Las Vegas, Nevada—Mar 22, 2004
JBL Professional and Crown International Close the Loop on Digital Audio with Digital B-Chain
JBL Professional and Crown International today announced its advanced Digital B-Chain (DBC™) audio networking and performance technology. With Digital B-Chain, exhibitors will be able to experience enhanced digital audio performance and control. The advanced management functionality of Digital B-Chain has definite business advantages, since it gives exhibitors additional audio performance control for film exhibition as well as alternative content applications, such as pay-per-view sports events, corporate meetings, concerts, and pre-show advertising.
“The digital engineering teams from JBL Professional and Crown International have worked together to achieve the highest level of networked audio and control systems for cinema applications,” said Chuck Goodsell, Director of Cinema Marketing at JBL Professional. “Their long and painstaking efforts have resulted in a state of the art digital audio system that can also help facility owners keep costs down and keep theater-goers packed into the seats. Digital B-Chain adds another level of control for the modern cinema operation.”
For cinema systems, one of the key factors that theater owners take into account is how to lower infrastructure costs while still offering a high-quality digital audio system. DBC systems keep the facility in the digital domain, eliminating unnecessary A/D conversion assuring that digital audio quality is maintained throughout. DBC uses inexpensive CAT 5 cable instead of special speaker cables and permits a single labor force to be used for the entire network. The entire audio system can be controlled and monitored on the same facility network as concessions management, box office ticketing, HVAC, etc., lowering infrastructure costs.
Commenting on the introduction and the independence of digital audio from digital cinema, Stephen Morris, Market Director for Touring Sound, Installed Sound and Cinema Markets at Crown International added, “With the introduction of Digital B-Chain, exhibitors can sidestep the pitfalls of digital cinema and provide their customers with compelling reasons to visit their theaters: better sound and a more immersive customer experience. In addition to being busier, Digital B-Chain theaters will be more reliable and will be easier to manage and maintain.”
One of the most important features of a DBC system is that it includes the capability of executing system-wide diagnostics. Automated error reporting allows technicians and users to learn about potential system errors before they happen and alerts technicians immediately of any problems, providing specific data on where to locate the problem. Remote error reporting can be accomplished via email, fax, pager or cell phone.
In a DBC system, analog or digital audio is received from the cinema processor and is then transported on a digital audio and control network where it remains in the digital domain to the amplifiers. Both the digital audio and control information are transported on a single network connection to Crown CTs Series amplifiers loaded with IQ-PIP-USP3/CN modules. In a typical DBC system, analog audio is sent to Crown CTs Series amplifiers with IQ-PIP-USP3/CN modules, which power the JBL ScreenArray® screen channels, subs, and surround channels. Both the digital audio and control information are transported on a single network connection.
