InfoComm 2009: Live Sound Engineers Love V-Studio 700 & REAC Recording Systems

Welcome to hot and rainy Orlando, Florida! Rich Curtis here, alongside Roland Systems Group at InfoComm 2009, to show off the fabulous features of the VS-700 / REAC system and to get a nice tan.

The traffic here was heavy, despite the rumor going around that less than 50% of registered attendees showed up this year as compared to last. If the economy is bad, you’d never know it standing in there!

Many integrators, consultants and representatives were there checking out the VS-700 / REAC system and loving it! Many people were pleased to see Cakewalk with the V-Studio 700 system in tow. Everyone wanted to hear the VS-700 story and how it came to be. Important people from all around the world attended, ranging from Saudi Arabia to Toronto. These people were excited to see SONAR and REAC in action right before their eyes.

The attendees awed at the many formats SONAR supports in the exporting stage and were floored by the ease of use that only Cakewalk Publisher provides in delivering the final product. A common response was, ‘You guys REALLY thought of everything, didn’t you?’

Many connections, friendships and long distance-relationships were made here in Orlando. Some parties in attendance ranged from Apple to Steinberg as they were getting a closer look at the VS-700 and REAC recording system. This system is now seen as a ‘production and delivery monster machine’ according to many attendees. The recurring tag-line for the unit has been the ‘audio recording environment’, which I feel is a great way to look at it, especially considering its endless capabilities and power.

The Infocomm attendees were deeply knowledgeable in live sound and many of those who stopped by the booth were V-Mixer (M-400) owners. Representatives, consultants and integrators mentioned on multiple occasions that they found the system interesting and extremely powerful. Some even considered purchasing a unit for their home recording studio. We were anxious to introduce this post-production / multi-channel recording solution to current V-Mixer owners, partly due to its REAC compatibility. I was constantly asked to ‘show these guys what that thing can do’ while people would bring more new faces over to our booth. Mush respect must be given to Roland Systems Group’s crew for their endless expertise in live sound applications, while gloriously demonstrating the deep recording abilities of REAC and SONAR, pleasing the Cakewalk-hungry masses.

Many that visited the booth were new to the idea of SONAR and REAC, as well as the V-Studio. Then again, with 40 channels of 96 kHz audio pumping through a single cable, who wouldn’t be interested? According to the popular opinion here in Florida, Cakewalk has quickly become one of the best multi-channel recording, delivery, post, and broadcast solutions with it’s all in one turn-key system!

A few people in our crew felt that the bright orange counter and cool looking T-Bar lured traffic toward our booth, but I insisted it was my awesome cologne and sporty new coat! 🙂

One visitor who apparently works with the artist ’50 Cent’ mentioned he intends to switch from a competing DAW to SONAR REAC (without a V-Mixer) for studio purposes, after getting some hands-on experience with the system. Another visitor exclaimed to the entire booth that he loved ‘that V-Studio thing’ and was going to ‘buy one right away!’ A few were just psyched to see Cakewalk at the event.

After the show was over, the fun factor did not diminish one bit. Everyone was having a good time. Every night the Roland Systems Group crew and I participated in fabulously, entertaining dinner meetings and delicious food was consumed by all!

So despite that only 50% of last years attendance had shown up at this year’s show, the show totaled 29,000 attendees, which made it the 3rd largest InfoComm to date and THE largest InfoComm on the East Coast, according to the in-house announcer. Cheers were heard throughout the convention center.

On Saturday, I began the trek home to Boston. By the way, Orlando was super hot this week, and the thunderstorms were totally insane. The 60 degree weather in Massachusetts didn’t seem so uninviting anymore.

See you all in Boston,

Rich Curtis

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