YAMAHA DM2000 GOES TO GRAMMYS

—Digital Production Console Handles Historic 5.1 Broadcast—

BUENA PARK, CA (March 7, 2003)—The telecast of the 45th annual GRAMMY® Awards show on CBS from Madison Square Garden not only marked the return of the show to the Big Apple, but also marked an important milestone as the first prime-time network broadcast of an awards program to be shown in HDTV and heard in 5.1 surround audio.

(L to R): Remote recording engineers Randy Ezratty and Joel Singer pose at Yamaha DM2000 in Effanel’s OnSite Recording truck OSR1 during the HDTV 5.1 Surround Mix of the 45th Grammy Awards.

The HDTV 5.1 broadcast was mixed by a combination of remote facilities which included Effanel Music’s L7 remote recording truck, All Mobile’s Resolution HDTV production truck and Effanel’s OnSite Recording OSR1 truck, equipped with a Yamaha DM2000 digital production console. The 5.1 mix was supervised by Recording Academy’s Producers & Engineers Wing chairman Phil Ramone, assisted by Hank Neuberger and Murray Allen. Music mixers included John Harris and Jay Vicari, with production mixed by Ed Greene. Effanel president Randy Ezratty served as 5.1 sound designer and chief engineer, assisted by Joel Singer onboard OnSite Recording OSR1, a new partner in the Effanel family.

“L7 handled the music performances during the show,” explains Singer, “which generated a stereo mix and a separate 5.1 mix simultaneously. The stereo mix from L7 went directly to the video truck, and the 5.1 mix was fed to the DM2000 on OSR1.

“Randy balanced the 5.1 stems from L7, the podium mics and video packages, plus additional audience channels and then sent the final Dolby E, 5.1 mix from OSR1 to the CBS high-definition network.” The CBS network distributed 1,080 lines of HDTV picture resolution and 5.1 channels of CD-quality surround sound on its High Definition Television Network throughout the U.S.

“The DM2000 is a fantastic board,” said Ezratty. “Its performance exceeded everyone’s expectations. The DM2000’s innovative 5.1 mixing features actually inspired and delivered a final product than went well beyond what we originally conceptualized.”

For more information on the DM2000, contact Yamaha Corporation of America, Commercial Audio Systems Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622, telephone 714-522-9011, email infostation@yamaha.com or visit www.yamaha.com/proaudio.