PLASA 2010 will provide the first major public showcase for Ateis International’s new integrated PA/VA system, the IDA8. Based on the successful IDA4, the new IDA8 (pictured) combines digital audio signal processing, matrix control, message play-out and microphone capability.
With extended DSP memory and communications capability, the IDA8 is more technologically sophisticated than its predecessor but is also easier to use and set up. In a significant development, all key system components are included in a single unit, while the Master system controller specification features eight analogue audio inputs and eight analogue outputs. There are eight alarm control inputs and eight output relays, which can be programmed according to priority and user requirements, with Master unit set-up from a PC that can then be disconnected.
The system can be expanded with the addition of IDA8 Slave units. Master and Slaves each offer up to four hours of WAV-format audio capability, with an option for uploading message files using an Ethernet link.
IDA8 can run on Ateis-Net networking technology, creating either a local network handling up to 256 priorities for a maximum of 256 zones, or a global network that connects up to 32 Master units covering 32 x 256 zones. Units can be connected using copper, fibre or IP circuits.
The new system complies with the main industry standards, EN 54-16 (VACIE&FACIE), BS 5839-part 8 and ISO 7240-16, and is currently with accredited testing houses awaiting EMC compliance.
Neil Voce, sales director of Ateis UK, commented: “We’ve looked at what the IDA4 could and couldn’t do and listened to what customers needed to do in an increasingly demanding market. Our experience of how the IDA4 has been used has led to new features, such as IP interactivity and control, with integrated networking. What we have now with the IDA8 is a better set of specifications that will take us, and our customers, into the future.”
Considering the role of PLASA in the Ateis calendar, Ateis told IE: “Ateis have been building up our presence in the UK sound and VA market since starting here two years ago. We are hoping that a lot of our fellow sound professionals will now have heard the name, although they haven’t really seen or gone through our products, and PLASA 2010 will offer the opportunity for us to meet on the stand and walk them through the UAPG2 sound processor and the IDA8 voice alarm system.”
