPTOCORE installed 65 devices (X6's, DD32's and DD32E's) in 7 rings making sure the words of the Pontiff sound like they really come from heaven, transmitting the audio, alarming and DMX data to the sound and light systems for 1 million spectators on the "Marienfeld" just outside of Cologne.

Supported by Audio Export, the German OPTOCORE Distributor and OPTOCORE's own Marc Wesler, a co-operative group consisting of Crystal Sound, Sirius Showequipment and Neumann&Müller installed the devices. Thorsten Schulze was responsible for the sound system design, on a huge open air area covering almost 4 km², where the Mass and the closing ceremony were held on the Saturday and Sunday.

Jazz Festival New Orleans 2005

OPTOCORE makes its debut at New Orleans Jazz Festival

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival attracts some of the biggest names in the music industry and offers something for everyone; blues, R&B, gospel, Cajun, zydeco, Afro-Caribbean, folk, Latin, rock, rap, country, bluegrass and everything in between. And of course there is lots of contemporary and traditional jazz.

The 36th Annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival was the setting for the OPTOCORE to makes its festival debut. Sound company Andrews Audio of NYC used an OPTOCORE fiber optic link from stage to front-of-house mix to connect their Yamaha PM5-D and DD32 to the OPTOCORE LX4A. Engineer John Dorsey commented, "The sound quality of the OPTOCORE system was noticeably better. It was so quiet, I had to ask if it was powered up!"

OPTOCORE at Cologne Carnival 2005

Carnival in Cologne in Germany is every year a special dimension of celebrating. The "rose monday walk" is attended by over a million people every year.

This year the Carnival saw the use of two DD32s with 300m optical fibre cable from OPTOCORE. Wolfgang Verza from Gahrens + Battermann Mediensysteme, Germany, used it for transporting Audio and Video from a broadcast vehicle of WDR (West German Broadcast) to entertain the celebrating audience with Sound and Video on a 19 square meter Video LED screen. The system was used for opening cermony.

Wolfgang Verza: "We used this system for the first to send the composite signal to our big screen. And I was suprised, that it runs like plug and play! No interference, no interruption, just easy-going. With the OPTOCORE DD32 we have the most up-to-date fibre-optic system currently on the market."

V2 Software release

After the V2 pre-releases with several limits used by selected customers only, now the fully flexible V2 software for all applications is finished.

The V2.03 software features complete individual control over audio, video and computer data flow for up to 8 network devices per redundant ring.

New features include:

• 8 Devices in the Ring
• Full 256 Channel Audio Matrix
• ID 1 to 4 up to 48 Inputs
• ID 5 to 8 up to 16 Inputs
• Supports DD32, X6, X6P, LX4A, LX4B
• X6 remote control through DD32
• Free Port Setup on DD32
• Full Video Matrix, now also configurable through the network
• Full RS485 Matrix, now also configurable through the network
• Fully Flexible Yamaha Emulation Mode
• Floating Level Meters
• Export as CSV file for Import and Print via other Programs like Excel
• Log Critical Events with Timestamp
• Online Help

All users are welcome to download the new software, and as usual we guarantee full compatibility even with our earliest devices.
And - the software is free of charge.

OPTOCORE USA OPENS WITH MILLIONS ON HAND!!!!

OPTOCORE GmbH recently opened its doors in the USA and millions - of people that is - were there to cheer them on.

"We looked to OPTOCORE to provide a solution for our Times Square, NY New Year's Eve distributed sound system needs" said Bob Goldstein, President of Maryland Sound. "Their DD32 and X6-Series modules were the perfect technology for the event. In fact they worked so well, we decided to use them for the presidential inauguration, where they also performed perfectly".

That said, we are pleased to announce our US Office, which officially opened its doors on January 1st, 2005. Marc Brunke, president of OPTOCORE Inc., says: " After the success all over the world, like the installation during the Opening and Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games Athens, we now made a fundamental decision for the North American market. The best and most logical solution for our customers was to found our own company. The instant success we had with Maryland Sound and other high profile customers, has proven already that we have made the right strategic decision with respect to our sales and marketing in the USA. "

OPTOCORE Inc. is under the sales direction of industry veteran, Tom Bensen, who will be the subsidiary's Director of Sales and Marketing. " I am extremely excited about this opportunity", said Bensen. "We have had such a tremendous response from the most respected names in the Pro Audio community right from the start. Our future looks very bright and I am pleased to be a part of the OPTOCORE team."

OPTOCORE Inc. is fully owned by OPTOCORE GmbH. The main office is located in Tucker Georgia, near Atlanta, for administration, maintenance, support and import/export. The second office is in White Plains, New York, for sales and technical support, warehousing and service. This NY office allows Tom Bensen to have fast direct access to demo gear and technical support in the region where he lives, plus the "backup" of the main office for administration and import.

OPTOCORE Inc. will be displaying in booth 1654, at the upcoming NSCA expo in Orlando, Florida, March 10-12, 2005.

For further information please contact T.Bensen@OPTOCORE.com.

The new X6P series is out:
World's first A/D converters with true analog 1dB step gain control!

Give your microphones a chance to show their quality!

X6P series microphone preamps now feature 1dB step control - not digitally calculated, but implemented in a fully analog form. This means an optimum signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) for any gain step and a massive improvement in overall SNR performance.

Please download more information here: X6P.pdf

The Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic Games 2004

were, with 4 billion people worldwide on the screens, one of the biggest media spectacle ever.
OPTOCORE powered both Ceremonies with 26 devices bound in two redundant rings.
Both rings, one in the stadium roof, the other on the field play, were connected with over 4 kilometres of fibre optic cables. Full story...

Please download here the full case study of Athens: Athens.pdf

OPTOCORE GmbH is pleased to announce that on the 15th of September 2004 we have moved to our new office.

Our new contact details are:

   OPTOCORE GmbH
   Lisbergstr. 7
   81249 München

   Phone +49(0) 89 - 899 964 - 0
   Fax     +49(0) 89 - 899 964 - 55