Ducking a Utility Mixer

Ducking a Utility Mixer

A common configuration for automation is the use of a Utility Mixer that has as its sources your automation system and your satellite receiver. The automation system will tell the utility mixer when to turn off the satellite channel so that a spot break or other program can play on the air. Then, when the last element of the spot break completes, it turns the satellite channel back on.

But sometimes you want to run imaging elements over the top of the satellite audio, such as during an instrumental intro to a show segment. The problem is that the imaging and the music bed are both playing at the same level (somewhere close to unity, presumably) so your imaging gets buried in the music bed.

Utility Mixer Duck Function to the rescue!

You can set the system up to send a "duck" command to the utility mixer channel to which the satellite audio is connected while your imaging cart is playing. Here's how:

First, set Zetta up to send a GPO to our system when that particular type of cart (ie; imaging cart) plays. How to do that? You'll have to get with RCS on that part if you're not sure.
 
Have it send a GP output (not inverted) to the blade where the satellite signal lives whenever an imaging cart plays. Let's call it SLIO #10. The satellite source signal needs to have SLIO 10 added to it, set up as an input using the function "Duck A." In the utility mixer, you need to enable this function on the Umix channel where the satellite feed will be (the Duck signals are off by default):



Now, when the Utility Mixer channel 1 (in my example) is turned on, and the SLIO #10 is received, it will match up the Duck A function in the satellite source LIO settings with the Duck A function on the umix fader channel and activate Duck for the A side of the mixer channel that the satellite source is routed to.

The SLIO you send to our system needs to stay active until the cart has played out. At that point, the Duck function will turn off and the satellite channel audio goes back to normal.

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