Shure Wireless Workbench® 6: Building Shows Offline

Edited Transcript

In this post, we'll discuss how to build shows offline in Wireless Workbench 6, where you can configure an inventory of devices even when there aren't any networked devices connected to your network.

One really powerful feature of Wireless Workbench is its ability to add "virtual" devices, or devices that aren't real, or that are not connected to your computer. These virtual devices allow you to set up the properties and parameters for your systems ahead of time so that, when you arrive at the venue, you can simply apply those parameters to the real devices.

Another benefit of managing virtual devices is that you can take into account systems from third-party manufacturers. While you won't be able to connect to and control third-party devices over the network, you will be able to account for those systems from a frequency coordination perspective.

Building a Virtual Inventory

The "Add New Device" dialogue in Wireless Workbench includes a list of different types of devices, including ones that Shure has built in, as well as well as any custom systems that you have created.

There are many cases for building a virtual inventory. For example, if you are going to a show in another city, you may want to prepare while on the plane. Although you know which equipment you will be using for this particular show, since you're not connected to the equipment, you will be unable to connect Wireless Workbench to start changing the parameters on the actual devices.

Instead, you can load all of the devices you will be using into a virtual inventory in order to configure those systems ahead of time. This will allow you to apply your configuration directly to the gear when you get to the venue.

You can use the selector in the "Add New Device" dialogue to find the correct manufacturer and model. This dialogue will also allow you to choose the number of channels that are going to be added and the different bands that are available. When you click the, "Add" button in the dialogue box, you'll notice the selected  devices are populated into the inventory view. All of the devices that you add are virtually recalled in this inventory.

You can also manage third-party equipment. For example, if you select a Sennheiser device from the "Add New Device" dialogue, it will also be populated into the inventory view.

Configuring Devices in a Virtual Inventory

Once you've added all the systems you need, you can close the dialogue. You will now be able to see the inventory view with all the selections you've made. All of the devices will be offline, which is indicated with a grey bar to the left of the device info. Since this is a virtual inventory, it is not connected to anything, so all devices will be offline. When the devices are online, the bar will be green.

You are able to configure devices while they are in an offline state. You can name channels, assign frequencies, or use the frequency coordination tab to calculate frequencies for all systems.

This is particularly valuable when adding third-party systems, as Wireless Workbenchprovides the flexibility to coordinate frequencies for all the devices you're using to create a complete and thorough solution, even if they are not Shure networked systems.

Once you've finished configuring your devices, you can simply save the show file. When you arrive at the venue, you can load the correct show file and use the settings merging in Wireless Workbench to apply these saved settings to your online devices.

Building an offline virtual inventory of devices is a great way to prep for a show ahead of time using Wireless Workbench.