In Broadcast - September 2013 - 82

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

WWW.INBROADCAST.COM | ISSUE 23 - SEPTEMBER 2013

N E W S

InAUDIO

RTS Serves An Ace At The French Open
T

he Fre n c h O p e n te nnis
tournament ran this year from
May 21st to June 9th – as ever,
in Paris. The Tournoi de Roland
Garros, as it is ofﬁcially known, is
one of the four Grand Slam events
in the tennis calendar and was
ﬁrst held in 1891. The capture and
distribution of sound and images
from the event, which attracted
massive attention worldwide, with
live coverage in over 150 countries,
was the responsibility of the
French broadcasting giant France
Télévisions.

The French Open at Roland Garros

82

To underpin the logistics of its
coverage, France Télévisions relied
on an intercom system from RTS.

At the heart of the system was a
full-sized Advanced Digital Audio
Matrix (ADAM) with a modular 248
x 248 conﬁguration. Both digital and
analogue interfaces were used by
Chief Technician Lionel Dubois and
his team to assure communications
throughout the tournament between
the camera crews, outside broadcast
vehicles and the central switching
room. Through its integration of
eight keypanels and the routing of
over 60 four-wire connections, the
ADAM matrix provided a conduit for
exchanges between technicians in
and around the stadium as well as
between commentators and their
respective mobile control rooms.
The ADAM- based network
had a Herculean task to perform,
because as well as the coordination
of all audio and video feeds from
the OB trucks of the national and
international broadcasters, it had
to integrate via ﬁbre-optic cable the
France Télévisions broadcasting
centre as well as the master control
room of the French tennis federation.
“It was there that all the vital
information was pooled,” explained
Dubois, “weather forecasts, for
example, which are always of
considerable interest at Roland
Garros given that it’s an open-air

The ADAM matrix from RTS assured communications between the OB trucks,
international broadcasters, commentators and the French tennis federation

event, and changes in the order of
play. Fortunately the topology of
the intercom network was such as
to allow us to ensure that all those
who required it were plied instantly
with the latest information as soon
as it became available.”
In addition to the technical
management of the event, the
ADAM matrix provided the nerve
centre for communications between
the international broadcasters and
the master control room. “All were

connected via an ADSL network
and an IFB system,” said Dubois.
“This allowed the international
commentators to communicate
directly with their respective control
rooms. The latter were even able to
commission special image formats
from France Télévisions.“
For the next major sporting event
in his diary, the Winter Olympics
from Sotchi, Dubois will once again
be relying on systems from RTS.

TSL Products Introduces New Madi-Capable Solution At IBC
T

SL Products, manufacturer of
surround sound microphones
and processing, audio monitoring,
tally/studio-control systems and
power management solutions, will
introduce the SAM1 3GM+MADI
Studio Audio Monitor at IBC 2013.
The monitor is ideal for both ﬁxed
and mobile broadcast facilities,
as well as systems integrators
who have embraced MADI as
the backbone of a facility’s audio
infrastructure.
“Until now, the choice of conﬁdence
monitoring devices incorporating
MADI has been extremely limited,”
says Martin Dyster, Head of Audio
for TSL Products.
The SAM1 3GM+MADI is a
sophisticated device that provides
multiple source monitoring of
up to 20 channels of audio from
MADI, embedded HD-SDI, AES
and analogue sources on a userconfigurable screen, providing
immediate access to any
combination of formats, delivering
a comprehensive visual and audio
feedback for conﬁdence monitoring
in a compact unit.
“The new SAM was designed
following a period of in-depth
market consultation to deliver
exactly what the industry has

Martin Dyster, Head
of Audio for TSL
Products

“…Until now,of
the choice
conﬁdence
monitoring devices
incorporating MADI
has been extremely
limited

”

asked for regarding MADI. The
main concern was how working in
a mixed multichannel environment
that includes HD-SDI, MADI, AES
and analogue audio makes quality
assurance tricky,” continues Dyster.
“The SAM1 3GM+MADI is perfect for
sound engineers checking on the

integrity of their MADI signals, or
broadcast studio engineers who
use MADI to transport multiple
channels of audio around a facility,
and production operators involved
in creating programming within
studios or on OB trucks where MADI
technology is implemented.”
With the SAM1 3GM+MADI,
the user can create a tailor-made
monitoring panel that gives them
access to the channels that they
need via a simple rotary control.
Channels can be deﬁned as being
mono, stereo or 5.1 downmixed
group via a single button press with
a simple colour scheme for instant
user recognition of the channel
configuration. Furthermore, the
operator can mix multiple signals
together and adjust individual
mix levels, if required, to create a
personal monitoring environment
that meets their exact requirements.
The SAM1 3GM+MADI features
dual auto-sensing at 1080p
resolution (60, 59, 94 and 50Hz)

through HD/SDI video inputs for
maximum ﬂexibility in any facility.
De-embedded audio monitoring
is possible from the video HD/SDI
data stream with intuitive selection
from up to 16 audio channels in
four groups. MADI connectivity is
through a single 54/64 channel MADI
input/output with coax connections
and single-mode or multi-mode ﬁbre
option. The unit additionally offers
54/64 channel MADI ‘reclocked’
loop output via coax connection.
Dedicated audio inputs include four
AES (four pairs/eight channel) and
two analogue stereo inputs. The unit
also provides Ethernet capabilities
for network connectivity, a USB
connector and SD card slot for
system updates and preset save/
recall. Dual high-resolution 2.4-inch
screens for 20 bargraphs, setup and
metadata display are provided with
a generous range of user-selectable
bargraph scales including BBC PPM,
EBU PPM, EBU Digital, Nordic,
VU and DIN.

TSL PPL’s SAM1 3GM has received a MADI boost
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