Keeping the VO Studio Lights On: Stress Testing the Safety Net

Historically, winter has been when those of us in California tend to get a little quiet about the weather. While we may grumble about the cold rain or lack of sunshine, we also understand that folks who are shoveling out several feet of snow have no sympathy for us. That’s OK.

I will say that when several local spots record wind gusts in excess of 85 mph, it’s alright to complain a little bit. Thank goodness that the nearby trees stayed mostly upright and the roof stayed on.

While feeling the house shudder, working on some files and uploading things to dropbox, I suddenly realized that all of the lights in the kitchen were out. That was weird. Meanwhile, I’d continued to access the internet and work without disruption. I had a sudden realization: the power backup system worked.

About a year ago, I’d invested in fast-response Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) units. Even though it was necessary, at $200 a pop, it kind of hurt to make the investment.

When the units arrived, I reworked wires, adjusted layouts in the workspaces, and tucked them in place…only to have them be quietly unnecessary from that day forward. Power to the house has been remarkably stable from the very day of installation. Not that I was complaining, though it was humorous.

But under the impacts of the storm, our area lost power (not as badly as elsewhere), the UPS units quietly activated and kept the studio up and running and the internet, um, “internetting”.

That second condition was important. In a live-directed or connected session not only does the studio computer need to stay on, but the modem and local network need to be working as well. One of the things I realized after purchasing the first UPS was that my internet connection hardware sat quite a ways away from the studio. While I could have stretched a long power cable across the house to the one UPS, that would cause a delay simply to connect it. There would likely be more lost time waiting for the modem to reset and reconnect after powering up. That meant a second UPS dedicated to those items. Yeah, it hurt a bit to part with that extra cash, but when the weather suddenly disrupted everything, the internet experienced nary a hiccup.

It gets back to the need for self-sufficiency in our voiceover business. So much of what we do depends upon creative tools which require power and connectivity. Experiencing the seamless way that the power backup system handled things made me quite pleased.

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