News

Clear-Com launches Arcadia Central Station: digital, analog and AoIP combined

Clear-Com has recently launched Arcadia Central Station, a scalable IP platform which integrates all wired and wireless partyline systems, including the FreeSpeak family of digital wireless solutions and HelixNet Digital Partyline. Arcadia combines digital, analog and AoIP intercom technologies into a single integrated system.

The system can license up to 96 IP ports in a single RU device. Arcadia provides connectivity to a wide range of Clear-Com endpoints through a mixture of 2-wire and 4wire audio ports, together with third-party Dante and AES67 AoIP devices. Additionally, it supports the full range of FreeSpeak digital wireless products, encompassing the 1.9 GHz, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, and the upcoming integration with HelixNet.

Arcadia also has two large touch screens on the front panel to solve the need for adjustments easily and quickly. The system is configured and monitored through a new, re-imagined version of Clear-Com’s browserbased CCM software featuring an interface that guides users through all steps of the process.

“Arcadia Central Station is essentially the universal translator, integrating all our partyline systems together in a single, compact 1RU package. With the flexibility and power of a licensingbased model, functionality will increase over time and eventually this central station will become the ultimate group communications hub”, says Bob Boster, president of Clear-Com.

Quicklink Studio allows oXyFire Media to conduct a remote interview through a virtual studio

Quicklink Studio has assisted a remote interview between a football who was placed in London manager and a journalist based in Dublin. For the production, Quicklink Studio (ST55) was used to provide a conversation between London, Dublin and the Sheffield based Master Control Room (MCR). Using Scarlett audio interfaces into laptops based in London and Dublin, Quicklink Studio (ST55) facilitated a bidirectional Conference call between both parties as well as the MCR.

To achive a realistic virtual studio production both were carefully positioned in a green screened environment to allow for a virtual backdrop to be applied. To allow for natural conversation, monitors were strategically placed at the other’s eye-line, to make it appear as though they were making eye contact throughout the interview.

“Quicklink was a vital part of the virtual production workflow. I needed a system I had faith in and could trust to deliver. I’ve used Quicklink Studio many times over the pandemic and it’s proved rock solid. I wouldn’t want to use anything else; especially on such high-profile projects”, said Jay Rozanski, Creative Director at oXyFire Media.

Quicklink Studio (ST55) enables the gathering of audio-visual contributions from a laptop or mobile device with no apps or software installations required. Contributors can be invited by an operator to contribute via SMS, WhatsApp, email or by generating a shareable URL link. From the Quicklink Manager, the operator is then able to remotely control and configure the contributor’s device camera, microphone, speaker settings, resolution, data bandwidth and latency if required.

CP Communications provides solutions for ESPN, FOX and MLB Network during All-Star Game

ESPN, FOX and MLB Network have selected RF coordination and an extensive complement of equipment from CP Communications. Those solutions took part during Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game and related events earlier this month at Coors Field in Denver. The RF Coordination strategy for the All-Star Game included pre-planning and acquisition of 1108 frequencies, covering RF video systems, audio, return video, paint control, intercoms and two-way radios.

CP’s support included 16 RF handheld cameras, including two FlyCam systems, two “Megalodon” Sony cameras (with shallow depth of field), a Sony HDC-P50 compact POV on a MōVI camera rig, a SteadiCam, and batting cage POVs. CP added 60 wireless microphones that were used throughout the events by reporters and other on-air talent, plus umpires, coaches, and players. Some mics were even planted in the ground to capture game audio and effects. 

Riedel has supplied its solutions to Plazamedia’s UEFA Euro2020 project and its broadcast

Riedel's MediorNet, Artist and Bolero provided decentralized communications and signal routing infrastructure for UEFA EURO 2020™.

Plazamedia GmbH has staged all UEFA Euro2020 matches for live UHD broadcast on Telekom’s MagentaTV using solutions from Riedel. The German company has used Riedel’s MediorNet real-time media network as a decentralized production video routing infrastructure to support management and processing of signals across their production facility. Also, they have deployed Riedel’s Artist intercom system with 2300 Series SmartPanels and an integrated Bolero wireless intercom.

For UEFA Euro2020, Plazamedia reated a production environment across 2,600 square meters with three studios, four playout centers, and a content center. The main studio featured a 32:9 LED wall as well as augmented reality and virtual graphics designed.

The Riedel MediorNet included four MetroN

routers, 13 MicroNs, and almost 20 MicroN UHD frames. The MicroN UHDs formed a redundant ring each with 200G bandwidth and distributed 33 UHD signals, four of which originated from the IBC in Amsterdam. Furthermore, the system routed almost 70 3G video signals and the audio layer handled 10 fully saturated MADI connections in addition to all the embedded tracks. . For this Plazamedia project, the 13 MicroN modules were dedicated to run Riedel’s MultiViewer App. With access to all distributed MediorNet signals, the MultiViewer App creates up to four monitoring heads that can be routed to any given output.

Riedel also supplied an Artist intercom system with around three dozen RSP-2318 SmartPanel interfaces and 16 Bolero wireless intercom beltpacks in order to facilitating crew communications.

“PLAZAMEDIA delivered a remarkable production for Telekom and MagentaTV viewers, and we’re proud to have supported this successful high-profile event with our MediorNet product family”, said Marco Kraft, Head of Sales Germany at Riedel Communications. “The UEFA Euro2020 broadcasts were a win for everyone involved, and we look forward to partnering again with PLAZAMEDIA on future production projects”. 

Laguna Octal solution chosen to receive the signal from the Olympic Games

Sapec's versatile LAGUNA solution has once more been selected for a project of great relevance within Sports Broadcast. This time is the OCTAL model, which has met the requirements established by the Spanish public broadcaster of receiving the signals from the Japanese capital and must be simultaneously encoded and distributed.

For simultaneous processing of these 36 signals, SAPEC has provided 9 pcs of LAGUNA OCTAL (1RU each). These 36 signals are divided into 18 signals encoded in HEVC/H.264 4:2:2 that arrived in Madrid from the International Broadcast Center established in Tokyo, and 18 signals that were also distributed RTVE. This implies that, in these 9 rack units, LAGUNA OCTAL offers 18 encoders and 18 HEVC/H.264 decoders that work simultaneously.

For the management of the inputs and outputs of the 36 signals, LAGUNA OCTAL provides per unit: 8x HD-BNC interfaces (configurable as ASI or SDI) and 4x 1Gb Ethernet interfaces allowing to establish redundancy and concurrency of paths both in ASI and IP.

In addition, LAGUNA counts with hot-swappable redundant power supplies, an important advantage in ensuring easy maintenance and without interrupting the operation of the equipment to change a power supply.

The solution provided supports 4x audio PID services per video signal (4x36), with the possibility of upgrading to 8x PID of audio per video signal (8x36).These units are also prepared to support different functionalities in case the Spanish

Broadcaster considers them necessary in the future such as:

•SRT Protocol: To guarantee a secure transmissions over public

IP networks.

•CONVERSION SCTE 104 <> SCTE35: For local ad/content insertion management. •UP/DOWN Conversion: To convert the received signal from HD->SD or

SD->HD.

Finally, it is necessary to highlight the flexibility of LAGUNA in terms of adapting the Layout (internal architecture of the unit). This means that these units, that today have a Layout of 2 HEVC encoders and 2 HEVC decoders each (1RU), can adapt to future needs. This means that any of these units can be reused after this event for other types of applications. What today are 2 encoders and 2 HEVC/H.264 decoders, it can easily be upgraded via software to for example: •(Up to) 8x H.264 Encoders •(Up to) 4x HEVC Encoders •Any of the above with internal multiplexer (MPTS output) •8x Decoders

HEVC/H.264/MPEG-2

In addition, the solution is based on Pay as you Grow software model, where the client will not have to worry about investing on anything else but what they need and when they need it. 

Lawo has covered the sound needs of the “Concert de Paris” for France Day 2021

To celebrate the Day of France, the past 14th of July the Champs du Mars by the foot of the Eiffel Tower host the traditional Concert de Paris. Lawo mixing consoles were responsible for the live and broadcast sound requirements, as in the last seven years. For the orchestra mix they used a 48-fader mc²56 production console (FOH) while another 48 fader mc²56 handled the monitoring tasks in a configuration in which a 16 fader mc²² extender was used to allow social distancing between the two operators. The whole system operated over the Optocore fiber-optic network deployed by Radio France.

The broadcast mix was managed in a Radio France OB vehicle. It allowed the use of the broadcast console’s own stage boxes and DALLIS microphone preamps.

“It is a great honor for Lawo to be trusted, year after year, by Radio France for such a prestigious event as the provider of the audio mixing consoles for both the public address and broadcast signals”, says Joffrey Heyraud, Lawo Sales Director France. “It highlights the excellence of our equipment with uncompromising audio processing and state-of-theart reliability”.

This year’s Concert de Paris was followed on-site by an audience of 15.000 people, and was relayed to a record 3.5 million TV viewers in France and an estimated 10 million audience in Europe. 

Czech Rupublic’s O2 acquires a OB vehicle designed by Broadcast Solutions

The mobile company O2 covers the major soccer league from Czech Republic for a couple of years now. The company has recently added a Broadcast Solutions Streamline OB to its fleet. The vehicle is a S12T and gives support to 12 HD cameras.

Jan Chodora, CEO at IVC s.r.o. comments: “we have been in close contact with Broadcast Solutions for many years. Our extraordinary mutual rapport is based not only upon their engineering skills and experiences but especially on friendly atmosphere and mutual trust. Based on that we successfully delivered several OB vans already and therefore when new projects arise our decision to co-operate on that with Broadcast Solutions is natural”.

Ateme transforms Telecom Armenia’s operations with complete OTT Video-Delivery Solution

ATEME has announced that Telecom Armenia, an IPTV/OTT operator running under the Beeline brand, has selected its integrated OTT videodelivery solution to enable a re-launch of its TV offering to the Armenian market.

With a legacy system in place, Telecom Armenia identified a need for a scalable and effective video-delivery solution as part of a planned service refresh that included a new front and back office. The operator selected ATEME as a single source supplier, enabling the organization to benefit from a range of OTT technologies, from reception to CDN.

ATEME´s end-to-end offering gives service providers a single platform to leverage transport streams over both IPTV and OTT networks, leading to optimized processes and better performance. Because of its shared workflow approach, it also enables organizations to centralize all media processing workflows and ensure high-quality delivery of any content to any screen.

The chosen system also includes TITAN for compression, channel origination and reception, and NEA for packaging,

VOD, catchup and CDN delivery.

Gevorg Gevorgyan, CTO, Telecom Armenia, said: “We look forward to powering our OTT platform with a solution that brings better operational efficiency, flexibility of converged IPTV/OTT and the ability to support new formats and functionalities in the future. Our partnership with ATEME also enables optimum video quality, agility and bandwidth savings while ensuring low latency, giving us the opportunity to deliver high quality HD and UHD (4K) TV content to the end customer with minimal delays.”

Boris Yurin, Sales Director, CIS, ATEME, said: “As the TV industry evolves and the line between paid-for TV and OTT becomes increasingly blurred, creating a high-quality user experience is a key driver behind business decisions. Telecom Armenia is developing a winning strategy to attract and retain the most valuable viewers, and we are delighted to accompany them on this journey.” 

Tedial taps two of its own for leadership roles

TTedial, independent MAM technology solutions specialist, has tapped two of its own to assume larger roles in the Company’s hierarchy as it continues to develop its next generation Media Integration Platform. Emilio L. Zapata, Tedial founder, has announced that Manuel Martínez has been promoted to Tedial’s Business Development Manager from his position as Regional Sales Director, Spain; and José Luis Montero has increased his sales management responsibilities from Regional Sales Director of LATAM / Middle East to include Spain and Portugal as well. Both appointments are effective immediately.

“We are fortunate to have such talented and experienced professionals on our team as the industry transitions to a new era driven by Cloud, AI and SaaS, and the company moves toward a next generation Media Integration Platform,” says Zapata. “Manuel’s comprehensive insight of the challenges the M&E sector faces in this time of unprecedented change, along with his deep knowledge of customers’ expectations will be invaluable when we roll out our groundbreaking platform. And José Luis’s vast proficiency and deep understanding of the industry mixed with his proven track record will be key assets for Tedial customers in Spain and Portugal as they have been for those in LATAM and the Middle East.”

Martinez, who is based at company headquarters in Malaga, has assumed the responsibility of developing business and marketing strategies for Tedial’s next generation of services. He will work with Tedial’s senior management, sales and marketing to assess market reach, evaluate opportunities and put best practices in place to build new business channels.

“New technologies and operational needs arising from the COVID-19 pandemic have caused a disruption in the M&E market. Tedial is at the forefront of this technology transition and is well prepared to offer new services that meet the M&E industry’s evolving needs, enabling next generation user experiences. I am proud that Tedial trusts me to lead this new challenge, aligning the different areas of the company involved in the business development of these next generation services, including sales, marketing and partnerships." says Martínez.

Montero joined Tedial in 2017 as Regional Sales Director, LATAM. His proven track record in strategic planning and customer development led to the swift expansion of his regional responsibilities to include the Middle East. Montero will now add Spain and Portugal to his current role as Manuel Martínez moves into the position of Business Development Manager.

“I assume the challenge of driving the sales in Spain and Portugal with the same enthusiasm that I have for the Middle East and LATAM,” says Montero. “The Spanish and Portuguese markets are extremely important for Tedial and I look forward to attending to the needs of our customers in those regions as well. I am proud to work with the high caliber of professionals at Tedial who consistently support customers around the world with the maximum level of innovation and quality.” 