Sound Devices Received three Technology Awards At 2011 NAB Show

Leading Industry Publications Recognize Ingenuity of PIX and USBPre 2 Products REEDSBURG, WI, APRIL 20, 2011 — Sound Devices, experts in portable hard-disk recording for audio, was recently recognized for its innovation in product design, as the company took home three leading technology awards from the 2011 NAB Show. Following the company’s introduction of its first video product at NAB, TV Technology and DV magazine honored Sound Devices’ new PIX line of integrated video and audio recorders, while Broadcast Engineering highlighted the company’s recently upgraded USBPre 2 sound mixer. “We are honored by the recognition from the industry, but more excited about the positive customer response to our new PIX Video Recorders,” says Jon Tatooles, managing director for Sound Devices. “Being honored by each of these prestigious industry publications reinforces our aim to simplify and streamline production workflow, while providing high-performance tools for our customers in each product we introduce.” Now in its eleventh year, TV Technology’s STAR Award (Superior Technology Award Recipient) celebrates and showcases the preeminent technological innovations available to the media industry. During each NAB show, the judging panel of broadcast industry experts reviews a variety of products and services, examines the technical applications and their overall contribution to the industry, and then submits their award nominees. TV Technology selected PIX 220 and PIX 240 as they demonstrate the ability to help advance the acquisition and distribution of entertainment and information across the media spectrum. DV magazine also recognized PIX 240 for its Best of Show Black Diamond Award. During the NAB Show, a select panel of engineers, editors and production and post professionals join the magazine staff to judge the Best of Show awards for DV—recognizing outstanding achievement in the advancement of the art and science of video technology. Continuing Sound Devices’ heritage in field production, the PIX 220 and PIX 240 recorders combine high-performance video with high performance audio. The new PIX 220 and PIX 240 connect to cameras with HDMI and can record directly to QuickTime using Apple’s ProRes or optionally, Avid’s DNxHD codec. Since PIX recorders use ProRes and DNxHD, files recorded in the field can be used directly in post-production, making the workflow simple and fast. The PIX 240 adds even more flexibility, with its HD-SDI input and simultaneous HD-SDI and HDMI outputs. The audio circuitry on the PIX 220 and PIX 240 was based on Sound Devices’ award-winning 7-Series digital audio recorders. The low-noise (-128 dBu EIN), high headroom, high-bandwidth inputs are mic/line switchable and include limiters, high-pass filters and phantom power. Both PIX 220 and PIX 240 include generous five-inch, 800x480 pixel LCD displays which are essential in the field, giving immediate confirmation of recording, playback, audio metering and Setup Menu selections. A side panel rotary control and four front-panel buttons provide quick access to setup options while the large, illuminated, tactile record controls give instant confirmation of recording status. Also at the 2011 NAB Show, Broadcast Engineering recognized Sound Devices’ USBPre 2 USB interface as one of its Pick Hit award winners. Pick Hits are one of the most prestigious technical awards given at the NAB Show, as a panel of independent judges tours the NAB show floor for three days, looking for innovative products and technology. The judges then meet to make their selections based on several criteria, including the technical and financial improvements the products can bring to a facility's operation. USBPre 2 is an all-new version of its popular USBPre computer audio interface which offers professionals a powerful, yet easy-to-use, portable interface to interconnect audio sources to both Mac OS and Windows computers over USB.  With the recent addition of Windows OS ASIO drivers, the USBPre 2 can now connect to popular DAW software platforms in Windows, such as ProTools 9. The USBPre 2 is ideal for a broad range of applications including voiceover recording, reference playback and monitoring, and test and measurement. USBPre 2 uses the same extended-bandwidth, low-noise microphone preamplifiers and digital converters as Sound Devices award-winning 7-Series Digital Recorders.