Bespoke Design & R&D
Bespoke Design & R&D Services
As well as using our in-house design and R&D departments to develop our award-winning products, Sonifex has also undertaken a number of R&D projects for clients. Work includes a Dante product for Canford Audio, an A/D/A converter and headphone amplifier for Cedar Audio, a changeover unit for the GWR Group, over 2500 remote controllers for BBC W1 and BBC Salford, 1000 digital audio workstations (DAWs) for BBC World Service, over 100 PCXtender DAW units for Danish Radio, logging systems for the Finnish parliament, telephony systems for Northern Telecom, interface systems for entertainment venues, and automated hard disk announcement systems for both Channel 4 TV and BBC World Service.
Sonifex has years of experience in meeting the demands of our customers. However complex the problem, our skilled sales, technical support and R&D staff can answer the questions you may have regarding what is and is not possible. Potentially your requirements could be met by adapting one of our existing products, saving you the time and expense of commissioning a bespoke one. Additionally, our continuous investment in R&D, new technology, and other resources ensures that any cost savings are passed on to you, meaning you receive state-of-the-art products that match your needs without exceeding your budget.
The main difference between Sonifex and other companies in the AV/broadcast market is that we not only invest in R&D but also manufacture our products in-house, performing the majority of the production with our team of skilled technical staff. This gives us a detailed understanding of the costs of designs and the feasibility of implementation.
We have our own R&D design team, our own surface-mount line for loading circuit boards, our own test facility and engineering workshop for machining and finishing metalwork. We’ve developed our own IT, CRM and ERP software so that we’re able to trace as much data as possible to ensure accuracy and reliability. It enables us to build in the small volumes needed for our market, with efficiency and speed.
We ensure that only the most cost-effective, efficient, and streamlined solutions are implemented, saving you time and money. More importantly, we control the quality at each stage of the R&D, design, and manufacturing process to ensure that the final product meets your specifications.
As a company, Sonifex has excellent technical expertise and facilities for R&D, design, and manufacturing bespoke products. State-of-the-art machinery is used throughout, and thorough visual and electronic testing is carried out to ensure that product performance matches expectations.
Case Study 1 - Automation Software for Channel 4 TV, UK
Sonifex originally supplied Channel 4 with their hard disk recording and broadcast automation system in 1998 which was a modified version of the HDX2000 broadcast automation system which Sonifex had manufactured since 1993. The idea of the Channel 4 software was to take away all the mundane aspects of presenting - no more loading cart machines, signing logs or hunting for the appropriate jingle. Continuity announcements at Channel 4 could be recorded in advance as a 'batch' and then slotted into the playlist for automatic playback.
The bespoke software automated many of the announcements via RS422 control. A prime requirement was that the solution shouldn't involve the Presentation Team in the re-keying of information, so the software takes information from the programming system and stores recordings on a daily basis depending on the playlist downloaded. The system also runs automatic delete functions for housekeeping and general maintenance purposes. The project was completed on time and within budget and is still in operation today.
Case Study 2 - Digital Audio Workstation Units for DR, Denmark
In collaboration with Interstage, Sonifex's Danish distributor, Sonifex completed a project for Danish Radio to produce 95 desktop units to connect to their existing journalist's Dalet workstations. Each desktop unit, called PCXtender, provides dual stereo analogue digital inputs to, and stereo analogue outputs from, the PCX audio cards of the Dalet workstation. Each PCXTender comprises of a rugged steel box on which a PC monitor can sit. It links to another unit which can be screw-mounted to the underside of a desk nearer the recording sources - this prevents trailing leads going across the journalist's desk. All hardware design, PCB layout, case design and manufacturing was carried out on-site at Sonifex in Irthlingborough.
Finn Juul of Interstage commented : “I've had an excellent relationship with Sonifex since 1986 so I'm aware of their areas of expertise and their abilities to carry out special design work. We didn't have much time on this project, from initial order to delivery of the first 35 units took only 8 weeks. I have been very happy with the units, they were all delivered in time for a successful installation. In fact, I've already ordered another four PCXtender units for installation in a separate project”.
Case Study 3 - Digital Audio Workstation Units for BBC World Service
In 2002 and 2003, Sonifex won tenders to supply audio workstations to BBC World Service and BBC Local Regions. Supplied through the Oxford Sound Company, 3 different DAWs (digital audio workstations) were developed specific to BBC World Service’s needs :
DAW-PT Production office DAW with integral telephone balance unit
DAW-P Production office DAW
DAW-SE Studio edit DAW
Over 1,000 of the above units were shipped within an 18 month period at the price quoted and to the planned timescale.
