Allen & Heath has released a major firmware update for its dLive series, which includes Director software to enable offline editing and live mixing on a PC with or without a Surface, plus preamp modelling on all 128 channels, 5.1 surround sound, and dedicated Mute Groups.
dLive Director is a multi-platform editor and control software for Mac or Windows OS, allowing the engineer to prepare the show offline and then mix the performance from their laptop or Windows tablet. Director can be used either as a supplement to a dLive Surface, or with a MixRack as part of a compact, surfaceless system. The touch-friendly interface mirrors the physical surface layout and has resizable fader banks to suit different resolutions on various devices.
“Director opens up so many possibilities for dLive”, explains product manager, Nicola Beretta.  “Engineers can set up or tweak settings on the tour bus, and the ability to carry out different tasks at the same time means one engineer can run the FoH soundcheck from the Surface while another dials in the monitor mixes using a laptop or tablet on stage. Or for the ultimate in compact touring, a dLive MixRack and a laptop running Director is perfect for fly-in dates and space-starved venues where there’s no room for a Surface.”
Another significant new feature in v1.2 firmware is the addition of preamp modelling to the DEEP Processing suite of embedded plugins. The first preamp model, Dual Stage Valve, recreates the distortion characteristics of Triode and Pentode valve circuits, from very subtle coloration to full overdrive. The preamps are available on all of the 128 Input channels, with no added latency to the signal path and full phase coherency between channels.
Other additions to the new firmware release include a surround sound 5.1 Main mode, addressing the growing popularity of multichannel audio productions, plus 8 dedicated Mute Groups on top of the 24 DCA Groups. Multiple PAFL busses can now be configured when two or more operators, such as FOH and monitor engineers, are sharing the same dLive system, and users can now define Attack and Release meter damping with Peak Hold.