At NAB 2025, Calrec is introducing a suite of new interconnected products and updates aiming to help broadcasters meet a variety of challenges. With increased competition for subscribers and reductions in advertising revenue, broadcasters are looking for ways to attract more viewers with more compelling content across a growing number of distribution channels, augmenting traditional over the air distribution with OTT streaming and social content.
Growing the company’s portfolio with True Control 2.0, an expanded 2nd generation remote production capability, ImPulseV cloud-based DSP processing core and Argo M, a compact IP broadcast audio console, Calrec’s enabling broadcasters to create more flexible workflow combinations to increase content, at the same time as reducing costs.
True Control 2.0: Work on any show, anywhere – take remote production to a whole new level
Making its full NAB Las Vegas debut, Calrec’s True Control 2.0 facilitates distributed production workflows and offers a deeper level of remote control across a wider product portfolio. This provides more flexibility to scale production as demands grow or shrink. It delivers expanded levels of control in two key areas. Firstly, it gives users far greater levels of remote control without the limitations of mirroring or parallel controlling, with control of an expanded feature-set including EQ, dynamics, routing, direct outputs and delay. More fundamentally, it gives broadcasters and content providers unparalleled flexibility to scale their remote productions as needed by expanding the number of products it works with.
True Control 2.0 is available on ImPulseV, as well as Argo M, Argo Q, Argo S and Type R, allowing any of these products to remotely control any other True Control 2.0 enabled product. Each controller is able to access up to five other consoles simultaneously to provide more processing cores and deliver more control in multiple locations. By integrating both controller and controlee functionality across the board, True Control 2.0 gives broadcasters more flexibility than ever before, expanding functionality without having to invest in additional hardware.
For broadcasters, the expansion of production ecosystems is where the real value is, and it’s why Calrec launched True Control 2.0 in Q3 2024. As the adoption of sustainable and cost-effective remote and distributed production workflows continues to develop, the ability to control any system from anywhere creates an incredibly agile way to work. Providing access to more cores, more faders, more surfaces, and more control from any location gives users ultimate flexibility delivering content to air.
From May 2025, Calrec’s Apollo+ and Artemis+ will become part of the True Control 2.0 family, allowing them to control other True Control 2.0 enabled Calrec products with the same feature set as Calrec’s Remote Production Unit, RP1; including fader & cuts, input controls, aux sends on/gains and aux sends.
ImPulseV: DSP processing in the cloud – accessed from anywhere in the world
Calrec’s ImpulseV cloud-based audio mixing solution, which had its development preview at NAB 2024, provides a virtualised Calrec audio mixing engine in a cloud native AWS environment. Accessed from anywhere in the world, it uses the same familiar Calrec user interface. It can be controlled through Calrec’s Assist web UI on a standard browser, directly from any Calrec Argo or via True Control 2.0 from any True Control 2.0 enabled console, including Calrec Type R.
Minimising broadcasters’ reliance on physical hardware, ImPulseV delivers premium audio quality and Calrec’s full broadcast feature set. ImPulseV is optimised for low latency throughput, providing real-time responsive, efficient and deterministic audio processing, control, routing and mixing. ImPulseV not only empowers broadcasters to flex resources to meet the demands of large broadcast events, its economical OpEx model enables a wider range of second and third tier events, which may not previously have been economically viable.
Argo M: All the power and flexibility of the established Argo audio platform in a compact footprint
Also compatible with True Control 2.0, Calrec’s new Argo M console uses the same multi award-winning technology that powers Calrec’s established Argo platform to deliver the same feature set and operational familiarity in a compact 24- or 36-fader footprint. Ideal for small to medium-scale applications, Argo M is a plug-and-play broadcast audio solution. It boasts integrated DSP processing and built-in analogue and digital audio I/O and GPIO, 3 x modular I/O slots for further expansion, and a MADI I/O port via an SFP.
Available out of the box with up to 356 channels of internal DSP, Argo M also has the ability to connect to an ST2110 networked environment and to an existing ImPulse core alongside other Argo surfaces. It can quickly create multi-console IP environments, and can add additional external DSP paths with ImPulse, ImPulse1 and ImPulseV as production demands grow.
From May 2025, users will be able to access extra bussing via an aux booster upgrade path on all three Argo consoles, ImPulse and ImPulse1.
MIDI is now available on the Argo platform to support DAW control.
Type R: The building blocks for your TV or radio station
Calrec will showcase its Type R modular, expandable IP mixing system, controlled by True Control 2.0. It too is designed to encourage customers to take advantage of distributed production and flexible workflows. Type R’s fully 5.1 capable IP core enables broadcasters to benefit from virtual working practices and automated broadcast workflows on a cost-effective SMPTE 2110-compliant IP backbone.
From Summer 2025, users will be able to access the next Type R software upgrade, which provides the following key features: off air record, enhanced GPIO talkback, monitor selector follow, mix minus bus user labels and large DSP pack with 32 aux buses.
Argo Q and Argo S: Multi-award-winning broadcast audio mixing platform
Calrec will also demonstrate its award-winning Argo Q and Argo S audio mixing consoles paired with a redundant ImPulse core on a True Control 2.0 network, as well as its smallest ever console, the 68-piece Legoä Calrec Argo S.
