In Broadcast - May 2018 - 32

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 8 - Issue 5 | May 2018

InStudio

Intercoms & Talkbacks
Contributing Editor Jim Evans rounds up the latest
developments in intercom and talkback technology...

ntercoms and talkbacks keep the
broadcast wheels rolling smoothly.
Recent months have seen a number
of key developments in this vital
technology sector, witnessed at the
major trade shows.
Riedel has carved a niche for its
products in the field of modern
wireless intercoms. At the 2018 NAB
Show, Riedel unveiled the Bolero
Standalone Application, a licenseenabled upgrade that will provide
several performance enhancements
along with standalone capabilities.
With
the
Bolero
Standalone
Application, antennas are daisychained to each other in a line or a
redundant ring via a low-latency,
synchronised TDM network. The
solution is plug-and-play, with no
IP configuration needed. A new
external power supply can power up
to five antennas, so power and data
redundancies are easily achieved. A
new, single-RU, half-width external
interface box, with six analogue fourwires and three GPIOs, can be directly
connected to any antenna and then
patched into an existing intercom
system. The system is easily configured
via a web GUI internal to the antennas.
Other new capabilities provided by
the Bolero update include individual
rotary
programming,
Bluetooth
headset support, and a new beltpack
QuickMute feature that allows users to
easily set the volume of all channels to
zero.
"The standalone version of Bolero is
a perfect wireless intercom solution
for rental houses, clients with smaller
requirements
where
intercom
needs can be met solely through
the flexibility of Bolero, and clients
who are already invested in other
intercom solutions," said Wolfgang
Fritz, Senior Product Manager, Riedel
Communications. "With superior sound
quality, outstanding RF performance,
and simple interfacing, far more users
will now be able to enjoy the benefits
of Bolero."

Pliant Technologies is now shipping
its innovative professional wireless
intercom system, CrewCom.
"We took a completely nontraditional approach to wireless
intercoms, and while CrewCom's
advanced technology offers huge
benefits to the customer, the
development time was longer than
we had anticipated," says Gary
Rosen, Vice President of Global Sales
for Pliant Technologies. "The effort
we invested in getting out the right
product was commensurate with
the importance of this new intercom
system.
"With CrewCom's release, we can
now provide a wireless intercom
solution that will change the way
professionals use intercom, allowing
both easy-to-use small wireless
systems and large-scale deployments
for those that need dramatic scalability
and user count based on the same
technology."
CrewCom is based on a new
technology platform that offers
"the industry's highest user density,
unparalleled range, and scalability".
With CrewCom, production crews
of all sizes can now easily and quickly
deploy communications solutions to
connect more people in more places
than ever before, claims the company.
For the small system and UHFreplacement market, CrewCom offers
the easiest system deployment along

Riedel unveiled the Bolero
Standalone Application at
NAB in Las Vegas

Top: AMP VISUAL TV has outfitted its newest 4K HDR OB van - Millenium 6
- with an extensive complement of Riedel Communications equipment

with a user-friendly radio pack. Even
the most basic CrewCom system offers
full features at a very competitive
price. For high user count system
requirements,
the
revolutionary
design of CrewCom offers a significant
price advantage for larger demanding
applications, when comparing the
actual cost of deploying many wireless
users in a production.
CrewCom offers 1,024 Conferences
that provide the flexibility of a matrix/
party-line without the cost. Unlike a
matrix-based architecture, CrewCom is
based on a decentralised platform that
puts system resources where they are
needed, without the limitations found
in a matrix. This innovative approach
to professional wireless intercoms
enables CrewCom to handle
almost any application from
simple out-of-the-box solutions
to large-scale designs for a
range of installation projects
for live sound, broadcast and
industrial environments.
Launched last year, Sonifex's
AVN
range
of
talkback
intercoms use AES67 AoIP
natively to connect devices
together over a standard
Ethernet network, allowing
simple installation and webPliant Technologies is shipping its CrewCom
browser configuration.
professional wireless intercom system.

Launched last year, Sonifex's AVN range of talkback intercoms use AES67 AoIP natively over a standard Ethernet network

The AVN-TB10AR, a 10 button
talkback intercom, was the first
product released. It is an advanced
talkback/listening/paging
intercom
unit
to
enable
voice/audio
communication between different
areas in a facility or building complex.
Typical applications are for OB truck
comms, theatre comms, production
gallery comms and inter-studio comms
in a TV or radio station. As a 10-button
intercom, the AVN-TB10AR can define
10 other 'stations', one per button, for
communication.
With both four-wire analogue inputs
and outputs, as well as AoIP network
audio connectivity, the AVN-TB units
can be used with existing legacy fourwire systems and with new AES67
AoIP networked audio infrastructure.
Additionally, all audio is at 48kHz
sample rate, meaning that it's
broadcast quality audio as standard.
With dual 1Gb LAN ports and a 1Gb SFP
fibre port the products can be used in
larger networks.
First shown at NAB 2018 are two
further models: The AVN-TB6 six
station talkback intercom and the
AVN-TB20AR 20 station rackmount
intercom.
The AVN-TB6 six station talkback
Intercom has a smaller button count
for smaller talkback systems, or for

http://www.inbroadcast.com https://www.riedel.net/en/products/intercom/bolero-wireless-intercom/ https://www.riedel.net/en/products/intercom/bolero-wireless-intercom/ http://plianttechnologies.com/products/crewcom.html http://www.sonifex.co.uk/avn/avn-tb10ar.shtml

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