The trick for console makers in this broadcast world is how to get more channels into a smaller footprint and not raise the price. That’s the demand of a 5.1 world, with more audio passed around in larger chunks. Calrec has announced a new mid-level console, Omega, incorporating Bluefin technology, with 160 mono DSP paths (48 stereo plus 64 mono), available in three frame sizes (24, 40, 56). It includes 8 x 5.1 surround groups, 20 aux outs and an additional 48 outs, with two main stereo or 5.1 surround program outputs. This powerful board should find a home in the new generation of mid- to smaller HD trucks that are sure to be coming out in the next few years (think college sports). QVC purchased the first Omega for its new 48-foot truck. The secret, it turns out, is Bluefin’s use of Field Programmable Gate Arrays replacing the traditional SHARC chips, allowing 480 channel processing paths on a single card. Apparently they’ve been incorporating FPGAs for the past three years on the Alpha and Sigma lines to handle mix functions. Lots of power in a small package. That’s what we all need, no?